"He's just a big dude"

Why is Jude still getting up in the wee hours for a snack?
"He's probably hungry. He's just a big dude," said our pediatrician at Jude's 6-month check up on Tuesday. Measuring in the 95th percentile for weight at 20 lbs. 4 oz., Jude is off the chart for height at 28 3/4 inches long.
Our doctor has encouraged us to continue to offer him a variety of new foods and textures since all previous attempts have gone so well. He is eating cereal, fruits, veggies, and even had some chicken this week. Jude also tried chewing something for the first time with the Gerber graduate puffs. The little Cheerio-like pieces also offer him good practice working his fine motor skills.
We met with a developmental therapist this week who will be following Jude's case, but she does not see a need for regular therapy. She will be coming in once a month to see him and check his milestones, but she was not particularly concerned with anything. The best part of her visit was learning some exercises Jude and I can do to help him think more about crawling and developing the muscle memory to do so.
This week, we have also started working on Jude being able to soothe himself to sleep. With his terrible acid reflux bout, we got into rocking him to sleep and holding him alot. Now he has trouble falling asleep without our intervention. In our move toward more sleep independence and better sleep, we hold Jude until he is grogy and he takes it home. This did not go well the first few times, but now he's down to about 10 minutes to fall asleep during the day. The big exception is the nighttime routine, which I think is going to take much longer to adjust. I know he can do it!

All he has is his two front teeth

Jude would like to announce his newest addition, his other front tooth on the bottom! I don't have a picture of it yet because it's not quite tall enough, but I'll be working on it. We have part of the living room blocked off because Jude is very interested in the computer and all of its wires and lights. As you can see, the barriers will be useless soon.

Jude commando crawling

Jon!

Happy birthday!
We love you!
Amanda, Jude, Lucy and Clara

First Snow!

Snow Day

It's snowing so much here that Jon got to stay home! They are predicting 1"-3" here, and it is still snowing at 9 a.m. Jude had a great night last night, sleeping from 8 p.m.-6:30a.m. After his morning meal he went right back to bed until 8:15! We'll take Jude out later to experience his first snow, but for now we are all bundled inside watching the inauguration coverage, also a first for Jude. Here are some pics of the snow and Jude's tooth (click to enlarge).

Little Gym Bug

Jude is now a Little Gym "Bug." We took our trial class today at The Little Gym of North Raleigh and enjoyed it very much. We joined a circle of other 4-10 month olds and stretched, sang, and banged sticks together. The class begins with some organized playing and ends with free play on the gym equipment. The most interesting thing about the class is the vast variety of skills. From the just now holding his head up 4-month old to the starting to walk 10-month old. We sat next to a "bug" who is a week older than Jude but who is not yet scooting at all and seldom lays on his belly. And we have our little guy who, dressed in camo today, did the army crawl all over the slick gym mat. They all develop so differently that I feel odd even comparing them. We started looking into these classes before we left Winston so that Jude would have interactions with others kids and get some additional brain stimulation. It's not until Jude starts talking and starts school that we'll know if the two foci on his MRI are of any consequence. The activities in the class are supposed to promote development, and though everything appears "normal," we figure they won't hurt.

Jude had a great time and was all tuckered out, falling asleep on the way home. We begin the spring semester on the 30th.

UPDATE: We have a break through! A tooth has emerged in Jude's bottom gum! His new nickname is Chester Toothsworth.

God rest ye merry, Judeman (IV)

Jude's tour of Kentucky also included a stop in Taylorsville with Nana Lou and G & P. We also made a stop at Becca and John's to visit their new arrival and see all the beautiful home improvements they've made. Jude also had some QT with his friends from NOLA, Chrissy and Carter.

I'm dreaming of a Jude Christmas (III)

Now for Christmas with the Brasfields and the Pulleys. Jude enjoyed his GranJan and Grandpa, rocked out to some live music, and met his cousins.

Jude Christmas II

First we have all the boys, Jude, Jarius, and Jaylin. Then Jay. Next is Uncle Rob, Aunt Gus, and Jarius. Finally a pic with Aunt Kelly.

Christmas with Jude I

Bronchiolitis

So the plan was to post lots of pictures of Jude enjoying his Christmas gifts, but no such luck. The USB for the printer and the one for the camera are MIA in the boxes in our new apartment, so I can't upload anything. Jon and I have searched, but were interrupted in the unpacking process when Jude came down with bronchiolitis, a nasty virus that has really made Jude feel terrible. He is congested and his breathing sounds like a rusty cotton gin. He went to the doctor last Friday for diagnoses, and the virus peaked on Sunday night when he started crying and panicking. We couldn't get him calmed down and he was the color of a tomato, so we started heading toward the closest ER about 5 minutes away. He was snotting and snorting and gasping. We were scared. Luckily, the car ride was exactly what he needed because the cool night air and vibrations calmed him down on the way. By the time we made it to the door, he was breathing better and was back to his pale self.

Since then, Jude has steadily, yet slowly improved. He was very tired yesterday and didn't eat well, but he was looking better. Today, he is eating better, drank some apple juice, and is playing well. We've tried to continue his new solid foods through the illness, but he has so much congestion that he gets strangled too easily. He is also unable to stay asleep while napping and naps in my arms during the day. Every time I try to lay him down he has a coughing fit. At night, he sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time. He had been sleeping about 9p-6a, so this every few hours thing is hard when he won't nap on his own during the day. Mom needs a nap! The unpacking and such is on slow mo until Jude is feeling better.

Jude's sickness has not slowed his playtime down much, as he is scooting and rolling all over the living room. Most of the time he is trying to get to the dogs' water bowl or to play with the tags on their harnesses. This baby is mobile and on a mission!