6 Months

I cannot believe what was once our little tiny peanut is six months old already. He's looking more and more like a little boy than a baby every day, which is scary and exciting all at the same time. He's showing his personality more and more. He's a very happy little man, always ready to flash a big smile. And he's very friendly, he'll work his charms on anyone and everyone. Of course, he loves his Momma best. And his Daddy second best (hehehe).

The most exciting development of late is that Brendan is finally starting to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT. YAY!!!!! The first night was December 17th, Daddy's birthday. He woke up bright and early at 4:40 but I was still super happy about it. He's gotten through eight of the last 14 days without waking up for a bottle with four of those eight days being the past four days. Of course, I still wake up a few times throughout the night out of habit (and to fulfill my OCD need to make sure he's still breathing). Hopefully I'll stop that soon.

We spent Christmas with my family and Brendan got to see his Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon who hadn't seen him since he was five weeks old. They were very impressed with how good he is, just hanging out soaking everything in. I'm hoping they're going to give Brendan a cousin very soon...

Aunt Lauren was also there and of course Grandma Annie and Grandpa Charlie, who hosted the day at their house, along with Rob & Susan and their sons Jason and Christopher and Charlie's mother Mimi and two sons, Charlie and Nicky. After everyone was sufficiently buzzed the karaoke competition started. Grandma Annie started it off and Little Charlie "sang" a few songs too. I'm happy to report that I got the high score of the evening. There was a claim that Uncle Keith got the high score after I left but I'm not counting that. Anyway, I've heard him sing.

We celebrated Christmas with Kenny's family this past Sunday at Nana's. Uncle Scott, Aunt Splat and Aunt MaryAnn were all there too. Brendan got a lot of cool presents, including a rocking horse from Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Jay that sings and talks. Brendan is already trying to eat it. Oh, he also got his third tooth for Christmas! Well, the day after Christmas anyway. He'll be eating steak in no time.

Here are some photos from our first Christmas celebration. The other pics are on Nana's camera so we'll have to wait for her to send us those.

Styling in his argyle sweater vest


Snuggling with Aunt Susan


Snoozing on Mommy


Some hats Daddy bought Brendan for Christmas






And one of the shirts he bought (yes, that's his middle finger)


Uncle Keith showing Brendan how to use the jumper


Doesn't everyone sleep with washcloths in their mouth?


Doing what he does best - being cute



Brendan is 6 months and 1 day old today!

When it rains...

It's been a banner week at the Gaska household. Brendan developed an awful cold last weekend that just wasn't getting any better. He started to have a fever Monday that wouldn't go away and he wasn't interested in eating - he was only getting about 15oz a day. Mind you, he's not a big eater to begin with. He takes in an average of about 25oz/day. The rule of thumb is 2-2.5oz per pound per day. He weighs about 16lb so that's 32-40oz. I'm convinced our son is anorexic. The dr is not concerned because he's growing nicely from month to month.

Anyway, clearly 15oz is no good. I took him to the dr on Wednesday morning. Diagnosis = bronchiolitis and yet another double ear infection. Bronchiolitis is a lung infection caused by a virus, most likely RSV in the baby's case. We have to do nebulizer treatments with him 3 to 4 times a day for about 10 minutes. And holy cow, he HATES it. He'll be ok for about the first 5 minutes and then turns into Mr. Squirmsalot for the next 5 and cries the whole time. I've learned the easiest way to get it done is to sit him in his carseat and distract the heck out of him with toys. The noisier the better.

Thankfully, we're pretty sure he's on a teething break this week so that's one small blessing. He now has two adorable little teeth on the bottom that he's constantly rubbing with his tongue. Ken lovingly refers to him as a coke addict since that's exactly what he looks like when he does it.

We must have caught the ear infections nice and early because they don't seem to be bothering him a whole lot. Or it could just be that the rest of his ailments are distracting him enough where he doesn't even notice they hurt. He's got lots of gunk in his chest which makes him wheeze and cough a lot. Not to mention the boogie factory. I change my shirt a few times a day when I'm home with him because when I hold him he uses it as a hanky, rubbing his nose all over me. And when he coughs, he makes sure to turn his head each time so he can cough in my face. So there's some saliva mixed in with the snot for good measure. But that's what parents are for, right?

Here's a pic of Brendan self-medicating



Brendan is 5 months, 1 week and 6 days old today!