This will be a short post I think, not a whole lot has changed in the last four weeks. Hugh had his first cold, a sad milestone indeed. We all came down with it and couldn't shake it. Ben was sick for almost three full weeks. Luckily it was mostly just snots and coughs, no fevers...I hate fevers.
Aside from the sickies the only other major event to report was a leaky roof. Turns out when seven feet of snow pile up on your roof a good portion of that water will try to get in your house. Who knew. The worst part came when the rug in the baby suite acted as a wick and pulled the water running down the walls half way across the closet floor. Combine a soaking wet rug, no ventilation, and a space heater keeping the whole room a balmy 70 degrees, and we basically had the recipe for a rain forest. It took about a day for the musty smell to permeate all of our clothes and drive the baby out to our room. So on top of not feeling so hot, Hugh was back in our bright and considerably cooler bedroom...not a whole lot of sleeping through the night was happening. I am happy to report we are all dried out, and Hugh is back to sleeping blissfully through the night in the closet.
Nicknames: Youkie, Youkie-pie, Hoo, Hughtiepie
Milestones: Army crawling, self feeding, first tooth!
Feeding: Again, not a whole lot has changed since last month. Nursing is still going great (6 times a day give or take) and solids are getting easier. Hugh has stopped resisting being spoon fed, and most nights Daddy is able to get him to eat 4+oz of puree mixed with 3+oz of baby oat cereal. Mommy confession...I have not been making Hugh's baby food. Gasp, I know. I bought a case of organic purees from Amazon, and in my head it was definitely a "one time thing", and then two days ago I ordered another one. It really isn't that much more work to make the food, but I just haven't added it back into the routine (or the grocery list). As I previously mentioned spoon feeding a baby is not my idea of fun, so I have been working on teaching Hugh to self feed from a pouch...with varied success. Some days he seems to know exactly what to do, and before I can bat an eye the pouch has been sucked dry, but other days he squeezes it all over the tray and himself. I am starting to suspect that the latter is not entirely accidental. Stinker. We are working on adding another meal to the routine or at the very least a breakfast snack.
Sleeping: Now that we are all feeling well again Hugh has resumed his previous routine. Alternating during the day between nursing, playing, and taking hour and a half long naps. My other kids definitely took longer naps at this age, but as long as he is sleeping through the night I will happily oblige this schedule. It does make it a little hard to plan outings and errands because it seems like Hugh is always either taking a nap or getting ready to take a nap (amazing how fast an 90 minutes flies by). But let's be honest, I am more than happy to stay at home with Hugh all day, so for me Hugh's nap schedule isn't really that much of an inconvenience. Plus his schedule is just as important as everyone else's, and I try to uphold it the same way I do Lily's school schedule or Ben's afternoon nap. Sometimes a disruption can't be avoided and that's okay too. Life is a balancing act for sure. Odds and Ends: Hugh is officially mobile. His go-to move isn't quite a crawl, but don't be fooled, he is a quick little bugger. I am calling it right now, Hugh is going to be our "must baby proof everything" kid. Lily never got into anything, ever. Ben was a little more curious and stubborn, but it was a short phase. I swear Hugh has a glint in his eye for mischief! He loves cords and plugs and going after anything that could be potentially dangerous or messy. I can only imagine how much trouble he is going to get in once he is up on two feet!
The big kids certainly get a kick out of Hugh's new found mobility. I can see the wheels turning in Ben's head as he watches his brother go from being a "baby" to a playmate...accomplice...rival. I'm with you Ben, it is fun and a little scary! But oh the love and my bursting heart. We've said it all along buddy, you are the perfect addition to our family, and none of us can imagine a life without you.
