Claire - 6 Months

Claire had her 6-month checkup today.  She weighs 15 lbs 5.5 oz (33rd percentile) compared to 13 lbs 9 oz (50th percentile) at her 4 month checkup.  She only grew a tiny bit in length to 25 and 3/4" (25th percentile) from 25" at 4 months.  Her head size is 17.4" (90th percentile) versus 16.5" (75th percentile) at 4 months.  Claire is growing well and very alert and active.  The doctor said she was "just perfect".  

She got the same 4 shots as at 2 months and 4 months (PCV, DTap, Hib, and IPV) plus the Rotavirus vaccine by mouth.  She was so sad and mad again.  She also was fussy and got a light fever at night this time. 

This month she has been babbling a lot and laughing, particularly at her big brother CJ.  She definitely knows who he is and thinks he is the funniest thing ever, especially when he sings to her and jumps around.  

Claire can sit up without falling over now (though she needs help getting to the sitting position).  She loves this position because she can see all around and feels more involved.  She also really wants to move.  From her tummy, she's reaching a lot and can move a full 360 degrees.  

She likes solid food now.  Bananas and butternut squash are her favorite.  She also likes applesauce and sweet potatoes, and she'll eat peas mixed with applesauce.  Of course, everything is still mixed with rice cereal.  

Check out these pictures of Claire at 6 months!

Claire - 5 Months

Claire turned 5 months old today!  She is very active these days.  She rolls over a lot and reaches for things and brings toys to her mouth.  She loves watching her big brother CJ and has even begun laughing at him.  She's so distracted by CJ that she won't even nurse in the same room with him anymore.  We tried giving Claire rice cereal and applesauce this month, but she wasn't quite ready for it!  Maybe next month!

Here are some pictures of Claire at 5 months old.

Claire - 4 Months Old

Claire turned 4 months old on May 22nd!  She weighs 13 lbs. 9oz. (50th percentile) compared to 11 lbs two months ago.  She's 25" long (75th percentile, like her brother), up from 22.5" at 4 months, and her head size is 16.5" (also 75th percentile, like CJ), up from 15.5" at 4 months.

She also got 4 shots, same ones as at 2 months, (PCV, DTap, Hib, and IPV) plus the Rotavirus vaccine by mouth.  She was so unhappy about it, it was heartbreaking!  I think she was mad at me for a day and a half.

To see other miscellaneous pictures from May, Click Here.

Claire - 3 Months Old

Here are a few pictures from Claire's 3-month birthday yesterday!

There was no doctor's visit at 3 months for Claire.  This past month, she's been starting to sleep a little better (~8pm until 3am), and she's smiling a lot and talking a lot!  She's also rolled from front to back a few times on her own.

Claire - 2 Months Old

Claire turned 2 months old on March 22nd.  We had her 2-month checkup with the doctor yesterday.  She weighs 11 lbs now and measures 22.5" long, 50th percentile for both.  Her head size is 15.5", 75th percentile...big head just like her big bro!  The doctor was also impressed with her head control at 2-months and says she's very alert.

Here's a few pictures of Claire at 2 months old.

Click Here for more pictures from March.

Claire - 1 Month Old

At Claire's 1-month appointment today, she weighed 9 lbs 14 oz.  She's already doing much better than her big brother, who only weighed 8 lbs 6 oz at the same time, even though they started out at the exact same 7 lbs 3 oz.  Claire is now 21" long; she grew 3" in a month!

Here's Claire at 1-month old next to her adorable lamb...the same size as her!

And one posing with her big brother CJ

Plus a couple other cute ones...

12-Month Milestones & Pictures

We had CJ's 12-month well baby visit with the pediatrician yesterday. It was the easiest visit yet (except for the 3 shots)! CJ weighs 21 lbs 5 oz, up from 18 lbs 9 oz at 9 months, and now up a notch to the 25th percentile instead of the 10th. He grew 1" to 30.5", and is now in the 50th percentile for height (instead of the 75th). His head measures 19cm (still in the 90th percentile).

The doctor said CJ looks pretty perfect and to start moving him to regular milk, from a sippy cup, and to get off the bottle and that he can eat anything you can mash with your finger (other than peanut butter), so no hard veggies.

That was about it - oh and CJ loved the giant goldfish in the waiting room. We may have to invest in a fish tank!

In the last 3 months, CJ's big accomplishments have been walking--and running! Whenever we're outside now, he hates to be held. He just wants to walk around and explore on his own. He also now says momma, dadda, hi, hello (which sounds like "ow-oh"), ouch, and all done (which sounds like "ah-dah"). He also now knows certain objects if we tell him to go get them, especially Hippo and ball.

9-Month Milestones & Pictures

CJ had his 9-month well baby visit with the pediatrician on November 23rd, the day before our trip to California for Thanksgiving.

CJ weighed 18 lbs, 9 oz - still in the 10-25% range for weight. He's now 29.5" long (75-90%) and his head circumference is in the 90-95 percentile. The doctor said he was healthy and happy! CJ had one shot, the Polio vaccine, during this visit, and had to have his finger pricked for lead and iron testing.

CJ's big accomplishments this month were walking with his push to stand learning walker toy and standing while letting go of the furniture for a few seconds at a time. He also learned how to play peak-a-boo and loves this! He likes hiding behind his blanket, waiting for us to say "where's CJ" and then throwing the blanket from his face.

7-Month Milestones & Pictures

Although there's no 7-month well baby visit with the pediatrician, CJ had to see the doctor on September 13 anyway. On Monday morning he had a fever and was sent home from daycare. He had only been to daycare for 3 days the previous week and was already sick!

While at the doctor, CJ weighed 15 lbs 7 oz, basically the same as during his 6-month checkup 3 weeks earlier.

CJ's big accomplishments this month were officially crawling a lot (instead of mostly just scooting around on his belly) and pulling himself up to a standing position (though he hasn't let go just yet!).

Getting ready for Halloween...



Learning to drive early!


Working hard...

6-Month Milestones & Pictures

CJ had his half birthday last week on August 14th! The pediatrician was on vacation, so we just had his 6-month checkup yesterday.

CJ weighs 15lbs, 8.5 oz now (compared to 14lbs, 6 oz last month). He's still between the 10th and 25th percentile for weight. However, he grew 1.5" and is now 27.5" long, putting him in the 75th percentile for height. And of course, he still has a big head; at 18" he's in the 90th percentile on this one!

During our checkup, the doctor described CJ as "perfect" and said he's very sturdy when sitting up for his age. He asked if he's been around older babies much. CJ had 4 shots this time (DTAP, HIB, Hep B, and PCV).

Nighttime sleep has regressed! CJ's waking up once per night between midnight and 4am and he usually wakes up for the day at 5am. The doctor said mom has been making the situation worse by feeding him in the middle of the night and to start putting dad to work so he doesn't expect food from mom!

CJ's big accomplishment this month was scooting around on his belly. He now gets around pretty well. Since the end of the month, he started moving from lying to sitting on his own and even managed to get himself on all fours and rock back and forth...though he hasn't quite started crawling yet. But, the baby-proofing has begun!

CJ's diet has expanded greatly. He's now eating all types of pureed fruits and veggies. Some of his favorite foods include apple slushies and pureed peaches from Terhune's.

5-Month Milestones & Pictures

CJ turned 5 months old today! There's no 5-month well visit, but we had to see the doctor anyway because he wanted CJ to come in for a weight check since he was under 13 lbs at 4 months (10th percentile).

CJ weighs 14 lbs, 6 oz now. The doctor says he's closer to the 25th percentile and is on the right trajectory. He's not concerned about his weight anymore and says he's just going to be a skinny boy! He also grew one inch in the last month and is now 26" long.

CJ's still sleeping very well at night, from 8:30 to 6:30, and naps are improving a lot too. Since aunt Rachel has been taking care of him during the day while mom goes to work, he's sleeping longer and more consistently in his crib.

CJ's big accomplishment last month was rolling over, from front to back while playing in his rainforest gym mat. He now rolls over a lot more and can go in either direction, front to back and back to front.

We've also begun giving CJ rice cereal, which he loves, especially when mixed with prunes! He also started having juice--prune, apple, and grape--occasionally. We're looking forward to trying some new mashed fruits and veggies this coming month!

Here's CJ at 5 months having rice cereal with prunes.



And playing with a couple of his new toys.

4-Month Milestones & Pictures

CJ turned 4 months old yesterday! For his 4-month well visit, we went to a new pediatrician, Dr. Shawn Pierson, in Princeton. Although we loved CJ's pediatrician in NY, it just didn't make sense to go into the city to see the doctor.

Dr. Pierson was impressed with CJ, particularly in how chatty he was during our visit. He also said, developmentally, he's a rock star! CJ weighed 12 lbs 15 oz (only 14 ounces more than last month), which puts him at only the 10th percentile for weight. The doctor didn't seem too concerned though since he is such a happy baby and everything else seems to be going well. CJ is now 25" long (compared to 23.75" last month) (50th percentile). And apparently, he has a pretty big head because his head circumference puts him in the 75th percentile.

The doctor recommended that CJ have a hip ultrasound to make sure his hips are okay from being breech for so long before he was born. We'll have that done in a few weeks. CJ also had 4 shots this time! Here's a picture of him showing off his bandaides when we got home and still looking pretty upset.


Nighttime sleep is still going well at 4 months, and naps seem to be improving too, though its hard to say because CJ's schedule has been pretty sporadic with the recent move and unpacking chaos...plus will stay this way for the next couple of weeks since we'll be in California.

CJ's big accomplishment this month was rolling over, which he did for the first time on June 8, the day after we moved to NJ. He rolled from front to back while playing in his rainforest gym mat. He has also started bringing his hands to his mouth more often and can now even take his pacifier out and put it back in himself.

3-Month Milestones & Pictures

CJ turned 3 months old on May 14th. We saw the pediatrician for his 3-month well baby visit this week. He now weighs 12 lbs 1 oz and is 23.75" long (compared to 10 lbs 4 oz and 22.25" last month).

Fortunately there were no shots this month (he will get the same series of 3 shots that he had at 2 months during his 4-month visit in June). The doctor said CJ looks great. She commented that he was very expressive and chatty but also seemed to have a bit of stranger anxiety because of the way he reacted towards her. She said this was actually a good thing because it means he shouldn't have it later around 9 months when most babies have it.

At three months CJ is an excellent nighttime sleeper. He goes to sleep around 8:30 and sleeps for 10-12 hours. Daytime naps are another story. He doesn't like to nap during the day, and when he does, it's anywhere but in his crib.

CJ's big discovery this month was his feet. He began starring at them when in his stroller or propped up on the couch and is now reaching for and grabbing them. He also brings his hands together and reaches for and holds on to objects. And, he smiles more, makes squealing noises, and laughs too (and not just in his sleep).

Here are a few photos from the day after CJ's 3-month birthday at our Boogie Baby workout and music class combo in the park.

(no those aren't mom's legs, but CJ sure did seem to enjoy this)

2-Month Milestones & Pictures

CJ turned 2 months old today and had his 2-month well baby visit with the pediatrician yesterday. He now weighs 10 lbs 4 oz and is 22.25" long compared to 8 lbs 6oz and 22" last month.

This visit wasn't as pleasant as last month though. CJ got his first vaccination shots. Here's a few pictures of him shortly after...


At two months, CJ still sleeps a lot, about 13-15 hours a day. He's eating more during the day, sometimes every 1-2 hours, but less at night. Last week he started sleeping 5 hours in a row from 9/10pm to 2 or 3am -- and he even had one night with a 7-hour stretch!

CJ has also begun talking more. His favorite words are oooh, cooh, and gooo. He especially likes chatting in the evenings and anytime he's getting his diaper changed. He's also much more alert during the day. He no longer quickly falls asleep whenever we go out in the stroller. Now, he's much too preoccupied with other people and things around us.

Here are a few of CJ's other 2-month milestones and photos:

Discoveries - his giraffe blanket toy

Accomplishments - lifts his head, holds his head up steady, pushes his chest up when lying on his stomach, standing up on mom's lap, talking back, and looking to see where noises are coming from

Feeding himself!

A nice day in the park.


One of his first smiling photos.