Travel with Baby, Part 1.

So plane travel with a baby was not as difficult as I expected.  Sure we had a lot more luggage than we normally travel with but Tyler was a seller passenger, considering. 


Babies under 2 years old fly for free if they sit on your lap.  We wanted to take full advantage of this deal.  And it meant that we did not have to haul a car seat on the plane, we just rented one through the car rental.


None of the hotels could guarantee us a crib (we do not co-sleep), so we brought our own pack-n-play.  I was so proud of myself to find a cheap piece of luggage that fit this monster piece of furniture plus some wiggle room for more clothes.  I also brought lots of toys, the one thing that my wise traveling friend said not to skimp.  She turned out to be right.

The day before we left we noticed Tyler pulling on his ear and acting more fussy than normal so I ran him to his doctor and sure enough he had a mild ear infection.  She gave me a prescription for ear drops and an antibiotic and said to use it only as needed if he screams like a banshee on the plane.

My doctor also recommended that because of his stuffy ears I should give him a small dose of liquid benedryl before we get on the plane.  This will help with congestion in his ears and make him sleepy, she said, but with a disclaimer that "some" babies are made hyper by this seemingly harmless common over-the-counter drug.

Tyler fell into the category of "some" babies that are made hyper by benedryl.  So for the first hour of the flight we had a (happy) bouncing baby on our laps.  It wasn't until the last 10 minutes that he fell asleep breastfeeding.  Yeah for num-nums.  Tom said he would never travel alone with Tyler because of my magic.

Busy Monday

So today was a busy day of firsts for Tyler. He decided to climb out of the exersaucer. Then he pulled up by himself for the first time. Then he decided to climb out of the baby tub so we switched to the big tub.

When he pulled up it was close to his nap time and he was feeling cranky. So when he could not get down he got a little upset.

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9 Month Checkup

So here are the results from Tyler's most recent checkup at the doctor's office. He measured at 29 3/4" inches long (90%) and 8 1/2 pounds (18%). Dr. L. was happy with his progress. She looked in his ears and noticed one of his eardrums was a little red. The possibility of him having an ear infection was a complete surprise to me and Tom because Tyler has not been sick or even pulling on his ear. Dr. L. decided to postpone his vaccinations and check on him in two weeks.

I am blessed with a wonderful baby.

I am blessed with a baby who sleeps through the night.

I am blessed with a baby who wakes every morning at 6 a.m.

That last one I am struggling with a bit. At least he is consistent.

I am not a morning person. Most babies are morning creatures. My preferred sleep time is midnight to 8. Now I try to be asleep by 10 pm and try to convince hubby to come to bed early too. If I am really tired Tom will get up with Tyler after I feed him and I go back to sleep.

Nine Months

Tyler turned 9 months old a few weeks ago, and I am just now getting around to his update! He has a doctor visit tomorrow so I will give you the official stats then, but he is about 18 pounds and about 29 inches long. His growth has slowed considerably compared to his first 6 months, but this is normal. Instead of going through outfits every month, he wears them for 2 or 3 months now. He also seems to shoot up in length and then fill out, and then repeat. Currently he is filling out more and not growing in length as much.

Tyler still breastfeeds about 4 times a day. The morning and night feedings are the only 'full' feedings, the other two, before each nap, are 'half' feedings. For about a month now we have really increased the solid foods. Some of the fresh and home made food he eats include avocados, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, yogurt, pears, and bananas. I also feed him some commercially prepared foods including puffs (kind of like cheerios), instant oatmeal, and jarred combination meals that have a nice variety (beef, poultry, beans, fruits, veggies). Tyler will eat everything I give him, but definitely shows a preference for the sweet fruits, which I try to 'dilute' with pumped milk and oatmeal.

I used to pump every night before I went to bed but I stopped this about 2 weeks ago because I was not getting much and I don't wake engorged any more. I now go to bed no later than 10 pm, earlier if I can because Tyler wakes at 6 am or earlier every morning. But I cannot complain too much about this early wake up time because he goes to bed at 6-7 pm and does not wake until 6 am. And considering he has been sleeping 10-12 hours at night, I consider myself pretty lucky in the sleep department.

Tyler started belly-crawling at 8 months old. Since then he has gotten a little faster but he does not crawl on all fours. Sometimes he gets up on his hands and knees and rocks like he is trying to figure it out. When he first started crawling on his belly he really dragged on his stomach and his little pants slid off his little butt. Cute at first but it got annoying, so now I dress him in one-piece outfits.

Merry Christmas from the Schultz Family

I hope this Christmas "card" finds you well.  Things have been pretty busy here!  The year 2011 has been a memorable one for us. Here is a quick recap. 

This morning Tyler said "Mama" to me when I came in his room.  And then he blew a big raspberry at me. 

On another note, his naps have been pretty short or non-existent ever since he started crawling.  And this has made night sleep hard for us too, with him waking up crying every hour or so from 7pm to midnight.