Fill Us Up & Send Us Out: Levi: Weeks 18 & 19 Summary

18 weeks! On his way to Daytona Beach!

All of last week and half of this week we were in Florida on vacation! Levi did surprisingly well the entire trip, despite our moving from city to city almost every other day. We tried to keep him in his normal routine of eat-play-sleep as much as possible, so I really think that helped. Overall, he was a really happy boy!

FEEDING
Nothing really changed in the nursing aspect of things. Still every three hours. I noticed Levi was a bit less distracted than in previous weeks, which was nice. I really aimed at nursing him for most feedings during this trip so that my supply didn't drastically drop (this happened last time we went to Florida, because everyone was anxious to feed him bottles). This time, he only had maybe 2 bottles the entire 10 days, which not only kept my supply intact, but also kept me from having to pump as often, which is such a time sucker!

Levi also tried avocado for the first time while we were in FL! I just mashed it up and mixed it with breastmilk to thin it out some--so easy! He seemed to be okay with it. It was his first "real food" that wasn't rice cereal. My mom and I tried to feed him closer to his naptime, so he got real whiny, real quick! I certainly plan on trying it again, just not sure when exactly that will be. I'm considering waiting a few more weeks for solids--at least until he is 5 months old. I'm anxious, because it is fun, but I really don't want to rush him if he isn't ready. I'm also leaning toward the "baby-led weaning" approach with him because I like the philosophy behind it, and we really can't start that until he is 6 months old.

WAKE TIME
Levi's wake time for these two weeks were much different than normal, simply because he didn't have all of the usual toys he has at home. He spent a lot of time playing on the floor with rattles (we could pack those) and he even had a few new experiences. Levi went in the pool and the ocean for the first time while we were in Florida! He seemed to enjoy both and tended to do better when Brian was holding him in the water--I think he felt safer!

NIGHTTIME
All that progress Levi made during the night before we left for Florida was completely interrupted on our vacation! But I definitely don't hold that against him at all. He was sleeping in weird and uncomfortable places (in a play pen) the entire time, so he regressed back to waking every 3 hours. Luckily, the later part of this past week (week 19), when we were back at home he had a good 5 hour stretch one night and last night he slept from 10:30 PM-6:30 AM. Yay! Obviously, it's just going to take a few days of our normal routine to get him back into the swing of things!

OUTINGS/EVENTS
My birthday was during Levi's 18th week of life! It was so much fun to have him and Brian to spend it with this year (and my parents and brother as well). We went to Friendly's in Orlando the night of my birthday and Brian put some strawberry ice cream on Levi's lips. Right away, he pulled back--I think he was startled by how cold it was! It was also so fun to show Levi some of our favorite places in Florida. He was such a good sport as we traveled from Orlando to Daytona Beach to Tampa and, finally, to my hometown of Citrus Springs.

PERSONALITY
It is amazing how Levi's personality is changing and developing! This trip to Florida (unlike my last trip with him in February) was SO much more enjoyable. Levi was unbelievably happy and content almost the entire time. As long as he was fed and well rested (which I made sure happened the best that I could), he was in the best mood! During the past few weeks, I have really seen him grow more attached to Brian as well. His face literally lights up when he sees him. I think Levi is starting to recognize Brian as his daddy now, which is adorable! I'm surprised it took this long, but as I think back, the first three months of this life were really focused on physical needs. Since I was home with him during the day, he obviously depended on me for a lot of these things. Now that he is becoming more play-oriented and can express his emotions much more, I can tell he just loves his daddy so much!

While Levi is totally sweet, when he wants something he is the most stubborn and demanding little guy! This hasn't changed :) When he is hungry, he has a distinct scream to let us know. When he doesn't want to take a nap, he will cry in his crib for 20 minutes until he passes out. When he doesn't want to be in the Bumbo anymore, he will arch his back to where he will almost flip over the back of the chair. He is definitely not a perfect baby! But thankfully, we expected that! :)

MOTOR SKILLS
Levi is so close to rolling over on purpose! He can do it sporadically from tummy to back--but I don't think it's intentional just yet. He started lifting his legs really high when he is laying on his back, which rolls him onto his side, so I know that rolling is right around the corner. He is also learning to rotate his body while laying on his back! I went to get him from his crib the other morning and he was completely turned the opposite direction than how I had laid him down that night! Levi is also improving his skill of grabbing and holding onto toys that are placed in front of him.

Here are some pictures of our wonderful vacation: