Back Home (7 months and 2 weeks)

Our trip home was uneventful. Austin did great on the plane ride home. Like returning from any vacation, it is crazy once you get home. We had to stop at the store to pick up food and get ready to return to work in the morning. With a baby, it is a little bit more challenging but since Austin is a well-tempered baby it’s not that much more difficult.



Once we got back home, we had to deal with our nightmare of our main line drain. Since we found out right before we left for vacation that it was likely collapsed we needed to get that fixed. Brian called many excavators companies along with a few plumbers to get quotes. Our first quote was extremely expensive and we were hoping for a cheaper quote.

We were getting use to the idea that our entire front yard was going to be dug up and all the work that was going to be involved in it. We were not happy but understood that it had to be done. Then we had found a local plumber. He came out and did an assessment. He was confident that our line was not collapsed. He wanted to try and snake it again. Brian and I had our reservations about this but finally agreed to let him try. About 2 hours later he had our line completely clean. We could not believe it. We were so happy! He pulled out a bunch of roots and then sent a camera through showing that the line was in perfect condition. $300 is much better than $5k - $8k.


Austin seemed to have changed a lot during our vacation. Once we got home, he was climbing up on everything. All he wanted to do was stand. He was not interested in his toys. He was really good at standing. It is cute but adds its new challenges as a parent. I really don’t want him to fall back and hit his head. So I am always next to him to protect his head. It took him about a week to figure out how to sit back down after standing. I am grateful for that.

Naptime is now difficult because he wants to stand up in his crib instead to sleeping. That drives me crazy! We have removed the ceiling video projector from the side of his crib since he was pulling it down. We also had to remove his mobile (see below). I feel a little better since he can now sit back down in his crib when he wants to. Before he could stand up in his crib, naptime was on a nice schedule and he would fall asleep within 15 minutes after putting him in his crib. That is not the case anymore. Wednesday he played the stand up and crying game for an hour. Finally I gave up. Austin of course was extremely tired later in the day. What does Mommy know though? Ha ha.



I have to say that naptime has been the biggest challenge with Austin so far. We have a great bedtime routine and he puts himself to sleep without any issues. Naptime is more challenging. I try to stick to the daycare schedule. He would take an hour morning nap, an hour lunchtime nap and 2-hour afternoon nap. This week that nap schedule has gone out the window. I tried for two days and finally have given up. I am going to let Austin tell me when he is ready for a nap. It is easy to tell because he has a meltdown. If he does not take long naps then he is just tired and cranky in the evening. If he is too cranky he will go to bed early. His bedtime has usually been 9:30pm but I think we should try and have him in bed by 9pm every night.

We have a schedule and routine for Austin but we are also flexible. We live our lives too. We are hoping to teach Austin to be a little flexible too. So far he is an easy-going baby. Let’s hope that continues.

Austin has eaten all stage-one foods. He was recently started on stage-two foods. He is not a big fan of them. He tried chicken and gravy and hated it. We are not rushing the food issue with him. All of his nutrition comes from formula. Eating at this age is just practice. He loves his rice, wheat, and oatmeal cereals. He enjoys fruits more than vegetables but will eat squash and sweet potatoes. His favorite food is probably puffs. He has become a puff eating expert. It is really cute to watch him scoop them up.

Austin eats breakfast now in the 8 o'clock hour and dinner at the 6 o'clock hour. He does not get solids for lunch yet. Eating breakfast and dinner takes about 30-60 minutes. We have learned to be patient. He does not eat as fast as we do. He eats puffs during breakfast and dinner. That helps keep him entertained.

Austin also has his two bottom teeth. They started coming in right before he was 7 months old. Teething has not been too bad. He gets cranky here and there but so far nothing terrible. Let’s hope that continues too.