6-month-old Parkito

I'm amazed at how Parker grows and changes every day. I feel like I say that a lot, but it's true. It was only a month and a half ago that he first grabbed at something. Since then he reaches for things, passes objects between hands, and puts everything in his mouth. He is most interested in things that Paul and I are holding- cell phones, drinks, food, books, remotes, the computer, you get the idea.

He hasn't started on solids yet, but I think we'll start soon.

Paul's convinced that he's teething, but nothing has popped through his gums yet.

He still tripods sometimes, but now he can sit up without the support of his arms. When he falls over, it's usually a slow fall and doesn't hit the ground very hard. (A big relief for me. Darn our cement flooring covered with cheap industrial carpet!)

He can roll from front to back if provoked long enough, but it happens rarely. He can roll from back to side, but I haven't seen him roll all the way to his front yet and I'm really not in any rush to have him roll around, so where's he's at right now is just fine with me.

I think his hair is getting lighter- all except the little tuft in the back we affectionately call his "mud flap." It's right below his bald spot and is dark brown.

His eyes are still sparkling blue! Yay! I thought they might change color, but now that we've hit the six month mark, I think they might be here to stay. The first comment strangers have about Parker is always about his big, beautiful eyes. I have to agree with them, his eyes are big and beautiful.

Parker knows when we're talking jibberish and he'll laugh and laugh. He also likes to be tickled. His favorite tickle spots are his chunky thighs and neck/shoulders.

After all our travels Parker's sleep habits were all messed up. We had to let him cry it out for two straight nights (worst thing ever!) but he got right back on track. The time has come when his nap times are consistent. Woohoo! I've been waiting for this! He wakes us around 7:30 and takes three naps and then goes to bed around 6:00 or 7:00. I've found that his naps are longer if I swaddle him, so I do. I didn't want him to become swaddle-dependent, so I tried to break him of the habit, but his naps were shorter and he was so cranky. I guess we'll be swaddling until he moves out of the house! :)

We went to the beach last Saturday and Parker got to play in the waves.



I love being Parker's mama for the most part, but there are just a few things that I'm having difficulty adjusting to. The biggest is that I sometimes feel trapped at home. The opportunities to go out are so short. Once he wakes up from a nap, eats and goes potty, we usually only have an hour or so to run a few quick errands. I rarely accomplish more than one errand at a time before we have to come back home. And forget about going anywhere more than five miles away; in LA five miles can translate to 45 minutes of sitting in traffic. And while that 6:00 bedtime sounds great (I know I shouldn't complain, it's mostly awesome), it means that we are home-bound before the sun sets. I often have church obligations after 6:00, so Paul and I try to work it out that on those days he'll come home from school promptly after his last patient to watch Parker, but sometimes he gets held up in the clinic and on several occasions I've had to wake Parker up to come along with me. It would be great if he could continue sleeping in his carseat, but no such luck. Invariably when this happens, he wakes up a lot during the night. For some reason it's been really hard to find babysitters. I guess the problem is mostly mine- I feel guilty asking people to babysit even though all they would have to do is watch tv and make sure the house doesn't burn down. A wise father of mine reminded me that this is part of the sacrifice that comes with having children. So true...

Here's Parker on his six-month-old celebration day (can you call it a six month birthday?). One smile like that melts my heart and I forgive him for being such a good sleeper.

The Great Tripod

These milestones are so exciting! I was going to post a movie of the first time Parker rolled over, but it's pretty sad to watch; he basically cries for four minutes and then in a mad desperation throws his weight in order to get off of his stomach. Just trust me on this one, he can do it.
Sitting is a much happier milestone.

Boy Meets Girl

We've been busy bees lately and I'll probably post more about all our adventures later, but I just had to post this movie now. Jenni and I met in elementary school when I lived in Orem. I remember the first time I went to her house in second grade (or was it third grade?) and she showed me a magic trick, but she wouldn't tell me how it was done! Thank goodness for those counseling sessions that enabled me to get past that so we could be friends today. For the most part Jenni and I try to be the same person. Her birthday is four months before mine, but I always feel like I'm whatever age she is. On her birthday it's always, "I can't believe we're (insert age)!" Jenni and Jacob got married a few months after Paul and I. Jenni's baby girl Scarlett was born two weeks after Parker, but her due date was two days before. (We didn't even know the other couple was trying to get preggo!) To make it even more interesting, both our babies were breech, so we both had c-sections. To give you some perspective, only 5% of babies are breech at term.

We have obviously decided that our babies must wed. This movie is of their first date. In true Sadie Hawkins fashion, Scarlett bought Parker a matching outfit.

A Really Big Bath Tub

We took Parker for his very first swim last Saturday. I think he's pretty indifferent about water. It was kind of a last minute thing and we don't have a swimsuit for him or swim diapers, so he got to go skinny dipping. What a lucky guy. I tried to edit out any incriminating images, but I left his cute little cheeks for the world to see. We're just working on our collection of first-date stories, pictures, and movies to be used extensively in 16 years from now.

Untitled from Courtney Fjeldsted on Vimeo.

4 Months!

Why do the months keep going by faster and faster? I think Parker looks like a little boy now and not a baby, which I have mixed emotions about. I think I've mentioned this before, but those first few weeks after Parker was born I thought I could never have another child. I couldn't wrap my brain around how it was possible to have an infant AND another child, or two, or three, or four. I certainly didn't feel up to the challenge. Now that Parker is older and is a very easy baby, I'm starting to think that it might not be so bad. I'm already getting baby hungry. Just kidding... sort of. All I know is that oxytocin is the best hormone EVER and it makes me full of love, love, love!

At Parker's four month appointment he weighed 15 lbs 1.5 oz (50th percentile) and was 26 inches long (75th percentile). He now consistently goes to bed between 6:00-7:00pm, wakes up around 4:30am to eat, and then sleeps until 7:00 or 8:00am. I've been noticing that he can go for longer stretches of wakefulness without getting fussy. Yesterday at church he hardly slept at all, which meant that since he woke up at 8:00am and we got home at 2:00pm, he was awake for a very long time. I realized that I hadn't read about four month old sleep habits in my favorite book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," so I read up on it and he's right on track for longer awake time and more regular nap times.

Here are a few photos of our little man and a movie of bathtime- we finally caught a laugh on camera!

11 Things in 2011 Update

As promised, here's an update on the 11 things I wanted to accomplish in 2011. The year is nearly half over and I'm nowhere close to being done with half of these things. The Disneyland half marathon filled up before I could register, so I won't be doing it. :( I've contemplated signing up for a different race, but I haven't decided yet.

However, I have completed all seven Harry Potter books, and I'm so excited for the final movie to come out on July 15th!

Also, we took a vacation to San Diego last weekend. What a wonderful getaway! We got an awesome deal on Priceline and stayed at the Hyatt downtown.


We went to Coronado island, La Jolla Shores, Little Italy, and my new favorite dessert spot of all time- Extraordinary Desserts.




I got the Napoleon and it was incredible!!! The best thing I've ever eaten!

Parker: "Can I get my hands on some of that cream?"


"No?! Well, that's okay. I'll just munch on my fingers."


Paul couldn't decide on what to get, so he got two- a chocolate danish and a brownie (of course!). Do you see that gold on the chocolate shaving? That's REAL gold- 24 carat. And edible too, as were the flowers.


We felt thoroughly gluttonous after eating such indulgences and have sworn off all desserts for the next 1200 years.

Three Months Old

Just a few updates for the grandparents...

* At three months Parker weighed 14 lbs 6.8 oz. and was 24.5 inches long; both of these are in the 75th percentile.

* He loves to talk, squeal, and coo.

* Parker is a very social baby and gets upset if he's alone for too long. When we're out of the house for long periods of time and his nap schedule is disrupted, he does fine as long as he's around people and being held.

* He generally wakes up smiling.

* He loves to smile. As long as he's not too tired, if you smile at him it's as if he can't help but smile back.

* His sleeping schedule seems to change every week or so, but lately it's been that he goes down around 7:00pm, sleeps until 3:00 or 4:00am, then sleeps until 8:00am.

* His naps are still somewhat sporadic and unconsolidated. His bouts of wakefulness are quite short in the morning and they get progressively longer as the day goes on. After he wakes up at 8:00 he's only awake for about 45 minutes before he goes down for a nap, but by the evening sometimes he can be up for an hour and a half. His naps also get longer throughout the day.
***Today I'm attempting to consolidate his sleep. It's 10:40am and he's been asleep since 9:00. He was fidgety and grunting at 10:00 for about ten minutes, but I left him in his crib and he went back to sleep!

* He no longer likes to be soothed to sleep- that's for babies! Once he's ready for a nap, if I try and rock him or bounce him, he only gets more agitated. When I put him in his crib, he cries for a couple minutes, then squeals in delight for a couple minutes, then falls asleep. Sometimes he doesn't even cry at all! We'll put him in his bed awake, and then the next thing we know, he's sound asleep.

* He does NOT like putting on new clothes. If he could stay in the same outfit the rest of his life, I'm sure he'd be happy.

*He likes to toot in public and blame it on his parents.

* The wind takes his breath away. He closes his eyes and his mouth sort of sputters.

* He LOVES attention! I think going to church is his favorite thing because he's so doted upon there.

*He's been spitting up a lot more lately- even hours after he ate... Not sure if that's normal...

* He takes a bottle without problem and will even drink the milk cold, although I think he likes it better at room temperature. When it's cold, he dribbles a lot more.

* He generally only takes a pacifier when it's time for bed or a nap.

* For the first two months of his life, everyone thought he looked just like me. Now everyone is saying he looks like Paul. "Are you sure you're the mother?" Yes, I'm quite certain he is the one they pulled out of my stomach.

*He likes to stand (assisted of course) so that he can see what's going on around him. He much prefers this to sitting or laying down.


I think we've been incredibly blessed to have such an easy, happy baby.

Here's Parker on his first trip to the beach. It was all I could do to not let Paul strap Parker in a life vest and take him out for a surf.


Here's his wind-in-face look.