Easter Colombo Style

We spent our Easter weekend showing off Ryder to Jason's side of the family. We started off at Grandma's house. She enjoyed holding Ryder any moment she could get!

Ryder and Dad


Then we headed over to Grandpa's house for a big gathering.

A Friendly game of Foosball

Everyone hanging out enjoying a relaxing Easter Sunday

Great Grandma Colombo enjoying her Ryder time

Great Grandpa Colombo and Grandpa Colombo hanging out with Ryder

We are on the move

Ryder has been flailing his legs and twisting his body for a few days. But he always got caught up by his arms. they always got in the way. Today I layed him on on his belly on his play mat so i could get ready and came back to him on his tummy. From what I've read this occurs at 5-6 months! So, here is a video of turn #2:


Ryder Dane Colombo, 2 months and 28 days old

or watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVoUnyFC928

Holy Cows !

The last few weeks Ryder has gotten fussier and fussier and had a lot more gas. We started using Mylicon when it got so bad we couldn't stand seeing him in pain. Sometimes it helped, sometimes not. He would turn bright read and thrust all his body parts in and out. His little body would get rigid and his scream was like no other. This one was high pitched and painful.

Last week we learned that Ryder wasn't just fussy and gassy for the fun of it. His little body can't process cow's milk and soy. So, I have the challenge of cutting all cows milk and soy out of my diet. You really don't know how many items have those in them until you start reading labels!

Here is what I have learned:
Milk protein intolerance (MPI) is delayed reaction to a food protein that is normally harmless to the non-allergic, non-intolerant individual. Milk protein intolerance produces a non-IgE antibody and is not detected by allergy blood tests. Milk protein intolerance produces a range of symptoms very similar to milk allergy symptoms, but can also include blood and/or mucus in the stool. Treatment for milk protein intolerance is the same as for milk allergy. Milk protein intolerance is also referred to as milk soy protein intolerance (MSPI).

It is commonplace for milk or milk derivatives to be included in processed foods such as bread, crackers, cookies, cakes, prepared meats, "soy cheese", soups, gravies, crisps, margarine, and products labeled "non-dairy", such as whipped topping and creamer (non-dairy simply means less than 0.5% milk by weight).

The worst part:
It can take 10 days to 3 weeks to eliminate cow's milk protein from my system AND I have to allow a full 2-3 weeks of dairy elimination before evaluating the results in Ryder.

Things that help:
Mylicon (or Baby GasX)
Bath to relax him
Breastfeeding him gets his gut moving
Baby massage that is specifically for gas


Wish us luck !

Taylor Visit

Flying:

Ryder and I took our first flight down to southern California last weekend. We began Friday morning running late and then Ryder peed on all my cloths. Then at the airport I discovered my drivers license was not in my wallet. This added extra security and more delays. I walked up to the gate about a minute before I was to board. Positive - I still got a bulkhead seat!

Hunter's birthday:

Saturday we celebrated Hunter turning 2 with amazing decorations, yummy food and a yard full of happy kids! Check out Ashley's blog to see more pictures of the party:

http://taylors4you.blogspot.com/2011/04/hunters-2nd-birthday-party.html

Easter bunny:

We took hunter, Weston and Ryder to see the Easter bunny on Sunday. We almost got a picture of all the boys but Weston decided to gnaw on Ryder's head and he didn't like it. So, we got in the picture.

Family pictures:

Sunday was filled with lots of people stopping by to meet Ryder. Friends, family, neighbors, came by to see our little guy.

We had a friend of ashley's come over to snap some great pictures of nana and papa with their grandbabies. (pictures to come)

Come See Ryder!

I'll be at my parents house this Friday-Monday with Ryder! Ryder gets to meet his cousins, Hunter (almost 2) and Weston (4 months). He also gets to see GG (Grandma Taylor). Ryder is GG's 3rd grandson in 2 years and has 1 more grand baby on the way in June.

On Sunday we are having an open house for family and friends to come by and meet the little guy. There are just too many people to try to meet them all separately. If you are in town, come on by!

What Ryder is up to:

Sit Ups
If I lay Ryder down to play he loves to raise his head off the ground and do sit ups. It sure is impressive how strong he is! He is really enjoying tummy time more since he hand hold his head up higher and for longer periods of time.

His Hands
Ryder is using his hands more and more purposefully. I have caught him in the car mirror trying to put his pacifier back in. Though he doesn't use his fingers yet, he is quite good at using his fist to push the pacifier towards his mouth. Sometimes he makes it, sometimes not.

Ryder also has been grabbing hanging objects. His play gym and car seat have items dangling for him to stare at. He is now trying to swat at and/or grab these. This has made car rides much easier. He is amused for a while by the bright yellow handing duck. Plus, if he gets ahold of it he hears the crinkle noise of the ducks feet!

Sleeping

Yes, he sleeps well for mommy and daddy at night. We are so thankful! We get anywhere from 6-9 hours of sleep from the little guy at night. I guess I should have knocked on wood last night as i wrote this. Ryder was up at 4am. Lets hope this doesn't become a trend.

Ryder and Mitch hanging out at the Sequoia New Parent group

2 Month Checkup

And Shots!

Head: 39.3 cm and a little more than 25th %

Length: 23 inches and the 50th %

Weight: 13 lbs and the 75th %

We opted to spread the shots over 2 visits so we don't overwhelm his little system. I am glad we did. Today has not been fun when he has been awake. He is so upset and warm and very hard to console. My car ride from Pacifica to Redwood City today was not fun. He cried a good portion of it and I tried to console him with one of my hands while driving.

Once we got home it took him a long time to calm down. I feed him again thinking that would help. It did help him calm down. Now he is sound asleep!