Sweet Child of Mine: Shep

The fact that I haven't blogged since Shep was 2 months old...well I guess it shows how busy life can get with 2 kiddos! I have missed it and have written it on my "to do" list so many times and never gotten around to doing it. I feel in a way I have shafted my poor second child because I updated every month for Hatcher. Oh, well...he knows he's loved!

My sweet Sheppy boy has been such a blessing and answer to our prayers these past 10 months. He has kept us on our toes for sure and has grown up way faster than we would have liked. Keeping up with his big brother is his main goal!

So, where to start. Shep began having reflux issues very early on and after narrowing down his symptoms and treating them individually to no avail we determined he had some sort of dairy allergy/sensitivity. I breastfed him until he was 5 months old and although I would have loved to have continued for much longer, I had a hard time eliminating the foods that seemed to be bothering him. So, we switched him to Nutramigen formula and things got much better very quickly. He was also on Prevacid twice daily up until about a month ago. The boy LOVES to eat and makes sure we don't ever let him miss a meal. He knows when 4 hours has passed. It's seriously like clock work and sometimes creepy! :) We have just started introducing dairy in the form of yogurt and some cheese and so far no bad reactions which is very exciting!

Along with the reflux, came ear infections. At 8 months, he had averaged one per month. So, we saw the ENT in late August and without question he recommended tubes. The procedure went well and within 24 hours he was a much happier baby. Fast forward 5 weeks and we had another double ear infection and plugged tubes. Finally after 10 days, his ears are all better and we pray this doesn't happen again. Seeing your baby in so much pain is hard. Add to that teething and needless to say there have been lots of tears and sleepless nights in our house.

In spite of all of that, Shep is the HAPPIEST little man! His smile is worth a million bucks and those eyes...don't even get me started! He has the sweetest disposition and loves people. He is obsessed with his big brother and all his big boy toys. He could sit and watch him for hours. It's seriously precious! He is 100% a mama's boy! He wants mama to do everything for him and if I get out of his sight even for a second the tears begin to flow. He thinks Daddy is so funny and he loves to snuggle with him most every night at some point during the night! :)

He started eating solid foods at 9 months and he loves the independence. If he could eat Puffs all day long, he would. They are by far his favorite. Those and green beans. Honestly, there isn't much he's turned down. His first word was "hey" and he loves to wave and clap. Today, to celebrate turning 10 months he added two new words to his vocabulary...Gaga (what we call my mom) and Dada! He's a crawling pro (started around 8.5 months) and pulls up on everything. He has started letting go and standing on his own and has tried taking a step but hasn't quite succeeded yet. It's going to happen any day now and you'll find me crying in the fetal position because I know how quickly they grow up and I want him to be a baby forever! He loves his Corvette walker as much as Hatcher did and it provides endless amount of entertainment. He also loves standing at brother's train table and playing. Watching them share and play together is such fun. Being outside is also another favorite which is great since Hatcher would live outside he we'd let him. My big guy is wearing some 6-12 month clothes but mainly 12-18 months. His legs are short but his torso is long so 6-12 month pants work best for him. He's a big growing boy!

Here are his monthly pictures from 3 months to the present. We love you, Sheppy boy! :)