6 months!

Can't believe our little guy is halfway to ONE! Before we know it, he will be mobile!

The stats:
Weight: 17 lbs, 8.5 oz             (47th %tile)
Length: 27 in                           (66th %tile)
Head circum: 17.25 in             (48th %tile)
The clothing: 6 and 9 month outfits. Size 2 diapers going on 3!

The appetite: 6-8 feedings/day of good ol' milk. We started real food this week and he has done so great! 3 days of rice cereal and 3 days of bananas, sometimes mixed with rice cereal too.  Planning on introducing one fruit or veggie at a time. It's so fun to feed him! He reaches out his arms to grab onto either the spoon or your hand and tries to help you cram it into his mouth. For the first few days, most of the food ended up anywhere other than in his mouth, but the ratio has significantly improved and he's gotten the hang of it...

The schedule: What schedule?! Just place a big "FAIL" sign across our foreheads when it comes to this area of parenting! :) He does wake up consistently between 7 and 8 and that's the only predictable part of the day. You never know if naptimes are going to be 20 minutes or 2 hours. Bedtime has been all over the place. We have just been sort of letting him lead the way with his hunger and tired signs, and while things have been going well overall, we do know that he needs to get on a schedule at this point for his AND our sake! I'm sure that the introduction of solids will facilitate more of a regular sleeping schedule too.

The sleeping: He still gets up twice in the night. Apparently he just wants to squeeze in some extra mommy time.

The talking: goo, ohh, ahh, ya (not like he is really talking, but just go along with me here.)

Developmental milestones and other noteable new things:

-Started "real" food! (Obviously... you have already seen the 100 pics I posted of him eating.)

-Sitting up all by himself for prolonged periods. He's starting to convince us that we don't have to be right there ready to catch him. (And just when we think that, he falls backwards.)

-Uses hands and feet to wiggle a little towards toys.

-Still loves to play with those little feet.
-Learning cause and effect. When in his carseat, he pulls on a musical hanging toy that plays a few different 5 sec tunes each time it's pulled. He always seems to wait until the end of the song to pull it again. He also has begun to imitate basic noises we make, like "ohhhhhh."
-Loves to knock objects off of surfaces infront of him. He sometimes will knock it off and just stare at you with a "aren't you going to pick that up" look.
-First signs of stranger anxiety! When being introduced to new friends and family, he got a worried look and his pouty lip made an appearance until we came over to reassure him. It was so sad but cute.
-Quickly turns his head in response to a sound. It's funny to see his head whip around as the dogs bark or someone speaks from across the room. He's very alert!
-He loves playing in front of a mirror. He seems like he is able to anticipate the mirror game because I'll always start by saying "Wherrrrrrrrre's Nico?" in a happy voice and he will immediately look up in excitement.
-The only typical 6 month milestone that he isn't doing consistently is rolling. He just doesn't seem too motivated to get to things that way yet, but we know he is capable as we have seen him roll each way a few times!

-One of the most exciting things that has happened this month is more daddy time! David is such a great dad. I sure do love my boys...

The new favorite moments:  1) When he wakes in the morning, he gets this extra bright, HUGE smile when he sees us. 2) When he squeals, smiles, and suddenly moves his arms and legs and truly recognizes me. 3) When the only one that can get him to stop crying is his mommy. Sometimes all it takes is David handing him over to me and he is good! I definitely feel my worth as his mother during moments like those. 

What he's like: He has such a cute little personality! He is so happy and social. He smiles and laughs a lot. Usually is cranky for short periods when he really wants something or his teeth hurt. He's very relentless and will keep playing and playing and fight sleep so hard sometimes. You'll even catch him sitting up with his thumb in his mouth falling asleep. You know he's tired if he's rubbing his eyes or if his thumb stays in more than a few minutes. We call him a wiggle worm because he is constantly squirming around. We have to take advantage of times he will let you hold him or cuddle, because they are few and far between. His curiosity has increased so much this past month and he will reach for anything in sight!

The fav toys: He's starting to be picky with the toys he wants to chew on. Loves the baseball rattle and giraffe the most.

 

Thank you, Nico, for continuing to be the best part of my day. I thank God for you every single day. I keep trying to enjoy you as much as I possibly can because I know you aren't always going to be this little. Please don't grow up too fast!