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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

6 Months

Sorry I disappeared for a few days; but, I'm back and (as of Friday the 13th)...
Sam is SIX MONTHS old! 
My favorite "monthly photo" so far.  That smile gets me every time.
For some reason, this "birthday" has hit me a little harder than the others... I'm seriously a bit emotional about just how fast the first half of this year has gone... I'm working on a post on "revisiting the first weeks" and about how my views on motherhood have changed etc. over these last six months; but, first, let's update:

Size: At his 6 month appointment on Thursday, Sam weighed 17lbs. 12oz. and is a little over 26" long (3/8ths to be exact, but I couldn't get that to look right).  He is still falling perfectly on the curve in the 50th percentile in both height and weight; but continues to have a bigger noggin.  What can we say?  He's going to be a genius. ;)
Clothing sizes are really random right now.  Mostly, 6 month clothes fit the best (go figure), but he can still squeeze into some 3 - 6 month clothes, and we are moving into more 6 - 9 month outfits.  Just this past week we switched to size 3 diapers - they look HUGE, but fit well.
Oh man how I love this little man!
(I'm not really sure where this fits in, but this seems like as good a spot as any...) Sam also has TWO little teeth in the front now - can you see them?  They popped up randomly around 5 1/2 months. And, if you look veryclosely there's quite a bit of hair starting to sprout on that ole bald head. Love it.

Development: The big milestone this month has been rolling over.  Folks, we've got a mover.  Sam is a rolling machine these days and wants to crawl SO bad.  When he is laying on his belly, he lifts his head, arms, and legs and just wiggles like a crazy man.  It is adorable.  It won't be long now.  This weekend we started the "baby proofing" process in our house.

He is super alert these days - sometimes too much so when it comes to eating and sleeping.  He notices everything and seems to just be taking the world in. He knows his name now; and we can tell that he recognizes not just Mom and Dad, but also his grandparents, great-grandparents, uncle, aunts, and close friends.  It is so cute to see him respond to the people that love him the most.

He is grabbing at everything as well and LOVES his toys.  Even more excitedly, he has finally started to notice Addy and grab at her etc.  Ad is a good sport and seems to appreciate the extra attention these days.

Personality: Sam is very social and likes to be on the go.  When we are around crowds, especially, he doesn't seem to mind being passed around one bit and is usually all smiles - at least until nap or feeding time. He still isn't the best at entertaining himself (i.e. playing in his exersaucer for more than ten minutes at a time) and requires a lot of attention - but, most of the time, we are happy to give it! Overally, he is a pretty happy and content little guy; but he definitely still has his moments/days.
Fitting right in with my college girlfriends at Meg's baby shower in South Carolina last weekend.
Eating: I wish I could report that Sam is eating LOTS of solid food right now; but the truth is, we just started with babyfood a week or so ago.  That said, he has made the adjustment very nicely... He has eaten rice cereal, carrots, bananas, apple sauce, pears, and fresh broccoli so far - His favorite appears to be pears, and he is NOT a fan of broccoli (go figure). (I know most research says you should wait a week inbetween foods; but our pediatrician assured us that that wasn't necessary since Sam is older and his digestive system is pretty healthy - so far so good.)  While he doesn't particularly enjoy the foods, he does a great job opening his mouth and swallowing.  That's my boy!  We have lots of plans for the coming month in the food department. :)
Cereal.
Carrots
I made my six month goal of breastfeeding exclusively!  But, times, they are a changing...  Just last night we started introducing a little bit of formula to see how it helps our nights (see below) and give myself some freedom from pumping at work.  I'm not in a hurry to stop breastfeeding altogether, but we are ready to make a few adjustments.  This isn't really an easy decision for me; but, it is one I'm comfortable with right now. I'll keep you updated. For now, Sam is eating between six and eight ounces (approximately) of milk five times a day.
Sleeping: Not.Good. I don't really know what happened, but the last month (or more) has been ROUGH in this area.  While I think we have gotten more consistent with an 8 - 8:30PM bedtime and routine, Sam is NOT catching on to the importance and value of quality nighttime sleep.  Most nights I am up two to three times feeding and cuddling back to sleep.  Recently especially, I'm starting to feel the toll this routine is taking on me... So, something is going to have to change soon.  We are going to start by introducing more solid food and formula and see how that helps.  Next step will be crying it out...

That about sums things up.  I'm a proud mama, can you tell?
Happy half-birthday little guy!

My how far we've come...
August 2011 (1 month)
January 2012 (6 months)

Midweek Confessions up tomorrow - scheduled for noon.  See you there!

13 comments:

  1. Can't believe it's been 6 months already!! He sure is a cutie!

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  2. I love reading your blog. I had a baby girl about a week after your little one. I just love reading your posts and comparing baby stories. Sam is precious! We are lacking in the sleeping area too. Best of luck to you:)

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  3. He is adorable! Love that sweet smile. By the way, the best sleep book I have read is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. You might have read it but if not it is fantastic and has a lot of good things to say about sleep. Hope things improve soon for you all, I know the feeling!

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  4. Between my little guy's 5th and 6th month, night times were HORRIBLE! I knew I wasn't supposed to feed him when he got up each time but I was convinced that he was hungry or would begin crying for hours on end if I didn't just give in. But at my 6 month pedi. appt. our Dr. said there is absolutely NO reason why a 6 month old baby shouldn't be sleeping through the night. So I decided to let him cry it out just like every one around me had been telling me for weeks. It took 3 horrendous nights but after that he was a perfect sleeper for 11+ hours straight. I know not everyone's stories are the same... but a little tough love gave this Momma a huge sigh of relief. Sam is adorable and I LOVE that sweet smile!

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  5. I don't comment often but as a dog lover myself I have to tell you that I think the pictures of Sam with Addy are about as cute as any I have ever seen. The first one is just *begging* for some sort of caption. :)

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  6. Curious- what kind of formula are you going to try? My Luke is refusing to eat solids and I can't keep up with him nursing every two hours!! We are thinking of getting some formula going too.

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  7. My little guy is five and a half months and sleep is random at best. One night he'll get up once, then next he's up 5 times. My big grand plan was to start the Ferber method this past weekend, but of course he caught a cold and started teething again. Someday we'll all be sleeping again (I hope)!

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  8. We went through something really similar with Josie about 3 weeks ago. She was waking up earlier and earlier no matter what we tried at night. The only thing that worked is stuffing her little belly FULL of food so she has more to digest at night. The diaper situation isn't pretty in the morning, but she sleeps until 3-4 and then again til 7 which is way better than waking up numerous times when we aren't even getting back to sleep in between.

    He's so cute! Love the pics with your dog - those will be fun to look back on one day.

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  9. Happy half Birthday Sam! I've been following your blog for awhile now, and I can't believe he's gotten so big. I hope he gets back on his sleeping schedule soon. I remember those nights, even though it was eleven years ago. Michael was a great sleeper and then right about his sixth or seventh month I was up with him several times a night., feeding, rocking, cuddling, trying to get him back to sleep so I could catch some zs before getting up for school. It's tough, but this to shall pass. Hang in there.

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  10. Our little Sam is THE CUTEST 6 MO, old EVER!!! Loved the photos of Sam and Addy!!! Love you lots, Auntie D

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  11. so stinking cute! Love that smile!

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  12. I was just catching up on your posts and wanted to tell you about the book "The Wonder Weeks." There are weeks in a baby's development that are big leaps in their mental growth that can cause fussiness and a decrease in sleep. It won't solve all your sleep problems, but will help you understand when and why he goes through some really bad phases with sleep. There is a leap at 6 months that could explain some of it. I have a 22 week old and she just went through wonder week 19. She had been sleeping pretty well and then started getting up 2 times a night. Now that it's over, we've still experienced some regression, but she's headed back in the right direction. It's a book that's definitely worth reading though. :-)

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  13. No wonder you put that bumper guard back up that thing is PRESH!

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