6 Months Old!

Nathan Wilson, you are a half of a year old! Oh my goodness, what a special milestone. We have loved having you in our family for the last six months and watching you grow and change. Life with you has been so fun this month. I just can't get over what a fun, easy going, sweet baby you are and that you are mine!

This has been a busy month for you. Mommy and Daddy have kept you busy on your weekends meeting new friends and experiencing new things. During your sixth month you got to meet your friends Wyatt and Carter and get loved on by their parents, you watched your mommy and daddy go rappelling, went to your first OSU homecoming celebration, spent lots of Saturdays wearing orange and cheering for the Cowboys and got dressed up for your very first Halloween.  Everything we do now seems extra special because we are making memories with you.

This month you have started sitting up unsupported for short periods of time. It's crazy to me that I can sit you down, leave the room and walk back in and you are still sitting up. I timed you once and I know you can sit by yourself for at least 30 seconds before toppling over. You look so big when you are sitting up. Where did that tiny baby go?

You are still rolling all over the place. I feel like it's pointless to put a blanket on the floor for you to play on because you roll off of it in less than five seconds and a lot of times you take the blanket with you when you roll. The other day I laid you down on a blanket in the living room, left the room for less than a minute, and when I came back you and your blanket were both gone. You had rolled over by the coffee table with your blanket wrapped around you and were out of my line of vision. We've also caught you scooting backwards every once in awhile. You haven't quite figured out how to use your legs to help you move forward. I know its coming soon though. You use your hands to push off and move, but your lower body remains stuck. You can turn in almost a full circle when you are lying on your tummy using your hands to maneuver. You will be mobile soon, so I'm enjoying the last few weeks of not having to constantly keep an eye on where you are and what you are getting into.

I love my time with you at bedtime. Daddy or I will give you a bath about every other night and then I will feed you, read a story and rock for a few minutes before I put you down. You are so tired by that point, that our rocking is usually cut pretty short, but I know those are some of the moments I will look back on and cherish as a mother.

This month you started grabbing at your sheet when I put you to bed, so I've given you a stuffed animal to hold onto. I just think you are the most precious thing in the world when you are sleeping in your footy jammies, with a paci in your mouth, holding onto your little elephant. I mean really, is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby.

 

You nap pretty well while when we are at home. You will take a morning nap around 8:15-8:30 that usually lasts about an hour. Then you cat nap about 12:00 for 30-45 minutes and take a good late afternoon nap around 3 for 1-2 hours. If we are out and about for the day (Bible study, mother's day out, errands, etc.), you won't nap as well. I almost always have to wake you up early from your morning nap Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays so we can make it to Bible study or Mother's Day Out. You'll fall back asleep in the car, but once we get there, I know you won't go back to sleep. If you are in a new environment, you just don't like to nap. You've got to much to see and do, and don't have time to sleep. You are rarely cranky though if you miss your naps, so I don't worry too much about it. Those days you'll just take shorter naps more frequently (usually a cat nap after each feeding and any time we are in the car). I noticed when we spent weekends out of town this month, that you hardly napped more than 15-20 minutes at a time, but you were always in a good mood, so it wasn't really a problem.

You are blowing raspberries all the time, and have recently started doing it while you are eating your cereal and vegetables. Oh dear, it can be messy sometimes, but you are just so cute, I guess I'll put up with it. You are making new sounds too. You are really into making this deep growling sound. I tell your daddy that you sound like you could be in a horror film with that growl. We also hear a lot of "gagaga" and recently, some "dadadada." Your daddy is pretty excited about that. You also like to let out a really high pitch happy scream. You hurt our ears sometimes with your happy screams.


We have noticed a lot of teething symptoms lately, chewing, drooling, occasional random crying, and some congestion we are pretty sure is related to teething. I check your gums every morning to see if anything is poking through, but haven't seen anything yet. I'm going to enjoy your toothless grins while they last.

You are on a good schedule this month. You eat about every 3-3.5 hours during the day usually around 7, 10:30, 2, 5, and 8. You eat cereal with your breakfast feeding and cereal and a vegetable with your 5:00 feeding. We are also still supplementing most of your feedings  with 2-3 oz of formula or breastmilk.  I put you down after your 8:00 feeding, and you are almost always asleep by 8:30 or 9. You are sleeping all night for the most part, until about 6:30-7. I usually have to get up once or twice to put your paci back in your mouth, but you fall right back to sleep (sometimes you are back asleep, before I even make it to your room). Sometimes you will wake up around 5:00. If you do, I take advantage of the cuddle time and bring you back to our room. Sometimes, you just want to snuggle and will fall right back to sleep in my arms and other times you want to nurse for a few minutes before falling back to sleep.

You are enjoying eating solids (well most of them) and are a great eater. You love your rice cereal and are eating it for breakfast and dinner. A couple of weeks ago we started you on vegetables at dinner too. You're not a fan of peas, but you LOVE sweet potatoes. You gobble them right up. You'll eat peas too when I make you. I let you try bananas this morning for the first time in honor of your half birthday. You weren't quite sure what to think of them. I think the texture bothered you a little, but it was clear you liked them better than peas. We have a freezer full of new things for you to try this month (apples, pears, squash, carrots, and green beans).

You are such a happy baby and hardly anything gets you very upset. You whine and fuss some when you are tired, and cry if you get really hungry, but other than that you are almost always content. You are social too and have no problems being left at school or in the church nursery. You are all smiles when I drop you off and all smiles when I pick you up. I'm so thankful for that. I never worry about leaving you when I know you are in good hands. Your teachers at mother's day out and the church nursery workers always comment on how good and sweet you are. I've never gotten a bad report from any of them.

You love to go on walks. Recently we started letting you face forward in your stroller instead of hooking your car seat into it. I miss seeing your sweet face during walks, but I know you are enjoying a better view of all the scenery around you.

You are also loving your jumperoo and play in it several times a day. It will keep you entertained for about 10 minutes at a time, before you get tired and need something else to do. This month you started watching a Baby Einstein video and you are mesmerized by it. You watch it a couple of times a week and I never hear a peep out of you, while it's on. It holds your attention the entire video (almost 30 minutes). Your eyes are glued to the pictures on the screen. We continue to read books a lot, and you are getting more interested in looking at the pictures and hearing my voice and a little less interested in just wanting to grab the book and put it in your mouth.

You are wearing 3-6 month and 6 month clothes. You still wear 3 month clothes occasionally, but for the last week or so every time I have put you in 3 month clothes, I tell myself that that is the last time you'll be able to wear them. 3 month pants are too short for you and they are getting tight around your belly. You are wearing a size two diaper. I had your weight checked yesterday just for curiosity and you weighed 14 lbs 4 oz.

We are so thankful for you Baby Nathan and the joy you've brought to our lives these last six months. We don't know what we would do without you!