6 month update

STATS:

• Length - 28 1/2 inches (still off the charts)
• Weight - 18 1/2 pounds (70%ile)
• Head Circumference - 17 1/2 inches (70%ile)
• You wear 9-12 month onesies, tops, and sleepers (which you can find in the TODDLER section of the store...seriously?), and 6-9 month pants.

EATING:

• You nurse 5 times a day. We dropped the late night feed this month, and you have done very well with it. With the addition of solids, I think we'll move to 4 nursing sessions 4 hours apart soon.
• You LOVE food. After switching to oatmeal as your main grain, you have added the following: banana, sweet potato, avocado, butternut squash, pears, and green beans. 
• You eat three meals a day.
• You are doing well with keeping your hands on your tray while Daddy or I feed you. We're working on no spitting during dinner...
• You grimaced at avocado at first because we were at a restaurant and ran out of sweet potato...I guess I'd grimace, too, if I were expecting sweet potato and got avocado. But you love it now.
• You liked green beans at lunch the first day you tried them, but hated them at dinner! Daddy was able to get you to eat them. :) You like them again, though.
• The spit up is almost non-existent! (I never thought that day would come!) I no longer have to carry a burp cloth with me at all times.
• You no longer have "growth spurt" days. You were just hungry. I guess you were ready for solids after all.

PLAYING:

• You play independently for 20-25 minutes once a day (I'm working on getting you to do it twice...) in your pack and play. I try to keep the toys rotated so you don't get bored. I am so impressed by how you can concentrate on playing for so long by yourself! Plus, it lets me get some things done around the house. :)
• After you nurse, you want to read! The books are by the glider in your room and you always reach for them instead of trying to burp. 
• If there is a book around, you will get to it over any of your toys...even the light-up ball!
• You finally became comfortable with our library play group...meaning you didn't spit up every minute.

SLEEPING:

• Your bedtime needs to be 7pm for you to get the most sleep possible. You'll go 11 1/2 hours at night, usually. 
• Tuesdays and Wednesdays are really difficult, as we have dinner group and small group, respectively. No matter when you go to bed, you wake up around 6:45. So, if we get home late and put you to bed, the next day you are more fussy and don't nap as well. 
• You still take 3 naps a day, and soon, I think you'll move down to 2 longer naps. Your naps increase in length as the day goes on. Your first nap is just over an hour, your second nap is 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours, and your third nap is almost always 2+ hours. 
• I need to do a better job having you nap in your pack and play occasionally. You do really well in your room.

Max and Garrett, together again!

NEW MILESTONES:

• You crawl. Well, you do "the worm." You'll get up on all fours, lunge forward, and repeat to get to what you want (namely, the computer when we're skyping with family). UPDATE: as of last night, you moved your right leg forward and your left arm forward. How do you know to do this? (Video to come soon...)
• You eat 3 meals a day and are adventurous in trying whatever we shove in your mouth. 
• You say the following consonants regularly: "mamama," "dadada," "bababa." I don't know if you're associating "mama" and "dada" correctly, but you do seem to say "mama" when you are hungry or just wake up. Who knows?
• SICKNESS (not a milestone, but didn't fit in another category): You have had the snots and the coughs a lot this month. Today, the doctor diagnosed you with RSV. The breathing treatment at the doctor's office worked so well, and we will continue them at home (thanks to your good friend, Brylee, for letting us use her machine!). I'm glad to finally have the right medicine to make you feel better. The humidifier just wasn't cutting it.

Sweet Garrett, we love you very much. We love getting to see your personality develop. You are already pushing some of the boundaries! You are so much fun, and we thank you for being such a good sleeper. We look forward to the time change to see if you will sleep past 7:00, though! Precious boy, keep growing!

Love, Mamama and Dadada