I know I’m deviating from my MWF format, but I have the next week’s posts already planned out and I really wanted to get this one up sooner rather than later.
We’ve celebrated several of Jake’s milestones here on the blog in the past few months including giggling and rolling over. Today, we need to recognize the wonderful achievement of sitting unassisted!
He’s been sitting for a while, but usually I’m nearby with my hands at the ready to catch him when he inevitably topples.
He’s been holding himself up longer and longer. Soon, I won’t even have to worry about him falling over and bopping his sweet little noggin.
One of his favorite places to sit up is in the bath.
I think the little ledge helps him hold his balance. I haven’t tried a bath without the whale tub yet; I need to get some adhesive ducks (BBT, Carolyn??) or a mat or something. We did break out some of the bath toys for him today though. He loved it!
I am thoroughly enjoying each and every milestone we pass. He just gets cuter every day! I love that little boy more than words.
It’s that time. The time every parent dreads and looks forward to. Time for solids! But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up to Monday, when Jake went to his 6 month checkup, shall we?
I was looking forward to Jake’s appointment for quite some time for a couple reasons. One, I didn’t know how much he weighed. Yes, I would do the deal where I would get on the scale with Jake and then get back on the scale alone and subtract the numbers, but I like weighing him with the same scale (i.e. at the doctor’s office) so I know the amount is accurate. I also had a couple questions regarding sleep and food.
When we got to the appointment, Jake was weighed, measured, and had his head circumference taken. What’s the point of the head circumference anyhow? Do they want to see if his brains are growing?
Jake is 17 pounds 9 ounces, he’s 26″ long (that’s over 2 feet, y’all!), and I can’t remember the exact number for head circumference, but it’s in the 50th percentile. In fact, he’s in the 50th percentile for everything. Well, sort of. The doctor said he was in between 25-50th for height. I told Jeff this and he said, “I hope he’s not short!” I guess we’ll see, huh? Not much we can do…
After the doctor did his exam, I asked him some questions about sleeping habits. I asked if we should start weaning Jake off his nighttime bottle (sometimes he has 2) and he said it wasn’t necessary and Jake would let us know when he wanted less to eat at night. Since the checkup, Jake has been doing wonderfully with his nighttime habits!
He typically falls asleep around 6p after daycare and then wakes around 11p for a bottle. We have begun giving him a full bottle (9+ ounces) at this feeding and letting him eat as much as he wants. We were just doing 7 ounces and he would finish it and cry for more. Since we started filling it up, he’s been much happier.
Then he wakes up usually around 3 or 4a for another bottle. After that, he will sleep until usually around 6a but today he woke up at 7a! He’s still not sleeping through the night, but we think once he’s eating more solids, he’ll do better. We’ll see…
Speaking of solids, we introduced them on Wednesday. The plan was to give him rice cereal on Tuesday night, but by the time I got home at 5:45p, he was already asleep! We opted for Wednesday morning instead.
When Jake woke up, we played with him for a little while to make sure he was alert and ready to receive food. Jeff kept him occupied while I prepared a little cereal, then we put him in his bumbo and went to town.
His first bite wasn’t too bad, but every bite after that, he would make these faces as if to say, “Mother, what is this cardboard crap?” He had Jeff and I in stitches! He’s so sweet. I love that little boy.
The second day we gave him cereal wasn’t much better. In fact, it was pretty much exactly like the first. Then today, he just wasn’t having any of it. I offered it and he just looked at me and said, “Uh, no. You ain’t foolin’ me today, lady!” He tried to grab the spoon to fling the junk across the room! I think part of it had to do with the fact that he had just eaten a few hours prior and was probably still full and sleepy.
We are going to do like the doctor suggested and do the oatmeal this weekend, and then on Monday we will introduce a veggie! I have sweet potato and avocado right now, but I’m hoping to make some more options to have for later in the month. I received a Baby Bullet for Christmas and so far I love it! I’m sure I’ll do a post about it in the future. For now, I leave you with Jake’s first solid experience. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Six months. Jacob is six months. Wow. Where has the time gone?
Jacob came into this world as a little “peanut” of a guy and has transformed into a wonderful baby who is always happy and smiling. The ladies at day care love him and are constantly telling us how much fun he is to have in class.
He has changed our lives in every way possible and, to tell you the truth, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure, I may not get a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep anymore and, yes, I tend to have slobber on my clothes and in my hair, but when he looks at me with those twinkling hazel gray eyes and that big gummy smile, I forget all that.
He is my little guy and he is the absolute best thing I have ever done or that has ever happened to me in my entire life.
He is the best baby, only crying if he’s extremely hungry or tired. We feel incredibly blessed.
The first few weeks were challenging, but we made it through. Every month brings new, more exciting changes, and honestly I fall a little more in love with Mr. Jake each and every day.
