Baby at Six Months

Wow, six months! Lucas is almost sitting up reliably, trying to crawl, loving the jumper, and starting on solid foods! He is still a champion breast-feeder and sleeper. He watches everything his brother does so closely, I can almost see him filing away the information for later use ;-)

Here's what we've been up to, including Lucas's current schedule...



Baby Update!

For most of the past month, Lucas has been on a really nice 3-nap schedule with 2 short naps and 1 long nap:

3-Nap Schedule

7:30 Wake and Breastfeed
9:00 Nap
10:00 Wake and Breastfeed
12:00 Breastfeed and Nap
3:00 Wake and Breastfeed
5:00 Nap
5:45 Wake and Breastfeed
7:30 Breastfeed and Bed

But now, he is showing signs of moving to a 2-nap schedule. His brother didn't switch to 2 naps until 9 months, but Lucas is such a crazy awesome sleeper! When he surprises me with a long morning nap and ends up only taking 2 naps, he also only gets 5 feedings.  

2-Nap Schedule

7:30 Wake and Breastfeed
9:15 Nap
11:30 Wake and Breastfeed
2:00 Breastfeed and Nap
4:30 Wake and Breastfeed
7:30 Breastfeed and Bed

Lucas has also been taking a bottle from my husband most mornings at 7:30 - success! We are going to start working on bottles at other feedings (on the weekends) and at bedtime soon. This is in prep for my occasional meeting in the office, and also for our vacation to attend a wedding around 6 weeks from now.

Lucas was 19 pounds 7 oz (75-90%) and 26 inches (25-50%) at his recent check up. Look at those thighs! He is attempting to crawl and loves to jump both in the jumper and on my lap. Perhaps the activity will slim him down a little. I think I'm going to have the same issue with him as I did with his brother once winter comes - I had a horrible time finding sleepers which would zip or snap around Henry's thighs! 

Lucas has started solid foods, but so far is unimpressed. My pediatrician reminded me that eating solids is a learned behavior, versus the instinctual breastfeeding. I made oatmeal for him over the weekend. I need to make up some more veggie purees, but for the moment we are just continuing with banana and oatmeal to work on coordination. He seems to be enjoying it and gradually is getting more in his mouth and less on his bib.


Teeth! His two lower teeth popped through recently. Lucas loves his teether toys much more than my first son. Luckily, he doesn't seem any more bothered by teething then Henry was. I've heard horror stories about teething! 





We are getting outside more with the (slightly) cooler temperatures. This double stroller is great for Lucas, the straps are very modifiable and the smaller seat keeps him more secure. I feel like Henry already looks a little cramped in it, but really there is plenty of space. We were so thankful we received this used stroller from my husband's aunt who has six year old twins. We also have a single BOB jogging stroller. I prefer the BOB, the wheels are real inflatable tires and provide a smoother ride over uneven terrain. If I'd purchased a double, I probably would have gone with the BOB. The BOB double also has this fabulous snack tray and car seat adapter. I was unable to locate a car seat adapter for the City Mini double that looked like it would work (plus ours is an older model), so we just managed using two strollers or more often the Baby Bjorn until Lucas was forward facing stroller ready. But the City Mini does have some great features: it is super easy to collapse and folds flatter than the BOB, the straps are more modifiable than the BOB, and the canopy provides more full coverage and stays down better. 

Mom Update!

I've made a few recent changes in efforts to improve my diet and health. I need to fit into one of my dresses in six weeks for a wedding we are attending! 

1. I've cut out orange juice and my salads are currently meat and dried cranberry free! I'm adding sunflower seeds to my salads because I had a bag from Trader Joes in my pantry and also diversifying my veggies by adding cucumber and beets. 

2. When I found the bag of sunflower seeds, I realized my x-large container of chia seeds (from Sams Club) had been on the shelf entirely too long. I had seen a lot of variations of the hot lemon / apple cider vinegar / chia seed drink combo for health online. I went with this recipe from Wholefully, except I use the whole lemon, 1/2 tsp honey, and I actually heat my water in the kettle to hot but not boiling. My tip is to make sure to stir right away so your chia seeds don't clump! My mug cools as the chia seeds need time to gel and I drink it warm. Now, I will say I have not noticed any health benefits from this drink as of yet, but I personally find it really tasty and the fugal part of me (which is quite small but still there) is happy I'm consuming my chia seeds.

3. Snacking... I'm reminded daily that my toddler does not snack. He has breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 11:30, and dinner at 5:30. If he has a really active day, he will creep around the kitchen on his tip toes checking out the table as it approaches dinner time. I discovered early that if I want him to eat a healthy dinner, not snacking in the afternoon was key. I'm trying to model myself after my toddler lol by eliminating morning and afternoon snacks from my diet.


Things I'm loving lately...

Harney & Sons Paris Tea. My in-laws were recently in town and my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and I attended afternoon tea at The Ballantyne Resort. I opted for a different flavor at tea, but they gave me a Paris blend to go. I brewed it recently and it was fabulous! I was looking to buy myself some more, but realized it would make a good birthday/Christmas present suggestion to my hubby. Tea at the resort was gorgeous! Here are a few pics of the treats which accompany the tea:

Toddler Update!

Henry is doing well. He wasn't as friendly with my in-laws as we had hoped he would be. He just saw my husband's parents in March! And they cared for him when Lucas was born. Yet, he never really warmed up to his ye-ye (grandpa) this trip. 

He was very interested in his four-year old cousin though and displayed a little more of a wild side than we usually see. Cooper is wonderfully imaginative and it did Henry good to observe him, share with him, and play with him. 

Last Pool Day of the Season

Books, books, books. I recently came across the National Geographic Kids Pre-Reader Series and Explore My World Series These are great little books. The pages are durable and the pictures are beautiful. Henry is really into animals so these are perfect for him right now and at less than $5 each, I think we will be collecting quite a few!

Henry recently received a compliment about his skill of turning pages from the corner. He has been doing well with regular pages since around 15 months, and he never rips them anymore. We do have a few books with scotch taped pages, but for the most part he has treated his books well. I credit this to early exposure to both board books and regular books and also to encouraging independence in looking at books. Although I can't tell you how many times the phrases, "Don't chew on books," "No books in your mouth," etc were uttered. Don't underestimate the length of story your toddler will sit and listen to! They may surprise you. We are so pleased that Henry loves books, they really are his favorite toys. Here's a nice post from PBS Parents.

On the down side, Henry has decided he does not like to sit for posed pictures anymore. He does okay when we are out and about and he is having fun...

But if we want to sit and take a nice posed one, he immediately crumples. I think I'll use this one on our holiday card...

Six months is such a great age! Do you have any special memories with your baby at six-months?