Six Months!

Caleb is 6 months old!

Weight: 18 lbs, 8 oz.! Last month our scale was putting him at 17 lbs and some odd ounces, but I thought that was wrong because, prior to that, he had been gaining 2 pounds a month. Turns out that was probably right! He is in the 67^th percentile for weight.

Length: 27 inches. He’s currently in the 69^th percentile for length. Based on how his clothes fit, I don’t think he’s had a significant growth spurt in his length for a while.

Head Circumference: 17.75 inches. This put him in the 83^rd percentile, but the doctor seemed to think that this was an inaccurate measurement :)

Now Caleb won’t have a checkup until 9 months! So, I think I’ll at least try to do his weight at home for the next couple of months.

Stretching out long!

Diaper Size: He’s still in size 3!

Clothing Size: He’s now in all 6-9 month things. I’ve been trying to get one last wear out of his 6 month things, but those are all too small now.

He's gotten so chunky!

Nicknames: Caleb (this IS his name, so I don’t think that counts as a nickname!), Baby, Caleb Baby, Curious Caleb, Mister… Pete calls him “The Boy” when he is talking to me about Caleb, but he doesn’t call him that to his face :) Those are the main ones I’ve noticed. Oh and his cousins call him Baby Caleb a lot :) I also call him C a lot when I’m writing about him; it’s just easier! Haha :)

Here's our Curious Caleb!

It makes it hard to get pictures sometimes :)

Health: Caleb just got sick for the first time :( He’s been really fussy for the last week and yesterday (Easter Sunday) he got a fever and runny/stuffy nose. I took him to the doctor today and she thinks it’s just a virus. (Update: I took him to the doctor 1 week later for his regular check up. He was still sick and had yellow mucus, etc. The doctor diagnosed him with a sinus infection and he’s on an antibiotic now.)

Sweet smiles, even though he was sick!

Sleep: We’ve been working on getting Caleb to switch to his crib. I spent the bulk of this month getting him to nap in his crib – which has involved getting to sleep unswaddled, etc…. It’s been a crazy process! For the last week, we’ve been having him do night time in his crib. He hasn’t yet last through the whole night in his crib, but he has lasted longer each night! At some point each night there comes a point where he won’t settle back down in his crib after a feeding… Or a time that I’m too tired to keep going in there. Last night he lasted until 5am! Getting close :) (Update: Caleb has slept the whole night in his crib since his 6 month birthday!)

He’s started getting up a lot more overnight. I’m not sure if it’s just his appetite increasing and he’s growing or if it’s related to the switch to the crib… Or if it’s related to being sick. Probably all of that combined! :) He used to sleep through the night or get up once… Lately he’s been getting up 3 times!

Diet: Nursing is still going well… I’m so glad that we’ve been able to nurse for this long. He’s just not interested in other foods we’ve tried. I’ve tried rice cereal a few times and he’s started eating it a little bit better, I guess? Still not great… We’ve given him a taste of squash and a taste of mashed potatoes and he was not interested. We’ve tried avocado and he gagged – seemed bothered by the texture. Now that he’s 6 months old and I think his appetite has increased, we’re going to work harder at it. We’ll try avocado again and probably bananas soon too.

Daddy said, "Someone's had a little too much milk!"

Loves: He still loves to grab things! People’s hair, shirts, mouths, eyes, etc!

We can always get giggles out of him by tickling him – even if he was just crying!

He always chews on things, specifically fingers… Whether they’re ours or his!

He loves rolling all over to get to toys or other things that have caught his attention.

He loves his Daddy! He always gets so excited when Pete comes around :) It’s the sweetest!

Dislikes: Right now it seems like he dislikes sleeping… and being put down… and life! Haha :) It’s been a rough week! (Update: His mood has been improving!)

He definitely dislikes being sick! The poor baby has been pretty upset lately.

He really doesn’t like having his temperature checked! It’s just a forehead thermometer and it doesn’t hurt or anything, but he fights it and pushes my hand away.

He does NOT like the NoseFrida!  He screams through us using it on him :/

I love this boy!

Milestones: He rolls ALL OVER now! These days, I’m more surprised if I leave him on the floor to do something and he’s in the same place when I come back :)

He tries to scooch around a lot! He can get up on his hands/arms and he can get up on his knees, but he’s only gotten up on all 4s a couple of times. Most of the time if he’s up on his knees, his face is on the ground! He has definitely figured out ways to get around by scooching and rolling, though! I put toys out of his reach so he can learn to move around to get to them :)

He is continuing to work on sitting. He’s definitely getting better!

He has started putting his arms up, reaching for us to pick him up!

He is very vocal. This week he’s just been screaming most of the time. It’s exhausting! But I am glad that he has a voice :) He babbles and laughs a lot, but he hasn’t really gotten any syllables down at this point.

One fun thing he does is gives kisses! I thought it was a fluke for quite a while, but I actually think he really does it. For a long time I would ask him, “Do you have kisses for Mama?” and then I would kiss him. He started opening up his mouth and lunge at my face to give me a big sloppy kiss when I ask that question now! He only ever does it when I ask him for kisses, though. So, that’s what makes me think they just might be real…

Practicing sitting!

The one on the right shows his crazy hair...
So many colors in it and it's so long! 

(I think I'm going to have to cut it sooner than I would like :( Boo!)

Sitting and wearing green on St. Patrick's Day!

Baby Gear Love: We have just stopped using the SwaddleMe wraps. I’m sure Caleb still loves them and wishes we were using them ;) We do use the Fisher-Price Rainforest Friends 4-in-1 Projection Soother ever night still! It’s a part of his bedtime and naptime routine now!

Caleb still loves the Bright Starts Bunch-O-Fun Monkey and the Bright Starts Springin’ Safari Bounce-A-Round. He also has started playing with his Skip Hop Puppy Bandana Buddy and Skip Hop Parrot Chime Ball. This is fun for me because these are toys I got for him before he was born and was eager for him to enjoy them!

I’m planning on getting him a teether to try… Probably a Bright Starts Soothimal. It’s like a cheaper version of Sophie the Giraffe I think :) Hopefully he likes it!

We have finally found that we can use the Evenflo Johnny Jump Up (in the Bumbly print) in our doorways upstairs! So, we’ve been using that a lot since Caleb LOVES to jump (in his jump up, in exersaucer, on our laps, etc!)

One last thing that we are loving right now is our NoseFrida!  Like I said above, Caleb does not like it at all, but this nasal aspirator works SO much better than those bulbs!

Random Thoughts: The last week and a half has been really rough. I feel so sad for Caleb because obviously he’s not feeling like himself… But it’s rough on the whole family! (Update: So glad his mood has been improving!)

Caleb had his first Easter! His Easter basket wasn’t filled with candy, but it was filled with other things for his mouth :)

He got bigger binkies, a teether (a hand with fingers for him to chew!), 

and Gripe Water :)

Mama Update: I am back to work! I work ~3 hours twice a week. I’m SO glad Pete’s able to stay home! Caleb is getting so much one-on-one Daddy time and I’m able to get back to my job :)

Also, my big excitement these days is that I’m under my pre-pregnancy weight! Actually, I’m under my wedding weight too (which is 1 pound less than my pre-preg weight). I finally got fed up when Caleb was around 5 months. I started working out more regularly and not eating sweets/treats during the week. These are the things that have always helped me get past my plateau weight in the past. Although I’m under that weight, I’m still not back to my pre-pregnancy size… Now I’m working on getting back in better shape :) (And hopefully will keep losing weight in the process!) Anyways, it’s nice to see progress in this area again!

Easter Sunday <3