I'll start like always in the sleep category. Really, there is almost no change when it comes to sleep. Barrett is in bed almost strictly at 6:30pm which is a bit earlier than he was in his 6th month. He wakes about 5:00am, Joe will feed him quickly and he's back asleep until I wake him at 7:00am. Some days he would probably sleep even longer but he has to be up then so that we can be out the door on time. He has also transitioned into 3 smaller naps during the day. Each lasting about an hour long. Although, his naps at school are still pretty few and far between. I think he just has way too much going on to take that break.
The kiddo still takes 5 bottles throughout the day. He's pretty settled into his schedule and he makes it known when it has been 3 hours and he wants his food. He does go 11 hours at night though without eating which has been fantastic! He can also hold his bottle on his own and does so almost exclusively. His little fingers grip that thing and won't let go for fear that he will never get more again. He is also on 3 meals of solids during the day. The amount varies depending on the time of day. He's not very interested during breakfast time but is like a bottomless pit during dinner. We've done so many different things and he pretty much likes it all. Peas are disgusting apparently and he really dislikes homemade bananas. However, he will do the regular jarred bananas just fine. Who knows why. We've also tried a few finger foods with B. Like I mentioned, he hates bananas. He also isn't a big fan of puffs yet. He has sucked on a few french fries and crackers and actually likes those. We've tried 4 different kinds of sippies and he seems to prefer the Take and Toss kind. He still plays with it more than anything but he gets some water and it seems that he understands how. He isn't really supposed to have the skills to work a sippy until 9 months so anything he gets out of it now is a bonus.
For record sake, I want to write out his current schedule. I try to follow the babywise philosophy pretty closely. This is an eat, play, sleep schedule. It doesn't always happen but I know that if I keep that type of routine, his day is pretty great. I also know that if I want him to go down easily for a nap, I need him in his bed before he's been awake for 2 hours. I can usually tell by his cues and some days he's only awake for an hour and a half. I am lucky that even if we get off his schedule, he can usually push through. Today for example, he woke from a nap at 2:15. We would usually put him down for a quick nap at 4 but we had a cookout with friends so he pushed through and even stayed up until after 7:30. If he is being highly entertained, he is all for partying with the big kids. Anyways, his schedule...
5:00am: 7oz bottle
7:00am: Awake
7:15am: 2oz fruit & cereal
7:30am: Car ride/Play
8:30am: Nap
9:30am: 7oz bottle
9:45am: Play
11:15am: Nap
12:15pm: 7oz bottle
12:30pm: 3oz vegetable
12:45pm: Play
2:00pm: Nap
3:00pm: 7oz bottle
3:15pm: Play/car ride
5:00pm: 4oz fruit/vegetable
5:15pm: Play
6:00pm: 7oz bottle
6:30pm: Bed time
I need to double check his stats but for his 6 month appointment, he hit 16 pounds. His percentage went up to about a 15%, if I remember correctly. So still teeny but growing. The funny stat from this visit was that his head circumference went from 52% in size to 92%. Yep, kiddo has a big melon. Our ped actually came in and measured herself because she couldn't imagine that it made that much of a jump. Um, no. The measurement was correct. At that visit, she also heard a slight murmur to his heart beat so she will be monitoring that which may result in some future tests but she was not too concerned. I super puffy heart our pediatrician. She is thorough, always takes the time to listen, never pushy or overbearing, but also not over indulgent or excessive. Some people would look at the head size increase and immediately push for CAT scans or MRIs or whatever because of brain bleeds or something. I need a level headed person telling me what is happening and she is exactly that. Most likely, he's just a normal kid with a big head. :)
Barrett's personality this month is at an all time high. I know everyone says that it only gets better with age and it really does. He is so expressive and really getting interactive with us. We went out to dinner last night and he was having an absolute blast "talking" to our neighbors. He loves to scream but not in the whining screaming voice. It's the "I'm having so much fun, I want to shout about it voice." He is saying lots of ahhs and ohhs. Joe is sure that he says Hi and Yeah back to us when we say it. If anything, he is just mimicking our sounds in grunts and it sounds like a word.
Stroller rides are a big favorite. We love this warm weather because any time he's a bit fussy, we can stick him in the stroller and he zones out. He's completely stoic about the whole thing but just loves to look at all the excitement happening while we walk. Our house is right by the main baseball fields that the high school uses and these last few weeks have been full of games.
We also took B to his first sporting event this month. My dad ran a 1/2 marathon at UofI so we drove over there to cheer him on. The finish line was inside assembly hall so we sat up in the bleechers and watched all the runners as they finished. He did not know what to do with himself. There were thousands and thousands of people to look at. I think he sat in his stroller and just stared with not a peep for 30 minutes straight. He didn't even want to blink in case he would miss something.
For his 6th month, Barrett also went for his first swim. I'm a big fan of the water, as is Joe, so we wanted to get him introduced as soon as possible. He liked it pretty well. Definitely unsure but he always gets a little shy when he has a crowd of people watching his every move. My parents have a pool so this summer, he will gets lots of practice in the water and should be a fish in no time. I, also, must mention his open mouth kisses. He pretty much sucks on your cheek and will do it for as long as you let him. He also went through a stage where he was constantly sucking on his own bottom lip. This week, he now sticks his tongue out and holds it there. Such a weirdo!
I've mentioned quite a bit that Bubs is a big fan of his swing. It appears that month 7 will be the month of it's retirement. He still likes it but we use it about 5 minutes every week. He is into playing much more than relaxing these days so we should be packing it away here shortly. Speaking of playing, we officially have a sitter. I, personally, had set a goal of 6 months to get him sitting on his own. It was a milestone that I really wanted him to make for some reason so for the last few weeks, we have had practice time set aside so that he can work on his sitting. (Yes, I realize I may be a nutcase.) He still takes a fall here or there but catches himself more times than not with his arms before he does a face plant. Along with this, B has decided that he would like to crawl.....backwards crawling actually. This is 100% in line with development as many kids will do this prior to actually crawling. He's not shifting his legs yet but basically does a push up and sort of shifts his body backwards. He can move himself all the way across a room when he really gets himself going.
I know I'll say this probably from here on out, but this month has been one of my favorites yet. I miss the itty bitty but this age is just the coolest.
No comments:
Post a Comment