Six Months

Six months.  That’s half a year!  It’s pretty crazy that Connor’s been with us that long already.  It doesn’t necessarily feel like it was just yesterday that we brought him home, but I don’t know that it’s felt like the better part of 2014 either.

We had Connor’s six-month check-up and shots on Friday the 15^th.  What a way to celebrate a half-birthday, huh?  He cried, I cried…

His stats: He weighed in at 19 lbs, 2.50z, but he’d eaten in the last half hour so I don’t think he truly weighed more than 19 lbs.  He was 27.5 inches long.  His weight and height put him in the 81^st and 86^th percentile respectively.

Now, onto that noggin.  The nurse actually measured his head twice.  Maybe she thought that her first number couldn’t possibly be right because he’s in the 97^th percentile for head size.  We tell ourselves it’s because it’s full of brains.  The doctor wasn’t worried about his big head because it tracks closely enough with his weight and height.

What’s Connor up to these days?  He’s a pro at rolling over.  Back to front, front to back, he’s got it covered.  When we put him into his crib, we lay him on his back and he will almost always immediately roll at least onto his side, if not all the way over onto his belly.

Connor hasn’t quite figured out sitting on his own yet, but he’s very close to checking that milestone off the list.  And it’s probably not his fault (although that big head may not help matters), it’s mainly ours for not doing more tummy time or having him on the floor more practicing his sitting.  It’s just hard with Monte around and we can’t always shoo Monte away or put him outside; it’s not fair to the dog to ban him from the room all the time since he’s a part of our family, too.

Connor still loves his jumper and the activity chair and he likes the Bumbo more than he did a month ago.  He’s not as happy in the lounger that we’ve had on the kitchen table since the first night we brought him home.  He wants to sit up more, plus that’s where we tend to put him while he’s waiting for something else, like the jumper to be hung or a bottle to be made.  Patience may not be one of his virtues.

He is making so much noise now!  From baby babbles to grunting to all-out screams.  The latter aren’t when he’s upset, it’s just a new noise he’s figured out and likes to practice.

We started some solid food and as you might expect (see stats above), Connor likes eating.  He’s getting better at it but hasn’t perfected his technique so we’re trying to make a point to feed him a little at least once a day so he gets to practice that new skill.  I can’t tell you how happy I was that he liked my first attempt at making baby food.  We’re skipping rice cereal and going straight to the real food.

Connor still likes bathtime and he LOVES his little blankies.  When he’s tired and we give him a bottle, his right arm automatically goes up by his ear, searching for that blanket.  Then he puts it to his face and grabs it with his left hand, over the bottle, and he will finish his bottle with the blanket over his eyes.

Connor still goes to bed between 6 and 6:30 and sleeps for 11 to 12 hours.  Always seems to be closer to 11 hours on the weekends, of course.  He takes two naps a day and those typically add up to between 3 and 4 hours of zzz’s.  He’s still taking five 6-oz bottles a day and we’ll adjust that as he takes in more real food.

No teeth yet, but he wears his amber necklace every day to help with any pain he might have.  And he just looks cute with his bling on.

Connor is generally happy unless he’s hungry or tired and even if he gets a little frustrated being in a position he doesn’t prefer, his mood is quick to bounce back.  The McHusband and I love him to pieces and have really enjoyed this past month (well, six weeks at this point; I’ll try to be more timely with the next update) with him.

The end!

PS  Happy Birthday to my dad!  And to Bronte, who turns 16 today.