Lincoln: 6 Months

Six months. Half of a year has absolutely flown by. I cannot believe our little boy has been with us for so long already, and yet I think back to last spring and how completely different our lives were and it seems like an eternity. In May when he entered this world, I had a different job, we lived with my in-laws, our house was but a frame being laid in the dirt, and Jackson had not yet started daycare. Life has changed so much, and for the most part, they have all been wonderful changes. I can only imagine how much sweeter life will continue to get in the next six months as our baby continues to grow, learn, and develop the precious little personality that is so very Lincoln.

 

Age: Six months

Height: 29 inches. 100th percentile. Huge.

Weight: 23 pounds. Still sitting right around that 100th percentile. He slowed a bit though, as he only gained one pound this month ;-) He is wearing 12 month clothing, and all new items I have been purchasing are 12-18 months, which are pretty roomy but he can pull them off (the outfit above is 12-18 months we just cuff the sleeves once). He is wearing size 4 diapers, he still fits into 3s but the 4s are much better for overnights and preventing him soaking through. He wears a size 3 shoe, but he really never actually wears shoes because he kicks them off and mama is afraid of losing them :-)
Milestones: He has truly changed SO much this month! I don't know if I have much for particular 'milestones', but overall we have just seen a HUGE shift in his temperament. He is finally content being held, at least some of the time, while we are sitting down. Up until the past few weeks, he basically demanded we walk around and bounce him a huge chunk of the time, which was wearing on everyone. He is screeching, babbling, and makes so many precious little sounds all of the time. He is still drooling up a storm. We are talking going through 5-6 bibs a day because they are totally soaked within about two hours. He is starting to enjoy Jackson a bit more ;-) They have started noticing each other in the backseat, and have started giggling back and forth. I literally cannot handle it, I have pulled over just to watch them jabber in my rearview mirror.

Sleep: He is still by no means a good sleeper, but we are seeing some progress. I recently purchased some of sleep sacks, and am totally a new believer. He rolls over in his sleep all of the time now, and while it makes me nervous, we have discussed that what is best for everyone is probably him learning to stay asleep on his stomach at this point. He is strong and mobile, and he tends to flip over and then wake up hysterical. So, if he is going to flip anyway it makes the most sense for him to learn to put himself back to sleep. However, we have always covered him with a light blanket, and with his new acrobatic moves that was just not happening anymore. He is so clearly cozy in the sleep sacks, they are warm and snuggly, and he seems to have become better with him sleep in the week since we started using it at bedtime.

We have finally started putting him to sleep in his crib again. With Jackson being next door, and a whole other battle at bedtime, it was too tricky trying to put Lincoln upstairs, because usually just as we would get him down, Jackson would make enough noise to wake him right back up. Jackson is finally at least somewhat putting himself to sleep (PRAISE!) so we braved the new bedtime routine with Lincoln, who is seriously just about at maximum capacity in his bassinet. While he hasn't slept through the night, we have had nights where he woke once and then stayed in his room the rest of the night! I am doing my best to be consistent and keep him in there as much as possible. Maybe this will be the month we finally get a full night of sleep! (if my children could read I am sure they would laugh with an evil glint in their eye at what I just said)

Best Moments: My absolute favorite moment this month has come at bedtime. With his fussiness and general upset behavior, even when holding him until he falls asleep it was always away from my body, in whatever position managed to get him to calm down. I say this what a truly heavy heart and not one bit lightly-I had never cuddled my baby. Sure, I held him all the time, he sleeps in our bed some of the time, but holding him to my chest, listening to him breathe, rocking him while his little body relaxed against mine? I do not exaggerate when I say this is something we had never experienced. And we finally had a breakthrough this past week. I was rocking him in his room and nursing him, and he fell asleep. Usually at this point I am terrified to touch or move him, and as quickly as possible get him into his crib or bassinet and cross my fingers he stays asleep. Instead, I decided to be a little risky and lifted him up onto my chest. And he snuggled right in and kept sleeping like a precious angel. I did not want to move. I sat there and savored every sweet second. And I am now finally looking forward to bedtime and those cuddles. I write this in tears in my eyes because while I have always loved my sweet boy, it has been as if there was a wall up that prevented us from ever 100% connecting. I truly cannot put into words how full my heart is having finally held my baby in my arms, content, full of love, and happy. I hope this is a corner we have fully turned, because I am loving these new moments with him.

Worst Moments: This really has been a good month, I can't think of too many 'bad' moments. He does have a cold though, so listening to his mucous coughs has not been very much fun. For whatever reason he has also been spitting up more it seems, so that always has us a bit on edge.

Health: Poor little guy has had quite the cold this month. With it has come a pretty icky cough, and some wheezy breathing. He has been pretty happy despite his cold, though! I am hoping it resolves soon because there is nothing worse than listening to your poor baby wheeze.

Eating: For whatever reason, he has really decided he does not like baby food. He outright refuses to eat fruits, especially peaches and apples. He will eat things like squash and sweet potato, but he grows tired of them quickly and then the pursed lips come out. He is at an age where I don't worry about this too much, as his nutrition still primarily comes from breast milk. However, he gets so excited when he sees food and even lunges at it, so his refusal to eat is frustrating. I am leaning towards baby led weaning at this point, even though my knowledge on it is pretty limited. I purchased this great little piece on Amazon, and it has been helping! I put in things like strawberries and bananas, and am thinking I might try out some veggies like steamed peas and carrots soon. I had similar items with Jackson but the piece for baby to chew on was mesh, and one use of bananas and I swear it was never clean again. This piece is great because it is similar to the nipple on a bottle, and it washes out with such ease! Bonus points that it comes with a little lid, so I can throw in some fruit, clip on the lid, and have it on hand if we are out and about and baby gets fussy! This weekend I even threw in some beef and macaroni casserole, and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree after you had a taste. Every time I would take it away he practically lunged to get it back. I am thrilled that real food did not disappoint!

Teeth: No teeth yet! I am kind of hoping he gets them soon, as I recall with Jackson once those bottom teeth broke through the drooling really slowed down. My poor mother is growing pretty tired of washing 4-5 bibs a day at her house, we can barely keep up!

Likes: Giggling, the baby channel, going for walks, talking to himself, laughing at his brother, going for car rides (seriously a 180 from a few months ago, he LOVES the car!), tasting real food, gnawing on apples, being tickled, his jumparoo, his sleep sack, being thrown up in the air, when mama hugs him and goes 'squish squish squish!', when grandma says she's gonna 'get you!', watching grandma's puppy, chewing on anything and everything, grabbing things (he has great hand eye coordination).

Dislikes: When his brother sits on him, when his brother pushes his head down, basically whenever his brother tries to touch him ;-) He is not a fan of pretty much any pureed fruits (but give him all the strawberries!). He really does not like being on his tummy for long. He hates whenever mom isn't directly in his line of vision. Still not a huge fan of bathtime, but it is also not quite the end of the universe as it once was.

We love you more than words can say, sweet boy. Every day with you we learn new things, both about you, about ourselves, and about the world surrounding us. You constantly are keeping us on our toes, and I can't imagine that changing now as you grow more mobile and capable of doing things for yourself.