Happy 6 Month Birthday Little One! 2 shots to celebrate!

Nathan and His Friends

Nathan is officially 6 months old today. How quickly does the time fly. We went in for his 6 month check up and he's doing well. In fact, he's jumped up to the next growth trend line. Originally, he was trekking along the 3 percentile line, now he's up to the 15-20 percentile lines. Go, baby go!

He also received 2 shots. He took it like a pro. Within seconds after the shots, he stopped crying. This time I will try massaging the places where he received his shots to prevent any swelling or bruising. Last time he got a low grade fever after his shots. We'll see if he reacts to this round.

My, what big feet you have!

 Let's see, what happened this week? Well, Nathan went through a pretty major growth spurt. For about 3 days, he was super fussy and wanted to nurse every 2 hours or so. The 2 days following, he started to go longer during his daytime naps. I measured him on Friday and again on Monday...the boy had gained 0.7 pounds. Realistically, probably 0.5 pounds since the weather is colder and he was wearing a long sleeved footed onsie, as opposed to a short sleeved onsie. But still, that's a lot of growing.

Nathan has started to roll over from his back to his tummy with some coaxing. If I dangle a toy that he wants above him, and to his side, he will reach for it and eventually turn over. Although he will not turn over onto his tummy volunteeringly.

We have successfully added pears to the repertoire of solid foods. I've just about made food of every color for him.

I have made food, frozen them in the silicone trays and then stored them in bags. Here's what I've made:

Sweet potato + carrot and rice cereal

Pears

Peas

Blueberry + Pears

Purple sweet potato.

He's not a fan of bananas yet, but I didn't give him a super ripe one.

I have foods from every color of the rainbow, except for red. And now that I have the OK from the pediatrician to try meats and dairy, oh the fun I will have. But first, I need to make sure he's not allergic to anything. I think this will take some time. But I'm already starting to think up some great baby food recipes for him to try. Will he like Saag Paneer minus the paneer pieces?

I think I may hold off on meat for awhile, but I think I will cook some of his food in home made broth. Hopefully, it will pick up some of the meat flavor and nutrients. 

Sleep has become MUCH easier. I'm proud to say that he has consistently been put down awake without a peep or a cry for about a week. I think the key is to wait for him to show signs of tiredness, but not be overtired. I've been looking for fussiness, short attention span, and him rubbing his face against my shoulder when I hold him. If he shows these signs, I take him to his room, swaddle him while singing his bedtime lullaby, rock back and forth for about 4 breaths, and tell him "Time to sleep, good [night, afternoon, morning], and I love you." in English and Chinese, then put him down. I'll kiss him on the cheek, give him a gentle smile and walk away. Within a few minutes, the boy is asleep. This is working pretty well. I hope it stays this easy for awhile before it all changes on me.

Sleeping like a baby.

So, I'm starting to get these feelings of "I want another one." Not sure if this is normal, but it's just how I'm feeling. We are probably going to wait at least until he's about 18 months to conceive another one. This way they will be about 2 years apart.

Well, that's it for now. Until next week!