My baby is half of a year old. How is that even possible??
Weight & Height: The last time we checked on our scale at home, he was clocking in at a little over 17-1/2 pounds, but that was at least a week ago. He has his 6 month appointment on Monday, so we’ll be able to find out for sure then.
Eating: Lucas continues to eat like a champ, and this past month, we really started incorporating (and having fun with!) solids. We started with some oatmeal, then eventually ventured into some various fruits and veggies. So far, this is what we’ve tried, in the following order:
- bananas (just mashed really well)
- apples (homemade)
- prunes (store bought)
- sweet potato (homemade)
- peas (homemade)
- avocado (just mashed really well and mixed with a little breastmilk)
- butternut squash (homemade)
- pears (store bought)
While we’re mostly doing homemade purees, I will occasionally give him some banana to see what he does with it. Most of the time he just plays with it, but occasionally he’ll realize it and take a few bites…err, whatever you’d call that?
Regardless, we have yet to find a food that Lucas does not like. 
Right now, he’s only eating solids at dinner, although I am going to start offering him some for lunch soon, too. The only downside to starting solids? Little man tends to get constipated a bit easier now, so if he’s gone a couple of days without any #2, that’s when we’ll usually offer him prunes and/or pears.
Breastfeeding is still going well, and he’ll typically nurse and/or take a bottle 4-5 times a day. He’s become very efficient at breastfeeding, and can usually finish each side in about 3-4 minutes, which is really nice! He’s also gotten SO much better with spitting up this past month, and actually does not need to be in a bib all the live long day.
Sleeping (naps): Going pretty well! For a few weeks, Lucas was on a fairly predictable schedule where he’d nap around 8:30am (1-1/2 – 2 hours), 12:30am (1-1/2 – 2 hours), and then again anywhere between 3-4pm (45 mins – 1 hour). For the first two naps, he’ll typically go down awake with no problem and put himself to sleep. He usually needs a bit of help with his last nap, but he’s also started to take a pacifier this month which has been amazing. We give him that and he’s usually out. Love. It. However, I think he may be in the process of switching things up on us; the past few days, he’s boycotted his morning nap and then takes about two, 2-hour naps. We’ll see how that pans out!
Sleeping (at night): Oh my gosh…SO much progress in this department! I’m gonna try my best to cut this down as best I can, so here we go…
Mid-January, we decided it was time to ditch the Rock ‘n’ Play. In an effort to not switch too much on him at once, our plan was to continue to bounce him to sleep while still swaddled, then put him in the crib. Well, after three failed attempts our first night (he’d wake up immediately after putting him down), we decided to just bite the bullet and go all in.
After weighing my options and trying to decide the best solution for our whole family, I wound up ordering the book The Sleepeasy Solution, and we used that as our guide to help Lucas learn how to go to sleep at night. I’m not gonna lie…the first night was absolutely awful. He cried, and I cried right along with him. By the second night, his amount of crying was cut significantly, and by about the fifth night, he was putting himself to sleep with no crying at all. Now most nights, as long as he’s not too overtired, we put him down awake (with no swaddle), give him his lovey and his blankie, and he falls asleep within about 5-10 minutes with no trouble at all.
He’ll still occasionally wake up once in the middle of the night; sometimes he puts himself back to sleep, other nights he’s needed a little sweet talk from his mama, but his ability to sleep through the night (7pm – 6:30 or 7am) has gotten much better.
Overall, his progress is absolutely amazing and I’m just so proud of him. It has changed our evenings so, so much, and I cannot even begin to explain the weight that feels like it has been lifted off of my shoulders.
Clothing: Mostly 6 month clothes, although some of them are getting a bit snug. He can also fit into some 9 month clothes, which are great for the length but wind up being a bit baggy everywhere else. We’ve also discovered that Lucas just cannot wear overalls; those darn long legs of his!
Social: Lucas is our happy little camper, and he continues to develop more and more of a personality every day. He’s been doing great with others, including strangers, and totally shocked us with how chill he was at his baptism last weekend.
He’s got the greatest little belly laugh, which just melts my heart, and one guaranteed way to get it is by singing the “shake shake shake, shake your booty” song. He goes nuts for it!
New this month: Lucas has started taking a pacifier, and it has been amazing. We don’t offer it at bedtime, but we will give it if he’s a little grumpy and/or having trouble falling asleep at a nap; it almost immediately calms him down.
Little man is a rolling machine and loves to “steamroll” his way across the living room floor. He still really only rolls to the right, but has shown that he may be attempting to the left soon. Either way, he is always on the move…obviously!
I also wouldn’t be surprised if winds up crawling in the next month or two. When he gets on his tummy now, he’ll start to rock back and forth and try to pull his knees up while straightening out his arms. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time!
He’s doing great with his sitting up unassisted and will usually only topple over when he gets really excited with whatever toy he’s playing with. Lately, he likes to rock back and forth while he’s sitting up which is ridiculously funny. He’s also gotten extremely good at grabbing things with purpose and precision.
Likes: Solid foods, his jumper, rolling, Sophie the Giraffe, reading books, listening to music (Zac Brown Band and Florida Georgia Line), being sung to, dancing in the kitchen, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, grabbing at faces, the remote control, splashing in the tub, sticking his tongue out and making funny sounds with it.
Dislikes: Being in his car seat for too long, sitting for too long in his highchair if he’s finished eating, being even the slightest bit overtired. When he’s tired, he’s tired, and needs his nap/sleep.
Comparison:
Happy half birthday, sweet Lucas. You are my sunshine. <3
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