Hitched on Health: Caleb 6 Months

Age: 6 months
Weight: 22lbs
Size clothes: 9-12 months

Interests: Caleb loves to watch us eat food and drink our Spark in the mornings. He will try to grab at anything I have in my hands. We have learned that Caleb is happiest in the water. He would stay in the bath all night if I let him, he adores Daddy Shower Time, and the beach is just about the happiest place on earth. He loves getting his whole body in the ocean and kicking around like he is doing eggbeater or breaststroke. I will take him to the YMCA pool 1-2x a week and he wins over everyone in the pool with his swimming attempts. Another one of Caleb's interests is smiling. He brings so much joy to strangers because of his infectious smile. I love seeing people's faces light up at the sight of my dear son grinning from ear to ear and squealing at them. I haven't had much experience with other people's babies, but a lot of people tell me "he is such a happy baby!" and I have to agree. He is really interested in faces, people, and can recognize the people who he sees the most (family, Stephanie, and other babies we know). It is so fun for him to see John walk in through the door and he can go from fussy to all smiles in 2 seconds when he recognizes who just came home.

Sampling the sand

Challenges: Nursing is continuing to be a big challenge because of the distractability factor. We usually nurse right before he naps and right when he wakes up so that if we go out he won't be hungry. A good thing and a challenge has been the long naps. They are amazing for him, for me, and for being a homebody. However it is really challenging to plan something in advance because I want to respect his sleep and give his little body a chance to grow and recover. During said naps Caleb loves to put his blanket over his face, smell it, suck on it, and play around before he falls asleep. I know they are really breathable and he won't suffocate, but it is heart-stopping every time I go in to check on him and the blanket is on his face. He sleeps without clothes and just in a diaper for naps so it is pretty hilarious to see him sprawled out and the entire blanket is bunched up on his face and nowhere near his body.

Caleb's preferred sleeping position (EEEK)

Milestones: Caleb has started to blow raspberries and will do it like he is having a conversation with us. His coos are becoming more conversation like and he is laughing at things that are actually funny. We have given him tastes of food and started to let him explore a few things with his mouth and hands. We are waiting to officially introduce solids until he is sitting independently and I am in no rush whatsoever after seeing what a mess he makes! If you read my Movement Readiness post you will remember that John and I are intentionally not putting him in a sitting position until he can independently put himself into one (try it out by lying on your tummy or back and then sit yourself up, it's hard!). We want his spine to have the best chance to develop normally and without all the messed up things we have going on that give our chiropractor so much business.

Loved reading his indestructible book

Eating/sleeping/pooping: All of Caleb's nutrition comes from boob juice right now. With a baby led-weaning approach he has tried/sampled: watermelon, peaches, green beans, avocado, banana, hummus, grapes, sand, dirt, and grass. He is napping 2-3x a day (morning, afternoon and sometimes early evening) for 2-3 hours. At night he will go to bed between 8pm-9pm and will wake up between 4-5:30 to nurse. I bring him in bed at this point and we will snuggle and fall asleep until 8am or so. Sometimes he will sleep until 9 or 10am! I started reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution book to figure out how to help him put himself to sleep without letting him cry. I think he knew I was reading the book because without much effort on my part he just started figuring out how to put himself back to sleep in the middle of a nap, before bed, and in the middle of the night.

trying out some summer fruit on daddy

Funny Memory: Caleb knows how to rotate himself 90 degrees when he is playing. We just finished his Montessori floor bed (instead of a crib) and have had a few funny things that have happened at night. A few nights ago I startled awake at 5:30am because I thought someone was trying to break into our house. It turns out Caleb had rotated and was kicking his little hear out on the closet doors. What a wake up call! The next night I could have sworn he fell asleep really quickly after I nursed him. When I went to check on him about 30 minutes later to see if the blanket was on his face, he had rotated 90 degrees, had his feet on my pillow I keep next to him for nursing, and the blanket was over his face like a mummy. I had John and my sister Hannah go look at him because of how funny it was. This morning takes the cake. I heard whimpering at 3:45 and went in to check on him. He had started out in the middle of the bed, rotated 90 degrees, flipped over onto him tummy, and inched his feet of the edge of the bed and he must have flung the pillow out of the way on his way over there (pic below). I just about died laughing after I picked him up and nursed him.