Dear Ben,
Happy half birthday! Fastest 6 months of my life! (And best, for that matter.) I am going to try and keep this shorter than my 5 month post, but when it comes to writing about my sweet little guy, it is hard to be brief! I liked the organization from last month, so here we go again.
GENERAL: You are a little over 13 pounds and around 24.5 inches. You continue to be happy, always! I miss you TERRIBLY when I go to work, but you greet me with the biggest smile as soon as I walk through the door and it makes even the worst day good.
EATING: You have made huge strides with your eating! You love to eat all of a sudden! We stopped putting the formula in the breast milk bottles, and you almost instantly doubled the amount you eat! You are now taking about 6 ounces every time you have a bottle. You had an 8 ounce bottle today with Nana, which is a record for you! You started to like the rice cereal a little more when we made it less watery. Daddy made your first "real" food--sweet potatoes! You made some funny faces at first, but overall you LOVE it! You lean forward with an open mouth as soon as (before) you swallow your previous spoonful. I think we are going to try squash next. Daddy is such a good cook! :)
SLEEP: I am beyond excited to say that your sleep has improved SOOO SOOO SOOO much! You are now sleeping ALMOST through the night. You go to bed around 7:30 and typically wake up in the 3:00-4:00 hour. We feed you a bottle and then you go right back to sleep until 6:45-7:00. It is so nice! We don't like to let you cry, but we started to let you cry for 5 minutes before going to get you, and you have quickly learned to self-sooth (kinda). Sometimes you are able to put yourself back to sleep within those 5 minutes. Don't worry, we watch the clock and the baby monitor because it makes us sad when you are sad! You are even getting better at napping in your bed. You're turning into such a big boy! We love when you wake up and just entertain yourself for awhile until we come get you. Usually this involved talking and playing with your hands. You also like to twist yourself around in bed.
FINE/GROSS MOTOR: You can sit! You are a little wobbly and I wouldn't let you sit without me being right by you, but you are pretty impressive! You can even play with toys in front of you while you are sitting. We are obviously extra proud of you since you have that special tummy! I imagine you have to work much harder than the rest of us. You graduated from Physical Therapy yesterday! I'm such a proud momma! You are doing so much better than we ever imagined you would be doing at this stage. Happy does not even begin to describe how I'm feeling. You are also using those hands to put EVERYTHING in to your little mouth! You love your exersaucer and put your mouth on every last gadget on that brightly colored plastic eye sore. :) You love your plastic rings and your keys and cell phone--starting so young! You continue to work on your tummy time, but you typically roll right to your back. Your PT was pleased with how well you do on your tummy though, especially since you got a late start! She also liked how high you can prop yourself up on your hands while on your tummy. You don't like to go from your back to your tummy as much, but you will if you want to.
COMMUNICATION/COGNITION: I am sure other people reading this may think I am bragging about you, but, well, I can! You are such a smart little cookie! You love to babble or squeal with your mom and dad. And we love chatting with you. You are SO LOUD sometimes! You are also GIGGLING which just might be the cutest noise ever. You mostly laugh for daddy, which makes me a bit jealous, but I'll take what I can get. :) You can also spot your bottle from a mile away, or even when it is behind you. If you want it, you will maneuver yourself every way until you get what you want. Sometimes when I talk to you it REALLY seems like you know what I am talking about. For example, the other day I said, "I am going to miss you so much today, will you tell Nana to send me lots of pictures of you?" You looked at me and said, "mmm hmm." It was soooo funny. Daddy heard it too so I'm not (totally) crazy. You love your books where you can "pet" the animals. You love when people "clap" for you and say "yay, Benji!!"
I cannot tell you enough how much I love you! You make my life so happy! XOXO
6 Month Favorites
Photos by Jen at www.shannonwuchererphotography.com
