We're half way through Nolan's first year of life! This is so unbelievable to me and I can't believe the transformation he has made in these first six months. He is currently learning so much so quickly and I can tell he is taking in every little thing in his surroundings. Nolan is still a happy and giggly little guy, and it's becoming easier and easier to figure out what makes him belly laugh consistently. He has become extremely aware and obsessed with his puppy, Harley! He loves watching Harley whether he is running around playing or just laying on the couch taking a nap. He tries to talk to him often and constantly has his hands reaching out to pet (or pull) Harley's fur. Harley, on the other hand, has learned to keep his distance, but every now and then will humor the baby and give him a little kiss or two on his face.
Nolan likes to play with his mommy and daddy, but also has learned to entertain himself well independently. He loves to jabber and babble as soon as he wakes up from his naps, and willingly lets out lots of Aaaa's and Oooo's, along with happy screeches and squeals before we go up to get him. He loves spending time in his jumperoo, exersaucer, and most recently, his walker, and also spends some time playing with his toys in the living room while Mommy keeps a close eye from the kitchen. It's great that he has learned to be independent, because it's a trait we will be happy he has learned later down the road!
Even though his temperament is usually always happy and fun, Nolan has started to develop some stranger danger (which is completely normal at this age). Some days he is fine with our friends, and other days he completely melts down and cries when seeing "unfamiliar" faces (although they aren't unfamiliar at all, he's been around these friends and family many times before, he's just not used to seeing them every single day). We know it's just a phase and he will soon outgrow this, so bear with us friends and family that have recently gotten a cry from our cautious babe!
Nolan's activity is becoming greater and greater... although still not quite mobile! He continues to roll from belly to back, but will stubbornly refuse to roll the other way. I've tried everything under the sun to convince him to roll from back to belly, but it's a no-go for this guy! He still prefers sitting than being on his belly. When on his belly, he can put pressure on his arms and lift, and he does move his legs in a kicking motion, but doesn't get anywhere. While sitting, he can squirm forward with his arms raised outwards, which leads me to think he will enter crawling via this position rather than his stomach. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised if he skipped crawling and went straight to cruising! He enjoys standing and leaning against furniture but is still a little wobbly without assistance. We'll be working on that in the coming months! He continues to scoot/bounce while sitting, but still doesn't get much distance out of this, either. He wants so badly to go somewhere, just hasn't quite figured out how yet! We'll keep practicing!
Here is what else our big boy is up to at 6 months:
Height, Weight, and Sizes:
At our 6 month well-check (on his birthday, exactly!), Nolan weighed in at 17 pounds, 12 ounces (55th percentile), is 26 1/4 inches long (35th percentile), and is becoming more "average" in his head circumference, measuring at 17 1/4 inches (66th percentile). He has outgrown most of his 6 month clothing, and is currently wearing 9 month shirts and onesies, 6-9 month shorts, and 9-12 month pajamas. His PJs are actually getting a little snug, so we may be skipping through our 9 month jammies quickly straight to 12 months! He continues to wear size 3 Huggies diapers, but is still blowing out of them now and then since he's been started on solids. I've just concluded he's an explosive pooper and no change in diaper brands or sizing is going to change that. Lucky us!
At our 6 month well-check (on his birthday, exactly!), Nolan weighed in at 17 pounds, 12 ounces (55th percentile), is 26 1/4 inches long (35th percentile), and is becoming more "average" in his head circumference, measuring at 17 1/4 inches (66th percentile). He has outgrown most of his 6 month clothing, and is currently wearing 9 month shirts and onesies, 6-9 month shorts, and 9-12 month pajamas. His PJs are actually getting a little snug, so we may be skipping through our 9 month jammies quickly straight to 12 months! He continues to wear size 3 Huggies diapers, but is still blowing out of them now and then since he's been started on solids. I've just concluded he's an explosive pooper and no change in diaper brands or sizing is going to change that. Lucky us!
Feeding:
Nolan has successfully been introduced to the world of Stage 1 solids! He has tried all of the stage 1 purees and happily chowed down and enjoyed each one of them! He is definitely not a picky eater, and loved bananas, pears and peas the most. We continue to feed him solids at breakfast and dinner, and graduated from eating 1/2 of a container to a whole container at each meal. He has gotten very good at eating from a spoon and sometimes gets frustrated when I don't spoon it in to his mouth fast enough! He associates seeing the bowl and bib and instantly knows food is coming, squirms and gets excited for his meal. 
We recently introduced baby Mum Mums (rice biscuits) as well as baby "Puffs", and he loves one but isn't too sure about the other! The Mum Mums he is obsessed with and quickly munches these down, making quite the mess during the process! The puffs are still a little tricky for him to maneuver, so he gets frustrated when they stick to his hands and he can't get them to his mouth. We'll keep practicing that pincher grasp and soon enough he'll be inhaling those just as quick!
We often let Nolan practice with his trainer sippy cup of water (usually once a day during dinner), and most of the water gets all over himself and his high chair more than in his mouth. Most times he gets very frustrated and angry that he can't tilt the cup to get water out by himself, and it usually ends with tears of frustration, so we limit his time with the sippy since he's not quite ready for it yet.
He continues to get 4 bottles of milk a day following the same E.A.S.Y. schedule as last month, as well as his one dream feed at 10:30PM. We will work on taking away the dream feed this month after our vacation, and hopefully that will go smoothly!
Sleeping:
Nolan continues to do very well on the 4 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule with his sleep, with not much changing from last month to now. His naps remain 1.5-2 hours long, with 2 hour active periods in between during the day. Depending on how our day activities are, he may or may not take a catnap in the late afternoon. If we are home all day sticking to our normal schedule, he will usually catnap around 5:00PM for 30 minutes. If we are out and about, running errands or meeting up with friends, he may skip his catnap if he had a later afternoon nap. He continues to go down for bedtime at 7:30PM and sleeps through the night (minus his dreamfeed still at 10:3oPM), until 6:30AM-7:00AM the next morning.
Nolan continues to do very well on the 4 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule with his sleep, with not much changing from last month to now. His naps remain 1.5-2 hours long, with 2 hour active periods in between during the day. Depending on how our day activities are, he may or may not take a catnap in the late afternoon. If we are home all day sticking to our normal schedule, he will usually catnap around 5:00PM for 30 minutes. If we are out and about, running errands or meeting up with friends, he may skip his catnap if he had a later afternoon nap. He continues to go down for bedtime at 7:30PM and sleeps through the night (minus his dreamfeed still at 10:3oPM), until 6:30AM-7:00AM the next morning.
Our timing is everything when it comes to getting Nolan down successfully. Like stated last month, he started fighting going to sleep, and I realized it was because he was overtired. He never puts up too bad of a fight, but if I'm 15 minutes off-schedule, he'll wiggle and whine for a bit instead of drifting off instantly when we are "on" schedule. We've gotten decently well at predicting when to go down to make it less of a struggle!
He continues to love his pacifier and sleep sack and we use both during all times of sleep (naps and nights). Most recently, he has started throwing his pacifier out of his crib, but never cries out for it and doesn't seem to miss it when it's gone. I only notice when we go to get him up out of the crib and it's lying on the floor or behind the crib completely! As long as limbs aren't hanging out, we'll continue to keep the breathable bumper off, but I think we only have a month or so left of that!
Firsts & Milestones:
-Started solids (sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pears, peas, peaches, green beans, apples, prunes, bananas)
-Started Mum Mums and baby Puffs
-Dancing/Bouncing/Scooting while sitting
-Drank out of sippy cup
-Had his first x-ray (skull)
-Throwing a ball and playing catch
-Sitting unassisted in shopping cart
-First Forth of July
-Swimming in baby pool
-Laughing at Harley (in response to something the dog did)
-Leaning against furniture unassisted
-Visit to the Shark Reef
-First Disney movie (Finding Nemo)
-Time in walker (steps in walker)
-Sophie the Giraffe (still absolute favorite!)
-Bouncing/dancing/scooting while sitting
-Chicken farm toy
-Empty water bottles (crinkling, tossing, chewing)
-Playing with his own hair while drinking bottle
-Mum Mums
-Playing catch and throwing the ball
-Watching Harley play fetch/run
-"I'm gonna get you!" game
-Aquariums (the Shark Reef)
-Hokey Pokey, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes songs
-Imitating "Aaaa" sounds with Mom and Dad
-Chicken cluck sounds
-Eating solids
Dislikes:
-Stranger danger (even worse than last month)
-Stranger danger (even worse than last month)
-Plastic bags (he went from loving them to being absolutely terrified of them)
-Taking toys away (starts to cry if he still wants to play)
-Sippy cup and puff frustration
-Spending time on belly, still, and learning to roll from back to belly
This little giggle monster just keeps getting cuter and cuter each month... We love watching him grow! Happy 6 months, baby love! We can't wait to see what the next half of your first year brings!
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