I managed to write most of this post before we left on our big trip, but failed to post it. I thought I would take care of that sometime on our journey. It will surprise no one (not even me) that I failed to accomplish that while having three kids with jet lag.
Xavier is six months old and we are super excited to celebrate his half year mark with him! The big kids were both at school so Xavier and I had a fun low-key day to ourselves. We went shopping for a few birthday presents (a new pair of booties and a stuffed animal he took a liking to) and had lunch.
The biggest development we've had is starting Xavier on solid foods. His first foray into good was avocados and boy is he a fan! The first week or so he would eat as much as we made for him - the more the merrier. I couldn't spoon it in fast enough and he opened his mouth like a little bird.
Then we tried bananas. He's not really a fan as it turns out. Mostly he seemed shocked it was not avocados. Then came sweet potatoes and he had a similar reaction. Pears went over somewhat better but by far avocados are the favorite. Lastly we tried yogurt and he was not sure but warmed up to it after several bites to adjust.
Xavier has been interested in eating since he was about two months old. He grew some teeth and I finally decided it must be time. He still loves to watch people eat. Spoons top his list of favorite toys and he will chase a sippy cup until it falls on the floor.
Xavier can identify the kitchen in almost any setting and will stare at anyone eating until they finish. If he thinks the odds are in his favor, he will smile and attempt to charm people into feeding him.
He has 2.5 teeth and the fourth one is definitely on its way as well. The bottom two middle teeth are well on their way and have very distinct ridges. His upper right muddle tooth had broken through the gum as well but you still have to work to see it. And finally there's a very distinct white blob under the gum on the upper left.
All the teething combined with the cough and cold that made the rounds of the house have made for some sleepless nights. Right now a good night has several two hour uninterrupted stretches. On a bad night he's screaming every twenty minutes to an hour and a half and not even nursing is of interest to him. Most nights fall somewhere in between. One night he will go five hours between feedings and the next can't be removed from nursing without crying.
He's nursing often at night but able to go about three hours during the day. He's getting solids once a day with the family at dinner if he's awake. Otherwise he gets his own snack later in the evening.
His naps are still not on any discernible schedule. He is waking up earlier in the day for the last two weeks. That means he's up around nine a.m. instead of between ten and eleven. At night I am still wrapping him up in the velcro to secure his left arm and swaddling in an attempt to get more sleep, and the room is still at 70 degrees or warmer.
Xavier is not at all interested in rolling over. He can make it ninety degrees of rotation from his back to either side but no further.
Our check up was just a few days before we left. Xavier weighed in at 18 lbs 3 oz, which was 3 ounces lighter than he had been at my unofficial check two weeks earlier. The doctor, not having all the weigh ins I'd been doing unofficially, was not concerned. That weight was in the 63 percentile for both CDC and WHO.
He measured 28.5 inches tall (97th and 98th percentiles respectively) and his head was 46.5 cm around (98th and 100th percentiles), so he's not exactly a light-weight even if he is losing weight. Because of our trip, Xavier got ten vaccines - all the regularly scheduled ones plus an extra round of measles and a flu shot. So that was one oral vaccine and five pokes - ouch!
Xavier is six months old and we are super excited to celebrate his half year mark with him! The big kids were both at school so Xavier and I had a fun low-key day to ourselves. We went shopping for a few birthday presents (a new pair of booties and a stuffed animal he took a liking to) and had lunch.
The biggest development we've had is starting Xavier on solid foods. His first foray into good was avocados and boy is he a fan! The first week or so he would eat as much as we made for him - the more the merrier. I couldn't spoon it in fast enough and he opened his mouth like a little bird.
Then we tried bananas. He's not really a fan as it turns out. Mostly he seemed shocked it was not avocados. Then came sweet potatoes and he had a similar reaction. Pears went over somewhat better but by far avocados are the favorite. Lastly we tried yogurt and he was not sure but warmed up to it after several bites to adjust.
Xavier has been interested in eating since he was about two months old. He grew some teeth and I finally decided it must be time. He still loves to watch people eat. Spoons top his list of favorite toys and he will chase a sippy cup until it falls on the floor.
Xavier can identify the kitchen in almost any setting and will stare at anyone eating until they finish. If he thinks the odds are in his favor, he will smile and attempt to charm people into feeding him.
He has 2.5 teeth and the fourth one is definitely on its way as well. The bottom two middle teeth are well on their way and have very distinct ridges. His upper right muddle tooth had broken through the gum as well but you still have to work to see it. And finally there's a very distinct white blob under the gum on the upper left.
All the teething combined with the cough and cold that made the rounds of the house have made for some sleepless nights. Right now a good night has several two hour uninterrupted stretches. On a bad night he's screaming every twenty minutes to an hour and a half and not even nursing is of interest to him. Most nights fall somewhere in between. One night he will go five hours between feedings and the next can't be removed from nursing without crying.
He's nursing often at night but able to go about three hours during the day. He's getting solids once a day with the family at dinner if he's awake. Otherwise he gets his own snack later in the evening.
His naps are still not on any discernible schedule. He is waking up earlier in the day for the last two weeks. That means he's up around nine a.m. instead of between ten and eleven. At night I am still wrapping him up in the velcro to secure his left arm and swaddling in an attempt to get more sleep, and the room is still at 70 degrees or warmer.
Xavier is not at all interested in rolling over. He can make it ninety degrees of rotation from his back to either side but no further.
Our check up was just a few days before we left. Xavier weighed in at 18 lbs 3 oz, which was 3 ounces lighter than he had been at my unofficial check two weeks earlier. The doctor, not having all the weigh ins I'd been doing unofficially, was not concerned. That weight was in the 63 percentile for both CDC and WHO.
He measured 28.5 inches tall (97th and 98th percentiles respectively) and his head was 46.5 cm around (98th and 100th percentiles), so he's not exactly a light-weight even if he is losing weight. Because of our trip, Xavier got ten vaccines - all the regularly scheduled ones plus an extra round of measles and a flu shot. So that was one oral vaccine and five pokes - ouch!
