And there I go again, not updating. Oops. Epic fail. We did have many visitors in June, so that can be my lame excuse du jour.
Evan is 6 months old! Unbelievable. He's getting so big and doing so many new things that it's hard to keep track, particularly when I fail to write it all down. *headdesk* I have no "official" current height and weight for him, but I'll update after the pediatrician visit on July 22. However, his head is still large. Heh.
We celebrated his half-birthday last Saturday with cake. Not for him, obviously, but we went to town. Any excuse for cake is a good one. And it was delish.
Our great regularly scheduled napper and eater is gone now, and has been replaced by a random napper and inconsistent eater. Evan still loves his naps and needs several each day, but they are hard to predict and vary in length and time daily. It's quite frustrating. Plus, he won't nap out in public in his stroller for fear he'll miss something interesting, so it keeps us housebound a bit more than I'd like. At least he'll sleep in the car if the trip is long enough. But generally he gets cranky and rubs his eyes within 90 minutes of waking up, so he is often a tired baby. Bedtime generally goes ok, but we still have nights where he cries and cries for quite awhile before falling asleep. We have learned that getting him to bed early is key--if we wait too long, it's not a pleasant thing. So he typically goes to bed around 7 PM. We stopped swaddling him in June and it went well for a couple of weeks. Then he regressed a bit and since then we have been going back to the swaddle some nights. But I am optimistic we are almost done entirely with it. We are still doing a 10:30 PM "dreamfeed" and usually feed again around 2 or 3 AM. He clearly still needs his nighttime meal. I think that part of the night feeding need is because he is an odd eater during the day. Some days he eats very little at each feeding or just grazes or snacks throughout the day. I think he is just distracted and doesn't think eating is important when other stuff is going on. Unfortunately, this results in him trying to make up the calories at night, and he tends to eat a ton between 7 PM and 3 AM. Sigh. But otherwise, he usually sleeps well, so we really can't complain too much.
Evan had been on a special formula (primarily for reflux), Similac Alimentum, but we switched back to the regular Similac last week, figuring he's outgrowing most of his issues. So far, he's fine. Good thing because the Alimentum cost a small fortune and was getting more expensive with his growing appetite.
We attempted to give him his first taste of rice cereal on July 4, but he hated it. In fact, it made him cry. He got this horrible look of disgust on his face and then started crying. It was sad and really funny at the same time. I got it on video and if I were a smarter blogger, I could post it here. We will probably try again soon with the cereal, but might instead just skip right to veggies. We plan to start veggies very soon. I bought a Beaba Babycook and am planning to make some of his food. We'll see how that goes!
Evan started consistently rolling from tummy to back on May 22. Now he refuses to stay on his tummy for more than a millisecond and immediately flips back over. He really dislikes his tummy. He still hasn't rolled more than a few times from back to tummy, but I figure it's because he knows the endgame is the tummy and would rather just avoid that altogether. Heh. It's really not a big deal, though, because some babies just aren't big rollers.
He is starting to express more interest in sitting and does pretty well propped up or supported. We are putting him in his Bebepod as much as possible to strengthen his muscles and he likes to play with his toys and read books while in that. Just recently, he has also started "standing" and seems to really enjoy looking at his world from a higher vantage point. It's hilarious to see him so excited to be upright.
He still adores his bouncer and is very skilled at making it bounce. He is really great at kicking his legs in unison to get maximum bounce. He's very coordinated. Several times he has actually nearly launched himself out of the seat with his vigorous kicking. I mean, he really kicks and kicks and thinks it's the best thing ever. It's really fun to watch. I think he'll be excellent on the swings. Or perhaps have a career as a trapeze artist. He is a little over his bouncer toy bar and generally prefers just to be toy bar-free and bounce.
He is also a bit over his activity gym. He does enjoy pulling the toys off of it and playing with them separately. He now has an exersaucer with a cool keyboard and other movable toys. So far, he loves banging the keys and particularly loves the tugboat toy. Really, though, he just loves putting it in his mouth.
He is teething, so is full of drool and puts everything in his mouth. Reading is no longer fun just for reading's sake--he wants to eat his books. And everything else he can grab. It's a challenge to keep things out of his reach. My earrings and necklaces have been relegated to the jewelry box most of the time.
Evan's other favorite toys right now include Sophie the Giraffe teether, monkey blankie, plastic keys and rings, and the measuring spoons from the kitchen. Anything small that he can easily grab, bang, and put in his mouth is a good toy. He also likes his Eric Carle talking block and his learning puppy. It's fun to watch him get excited about more "advanced" toys.
We have been wearing him in the Baby Bjorn more and more and he is liking it quite a bit. It's a convenient way to carry him when the stroller is too big or annoying. However, it hurts my shoulders and neck. Bummer. I've tried the slings, but just can't figure them out. But it's ok because I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't stand for them. He really has to be looking out at all times.
He's very good in his stroller now and puts up with our longish hikes/walks. Soon we (read: Dave) will be able to jog with him.
Bathtime is now fun! We still only bathe him a few times a week because of his dry skin/eczema, but he loves them now. He splashes and checks himself out in the mirror and grabs at the washcloth. I really wish we could give them more often because it does seem to soothe and relax him for bed.
Evan loves to laugh, but still saves it for the few things he thinks are very funny. Like us waving our fingers at him and saying "dancing phalanges." We got it from an episode of Bones and he just thinks it's HYSTERICAL. I guess "phalanges" is a silly word. Anyhow, he has a full out belly laugh now and it's the cutest thing. Of course, he still doesn't want to smile for photos, which irks us. I have about a billion pics of him looking startled or bewildered, but very few of him truly smiling.
He is generally a very happy baby, which honestly surprises us given that we aren't typically bubbly and relaxed (duh!). I'm trying really hard to be more laid back around him because I know he can sense uptightness. But he's sweet, silly, smart, and happy, so we are doing something right.
Next up in the world of Evan: a high chair purchase. We are just about researched out on this one and are close to a decision. As always with baby items, there isn't one perfect high chair, so it's a matter of figuring out what's most important and going with that. Ugh.
