Milo | 6 Months

Milo has been around for HALF A YEAR, YOU GUYS. I can't believe it. This has honestly been the fastest and happiest six months of my life.  He grows so much every day and it is so much fun to watch it happen. 

We went to his 6 month check-up and couldn't believe that he was only 18 lbs! All along we've been thinking he was about 20. He's 27 inches long and he still has a teeny tiny head. He's in about the 75% for weight and height, but his head is only in the 35%. 

The biggest thing that's changed this month is Milo's mobility. He can't crawl yet, but still finds a way to get from one end of the room to the other in a matter of minutes. He rolls all over the place, and has figured out how to spin himself in a circle so he can roll any direction he pleases. Let the baby proofing begin! He's so content to play on the floor with his toys and the only time he gets really upset is when a toy is just out of reach and he can't figure out how to get to it. He wants to crawl so badly but just can't figure it out, poor thing. He's getting so close to army crawling and I'm sure as soon as he figures that out, he'll never stop moving. 

Milo also learned to sit up this month! I noticed about a week and a half ago that he was sitting pretty much unassisted on my lap, so I plopped him down on the floor and he sat there for a few minutes before toppling over in search of a toy. He loves sitting up, especially when he's playing, so that's how he spends a good majority of his time nowadays until he falls over, and then it's back to rolling all over the place. 

Milo talks allll the time. He usually gargles and purrs and he loves blowing bubbles. He's been trying to say "Mama" lately. He'll study my mouth while I'm saying it, and then try to move his mouth in the same way- but he can't quite figure out how to make sound happen at the same time. He loves sitting on our front porch and watching the cars go by and he loves going on walks in his stroller. He's such an observant baby and is always looking around and taking stuff in. Also, I think Milo finally recognizes his name when I call it, but a lot of times he's too distracted to respond (either that or he's ignoring me...) 

This month we sleep trained! It was glorious. Milo has never been a bad sleeper, but after his 4 month sleep regression he picked up a few bad habits- the worst being that he had to be nursed to sleep, which is especially annoying at 2 am. He would wake up and I knew he wasn't hungry, he just couldn't fall back to sleep on his own. So I decided do sleep train. I started him on a bedtime routine: nursing, 3 stories, 1 song, and into his crib with the white noise machine on. The first night I went in after 5 minutes and calmed him down, and then again after 10 minutes and after that he was out for the night. The next night he cried for about 5 minutes and was asleep and it's been that way ever since, for the most part. On occasion when he's woken up for nighttime feedings I always wait 5 minutes before going to him and usually he'll fall back asleep in that time. If not, I'll give him his pacifier and rub his back and then wait another 5 minutes. It's been about 3 weeks since I started sleep training and now he sleeps from straight through from 8 pm - 8 am, usually. He takes 3 naps every day around 10, 2, and 5.  They usually last about an hour and a half. Honestly, when it comes to sleeping, he is a dream baby and now that I've weaned him off night feedings he's sleeping a lot better during the day and wakes up a lot happier. So.. SUCCESS!

As far as solids go, Milo's tried all the basics- and then some. His favorites include: apples, bananas, pears, peaches, carrots, and rice cereal. He tolerates chicken and rice, sweet potato, and squash. He hates green beans and peas. He likes attempting to drink out of water bottles and cups, but it usually doesn't go so well. He loves sucking on ice cubs. Oh, and he may or may not have gone crazy over my ice cream cone at Chik Fil A the other day. I mean... crazy. Like... threw a full-blown tempter tantrum when it was all gone. Definitely taking after his daddy there. I'm pretty easy-going when it comes to trying new foods. I'll pretty much let him gnaw on anything that he can't choke on. He got quite a thrill turning my fortune cookie into a big soggy mess the other day. The kid loves food, you guys.

He still loves his lion, things that crinkle, things that make noise, and things that roll. He looooves books and chewing on them, and sitting in my lap while I read to him. He loves looking at all the pictures and touching every page. He'll play with anything he can get his hands on, which unfortunately includes power cords. Ugh. Baby proofing, indeed. 

I am seriously so lucky to have a first baby like Milo. I remember being so terrified before he was born that he would cry all the time and be really fussy and that has never ever been the case. He's the healthiest happiest little boy and the past six months of being his mom has been the biggest blessing in my life. I couldn't love him more (yet somehow, I think I'm going to).