Jack is 6 Months Old

 

Jack is six months old today.  Six months seems like such a big milestone to me.  It is when most babies start to eat some solids, they begin strengthening their back muscles in preparation to sit up on their own (both of the girls sat up unassisted around seven months of age) and actual teething starts (instead of the excessive drooling adding up to it).

First and foremost, Jack is consistently sleeping through the night now.  After not getting much success just simply by introducing some rice cereal into his diet, I made the executive decision to let him 'cry it out' one night.  I knew that it was going to be hard -- I listened to him cry for just over an hour in the middle of the night.  As much as I wanted to go to him, scoop him up and let him nurse, I knew that it would only be undoing everything that I was trying so hard to accomplish.  I folded laundry and put dishes away -- at 2:30 in the morning -- while listening to him finally lull himself back to sleep.  Then I snuck into his room, covered him up and stared at his peaceful resting state. 

The next night ... he slept right on through.  It has been two weeks now ... Occasionally he will make a little noise in the middle of the night now, but he just goes back to sleep on his own.  He seems so much happier in the mornings now (and this momma is too!).

It did not take Jack very long to master the use of a spoon.  He definitely knows as soon as I put him in his high chair that he is going to eat.  He's very serious about his food.

At this point, Jack has tried homemade pears, applesauce, carrots, peas and acorn squash.  He loves all of them and typically has one fruit and one vegetable two times a day.  The serving size is an ice cube of each.  The only thing that Jack isn't too fond of is bananas (to this day, Samantha is not a fan of them either). 

Sophia absolutely adores her brother and is constantly talking to him, kissing him and including him in all activities.  Samantha loves him too, but she is more of a mother hen.  She wants to feed him and hold him for me all the time.  And I welcome all of the help that she is willing to offer.

Sam was fresh out of the bathtub and came running to the kitchen to help feed Jack some dinner"

Jack is a pretty happy baby as long as he has access to his toes and someone is giving him attention.  He is not shy to offer up smiles and he has started just giggling right out loud.  I love that about him.

Spending some quality time with Grammy:

Both of the girls had little bear suits that they wore during their first winter (and home from the hospital because they were born during the colder parts of year).  I wanted Jack to have something a little warmer to wear now that the weather is turning cold, and I was so happy to find a similar bear suit.  It definitely keeps him warm while we are out and about!

Jack officially rolled over by himself (both front-to-back and back-to-front) on November 12th while he was playing on the floor in his bedroom.  He has been close to doing it on his own for a while now, but with two obliging older sisters to fetch his toys for him, he hasn't been too motivated to work really hard at it.  Now that I know that he can roll, I have to keep a closer eye on him. 

He is also pretty close to being able to sit up unassisted on the floor.  His balance is pretty good side-to-side; he just has to realize that he can hold his back upright and doesn't have to fall forward (belly to his knees).  I suspect that he will have this mastered in less than a month.

I am looking forward to the holidays this year with Jack and the girls.  Jack's old enough to be excited about seeing the twinkling lights on our trees and I think that the wrapping paper will also be a big hit with him.  There will be a lot of memory making this year ...