Fletcher Is Six Months Old!

I'm almost a month late on this blog post, but oh well.  It's been more challenging lately to keep up with posts because Fletcher is so much more active! He still has a great nap schedule, but during those precious moments, I find myself doing other things. It's more difficult these days to cook, clean, etc. while Fletcher is awake.  He wants to do so much more than his body will allow and he no longer just sits, quietly staring into space. He gets frustrated when something he wants is out of his reach, and he would rather be crawling all over me than anything else. 

He has become quite proficient at squirming across the floor, so I can't take my eyes off of him for a second! We haven't baby-proofed the house yet, but we should probably get on that. He loves to pull on chords, eat everything on the bottom shelf of the pantry (which mostly includes Ziplock boxes and bags of flour), and always manages to find crumbs underneath the kitchen table. Along with baby-proofing the house, I guess I'll also become a better housekeeper.

Jesse is still really busy at work, but despite the minimal amount of time at home, Fletcher gets SO excited to see him. Considering Jesse gets about  15 minutes total during the work week to spend with him, it's a little surprising, but Fletcher laughs and screams and always reaches for him.

The six month milestones have been my favorite so far. It's like he woke up one day and had turned into a little person. He isn't a little baby anymore :(  But it's fun that Fletcher now seems to understand what's going on around him. He has specific toys he likes, specific cartoons he likes, he screams when Elmo is over, he's ticklish, he giggles whenever we walk into his room after a nap, he snuggles when he's sleepy, and he gets really excited to see his friends.

Fletcher Month Six

Weight: 16lb 14.9oz (39%)

Length: 28 inches (87%)
(he's a string bean) 

Sleep: 6pm-6am. Sleeps partially swaddled in his crib, in his room.

Milestones/Developments:  

Sitting without assistance

Army crawl

Laughing

Standing while holding onto things 

Adventures: 

Visiting Okinawa

Visiting Guam

First Japanese Airshow

First ferry ride

First hike  

Discoveries: 

I'm ticklish! 

Food is yum!

Favorite things: 

Big boy bathtub
Sleeping on my belly
Stroller rides
Sitting on Dad's shoulders
Lunch with the girls
Play dates
Elmo
Alphabet Train
Going to the park

Not so favorite things: 

Being congested
Sitting still
Getting dressed

Visitors/new friends this month:  

Rory
William

Next doctors appointment: 9 month check-up and vaccines 

Fletcher's First Trip To The Park

Fletcher was invited to play at the park with his buddy William. It was our first time going, and Fletcher's first time in the swings. Next time I'll remember to take something to fill up the extra space inside the swing, but he had a fun time anyway. He also loved playing in the grass, a texture I'm not sure he's ever felt before. We don't have a yard at our house so we might have to keep going to the park just to squish the grass.

Fletcher Starts Baby Led Weaning

BLW is terrifying. Whoever says it isn't, lied/is crazy. However, as scary as it is, I still think it's right for us. I love how interested Fletcher is in food, and I love that he's able to eat food of all different textures, colors, temperatures, etc.

My original plan was to avoid purees all together, but since sweet potatoes are forbidden in Asia, and prunes are hard to find, I'm giving him some purees. I still let him feed himself, which is a huge mess but he seems to enjoy it. I also don't like the idea of spoon feeding him and forcing food into his mouth that he may not want. So I just hand him a spoon if it's sweet potato day, and he goes at it until he's done.

So far, he's had sweet potatoes, prunes, banana, avocado, Japanese sweet potato, apple rice cake, carrots, oatmeal, butternut squash, curry, hummus, noodles, egg yolks, chicken enchilada soup, peas, pea pancakes, and carrot pancakes. The curry and soup were supposed to be for me, but he let me know they were actually for him, too. He seems to love everything, with the exception of throwing hummus across the kitchen and coughing on what I assume was a red pepper flake.

We've only had one true gagging experience so far, but I hold my breath every time I see a chunk go into his mouth.  He gagged up the avocado in just a few seconds but it's still so scary. I know he's learning and it'll happen no matter when we introduce solids. I have to remind myself that I'm the one who's scared, not him. And so long as he's still enjoying it, we'll continue to do it!