6 months

My baby is 6 months old today. It's a little crazy to think about. On the one hand, I feel like he was just born last month. But sometimes I can't seem to remember life without him--like I've always known him and loved him. 

A few weeks old

Here is our 6-month status update:

Sleep. Joel hasn't really settled. His bedtime and wake-up time are pretty consistent. He goes to bed around 8:30pm and gets up for the day around 8:30am. But the hours in between are often a tossup. We went a few weeks where he was only getting up once a night--which was fantastic. But lately he's been getting up more often. (I suspect a growth spurt.) I have often had to deal with less-than-preferable amounts of sleep. But before now, I've never had to deal with interrupted sleep. My body is still adjusting, and it can be exhausting!

1 month

Eating. Joel is a fantastic eater. He nurses quickly and efficiently. For awhile right at first we dealt with some acid reflux, but we haven't had any trouble for several months. Now we're looking forward to trying solid foods! We've tried a couple of things, and Joel has not been at all interested--in fact, this afternoon we tried some avocado, and he was flat out revolted. Check out the video on Instagram.

2 months

Rolling Over. Joel started rolling over when he was about 3 1/2 months old, from back to tummy. He got the hang of that really well. But he never seemed bothered to learn to roll the other way! I've caught him rolling from tummy to back a handful of times, but he still doesn't do it consistently. I suspect he'll be crawling first!

3 months

Sitting Up. He is a champion sitter, and has been for over a month now. It was kind of like he just decided to do it one day, and suddenly he could. He loves it so much that he won't really lay down anymore without fussing.

4 months

Teeth! Joel's been drooling like a monster for ages, but only in the last week or so have we had any progress--and now he's got two little bottom teeth coming in! I love showing them off.

5 months

Needy phase. He is definitely very attached to me and James! He's a very social baby in general, and loves to interact with people. At the moment, if someone (preferably mom or dad) isn't paying attention to him or holding him, he gets rather fussy. Silly kid.

6 months old!

So. Much. Cuteness. There are so many happy moments with this baby. The moments when Joel smiles, and just melts my heart. The moments when someone else is holding him, but he turns and reaches out to me, demanding to be passed to me. The moments when he is tired, and snuggles sleepily into my neck. Sometimes I feel like my heart is just going to burst with how much I love this tiny person.

Life is so much better with my little Smush in it. He brings me so much joy! Even with all the challenges, I absolutely love being a mom. Life is great!