Half a year old

I haven’t posted Benjamin’s 6-month blog, so I better get to it before I forget!

We went to his 6.5 month visit to the doctor. His initial date was delayed so his ear infection could heal. At six months and one week, Benjamin weighs 19 pounds and is just shy of 28 inches long.  He is in the 75th percentile for height and weight and the 50th for his head circumference. Benjamin has four teeth now, and is still teething all the time. (If you aren’t careful, he will teeth on you, and he bites hard!)

What Benjamin is up to:

Benjamin sits and plays with toys very well now. He is getting good at fine motor skills, and loves to touch EVERYTHING. If he can’t put it in his mouth, he does his best to lick or bite anything that he can get close enough to. He gets up on all fours, but l isn’t crawling (thankfully!).  We aren’t encouraging movement, because we like him right where he is! I am afraid we will have to lower his crib soon, though.

Everything is funny to Benjamin, who especially loves to play peek-a-boo. Sometimes he randomly laughs at something that catches his attention, and he LOVES to smile at anyone who looks his way. This boy does not know a stranger, and he likes to go to anyone who will hold and entertain him.

Benjamin continues to love music. He calms right down if I sing to him, and if singing alone doesn’t work, Jeremy’s itouch has music videos on it that really grab his attention. He is transfixed by televisions and computer screens, and they could entertain him for hours if I let him (but I try not to encourage it too much.)

Benjamin’s favorite television show is the Nana and Papa show, aka Skype. He loves to smile and talk to them as they make funny faces and amuse him. If Benjamin is fussy, this never fails to distract him for a while. It is especially fun when they come out of the box in the family room and visit in person.

We love to take Benjamin places, because he gets a kick out of his new surroundings. He LOVES to go to the store, and lately he has been trying to grab items from the shelves. I have learned to keep my grocery cart in the middle of the aisle. He is now sitting in the cart like a big boy, and he smiles at everyone who passes us.

Benjamin’s favorite food is still his formula. We have a hard time getting him to eat solids. So far, he refuses to eat fruit, green vegetables and rice cereal. His sole source of solid food right now is oatmeal cereal mixed with sweet potatoes. Occasionally he will eat squash. We hope this is a phase and he will start eating fruit soon, because it baffles us that he won’t even eat bananas!

Splashing in the pool is a new favorite activity, and he continues to love stroller walks around the block. He is sleeping from about 7:30 p.m. to about 5 or 6 a.m. He drinks his bottle and then often goes back to sleep for another hour or two. He naps once or twice a day, typically a very short morning nap occasionally and almost always an afternoon nap that lasts two to three hours. No matter how fussy he is in the evening, he immediately perks up at bath time.

If you made it this far, I guess I will wrap things up to say that this has been a wonderful six months. We couldn’t ask for a happier, more adorable baby.