first comes love: June 2017

The 6 month mark! I cannot believe we are already here! Just half a year ago this beautiful bundle of joy was brought into the world, and now we are only half a year from his first birthday! Wesley is amazing and wonderful and holds so much of our hearts. His presence lights up our lives with so much happiness and pride. This little wonder is truly the center of our family's love.

Size: This big boy is fitting into a select few 6 month size pieces. Some of our 6 month and 3-6 month onesies and jumpers are a little big depending on the brand, but we've got many washed and put away in his closet and ready for the rotation. Wesley is still wearing many 3 month pieces too, as most of them fit with room to spare. His 0-3 month size shoes have a hard time staying on his chunky feet, although there is lots of extra space in front of his toes. We are also still using the same fit on our cloth diapers.

Health: At his 6 month well baby check up, Wesley was not very cooperative when it came to having his measurements taken. He thrashed about the scale refusing to stay still, so the nurse accepted the heaviest weight that would lock. She clocked him at 17 pounds, 7 ounces (45th percentile), and he measured 27.5 inches long (80th percentile). At home, our scale showed Wesley's weight at 18.8 pounds, giving him more of a weight gain from last month which I think is more accurate. In other news, he has cut his top two middle teeth (upper central incisors), making that a total of 6 teeth at 6 months! Wesley's hair looks like it has darkened a bit, almost a strawberry blonde color. His eyes are still very blue and are big and round just like mine. Our boy has continued to experience more mild coughing and congestion this past month, which our pediatrician says is just Wesley's body fighting off minor cold viruses most likely picked up from Simon and/or daycare. He's otherwise very happy (when not at the doctor) and very healthy!

Feeding: Nursing has been so much better with Wesley biting quite less often. It of course still happens on occasion, but I think the novelty of the new skill has finally worn off. Wesley nurses for short periods of time in the middle of the night before falling back asleep, and on average his daytime nursing sessions are shorter and less often, up to 4 hours apart at times. He's still doing well with the bottle when I'm not with him, even making a few attempts to hold it on his own. Pumping at work has continued to be successful, and I've felt that I haven't needed the aid of fenugreek supplements or Mother's milk tea for the last month or so. I have a large freezer supply of frozen breast milk stocked up in our deep freezer, which I am extremely proud of. We are totally set with a back up supply for next school year!

Sleep: Wesley is back to sleeping for longer periods of time during the night, waking anywhere between 1-3 times. Teething oil that I purchased from a local baby boutique has really helped settle Wesley and relaxes him with he's struggling with fussiness. He goes back and forth between taking long naps and staying awake during the day, often times being up at daycare and interested in what all the other kids are up to. Wesley's new thing to do at night is to roll onto his tummy after nursing on my right side, which means he sprawls out away from me and into Eric's space, kicking and flailing his arms all over the place while trying to get comfortable. Since Daddy's such a light sleeper, he's resorted to sleeping on the floor when this happens and leaving Wesley alone with me in the bed so Baby can stretch out. Eric comes back to the bed after Wesley wakes up and switches to nurse on my left side.

Milestones: Mr. Wigglesworth is a rolling, flipping, and moving machine. Even when he's awake, Wesley wants to be on his tummy immediately, regardless of how we put him down. He's still never staying in just one place and obviously wants to move much further than he's able to. He is beginning to get up onto his knees a little bit, but hasn't managed to go anywhere from there. Wesley also continues to grab anything and everything he can find, and that anything and everything automatically finds its way into his mouth.

Likes: The Doorway Jumper is Wesley's absolute favorite thing. We have it set up in between the kitchen and playroom so that he has a safe place to be while we're cooking and/or eating and so he can be close to where Simon plays. Wesley will jump to his little heart's content, and he very quickly figured out how to rotate himself and turn in circles. He's not very happy when I need to put him in it when I need a moment with both hands, but he's all smiles if it's Daddy or Cho-Cho who put him in. Wesley is also very fond of immediately rolling onto him tummy when he's laid onto his back. This happens no matter where he is, it happens fast, and he does it whether he's happy or upset. We have to be very careful where we leave him since he will no longer stay in one place.

Dislikes: Our Jumperoo is not nearly as tolerated by Wesley as the doorway jumper. He won't last as long in the jumperoo, which we have set up in the living room. This surprises me, since it has more bells and whistles than the doorway jumper. Wesley also hates being put down, especially by Mommy. I'm sensing some separation anxiety starting to form, as he will cry when he sees me and cannot be picked up by me right away. I love that he wants to be with me, but it makes it even harder to get ready to leave or to put things away when I get home.

Social: Little Love continues to laugh and smile, showing off his strong, social personality and his happy disposition. As with what I think might be separation anxiety, he's started becoming clingy and sometimes wants Mommy and needs to be with me RIGHT AWAY. It's happened when I pick him up from daycare, when someone else is holding him and he suddenly sees me, and after he wakes up from a nap. Again it's not horrible, but I just thought we wouldn't expect this social stage for another few months.

Other Updates: Wesley visited the Sacramento Zoo for the first time when we went for Star Wars Day with Uncle Bucky, Uncle Boom Boom, and Lilly. We hadn't been there with Simon since his first birthday. All of us were decked out in Star Wars apparel, and we had such a fantastic day. Many of the animal exhibits were decorated in Star Wars themes, we got to take photos with many Star Wars characters, and we got to watch and participate in Star Wars themed art. My favorite part of the whole day was taking the boys on their first carousel ride, which played Star Wars music! We also celebrated by 32nd birthday and my first Mother's Day as a mommy of two. For my birthday we went out to brunch with a group of friends the day before and had a yummy dinner out on our patio the evening of my birthday. For Mother's Day we had breakfast at home with my dad and went to Laura's parents' house for lunch and watched Simon, Lucian, and Ben swim while Wesley hung out with Pappy. I felt so blessed to get to spend these special days with both of my darling boys. Thank you, Wesley, for making me a mom again and bringing so much laughter, joy, and love to our world.