Griffin at Six Months

Developmentally, this has been a big month for Griffin! I feel bad that I'm writing this post two weeks late, as Griffin has already accomplished even more exciting things, but that will have to wait until next month. :) Instead, I present you with Griffin the Wonderbaby at Six Months! 

GROWTH

On Tuesday, June 16 Griffin clocked in at 17lbs 12oz and 26.75" long. Griffin is consistently in the 50th percentile, which surprises both his pediatrician and me as he seems so big. Either way, his growth is consistent and his cheeks are squishy-delicious. 

My friend Kierstin took a rare picture of Mama and Baby

MOTOR SKILLS

Griffin is officially mobile! My goodness! Almost time to baby-proof the house because this boy is moving! Last month he was just rolling from tummy to back, but now Griffin is rolling in both directions, pivoting, wiggling, kicking in the beached-whale position, and, in doing all of these things, making his way across the room. He explores under chairs, sticks his arms under the couch, and can push himself up with his arms when he's on his stomach. His bum is still on the ground--thankfully!--so we're not attempting the crawl yet, but I am sure it's right around the corner. 

Griffin is still working on sitting up. Griffin's core strength is definitely improving, and while I am still with him while he practices sitting, he's becoming proficient and isn't so slumped-over anymore.

Hanging out at brother Eland's Pre-K graduation

BABY TALK

Griffin makes all kinds of sounds and even puts multiple sounds together. No words, obviously, but the boys get really excited when he makes sounds that sound like words: "Mama, Griffin just said my name!!!!"

NURSING & FOOD

Griffin still nurses like a champ. Nothing about that is likely to change. He nurses quickly. I think it only takes him about 3-4 minutes to completely empty each side, but I typically coax him to nurse longer to encourage more milk production.

Food-wise, Griffin is eating solids at dinnertime. I could probably incorporate another solids meal into his day, but then I'd have to be consistent with it and I'm just not that motivated yet. Soon perhaps? 

I accidentally constipated my poor baby. :( Did you know that applesauce can cause constipation? Apparently that's why it's part of the BRATT diet for how to eat post-diarrhea or stomach bug. Well, we had been doing oatmeal cereal with breastmilk, but I got sick of pumping and decided to try applesauce. Griffin liked it just fine, but shortly there after it took him longer and longer to work out a poop, and they became increasingly more solid. After realizing that it was a problem and finally Googling it, I found out that apple juice will make you go, but apple sauce contains pectin which helps keep you regular just like eating an apple a day--but can also constipate. Go figure. After reading this I went out and bought Griffin's second solid food: prunes. ;) His digestive system has been working just fine ever since.

I waited too long to get a good "at the table" photo of Griffin. He's not too thrilled with Mom right now.

While Griffin still doesn't have any teeth, his sucking power has increased significantly and I am realizing that I have to be more careful when letting him chew on things like hard apple slices and cucumbers.

Picnicking with Dada

Here's a happy, eager eater

SLEEP

Griffin no longer needs to be swaddled at night! This feels like a big accomplishment! I remember being so worried and wondering if he'd have to be swaddled FOREVER, but I should have known that it would be a nice simple progression and then all of a sudden--violá--he'd be done with the swaddle. He also no longer needs to be in a swaddle blanket from the armpits down. He can sleep in a onesie, a sleeper, a sleepsack, anything! It's amazing how simple things like these matter so much to a parent.

Regarding actually sleeping, Griffin started out the month sleeping in our room and waking several times a night. I had tried having him sleep in his own room two or three times previously, but I suppose it wasn't the right time as he'd always end up back in our room, and I was always a wreck about trying. Then along came May 24 when moving him to his own room felt right. I didn't push it, I wasn't nervous or worried, it simply felt right, so we did it. And I only wish we did it sooner--he slept through the night! Over and over and over again! My goodness, apparently Griffin was just sick of sharing a room with his parents. Sheesh! Yay for smooth, easy transitions. 

To bring me back to reality about three weeks later he started waking several times a night to eat, but that was shortly before his 6m birthday and I suspected he was increasing my milk supply for his 6m growth spurt. He ate frequently for about a week and a half, and has since gone back to sleeping through the night. And, wow, I feel like a normal person!

Naps are going well. Griffin has a great nap schedule thanks to summer break, with two-a-day. They tend to be 1.5-2h in duration. Sometimes I nurse him to sleep and sometimes I don't, depending on how many feedings we're trying to squeeze into the day. The amount of quality feedings that Griffin gets during the day seems to equate to how well he sleeps at night.

"I still suck the first two fingers on my right hand"

Hanging out on the baby blankety I knit for Griffin

Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes!!

EYE COLOR

Griffin's eye color is still a toss-up. They remain blue on the outside and brown on the inside for now.

My eye color is still a mystery!

Sleeping with brother Eland outside REI

Baby out to breakfast 

Boys helping me celebrate my birthday

Hanging out with Gram at the pool during the big boys' swim lessons

IMMUNIZATIONS
Griffin seems to react adversely to Hib. :( At two months he reacted after getting DTaP and Hib, at three months he had no reaction to Pneumococcal, at four months he didn't react to DTaP alone, and during this past month he did react to Hib and Pneumococcal paired together, so I suspect Hib is our culprit. He had a spiked fever after receiving his immunizations. Thankfully it passed quickly with some ibuprofen and careful watching, but I am not a fan.

His pediatrician and I discussed this at his 6m visit and apparently Hib is now on a three-dose schedule instead of four, so Griffin won't be due again until 12m. (I was planning on having him wait anyway.) He received DTaP at his 6m visit and had no reaction. Phew.

Just in from a walk

Happy, happy baby!

Gram and the boys

My mom came out to help with the boys while Dan was at a conference for several days. Having her around to help was tremendous!!!! Thank you, Mom!

My Aunt Elaine, a mother of three grown boys, sent me this article recently: To the Mother of All Boys ... Thank you, Aunt Elaine! Such a great article! I love being a mom to three boys.

"He's got my hair!'

That's better..

"Griffin, out."

MONTHLY NOTES

05.12 - Griffin has been doing SO MUCH lately! Today he held himself in a sitting position with his arms, albeit somewhat flopped over, but definitely still sitting. Now when lying on his back on the floor he tries to lift himself up and lifts his entire head off the floor like he's attempting crunches. He's teething heavily, drool and all, and loves a finger--his or mine--to suck on. He loves his oatmeal cereal at dinner time and complains when I take a break to feed myself.

He's starting to get the hang of sleeping with his arms unswaddled. He still needs to be swaddled while going to sleep, but has been maintaining sleep with an arm or two out, and occasionally sucking his fingers. Like Eland, he prefers an index finger and middle finger pair, but unlike Eland, Griffin goes for his right hand.

05.18 - Griffin seems to be transitioning into taking longer naps. Just today I put him down in his crib with his arms unswaddled (!!) and he slept for 2 HOURS!! Woohooo!!! I may try unswaddled arms tonight at bed. It'd be great if he didn't need his arms swaddled anymore.

1/2 t /1.25ml ibuprofen - 100* fever at 6:45pm. Shots today

05.19 - It's OFFICIAL!! Griffin doesn't need to be swaddled. He can definitely stay asleep when his arms are out. I was just in his room grabbing the breastpump and made a little noise on accident. His arms went up, but he laid them back down again and carried on sleeping. YAYY!!

And on a bad note, he's having a vaccine reaction. :( He got HIB and Pneumococcal yesterday around 2:30pm. By 5p, he woke from a nap super fussy and tired. He kept yawning and literally fell asleep in my arms around 6:30. He NEVER does that. :( He also started running a fever. 100.3* around 6:30p, then 103.6* by 7:30p. The pediatrician's office told me to give him ibuprofen and what to watch for. He responded beautifully to the ibuprofen and slept without fever for the whole night. He's been great for the most part this morning, but started getting fussy and warm around 11:30am. Slight fever, so I gave him some ibuprofen and now he's napping.

I suspect it's the Hib that's bothering him, although I think it's a fairly gentle vax. He reacted when he got DTaP and Hib at 2m, no pneumococcal rxn at 3m, no rxn with only DTaP at 4m, which makes me think it's the Hib. I will talk with his ped about spacing out his vaccines even more now and only do one a month, that way I can really single it out. Poor guy. :(

05.20 - I'm nursing Griffin at bedtime tonight and he's having a hard time deciding between the breast and sucking his fingers. Uh oh. Fingers won. Time to switch sides so his right hand is inaccessible. :)

Last night was interesting. Griffin had a slight temp so I have him ibuprofen just in case it was on it's way up. He ended up waking only once to eat around 2am--and acted like he really was hungry! I am wondering if this is proof that teething pain is waking him up at night. Or if this is just his weekly/bi-weekly wake-once-at-night go. Nothing conclusive, but interesting.

Griffin is so good at tummy time when I'm around to keep him from rolling. :) He seems very comfortable on his belly and plays nicely. And he really can pivot around the playmat. It may be time to get strict about a no Legos in the same room as Griffin rule.

05.21 - Griffin only woke once last night! I'm still tired, but hey, maybe he can do this. :)

Since he was trying to suck his fingers and ultimately fell asleep last night like that, it seems to me that perhaps he's ready to go to sleep without nursing--which requires that he be in his own room since Dan and I typically are up watching TV while nursing him to sleep. Come to think of it, he could go to sleep in our room and we could just hang out elsewhere, but I suppose this is a good direction to be moving in. Regardless, I rocked him and nursed him down in his room tonight, then held him without nursing so that he could suck his fingers, and then laid him in bed with his giraffe blanket and seahorse playing. It seems to be moderately working. He's fussing occasionally and crying in tiny spurts since I put him down awake and left the room, but he's clearly doing some self-soothing, and compared to the crying last night doing our usual routine, he's doing better tonight relatively-speaking.

Hmm. Maybe not. He's upset now. :) Maybe we should try the other strategy. Our room without nursing, then his room. Okay, he's just whining now....... What to do what to do..

Griffin just whined a lot, so I picked him up, carried him back to our room, and held him while he sucked his fingers till he fell asleep. I put him down in our room. At least it's a start in the right direction--going to sleep without nursing. :) I honestly still like the idea of having him next to me. :)

05.23 - Hmm. Time to really move Griffin into his own room. He is waking WAY too often at night. Last night after two hours from his last feeding. I tried to rock him back to sleep rather than nursing, but about an hour later it was time to throw in the towel and nurse him. Dan and I are sooooo tired today. Ugh.

05.25 - 3:23am Griffin is sleeping in his own room for the first time tonight. And it's amazing!! It didn't take too, too long putting him down for the night. I'm not sure what the trick is, but with family and friends praying, a fan running on low, and having eaten frequently throughout the day (deliberately much more than usual), he's gone 8.5h!!!!! I probably don't even need to be nursing him now, but I am so sore from milk production for our typical every-three-to-four-hour typical nursing routine that I jumped as soon as I heard a whimper. I'm sure he would have fallen asleep again, but I need relief! Poor guy has cold hands and arms, but I am hesitant to turn off the fan in case the white noise is our key. Hmm.. It's obviously not blowing ON Griffin, but the circulation in the room seems to be doing it. Hmm. Maybe I can point it out the door?? Nevertheless, praise God, my baby is sleeping!!!!!!

05.29 - 3:06am Griffin turned on his seahorse tonight! I suspect he didn't know he was going to turn it on, but he does hold it or grab it now occasionally as he's either falling asleep or waking up.

He has slept great ever since I put him in his own room! The Rock-n-play has gone back to Kendra, and the co-sleeper is going back to Kaytee this weekend. (Thanks, Friends!!) This is the second night Griffin has woke around 3am, but I can totally work with that. Not sure if it's squeezing in lots of feedings in the day, white noise, or solids at dinner time--or God's infinite grace!--but I'll take it. :)

In other news, Griffin is getting good at practicing sitting up. He'll still fall over if unsupported, but he no longer slumps over all the way. He's a pro at grabbing things, and tummy time is still a bust as he always eventually rolls over, although he is more comfortable with hanging out on his tummy.

The boys got runny noses on Monday, and I got one yesterday. Griffin hasn't caught it and I'm praying he doesn't. Hopefully my antibodies kick in and help keep him cold-free. Little Bubba. :)

Griffin's bum was red and even bleeding slightly before bed this evening. I lathered him up in Badger Baby Balm and even changed his diaper before this current feeding. Poor guy. His poop has changed completely, so I wonder if it's that or his teething. I know all the drool can be a problem, too.

7:57pm - I can't believe how quickly Griffin is growing up! He rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time tonight while I was reading to the big boys before bed. Griffin was hanging out on the floor chewing his toes--a favorite pastime--and started scooting across the rug by pushing his legs into the rug. The boys and I kept reading, and then all of the sudden looked up to find Griffin hanging out on his stomach! It must have been around 7pm. We all clapped and congratulated him, and then he promptly rolled back to his back. :) He tried to go from back to tummy again and was soooo close but didn't pull it off. Another day and I'm sure he'll be doing it like it ain't no thang.

And my big boy no longer needs his arms swaddled. WOW! It was a very natural progression, for which I am very thankful.

And when he sucks his right first two fingers, he now places his left hand over his right. Funny how that works. Must be comforting. I'm going to keep trying to force the giraffe blanket. ;)

06.05 - Stranger Danger twice in two days. G started crying after bring held by non-regulars.

06.09 - Griffin is so funny when he sleeps, he typically always shifts to and "L" position with his legs sticking straight out his right side when I lay him down, but he doesn't stay like that. I just checked on him before going to bed myself and he's pivoted around so that he is laying perpendicular to the length of the crib--and he's on his left side. What a little mover!

My mom is visiting this week, and she's noticed that there's a particular toy on the exersaucer that frustrates Griffin. He slams it with his hand and starts yelling in frustration any time he works around to it. Interesting.

Griffin is no longer wearing a swaddle wrap to bed. It's become too hot, and one night he was sweating a ton. I took it off him while he was asleep and he slept just fine. It took a few days of transitioning as he wiggled all over the place while nursing, but not sleeping without being wrapped in anyway is his norm. Funny how things like that felt like a really big deal two months ago--would my baby ever sleep without being swaddled?! But it's been a nice, natural transition, and definitely not worth stressing an ounce over.

Griffin is a pro at rolling in both directions now. He happily chooses to hang out on his tummy, and then his side, his back.. He's all over the place. He even rolled off our rug and onto the tile at one point. It was a very real reminder that meticulously cleaning floors, use of baby gates, and baby proofing are all in my near future.

Griffin developed an annoying habit about a week ago. While nursing, he started putting his hands around my breast or on my arm and squeezing with all his might as if I were some kind of stress ball. And this kid has STRONG hands. STRONG. He has a promising future in climbing. His hands are CRAZY STRONG. I have little cuts and bruises from his little hands gripping me so tightly. I try to remove them, but he gets fussy and annoyed when I do. Today I tried a new strategy of having him hold his giraffe blanket while nursing instead of my breast and while I have to encourage him to keep his hands on the giraffe, it seems to be working. Sheesh, this kid is mighty!!

Poop--constipation w/ applesauce. Too much pectin. Prunes, and watered down apple juice were the perfect remedy.

We're down to approx. two naps a day, typically one longer and one shorter.

The charm of sleeping in his own room as worn off. The night before my birthday, he woke and ate every three hours. :/ Since, he's been up around 2:30a and then 6:15a. I wouldn't be surprised if he's working on his 6m growth spurt. I am hoping my great sleeping baby will return--and I'm optimistic. He's yo-yo'ed enough times that I'm sure he will start sleeping through the night again.