Hendrix is just beyond six months and I’m finding this to be such a fun age! The first few months were really hard, but this feels like we are really getting into a rhythm and the things he’s doing are so much more interactive–it’s really cute.
All that to say, I thought I’d share a little six month update here on what’s new and happening around these parts with Hendrix.
First, I kind of wish I had been doing these monthly updates–but honestly, I am just not that organized, but I do have a baby book for Hendrix that I’m trying to keep up to date.
Let’s jump in…
Weight & Height
Almost 22 pounds & 30 inches.
How’s he sleeping?
We sleep trained at three months & he finally started sleeping through the night at four months. Since then, pretty smooth sailing, and will sleep from about 7pm to 6am (sometimes earlier/later, just depends on the day).
I do feel like we hit a little six month sleep regression where he was waking up in the middle of the night screaming. We had two really bad nights and wow did that ever bring me back to the newborn days! I was really starting to take for granted those full night’s of rest I was finally getting 😛 But in all seriousness, I upped his food during the day, removed the peas I had recently introduced, started a two-nap-a-day schedule (versus three), and that seemed to help.
Pajamas
Onesie (love these ones & the ones from Costco, brand is Pekkle) + sleep sack (we have loved the ones by First Wish, that you can find at Winners/Marshalls, but have this one on deck for his next size).
Toys Hendrix Loves
This cube has been a favourite since he was two months old, he uses his Exersaucer daily, this wood and plastic rainbow caterpillar from a friend is a bit hit & these teething chewies. Other friends recently gifted us with one of these musical tables and while he can’t stand on his own yet, I sit behind him to help him steady on his feet and he loves it.
My mom likes to poke fun at us when she comes over and see’s all the colourful baby crap everywhere that I was so adamant about not having, before having Hendrix. Turns out, babies love colourful crap. Like a lot 😉
Teeth?
4!
Two bottom (at four months) & two top (just before six months).
When I first shared that Hendrix was getting teeth on IG Stories, one mom said, ‘Teeth make them look so old’ (insert the tears!), and another said, ‘Teeth make them look so cute!’ — and isn’t that just the perfect example of perspective? Both can be true, but I really chose to focus on the ‘cute’ statement because focussing on how much he’s changing and growing really does bring tears to my eyes!
All that to say, yes, teeth. I think it was about three days before his first tooth came through, I had a mom friend say her first baby didn’t get teeth until after a year old. You can imagine my surprise when two popped up within 10 day of each other!
When it comes to the topic of teeth though, everyone has one, burning question: how’s breastfeeding with teeth? And honestly, not as bad as you may think. They don’t really use their teeth, but if he does bite me, I just tell him firmly, ‘No biting,’ and that usually gets the message across.
Solids–what & when? Anything new?
We introduced solids at four months to get him sleeping through the night–just a little oatmeal at bedtime routine. When he started waking up in the night hungry, we added in oatmeal for breakfast also. When he started waking again, I added puree at lunch time, then eventually at snack time. You get the idea. All of this, while still breastfeeding on either side of meals.
Currently, Hendrix eats this oatmeal + fruit for breakfast (first wake window), oatmeal + fruit plus puree for lunch (second wake window), puree for snack, 5oz bottle & oatmeal for dinner (final wake window). Again, all of this along with breastfeeding still.
I’ve been using the Baeba Babycook to make his fruit and veggie purees, which has made it really easy (it steams & purees in one). Honestly, food intimidated me before I started–I felt like I had just gotten the knack of breastfeeding and understanding his cues, so introducing solids felt so overwhelming (which feels kind of silly, now). However, we just started small–one food at a time, for three days to ensure no allergies, and they don’t need much when starting out.
When it comes to making your own food, you can just make a batch of one vegetable puree (we started with sweet potato), and use it for several days. Also, you don’t have to make your own food, pre-made baby food is there for a reason, just do what works best for you and your family.
As for the high chair, we went with this very budget friendly one that is super easy to wipe down. I love the removable (padded) star seat liner that you can throw in the washing machine & down the road, this turns into a little chair and table for toddler.
New Skills
Sitting up! Still a little wobbly so I tend to sit behind him or put a nursing pillow around him. He loves sitting and playing with toys, and trying to lay him on his back to play with toys has since become frustrating to him and not preferred. He still loves going in his playpen for 10 – 15 minutes to play around.
Rolling over twice (same direction) & spinning 360 on his belly. Still can’t seem to roll back.
Clothes
Anything from 6 months to 12 months seems to fit–it really depends on the brand. He’s long but not overly wide so we are usually sizing up to accommodate his length. Brands we love are H&M, Zara, Carters, Pekkle, Old Navy, Gap.
Anything else new?
This month we removed the third nap. I was a little apprehensive about going to a bigger wake window, three ish hours versus two (as in, what would I do with him for so long?!) but turns out it makes life a little more flexible. We can go out to see my parents or run errands without being on such a tight schedule. He was also showing signs of being ready to be up longer.
We also went from napping him on a timer scheduler to a clock schedule. So before, when he would get up from a nap (each day was different), I would put him down again two hours later–whatever time that was. Now, we are doing a nap at 9am and a nap at 2pm. Sometimes he’s tired sooner than those times, and we adjust, but it’s mostly the schedule we try to stick to.
Car trips have become enjoyable again–there was a bit of a period where he was not a fan, but seems to be smoother now (this will likely change since I’m clearly jinxing it by writing it out!). We are still using and loving this car seat (which is part of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale this year! $100 off). It’s the lightest car seat on the market and Marco has become a pro swapping the base from his car to mine when needed (takes less than 3 minutes). I feel comfortable taking Hendrix out on my own for car trips–but do tend to still sit in the back if Marco is driving us anywhere just in case he starts to freak out 😉
And finally, like I mentioned above, I feel like we are finally in a groove. My post-partum hormones have levelled out a bit more, I’m getting sleep and better able to function throughout the day. It took me quite a while to get to this point, even to socialize (which obviously we aren’t doing a ton of right now) was too much for the longest time, and things are now feeling so much smoother. It kind of feels like the fog has started to lift and the view is really beautiful. Anyway… 🙂
Hope you girls enjoyed this little update on Hendrix. It’s true when they say they grow so fast. I get a little sad thinking about how little he was and how big he’s getting, but at the same time, it’s obviously a good thing too.
I’m going to link everything I mentioned in the post in the widget below, let me know if you have any questions on anything I shared & I’ll talk to you soon! xo
