Daniel at 6 Months

 As of this morning, Daniel now weighs 17lbs 6oz (46%), has a head circumference of 17" (43%) and is 28.25" (97%) long.

The past month has been really rough in the sleep department. This kid is just not a sleeper. Most nights he still gets up 4-6 times a night. A REALLY good night is only 2-3 wakes, but a bad night might be as many 8-9 wakes. Its exhausting and tortuous. Hes not hungry either, its just that he wakes up and cant put himself back to sleep, so he needs the comfort. This is despite all of my best efforts to teach him from day one, how to self soothe. Its like he woke up one day at 4 months and forgot all of it and no amount of teaching will get that ability back. So here we are. The other main problem is that he started rolling all over the place around a month ago, and about 3 weeks ago he started even being able to roll in his fluffy Merlin bed time suit (you know, the suit specifically designed to prevent them from rolling. Cue eye roll). So about half the time he wakes me up at night, its because hes rolled onto his belly and gotten stuck there. I think I might stop using that suit soon and just put him into a regular sleep sack. Maybe then he could get himself off of his belly at night!

Day time sleep isn't much better. Though his nap start times have gotten more predictable, their duration is still all over the map. Generally speaking his first nap starts at around 10am and lasts for about an hour (but can be as short at 30 mins), the second nap starts at 1 and lasts for anywhere from 1-2 hours and the 3rd nap starts around 4:30-5 and lasts about 20-30 minutes. Fortunately he is a deep sleeper and can sleep through anything. I take him and the kids out to play gyms a couple mornings each week (you can imagine how loud a gym filled with 20-50, 3-5 year olds can be), and he just naps in his car seat like its no big deal. Its pretty amazing and I do not take it for granted. Its NICE to be able to leave the house still and not miss a nap!


As mentioned above, he is a rolling fool! At first it started with just rolling from his back to his belly, then it was from his belly to back, and then it was sequential rolling with a destination in mind. Its amazing how quickly and how far this kid can travel just by rolling. He will roll, pivot and roll again to get to just about anywhere he wants! And despite my worries, it doesn't seem to bother him
one bit, laying his head on the hardwood floor. Every time I move him back onto the soft carpet, he just rolls back off again. Little stinker! He is strong too! The day before Christmas Eve, we were staying at a hotel in my parents home town. Our room had two queen size beds, and my plan was to have him sleep in his supposed roll-proof Merlin suit, on the other bed, surrounded by pillows. But right as we were getting ready for bed, for the first time, I look over and he has rolled half-way across the bed, IN HIS SUIT! WTF?! What timing! So we had to scrap that plan and drag the pack 'n' play out of the car that we had (thankfully) brought. Ever since then hes been a non-stop rolling machine.

He really wants to crawl too. He will be on the floor, watching the kids play, and he will get briefly onto his knees, rock back and forth and then go back to his belly again. He also does this inchworm thing where he raises his butt into the air, and lowers it back down again, scooting forward a few inches each time. Hes getting stronger all over too. Hes able to stand for a few seconds at a time (supported of course) and is sitting supported much better too. I am guessing that in this next month, he will be able to sit on his own, and might even be crawling too. That would be interesting as both other kids sat at 7 months, but didn't crawl until 9. So far Daniel has hit milestones at the same time as they did (with the exception of getting teeth 2 months early), so I will be curious to see if he crawls sooner. I know subsequent children generally do things earlier, but Nora sure didn't!

Speaking of teeth, he now has both of his bottom teeth and has started biting me at the end of feeds, once he gets relaxed. When he does this, I press his face into my breast a bit and tell him,
"no biting!" He smiles and laughs a little bit. Sometimes he will preemptively give me a little smirk (warning me of whats coming). I will tell him, "don't you bite me!" But then he clamps down and giggles! Stinker! My yelps of pain do not phase him. Gah!


This kid still loves his milk (he doesn't seem to be quite ready for solids yet), and eats every 1-2 hours during the day. He has been choking on my milk during let down, way less frequently too. He also loves to do strange things while nursing, like pick my nose, give me a thorough dental exam, and swing his meaty little arm around, bruising the two of us on a frequent basis. Oh the joys of breastfeeding!


Daniel is, generally speaking (with the exception of vaccines and teeth), the happiest and calmest little baby. Maybe not quite as content and quiet as Nora was, but really very good natured. He is happy and active and vocal (a lot like Will was as a baby actually). He gives out plenty of smiles but reserves laughs for special, extra hilarious times, and special people. His Aunt Katlyn and Will get most of the laughs around here. I get them when I lift him in the air, give him airplane rides, or do any kind of fast stunt (as he is a bit of a dare devil already). But mostly he is just content to watch the other kids play, dreaming of the day that he can join them in their mayhem!