I took Jack to the doctor yesterday for his 6 month appointment. He is 17 pounds which to me seems like a lot. The doctor was very happy with his height and weight since his last visit. Scarlett was 19 lbs at a year, so this is not a tiny guy by any means!
Food is a big part of Jack's life. He REALLY enjoys eating and has tried many new foods since we started solids back in December. He had a bad reaction to peas and green beans, so I cannot buy or make any baby food that contains either vegetable. I wanted to buy him some jars of mixed vegetables but as soon as I saw peas on the jar, I knew it wouldn't be good for him.
For the first few weeks of solids, I was making Jack's food. He was going through each jar I made for him extremely quickly, and I couldn't keep up. If I made 7 jars, it was gone in about 2 days. Steaming and blending all the fruits and veggies takes time and I certainly couldn't be doing this constantly every few days. It's just easier for me to now buy Jack's baby food to have on hand whenever I need it. One of his favorite veggie combos is spinach and carrots, and he loves any fruit medley too. He did try a jar of chicken with chicken broth and he was not a fan. It was very thick and he had trouble eating it. I can't blame him, it looked very unappealing! He does love Geber's vegetable turkey dinner and also chicken with rice.
Since Jack is 6 months old now, the doctor told me I can try giving peanut butter and eggs. I think I'm going to try scrambled eggs later today and see what he thinks. Jack tried cheese yesterday and didn't like it. I did give him a mashed up blueberry which he loved. We also started him on a sippy cup of water about a week ago. He took to the water quickly and seemed to love it.
Jack has a 7 ounce bottle four times a day with three solid meals in-between. We do breakfast at about 9:30-10, lunch at 2, and dinner at 5:30 for him. His last bottle is at 7 right before he goes to bed.
One thing that bothers me is that I cannot get Jack on a consistent daytime schedule. He wakes up at a different time every morning and our mornings are chaotic because I take Scarlett to preschool 4 days a week. I'm rushing around trying to get her fed and ready and I may or may not have to give him a bottle before we leave depending on when he last ate. If he ate at 6:30 or 7 AM, it's an easier morning for me because then I have 15 more minutes to get what I need done. His naps are not at the same time everyday either. I feel bad for him that he's always in the car being dragged to everything. The doctor told me to see if I can get someone to stay with Jack while I do school pick-up and drop off. Since that isn't possible, I have to just accept that he is not going to be as heavily scheduled as Scarlett was. I try not to compare my children to each other, but it's hard not to. I hope at some point I can get something consistent during the day.
Bedtime is the only true consistency we have as he goes to sleep every night at 7:15 sharp. We do bath, story, bottle, and bed. I'm lucky that I have this routine with him because if night time was erratic too, I'd be really upset. He is not sleeping through the night, but I hope he will be soon enough.
Jack continues to love everything Scarlett does. He really loves his big sister and cracks up hysterically at her. Of course she eats up the attention and always is doing something that she wants him to notice.
Since Jack has some flatness on the back of his head that is noticeable, I'm taking him to a consultation on Tuesday to see about getting a helmet. Scarlett had one but her flatness was much more severe, so I'm curious as to what they will say about him. Hopefully if he needs one he won't need to be in it too long.
I've been trying to socialize Jack as much as I can lately. He's been to many baby storytimes at the library as well as baby play-dates from a local Mom's group I joined. I also like the double advantage of getting to meet other moms as well. The baby story-time at the library plays music for the babies and it always makes Jack smile.
Jack is into toys and loves to be read to, but what he likes the most is just being spoken to. Nothing makes him happier than when he can watch your face as you talk. He has such a big smile and will usually kick his legs and jabber. He loves people and faces and is a very social baby. I have to say that Jack also loves hugs, kisses, and being held just as much as he always has. He remains a big fan of bath-time too.
We're working on Jack sitting up and he's getting closer. I'm sure before I know it he'll be crawling around everywhere!
Can't wait to see what the next few months bring.
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