Walter-6 Months

Holy moly a half of a year with the chillest baby on the block!

Weight: Welp…here I am again typing this out after Wally is asleep for the night. And I forgot to weigh him again. Did I contemplate waking him up so I could have his weight? Yes I did, but then I had better judgement.

Health: No health concerns this month. However, his two bottom teeth are starting to pop up. So while, there aren’t fevers or known ear infections yet, he has been a little crankier and a lot more slobbery this month.

Diet: Still going strong with breastfeeding! This last week, I did have to start getting into our freezer stash because pumping as usual starts to wane at about 4-5 months for me. I am shocked that I have made it this long without dipping into that extra supply to get through our days. I still don’t think we will need to supplement formula for awhile, but as I go back to campus more days a week in the upcoming months, I know that freezer stash is going to go down more quickly. I have however made a promise to myself that I am not going to pump extra this time around. It nearly killed my sanity with George, and I was always exhausted with Daphne because I was always trying to add more pumps to an already long day. I know it is not needed, and I don’t need that guilt put on myself. So my resolve is to only pump when I am at work on campus, and we’ll just see how long that takes us! Walt feeds 5 to 6 times a day, and on average it adds up to 2.5 hours of nursing. He is going around 4 hours between feedings during the day. My app says that we have had 168 feedings over this last month, and spent 3 days feeding him. I have also pumped 12 times over the month. We did start with solids just this weekend. We are choosing the baby led weaning way which means it can be a slow start as they get use to all the stimulation of it. We have only tried avocados, and he was really indifferent so far. Next up is sweet potatoes and black beans!

Clothes: He is in 3 month clothes and size 2 diaper. Although it is on my to-do list to change him up to 3-6 month clothes this week.

Sleeping: We really lucked out with this kid and sleep. For the most part anytime we lay him down, he will eventually go to sleep. He goes to bed around 8pm. Then I wake him up around 10:30 pm for a feeding, and then he goes right back down. During the week, I get him up at 5:15am. On the weekends, we sleep in until 6:30-7:30 am. I am not changing the overnight piece still for awhile. I haven’t tried it in a few weeks to see if we could stretch. I am honestly too worried about my supply dipping. By cutting out a feeding at night, in theory it would really only save me a half hour in the morning since we stay up that late anyway. He typically takes two naps during the day, but they aren’t usually very long. He is still sleeping in a pack and play in our room overnight. I would say that 9/10 times, we are able to put him down awake, and he falls asleep within 5 minutes. We transitioned to the zipadee zip suit for sleeping, and he seems to love it. He has started rolling to his side in his crib, which is terrifying to me. He also has gotten his legs stuck in the crib bars a few times as he rolls around more. I don’t remember the big kids moving around as much as Wally does.

Likes: He is still obsessed with Daphne. He loves to chew on cloth and his little wobbly toy. He loves to be rubbed like a dog on his belly and under his chin. He likes his activity jumper. He kicks his little legs around like crazy on that thing. He likes VocabuLARRY. He also loves Tom. They have little chats right before we all go to bed, and Tom gets the biggest smile out of him. To be fair, Wally gets the biggest smile out of Tom too.

Dislikes: He has started getting really impatient with me when I am feeding him. It is really the only time he cries for the most part because I am too slow for his liking.

Nicknames: Walt, Wally, Wally Bear, Wally Olly, Butters, Sweet Bean, and Stinkerdoodle. We also have adopted most of Daphne’s nicknames: Waltie baby, Cutie baby, Sweetie baby, Baby guy, and Baby Walter. This last week she started calling him Wallace out of no where. I think the most common are Wally, Wally Bear and Waltie. We also really love to sing Wally Olly to same tune of “Body” by Megan Thee Stallion. Tom has created a whole remix to that song for Wally.

Milestones: He rolls in all directions now. However, he seems to hardly ever do front to back, but he can do it. He is starting to sit up better and better. He is starting to grab for things and is more intentional reaching and touching things. He is putting a lot more weight on his legs and likes to be helped standing.

Quirks: When we put him to bed at 10:30 in the pack and play, he starts acting like he is paddling. He just throws his legs up and down as hard as he can and then laughs and coos until he falls asleep. It’s a little terrifying because he is so loud and then all of a sudden he’s not. (My anxiety is on a roller coaster when he is sleeping.) When he is changing his diaper he likes to pump out glute bridges, so it is super fun trying to do that task.

We parents are: living the dream. I will say that work has been incredibly challenging this past month due to various projects ramping up and many extra hours trying to make it all work. I am also super thankful for the opportunity to work from home when I do. And I really do love my job, and the people I work with make it all worth it. I also had some good interactions with students in the past couple weeks that have been a great reminder of why we do what we do. Tom is loving work, and it is so great to see him so happy and with people that value him. We also have been putting in extra effort to get our yard looking better. Tom has taken down half our fence and been clearing out some overgrown areas to make our yard seem twice as big. We also have been getting our veggie garden in tip top shape, so we are excited to see what comes to fruition in the upcoming weeks. It is very rewarding to grow our own food.

Big kids are: being as crazy as usual. School just ended for George, and I am excited for summer to start so we can just be outside as much as possible. I love seeing them play outside and create new worlds when they explore our yard. We have really expanded their play area this year with removing the fence, so it will be fun to see them engage in new spaces. They both still love Wally and are very excited to watch him start eating things. They think the mess is super hilarious. Daphne is very protective of him, and she loves to tell strangers that he came from my belly. She also sings the sweetest made up songs to him. George loves to try to dance with him.

Grace is: being her sassy self. Some days she acts like the 10 year old dog she is, and then other days she bounds around like a puppy again. She is also very excited that Wally is starting foods at the table. With all the seats full, I am sure she just sees more opportunity to have a buffet on the floor.

In case you are curious, here is George at six months and Daphne at six months.

It’s hard to believe that he has been here for half of a year.