Luke is 17 lbs at 6 months!

Luke had his 6 month checkup last week and is doing very well. He's 17 pounds, which is almost average for his age. He is 26" long, which is only the 30th percentile, but he's a whopping 80% percentile for his head cirumference! (44.8 cm)

Vaccinations were no fun, though. He was very irritable and ran a low grade fever for a few days. Thank God for infant Tylenol to help him feel better. On top of that, he also came down with a cold, which he still has. The pediatrician's office recommended children's benadryl, which seems to be helping.

He's been eating rice cereal every day for the last few weeks and loves it. A couple of days ago we introduced green beans. He's not quite sure what to make of them. He makes a funny face with each spoonful, but then opens wide for more. It's adorable! And very messy, but a lot of fun!

He's also sitting up like a champ! He hardly needs any support, and only topples occasionally. The boppy is a huge help here. We sit him up inside it with the open side facing front, and he'll play with his toys for a good hour. He loves sitting up, and you can tell he's so proud of himself. What a ham! I'll post more pictures as soon as we get them downloaded.

His schedule improves every few weeks. He's now going to bed a little earlier and is usually asleep by 8:00 or 8:30, which is really nice for me. He still doesn't sleep the same number of hours each night, but it's usually around 10 or 11.

He sure is a lot of fun! I'm going to miss this stage, but I'm looking forward to when he starts crawling. It will keep me on my toes, which will hopefully help me get more regular exercise! Now it's on to baby-proofing our house; wish me luck!

Lots of Sleep

Luke has been sleeping much better at night. The last 2 nights he's slept 11 hours straight! It's so great to be able to get good sleep again. He usually goes to bed around 9:00 pm, which works out great for us. His naps have become more predictable as well. He either takes 2 long naps or 3 short naps each day, but he seems to need all that sleep.

He loves eating his rice cereal, too. At first he didn't know what to do with it once I put the cereal in his mouth; he'd grin and it would all just run down his chin. (Very adorable!) Now he lunges for the spoon because he can't seem to get enough!

Luke will be 6 months old on Monday, and we head to the pediatrician for his vaccinations on Tuesday. We'll be starting baby food next week, and I think he'll love it! I'm having a blast being a mom; there's nothing else like it!

Luke has Baby Bronchitis

Our poor baby sounds terrible, but I don't think he feels too badly except at night. It started with a cold that has settled into his chest. He's coughing and wheezing a bit, but fortunately it's not severe and he doesn't have a fever. Since it's a virus, there is no medication to help him get better quickly. The pediatrician gave him a breathing treatment on Friday, but it didn't seem to help much. He sounds awful when he coughs, but he's in pretty good spirits, considering. He wakes up a couple times at night because he can hardly breathe and has snot all over his nose and face. I'm very grateful for the bulb syringe to suction him out. He's so darling, though, smiling at me through all the mucus on his sweet little face!

Please pray that his lungs and sinuses will clear, especially at night, and that he'll get over the cough quickly.

We did survive the weekend without Luke while my parents had him. We missed him terribly, but it wasn't unbearable. The Family Life 'Weekend to Remember' was awesome! Marty and I highly recommend it for every married couple. It's a wonderful way to re-focus on each other, God and the priorities for your family. We're going to try to go every year.

Luke is Getting on a Regular Schedule

I'm so relieved that Luke is on more of a schedule this week. The past 2 nights he has gone to bed at 8:00 pm, which is really quite nice. I now get a little time to myself in the evening. Tuesday night, he woke up at 3 am and was really hungry, but then he slept until 9:00 am! Last night, he actually slept 11 hours and didn't wake up until 7:00 am. Woohoo!

He's getting his first nap of the day about 2 hours after waking, which is usally around 9:30. Then his second nap ends up being about 2 hours after he wakes from the first one. Thank you, Melinda and Anya, for both recommending Dr. Weissbluth's book 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.' It really makes sense, has helped me understand Luke better, and is really working for us. I highly recommend it to anyone who's pregnant or has recently had a baby, and there are lots of you out there in that second category. At one time while I was pregnant, I knew 9 other people who were pregnant too, most of whom were expecting their first baby like me!

I'm also excited because Marty and I are going to attend the Weekend to Remember marriage conference this weekend at the Dayton Marriott. We went a few years ago and it really helped our marriage, brought us closer to God and closer to one another. My parents are keeping Luke from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon; I'm really going to miss him, but it will be a nice romantic weekend home alone with my hubby.