Culhane McGeever! You turned 6 months old yesterday! You’re first ever half-birthday!

Colt developments: Handsome love, you continue to grow so beautifully. This month you have amazed your parents and many family members with your ability to grab things (and usually stick them in your mouth) and swat at things that are bothering you (i.e. me trying to get boogies out of your nose). You’re such a strong little man and you continue to enjoy standing up tall. If we stand you up beside a coffee table or something that you can grab on to, then you can hold yourself up for a few seconds. You can also sit up on your own very well these days. You topple over eventually but have gotten a lot better at keeping your balance. You are still not crawling but you do move around on your tummy, scooting and rolling around.

You are such a sweet, calm and happy little guy. You love peek-a-boo and patty-cake (especially your dad’s special version) and we have figured out that the easiest time to make you laugh is in the evenings when you’re tired. It’s totally the laugh before the cry, but your laugh is so sweet we just cherish every second.

You have been traveling all over the place this month and you’ve been a total star through it all. That being said, you have seemed a little more like a mama’s-boy this month. A couple of times over the holidays you got slightly overwhelmed in big groups and would cry if others tried to hold you. And even at random times too, I notice you being fussier for others and needing me more. I think it’s a normal phase to go through and we just continue to take you everywhere and pass you around, so I’m not worried about it. And even though I think I’m the most comforting to you, your dad is definitely your favorite person and gets the most smiles and giggles from you.

Health: I’m so thankful that you continue to be perfectly healthy. What an incredible blessing. We haven’t weighed you since last month but you’re definitely gaining (I’m guessing around 16.5 lbs) and you seem a lot taller to me these days. Earlier in the month you developed a little rash around your mouth due to all of the slobbering / putting everything in your mouth, but a simple cream from our doctor cleared it up in no time. Lately though, I’ve noticed that you’re getting little red marks on some of your fingers from gnawing on them so much! Be nice to yourself, sweet one!

Eating: For the past month we have been nursing 5 times/day and trying juices/solids when we can, once or twice / day in between feedings. I was originally planning on exclusively nursing for the first 6 months, but we decided to start introducing other foods at 5 months just to get you used to new tastes, textures, etc. We have tried freshly mashed (or small chunks of) mango, banana, strawberry, blueberry, orange and avocado, and, since we’ve been in the US we’ve tried some of the pre-made stuff. We have done freshly squeezed blood-orange juice which you liked but so far that’s been the only juice that you would take. We did rice-cereal once and it seemed to make you a little gassy, but we’ll revisit that again soon. I can’t say that you clearly love or hate anything though, since you generally just seem confused, but maybe you like bananas and berries the best. And you like gnawing on orange slices. It’s funny because when you eat, it takes a while, it’s a mess and doesn’t seem like you’re getting THAT much, but it has definitely changed your system — both in regularity and output — you’re turning into a little stinker!

Sleeping: Earlier in the month you were doing a little too much waking throughout the night, so we started letting you CIO (“cry-it-out”) both to fall asleep and in the middle of the night and I think it was definitely in everyone’s best interest. We also stopped swaddling you this month. We quit cold-turkey and switched the swaddle for a sleep-sack. Although it was tricky for a couple of days, you adjusted pretty quickly and it’s so funny to watch you move in your sleep now! You usually sleep on your side and often end up spinning around all over the place.

You have been an amazing sleeper on all of our flights and you instantly adjusted to South Carolina’s 3 hour time-change, staying right on schedule. We had a harder time when we arrived in Phoenix and it took us a while longer to get you on track. I think part of the problem is that we kept trying to have you sleep in your dad’s old cradle that your Nana had all redone (it is just so beautiful!), but you move too much now and would constantly wake yourself up! After a couple of days we moved you out of our room and into a pack-n-play and you did much better!

Schedule: We changed it a little right after your turned 5 months to eliminate your last nap so that you go to bed earlier. Right now, our (ideal) schedule is basically:

7:30 am Wake, feed & change, followed by play time.
9:30-11:30 Big Nap.
11:30 am Feed & change, followed by play time.
1:30-2:15 Little Nap.
2:15 pm Feed & change, followed by play time.
4:00-5:30 Big Nap.
5:30 pm Feed & change, followed by play time.  NO NAP!
7:45 pm Feed, change and get ready for bed.
8:45 pm Bed time! Down for the night.

I like to get you out of the house at least once and if it’s nice enough to have you play outside then that’s even better. Still giving you a bath every day too.

Mama: Nothing new with me. I’m always wanting to freeze time but then loving the next day even more. It’s so fun getting to know you and your sweet personality.

Thoughts: What a special month this has been, Culhane! It was such a joy to bring you to South Carolina and Arizona and introduce you to so many friends and family members who were just waiting to meet you. Your dad and I have felt blessed beyond measure to witness so much love poured out on you.

Trying some mango! Colby & Culhane in matching outfits!

Parabéns Little Bit! You’re 5 months old today!

Colt developments: Baby, you’re growing so much! This month you finally discovered your toes and grab them constantly when you’re laying on your back. It’s actually kind of helpful when you’re getting changed! You have also started chewing on your hands like crazy. You are always slobbering all over them and everything else! Gigi thinks that you’re in the beginning stages of teething, but I’m not so sure / I’m hoping we’re not quite there yet…

You’re much better at holding and maneuvering objects and toys which is fun to watch. And just a few days ago you rolled over from your back to your tummy for the first time! You’re not crawling yet but you are getting more mobile — scooting around a little. You enjoy all of your little devices (crib, bunny seat, bumbo chair, johnny jump up, activity mat…) but one of your favorite things to do is to practice standing up while we hold your hands. You also went swinging at the park for the first time this month and you seemed to love it! You would smile and squint your eyes as if the wind in your face was almost too much. It was amazing.

You have laughed a few more times this month, but you still generally reserve laughs for special occasions. You’re a very happy baby and smile all the time, but you’re a little bit on the serious side too.

Health: I’m so thankful that you continue to be perfectly healthy. At your appointment yesterday you weighed in at 15 lbs 7 oz and were almost 26″ long. You had a mosquito attack one night this past week and when I went into your room in the morning, I found 14 bites all over you, you poor thing. That mean mosquito got you on the top of your head, your face, your fingers, your toes, and anything else it could find. I was so heartbroken but honestly I couldn’t blame the mosquito – you’re skin is just so soft and irresistible. If I were a mosquito I’d chomp on you too.

Eating: Still all me. We are currently feeding 5 times/day but I have to say, this past month has been quite a challenge. When we were in Mississippi I had to leave you a lot with Michael or babysitters so you ended up feeding from bottles much more than usual, and as a result, you went on what is apparently called a “nursing strike,” and that’s exactly what it felt like! You would arch your back and fling your head and cry, cry, cry, as if to say, “I’m on strike!” For the next week I fought through it and exclusively nursed you which seemed to break the strike, however you can still get difficult after a few minutes and sometimes you are tough even with a bottle. You’re lucky you’re cute when you cry!

Sleeping: You’re still a great sleeper, although I do think that all of the visitors (taking us off our schedule) and all of the traveling (+ a 4 hour time change in Mississippi) has thrown you off a little. You are going down at 10pm but are often waking up around 6:30am. I can always get you back to sleep and never feed you before 8:00am, but sometimes it takes a few trips to your room to give you the paci. And every now and then you will wake in the middle of the night for your paci too. I’m not really sure what this is all about, as it never happened before our big trip, but ever since then your sleep has just been a little less like clockwork. At any rate, you basically sleep from 10:00pm-8:15am so even if I have to get up once or twice for 30 seconds, I can’t complain. Also you are beyond adorable when you sleep. I almost can’t handle it.

Schedule: It’s basically the same as reported last month – feeds generally at/around: 8:15am, 11:30am, 2:30pm, 5:45pm, 8:30pm, down for bed by 10:00pm. You nap throughout the day – usually 1 big nap and 3 small ones.

Mama: I think I love motherhood more and more each day. What fun it is to be your mom and to watch Michael be your dad. We have so much fun with you and are cherishing these moments.

Thoughts: Sweet love, I can’t believe what a precious little boy you’re becoming. I am so excited to take you home for the holidays and show you off to our friends and family.

When your Zais grandparents visited, Gigi brought us a sweet Advent calendar. Each morning, we take you to the calendar and your dad explains that we are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. He tells you about Jesus’ life and death and resurrection. He tells you that you have a Savior and a Rescuer in Jesus, and Culhane, we are praying every day that you will know Him. We pray that you will know Him and know the freedom of life lived in and through Him. We pray that you will know the joy and peace of one who knows he is fully known and fully loved. We pray that you will come to the table of your God and freely “delight in the richest of fare,” all the days of your life. (Isaiah 55:1-2)