Nathan is rapidly becoming a big boy–he seems to be hitting new milestones every day! Here’s what’s new with the munchkin.

Growth

Nathan continues to grow at a steady pace. At last check, he had gained more than a pound since his last pediatrician’s appointment back in May. I’m always checking on the girth of his thighs, but my mom says she has noticed that his face looks fuller. Chubby thighs and cheeks are what I like to see! He’s filling out 6 months size clothing these days, so I might need to dig up the 6-9 months garb soon.

Likes & Dislikes

Nathan has finally started to take an interest in toys. I’ll spread out a few on the rug in the living room and let him go to town. It’s pretty much the cutest thing ever to hear him rattling and cooing away while I make dinner. As for dislikes, he really loathes bibs. So much so that I don’t even bother with them most of the time and instead just strip the kid when it’s time for some solids (more on that below). It’s also getting harder to nurse Nathan when other people are in the room. This kid has the worst case of FOMO I’ve ever seen, such that he can’t stand not having a good view of other people (particularly Caleb) while nursing. It kinda makes this whole breastfeeding thing feel a little isolating when I have to take him into a separate, dark, quiet room to feed.

Eating & Sleeping

Nathan continues to take bottles just fine at daycare, and he’s acclimated to formula. We introduced solids this month in the form of purees. He’s still not able to sit up on his own, so I don’t feel comfortable beginning baby-led weaning just yet. Thus far, he’s tried apples, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, pears, oats, peas, corn, sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots, and whole milk yogurt. Winter squash is the definite favorite! He likes to eat, although I can tell he wishes he could be eating what we’re eating (there’s that FOMO again). There’s nothing new to report on the sleeping front. He continues to wake consistently once per night. I’m a bit conflicted about his sleeping habits, as I’d like him to sleep through the night, but at the same time, I know that feeding once per night maintains my breast milk production.

Other Quirks:

-Nathan is SO close to crawling. He mastered the position (i.e., getting up on all fours) weeks ago, but he can’t seem to coordinate the movements just yet. He’s even been known to plank for a few seconds at a time–it almost looks like he’s doing push-ups!

-Margot is his new BFF. For the past three years, Caleb and our dogs have merely coexisted–Caleb has no interest in them nor they in him. That is not the case with Nathan, however. He particularly loves Margot. He’ll be whining in his bouncy chair, but as soon as she comes in view, he starts giggling with delight. She has taken notice and thus likes being around him (everyone likes being adored, right?). I hope they’ll continue to like each other as he grows.

-He’s spoiled by daycare. One drawback to his happy disposition is that I think his teachers delight in holding him all day…so he’s gotten used to constant attention! It seems that I can’t put him down even to fold laundry these days. I think the Ergo is going to get a lot of use soon…