5 and 6 months

Jack-buddy,

You turned 5 months old in September, and it became our worst month so far in the health department as a family of 5, so we just hunkered down until it was all over. Not even sure we're there yet, but today feels okay, so I'm going to tell you how awesome you are before someone else gets sick. (Edit - started this post a couple weeks ago. Such is life....)

I had mastitis at the start of the month (September), probably due to a combination of things, one of which is the fact that you like to pinch and squeeze and hold your milk source like a bottle (oh, the irony), causing a clogged duct that couldn't ever clear. I thought I was dying.

Then we all got colds, except Daddy and (mostly) Eleanor. You poor little thing, coughing and sniffly and feverish.

After that, you had pink eye, given to you lovingly by your big sister Avery.

You then decided to return to a cold, while I simultaneously had a virus. In between all of this, Avery had an ear infection, Eleanor got a cold, and now so does Daddy. I give up.

In spite of all of this, you have been a trooper. You've remained your happy little self and are so blessedly easy-going. I don't take this for granted, and on my very worst of days (which are frequent this week), all I have to do is pick you up and snuggle you for awhile, and I feel better.

I honestly cannot even remember what you did during the month of August, your 5th month, but I'm sure it was lots of smiling and cooing and rolling, trying to get those toys. Avery started school at the end of it, and we haven't had to adjust your schedule too much for naps.

You've consistently been napping around 8 or 9 am and again by 12:30, and you've added a third short nap back in after we pick Avery up from school.

You are working on getting your knees under you (I'm not ready!) and you love to practice sitting. You have pretty good balance and can correct yourself when you start to topple over, at least some of the time. You dislike the bumbo, probably because of your awesome chub, but you love to sit with the boppy behind you while you try and grab things.

In the past two months, we've celebrated your baptism, traveled to Houston to meet your new cousin Davey, celebrated cousin Miles' baptism, enjoyed a visit with Mr. Ben and Mrs. Katie (who came from NYC to meet you!), played at the "beach", and finished out the girls' summer dance classes. We also went on our first family camping trip, where you slept in the pack n play or next to me and were such a trooper for us messing with your schedule big time.

You are back up in the night once or twice, which is exhausting. You can sleep 12-13 hours, but you won't. You still seem hungrier than the girls were, so I attribute it to that (plus being sick doesn't help). Hopefully you'll be back to longer stretches soon.

You don't have stranger anxiety yet, and hopefully you won't. You're happy to play in the nursery and be held by anyone. I'm still your favorite person, so I'm enjoying this for as long as it lasts.

You have a growing interest in what other people are holding, especially cups. You love to reach for our coffee mugs. You track the path of our forks to our mouths. Solid foods are just around the corner, but I'm not in any rush to start this!

Your six-month stats:
17 lbs 14 oz (50-75%)
28ish inches (75%) ??
and a 90th percentile head circumference