Meet The Boy

Mooooom!

 

So expressive.  So very, very expressive.  He has the eyebrow quirk from his dad.  He wrinkles his nose like his mom.  His tongue is stuck out any time he's focused on something, which is almost always, like his sisters.

He is so active that his pediatrician noticed it and called him a "handful."  I think she meant it in a good way.  He is currently pulling himself up to standing and cruising around the furniture, although he still favors doing his inchworm impersonation over actually crawling.  He pulls up to standing from his stomach (the kid has a six-pack), but refuses to go from stomach to sitting up.  I'm hoping that as he gets more used to kneeling, he'll eventually figure out that he can go from kneeling to sitting, and then it's a short transition from tummy to sitting.

Favorite position: standing, one hand firmly on the table

He is experimenting with crossing the gap from the coffee table to wherever I am (usually on the couch, chair, or floor), which is all of three unassisted steps, but does not quite have the confidence to let go.  On the other hand, he will climb anything that holds still, and some things that don't.  He's climbed out of his crib, out of his exersaucer, over my shoulder, off the arm of the recliner, off my leg and onto the table, off the dog onto the couch, the list goes on.  He considers people to be launching platforms and will cheerfully dig his toes into your ribs to get a better vantage on something shiny.  He believes, with all his heart, that he can fly.

The stats!  He is 31" long, which is still off the charts for height, and 21.15 pounds heavy, which is 75th percentile for weight.  That's a percentile drop of 10 from his 6-month checkup.  I'm not starving him; his pediatrician says that since he is so very active, it's to be expected.

Another reason for him not gaining so much may be that we've discovered his second food allergy (he's allergic to unpasteurized apples, too, like his daddy).  Sadly, it's a doozy.  Whereas I thought he only had lactose intolerance, and therefore restricted dairy from his diet, it turns out that he has a milk protein allergy, which means I needed to cut out dairy from MY diet.  Sure enough, as soon as I cut the dairy, he stopped having diaper issues (the details of which you will thank me for not sharing) and he looks a little more filled out to me already.

He likes papaya and bananas, is okay with mango, and loves him some peaches.  Green peas are only okay if they're made by Sprout, Tyler Florence's company, and mixed with garden beans and a touch of mint.  Daily we do not know if we like kabocha, butternut, and sweet potato.  Most of his veggies get mixed with lentils so he has protein, because he's not fond of the stringiness of chicken meat and I don't do a lot of red meat.  Mushrooms are a no go.  I'm wanting to experiment with fish., but no shellfish until he's a year.  We did go ahead and test out peanut butter, which he's seriously convinced is manna.  Especially when delivered on a piece of graham cracker.

He loves chocolate, and chili colorado, and chorizo, and curry.  He doesn't digest them well so I have had to sit on excited family members to limit his intake.  Thankfully, he also loves Silk soy milk, which was recommended by his pediatrician.  He's still nursing and doesn't show any sign of weaning in the near future, but we're down to between 4 and 6 feedings a day.  I will be ready when he is.  Soy milk is a good supplement, and I will keep his diet high in lentils, beans, and oatmeal to ensure his folic acid, iron, and proteins are optimal.

He loves dog food, too, but I try really hard to limit his intake.

He has five and a half teeth; that sixth tooth simply refuses to break through.  There are four (three and a half) on top and two on bottom.  There might be two more coming in on bottom, but he's not fond of letting me stick my fingers in his mouth to check.  We have a deal; he doesn't bite me while nursing and I don't poke around his mouth too much.  I prefer to maintain that status quo.

He is a clown.  When he's tired, he's giggly.  Anything makes him laugh, especially if it's a noise that sounds like a body function.  A good snort will send him into hysterics.  He loves exaggerated facial expressions.

He plays peek-a-boo and gives high fives.  He will toss his arms over his head when we say, "Yay!" He doesn't clap yet and he doesn't wave bye-bye, but you can see him processing gestures.  He knows the signs for "milk" and "hungry" and "more" and "all done."  He knows who daddy is, sister, doggy.  I thought he was calling me "Mom Mom" and that he was fascinated with saying it, until it became apparent that he discovered the phrase was optimal for blowing spit bubbles.  Try it sometime - it really is.  Ivan says he still knows and says "Mom" but I don't want to get my hopes up.  We are currently working on blowing kisses.

In short, we have no bursts of genius, no physical virtuosity, no early talking or walking or reading.  But we do have a very expressive, agile, active baby who sees EVERYTHING and loves to explore his world.  And he gives the BEST hugs ever.

We are in love.