6 Months Old

So little Jackson just turned 6 months old. He's changing so much, its hard to keep up! At his 6-month well check, he weighed in at 17lb 6 oz (39%tile) & was 26.75" tall (50%tile). By looking at his chunky legs & multiple chins, you'd think he'd be on the upper end of the charts in weight, but he shocked us all :) He had a heyday with the paper on the exam table...when he was done, it looked like a puppy had gotten a hold of a roll of toilet paper!

Over the past couple weeks, Jackson has been:

- Sitting up unassisted

- Cutting his first 2 teeth (both on the bottom)

- Rolling over the minute you lay him on his back

- Locking his lips the minute he sees me get out the spoon to feed him

- Sleeping through the night (Thank God!)

- Rocking his new Cowboy boot socks

- Putting his face underwater during bathtime (with help from Daddy)

If I haven't mentioned it before, J is a very needy baby. He wants to be held constantly & demands attention 24/7. In his defense, for the first 3 months of his life, I held him all the time because he was so tiny & helpless. Is it nurture or nature? Anyways, I thought it was just something he did at home, but his teachers at Mother's Morning Out asked me if I carried him around in a sling at home (I don't)...because at playschool, he has a meltdown if they put him down or don't interact with him all the time. I'm very open to suggestions to help wean him from demanding my undivided attention & teaching him how to entertain himself. I've tried the whole "let him cry if his needs are being met" strategy but you can only do that for so long before its just painful to hear. I've heard that if a child demands constant stimulation, it can indicate that your child may be very bright...but my guess is that it can also indicate that your child could turn into a real brat!

Oh, and on Thursday, he cried for the first time when I left him...those poor little pitiful alligator tears. I guess he just really loves his Mommy.