Six month check-up

We just came back from Xavier 6 month well child check-up and wanted to share the news.

Xavier now weighs 21lbs, 5oz (95th percentile) and is 29 inches long (99th percentile). So, even though he is a huge 6 month old, he has a healthy weight to height ratio.

Developmentally, Xavier is also doing just fine. Social and language skills seem to be his strong areas. He loves watching people and getting their attention by smiling and babbling. Just this morning, he had all three office ladies at the doctor's office cooing at him at once. He makes many different sounds, including "dadada" (doesn't mean daddy yet), "gagaguagua," "odua," "ah" (this one he hold for as long as he can, sometimes turning red), "dedede," when he is hungry he often goes "mamamama," and we swear we have heard him mimic "bye" and "hi" a couple of times. He is also learning the power of his lungs, screeching as loud as he can. His dad reinforces this by screaming right back!

Xavier is pretty good at grabbing toys with one hand, transferring objects between hands, and putting nearly anything in his mouth. He is fast and especially when he is in your lap, he seems to go right for the one things you don't want him to, like mommy's placemat or daddy's to do list (which yesterday got shredded and half chewed before it was rescued).

Xavier loves eating - both nursing and solid foods (as you might guess from his growth pattern). He mostly eats veggies that we steam and puree ourselves (freezing leftovers in ice cube trays), but sometimes he eats what we do, ground up in a food mill. His favorite foods are carrots, blueberries, zucchini, peas, and chicken. I have given him Cheerios, but he doesn't seem to recognize this as food. He puts one in his mouth, makes a surprised and disgusted face and spits them back out. According to Xavier, the best thing to do with Cheerios is push them off the highchair tray. I did give him a french fry the other day, which he sucked on and played with. Later, when I pulled the half eaten, soggy french fry out of his highchair, I felt like I had reached another parenting milestone.

I occasionally worry about Xavier's gross motor skills, but even though he is slightly behind the charts, he is officially within the normal range. In the last month, he has finally mastered rolling over and is now getting good at sitting up - for up to 15 to 20 minutes at a time. He's not good at transitioning between sitting and laying back down, so if you are not careful, he will face-plant right onto the floor. He loves practicing standing and smiles big whenever he can stand while holding your fingers. I wouldn't be surprised if he is slightly late crawling, but goes quickly into walking.

So, overall, he is growing healthy and strong and so quickly!