Alexander at 6 months

Alexander had his six month well-child check yesterday, which went well, and he got his vaccinations which he did not take well (he spent all night feverish and fussy).

He weighed in at a walloping 17 lbs. and 1 ounce and was 26.14 inches long, my biggest baby at six months old (and my smallest (full-term) baby at birth)!

Here are the stats for the other kids at six months (there is no blog post for Zoë because her six-month check was the day after we returned from our visit to Utah for my Grandma Layton's funeral and I just never got to blogging about taking her to the doctor, but I did look up her paperwork (so filing cabinets aren't completely defunct (though I guess I could have just as easily looked up her stats online because Duke's online system is fantastic like that, but I didn't think of that because our clinic here isn't so fancy))):

Alexander: 17 lbs. 1 ounce and 26.14 inches
Zoë: 16 lbs. 13.8 ounces and 26.18 inches
Benjamin: 14 lbs. 13 ounces and 24 inches
Miriam: 16 lbs. even (more or less) and 25 inches
Rachel: 16 lbs. 8 ounces and 27.5 inches

He is certainly growing well (the rolls on his thighs have rolls!) though if he's anything like my other children his growth will start tapering off right about now. And that's fine by me because he's so heavy!

At six months, Alexander is...

• rolling wherever he wants (unless Zoë is the one rolling him around the room and then he's rolling wherever she wants (which is not his favourite))
• working at sitting unassisted (and getting quite good at it)
• still spitting up a lot
• interested in trying new foods (cucumber, cantaloupe, peas, pasta, and cheerios so far)
• babbling (with "mama" and "baba," mostly)
• gnawing on everything in sight (but hasn't cut any teeth yet)
• napping well and sleeping well, but still not through the night (because that would be crazy)
• giggling at his siblings and crying at strangers
• breathing much easier (though is sometimes still quite squeaky)
• pinchy, pinchy, pinchy! My arms are raw with pinch marks by the end of the day!
• drooly, drooly, drooly!
• generally very pleasant

At six months, Alexander loves...

• going upsidedown
• dinnertime (and milk time)
• swinging
• exploring the world with his mouth (chewy toys)
• toes (his own)
• being swaddled
• smacking his lips
• the plastic packs of wipes from Costco
• when people blow raspberries on his neck
• standing in his walker/jumper (for a while)
• giving and getting kisses
• when his siblings make funny faces at him
• grabbing fistfuls of hair

At six months, Alexander doesn't love...

• loud noises (especially other babies/children crying and the very first note of Jaya Samara)
• sunshine or wind in his face
• being tugged on by his siblings
• being poked, prodded, or patted (and so forth) by his siblings
• when people play with him for a minute and then walk away
• sitting in soiled or soggy diapers
• when he just can't get that burp out
• the fact that he has not yet obtained mobility
• sitting on the potty (and sitting in general)
• bathing

At six months, Alexander believes...

• one should never be farther than two feet away from their favourite milk source
• if one happens to get farther than two feet away from said milk source that is the very same thing as starving to death
• the universe revolves around him (and all attention should, therefore, be directed at him, always)

We're all basically smitten over here.