It’s Levi’s half birthday!! Thinking back on when I was first pregnant, I kept thinking to myself that when Lance’s and my 1 year wedding anniversary comes around we are going to have a six month old. I spent so much time wondering what are lives were going to be like at that point, and here we are less than 3 weeks from our 1 year anniversary and life with a 6 month old. Since Levi was 5 weeks early, he will actually be almost 7 months old at that point, haha. I’m just so in awe over how fast this past year has gone by. That’s one reason I’ve doing these monthly updates. So much has happened, and life goes by so quickly, I love to reflect back each month to share and remember the milestones, developments, hardships, adventures, stories, and the amazing moments we had during each month.
We started out the month by introducing solids to our little man. He just seemed to always be hungry, and we were giving him a lot of formula (7 ounces, when the most is 8 oz per feeding). So we introduced solids at 5 months, and he has been loving it! Our first solid for him was peaches, and he ate them right up. Since then he’s tried pears, banana, strawberry, peas, string beans, butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and chicken. This past weekend we tried putting tiny pieces of pancake on his tray and he had no interest. He was playing with a toy in his high chair, and the toy pushed all the pancake to the floor when Levi was playing with it. lol This was one of the things I was SO excited for – to make homemade baby food for Levi. I love cooking, and I couldn’t wait to start feeding Levi.. I’m so glad that he loves everything (for now!). I can’t wait for him to get into eating little pieces of food to see what he thinks (bring on the huge mess I can just see happening nightly lol)! We also need to start introducing a sippy cup with a little water in it.
My mom has visited a few times to see Levi, and one day while she was here we decided to go to the beach. I had bought Levi a float that has a canopy over top to give him some shade. We went to the Wilmington Beach, and Levi napped most of the time but then woke up towards the end of when we were there. We decided to bring him to the water, and we barely put him in the float when he started crying. (The water was cold even in July!) So I sat him down infront of me right at the edge of the water, and he looked around for a while. The very next day he was extremely fussy. Lance and I had no idea why. That night I thought he was burning up, but Lance said he didn’t think so. I brought Levi to daycare on Monday, and when I went to pick him up the daycare provider said she almost called us because Levi was crying for 2 hours straight but finally got him to sleep. She said he was off all day and wasn’t himself. Monday night was the worst night we’ve had. Levi woke up about every hour or two and just screamed the whole time he was awake. Lance and I thought it was teething. Lance’s mom stayed home with him on Tuesday, and Levi didn’t want to be put down. I made a doctor’s appointment for him on Wednesday and our pediatrician confirmed it was coxsackie. Levi had blisters in the back of his throat and roof of his mouth. He said they weren’t brand new but they were still red. There was nothing we could give him, and the doctor said it would last about a week before he would get better. Thursday and Friday he got better little by little and by the weekend he seemed to be back to his normal self. It was honestly one of the worst times because I felt so helpless that I couldn’t help my son. I know it’s s common virus among kids, and he actually may get it again (even as soon as this summer/early Fall!) Thankfully he’s feeling so much better now and hopefully stays that way! Although he does have a little runny nose/congestion which the doctor said may be caused from the coxsackie.
We’ve gone camping a few times this month with Levi, and it’s gone really well! Since we bought our camper, Lance and I have been really excited to try it out and make a few reservations this season. This first campground we went to was Lake George Escape. We had a lot of fun! The campground is huge, so it was nice taking walks to explore what they had to offer. We also went to the outlets and drove through Lake George. Lance’s parents visited on Saturday afternoon and stayed through dinner. They got steaks from Oscar’s which were SO good and we grilled sweet potatoes. The second time we went camping was only about 30 minutes from our house. We went to Jellystone Yogi Bear Campground. That was a lot of fun too. They had similar amenities to Lake George Escape – pools, playgrounds, golf/pedal cart rentals, etc. The campgrounds also had a beach, volleyball nets, corn hole, wagon rides and different activities for the kids. At Jellystone this past weekend the theme was Christmas in July. I thought it was going to be a little cheesy, but it was pretty cool. Everyone had decoration up and it was entertaining to see all that walking through the campground at 4am trying to get Levi to sleep. lol One of the days camping, we pulled out his float again and went to the pool. We actually got him in it, and Levi was so content watching the kids and just relaxing. He loved it! We have 1 more trip booked this summer during Labor Day weekend and more of Lance’s family will be there, so I’m excited to see everyone. I’m looking forward to future years too which Levi will be a little older to appreciate and participate in all of the activities as well as travel a bit as a family – who knows where we’ll end up vacationing, but I’m excited to find out!
I reached out to the school we applied to for Levi. They are going to set up a tour and interview with us for next month. Levi’s cousin also goes to this school, and they would be in the same program together. It’s a waldorf school and the program is called Sprouts for ages 1 -3 1/2. They possibly have an opening for a part time (2-3 days a week) which is perfect because that’s all we were looking for. It’s a farm and forest based school with a schedule that includes seeing the animals, outdoor adventure, story time, snack/lunch, nap time, arts, and indoor play. I would love Levi to go here, so hopefully everything will work out!
We heard Levi’s belly laugh this month after tickling him. It’s honestly the best sound in the world to me. I love it so much, and it puts a smile on my face everytime I hear it.
Levi has been going through so much development this month. He has been rolling like a pro, and will roll right onto his stomach. When he gets on his stomach he flails his arms and kicks his legs, but I haven’t seen him push up on his hands while he’s on his stomach. I was getting ready for our camping trip last week and was in the kitchen prepping food, and I look over into the living room and Levi is propped way up on his hands. I run over to get my phone and he went right back down. lol Since then he’s been doing that SO much! I bet he’s getting ready to crawl soon.
I’ve propped Levi into a sitting position and since he’s been using his hands to push up while on his stomach, I think he’s figured out he can put his hands out to balance himself while sitting up. He’s been sitting up really well unassisted for a few minutes. Before I know it he will be sitting straight up, by himself in no time. I love seeing and getting to experience these milestones. As a first time mom, I don’t know what to expect, but that’s the fun in it for me. Levi surprises me everyday. It’s been so much fun with him!
We had Levi’s 6 month well child check up this month. He weighs 17 lbs 6 oz and is 26 inches tall. His head circumference is 17.5 inches. He’s getting so big!
This month consisted of a lot of sickness (Lance and I have been sick too), but also fun camping adventures and getting out of the house which is what we needed. I can’t believe in 6 months, we will have a 1 year old. There’s times where I can’t believe that’s possible. I feel like we are heading into Fall soon and from there we’ll have the holidays and soon after Levi’s first birthday. The first 6 months flew by and have been amazing – hard times and all, and I’m really excited to see what the next 6 bring. I can’t wait to see him crawl, say mama and dada and start walking. So many great things to look forward to.
Favorite Photos of Levi From His Sixth Month
Ashley's Paige 