6 Months for Moses

Believe it or not, it's already been half a year since our sweet Moses was born. These days we're enjoying seeing him sit independently and play with toys, happily clap his hands, and get up on his hands and knees and rock his cute butt to and fro. He has made some valorous attempts to crawl and we suspect it won't be long before he fulfills his mission. Today I noticed a something sharp poking through his lower gum, and upon closer examination beheld a little white speck. That's right, Moses got his very first tooth on his 6 month birthday! You would never guess that he's teething based on his steadfast sweet temperament, although he does seem to prefer Mommy's company over anyone else's :)

Moses' doctor is currently out of the country so his 6-month check-up will have to wait, which is just as well since our health insurance from Joe's new job won't kick in for another week or two. In lieu of a well-baby visit, I took the boys back to Bed Bath & Beyond to find out Moses' weight. The boys have now decided that standing on scales is great fun, so we had Moses try out half a dozen scales, each claiming unique weights ranging from 20 to 24 lbs. So we'll just say that he weighs about 22 lbs., which happens to be above the 95th percentile. Supposing Moses has only gained 1 lb. in the past month and is now only 21 lbs., he would still be among the top 5-10% of 6-month-old baby boys. I also measured him this evening and he is about 28 inches long, which would also put him in the 90-95th percentile.

Moses is still exclusively breastfed for the most part. Last week I bought him one of those mesh feeders and he has enjoyed using it to gnaw and suck on delicious fresh peaches and plums. I've also scraped some apricot pulp with a spoon and let him have a few bites. I've decided to hold off on traditional baby food for now since he is clearly thriving on breastmilk alone and I don't see the point in creating extra work for myself! Besides, I've read that introducing solid foods earlier than 6 months (and some argue 1 year) will deprive a baby of crucial nutrients by replacing the amounts of breastmilk he needs. In other words, as healthy as pureed spinach may be, it's certainly no substitute for the goodness that comes from mama's milk.