Max at 6 months old

4 days old, weighing 6 lbs 10 oz.

6 months old, weighing 17 lbs. 

Look Mom!  I'm almost as big as Claire!

He's halfway to one!  Wow!  I hope the next six months go by slower than the first six.  Yesterday at Max's doctor appointment, his Pediatrician said that most second (or third, or fourth) babies eat solid foods sooner and more often than first babies because the family is used to it and has kid-friendly foods around because of their first child.  I actually feel like I'll be the opposite. I want him to stay my little baby longer, so I don't want to start him on real solids for a long time! Sadly, we can't freeze time.

At six months, Max:

• weighs 17 pounds (25-50%), is 25 inches long (5-10%), and has a head that is 17 1/2 inches around (50-75%).  He really doesn't look as disproportionate as this sounds...except for maybe his short little legs.  Claire had her two year appt on Thursday too.  My guess was that Max would weigh 18 lbs and Claire would weigh between 21-22 pounds.  Well, she was 21.2 so I was right on with her! The little peanut gained one pound in the past six months, while Max gained two pounds in the past two months. 
• wears sizes 6 month, 9 month, and 6-12 month clothes, depending on the brand and clothing item. Also wears size 3 diapers.
• started rice cereal this past Sunday and loves it, though he is still working on the technique.
• is sleeping much, much better... praise the sweet, sweet Lord!!  Nancy and the Sleep Institute will forever hold a special place in our heart. :)  We lay Max down awake, without a swaddle (which still blows my mind since we tried to break the swaddle habit unsuccessully so many times), and just his pacifier, and he falls asleep quickly on his own.  He still gets up, I'd say, 3-8 times a night.  We try to wait 10 minutes before going to him, but he rarely falls asleep on his own during this time.  Since we can't remove him from his crib, all we can do is give him the pacifier (and occasionally change his diaper).  This usually does the trick, but not always, as was the case with Friday morning between 3:30-5:30AM, when he cried off and on.  So we still have some progress to make, but we've seen an incredible improvement. 
• is smiley and happy ALL OF THE TIME.  This kid hardly ever fusses, and if he does, it's because he wants to be held or he's tired.  If you just glance in his direction, he'll smile for you. 
• is more enamored with Claire by the day
• has sensitive skin and some patches of eczema.  My sole experience with eczema is from the movie Big Daddy so I asked if it itches or bothers Max (though it doesn't appear to) and she assured me it doesn't. 
• thinks the following things are funny: when Mommy shoves his foot in her mouth and says, "eat your toes!" (he doesn't think it's as funny with Big Sis does it because she sometimes actually follows through with what she says), tickling, when you blow on his hair, when you look at him and talk all excitedly, patty cake, bath time.  
• can sit unassisted for a short period of time, if you place him into the tripod position. 
• is exclusively breast-fed.  Wait, can you still say that once he's started solids?  Well anyways, he's only had breastmilk, not formula (though there is NOTHING wrong with having formula, before you get all riled up!).  I'm starting to fall a couple ounces short with my pumping during work, but I have a large freezer stash that we can use for supplementing.  Claire started having one bottle of formula per (week)day at six months old, so I'm rather pleased with my body right now!