You Give Me Fever

Apparently 3 immunizations and a flu shot is a wee bit much for the J-Bird to handle. He woke up this morning a bit cranky and a bit warm, sporting a 100.4 degree temp. Infant Tylenol helped bring that down below 100, but when Brenda got to Grandma's after her afternoon Christmas party, his fever had cranked up all the way to 102.5!!! We didn't freak out and call the doc or rush to the emergency room though. He was still acting fairly normal (although a bit blah and cuddly), so we gave him some Infant Motrin and by the time we put him to bed it was back down to 100.4. That is definitely a record high temperature for the little guy though.

Gigantor

J-Bird went for his 6 month checkup today (yes, he is somehow already 6 months old). He is continuing to stretch further and further vertically, and not so much horizontally. If he keeps it up, he is going to be even taller and skinnier than his father. He is a whopping 29-1/2 inches long (97%) and 16 lbs 8 oz (40%). To put his height in perspective, he is the height of an average 11 month old. He also got a flu shot today, as well as a few other immunizations. He seems to be taking it all in stride though, and continues to be his happy-go-lucky self. I guess there isn't much to be sad about when your only 6 months old!

Say Uncle

This past Saturday, Joshua welcomed a new uncle to the family. New Uncle Dominic married Auntie Lori in a beautiful ceremony. The three of us couldn't be happier for Lori, Dom, and Jacob, and Joshua knows that he is gaining what promises to be an awesome uncle. Congratulations Dom and Lori!

Bottle, Chew Toy, Whatever

Apparently Joshua is going to have a full set of teeth by the time he is a year old. Or at least it seems that way. He will be 6 months old in a couple days, and he has his 2 bottom teeth, his top 2 incisors, and the top 2 next to those are just starting to show. For those of you counting at home, that is pretty much a tooth for each month. They just keep popping out!

Unfortunately, with all of this teething, it is disrupting his bottle feeding skills. Granted he only takes 1 bottle a day (sometimes 2), but it is still a problem. He will take a few sucks, then shift the nipple over to the side of his mouth and start chewing it. An entire feeding, which used to take 10 minutes or so, now take 30-40, and usually isn't a full feeding. Luckily he only does this with the bottle, and Brenda has stayed safe and unscarred! If any of you parents reading this have any suggestions on what might help, leave us a comment. We are going to ask the doc in a couple days, and may try a sippy cup to see if that helps.

Catchin' Up

Wow, it has been a long time since I have written anything. Something about a 5 month old saps your energy and along with it, your will to keep a blog updated. Here's the scoop since the last post:

Joshua has conquered Stage 1 baby food, and really seems to enjoy eating something besides breast milk. He's not suite sure of peas, but he still takes 'em down. No funny faces, much to my dismay. We tried to get him going on Stage 2 baby food, but he's not quite ready yet, still gags on it a little bit. But he is up to 3 solid meals a day, along with his milk. Brenda is still a trooper and we have yet to give the kid any formula.

He continues to develop physically at an amazing rate. He is now about 28.5 inches (98%) and about 16 pounds (50%). Yes, he is still long and skinny like his daddy. But he is starting to put a little bit of meat on his bones... you can't see the kid's ribs anymore, which is always nice. His two bottom teeth are all the way through, and didn't cause a ton of pain. However, the top right tooth is now coming in, and seems to be bugging him a little more. He's still taking it like a champ though, and luckily most of the discomfort has come during "awake" hours.

No crawling yet, but we are getting closer. He can extend his arms all the way on his stomach, and he can get his butt a good 6 inches off the floor, but he can't quite do both at the same time. Once he figures it out, we think he is going to be an active one. He sure seems to want to go places. Although he can't pull himself to sitting, he can sit up pretty much without supervision now. He still topples over every now and then, but he seems to have it mastered.

He went through a 3 week or so period where you heard nothing from him but grunts, groans, and screeches, earning him the nickname "Mongo". But he seems to be growing out of that, and has started babbling within the last few days.

I'm sure I am forgetting some things, but that is all I can think of at the moment. Keep on checking the pictures, we're keeping them updated. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!