Max's six-month check-up
Weight 17 lbs 5 oz 41%
Height 27 inches 65%
Head 18 inches 90% (!) Have you ever seen So I Married An Axe Murderer? Chris calls Max Head sometimes...
Everyone says he's such a chunky baby but 40th percentile for weight??? He can't be that chunky. Chris and I think it's those chubby, chubby cheeks and big head. :)

Here's what he was for Halloween (really just for the picture).
And all decked out in BYU gear. Go Cougars.

Family Pictures

A photographer just trying to get started posted an ad on Craigslist for an hour and a half for $45. Chris' car broke down right as I was about to make the appointment but we did it anyway and I'm really glad we did.

I know why some pictures you can make bigger and some you can't. If you move the picture after you've uploaded it, rearrange it to be in a different order or whatever, it messes up the html code. Thank you Kim for helping me with this.

To Swaddle Or Not To Swaddle

When Max was born we wrapped him up in a blanket to sleep. He loved being swaddled and went to sleep easily as soon as you trapped his arms and legs. Awake or asleep, his arms flailed about him aimlessly and constantly and would wake him up if they weren't trapped.

At three months old he slept from 9pm-5am, ate a bottle, and went right back to sleep until 9am. I was loving it. Then he got a little older and a little stronger and started coming unbundled at night which caused him to wake up more often - not something I was okay with.

We decided to try putting him down without being swaddled. I tried everything during the day for his naps. I left one arm out. I tried having him sleep next to me. I tried just letting him cry. I tried everything that I and anyone else I talked to could think of. When I was reading a message board one day, someone recommended The Miracle Blanket. I finally ordered it. The night we got it Max slept 13 hours straight. I had to wake him up! He didn't ever do that again; I think he was just catching up on his lack of sleep. I finally decided to just let him dictate when he was ready to sleep unbundled and to quit trying to force it on him. A lesson that I will probably learn over and over with him.

This is what he looked like in his blue camo Miracle Blanket (Chris picked out the design). Sleeping like a baby.

He was getting too big for the feet section, so they got left out first.
Then one arm - much easier to do with this blanket than others.Finally, no more swaddling. He had a really hard time letting go of that last arm though so I had to replace it with something. I worry a little about him suffocating himself though. But he's 6 months old now and he can move it away from his face, right?

When I first go in to get him after a good nap he has the biggest smile for me. :)