Cannon’s 6-Month Update

It’s official. My baby is closer in age to a one-year-old than a newborn. And I am crying over it! However, this age is so much fun. We have just been blessed with the sweetest baby and I couldn’t ask for more.

I look back on photos from months ago and it’s just mind-blowing how much Cannon has changed. It’s so true that the first year in a baby’s life is so important to cherish because they’re growing so much that not one day is similar to the other. He’s like an actual person now! His personality comes out more and more each day, his energy fills the room and his smile is infectious. This kid just fills my heart like I couldn’t have ever imagined.

So, here we are, six months from being in the hospital. And a lot has happened even if we do spend 85 percent of our time at home! If you don’t follow me on IG stories but want to get real-time updates of what we’re learning, products we’re using and the next stages we’re jumping into, give me a follow @thenikkibutler.

6-MONTH PEDIATRIC APPOINTMENT

85th percentile for weight (16lb 10oz), over double his birth weight.
95th percentile for height (28 inches).
DTaP (3rd dose)
HepB (3rd dose)
Rotavirus (3rd dose)
He is doing great tracking objects visually.
Overall growth is on track!

EATING

Cannon eats six times a day, approximately 42-48 ounces of breastmilk / formula. I have to supplement with formula since my milk doesn’t fill him up. I’m also drying up at the moment, but I will save my breastfeeding experience for another post!
We use HiPP Dutch Stage 2 formula to supplement.
Cannon has tried wheat bread, peanut butter (no allergy thankfully), banana, avocado, chicken, sweet potato, strawberries and greek yogurt.
We are going with the baby-led-weaning (BLW) method for feeding (I’ll do a separate post on our experience with this as we dive deeper into it these next couple months).
I make him homemade greek yogurt and strawberry / banana popsicles to help with teething.
I also occasionally feed him the pouches from Happy Family Organics to introduce new flavors to him. So far we have only tried the banana / sweet potato / papaya mixture.
He doesn’t love or hate any foods that I can notice.
He does however, hate being spoon-fed (also why we are doing BLW).
I’m currently making his food from scratch, which is much easier to do when you choose the BLW method.
He LOVES drinking water out of my Yeti tumbler haha.

SLEEPING

He has his moments but Cannon really is such a great sleeper!
He goes to bed at 7:30 PM and wakes up at 6:30 AM.
Currently, he is sleeping through the night. Hallelujah.
He did go through the notorious 4-month sleep regression and was waking up 2-3 times a night. I know you’re not supposed to but I would pick him up and nurse him because it comforted him and would put him right back to sleep.
He has three naps a day (this is what we shoot for; it doesn’t always look like this)
- 8:30 AM (1 hour)
- 12:00 PM (2 hours)
- 4:15 PM (45 minutes)
Before six months old, we swaddled him in the Ollie swaddle. Now at six months, we use the Nested Bean Sleep Sack. Both of them work so great for us.
Our bedtime routine is typically bath, lotion, diaper, sleep sack, formula bottle, book read by Dad (sometimes, should probably do this more), night light and sound machine, kiss good night, lights out. He has never taken a pacifier so we don’t give it to him, but we do leave it in his crib in case he finds it and decides to use it.

MOBILITY

This kid is flopping back and forth from belly-to-back / back-to-belly like it’s his job!
He often gets frustrated that he can’t crawl just yet, but is starting to make a caterpillar move where he sticks his butt in the air with this weight on his elbows and knees.
He reaches for anything he can get his hands on, which includes my hair!!
Cannon loves his SkipHop jumper and everything about moving his little legs up and down.
He is sitting up so well on his own! He does lose balance and fall on his face every now and then but overall, he is progressing so well with this.
As always, Cannon is putting nearly all five of his toes in his mouth when he’s laying on his back. It’s his favorite thing and I think it’s adorable.
His favorite toys are Sophie the Giraffe, this little cactus teether than his Auntie Britt (my sis) got for him, his Stack Up Cups and his Bright Starts Lots of Links. Of course, all the cheapest things. I’m trying to avoid all the light up toys.

LOVES & HATES

Loves

Winnie – he is infatuated by her
Bath time and pool time
Being out and about
Car rides
Being thrown in the air
Holding onto books
Belly laughing – this is the best sound ever!!
Baby Shark… (ugh, this is my fault though)
Grabbing!

Hates

Being spoon-fed
Strangers (he cries when they get near his face, but wouldn’t you too?)
Being bored
Being left alone (as in I step out of his line of sight; I don’t actually leave him alone, people)
Being restrained / getting his nails clipped

OUTINGS

Cannon LOVES to hit the town with us. He is so good that there’s no reason for me to not take him places. A few things we do together are:

Weekly swim lessons at AquaTots. It’s so important to teach babies the fundamentals of swimming, especially here in Arizona where literally everyone has a pool. He’s doing so well and already holding his breath underwater.
Play dates! We loooovveee a good play date. I think because it’s also a time for me to interact with actual adults lol. We’ve gone to the zoo, the aquarium, coffee dates, lunch dates, long walks, you name it. Usually these dates are with my hairstylist and bestie, Tara, and her sweet girl, Olive 🙂
COSTCO DUH. Cannon loves Costco and we pile all of our goodies in the stroller basket. And in a cart. We need both usually haha.
The office. I share a space with my friend and Dames Collective p.i.c., Becca Booker, and we both bring our babies to hang while we work (hers has four legs, though).
Flagstaff! We haven’t gone on any flights with Cannon but we do take him up to our friend’s cabin in Flagstaff and we have the best time. Makes me excited for future trips with our little fam.

DAY-TO-DAY LIFE

I feel like we’ve got our routine down and because we are getting to know each other more and more each day, things just get easier based off that fact alone. I’m also more confident in my role as a mom. It just really feels natural for me.
While he is so easy, Cannon certainly has his fussy moments and even full on days. When this happens, I just go through all the things and ask myself, is he still hungry? Is he tired? Does he need a diaper change? Does he feel sick? Is he bored? Does he want to be held? It takes patience but it’s always one of those things,
We left him for our first trip (longer than 24 hours) when we went to Cabo and while it was so difficult saying goodbye, I have to give myself credit for taking full advantage of the time away and really focusing on relaxing and having fun with Thor and our friends.
I really suck at planning out when I need my mom to watch him during appointments or work events. Thankfully she is so flexible and doesn’t really care but I need to work on this. Like asap. Because it actually stresses me out too.
I feel like I’m working much more than I had originally planned to, which is odd haha. But I love it. I’m focusing a lot on this blog, Dames Collective and shifting my business from weddings / private parties to corporate / brand events with a side of media and influencer relations. More to come on that…

Let me know if you have any questions on our routine or products we use! We are far from perfect but always try to find the solutions that work best for us. Thanks for reading!