I thought the limit for being out of the country with a green card is one year. What's this about 6 months?
My wife has the initial 2-year GC and we opted to have our child in the Philippines with her parents. Can you tell me where to find the rule to know for sure. I know the American Consul said we had to return within a year.

The 6 months rule is if basically that if you want to be considered permanent resident you have to live in the usa more than 6 months a year.

The 1 year rule that your consul told you about is something else.
If you plan on living the Usa for more than that and know you will come back you can apply for a re-entry permit BEFORE leaving.
The re-entry permit will be , i believe , valid for one year and renewable once. leaving you this option of being away for 2 years and still keep your permanent resident status and come back to the usa without any problem.

These are really 2 different matters.
For more information, the most reliable source will always be the USCIS website which is a government website. It is lenghty and sometimes a little complicated which is why you see many website covering subject like the green card.No matter anybody tells you, you will always want to check that info against the website.

Let me know if you find out something else about this.
Marion