What do you think of THAT? Aw, the cute little bottom picture. Everyone has to have one or two in their baby book. Just consider yourself lucky that this is the first one since you were about 2 weeks old. You are so darn cute! I can’t resist. Anyway, this post might be shorter than usual since I’ve already recorded your major milestones like sitting and eating in separate posts. But you do keep on growing up and I figured this time I’d maybe get back to an emphasis on what a “typical day” looks like for us, now that you’re 6 months old.

Let me tell you. It’s a lot different than those first days you were on the outside. (Can it really be only months ago that I brought you home?) Indulge me for a moment and let me remember what those first weeks were like. Here’s you at 2 Days old. Too bad there’s no reference in this picture to show just how small you were. That hat now barely squeezes over your noggin.

Boy oh boy was I sore. I don’t miss that part. You were so small. Tiny. Your newborn clothes were all too big for you so we kept you in sleep sacks until you got a little bigger. You spent a lot of your time in my arms, or in your Boppy at the foot of the couch by my feet, or in your swing. I took it pretty easy those first few weeks, since I couldn’t even eat at the dinner table without sitting on a pillow. We ate meals that Mima, Daddy and I cooked together and froze before you were born. That was fun, like ordering in every night, but homemade. Whenever I decided something needed to be done, I put you in the Moby wrap and carried you around with me. Your Daddy and I went to bed early every night and put you right in between us where you fell asleep while we watched Angel reruns on the laptop and ate dessert in bed. Then, I’d move you in between me and a barricade on the side of the bed and got to listen to you breathe all night long. You didn’t smile, nap regularly, or make any noises other than crying. You ate all the time and never gave me any drama about it. Your personality was a complete mystery. I cherished every moment, tried to soak it up as much as a could. It’s a completely irreplaceable period in my life, in our lives. And it went by so quickly just as everbody everywhere told me over and over again it would. Can’t slow down time no matter how much you appreciate it’s passing.

Now, you weigh over 14 pounds, over double your birth weight. You’re wearing all your cute 6 month clothes. You still spend a lot of your time in mine and Daddy’s arms, but you also hang out in the Bumbo, play in your floor gym, and spend a pretty significant amount of time in your crib sleeping. I stay pretty busy these days taking care of you and Daddy and pursuing my hobbies. We cook together almost every day. You’re a really great sport and sit in the Bumbo on the kitchen counter and watch me. You’re almost always in good humor about it. I include you of course, letting you smell all the different ingredients I might be playing with and frequently singing to you while I scoop, sauté, stir and chop. And every once in a while I take a break to nibble on your toes. Now, when I have things that need to get done I either hand you off to your Daddy for a while (who is always eager to spend time with you), wait until you’re asleep, or I move your gym or your bumbo to wherever I need to be and let you play or watch me do whatever it is that I need to do. You go to bed every night between 6-6:30pm in your own room in your own crib, and you very, very rarely give us any fuss about it. You love going to bed, but we feel your absence and often joke about getting you up just to play with you for awhile because we miss you so much. Then, Daddy and I stay up until you wake for a first feeding so I can top you off before we head off to bed. Now instead of waking up to you stirring beside me, I wake to the sound of the monitor wailing. I miss the family bed we used to have. I still think it’s best for you to have you in your own room, but it’s hard.You smile constantly, all the time, very easily, at everything. You are a happy, happy girl. I am truly blessed to have such a content, joy-filled little girl. Writing this is actually making me get teary (again, just wait until you have a daughter of your own). You make it so easy to love you. You nap at least 2 or 3 times every day for 2-3 hour stretches giving me lots of time to get things done and the sounds you make now range from happy squeals, to irritated yelling, to giggles, to coos, to discontent wails. You’re a wonderful little communicator and you show your irritation if I don’t seem to be getting what you’re telling me, because ooobviously I should be able to understand you. You are as assertive and aggressive an eater as ever. You eat every 2 to 5 hours in a seemingly random pattern so it’s hard to tell if you *should* be hungry. And you demand your food as quickly as possible with as little effort as possible and as soon as it’s gone, you’re done. So feeding you is intense, but quick. Your personality emerges more very day. You’re a beautiful little person.

I was telling Mima the other day how before you were born I imagined how much I would love you and how it was such a wonder thinking about how you would be a part of me and a part of Daddy, a melding of the two of us. And I think I thought that’s why I would love you, because you’re me and Daddy. But it turns out that’s only a small part of it. It is absolutely amazing that you were created from us, but the reason I love you isn’t because we created you or because you share physical and personality traits with us. I love you because you’re you. You’re a little individual, a whole new person, completely unique and wonderful. And I am thrilled by your potential – what you may become or how you might be – but that’s not it either. I love you here, now, for exactly who you are, all by yourself without thoughts of what you will be or who you are because of where you came from.It may not sound it, but it’s a profound difference – one I didn’t expect.

I didn’t get it either when Mima talked about how amazing it was to have a baby and how much she adored me, to hear her talk about it with all that longing and nostalgia in her voice. It kind of creeped me out actually. But I get it now. And I’m sure I’ll be getting it more and more every day until you’re that day you become a teenager and shut me out, decide that you know everything, and devastate me. Oh Dear.

Okay, I’m done being deep. I just can’t believe how much I’ve been affected by you and it’s weird to think that you’ll never really understand my perspective. At least we have a few years before we get to those teenage years and I will continue to soak, soak, soak up every minute I have with you. And maybe someday when you’re a Momma we can talk about what it’s like to love a baby. I hope we’ll always be great friends.

Oh man, I’m getting sappy. Back to business before I cry all over my laptop.

I might as well record a few details too, but I’ll try to keep it brief and not bore you too much (since, as usual, this is getting to be much longer a post than I anticipated.)

 Sleep

Those 7 hour stretches are long gone, as are the 6 hour stretches, the 5 hour stretches and the 4 hour stretches. Last week you decided to start waking up every 2 hours to eat and Momma put her foot down. You’ve been getting a binky when you wake up in less than 3 hour intervals all week and you’re taking it very well. Actually, your sleep stretches have improved from 2 to 3 hour stretches to 3 to 4 hour stretches. Let’s keep up the trend. Momma is so much happier when she gets at least one 4 hour stretch.

I’ve never looked so awful in my life. You should see the circles under my eyes! I’ve tried to photograph them, but the pictures don’t do them justice. I’m tired, but every lost minute of sleep is worth it.

Eating

You’ve now eaten 3 kinds of rice cereal, pears, apples, yams and sweet potatoes. You like it all and went from “what the heck are you putting in my mouth. Bleh,” to gaping like a baby bird, eating and swallowing like a pro within about 48 hours. Nursing you in the same ol’, same ol.’ I’ve accepted it. You are not one of those babies who I’ll ever be able to nurse quietly in public. It’s a loud and dramatic affair every time, but we get the job done. It’s just part of who you are. And it’s not as bad as it was when I wrote last month. That was the worst it’s been and truthfully I was feeling overwhelmed by it. We’re much better now.

Skin

We have success! I finally broke down are re-washed all your clothes, towels, blankies (no small undertaking) with Free and Clear detergent and waahhhlaaaa! No more rashiness! Whoop whoop!! Actually, you still have very, very dry skin that I massage daily with heavy duty moisturizer, but you no longer look like you’re in pain with raised red welts all over your arms and legs. I am so, so, so relieved. At least I know what’s wrong! Your body does not like soap of any kind. The only reason it took me so long to try the detergent route is that the rash has been confined to your arms and legs. It seemed like if detergent was the culprit, the rash would be all over your body since your clothes tend to touch you all over. Oh well. It’s been about 2 weeks and I’m convinced that changing detergents is what cleared up your pretty lily white skin.

You still scratch your legs whenever they’re exposed, but I think it’s because you’ve figured out how to do it and think it feels good, not because they actually itch. Still, I have to be sure to keep your nails down to nubs or you draw blood.

Skills

Other than the major skill of sitting up by yourself for 20 seconds or so at a time and eating food, the other major difference this month is a progression from holding on to toys we give you to a purposeful grab and intent study of them. You keenly focus on whatever it is we place in front of you now. You really check stuff out. I can see you decide that you want something, get it, and then determine how best to shove it in your mouth. You roll over onto your sides and stay there when you want to reach something beside you. You’ll be rolling over back to front very soon. Incidentally, you find the same kind of fascination with body parts including your own toes and my lips which you frequently try to rip off.

That’s it! Another one for the books. Love you more every day, baby…