6 Months

6 months... wow. July 18th my son turned 6months and celebrated his half birthday!

At his 6 mo. check up he weighed in 17lbs 4 oz and was over 26 in long. He's going to be a big boy and tall like his daddy. Each time I pick him up I can feel the muscles in my arms straining at the added weight- he gives me a full workout. Despite him only being 6 mo. I still can't believe that he's sitting up on his own, keeping his balance, scooting across the floor, and rolling around. We started pricing and researching gates with full understanding that it would be better to buy them BEFORE he starts moving. If his current state is any indication as to what we've got ahead of us we're going to have to keep a close eye on this one.

He has been eating solids for about 1.5 months already; however, he now eats them with a vengeance. He frequently opens his mouth like a little birdy ready for the next bite before you even get the spoon back in the jar. We've discovered that he thoroughly enjoys oatmeal, like his mommy, and will eat just about anything you put in his mouth- thankfully!

Diaper changes have become more difficult as he's reaching, grabbing, and chattering up a storm. He loves to play with diapers, since they crinkle, and if you're not careful he'll snatch one right out of your hands followed by an evil laugh. His vocabulary includes YEA, HMM, DADA, and something that sounds like OK. Sarah taught him how to shake his head no so when you ask a question he loves to answer with a head shake. Granted he may not understand what he's actually saying and doing but I still think it melts Brandon's heart each time he hears dada. Our little monkey is a daddy's boy to the core. NO ONE and I mean no one can make him laugh the way Brandon does. He'll smile at me but he lights up for his dad.

One thing that has remained constant is his love of music and lights. He'll groove and bob his head to music and his face lights up at his toys that blink and flash at him. The best purchase we've made when it comes to toys, a Vtech baby laptop that we got at Once Upon a Child for $1.

Teething is our current lesson. Each day his drool increases and it is an impossible fight trying to keep his hands out of the back of his mouth as he tries to knaw on his fingers. We've learned, just this week, that teething toys are trial and error and what works for some infants does nothing for ours. For our little monkey a Raz Berry teether soothes him the best; outside of his fingers of course!

Lessons this month:
- Just because someone swears by something doesn't mean your child will LOVE it too!
- Tylenol on a daily basis is NOT okay so if you don't provide it to the daycare they can't give it to him. ;)
- Teething can get the best of even the easiest going children
- Children are expensive and keeping them contained to a particular area, baby gates, can cost as much as the child- seriously considering just throwing him in the backyard with the dog. :)
- 6 mo old children CAN eat you out of house and home!

Don't Let Go

Like any mother I cherish any time spent getting to snuggle my child with full knowledge that those times will grow less and less and shorter and shorter as my little monkey grows up.

Gentling place my little monkey in his crib I sighed with relief as I thought about the rest of my evening. With a plan in mind I made my way back to the living room and to my closest girl friend and husband. Quickly I took my spot on the couch as the three of us geared up for the movie that we carefully had selected earlier that day.

Music played, the screen filled with a gorgeous snow filled scenery, and the little monkey cried out in confusion and loneliness. Taking a moment to pause the movie before standing Brandon declared he would get it. The look I gave Sarah expressed my deep apologies with out saying a word and she just smiled in return and shrugged her shoulders. 10 minutes passed with out sight of Brandon and as I raised to check on him and the monkey the two made an appearance; Brandon carrying him lightly on his arm. The monkey's head bobbing up and down as they walked into the room, his eyes moving about to take in what was going on, and tears stained his cheeks and held at the corners of his giant reddened eyes.

Brandon took position in the recliner and readied to cuddle and rock the monkey back to sleep but he would have none of it. Arching his back, crying out, and flailing his arms Brandon could not get the monkey to settle down. Hearing his "pain" cry we dosed him with Tylenol as Brandon spent another 30 minutes attempting to comfort him with no real result. Oral Gel on his lower gums was next and although his crying died down it did not cease; defeated Brandon handed him over to me.

Immediately the little monkey clung to my hair and shirt as if fearing I might drop him. He desperately wanted to make sure that I knew not to let him go. Carefully I eased down into the recliner and worked to get both of us more comfortable and slowly began to rock the chair back and forth. Turning on my "mom" voice I cooed at my son to calm down and reassured him that everything was okay; almost instantly his body relaxed and his breathing calmed. Quickly his breathing evened out and he fell limp in my arms, sleep having over taken him. Slowly I walked the short distance to the nursery and gently lowered the monkey into his crib. His body having touched down on the sheet his eyes popped open and he cried out in protest. Confused, I raised him up again and watched as he settled, yet again, contently in my arms. After rocking for another short 5-10 minutes in the glider I attempted a second time to place the monkey in his crib; again, his eyes opened and his cries were heard through out the house.

Befuddled, I cuddled my son once again and made my way back out to the living room where Brandon and Sarah sat just as amazed as I was. Had he not just fought off an ear infection I would have let him cry it out; however, this type of behavior was very uncharacteristic of my little monkey so the three adults pondered what would cause such a needy reaction from the little one. Our conclusion: when you don't feel good you just want your mommy, it was all we could come up with to explain his drastic change in behavior.

Per Sarah's thought, I cuddled him while in my bath robe and we were able to finish the movie. Having been able to enjoy the movie in peace once it was over I make my way back to the nursery praying Sarah's idea would work. After placing the monkey in the crib I took off my robe and tucked it around him like a blanket and watched as he sighed with relief. 10 minutes later as my son realized that it was a bath robe he was cuddling and not me he cried out again. Frustrated and fearful that I might have to spend the evening in the chair I made my way into the nursery, for the third time, to pat the little monkey's bottom back to sleep. Cooing at him to calm and encouraging him to take the robe he settled down and fell in to an exhausted sleep.

As I leaned down to kiss him goodnight he had one arm and leg wrapped around my robe and was burying his nose in it's scent, my scent. I sighed with relief that I would get to sleep in my own bed and lightly chuckled at the sight of my son. Despite the change in evening plans it was nice to get some extra snuggle time and I took a second to cherish the thought.

He has been content each night since and despite my concern over his behavior that evening it was nice to feel so needed so badly for just one night.