My Baby Hank:
As I write this you are sitting in your Jumperoo bouncing around like a crazy orangutan. And I absolutely love it. I love how crazy you are and I love the joy I feel while watching you jump.
This month, you were engaged and engaging. You watch everything we do with quiet contemplation, and you charm the pants off of everybody you see. You babble and squeal pretty regularly now, and while I don't know what you are saying I can tell with certainty that it's very important to you. I always listen intently. I hope you know that I will always listen to you.
You now sit up regularly with ease, not needing any assistance except for when you occasionally topple over. Your little hands have become quite adept at grabbing and holding things, but we are still working on that pincer grasp which you haven't quite mastered yet. I never knew a guy who liked to suck on his feet so much, but I admit I am a little envious of how flexible you are — a trait you have inherited from your father, I think.
At your 6 month checkup, you weighed 15 lbs. 9 oz. — more than double your birth weight, which is wonderful. I suspect you weigh more than 16 lbs. now, probably closer to 17 lbs. You wear size 3 diapers. And you graduated to a big boy car seat instead of the infant carrier seat you were in since birth. You wear size 6-12 month clothing, though some of it is still a little big on you.
Solid foods have been a joy for you to explore. We try one new food a week, and you usually make a face at first and are a bit skeptical, but by the third bite or so we have you convinced. You are not a fan of plain avocado, but you have acquired a taste for the guacamole at Chipotle.
Some foods you love:
- sweet potatoes (still your favorite)
- peas
- mangos
- yogurt
- puffs
- pear juice (mixed with water)
You also eat prunes sometimes to get the pipes moving. We had to stop giving you bananas because they seemed to constipate you. We'll keep trying things in the future as your palette and tolerance changes.
Just this past week, I stopped breastfeeding you and started pumping and giving you expressed breastmilk. You were so distracted and curious while eating that you weren't nursing long enough during the day. I only planned to pump for a day or two to see how much you were getting, but you don't seem to care how you get your milk so we are going to continue with the pump and feed method for a while. It is extra work for me, but I have the peace of mind of knowing you are getting what you need.
You still sleep from 6 PM to 7 AM, waking up twice to feed in the middle of the night at 11 PM and 4 AM (roughly). We are transitioning from 3 naps a day to 2 naps, and I'm hoping you nap longer and more consistently because of that. A 2-nap schedule will give us more freedom during the day to go out and about, which you love and it also keeps your mama from going crazy.
We joined the local YMCA this month and you spend an hour or so in their childcare area while mama gets her fitness on. I was worried about leaving you with a stranger, even for a short time. But on the first day I came back to find you flirting with 3 ladies who were all ooohing and ahhhing over you. I think you might have the social graces of a Bill Clinton or George Clooney.
My favorite moments of the day are still when you have your arms wrapped around my neck. It's usually when you are very tired and I'm carrying you off to bed, and you will take your tiny hands and rub my neck or tug on my earring. There is nothing sweeter. I hope when I am an old lady, these are the memories that never leave me.
No matter where we go or what we do, you are my happy guy. That's not to say you never cry, because you do. But when you do it's for a reason. You do have a bit of a temper at times, and get very loud and vocal when something isn't going your way. I suspect you may have inherited some of my impatience. :)
Patience, kindness, thoughtfulness... so much to teach you, and so much to learn from you as well.
I love you, Hank.
Mama