Dear Baby Kael,
Please stop growing so fast! How has it already been 6 months since the day you were born?!? Time is flying by so fast, and every once in a while I just want to hit the pause button (especially when you give me one of your famous smiles where you squish your face and your eyes get squinty).
I love you more than anything, and there are times I still get tears in my eyes when I look at you and realize that you are mine! I waited so long to have you in my life, and I am a better person because of you. I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the next 6 months to come!
I love you to the moon and back!
Love,
Mom
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For all of those who read this and are mothers, I'm sure you know exactly where I am coming from. 6 months seems to be such a HUGE breaking point. At times I think he is still my little baby, but then when I really look at him and watch him, I realize he isn't a baby anymore. He is this little person who is learning new things each and every day. He is developing mentally and physically over night (literally!). He is halfway to that one year old mark, and to be completely honest, that makes me an emotional train wreck. I can't imagine him being a year old! I know I am jumping ahead of myself, but after seeing how fast these first 6 months went, I know the next 6 are going to FLY by.
After Kael has gone to bed at night, I find myself looking through all of his pictures, starting with the day he was born. It blows my mind how much he has changed in such a short amount of time. He is such a funny little guy, and I love getting to see his personality develop.
He had his 6 month well check appointment yesterday, and he is weighing in at 17 pounds 3 ounces. I didn't get a chance to see how long he was because he was screaming at the top of his lungs. He must be developing stranger anxiety, because anytime one of the nurses or doctor got too close for comfort he lost it.
First of all... he is ALL BOY! He is a mover, who does not like to sit still. He gets bored easily, and will whine as he scoots/crawls across the room until he finds something that is worth while. He is chewing on everything in sight, and although he appears to be teething, he has had the same symptoms for months now, and still no teeth to prove it. He enjoys standing up and even moves his feet in the walking motion if I hold his hands and we move across the room (I have a feeling he is going to be an early walker). He is very independent and even more hard headed. He is a man on a mission when he sees something he wants, and nothing can get in his way. He is beginning to pull himself up, but gets sort of stuck and freaks out. He loves different textures, and has become obsessed with the rug in our kitchen and Winston's hair.
The biggest milestones this month are:
- He has totally mastered sitting up, and can now lay himself down onto his stomach from the sitting position.
- He is scooting/crawling. He is a speedy scooter (I like to call it the army crawl), and is getting up all fours and trying to figure out how to move that way
- He is attempting to pull up, and will stay unsupported in the standing position for a few minutes at a time
- He is picking up food with his whole hand and feeding himself
The biggest problem we are having right now is sleep (or should I say LACK of sleep...) After about 2 weeks in his own room, he came back to the pack n play in our room. His sleep schedule has been AWFUL and has left me tired and miserable. He has started waking multiple times a night, and some nights it is as often as every hour. It has been a real struggle, and I think my frustration really stemmed from the knowledge that he had been sleeping through the night at such a young age, and it seemed to have just disappeared! After desperately buying the "no cry" sleep solution book and getting absolutely nowhere with that, we have started the Ferber method this weekend, after consulting with his doctor of coarse. Last night was our first night, and although it was tough, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would have been. He cried for 20 minutes when I put him down for the night. I went in after 3 minutes, then 5, and then 10. He slept for a solid 4 hours after falling asleep. He woke at 12, 2:30, and 3:30 and went back to sleep after crying for only 3-4 minutes. When he woke at 5:30, I cracked and went ahead and fed him (I felt like 10.5 hours was long enough). He went right back to sleep, and slept soundly until 8:30. But the most amazing thing of all... he took 2 naps today that were each an hour and half long!! That NEVER happens! His naps are usually only 30 minutes, so this was a very nice improvement. I will let you know how the next few nights go.
We are slowly introducing the sippy cup, although I am only putting water in it. For some reason I am not really into the idea of giving him juice. He did really well with his cup, and although he mostly just chews on it, he has the right concept of lifting it to his mouth. The cup we got is pretty cool too. It came with two different nipples, the first being similar to a bottle nipple, and then the more "normal" sippy cup nipple. I'm assuming once he gets the hang of how to use the cup, we will switch to the other nipple.
I am still breast feeding, and although it is taking a lot of work, I am planning on sticking it out until he is one. I love getting to nurse him, and knowing that he is getting the best nutrition possible. I am just having a tough time making sure I pump enough to have milk for him while he is at daycare. I typically am able to pump 4-5 ounces in two pumping sessions, which is enough for one bottle (my body doesn't seem to react well to the pump anymore). The days that he needs 2 bottles at daycare are when I seem to get in a real tough spot. I don't get time to pump at work, so that doesn't help either. I try to sneak away to feed him once a day, but sometimes that just isn't possible, and those days are tough. I think the most formula he has had, is 4 ounces in one day (we had to add 2 ounces of formula to two of his bottles one Saturday when I had an all day training). He wont drink the formula by itself, but if I hide it with another 2-3 ounces of breastmilk he will.
I am so excited for his first Halloween!! His costume(s) is top secret, and I can't wait to post pictures! He is supposed to have his 6 month photo shoot at the end of the month as well, although we are in the process of having it rescheduled because of dad's work... I'm hoping they go better than his "school" pictures they did at the daycare, because he cried the entire time for those (back to the whole stranger anxiety thing...).
Oh, and lastly... he has developed an obsession for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! I know it probably isn't the best idea to have him watching TV, but sometimes it is the only thing that will keep him entertained! We had been planning on doing a beach/pirate theme for his first birthday, but now we are thinking we might need to go with Mickey! I'm hoping he will still love Mickey when he sees him in person in January! :)
** I have sat and waited for my pictures to load for nearly 30 minutes so I am giving up. I will try to post them again tomorrow!
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