A Letter: Six Months

Dear Bug,

Six months old. One half of your first year, over. Downhill slide to toddlerhood. Wowza.

I don't even know where to begin, little Bug. I guess we can start with your two biggest accomplishments:

1. We started you on solid foods and you LOVE them. Cucumbers are your favorite!
2. You are completely caught up to your full-term peers and are no longer on a preemie adjusted schedule!

You have become very interested in what we are drinking and eating. At first, it was just drinks. There were a few dicey moments of spilled water at restaurants because your Momma was not paying attention - you lunged forward and grabbed the glass, sending it flying! Now we know better, and it's a good thing because you go for EVERYTHING. You want our drinks, our forks, our napkins, and especially our food. Just for kicks, I sliced an English cucumber into spears and gave you a piece - you absolutely loved it! In fact, when it was gone (or more accurately, when you dropped it and Izzy gobbled it up), you threw your very first tantrum. Ha! You love sitting at the table with the family, so we plop you in your high chair and you eat while eat. We have continued with the cucumbers and added in sweet potatoes, yellow squash, asparagus, roasted apples, and oatmeal. Oh my, baby, do you despise oatmeal. If I had any doubt about you letting us know your opinion, it's gone now. You literally shove the spoon away, turn beet red, kick your legs, and snarl! Point taken, little one, point taken.

Shortly after your five-month birthday, your Daddy and I spent some time house hunting in Kalispell. Momma's college roommate Ashley lives in Kalispell and was nice enough to take us to her parents' cabin and boating on Ashley Lake. You were our little boating baby! We slathered you up in some sunscreen, threw on your polka dot hat, strapped you into a baby lifejacket, and off we went. You loved the boat so much, you slept the whole time! I guess there is some truth to the white noise effect - every time we turned off the boat so we could swim, you were not happy. Turn it back on, and you passed right out!

The other new experience you had at Ashley's cabin was swimming. You absolutely love bath time, so I had a feeling swimming would be up your alley. Boy, was it! Once you got over the shock of the water temperature, you had a blast kicking and splashing and "swimming" in the lake. I think I had just as much fun floating around with you as you did splashing. Such a water baby. Watching you has by far become my favorite pastime - it never gets old and you're always doing new things that amaze me.

Speaking of new things, this month wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in Lily-land. You, my feisty baby, developed something of a witching hour. For about two weeks, my wonderful, happy, sunshiney baby became a hellion every night around 7. I did not know what to do with you! It didn't seem to matter what I tried, you would just scream and scream and scream and scream. I could not, for the life of me, figure out what was wrong. After some trial and error, I started putting you to bed earlier (you've been an eight to nine o'clock gal from day one). Wouldn't you know it? That was the solution! So now, instead of 8 or 9, you're in bed by 7-7:30. As a result, you're now up by 7am as well, but that gives you some time with your Daddy in the morning before he goes to work; he loves his morning "Goob" time.

Because we traveled to Hawaii and were closing on our new house, we had your six-month appointment a couple of weeks late, but your new doctor was very impressed with you! He said you are completely caught up developmentally and don't have to be adjusted to a preemie schedule anymore. You were a whopping 17 pounds, 4 ounces at your appointment - in the 75th percentile! You didn't grow much taller, but the doctor said you'll probably have a little growth spurt to stretch yourself out. Until then, I'll enjoy my little chunk. Short and stout like your Mom, you are all rolls and squishy chins and I just love them.

I just love you so much, little Bug. Every time I smooch your cheeks, you giggle and squeal. You think peek-a-boo is hilarious, and Reef is your best buddy. I love it that I'm your happy place. I love that every thing you see is so exciting and new. Even though I'm exhausted, I love snuggling you in the middle of the night. I love that you love when I snuggle you, because I know it won't be long before you won't want those snuggles. I know that some day you will sleep through the night again, you will take longer naps, and you won't be happy just sitting with me during the day. I can already see it happening as you become more mobile and explore your surroundings every day. I just hope I can continue to be that anchor you can come back to always.

All my love,
Momma

Six month stats (as of September 4th, at six and a half months)...
Weight: 17 pounds, 4 ounces
Height: 25.5 inches
Head Circumference: 17.75 inches
Diaper Size: Size 2
Clothing Size: Some 3-6 months, mostly six months
New Nicknames: The Goob

Six Month Milestones...
July 29th: First boating/swimming experience
August 6th: Rolled back to tummy
August 11th: Had your first cucumber
August 16th: Full barrel roll
August 17th: Started the "V" scoot (tush in the air, push forward on your face with your toes!)