6 Months!

My baby turned six months old yesterday. I can't believe it! I'm a little sad today to think that he is now closer to being a one year old than the newborn that he was just a moment ago. (Or so it seems.) Things are wonderful here and I think it's time for some updates...

Sleeping- My little guy has been a champion sleeper since the very beginning. He goes down at 7pm, then I wake him at 9 for a little more food which allows him to sleep until 7am. That is our usual schedule. Of course there are occasional days where he is calling for me bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:45am. We are about to drop that 9pm feeding, so we will see how that goes.

Eating- We have made it to the six month mark with exclusively breast feeding. At our four month check up, the pediatrician said we could start solids any time. At four months I just didn't feel ready and I didn't think the baby was either. I decided to wait until the five month mark. At five months I still didn't think he was ready. Or maybe once again I wasn't ready. (There is something so wonderful and natural about your body being able to support another life all on it's own.) Well, here we are at six months and I think we are both finally ready. I don't know what it is that makes me feel this way, but whereas before I wasn't even looking forward to the concept of giving him food and almost sad about it, I am now looking forward to it. I think it will be fun to watch him try something new. I can also tell that he is taking in a ton of

milk right now and quite frankly I think some solids will help his appetite.

I'm going to continue breast feeding for his "liquid intake" and starting Monday we are going to try a bit of rice cereal. After he gets the hang of things I'm going to continue on to the veggies. I will be making my own baby food which as far as I can tell is incredibly easy. Someone gave me a "So Easy" baby food kit as a shower gift so we'll see it the title holds true.

*A feeding side note... We are going on two short trips without the baby soon. (two nights each) We have to take a plane which means that I'm going to have to bring along my breast pump and throw away all of that "liquid gold." I hate doing that!! I have been pumping every morning to boost up my freezer supply to cover him during my absence. I have pumped here and there in the past but never really consistently. I must say, I have a new found respect for the working moms that continue breast feeding. I hate pumping! I mean, you have to do what you have to do, but the working pumping moms are truly doing a labor of love for their little ones.

Appearance- Well, other than being pretty much the cutest baby in the whole world... galaxy...UNIVERSE!, my little buddy is also becoming a blonde. He kept his brown baby hair but it had started to rub off in a few places leaving little bald spots. Those stuck around for a while but there is now brand new big boy hair growing in and it is most looking quite blonde. I haven't trimmed the remaining long brown hair, so the current effect is looking a little marbleized. I should probably do something about that. The top pieces are like 3 inches long now so he also has a bit of a comb over. I just can't bring myself to cut it! I would report his height/weight but he doesn't go to the pediatrician until next week, so that will have to wait. His eyes are staying blue and I haven't seen any teeth yet.

Housing- Well, after much deliberation, paperwork, red tape and a little biting of the bullet I can now officially say that in somewhere between 6-8 months we will be living in this little beauty.

Holy cow do we have our work cut out for us. I should say that I have my work cut out for ME because I was the one that convinced my husband that I could handle all of the decision making when it comes to the construction. This also means that I get to handle all of the decor choices. Woo hoo! Time to get a baby sized hard hat. *There will be plenty more details on this to

come!*

Me- I'm really feeling great. I'm getting a hang of this mommy thing. In some ways it's easier than I thought and in some ways it's harder. Before you become a mom you see women changing diapers, soothing cries, wiping up drool, etc and it just looks so hard. But really-- it's totally different when it is your own baby. The harder part for me is living by such a schedule and being so attached to the house. I never set out to keep my baby on a tight schedule, that's just how it worked out, and trust me, I am not the one in control of it, the infant is. :) He is like clockwork and when he starts giving me the nap cues he means it! I've got to be back at the

house every day from 8:30-10, 12-2 and 3:30-5 and then home for good at 7. (Of course he can nap elsewhere, but we are at home for the most part.) That doesn't leave much time for outings, etc. I feel like I'm a slave to the clock. Other people don't quite get that. Of course, I shouldn't complain because other moms would kill for such a good napper. Plus, I get quite a bit done around the house during these nap times.

Summertime- We are having plenty of summertime fun around here. We live right by a playground so we take a long walk every morning around 7:30 so I can get some exercise and then stop by the playground. Baby likes to watch the bigger kids on the playground and sit on my lap while I swing. He is also a big fan of the pool. My grandpa has a pool so it is nice to always have somewhere to go that is clean, private and FREE! Occasionally the baby likes to skinnydip. :)

Lordy... I am starting to ramble. The heat is getting to me. Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the weekend! We are off to my Mom's to "play" with grandma and my sisters. :)