Thursday, December 15, 2016

Six Months and Counting

The other day, when I was reading Ann-Marie's blog, I realized that I haven't provided any updates about my little guy recently. Last week, he hit the big six-month mark! So, for those of you who like baby updates, here's a bit of a ramble :) 

It's crazy and so epic that in June 2016, I cradled a tiny (5 pounds, 11 ounces and 19 inches long) baby boy, and embarked on the adventure of stay-at-home motherhood. Days were filled with some soreness, tears, smiles and laughter, lots of cuddles, tons of Netflixing, and some sleeping. Time and life moved on, and he began getting more active. Finally, I could play with my baby! Read him stories, have dance parties, and see him smile more often. 

And now, I have a somewhat chunky (17 pounds, 5.4 ounces, and 27 inches long), active, happy baby. Peter loves to smile, and when my husband and I greet him by name, his face will often light up as he looks at us. I love bouncing in to get him from his naps, calling out his name, and seeing him smile broadly. I love watching Peter happily greet my husband when he comes home from work. 

The past couple weeks, Peter and I often have spent our mornings in front of the bathroom mirror, where he will bounce on the counter (while I support him), laughing and looking at himself. The other day, we did this for forty-five minutes! I'm a wimp with no upper body strength, so I had to take short breaks every 5-10 minutes. Last week, the first two front teeth began to pop up, which has been very exciting-and it's nice to see that the cranky-teething stage is accomplishing its goal! Lately, the afternoons and evenings have been hard for Peter (teething, I'm assuming), and he mainly wants to be in my lap nursing and taking power naps. As a result, I've been reading a lot and watching Doctor Who. In fact, sometimes, Peter will stop nursing so he can watch Doctor Who, and then resume eating a few minutes later! (I'm showing him the reboot seasons in order, and we're on Season 2, if anyone's curious.)

Oh, the power nap. I've heard of some babies at this age who sleep about 10 hours each night and take solids naps during the day. My child sleeps pretty well at night (8-9 hours, briefly waking up once or twice, though he has had some nights of no waking up, which is awesome), and he used to sleep well during the day. I could always count on him to take that 2-3 hour "lunchtime nap." Well, my little boy does not really sleep during the day much anymore. Occasionally, he'll pop down at lunchtime or in the afternoon for an hour-long nap, but I can't really depend on that happening. He thrives off of short, 15-20 minute power naps in my lap, spread throughout the day. In fact, last week there was one day where he was up from 6:30 a.m. to midnight with no big nap. Just little snoozes in my laps in between play sessions. I love playing with him, and I love that he is often so happy; I'm just finding it hard to get other things done around the apartment or with writing (he doesn't really like being in the carrier when we're inside, and often just wants me to hold him. Or bounce, bounce, bounce in front of the mirror). 

He rolls sometimes, but he's not a huge mover, though there have been a couple times when-while on his belly-he'll scooch or pivot a little bit. There have been a few times when he'll pull his knees under him in more of a crawling position, but he hasn't done anything too crazy in that arena. Mainly, he just really enjoys standing up in our laps or on countertops. Oh-and since everyone in the world asks me about feeding Peter cereals and solids: I'm still exclusively breastfeeding him, and we're planning on doing baby-led weaning. Peter hasn't really shown much of an interest in solid food, and hasn't tried to pick up any to bring to his mouth (though he has tried to knock some off my plate a few times!), so I don't think solids will be happening very soon. But, babies are full of surprises, so who knows-it may happen sooner than I think! 
This was technically taken a couple weeks before
he turned 6 months, but who cares? I think it's cute and fun :) 
I love my little Peter so much, and caring for him brings me so much joy! Even though I'm now typically more exhausted than before (since he's so active and always wants to play with me), I enjoy praying, playing, and being with him. We still try to adhere to our hobbit-monk schedule (although he doesn't really follow the "napping" part anymore), and I love how prayer orders our days. I'm so excited to continue growing and learning with my little son, and I'm stoked to celebrate Christmas with him on this side of the womb! 

7 comments:

  1. This is so fun! The picture of you guys is absolutely adorable. I find it really helpful for me to do updates on the blog, just for reference of how things went at different ages. It's helped me numerous times to be able to go back and read about how things were going.

    I'm sorry about the power naps. That would drive me insane. Sometimes right before baby's hit a new stage of development, they don't nap well. That might be what's going on. Best of luck!

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  2. Thank you for Peter's update. Girls will love his smiling. May our Lord shower his blessings on you and your family.

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  3. His smile is so great! It's amazing how much they change in six short months.
    I'm glad to hear you are getting some sleep at night. :-)
    Christmas (and other holidays) were always special, but I do love being able to share our traditions and rituals with our girls. Have fun doing this with Peter!

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  4. Thank you for the update on Peter. Girls will love his lovely smile.

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  5. Thank you for the update about Peter. Girls will adore his smile

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  6. Aw, I love those pictures, especially the first. He looks so happy.

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  7. He looks like such a sweetie! I'm sure even in the past month that he's developed and changed a lot since this post.

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