Our beautiful boy is 6 months old now. I cannot believe we have come so far. Like all the cliches, it feels as though he’s been with us forever and for just moments, all at once. What’s amazed me is just how much changing he’s done in the last couple of months. He doesn’t just exist now. He is present and engaged and so very curious. He has grabby hands and an inquiring mind. He learns so fast and demonstrates that he understands complex ideas and negotiations to the point that I’m blown away on a daily basis. I know my kid is no more a genius than any other kid but wow, these little things are so clever.
His sleep is still crappy in the scheme of things but has improved. Removing caffeine has erradicated the nights of 20 minutes sleep stints and he’s not nursing all night long anymore but we’re still awake every 2hours. Everything is relative though and I’m feeling loads better – actually, I felt quite a shift after taking sorenson‘s response to this post on board. I am, nonetheless, boiling with frustration as I listen to Ducks enter the 3rd hour of trying to get the boy to sleep tonight. We had a blissful week of 7 o’clock bedtimes recently but a nasty, lengthy case of bronchiolitis seems to have completely messed all that up and we’re back to crabby, sleep fighting boy who won’t sleep unless I’m in bed with him! I’m really crossing my fingers and toes that once he’s fully recovered, he will once again embrace bedtime. It was so nice to sit on the couch with Ducks in the evening. I miss it.
The other big change, which may also be impacting the sleep/bedtime thing is that the boy is now playing with real food. We’ve chosen to go the baby led weaning route of introducing solids and for the last few weeks we’ve been having as awesome time with food. Certainly, it’s been bittersweet. I’m sad that it’s one step toward him needing me less but given that we can’t change it, I’m delighted that he’s so interested and adventurous already.
Photos to follow.
Above: Squeak and Mummy after a particularly wakeful day, with a particularly tired boy. All it took was 2 marathon nursing sessions, a 1.5hour walk and Mummy to come home and bounce him for an hour on the yoga ball. The result: A 40 minute nap.
Above: Unbridled bathtime joy. Mummy trying to escape the clutch of Squeaks full body, full throttle, 
PLUMP 