Our sweet, smiley, chubby Brady is six months old. In some ways it seems like he should still be an itty bitty newborn, but in other ways it's hard to believe we've only known him for half of a year. I was filling out his "6 month" calendar for his little photo shoot this afternoon, and I realized how much has happened this month. For Brady and for our whole family, July has been full of good things. Most of all, it's been full of each other, which of course is my favorite thing.
As a family, we've transitioned from two working parents to one and a half. This transition is a gradual one because I'm used to having my summers off anyways. But for me, mentally, it's allowed me to exhale a little deeper. I am still struck with gratitude and excitement at the
time that the boys and I now have. I remember crying and crying one night just before my Christmas break when Anderson was 5 months old. For the first time since I'd gone back to work, I was going to have time with him. And it struck me very clearly that the two weeks I was so looking forward to
was not enough. This is me talking very selfishly, because we had a very happy family- and I had a very happy life- for the two years I worked full-time. Many families make this work beautifully, which I so admire. But luckily for me, teachers aren't paid very much. Also very luckily, my mom could employ me part-time as her assistant. And when our one baby boy with child care so quickly doubled, there wasn't much of a difference between the two scenarios financially. So now I add to my list of blessings,
time. I exhale every time I type the word.
So now I am tutoring 3 hours a week during the day (plus planning time) and working in the evenings after bedtime doing administrative work for Mindy Harden, Realtor extraordinaire. This results in sweet, mostly slower-paced days and quiet but busy nights. Ironically, this means I will have more I want to blog about but a little less time to do so. That's okay. I'll take it.
Brady has made a big transition himself- out of the swaddle and "lamby" bassinet (seen here)
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| Aw, remember when he was little? |
into his very own crib. I had done my best to prepare for the change, knowing that it would also mean "progressive waiting"... and crying. Anderson had made this transition pretty easily, mainly because I put him in his crib after he was asleep almost every night. While this was great at the time, it caught up to us. At about 10 months we had to do sleep training with Anderson- because he would then scream any time he was aware he was being put in his crib. He's been a wonderful sleeper ever since, but I had planned to get Brady comfortable falling asleep in his crib sooner. The first night he cried on and off for almost two hours. I checked on him every 5, 7, and then 10 minutes throughout the 2 hours. It was no fun, but we stuck with it. Each night got quite a bit better, and by the end of the week I wasn't needing to go in and visit him at all most nights. Now bedtime really is quite easy with both boys- hooray! Brady still wakes up once a night (around 4 am) to eat, which I am happy to let him continue. Naps still tend to be a struggle. Some naps end up nice and long. Others are more crying than sleeping, so after 30 minutes we give up until the next nap.
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| Brady can consistently get himself onto his tummy, but he isn't really good at rolling onto his back yet. Most nights he's a tummy sleeper. Which makes us all a little nervous. |
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| Watching Brady on the monitor |
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| Sneaking a little snooze in Mama's arms. |
Also happening in Brady's little life... teeth! No teeth have popped through yet, but he is definitely teething. Dr. Joy said his gums are bulging at his 6 month appointment, and today I think I felt a sharp spot where his lower-right front tooth will be coming in. Poor baby- he's drooling like crazy, and he constantly wants something in his mouth. I got him a couple of new teething toys today, and he seems to like them.
Just when I wonder if teeth are even necessary, we are also starting Brady on solid foods. And so far he really likes them. So yes, I suppose he will need and eventually be very happy to have teeth. He did well the first time we gave him oatmeal cereal, but he wasn't making a lot of progress with it. Then, about a week ago, we introduced him to sweet potatoes, and he became an all-star eater. He had a second helping that first night. :) Since, he has also tried and loved pears. We are mixing the cereal in, so he is getting that, too.
Brady is starting to sit up on his own for short periods of time. He still falls over a lot, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much. (Usually I am right there and he doesn't actually hit the floor, of course.) He seems to prefer sitting up to laying down, so I am looking forward to him being able to sit up more and more. For one thing, I think he'll love bath time when he can start using the inflatable duck bath. And then the boys can take one bath together in the big tub.
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| At the Children's Museum |
Brady is snuggly and loving. He reaches out for Anderson now, and he is visibly excited when Anderson comes to kiss or talk to him. He also reaches out- and pinches- now. He has no idea he's doing it, but once he has something in his grasp (like my arm) he may just clamp down. It hurts! He likes to hold onto your face and give big ol wet kisses. Basically he sucks on your chin or cheek, but I've noticed now that he won't do it for long- even if you let him- so I think it has become more like a smooch. :) I think it's so sweet, but I'm sure you have to be really in love with Brady to not mind. And I am!
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| I love this one because you can barely see, but the boys have the biggest smiles on their faces. I'm sure I'll refer to this picture often when they're both toddlers... or teenagers..... |
Last thing I should mention is just how big Brady is. At his 6 month appointment this past Monday, Brady weighed 20 lbs. 14 oz (95th %) and was 29" long (99th %). He's a little bigger than Anderson was at 9 months old. Crazy- but it means he should be able to wear even more of Anderson's hand-me-downs than I had thought. Anderson really slowed down growing when he hit a year old, so I suppose Brady will, too. I just wonder if he'll catch Anderson before the "slowing down" happens. As it is, they are both in size 4 diapers now. :)
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| Who wears short shorts? |
