Six Months Old

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Skyler had her six-month check-up on Monday, and it was verified: she’s 28 inches, 15lbs and 5 ounces of perfect.

The doctor came in after the nurse had measured her height and re-checked it to see if it were a mistake. “Is she really that tall?” It wasn’t a mistake: Long and lean. Like Daddy. And like Hudson before her.

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I was wrong about how similar a temperament she has to Hudson, however—at least over these past couple of months. At six weeks, when we couldn’t catch a break from the crying in the evenings and found ourselves once again reading up on reflux and colic and seeking solace in movement, we thought: “Oh no. Here we go again.”

We gave her the reflux meds and she improved. But then we forgot to give them to her for a few days and it didn’t make a difference. So now we we think perhaps it was just… well… six weeks.

Ever since, we can’t stop remarking on what a sweet, calm (beautiful) little babe she is. Sure, she didn’t like car rides for a while and would scream all the way to Hudson’s preschool and back, but then she found her toes.

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She smiles easily, laughs at her brother (who she adores more than anything and turns to look at the minute she hears his voice), and squeals with delight when the dog comes close. For the dog’s part, he’s interested in her, too, but a few too many hair grabs have him weary. And so we keep them a safe distance still. (That grab is not so easily loosened!)

One of the best smiles is the one right after she wakes up. Aron often gets her up and brings her into our room. She’s so excited! I feed her while he goes back to sleep. When we’re finished and she stands up, she looks over and spots him again and it’s as if she’s seeing him for the first time. She almost gasps! Like “There he is! There he is! You’re BOTH here!”

I have a babysitter a few mornings a week, and sometimes I feel terrible that she doesn’t get the sort of intensity of one-on-one time throughout the week that Hudson did. But I’m also incredibly grateful to have help. Those first six months with a new baby can really test you in all kinds of ways and it’s wonderful to be able to depend on some time to work where she’s in the care of another; I wish I had let myself have a sitter during the day even once during Hudson’s first six months. It’s also nice knowing that she’s comfortable being left in the care of another. She seems to really enjoy those hours.

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She babbles a little, but not much. Lately, she delights in blowing little raspberries, and in sucking in her lower lip; and I keep trying to catch it on video because it makes her cheeks puff out in the most adorable way. But she’s starting to notice my iPhone more.

Actually, I suddenly feel anxious that I need more photos of her. (Says the woman who can’t edit these down to three. Crazy, right? But there are fewer than there are of Hudson.) The thing is, this time I’m more aware of how quickly certain baby faces disappear. I think she’s on the verge of getting a tooth. I can feel the ridge popping out on the bottom gum and it’s a little bit translucent. And I remember, with Hudson, that once the teeth come in, their faces really change. Not for better or worse, of course. They just change.

We haven’t spent too much time with solids yet. We let her taste all of our food (within safe reason, of course) and occasionally make some dedicated purée. She’s a much messier eater than Hudson ever was. Very little of anything seems to actually make it into her mouth, but what she lacks in accuracy she makes up for in enthusiasm. Watch your plate, your glass, your fork… she wants it all! What she doesn’t want to do is to breastfeed whenever there is anything else to watch; it’s nearly impossible to get her to eat when there’s an ounce of distraction.

Crawling seems close on the horizon, but one never knows for sure. She has all of the skills needed, but just has to figure out how to put it all together. Somehow, she makes lots of progress around the floor in other, almost secret ways. Seriously: you put her down one place and she ends up in another without any obvious locomotion. Just the occasional roll-over, a few push-ups and arch-ups, and—poof!—she’s across the rug.

She’s strong. She has strong little, chubby legs that she loves to stand up on. She can out-crunch anyone: she’ll do a mini-sit-up to watch any action in the room from on her back. What do they call that? Boat pose? Nailed it.

As for sleep, I have to thank her for doing a great job overnight. She generally goes to bed around 8 and gets up around 6:30 or so, though we did have to increase her daytime calories (and give her an occasional dream-feed) to get that later morning. (She was trying to wake-up about twenty minutes earlier every morning.) She hasn’t really consolidated her naps and isn’t on much of a clear schedule during the day, but some flexibility is demanded just by virtue of being child number two. Sometimes I still put her in a swing in the afternoon to extend one of the naps—ideally coordinated with Hudson’s.

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Finally, we’re looking forward to our first international trip with Skyler, later this month, when we all go to Italy. She’s already been on quite a few flights and it’s gotten better each time—so hopefully that trend will continue!

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Half a year? How are we here already? (Is that what I say every time?)
We’re so happy to have this little girl and all of her smiles in our life! Happy half-year, Skyler!

P.S. All the monthly updates for Hudson. Also, Skyler’s birthday and first week of life; Two Kids, two months in; and Skyler at Three Months

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