Letter to a Six-Month-Old on His Birthday

And then you turned 6 months old. I ask myself, "How did that happen?" When did you get to be a whole half of a year old?

You give this world such JOY. I can't imagine existence without you. Your smile causes my heart to leap into the air. I feel my eyes light when I look at you.

You and I. We are best friends now. We can crack each other up pretty easy now. When I walk in the room you get this cool sideways smile. I can read you like a book, every sound and movement--I know almost every time exactly what you want or need. Sometimes you're bored, sometimes hungry, sometimes tired, sometimes you simply dropped something and want it back!

I've decided over the last month or so to completely not care about any kind of schedule whatsoever. This gives me sidelong glances at my mom's group, but truly, I feel a lot better about it. You? You don't seem to care at all. You thrive all the same.

I tried, but I simply suck at schedules. I get all bunched up and nervous when we don't hit our intended times and lengths. Then I start to think about it and what to do different, and I stop living the moment, and I start trying to make our lives "look" like something that makes sense, and when it doesn't it gets me crazy.

So I decided not to care at all. I feed you when you're hungry. I try to put you down when you're tired. You fall asleep in all sorts of places, at all sorts of times. And I've decided that I really don't care. I'm happy and you're happy and that's what matters. Accepting that has made a big difference in my mom happiness.

But even though that, you've made big strides in the sleep department this month. You've been sleeping in your crib! Not only that, you've been sleeping on your back. We went cold turkey on that carseat. It's been rocky, I must admit. You're back to waking every 2-3 hours at night. But I don't care (that's a bold-faced lie). I'm over that car seat.

Perhaps though, it's because you're starting to teeth. On April 2nd, just two days before your sixth month bday, we felt the little jagged white tooth peeking out of your gums. I've never been so excited. (Well, when you rolled over, just days shy of your five month birthday, I leaped into the air and shouted, "You did it!")

This month it seems, everything has changed. You are reaching for EVERYTHING. You get the coolest look on your face too, like you are just discovering The. Coolest. Thing. EVER. even if it's a towel or a hanger or a phone. You lunge your body, both hands open, towards it; your eyes wide like Christmas.

You all of the sudden are moving across the entire kitchen floor in your walker. Your favorite motivation to move is...Diego the cat! You LOVE looking at Diego; he is your favorite buddy. If he's in the room, you'll scout so fast. We also got you a bouncer from craigslist and you bounce bounce bounce and grab grab grab all the fun stuff.

It has been weird though, because all of the sudden I can put you down for longer periods of time and you just entertain yourself. I have to admit: it's kind of a relief to be able to do more without needing to scoop you up and soothe you. You can sit all by yourself for an hour or more now--happy as a clam! You laugh and giggle and scream and play. I barely know what to do with myself.

You still love to hang out in the sling though, close to me. In the morning when I make breakfast, I put you in there all groggy and you watch me make the coffee and pour the cereal and cut the fruit. You look up at me and smile, quiet and still as a mouse. In the late afternoons, you still love to nap in there while I jog around and watch some dumb show. It's been a nice balance lately of close carry time and also of independent play time.

The biggest new is: You started solids! I made it to my goal of exclusively breastfeeding you for the first six months. The World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and many other health organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. This means no supplementing with formula or juice or food. Their stance is due to the extensive research that reflects that EBF babies are more protected from allergies, obesity, asthma, colds, other illnesses, and diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

It was very hard, but I am glad that we accomplished our goal! Studies show that even though the research is there to support EBF for 6 months, few women in America reach this mark. The percentage hovers around 13%. I just think our society is so fast-paced and women are rushed back into the workplace that they don't have the time or patience or support to do this. I feel very blessed that we were able to give you this gift!

However, I can't tell you how fun it was to watch you on April 4th, your sixth-month birthday, finally use a bib! We fed you mashed bananas for your first food, and you ate like a pro! Your daddy said it was because you're his blood. You ate half a banana. The next day we fed you almost a whole banana and also some rice cereal mixed with breast milk. I am looking forward to your daddy taking over some of the business of feeding you.

Anyway, I know this is long, but it was a big month for you! Right now your Grandma Deb is in town here and she is loving hanging out with you. We went on a hike around Lake Poway today. What did you do? Slept in the sling, attached to your Grandma, like a perfect angel baby!

You are such an easy-going little fellow. We love your easy smile. Your loud screams and grunts (you really are a loud buggar), and your perchance to crack yourself up without any prompting. You just look at things and laugh!

I must close this. I could go on forever. I love you Dax. So very very much. I wish I could bottle up all these lucid moments of joy. They are so frequent.