6 Months Old Already

Our “little” Ari is now 6 months old.

Though I don’t think we can quite call him little.  When he had his six month well child visit, he weighed in at 20 lbs 6 oz and he was 28 1/2 inches long.  He is the average size of a 12-18 month old.  [However, believe it or not, Cory at this age was even bigger, by about 2 pounds!?]

Regardless of his size, though, he is still my Little Sweetness.

Ari loves to snuggle.  He loves to socialize.  His smiles and his laughs simply melt your heart.  If I am ever grumpy or in a foul mood, Ari can always cheer me up when he flashes his grin at me.

Ari is normally a happy and smiley guy, though this past week has been the exception.  Sprouting two bottom teeth, getting shots and then having a few late nights from Halloween activities have made him a bit fussy.

He loves to grab things, especially paper and hair.  He likes to put things in his mouth, but he also likes to pick things up and then drum them/bang them on the floor or table.  He loves to coo and talk.  He is learning how to sit.  He can sit stably by himself for at least a minute.  Tummy time is still not his favorite thing in the world, but he tolerates it here and there.

Ari just started solids this last week.  He’s not much into it, though he is slowly swallowing some food as opposed to letting it pool in his mouth while he fusses.  It’s kind of cute to see him attempt to “chew” … he ends up talking and cooing more than chewing.

Ari enjoys bath time.  He loves to kick and splash his feet in the water.  He also likes to play in his exersaucer and sit in his Bumbo seat.  He adores looking at himself in mirrors and he likes to chew on his Sophie giraffe.

For the most part Ari is a good night time sleeper.  He goes to bed about 7 p.m. and wakes up the next morning around 8 … though he normally eats twice during that time.  I get him up for a “dream feed” around 11:30 at night and he also wakes up to eat around 6 am.  But then he talks to himself and goes back to sleep when I put him in his crib.  He also normally wakes up happy in the morning. I forgot that babies can do that.  When Eli was little, he normally woke up crying.

But I will be honest.  I am still trying to adjust to being a mother to four special, remarkable and incredible spirits.  A lot of the time things can feel a bit out of control.  It is difficult to juggle so many schedules and immediate demands.  I find myself feeling chronically tired and exhausted which then makes my motivation to do anything nonexistent. And because of this, I then find myself being the grumpy and yelly mom … though I am working on that one.

Right now I am just trying to be extra patient with myself and my family.  I am trying to remember that when you have a nursing baby in the home, that things are going to operate a bit differently.  It’s OK to say no, it’s OK to let go of things and it’s OK to feel like you are not accomplishing a whole lot.  And I am trying to remember that I only nurse my little ones for a year, and before I know it, their streak of independence is going to be here to stay.

But there is something sacred about having an infant in the home.   The special spirit and light they exude is miraculous.  So for now I am trying to keep this quote at the forefront of my mind and to abide by its wise counsel so I can embrace the present time I am blessed to have:

“I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass.” ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

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