Six Months with a Leaky Boob

Tiller, I can't believe it has been six months! The time has flown by so much faster than it did with Rollie. Not that it was any easier (if anything, it has been harder), but with two children, it is so easy to miss some of the little milestones in your life while changing diapers, fixing meals, and packing diaper bags. I feel guilty about that, but I try to make a concerted effort to take plenty of pictures of you, and to savor the little moments with you. I hope that I do a pretty good job of it.




Lots has happened since you turned four months or so. You will now lay on your tummy for a lot longer. You can lift up your chest and head and look around. You usually are looking for me, or Daddy or Rollie, or at the cats or dog. But then you get fed up with it and start crying and lay your head down. I get frustrated, because i want you to practice tummy time, so that you can start getting on all fours, and then eventually crawling, but I know that when that time comes, I will be sad, and run ragged trying to keep up with you.

You can roll over in both directions now: Front to back, and back to front. You support all of your weight on both legs, and can sit in a tripod with your hands down in front of you. At least until you topple over to the side and start wailing. With support, you can sit up for long periods of time.

You are grasping everything now, including my nostrils, lips, neck, and chest. You just about rip me apart while breastfeeding, and sometimes even hit me in the face. I haven't quite figured out how to get you to stop, but need to figure it out before you hurt me. Who knew breastfeeding could be such a contact sport? You can switch objects back and forth between hands, and everything in your hands go into your mouth.

We are still successfully breastfeeding. I never thought that I would enjoy it, and sometimes I don’t, but there are moments when I feel so close to you while you are nursing. I love when you pause, look up at me, and smile. It is the sweetest.

I spend a lot of time trying to figure out who you look like. I think you have my eye color, but your daddy’s eye shape. Your nose is mine, but your mouth and chin remind me of your Grandma Johnson. Your eyes started out blue, of course, but now they are just a really strange color. They sometimes look blue, or slightly greenish like mine (not a bright green, but a dark mossy one). You look like you have brown on the very inside of the iris, but lighter on the outside. Sometimes they look grayish. They keep changing, and I suspect that when you are older they will be brownish or brown green, like mine, but probably not as dark as Rollie’s. His are very deep brown. I can’t believe I am saying this, as I have always complained about my curly hair, but I kind of hoped one of you would also have curls. I don’t think you will, though. So far, you and Rollie both seem to have hair like your Daddy’s, kind of straight and wavy. Your hair is lighter than Rollie’s, though. His is a pretty dark brown already, but yours is lighter, and in some lights, almost looks red! I think it will turn out more like my medium brown hair color.

We started feeding you solid foods in small amounts at four months, and now at six months, you have the okay to eat some more. And boy do you ever eat! You cry when we stop spooning the food in, and even harder if we get up and walk away from the table while feeding you! You don’t seem to show any preferences – you like everything we give you! You are also starting to sip formula or breast milk from a cup. You like to hold a spoon of your own while we feed you.

You still sleep great at night, going down at about 7:30 and sleeping until 6:30 or 7:30, when we are lucky. Nap times? That is a different story. I try to put you down a couple hours after you wake up in the morning, but you nap inconsistently. You also go down in the afternoon for an hour or so. Again, it is a crapshoot as to how long you will sleep on a given day. You do a lot of catnaps in the car, though.

You are starting to babble, and coo, and laugh when we do things for you. If anything, we are a family that loves to laugh, so it is great that you are learning to laugh with us.

You still love to be held and walked, and don’t really want to be set down for long periods of time. We do put you in the exersaucer and you will stay in it for a while. But you mostly like to be held. When Daddy holds you in the mornings, you always follow me with your eyes; You seem enamored of me, and that is one of the things that make being your mother worthwhile. Frankly, you can be a difficult baby, and your preference for me above all others is not only flattering, but serves as a reminder that I am the center of your universe and responsible for your happiness and well-being, even when I want to throw you out a window.

You had your six month appointment on Monday morning. We saw Dr. Levine, and he said you looked great. They weighed and measured you. You are a big girl! Here are your stats:

Length 28 1/2 inches (>97%)
Weight 18 lbs (75-90%)
Head Circumference 43 cm (50-75%)

I love you, Tiller! Happy six months!