Six Months

When I visited Haven at lunch today, an employee at the daycare brought in her 3-week old daughter. Haven sat on my hip with his arm slung over my shoulder as we stared at the tiny face. She told me breastfeeding was torturous, I promised it would get better. She look exhausted, I felt like those first weeks were just moments ago. Her baby yawned, Haven giggled.

I've learned so much about him since he was that small...




Haven is six months old. He loves to see new things, his eyes are constantly wide. When I nurse him, his arm reaches for something to grab--my necklace, my cereal bowl. He curves his fingers around whichever he finds stays like that, arm suspended above him. He can sit up alone for about 25 seconds before he falls forward or to the side. He only rolls over when I do half of it for him (shift his shoulders or hips) and he cries when we leave him on his stomach. When he is happy he kicks his legs up and down in unison. (He must have the best abs under that baby fat.) When he is interested in something his eyes get bigger and his mouth turns into an O. He spits out any vegetable but sweet potatoes and oatmeal gives him gas. As does who-knows-what-else. This child had the stinkiest gas of any I've ever smelled (except maybe my brother's). He sweats intensely in moderately-hot weather. He sounds like a motor when he is uncomfortable. Usually he is content, though. He is not interested in television, except for one time when he had a fever, he watched Babar for about 15 minutes. He loves music and sometimes it sounds like he's humming along. He looks like a china doll when he sleeps. He has a birthmark, like mine, on his forearm, like me. We have the same blood type. He doesn't like the mall but he does like the city. He can hold his bottle. He will put anything in his mouth within arms reach. He will charm you, you don't even have to let him.


Happy half-a-birthday, babycake!