My sweet little boy is already six months old … I can’t believe the time has passed this quickly already. The first six months with Kamy seemed much slower, but I think that comes with having two little ones now, not just one. It’s bitter sweet to realize he’s growing and changing so quickly. I feel like I’ve missed so many of the little things I noticed with Kamy but it’s not from a lack of time with him. Life is just so busy on a daily basis, juggling two kids, Keller, our home, and our yard, that it is getting harder to slow down and notice the small things that happen on a daily basis.
That being said, it’s been a big month for Caden!
- Caden is getting really good at sitting up. He really likes to sit in the middle of the living room floor with a few toys and will happily amuse himself for thirty minutes … an eternity in baby-time. He’s even happier if Kamy and I are on the floor with him so he can watch us playing or reading or doing a puzzle at the same time.
- We’re starting to make progress on nap time and sleeping in general. Caden’s always been anti-nap and would fight sleep like no tomorrow. Because we’ve had such pretty weather outside the last week, I’ve been going outside with Daddy and Kamy during his nap time and letting him cry it out. He’s got to learn some time, but it’s hard on this momma’s heart to listen to his pitiful cries. =( At least when I’m outside, I can turn on the monitor every once in a while and check on him … and then turn it back off when he’s still crying. Plus I can be productive outside, so that’s always a bonus! Right now Caden really needs about three naps per day – once in the morning, once just after lunch, and once again in the late afternoon. However, the morning nap is usually pretty short and it is nearly impossible to get him to take the last one, he just cries and cries. Since he needs three naps but is only taking two, he has a tendency to get cranky in the evenings. However, he is going to bed around 8pm, the same time as Kamy is, so that’s freeing up my evenings to get some things done and (gasp) even have some down time. Hooray! He’s still waking up several times at night, but I’m not going to worry about that until he gets a bit better at putting himself to sleep at nap time. Another frequent comment from Kamy is “Caden not s’eeping … no!” You’re right Kamy, Caden’s not sleeping again.
- He is Momma’s Boy. Caden is my son, and he wants everyone to know that I am his momma. Often (especially at church), he isn’t happy with anyone else and he will cry and cry until I get him … and then is instantly happy and will smile and coo at whoever he was just screaming at. =/ It’s sweet that he wants to be with me, but I just can’t hold him all the time! The ladies at church are starting to get him figured out though, and I haven’t been paged from service in a few weeks. They’ve got their work cut out for them!
- Mr. Pitiful is his current nickname, especially when he’s either fighting nap time or insisting on Momma.
- Tooth #2 has come through, without too much trouble. It’s right next to his other one, so he’s got a pair right in the middle. The new one has some catching up to do though, since they’re two different lengths right now. It’s pretty cute!
- Also new this month is playing with and sucking on his feet. He’s discovered his toes and loves to suck on them (especially his left foot). It’s amazing that he can curl up far enough to get his toes in his mouth, despite having a bulky diaper on. Caden has some dry skin on his feet that I’m treating with lotion, so I am very mindful of when I put lotion on him and make sure I can keep his toes out of his mouth long enough for the lotion to be absorbed.
- I moved the straps of his car seat up to the highest setting. Caden’s getting so big! I’m afraid he’ll outgrow that car seat in no time at all and I’ll have to start looking for another one soon. He’s getting pretty hefty when I carry him in the car seat too — his 16 pounds plus the 8 for the car seat means it’s a lot of work to haul him around, especially lifting him up into a shopping cart at the grocery store.
- Lastly, we’ve begun introducing him to real foods. He had his first mashed banana this evening for dinner and did really well with it! He never was much of a fan of rice cereal and would just spit it out, so I wasn’t sure how the banana would go. At first he wasn’t sure what to do with it in his mouth, but he figured it out and halfway liked it. He finished half a banana in one sitting, so I’d call it a success! Kamy was cheering him on while she was eating her dinner and kept saying “Don’t spit out Caden, swattow (swallow)!” It was pretty darn cute.
I am loving getting to know who Caden is, and what his little personality is going to be like. When he’s happy, he’s very happy. And when he’s upset, it’s beyond awful. He is happy more and more and just loves to be held and given attention. He loves to smile at everyone. He makes me happy!
