Half a year later...

The first year of life for a new baby is such a bittersweet time for me. It's so exciting to have that fresh new spirit in my home. They are so innocent and pure. What great therapy for the soul. And of course, I want the baby to grow healthy and strong and meet normal milestones. But I just stare at him and sigh when I think that HALF of a WHOLE year has already gone by since we were blessed with Calvin. However, because I want to him to slowly grow up healthy...I'm thrilled that Calvin has no teeth yet (I love that gummy smile). And that he's still under the 5th percentile for weight. I just can't believe that he'll be 7 months old on Dec. 1st.

Our baby caboose had his 6 month well child check on November 3rd. He weighed 13 lbs. 3 oz. So he's definitely put on some weight (about 2 1/2 lbs. in 2 months) with a diet primarily of formula. Molly, (Dr. Hicken's new PA) examined Calvin and said he's doing great. He's making his own little curve on the growth chart and that's all that matters. I'm only nursing about 3 times a day but I'm SHOCKED he hasn't weaned off of me. I was convinced once he got the bottle, my breastfeeding days were over. But he's pretty happy with both.

Later that day, I started him on some rice. He took 5 happy, gummy bites and swallowed the best he could. Then after the fifth bite, he clamped his mouth shut. I couldn't pry those lips open with the spoon, if I wanted to. I figured Calvin was full, so I stopped. I tried the next day. He totally refused. Not even one bite. Mouth clamped shut. I decided to try some squash. All my kids like squash. Apparently not Calvin. So back to the rice. He refused it the next day. This was getting very frustrating. So I let it go for a week or two. Then I tried oatmeal. He took one bit, made a horrible grimace and shuddered and spit it back out. Hmmm. The other kids have loved rice and oatmeal and other baby foods. I wasn't prepared for this. I still don't know what to do. I might make some oatmeal with formula (I've always used water) and see if that makes any difference.

Other than his repulsion to baby food, we are still totally enamoured with Calvin. He has turned into a very happy baby, after being so serious that first month or so. In fact, Jared even ventured to say that he's happier than Karcyn. I'm not sure I'd go THAT far yet, but he is definitely up there in "happyville".

Oh, I should probably say that one of his "flaws" is his STINKY, REVOLTING gas. It's like the gross adult equivalent! If there's a foul human odor lingering, we can't automatically assume it was one of us anymore. We have another flatulent factor to consider. Seriously, it's so nasty, he makes me cry out in disgust when I catch a whiff of it, usually followed by me exclaiming his full name. I can't believe green air that potent can come from such a small, cute little dude like Calvin. But it does. If it weren't so disgusting, it might actually be impressive.

Other than THOSE two things, we are eating him up. He's been scooting on his tummy for a while. Even got up on his knees a few times. He sometimes just cracks himself up (which cracks us up). I can lay him down for bed, still wide awake and he rarely cries, just goes to sleep. He actually slept on the floor by our bed til he was 5 1/2 months old. Why? Because we hardly knew he was there. That, and because we wanted to make sure he was old enough to put him in the same room as Karcyn. So far, so good.

Here he is with Grandma Lee wanting to play with his Cheerios rather than gum them to death.

I love this picture. Here he is lounging on the couch, propping up his little feet. These feet remind me of Dr. Seuss feet! No toes, just curves.