Dear Mookie: Month Six*

*This is the official letter to Mookie. The last post was just a place-holder. I hope all Mookie's adoring fans will forgive me. :o)

Dear Mookie,

The transition from 5 to 6 months has been a monumental one! So very much has gone on, and changed, and is new and is no longer this last month that I don't know quite where to start! It's like I have a new baby every week -- no, every day! Always a good baby, though.

Whatcha lookin' for down there?

Last month, you were rolling over, but not with much oomph, or much confidence. Now? You roll over and back and under the bed and all around! You've just recently learned that if you want something out of your reach, you can often roll to it and get it. My clever child. :o) Last month you didn't like sleeping on your tummy, now you don't seem to mind so much. There are many days that I will go in to get you from your nap or in the morning and you are peacefully on your tummy. While I'm glad that I no longer wake to blood-curdling screams if you are turned over, what I do miss is knowing that you will be...well...in one piece when I find you. Now? You have squirmed out of your blanket, kicked off your socks, wormed one arm out of your pajamas, and somehow mushed both legs into one of your pajama legs! And that was just this morning! :o) I know you are okay, I just feel bad because when I get you, your feet are like little ice cubes. I've got a sleepsack for you, so maybe we'll make it through the winter without any cases of frostbite on your little tootsies. And you seem to have turned a corner on the naps, too. You are still (frustrating for me) taking some 30 minute naps, but you are also taking some longer naps. It's just unpredictable...which is pretty tough on Mama. Mama likes predictability, k?

Whoa! It's like we're on a roller-coaster!

And just in the last week, you have stopped your second night feeding, and are sleeping on through. Yay! Except that you think it's appropriate to wake up for the day at a time that starts with 6. If you didn't look so much like me, I'd swear you weren't my child, because Mama don't wake up that early! Mama likes to sleep in! One day, really really soon, I hope, I will teach you the joys, the sheer bliss that comes from sleeping in. Mmm, say it with me, "Mama, I'd like to try some of that sleeping in stuff." But, speaking of sleeping, I want you to know that some of the best moments in my day involve holding you while you sleep. I know I need to put you down, but sometimes I just can't do it. I know these are precious moments, and whatever else I might want to do can just wait.

Nice ribbon. I'm gonna take it.

Some will say that your new trick of sleeping through the night is because now you are eating solid foods, but I don't know. It could be that you are more advanced neurologically than everyone else your age you were before. :o) Regardless, I do know that you are a clever baby because of how incredibly well you have taken to solid foods! For a week or two before I gave you your first bite of rice cereal, you watched my every food-bearing bite. And every liquid-bearing drink, too! I'm afraid that you're gonna end up with a lap-full of my chocolate milk one of these days!! The very first night I offered you rice cereal (November 6th), you knew just when to open your mouth, how to pull it off the spoon, and how to swallow it all without pushing too much back out! Yay!! So, you ate one meal of rice cereal a day for a week, and then I introduced you to The Banana. A real, mashed up banana. Fed to you with the same spoon as the rice cereal. And you balked. And coughed. And made a confused, bitter face. You ate the few bites I gave you, but I think we'll wait awhile before we see The Banana again. Sorry about that. :o)

(Oops! Mama caught me!)

Next I introduced you to The Sweet Potato. And you just chow down on them. Good thing you got an orange bib for Halloween, huh? :o) Rice and sweet potatoes...mmmm, good. Next week we'll try something new. Like pears or squash. I mentioned to someone how well you are eating, and she knows how much your lack of sleep bothers me, and she said, "At least she's a good eater...lots of moms really struggle with feeding their babies." She had a good point. And I'm glad that you are such a good eater. As you get older I hope to teach you good eating habits. By the way, you weigh 13 pounds, 3 ounces, and are 26 inches long right now.

I love Grandma Bear!

With slight change of diet comes the not-so-slight change in diaper content. It took about a week to catch up, but gone are the days of the one-wiper diaper. (sigh) Now, I play a little game with myself where I try to guess how many wipes I'll have to use to restore your little rumpus to it's previously pristine state. Yup. It's time to buy the HAZMAT suit for Papa. And wipes by the carton. :o)

No, Grandma Bear. I don't see any gum in your hair.

Last month I knew that teeth weren't too far away, and now you've got two! You got your first on October 25th, and your second on November 6th. So far, you've done pretty well not using your teeth while you are breastfeeding. Which proves, yet again, how brilliant you are because you obviously know that you don't need your teeth for that! :o) Please, pretty please remember that when your top teeth come in. Pretty please? You make such funny faces when you are playing with your new-found teeth. From the pucker, to the tongue sticking out, to rolling your tongue around in your mouth. You love to play with your teeth. Let's you and me make a pledge to take good care of them, okay?

Look at me! I'm sitting up! (Sorta)

Last month you were dancing in the mirror and not quite sitting up on your own...but now you are! You don't get to a sitting position on your own, yet, but you will. One day. Let's not rush it. For now, you are happiest when I am sitting right behind you and you are enclosed in my legs. Even if you're not touching me, you just seem more comfortable that way. If I move away, you topple over. But every day you are sitting for longer and longer stretches of time. Pretty soon you'll be sitting up, playing with your toys and won't even feel like laying down...until you're tired, I hope! :o) I must say, I'm not looking forward to the day (or night?) when you get "stuck" sitting in your crib and can't remember how to lay back down!

Hey Mama! This is fun!

Last month you weren't too sure about the exersaucer that Maddy is letting you borrow. You would just stand there and watch me play with the toys. You seemed to be aware that there were toys all around you, but you couldn't figure out how to get to them while keeping your feet in the same place. You were so cute as you would turn your torso around as far as possible, and then reach with your hands towards whichever toy you wanted to play with...but that was tiresome, wasn't it? :o)  Then, Smarty Pants, you figured out how to turn the little chair! And now, you were free, free, FREE to move from toy to toy to toy. Or just chew on the little star. :o)  I don't leave you in it for very long, but you are usually pretty happy when you are sitting in it.

Mama, it sure is hard to sit up straight when the bear is leaning.

Last month, I was beginning to think that you were outgrowing the sling I would carry you in, and then a friend let me try putting you in her Moby wrap and instantly I knew that you loved it. You smiled that big, open-mouthed, full-face smile of yours, you waved your arms, you kicked your legs, and you looked back at me to tell me just how happy you were. I am SO very glad that I did buy it because now when I wear you, my left shoulder doesn't hurt, and I can put you in it, and take you out of it very easily. (I always felt like I was giving birth to you when I took you out of the pouch sling!) :o)  So now, the Moby is my best friend! Fussy? Moby.  Shopping? Moby.  Sewing? Moby. Bible study? Moby. Church? Moby. Baby loves Moby...and so does Mama!

Ha ha! Just thinking about the Moby makes me haphaphappy!

You've still got some bald spots, but you are growing a wee bit of peach fuzz on your big ol' noggin. Slowly, ever so slowly, you are getting a head full of hair. I can't wait to see what you look like with hair! :o) Speaking of hair, I went away this month to get my hair done, and left you with Papa for the first time. And you, of course, did fabulously! He said you slept for about half the time I was gone, and then when you woke up, he tried to feed you a bottle, but you mostly played with it. Then after another 45 minutes, you decided that drinking that bottle might not be such a bad idea. :o) And he took you for a walk, too. And when I came home, you were just about ready for a nap...so the timing was perfect! I'm proud of you!

I love you, Mama!

One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that you are, hands down, the CUTEST baby that ever there was. You are beautiful, you are funny, you are smart, you are inquisitive. You make funny faces and make me giggle. Your smile is magical. You are the best. Thanks for being my baby. Thanks for helping me to see the things that matter most, and ignore the things that don't. Thanks for teaching me about unconditional love, and teaching me more and more what True Love, the kind of love that is only possible with God, is. You are so happy to see me in the morning when you wake up. You don't care if my pajamas are clean, or if my hair is brushed. You just want to be with me. You love me regardless. That's how it is with God. He doesn't care about the outside -- he just wants to be with us, and loves us regardless.  2000 years ago, God sent a little baby to remind the world about His love. And six months ago, He sent one to me.

I love you, baby girl. Forever and ever and always.

Love,
Mama