Half a year! Somehow Owen is six months old. This milestone always stood out to me as an important one before I had Owen and even in the first few weeks of his life when things were pretty tough. I always assured myself that by six months life was bound to feel back to normal even with Owen in it. I was right. Life does seem normal now with a child in tow. I no longer feel like I am on the longest babysitting job of my life! We have a routine that feels easy to follow and I find myself naturally signing "Owen" to birthday cards that we give to friends. I still sort of cringe calling myself a mother or telling people that I'm a "stay-at-home mom" (ick for some reason) but I wouldn't want it any other way.
Some things to remember:
Owen weighs a little north of 17 pounds and is around 27 inches long.
He has made a lot of progress physically in the past month. He can now sit unassisted for quite a while. He does topple pretty regularly, but he certainly spends more time upright now than before. He is also getting much more comfortable on his belly. He can spin a full 180 degrees on his stomach and somehow manages to scoot around to reach a toy that he wants or a dog to "pet."
Owen is much more interested in our dogs these days. He likes to watch them play and would like all of them to lick his hands (disgusting). Felina is especially interested in Owen and would lick the kid from head to toe if I let her. Owen likes feeling Felina's fur. Staley occasionally acts interested in Owen. Finny wants nothing to do with the baby.
Owen is obsessed with cell phones and remote controls. I do my best to keep my phone away from him, but I am certain he has caught on that Cody and I are constantly on them. I tell myself that I'm giving him enough old school activities, like book reading and rolling around on the floor, to counteract some of the technology that surrounds him.
We are still limiting television as much as possible. Owen seems to be less interested in it when it's on though so I guess that's a good thing.
We have created the "family bed" as Cody likes to call it to allow for more room to sleep since we have officially accepted Owen sleeping with us as a permanent development. We have pushed together two queen mattresses in an upstairs bedroom and sleep all cozied up each night with Owen and our three (sometimes two when Finny sleeps on the floor) dogs. It's completely ridiculous and magical all at the same time. Owen goes to sleep around 8 each night (although sometimes as early as 7:30 or as late as 9:30) and generally wakes up between 7 and 8. Daylight Saving Time apparently doesn't apply to babies. He does still take a morning, afternoon, and early evening nap.
Owen got sick for the first time in his sixth month. At the beginning of November, he caught what I assume was a cold. He was really stopped up and fussy for a couple of days and nights.
Some funny Owen-isms that I want to remember: he often times poops when we go to the library (if you're up for some information about an interesting phenomenon, look up the smell of books acting as a laxative...so crazy) and he also cries in an elevator unless we cover him with a blanket and talk to him like a bunch of idiots to distract him. He also has started nearly hyperventilating when he gets really excited about nursing.
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| Lounging in bed with Dad. |
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| He sometimes holds his ear when he sleeps. |
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| A trip to the mailbox. |
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| His hood has ears. I couldn't resist a picture. |
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| I took this accidentally one morning and then realized that it best represents Owen to me for some reason. |
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| He loves his Dad. |
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| Laughing at Felina, or the Doula as we joke. |
