My dearest baby Max,
This post is a few weeks late, because, well, you're keeping me busy little dude! The past month has been a busy one. And by busy, I mean, looking back, I can't figure out how we managed to pack so much into one month!
First off, you are still growing like a weed. At your 6 month checkup, you weighed in at a whopping 19.5 pounds, and 29 inches long. Your noggin is 19 inches in circumference, so you have a big head (just like your dad). We started you on solids this past month and while at first you just moved the rice cereal around in your mouth, now you open your mouth wide and (so far) eat pretty much everything we put in front of you. You have experienced the joys of rice cereal, squash, sweet potato (a favourite), pears, carrots, and just this morning, oats. The texture of the oats must have tickled your little mouth because as I fed them to you, you laughed and laughed and laughed. Somehow we got oats in your ears...I'm not sure how we managed that! Once we make sure you are okay with oats, we will give bananas a try. You are our little Monkey-doodle, so I think you will like bananas just fine. The most "interesting" part of the whole solids thing is that your poops have changed and wow do they ever stink! While you used to not mind sitting in a poopy diaper for a few minutes, now after a few warning grunts, you look very unhappy and start crying if your butt is not tended to immediately. I honestly cannot blame you as I wouldn't want to sit in poop either.
This past month we also went on our first plane ride out to Vancouver. That was an adventure for sure. Thank goodness the folks at WestJet are so baby friendly. They gave us a whole row. Unfortunately, you got your first cold just as we were about to leave, so you were not feeling very good. I learned that it is better to fly with you in the morning when you are at your freshest and in a good mood. Putting you on a plane during your witching hour(s) is a bad idea for all. On the way to Vancouver I felt like I should buy a few rounds of drinks for the passengers sitting around us. Hell, I even had a glass of wine! The trip home was much better though (you slept for 2 hours and we had a portable dvd player and Blues Clues to keep you entertained).
To add insult to injury, combined with your first cold (your cough sounded like a little barking seal and your little nose ran like a tap) you started teething like a little fiend. Your two bottom teeth crowned and that must have hurt something fierce. Now, my dear Max, we need to have a talk about the whole breastfeeding issue. You have to be gentle on mommy. These little bites you are giving me are not nice and not appreciated. When you bite me, I take you off the boob and say very sternly "no biting, biting hurts!" just like your Aunt Jenny told me to. Sometimes you get very sad and cry a bit. That's okay, because when I put you back on the boob, you are very gentle and tentative and you look at me like "is this okay mommy?". So, I know you know better, but sometimes you need a bit of reminding.
Once you recovered from your cold, you had your first surgery at Sick Kids Hospital on October 26th. It broke your dad and my hearts when the nurse came to take you away for your surgery. You were in a little surgery top and bottom set (it was so big you were almost swimming in it). You were giving us a big smile, and we felt really bad because we knew what was coming. Your Aunt Jenny came all the way from Ottawa to be there with us. The surgery was relatively minor. The doctors punctured the ureteroceole at the end of the extra ureter in your bladder. They didn't even have to make an incision because they went up through the urethra. When you came out of surgery you didn't want to wake up (I think you were enjoying that deep sleep from the general anesthetic). Once you woke up, you had some sugar water (from a bottle no less!). We got to take you home that morning, and we all had a nap because we were pooped (you had to be at the hospital for 6am!). You had to have a catheter in for 5 days after your surgery, and let me tell you, you did not like that at all. It was a big relief for all of us when that came out as you had to have this double diaper on the whole time, and it was hard to bathe you and you couldn't be in your jolly jumper. No fun at all. Plus, you couldn't touch your "dragon" with the catheter in, and that seems to be your new favourite pastime during baths and diaper changes. And so the life long love affair begins. Boys and their dragons...good times.
Your next surgery won't be until the new year so we get a bit of a break for the next while. You are a busy little guy and you want to crawl so badly, I think you will be on the move before I know it. I'm not sure I'm ready for you to be mobile. You can now do a full pushup, and you wiggle your butt back and forth with all your might. You can pretty much sit up on your own, though you still have the tendency to topple over after a few minutes. If I put you in your crib in one direction, I can guarantee you will be in the exact opposite direction within minutes. Max, you also extremely strong and wiggly. It is getting hard to change your diaper as you seem to be able to squirm your way out of your diaper and this can sometimes be very messy. There have been several poopy diaper incidences that have left both of us pretty much covered in poop and requiring immediate bathes. You tend to do this when I am on my own, with no help from your dad. When he gets home from work I regale him with stories about how you pooped up to your neck, then rolled in it, stuck your feed in it, grabbed your feet with your hands, then rubbed your belly with your hands...you get the picture. The best part is you think this is hilarious, so while I am standing there, frozen, trying to figure out what to do, you laugh and laugh and laugh. And so the poop humor commences.
You have started to sleep a bit more for us, though it tends to be hit and miss from night to night. Sometimes you cry out in your sleep, and I go into your room and rub your back until you fall back asleep. Your dad is not as strong as me, and if he had his way, we would pick you up every time you cried. Since I am the one who stays up with you, I have to be the strong one so that you will learn to fall back asleep on your own. It has been bad luck in the past to post specific progress updates, so I'm not going to say anything here. But keep doing what you are doing, mommy appreciates it!
Max, your dad and I are so blessed to have you. You are thriving in every sense of the word. Every day you smile, laugh and babble more. You are learning how to use your hands (I call you Mr.Grabby) and you have figured out how to suck on your toes. You bring a smile to my face every time I look at you and I can't remember what life was like without you.
Love, Mom
P.S.: Your dad and I went on our first date a few weeks ago! We went to see the Dixie Chicks in a luxury box at the ACC, and while I definitely missed you, it was really good for us to go out on our own. Your Grandpa and Nana babysat for you and they said you did just fine.
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You.
