With Christmas fast approaching, we’ve been meaning to take out the tree to decorate. But every day, we’re either too lazy or tired or both to do it, so we keep putting it off. Finally, the wife suggested getting a small, already decorated tree that we could put on our table. It would be less of a hassle. After all, the baby’s still too small to really know what’s going on, so it’s not like we’re really ruining Christmas for her by getting a teeny, tiny tree. Santa will still bring gifts for her, right? And I won’t get a stocking full of coal for being a lazy Scrooge, will I?
Anyways, now that she’s 6.5 months old, here’s a quick, end-of-the-year rundown of all the things Caitlyn can do.
She’s slowly been getting better about people holding her. In addition to letting me, the wife, and Grandma hold her, Grandpa has now been added to the exclusive VIP list. She’ll also let other people that she’s familiar with, hold her, though not for so long, and with a few stifled cries. But she’s definitely a lot braver now than before when she would burst into frantic screams after being held for just a second. However, she’ll still cry if an unfamiliar face gets too close to her.
During feeding time, Caitlyn is now regularly drinking 180 ml of formula. I can’t begin to express how proud I am of her. It seems like yesterday when she could barely handle 30 ml. Eating more also means she’s getting up less at night. Most nights, she’ll wake up just once to feed, which means everyone’s getting more sleep. More sleep equals a happy mommy. A happy mommy equals a happy daddy.
Her range of solid foods now includes rice cereal, carrots, and apples. Yam and banana are next up on the list. And with the introduction of solid foods, we figured it was time to buy a highchair. I plan on training Caitlyn right from the start to sit properly at the dinner table until she’s finished eating. None of that running around, stopping every now and then to grab a bite to eat monkey business.
Thankfully, she actually likes her highchair. Even if it’s not her feeding time, we’ll still plop her next to us at the table when we’re eating. Give her a sippy cup and a toy to play with, and she’s good to go until we’re finished. Now, the wife and I can all actually enjoy dinner together instead of taking turns taking care of the baby.
Getting her to go to sleep has also become pretty stress-free. Around 8-8:30 pm, she’ll start rubbing her eyes, which signals that she’s tired and wants to go to bed. After we put her in the crib, she’s usually out before a minute’s up. I suspect this ability has been passed down from the wife who can literally fall asleep in less than 5 seconds. Those early days of spending hours rocking our fussy baby to sleep in our arms are long gone.
The next big thing I look forward to Caitlyn doing is crawling. Once she begins doing that, hopefully she’ll become more independent and won’t want to cling to us so much. We're all allowed our own little fantasies, right?
Merry Christmas!
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