Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Six-Month Bear Update



Why I’m Writing This Update
Since I did a six-month update for my first child, and then did one about every six months after that, I would like to continue this habit for my second son, Bear. Plus, according to this website's stats, people tend to like these types of posts!

Surprises
The biggest surprise right now is how relatively easy it seems (to me) for us to take care of Bear. I don't know if it's actually easier, or if it just seems easier because it's our second time around. Another surprise for me is that I'm still waking up in the Middle of the Night (MOTN) to pump - if I don't do a MOTN pump, then my breastmilk supply goes down (even though the baby is sound asleep during the MOTN). I'm also surprised and really thankful that I'm still producing milk and making enough to exclusively breastfeed!

The Best Things
Baby Bear sleeps well at night, but then again his big brother has always been a pretty good sleeper too. Also, baby Bear is usually happy! He's always been a relatively happy baby. Bear makes me wonder if some people are born naturally hardwired to be generally happier. One more of the Best Things about right now is that Bear seems to genuinely like me - with our first son it is harder to tell.

The Worst Thing
Breastfeeding is still a challenge (read more above under Surprises), but I am very proud that I have earned my "Silver Boobies Award" (it's what you say when you've been able to breastfeed for six months)! So I guess what I'm saying is that my Worst Thing isn't actually that bad.

What’s Different This Time Around
Baby Bear is a lot lighter and smaller at this age than his older brother was at this age - Bear is in the 51st percentile for height but only the 26th percentile for weight. I can't believe that baby Bear is wearing size six month clothes right now (his brother was wearing size 12 month at this age if I remember correctly). Bear's smaller size makes it a lot easier for us to tote him around in his carseat carrier. And Bear still has no teeth (I think his brother had at least four teeth at this age)! I think having a big toothless grin makes babies look super cute / cuddly.  What else is different? Well, I've been taking less photos of both children than I used to when there was just one of them (and printing / displaying less); I'm not sure why. Also, we haven't started Bear on baby food yet (we started our first son on baby food at about five and half months old)*. Also, we have more stuff (toys and laundry) than before - toddler toys are enormous, plus we now have toys and clothes for two kids instead of just one. Also, my body hasn't gotten back to its pre-Bear shape yet, but I think it's because of breastfeeding, because I have less time and energy, and need to eat more calories and drink more fluids, due to pumping / breastfeeding.

*Update: My husband just started baby Bear on quinoa cereal (Bear hates it).

What’s the Same
I'm still doing a lot of cross stitch as my creative outlet. It's easy to do on the couch after the kiddos are asleep.