The Rundown: 6 Months & 22 Months

December 5, 2011

The Rundown: 6 Months & 22 Months

(This is terribly late and Everly is already 23 months old - but better late than never)

Stats: Ahhh! My peanut children!

Everly: you weigh 24 pounds and are still comfortably in 18 month clothing. Your little feet are finally creeping towards a size 5 shoe. I used to worry about how small you are, but you are eating well and are very active. There are tiny women on both sides of your family and it’s likely that you are going to be petitie too.

Arlo: you are 16 lbs, 4oz and are 26 inches long. You’re now in the 25% for your age. You’re weight gain has slowed down due to a small heart condition you have called Patent Ductus Arteriosis. It basically makes your heart work extra hard and keeps your metabolism really high. We are monitoring it every six weeks and it’s very likely you will need surgery to fix it early next year.

Teeth:

Everly: No new teeth for you - you’re sporting a pretty good set right now and we’re just waiting for all of your two year molars to come in.

Arlo: you have two little bunny teeth that are just as cute as they can be! You’ve started drooling a lot again so we’re thinking that maybe another one might be on the way soon.

Feeding:

Everly: You eat everything! You’re a serious little carnivore and have become a big fan of a steak, chicken legs, and ham. You’re favorite veggies are still broccoli and peas, although I can convince you to eat carrots or greenbeans if I put them in a stir-fry. You love all kinds of berries, cheese, and apples. You eat a lot of almonds and peanut butter. We’ve pretty much cut out all crackers for snacks as you like to fill up on them and then don’t want to eat your meals!

Arlo: We’re still nursing buddy! Woohoo - go us! It’s been really challenging considering I’ve had 2 overnight trips away from you for work and I’m away 8 hours everyday - but we went the full six months with nothing but breastmilk. Recently, you’ve gotten ravenously hungry since you’re growing so much and we gave you a bottle or two of soy formula to supplement you since I am nursing you constantly, pumping in between and we still barely have enough to cover each feeding. You reacted really badly to the formula and got really sick from it. It was so pitiful to see! I’m scared to try another kind of formula but it’s become really stressful to try to make enough milk to keep up with you. Even one formula bottle a day would really help out. We’re going to take it slow and try another brand in a week or so. We’ve also started you on solids! Your first solid was sweet potatoes at thanksgiving which you LOVED! You’ve also had avocados and green beans. We’re attempting to do Baby Led Weaning, and you really like to feed yourself. The challenge is that sometimes you act so hungry and frustrated that you can’t get the food in your mouth as easily as you want. So we’ve started to do a combination of both - you get a little pureed veggie or fruit with oatmeal for one meal and then a BLW meal for the next. That way, you’re getting a little something in your belly (and that cuts down on the amount of milk I have to pump for you each day) and you still get to try your hand at exploring food and learning tastes, textures, and feeding on your own schedule.

Talking:

Everly: Your vocabulary has exploded. You are full on talking now - 4 and 5 word sentences. “It’s dark in there mama” “My baby is sad” “Help me with this?” You repeat everything we say. I said “Shut up!” the other day in reaction to an amazing thing on television and then you said it too and I was horrified. Daddy and I are learning we have to watch every thing we say very carefully. Some of your favorite phrases right now are “I did it!” whenever you accomplish a task on your own and “Happy Happy Day!” which you sing-song whenever you are in a good mood.

Arlo: Still a lot of baby babble and silly squeals and screeches. You like to say ‘da da da’ but you do it in this funny, almost whispery/breathy way, like you are telling a secret. It’s so cute. We like to get really close to your face and talk so that you can see the way that our lips move to make pronunciations. We recently learned that sometimes children with vision problems have speech delays because they can’t see the fine movements of the mouth. We have no reason to believe that is the case with you right now, but you do think it is hilarious when we get so close to you and say “Ba Ba Baby Arlo! Ma Ma Mama Da Da Dada” I think you think we are completely crazy.

Awesome Stuff You are Doing Now:

Everly: You are so amazingly aware of other people’s emotions. You are always telling us when you see people who are happyor sad in your books. If we have the television on and you see someone hurt or crying, you get very upset and will furrow your brow and say “Oh no..oh no…” over and over and we have to reassure you that they are going to be ok. You love when we act goofy and will announce “Silly daddy, silly!”

You are also very polite! You say Please, Thank you, and Bless you appropriately on your own without being prompted. You also say Sorry on your own too. We are working on yes ma’am and no sir.

You are able to identify most of your family members and our close friends, even those that you’ve only met once or twice. You are also starting to remember and be comfortable with those relatives whom you only see occasionally. You love going through the pictures on our computer and pointing out “Tash, Lia, Mama Pat, Taylor, Katie, Janet, Nana, DotDot, Mimi, BopBop, Grammy”

You are the busiest little girl Miss Everly! ALWAYS ON THE GO! Seriously, you very rarely slow down. You zoom all over the house and climb in chairs and over things and under things and around and around and around. We get exhausted just watching you! I love how brave and confident you are and I can’t wait to see how you apply your curious spirit to tackling the challenges of life.

Arlo: You are so funny! You just make us laugh all day long - be it a funny screechy sound you make, a silly look you will give us or your infectious laughter. I have never met a happier baby in my life. Your daddy is convinced that your happy nature is because you spent the first few months of your life feeling rotten from reflux - now every day is a celebration!

You are a major flirt and a serious charmer. It doesn’t matter where we go - someone will always comment on your sweet smile. You pass them out left and right. You’ve met a lot of various nurses and doctors over the past few months and despite the fact that they see babies all day long, I’ve seen them go get other nurses and bring them into the room just to show them how cute and happy you are. We hear “He is the sweeteset thing ever!” constantly and we have to agree!

You are so close to crawling. Right now you are army crawling everywhere and can cover the length of the living room in a matter of seconds. You are seriously fast - but you’re also trying to figure out how to make your arms and legs work together. You like to push up on your hands and the balls of your feet and just hold that position - it looks like you are doing the downward facing dog yoga move! You’ve also started lunging forward on your hands and knees - and anyday now you’re going to put it all together and off you’ll go!

I think I’ve put this on every single one of these updates - but your strength continues to impress us. Just last week your Bopbop was saying “I swear, I can feel little muscles in his chest!” You can jump and push and roll with such force, it’s amazing to watch. And your grip - I think yours is a strong as mine. It sometimes takes 2 people with both hands to pry your hands off from something you want. If there was such a thing as baby arm wrestling competitions, I’m pretty sure you’d win first prize!

I feel like we’ve all really found our groove as a family of four. We’re learning to embrace the chaos and just enjoying the unique qualities that each of you bring to our family. It’s amazing to watch how much you love one another and it’s nearly impossible to remember what life was like without both of you in it. You’re learning to work as a team and to sync your schedules to one another - from nap time, to eating, to baths and outdoor adventures - it’s obvious that you both love having a partner in crime to enjoy these activities with. I love you both so very much!

Love,

Mama