Oliver update: 6 months

Oliver is already in his sixth month of life and has transformed from infant to baby. He's no longer the little peanut who looked like he was going to be swallowed up by his car seat, who could barely hold his head up and who peacefully fell asleep in my arms. He's gained six inches and ten pounds and his feet reach the end of his car seat.

I laugh at how naive I was when I think back to when my grandmother would ask in the weeks right after Oliver's birth how he was doing, and I'd report with surprise and mild disappointment that "he doesn't really do much." I knew being a new parent would be tiring and stressful, but I never knew that in a lot of ways it'd be quite boring. Infants really just eat, cry and sleep. But I also remember a friend telling me that the first six months with his son were really rough, but that it then got fun.

Oliver is finally doing something. He smiles and even laughs, sits up unassisted and is reaching for everything he can and can't reach, all of which makes him more fun to interact and play with. He's showing no interest in crawling, but, he loves to "walk" with someone holding his arms or hands to keep him upright and steady. Making sure he does enough "tummy time" has been a struggle since he was born, and I've tried every trick in the book to get him to enjoy being on his stomach long enough to work those neck and shoulder muscles. He's always liked looking at himself in the mirror and I recently bought a mirror rimmed with clashing colors and contrasting designs and that has been the ticket! Or not. Because he's also really taken to rolling in the past two days, so I don't know if he's now happy with tummy time because he knows how to get out of it.

Sleep is a hot topic in the parent circle, and, yes, he's sleeping through the night. Thank goodness! However, his daily 6:30 a.m. wake up call, regardless of weekends or holidays, is leaving me more tired in some ways than during the days of his middle-of-the-night feedings.

Although he never tired of breast milk (or the smattering of servings of formula) day in and day out for the past six and a half months, now that we've started him on solids, he's getting some variety. And I sadly say that Oliver is no longer a vegetarian. We're skipping the purees and baby food "stages" and going straight to finger foods, and he got to sample grilled chicken his dad made the other night. With all the flak I've taken for being vegetarian, I felt I had the last laugh with Oliver's de facto vegetarianism. Regardless of what kinds of foods Oliver chooses to eat, for now, he's still working on getting more of it in his mouth, and less of it on his face and in his hair.

I couldn't be more thankful for spring, especially the warm, dry one we've been having, because after dealing with the logistical challenges of taking walks with a stroller in winter, retreating outdoors for late afternoon walks has saved Oliver - and me - from many meltdowns. No matter how action-packed or mellow of a day, we've had, and regardless of the quantity and quality of naps, late afternoons are just a difficult time. But we're enjoying our walks and since Oliver sits up so well now, I realized I don't need to use the infant car seat with the stroller. So just last week, he went for his first walk sitting up in his stroller and seeing how giddy he was, I could tell he liked the view of the world sitting upright.

I can't believe how much Oliver has grown, but at least he'll be a baby for a little while longer. I'll still be able to pick him up, bounce him in the air and cuddle with him. And I tell him often, that when he gets bigger, even when he's eventually bigger than mommy, he'll still be my little boy.