Soren Update: 6 months

I think I felt sorrier for Soren, who grinned broadly at the nurse right before she jabbed three shots into his thighs, than Oliver, who cried from beginning to end of every appointment, (and still does to some degree now) so I don't think the vaccinations were that much more traumatic for Oliver than any other part of the appointment.  Maybe he knew what was coming, while Soren lay on the exam table smiling and cooing in blissful ignorance until his peaceful world was abruptly shattered.

Luckily Soren recovered so quickly from the shots he received during this six-month wellness visit that he had stopped crying before I even picked him up and has been a happy little guy ever since.  His visit was otherwise uneventful.  I had zero questions for the doctor and politely nodded my head as she rattled through the brief spiel she tells all parents of six-month-olds - it was nothing I haven't heard before.  Like every pediatrician we encounter, she skipped her comments about introducing solids when she found out we're doing baby-led weaning.  In fact, she thought it was great and commented it was probably easier. 

Since I'd taken Soren (and Oliver) in two weeks ago to have their ears checked before we left for Philadelphia, Soren's stats weren't a big surprise, but I was curious about his percentiles.  He's in the 25th percentile for both height and weight at 25 and a half inches long and 14 pounds and 12 ounces.  He's grown almost a half a foot since birth and just about doubled his birth weight. His head circumference is in the 45th percentile for what that's worth. 

Soren's most recent milestone came in the last week (and I'm actually a week behind in his monthly updates).  He can sit up really well by himself.  For the most part, I don't leave him unspotted, because even though he can sit up on his own for minutes at a time and even reach for toys without losing his balance, he can still topple over without warning.  Just recently though, I'll venture more than arm's distance away from him if he's sitting on the rug with some pillows stacked behind him.  I figure he can't do too much damage to himself in that scenario. 

We're having trouble with naps and sleeping through the night again.  Because Soren is such an easy-going baby, I was surprised by how traveling affected his naps, (basically caused him to be unable to take any unless I was carrying him in the Ergo) but wasn't surprised when we came home and he started waking repeatedly at night, a couple times earlier in the evening and then another round of awakenings starting at 3:30 a.m. or 4:30 a.m.  I just assumed that after a night or two back in his own crib, his sleep schedule would be back on track.  However, we found ourselves sleep training all over again.  After a week of this, we discovered that putting Soren to bed earlier helped.  We had been putting him to bed at 7:00 p.m., because that's when Oliver goes to bed, but at least for now, 6:30 p.m. or 6:15 p.m. isn't too early for him.  He still wakes one or two times during the night wanting his pacifier, but otherwise has been sleeping until about 6:15 a.m. 

I may be imagining this, but I think Soren's spitting up problem is starting to subside.  Again, this is something I've just noticed in the last week.  All babies spit up as infants, but Soren seemed to do so a lot more, at least in comparison to Oliver.  It didn't seem to matter how long it had been since Soren ate, because if you picked him up and put any pressure on his tummy, a curdled surprise came out without warning.  Between the spit-up and excessive drool, it seems the front of Soren's clothes and his sleeves are always wet.

And no, the drool and gnawing on his fists doesn't mean he's teething.  I get a lot of, "Oh, he must be teething," comments.  I haven't felt any teeth and the doctor couldn't see any during today's visit.  I think he's just a drooler and he's been shoving his fists in his mouth as soon as he learned how.  He recently discovered his feet, so for something different, he'll stick a few toes in his mouth. 

One of the greatest joys I'm experiencing with Soren is witnessing how interested he is in his older brother.  He loves watching Oliver play and even if he's tired or fussy, Oliver brightens his mood.  And every now and then, Oliver will kiss or hug Soren with such tenderness. These remarkable interactions are bittersweet, because I know it's inevitable that the time will too quickly come when Soren is moving about and can get into Oliver's things and when they're old enough to bicker and call each other horrible names.  I'm already dreading the day when they start fighting and I wish I could somehow bottle up this innocence and love and keep them that way forever.