family trip to the beach

Max at Six Months

And, just like that, I blinked, and all of a sudden, half a year had passed, and my baby was six months old.

Now I’m scared to blink again, just in case I open my eyes, and he’s, like, 42 or something. Seriously, though, I know my perpetual surprise at the passing of time is something of a theme for these posts, but HOW? Just HOW? This time last year I’d just announced my pregnancy, so I have particularly vivid memories of that time – memories which are particularly hard to reconcile with my life now, and the little six month old boy who’s my constant companion. Earlier this week, for instance, Terry and I took a drive to Cramond, to go to a particular beachside cafe which we last visited around this time last year. The cafe has closed down, sadly, but as we wandered around, pushing Max in his pram, I couldn’t stop thinking about the difference a year makes: or even half a year, as the case may be.

Max at 5 monthsAt six months, Max…

…. can sit unsupported for a few minutes at a time, and will try to pull himself up onto his feet any time you take him by the hand.

… probably thinks his name is “Gorgeous,” given how often I address him that way.

… still has just the one tooth, although he’s started to suck his gums in a way that makes us suspect more might be in the post.

… loves music, and being sung to.

… thinks it’s hilarious when someone yawns: which we do quite often these days – Thanks, Max!

… is more interested in the labels on his soft toys than the toys themselves.

… has a very LOUD little voice, which he likes to use at every opportunity.

..  has started to nap in his own room during the day, and is even managing to self-settle occasionally, although he still much prefers to sleep on US.

… is still the same happy, smiley little boy he’s always been: just bigger. A whole lot bigger…

The big news this month is that we’ve made a start on the weaning process. I’m actually a little bit scared to mention this, because I know the NHS advice is to wait until 6 months, and we started a couple of weeks before that. But we did our research, spoke to the health visitor, and were confident that he was ready, so we started him off on some pureed veg, and he absolutely loved it. He’s still getting most of his nutrition from milk, obviously, but it’s been fun letting him taste some new things, and so far he’s eaten everything we’ve offered him, so fingers crossed that continues. We’re probably going to wait a while before trying him on actual solids, because he still spits up a lot, and we worry about him choking on something, but the small amounts of pureed food do seem to be helping a bit with his reflux, which isn’t quite as bad as it was last month, although, with that said, I’ve just this second remembered the massive load of laundry I need to go and take out of the machine. BRB…

Where was I? Oh yeah: I guess the “food” is technically the biggest change, but I’m more amazed by the fact that he can now sit up all by himself, for what seems to be longer and longer every day. He can’t crawl yet, but he’s giving it a good go, and I’m both looking forward to seeing him get a little more mobile, but also dreading it, because MAH BEBE. Y SO GROWN UP?

Max at 5 months

Max at 5 months oldAlong with the increased independence (!), he’s also intensely interested in absolutely everything, but is particularly curious about the small details of things: like the print on my pyjamas, for instance:

5 month old Max

5 month old baby

His favourite “toys” this month:

– The key to the patio door, which he has to be lifted up to, so he can touch and examine it in detail.

–  The label on any of his Jellycats

–  The polka dot coasters that live on the coffee table.

–   The little silver pan we use to fill up the steriliser.

–  My face.

Max in his Sleepyhead

Sleep-wise, he’s still sleeping through the night, and, as I mentioned above, this month we had a bit of a breakthrough, in that we’ve been managing to get him to take most – although not all – of his daytime naps in the cot in his room, which gives us some much-needed time to catch up with work. Although he sleeps pretty soundly at night, though, his routine has become much less predictable this month, and he’s gone from waking up at 8am-ish most days, to waking any time between 5:30 – 9:30, which is … I’m going to go with “challenging” here: not because of the occasional early start (It only took a couple of weeks of newborn life for me to start viewing 6:30am as “late”…), but just because it’s hard to get into a routine of our own when we don’t know how long he’s going to sleep. I’m not sure if it’s a 6 month sleep regression, or just the lighter mornings (We fitted blackout fabric to the windows in our room, but some light still leaks through…), but we’re hoping it settles down soon: those 5:30 starts feel a lot worse when you’ve been used to getting up at 8am for the past few weeks!

Max at 5 months

For me, meanwhile, other than the sleep (non) issue, and the fact that I’m still really struggling to find time for anything other than Max, June has been an easier month all round. OK, there have been a couple of meltdowns (And I’m not talking about the baby, here…) when the lack of time has started to cause a lot of stress, but, in general, I’ve been feeling less overwhelmed, and a bit more in control of this. And the fact is, this is just such a lovely age that part of me wishes I could press the pause button on it, and keep him at 6 months for just a little while longer. It’s an age where he’s just so full of fun and personality that it’s impossible to look at him without smiling, and he seems to get as much pleasure from being around us now as we do him. A few nights ago, Terry was holding him while I sat on the couch, and Max suddenly started reaching out his little hands to me, and laughing: it was just so sweet that it almost made me cry, so God knows what I’ll be like once he starts talking. The words “emotional” and “wreck” spring to mind….

Seriously, though, just look at that little face:

And those chubby little thighs!

Happy half-birthday, Max! You’ve turned us into the kind of people who use phrases like “half-birthday” now, apparently, but you’re growing so fast that we wouldn’t have it any other way…

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books by Amber Eve
COMMENTS
  • Aww he’s just adorable! I love his little hat in the header photo!
    Time seems to go so fast nowadays! I cannot keep up.
    You’ve done so well documenting so much of his life already though! Memories saved forever 🙂 I hope I do all that when I have babies <3
    Debs @ https://tiger-mint.com

    June 29, 2018
  • Myra

    REPLY

    Wonderful post.

    June 29, 2018
  • Happy Half-Birthday Max! xx

    Love the last one of his little arms outstretched. Those are the sweetest moments. ?

    June 29, 2018
  • He is just SO CUTE! Honestly, he looks like such a happy baby! A keen interest already in patterns and design? Maybe a baby Picasso on your hands? xx

    June 29, 2018
  • He is just adorable. I love that first photo. He always looks so happy and cheerful. Six to nine months was always my favorite baby age. They are past the fragile newborn stage but they are still very much a baby so you have the fun of interacting with them but they are still cuddly and tiny. Just thinking about it makes me nostalgic but then I remember the early mornings and think that I am perfectly happy getting my baby fix by reading your posts about Max!

    June 29, 2018
  • Alice

    REPLY

    My daughter is now nearly two, I can’t believe it.
    It’s really amazing when they start walking, you have been away for a while, and as soon as they see you they come runing up to you with their arms outstretched.

    I suppose eventually they get blase about “mama” being away, but right now it is wonderful.

    (Sleep though – it’s only in the last couple of months that my daughter has slept through the night, and by the night I mean midnight-5am…….. 0630 is definitely a lie in!!!!!)

    June 29, 2018
  • Kelly glen

    REPLY

    Yet another months update where I can say he just gets cuter and cuter. He looks such a happy and contented little man and that must surely be done to how well you and Terry are doing in bringing him up.

    June 29, 2018
  • Nicola Kendrick

    REPLY

    That is one beautiful baby boy!!!

    June 29, 2018
  • Aw, he’s so cute! I’m afraid the unpredictable wake up times just seem to be something they do at this age, along with some really unpredictable nap timings (SORRY!) – I think it’s because they’re preparing to drop down to two naps and their body clocks go a bit haywire trying to figure out how to manage that. Anyway, I feel your pain!

    June 29, 2018
  • Chiarina

    REPLY

    The fascination with the labels of toys is something both my daughter and my first niece had, it was so funny… My Brother-in-Law was so proud of himself when he found a toy covered in strips of cloth that resembled labels, but no, the ACTUAL label was still more interesting…

    June 29, 2018
  • Emma

    REPLY

    Max at 6 months is a total cutie pie (which he has been all along, obviously!) I love these little updates; thanks for sharing!

    July 1, 2018
  • Frida

    REPLY

    He is so cute! Yes kids grow up so fast! I can clearly remember those 6 months old days… I just blinked and now my son is 3 years old, chatting and running and doing lots of things (adorable and less adorable ? ) being a parent is the best adventure in life. Cheers to 6 months old Max! ?

    July 2, 2018
  • Brenda

    REPLY

    My 18 year old daughter walked by while I was reading this and she commented on how cute “that baby” is. Then she took a closer look and said, “wow, he has great eyebrows!” ha! So there you go, Amber! If an 18 year old girl is commenting on his eyebrows, you know they must be pretty darn good!

    I really can’t believe he is 6 months old now. Crazy Time.

    July 3, 2018
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