What I want to remember: Graham at 6 months

It was shortly after Graham turned 5 months old that I had a mini-panic attack about him growing older.  There's something about having a SIX MONTH OLD baby that sounds so old to me.  He's no longer a squishy, tiny, cuddly baby but is instead a nosy, busy little boy.  His growing up is bittersweet for me; I welcome his new-found skills and independence with open arms, but since he will more than likely be our last child, I can't help but be just a tad nostalgic for those teeny baby days (no matter how hard they were for us!).

Eat

Graham still nurses approximately every three hours during the day.  I nurse him first thing in the morning, after he wakes up from each nap, and usually a couple times before he goes to bed at night.  He still wakes several times during the night and wants to nurse, but I am trying to cut those down so that he can learn to sleep through the night (more on that below).  I have been able to stick with the two-week elimination diet and have seen a few positive results.  Tomorrow I have a conference call scheduled with his GI doctor to decide what our plan will be going forward.  I'm hoping he allows me to start Graham on some solid food because he is literally swiping the food off our plates during mealtime.  He would definitely like to join us in eating.  When Graham gets a bottle, he takes anywhere from 5 to 7 ounces.

Sleep: My long-lost friend
Sleeping is still a struggle.  Graham would love to be a co-sleeper and nurse off and on all night long. Unfortunately for him, this is not the lifestyle Josh and I have chosen for him.  So he makes up for this by waking approximately every two hours during the night.  I am not opposed to sleep training, but I cannot, in good conscience, allow him to cry and cry and cry (because that's exactly what he does) if I think his stomach could be bothering him.  My mom has visited a few times this month, and while she is here she takes the nighttime shift.  She'll give him a bottle when he wakes around 1 or 2, but not before and not after until the morning.  Every other time he wakes up, she manages to get him back to sleep.  If we could be consistent with this for a week or so, I think Graham would stop expecting to nurse every time he had a partial-arousal.  But when Mom leaves and I have to go in to get G back to sleep, he absolutely will take no comfort from me except nursing.  But as we get his stomach issues worked out, we WILL get his sleeping issues worked out--however painful that may be.

I have seen a drastic improvement in naps lately, however.  Graham now takes two long naps (1 1/2 to 2 hours) during the day and one cat nap (45 minutes).  The hard part is that I have no idea which naps will be long and which will be short.  Hopefully we can get these nap times to be more predictable soon.

Play
This boy is busy, busy, busy!  He is constantly moving--kicking, reaching, gnawing, rolling, and jumping (with assistance, of course).  Josh and I have decided that he is really going to give Piper and McKenna a run for their money when he can actually get around.  Since he's been sitting up, I've noticed that he can more easily burp, and I'm hoping this will help with some of his stomach issues.  One of his favorite toys right now is this triangle toy with lots of moving parts.  He loves to "work" all the pieces--I wonder if he will be more technical than Piper is (she's a bit of a wrecking ball).  Graham still loves his bath and is generally happiest when he has something to chew on.

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