Six Months - Slightly Belated

My little monkey is six months old as of this past Saturday. I guess I was so caught up in worrying about what she hadn’t done (gain weight) that I forgot to note what she has accomplished. I am deeply ashamed of that and I vow never to do that again.

Bridget is almost sitting up, in fact, can do it most times if you hold on to her for a bit so she can find her center of gravity. It won’t be too long before she’s sitting on her own for more than a few seconds without toppling over. She’s also getting too active for most of the baby containment apparatuses that we own. The other day, Jake had her in the bumbo on the floor and twice turned away, then turned back to find her on the floor next to it. It took a few days before we could figure out how she managed it. Turns out she’s probably ok in the bumbo just as long as she doesn’t drop whatever toy she’s holding while in it.

My dad has nicknamed her Bullpup (derived from the nickname I have given Jake - Bulldog - for his tenacity) and boy howdy does it fit her. She is so determined about everything! This comes along with her new-found ability to express her displeasure with us when we take away or deny her something she wants. It’s cute now, but I think that it will be my undoing when she hits three years old.

She has a new fascination with my hair, and will not let go of it when she is in my arms. Even when I try to fake her out by putting my hair in a ponytail, she isn’t fooled and still manages to grab handfuls of it, which delights her to no end. Just now, I was comforting her after subjecting her to the trauma of naptime, and she put her head on my shoulder with her favorite two fingers in her mouth, and then with her other hand grabbed a handful of my hair and held on to it in much the same way you’d see a child grip on to their security blanket. It was so adorable, I almost cried.

Bridget has also discovered that she has her own hair as well. I only wish she hadn’t discovered it when she had a handful of sweet potatoes. But then she always has a handful or two of whatever food it is she happens to be eating at any given time. Speaking of food, she has had and thoroughly enjoys sweet potatoes, carrots, oatmeal and bananas. We are venturing into the land of avocado today.

My girl is definitely teetering on the brink of being all about mommy. While it makes my heart soar to know that I can provide her a comfort that no one else can, I don’t know that encouraging it is such a good idea. I mean, there’s not a lot we can do about it at this point except let her be around people, warm up to them and then let them hold her. I do plan to send her to a Mother’s Day Out program when she’s old enough (the one I have my eye on, run by the wife of a dear college friend, doesn’t accept babies under eighteen months) and I don’t want it to be a traumatic experience for her or them. I mean, given the Bullpup tendencies she is already exhibiting, she could give those teachers a run for their money. Another downside to being all about mommy is that Daddy sometimes feels left out. I would too. But on weekends they get a bunch of quality time together and he keeps her laughing most of the time. This weekend, she helped him drill up some white board in his office. I wish I’d been there to see that.

Speaking of laughing, this girl thinks that many new things are funny. She loves to be waved at. And she loves it when you laugh at her. So I spend an awful lot of time holding her up in the air, putting on a fake laugh just to get her to laugh. Of course then she laughs and it’s so cute that my fake laughter turns into real laughter and we have each other going for a good while. Good times, good times.

Can someone explain to me exactly how six months has flown by this quickly? Before I know it, she’ll be a year and will be entering into toddler territory. I need to find a way to slow this ride down so I can remember everything.

Filed under Mommy Zombie |