Super Six

Hello Meips!

I almost can’t believe you’re 6 months old! Where did all that time go?

The truth is though, while little babies are precious, I enjoy bigger babies better. I love it that you’re now at an age where we can do more to play, explore, and have fun together. I know you love it too because of that sparkle in your eye when it’s playtime. It’s all fun and games for you!

You’re a very vocal little baby. Honestly, I’m not too sure that’s a good thing when we are at the receiving end of some very loud crying. You now know how to respond quite angrily when things are not going your way. Like when we plop you on the floor and walk away instead of playing with you. You yell and we come scurrying back. I must say it’s quite effective. You’ve also started to differentiate your calls for Papa and Mama. When you get excited, you love to blow raspberries. Lots of them. And when you see Papa, you get REALLY excited, so we’ve come to realise that in your world, he’s “Ppfffft!”, complete with lots of saliva.

Mummy on the other hand is “AaaMmmmm!”, only spoken when you’re feeling whingey. Story of my life!

Half a year has flashed by and you’ve grown, no doubt. No longer the immobile little baby you were a couple of months ago, you now roll and actively crawl (commando style) everywhere. I had taken to calling you “The Incredible Rolling Mei-Mei” earlier in the month because that’s what you did as soon as we set you down anywhere. Over and over you would go. You seemed to be always happier off your designated surface than on it. Now that you’ve started to get the hang of crawling, you’re unstoppable.

Your biggest accomplishment this month has been to sit up on your own. You’ve been doing the tripod sit fairly steadily for most of the month. We just keep a hand ready to catch you in case you keel over but it has been less and less likely. (Past the 6-month mark, you’re actually sitting really well, hands-free these days, though this should probably go into your update next month.)

Sitting up has given you a new perspective on things, even if just your toes.

Thinking that you might like to have some real food, I decided to break out some cereal and give you your first taste of food about 2 weeks past your 5th month. This was triggered by the fact that you had started waking up and needing to feed in the middle of the night when previously you were sleeping through. Given that I had started weaning your brother at about the same age, I thought it was time. You had other ideas.

Maybe you didn’t like oatmeal cereal. But I think it was mostly that you just weren’t ready yet. Your tongue thrust reflex was still present and you pushed everything out of your mouth. It was such a mess. Sorry baby, even 2nd time Mums make mistakes. After thinking about it, I realised that you were probably just going through a growth spurt at that time, hence the need for extra feeds. I tried the cereal one more time the next day then decided to hold off on the solids altogether for a couple more weeks till you turned 6 months old. For the record, I gave you pear puree on 1 Sept, one day before the 6 month mark, and you LOVED it. Just like your Gor-Gor actually.

This month has been an eventful one for all of us. You went on your first holiday with the family. Just a staycation this time, but I think it was still fun for all of us, including you.

Even though we didn’t leave the country, we still tried to do the touristy thing since we were on holiday after all. We visited the Merlion, strolled around the Esplanade, and took a ride on the Singapore Flyer. I think you were not very impressed though.

Lest you think it’s because you are a good sleeper, let me tell you that this month has been most challenging for you — and me — sleep-wise. There was the growth spurt, and then shortly after that, you succumbed to Noey’s cold/cough and you’ve been wheezing and hacking away ever since. I know it’s not your fault that you got sick, but as a result you’ve been waking up at night ALOT. I honestly feel really sorry for you when you have difficulty breathing and when you cough yourself awake, but it’s been a rough couple of weeks. I’m totally zombified by those days when you just cannot settle and would wake up every 15 mins crying. It’s just impossible when I have to drag myself to work as well. I’m praying that when you finally recover, you’ll go back to being the baby with the good sleeping habits that you used to be!

Speaking of work, I guess that’s the biggest change to our routine this month. My maternity leave officially ended and I returned to work, albeit still on a part-time basis. For the record, I miss you and Noey a lot when I’m away. But at least I’m glad that you’re both doing well. Unlike Noey, you actually prefer the bottle to direct latching. So much so that I pump a lot while I’m home too to keep up with your needs. I’m falling behind though, because it’s difficult to find the time to pump regularly at home. I mean, you’re often given bottle feeds precisely because I’m not available to latch you on, so needless to say, I don’t have the time to pump either. I heaved a sigh of relief after we crossed the 6-month mark. I’m still pumping and we’re supplementing with my previous stash of frozen EBM but when that runs out, I have a tin of formula on standby. I’m really hoping you’ll have no issues with it.

So, with 6 months under your belt, what’s next for you? We’re about to find out. In the meantime, I want you to stay the same squishy, huggable, absolutely adorable little baby that you are. Everyone can’t help but hug and kiss you all the time because you’re so impossibly cute. We love you so much little Meips!

Big Hugs,
Your Mama