Six Months Old
Zachary is six months old! I can’t believe how fast the past six months have gone, but I also can’t really remember life without him. He’s in such a cool stage right now; rolling around, playing with toys, and really interacting with everyone around him, especially his adoring three-member fan club of siblings. He loves them, they love him, and they’re hilarious together.
We went for Zach’s six-month checkup, and my roly-poly little chub weighs 23 lbs. He’s in the 95th percentile for weight, but at over 28 inches long, he’s in the 90th for height. So once again I have a proportional-but-big baby. Everything else checked out well, and the doctor was even a little surprised that he’s as mobile as he is, and able to hold himself up as well as he does. I remember being told with Jack, who was also big, that bigger babies tend to struggle with those things because there’s just so much weight to hold up and move. I think Zachary is just eager to get moving and be involved with the big kids, so maybe he’s motivated to get the show on the road.
Within a week of turning six months old, Zach sprouted his first tooth. He also went swimming for the first time and loved it, and he has started to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. He can scoot backward well enough to get himself stuck under the coffee table in the living room. He’s now more interested in random pieces of paper and the big kids’ toys than he is in his own stuff, so we’re constantly trying to keep things that he shouldn’t have out of his reach. It’s a challenge because the big three just have so much stuff, and the baby is getting so mobile, but we’re doing the best we can.
It’s emotional to see how quickly our baby is growing up, but it really hit home this past weekend when we sold a bunch of our baby things at a consignment sale at church. We’re pretty sure we’re done, and that, combined with decreasing storage space now that we’re finishing the basement, was enough to make us decide to get rid of six years’ worth of girl clothes, the teeny tiny baby boy clothes, and some baby gear.
I was working at the sale, so I helped sell the bouncy seat, infant carrier, and baby swing that all four of my tiny babies spent so much time in their first few months. I tried not to get too worked up, but when I came home and told my husband about watching those things get carried away, I got all choked up. It’s hard to accept that those tiny baby days are probably over for us, but I know there’s so much more to look forward to. I’ll be emotional no matter when we’re done, so I might as well quit now while we might still have a chance to afford retirement after raising all these kids.
It helps knowing that the baby stuff and some of my favorite outfits are going to good homes where other kids can use them, and I’m enjoying so many of the big-kid things that we’re able to get into now with the older kids: bike riding, sports, swimming, reading, and actual conversations. I’m thankful for all the memories and pictures I have of those special first days with all the kids, and hopefully other people will let me snuggle their newborns every once in a while so I can get my fix without actually raising another one!
