6 Months Already? Why I Wish Time with My Baby Would Slow Down
When my first two children were born, time seemed to move very slowly for the first year of their lives: in part because I was a new(er) mother, and in part because my babies had difficult stages, some days seemed to drag on. Eight years after the birth of my first child though, and time is going way too quickly for my liking. Hayden is almost 7 months old already, and between his sweet temperament that literally goes with the flow, and our busy lives involved with having two school-aged children, the days are flying by. Here are some things I'm already missing about Hayden being 6 months old, and reasons why I wish time would just slow down!
1. The empty baby book
I feel tremendous amounts of guilt over the lack of entries in Hayden's baby book. Everyday that passes and I realize that gosh, he's already 6 months old, I realize that if I don't get started on that thing soon, he'll be 6 years old before I know it and I will have forgotten all the important stuff to take note of.
2. I love cuddle time
All too soon I know Hayden will be mobile and long gone will be the days he will sit contently in my lap. Those moments will be replaced with a wriggly mobile little guy who will want nothing more than to jump off my lap and run, not walk!
Related: How I'm learning to let go of the "baby" phase
3. Pool safety
Because both of our two older children are completely water and swim safe, and both soon going on the swimming team, we have not felt the need to have a pool gate surrounding our pool. But we need to get one up soon and we know it is a definite safety must. It felt like we had plenty of time to consider our options and set aside the extra money for the expense, but it has quickly snuck up on us and we know we can't wait any longer.
4. No longer transportable
Up until very recently, Hayden would nap for longer periods of time in his car seat, and if need be, he would "transfer" to his crib if he fell asleep while out and about. Those days are no longer! Now he naps for no longer than 20 minute intervals in his car seat, and wakes right up when I try to transfer him to his crib. Most days we stay home and I make sure he gets his two good naps, but gosh I do sometimes miss the days where I could stay out of the house for more than 45 minutes, knowing that he'd nap while out, without having to rush home.
5. Sleeping on my shoulder
At 6 months old, my boy loves his crib and almost never sleeps on my chest or shoulder anymore, even when I purposely try to nurse him to sleep. If he falls asleep during a feeding, he'll wake right up when he unlatches. Overall it's wonderful that he has a healthy attachment to his crib and sleep, but I sure do miss being able to hold him while asleep, because there's really nothing sweeter.
As I sit here and write this I easily rattled off these 5 reasons, but you know what? I can just as easily rattle off 5 more reasons why I'm happy and glad to have a healthy, thriving, growing baby boy that keeps getting sweeter and cuter by the day. And really at the end of the day, these 5 reasons above are really sort of silly and selfish reasons to want to stop time, I know. But it sure has been sweet and amazing to have such a great first half of a year with Hayden. Here's to 6 more wonderfully sleep deprived, happy months!
- By Andrea Howe
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