Poor Z is getting the second-child treatment big time with these posts. But he’s still getting them, because I want them. So, here we are with a big three-month update.
Z is the most social, smiley little (big!) baby. His blue, blue eyes light up when you look at him, he loves to be interacted with, and we’re predicting him to be the family extravert. He’s funny (C calls him silly about a hundred times a day) and determined to move and he also loves to be held. I don’t get as much time to sit and stare and marvel at him, but when I do, I can’t believe he’s mine. He’s so freaking sweet.
I feel like he’s huge, even though he’s objectively not. At 6 months, he was in the 30th percentile for weight and 70th for height. He seems so much bigger to me than C did. He was in 9 month clothes by 6.5 months (for length reasons, but they weren’t horribly baggy on him) and he wouldn’t drown in 12 month clothes now.
He’s also had a rough go of it the last few months because ever since he started teething at about 5.5 months, I don’t think he’s stopped. He has eight teeth now, and I thought we were about to get a break… but he just started shoving his hands further back in his mouth. Every time a tooth pops through, he starts saying, “mm, mm, mmmm,” again. That’s his “my mouth hurts” signal (C’s was blowing a ton of raspberries). And my goodness, is he a biter. If I’m holding him facing me, he will absolutely take advantage and chomp on my shoulder. Much like his sister, he’s not really that interested in teething toys. No. He wants a shoulder, thigh, forearm, or sternum to bite. In the interim, he will settle for a tag or a blanket, but he really just wants to bite you.
Z has known his name and been sitting unassisted for about a month. He army crawls so much and so quickly that I wasn’t sure he would ever decide to crawl for real. But then he started taking a few crawl-steps here and there literally yesterday. He’s already working on standing and pulling himself up (clumsily) on furniture. It’s funny to see the difference in how he and C approach movement. C worked to get good form before she took a single step with both crawling and walking. Z will do whatever works to get from point A to point B.
He started initiating little games with us about a month ago. If someone coughs, he imitates it back with a cheesy grin on his face. He loves reaching out his fist (or outstretched hand) for a fist bump-explosion. And he likes to grab for things he’s not allowed to and tease me by slowly going back for them after I say, “No, no, no.”
Sleep
His sleep is not terrible, mostly. Though we have had rather a lot of 3-hour parties in the middle of the night recently. I’m not sure if he was teething hard or just working on a skill, but I’d think I had him back to sleep and then he’d wake up six minutes after I left his room and sound mad. But once I got to him, he’d be very awake and content to play till he got tired again.
But for the most part, I put him down in about 20 minutes a night, and he might get up once or twice briefly before I go to bed. Or, he might not. Then he sleeps till 2 (or 1, or 4, or 5… it varies), and usually goes back down in 20-30 minutes. Unless we’re having a party. It’s all good. Unless we’re having a lot of parties, and then I’m quite crabby about it.
His naps are mostly on-the-go, but if he gets up particularly early or C lets me put him down quietly in the afternoon, he naps quite well in the crib.
Z missed out on sleep by not being the first child, because where C was never a great napper, he seems like he could be if given the chance. Instead, we drag him along wherever we go and he squeezes in sleep where he can.
Food
Z has been eating some solid food since about 6.5 months. He wasn’t quite sitting unassisted, but he was desperate to get in on the action at mealtimes, so we let him go for it. He LOVES food. And while C was (and is, to an extent) pretty willing to eat all sorts of foods, she has always eaten like a bird. Z eats it all and wants more faster than you’re ready to give it. It’s fun and funny, and gosh is it messy.
He still nurses a lot – probably upwards of 8 times a day – but his nursing sessions are pretty quick because there’s so much to see. C was a pretty stationary nurser and when she was distracted, she was done. Z climbs all over the place while he’s eating to try and see as much as he can without having to stop. The only thing that stop Z from eating is C because she’s just too interesting.
The Sibling Thing
Oh, my gosh. They adore each other.
C loves Z and gives him 800 hugs and kisses a day. She loves him so much that she loves all babies by the transitive property of being a baby. It’s so cute. She’s a great big sister. And he idolizes her. He stops whatever he’s doing to look at and/or follow her. Her love for him can be a little aggressive, but he eats it all up. They play silly little sibling games to make each other laugh. Two little kids this young is a lot to handle! And it’s also the cutest thing ever.
Schedule
What’s a schedule? Z has never known one. Some days he’s up at 6, others it’s nearly 8. If he gets up before 7, he’s usually napping before 9, but it also might be 10:30 or 11 before he dozes off. We get out of the house to spend time outside or do some other activity as early as it makes sense given his sleep, and we usually come back home around noon or a little after. C does quiet time while I try to get Z down for an afternoon nap (he usually only takes 2 naps, but sometimes he takes 3). C and I play or rest while he naps, and then we go outside for a bit and then I try to get dinner finished around 5pm so we can eat close to when Jack is done working. He takes C outside while I clean up with Z, and then we join them, and then Z is usually ready for bed between 7 and 8. He might get up once or twice before 10, or he might not. I go to bed as early as I can most nights, and he’s up once or twice throughout the night, and then we do it all again.
