Six months (and change)

I swear a hungry time monster is eating away at my minutes and hours each day. I have no other explanation for how the end of the day flies up without warning.

AKA I’m nine days late on writing this. Bah.

Half a year has passed since I first laid eyes on my sweet babies. They’ve now officially been outside babies for longer than they grew inside my body.

KAPOW! (that was my mind exploding – yours, too?)

They play with toys. They chatter and babble and mimic and are starting to laugh sometimes. They all love to stand (with assistance) and deliver huge smiles when you bounce them on your lap. They notice each other frequently and are sometimes reacting to each other’s moods. Toby’s eyes well up with tears when Eleanor cries, and the girls both fuss and act concerned when Toby cries. It doesn’t happen all the time (thank goodness), but I find myself holding my breath and checking the other babies while I console the sad baby.

We’re trying to get out more, to show them more of their world than our little house, but it’s difficult with three good sleepers who love their naps and don’t want to wait up while mama hits up the milk machine. But it happens sometimes. (It’s also difficult when a certain someone whose name starts with E doesn’t like her routine to change a tiny bit.)

Everyone had a fantastic six-month well-child checkup. They all showed off how well they stand and hold their trunks and heads strong while sitting. Toby flirted with the doctor, Callista chattered the whole time, and Eleanor? Well, she should have been home in her crib, napping. Let’s just say she was unhappy absolutely pissed that her routine had been messed with.

Then came the shots. Oh, the shots. Eleanor surprisingly recovered quickest followed by Toby. Callista whimpered until about five minutes after we were already in the car on the way home.

Then, at 2 in the morning, Toby woke up crying. He sometimes does that, so I wasn’t alarmed. I went in and tried soothing him without moving him much, but when he didn’t calm after about a minute, I picked him up. He was BLAZING hot, which snapped me out of my 2-a.m. haze right away. I gave him Tylenol and went to wake Rob so he could get the girls up for their own dose before they got too uncomfortable. As I was waking him, Callista’s cries sounded over the monitor.

I ended up stripping both babies and myself for a late-night nurse-and-cuddle session (recalling from our NICU days that skin-to-skin contact with mothers helps regulate babies body temperatures and recalling a study I heard about that said breastmilk is a fantastic analgesic for sad babies). As I was getting myself into place, Rob was taking the girls’ temperatures and fixing a small bottle for Eleanor. Milk in their bellies and nothing on but diapers, I cuddled two while Rob cuddled one, the five of us tired and sad on our couches in the middle of the night. Soon enough, the babies happily went back into their cribs, and we crawled back into our own bed, survivors of our first at-home “sick” experience.

Stupid immunizations. They’re mean sometimes.

The best news from the checkup was learning how much all three have grown. They’re finally on the growth charts for their actual age (although 99% of babies their age are bigger than them), but the doctor was really pleased to see their head circumferences are good for their age – Toby is at the 22nd percentile, and the girls are both at the 16th percentile. Their brains are developing and growing fantastically!

Some stats to blow you mind, in case the six-month thing didn’t.

Tobias, at birth, weighed 2 lb. 8 oz., was 14.37 in. long and had a head circumference of 26.5 cm.

At 6 months, Toby weighs 12 lb. 5 oz., is 23 in. long and has a head circumference of 42.4 cm.

Eleanor, at birth, weighed 2 lb. 5 oz., was 15 in. long and had a head circumference of 26.5 cm.

At 6 months, Eleanor weighs 11 lb. 2 oz., is 22 in. long and has a head circumference of 41 cm.

Callista, at birth, weighed 2 lb. 7.5 oz., was 15 in. long and had a head circumference of 26.5 cm.

At 6 months, Callista weighs 12 lb. 6 oz., is 23.75 in. long and has a head circumference of 41.4 cm.

THEY ARE HUGE.

They also just had their first “solid” (but seriously soupy) food yesterday – oatmeal made from ground steel-cut oats, water and breast milk.

Toby was super enthusiastic about getting the spoon in his mouth, grabbing for it and moving his head toward my hand with each bite.

Eleanor was rather pensive and seemed to study the new stuff in her mouth.

Callista was a total champ. It wasn’t long before she barely had any oatmeal anywhere but in her mouth, while her brother and sister had the typical dribbled baby-food mess.

They all three liked it a lot, though. Amazing!

(Toby, Eleanor, Callista)

and a bonus video, but we only got Eleanor: