Teeth

After almost 2 months of non-stop drooling, Evan's first tooth came through last Sunday. It's so tiny that it's almost impossible to see. I only found out it was there by accident when he was chewing on my finger. James and I were so excited we jumped up and down. Nathan didn't quite understand what the excitement was all about but joined in the celebration anyway. He wanted to feel Evan's tooth as well but just wanted up poking Evan in the face. Evan enjoyed the attention though and we're all glad his teething pains and over (for now).

His other bottom tooth was soon to follow, appearing just a few days later. This last week we've also gone full speed in trying new solids. He's had carrots (loved), apples (not so much), and sweet potatoes (starting to enjoy).

Perfectly proportioned

Evan turned 6 months last Wednesday, yay! At the doctor's visit I was surprised to find out that he was 75% for all 3 measurements. A perfectly proportioned baby?!

Head circumference: 44.5 cm
Height: 27 1/4 inches
Weight: 18 lbs 13 oz

We also started him on his first vegetable: peas. James gave him half a container at first but he wanted more and ended up eating the whole thing. Good thing Dr.Brown reminded us about introducing new foods 3 days apart (and watch for allergies). I had totally forgotten about that.

Dr.Brown also suggested that it's better to start sleep training sooner than later, and having failed at it once with Nathan, I know it to be true. One thing that worries be a bit is that Evan is still waking up a couple times a night for a feed. He's been sleeping next to me at night, and whenever he wakes up, I usually just feed him without even getting out of bed. He's getting so used to falling asleep nursing that I'm afraid it might be the only way he knows how to go to sleep.

Sarah has had quite a few successes getting Evan to fall asleep by himself in the day, but night time is hard since we have a crazy Nathan in the house. Nathan doesn't go to bed till at least 8:30pm, so Evan ends up staying up as well and is often overtired by then. James has gotten very skilled at getting Evan to fall asleep on his shoulder.

Today I was determined to start sleep training, and it wasn't that bad. Maybe 5 minutes of crying at most?! I sat in the dark with Evan as he lay by himself in the crib. I don't think he knows I'm there, otherwise he'd probably cry even more. He protested a bit but soon found his fingers.

First Christmas

Evan's first Christmas came and went before we knew it. I was still on maternity leave till end of November, so had plenty of time to prepare for the holidays. We put up our Christmas tree early this year and enjoyed it for almost a whole month.

Evan got given several stuffed cow toys, since he's born year of the ox. I realized the other day that we might have a problem. I've been collecting piggies for years, way before Nathan came along, but Evan is not going to believe that. He's going to think all the pigs were because Nathan was born year of the pig. So to avoid future sibling rivalry, I need to start accumulating cows, fast.

Another thing I noticed is that in almost every other photo, Evan would be getting kisses. I feel that I'm much more liberal with the kissing than when Nathan was at baby, and observed same behavior in James. Perhaps it's because Nathan no longer lets us shower him with kisses, so we're taking advantage of Evan while he can't protest yet. Plus he's pretty adorable too =)

Do you know who I am?

"Do you know who I am?" said the mother bird.
"Yes, you are a bird, and you are my mother!" said the baby bird.

These familiar lines are from the"Are you my mother?" book, and I can really relate to them right now. At almost 6 months, Evan is starting to pay extra attention to mommy and it makes me feel pretty darn special. Sometimes I'll look up and see him staring at me from across the room. When our eyes meet he'll give me a big fat smile. On the other hand, there are also cases when he'll be perfectly happy being held by someone else, but once he sees me, he'll start crying immediately and demand be fed. James says it's like seeing an ice-cream truck walk by.

There's also a Chinese saying that when a mom's hair starts falling out, that's when her baby will start recognizing her. Well I'm finding hair all over our floor these days, so Evan you better know who I am =)

P.S., Evan quietly sat on my lap as I finish this blog entry. He looks curiously at the keyboard and occasionally back at me.