Check Up

Here are the stats from today's 6 month check up:

Height - 28 1/3 inches

Weight - 23 lbs 1 oz

He is a big boy. A big, bouncing baby boy. All he wants to do all day is bounce and stand, stand and bounce. When the doctor asked why he couldn't sit up yet, I said, "Because he doesn't like to sit. He likes to bounce." It's true, but she wasn't amused. He can be the sleepiest, fussiest little guy, but as soon as his feet hit the floor, he's all smiles. What a sweetie.

So I'm going to have to work with him on the sitting, and the crawling, and apparently the passing of the toys from one hand to another. She kept trying to get him to do it and he kept not doing it and I kept saying, "He doesn't know how to do that yet." How often do children miraculously develop skills in the doctor's office that they didn't have thirty minutes before while playing at home? It can't be that often.

My favorite part is that all of the baby-development info gives you choices like Not yet instead of No in answer to the questions. I think this is an important distinction for the fragile parental psyche. I'm much more pleased that my baby is not developing at an acceptable rate when I can check the Not Yet box and pray that he'll figure it out soon.

I'm just so thankful that Matthew is healthy, happy, and that our family has achieved a nice state of balance in the last month or so. It's WONDERFUL to get enough sleep most nights to function the next day, though I occasionally miss being able to blame clumsiness, dirty laundry, and forgetting people's names on the sleep deprivation. My secret is out now.