6 Months Young!

Andrew celebrated this momentous occasion by going out to sushi lunch with Uncle Mike and Aunt Maureen, to Mommy's local favorite, Asahi, in Brighton Center.

Daddy, who is not a sushi fan, stayed at home and had roast beef.

I've kept reflecting the past week or so, that he is pretty much 6 months old. To ever-inquiring stangers I'd say,
"Almost 6 months!", to which they'd respond unanimously,
"What a big boy!!!"
All the older parents we meet chant,
"It goes by so fast..."
In the beginning development is slow yet bittersweet. Survival mode is in full swing.
It's hard to get on the computer to blog.
The unknowns of being new to parenting are daunting:
Exhaustion.
Why is he crying ?
HOW can I get 'XYZ' accomplished today?
Am I talking to him enough?
Should I let him cry for that long?
When, when, when will he do.....? And then presto! A developmental surprise unfolds.
I didn't know breastfeeding would be so absolutely exhausting- and, I didn't know I'd stick with it this long. Mommy-guilt is intense.
Besides immunities, I am hoping it has been giving him a good start on flavors. Honestly. I've tasted the formula: it's like cardboard.
We're lucky he's been a great sleeper (compared to other horror stories!) I think the trick has been making the effort not to cosleep....
It's no wonder why a lot of moms give it up so early on.
For all the effort put in, maybe someday he'll be my buddy at the sushi counter? :D He was after the chopsticks today so that's a start;;;

Sleepless

Andrew -ugh- we don't talk about his sleepless times much- it's not always easy~

He went to sleep at 6:30 last night (a half hour earlier than usual but he'd received that much less sleep during his afternoon nap).
It figures I stayed up til nearly midnight- he was up at 4am crying! I fed him a bit and he went right back to sleep (this technique works well in such situations).
He was up again at 5:23... This interrupted a fabulous mom-dream about him learning to walk (rather suddenly and early) and climbing all over everything.
First I let him cry 10 minutes hoping he'd fall back asleep and that my crazy dream would continue, no such luck. The crying escalated. I tried to get him to suck his thumb. I let him cry, off and on repositioning him as he flapped his arms and bounced backwards in the crib.. I held him and put him back down.
The clock rolled around 6am and I gave up- no, didn't take him to bed, which would work to get him to sleep, but instead he's playing in his 'dream meadow' gym now while I type away in the darkened living room.
It's almost his normal waking time and I wonder how this rainy day will go....
As I end this post, he's in my lap, sucking his thumb, pulling on my hair, reaching for the keyboard, yawning, squirming around and making pterodactyl noises.