Whew! Now, Can I Breathe?

Linus is 6 months old!

This officially puts him beyond the majority of the risk for SIDS. Does this mean I won't check that he's breathing in the middle of the night? Probably not.

He has now begun to start eating solids and will eventually not depend on me for all sustenance. Does this mean I won't be attached to him 12 hours a day? Probably not.

Oh well...

This milestone calls for a little reflection. Let's take a look back...

1 Year Ago- I was holding my breath in an ultrasound room frantically searching for that little flicker that meant he was really there. Not only did I get to see a flicker, I got to see a penis as well.

9 Months Ago- Adrian and I were stressing about getting the nursery finished and arguing who would read what parenting books. We wanted to be ready for this baby. Little did we know how unprepared we would forever feel.

6 Months and 2 days Ago- I was watching "Music and Lyrics" while shackled to a hospital bed. I was hungry and grumpy because all I had eaten for 24 hours was liquids. Red jell-o is good but a hamburger is better.

6 Months and 1 day Ago- I was awakened at 5 AM to "get the pitocin going". My first thought was that they could at least wait until daylight. I soon learned that 5 AM can sometimes feel like sleeping in.

That evening at 8:44 PM, I heard the greatest sound I've ever heard. It wasn't a cry (not Linus's style), instead it was a grunt. I immediately panicked, "Why's he not screaming? Isn't he supposed to scream?" He was fine and I haven't stopped worrying since.

5 Months Ago- Linus and I ventured out for a Mommy and Baby exercise class. Linus fussed through the whole thing. I looked around and realized that no one else's baby fussed so much... I began to wonder if maybe Linus was colicky. Luckily, I didn't venture out any sooner or we may not have survived the colic. We were content in our ignorance and belief that all babies cry like this.

4 Months Ago- I was presented with the first sign that Linus wasn't just a blob: his first smile. It was distraction enough for Linus to almost score a point in the game of 'pee pee peek-a-boo'. It was gorgeous and immediately returned.

3 Months Ago- We nervously ventured onto an airplane, anxious to show off our son in all of his adorableness to family and friends. Linus had his mind on other things that day as he quickly pooped his way through 4 different outfits (and that was just day 1). He still met all those friends and family members just not in the outfits his mommy had planned on. Oh well!

1 Month Ago- We frantically searched for the perfect ornament to commemorate our baby boy's first Christmas. His first Christmas had to be perfect, and that meant having a special ornament. The ornament was found after only a few verbal sucker punches to each other and Christmas was saved!

1 Day Ago- One overly tired mommy and daddy sat in a kitchen making special half-birthday cookies for their baby knowing full-well that he wouldn't be able to eat them. We could have taken a much-needed nap but instead we decided that we had to commemorate the day and so cookies were cut, frosted, and enjoyed. Just not by Linus.

Wow! The time has certainly flown by. Yeah, I know, I hear it all the time, "They grow up so fast. Treasure this time." Blah, blah, blah. However, as Linus continues to change before our very eyes, I begin to fear that he won't be my little baby forever.

Now I'll let John wrap this up for me...