Step right up! Step right up! Be the first to see the MONSTER BABY!

So today was Liam's 6 mos check up.

Dan didn't get home last night/this morning until 5am due to moving something from one server to another and not having enough dilithium crystals to power it all ("Captain, we need more POWER!") Or was it he couldn't feel the force, Obi-Wan? I woke every 2 hours all night looking for him. Poor guy almost got the family investments injured getting into bed and finding a baseball bat in his spot. Regardless, poor Dan crawled into bed after 5am.

Liam woke up at 5:50am. I went and gave him his paci and snuggled him back up in his blanky. No dice. 10 minutes later after listening to Liam begin reading Chapter 2 of Beowolf to his stuffed animals I had to get up. I couldn't stomach that story in college and I SURE as hell wasn't taking to it at 6am. Plus he needs to brush up on his Old English.

So the typical morning routine involves Dan getting Liam out of his crib, changing his diaper and amusing him briefly while I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and get ready to nurse Liam. Then Dan hands him off to me in bed for his breakfast. Well when Dan is not there first thing in the morning - which is more rare than my mother-in-law likes her steak (which is "still mooing") - I get Liam and the first thing he thinks is "Hm. I'm starved. There is my breakfast. Right there. Right now. FEED ME!" And this all comes out as "WAHWAHWAH!" Needless to say Dan was woken up anyway. Liam was finally fed for God's sakes. Then he went back to sleep and so did we. Til 9am Weee!

Liam's appointment was at 10am.

Liam is somewhat of a superstar at Merrimack Valley Pediatrics. See, and I KNOW people will think I'm just saying this because I'm his mom, but Liam is pretty darn cute. And when people meet him a couple times, he usually casts a bit of a spell on them. So it's not odd to see a throw down behind the co-pay window between the nurses to see who gets to care for him today. Honestly, it's somewhat embarrassing.

So the other reason Liam is a super star at the doctor's office is because of the quick growth he has demonstrated. It's a freak show when it comes time to weigh him. I walk out of the exam room, carry him over to the scale and the doc dons his top hat and bullwhip and yells "Step right up! Folks don't be shy. Get a peek at the current weight of MONSTER BABY!" Everyone gathers round and money begins to fly as bets are taken as to his current weight. Liam's response to all this? "WAHWAHWAH!"

Well today the scale said 24.1lbs and his length measured at 29.5" The new nurse from Omaha won the pool.

Did I mention he is only 6 months old and is breastfed? Liam's pedi says my milk must be superfortified. Apparently Major League Baseball is looking to contract me to provide Mark MacGuire with 3-4 feedings a day.

So in the big picture Liam is super healthy. Knock-on-wood never been sick yet. He's slept through the night regularly since 4 mos. We are upping his solids intake but only 1st foods till he gets some teeth. And he needs to eat cereal 2x per day. At six months a baby's iron stores given at birth begin to deplete. Breast milk isn't that rich in iron, so cereal supplements it. He had his finger pricked today and they did notice his iron count was a bit lower but it was still fine.

Liam rolls over and every once in a while he tries to pull his knees up under his belly. But because he's so big he will probably be delayed with most developmental achievements. He has more weight to pull up when trying to crawl, stand, sit. But he sits real good on his own. Starting the sippy cup with water. Still waiting for teeth.

Liam, you do stuff when you are good and ready to do stuff. Don't be scared, I'll try to catch you, but sometimes it's good to fall. Falling helps you learn. I'm sorry I couldn't make the hurt go away when you got your shots. You looked at me as if to say, "Why are you letting them hurt me?" Sometimes things hurt that will be good for you later. Like shots at the doctor's and broken hearts. Don't be afraid to feel the hurt and to cry. I'll be here to wipe your tears and give you hugs.