Rowdy Ryder

Looking back on Tristan and I deciding on baby names before we even knew the sex, Tristan insisted on Rowdy. Now don't get me wrong there are some great Rowdy's out there, but I was adamant that we would not be naming my baby Rowdy. I obviously got my way (like I usually do!) and we went with Ryder, BUT holy cow do we have THE MOST ROWDY 6 month old that I've ever been around!! (I worked in childcare for several years, most of those being with infants, so I feel like I've seen a little bit of everything and am quite qualified to make that judgment call.) He is constantly moving, constantly. At night he crawls and rolls in his sleep so much that he wakes up several times from hitting the sides of his bed. I was starting to think that maybe it was just my family and me that thought he was such a big wiggle worm until we went for his 6 month check-up today and the pediatrician was exhausted after seeing him...she could barely examine him! She attempted to listen to his heart multiple times between his trying to grab her hands and stethoscope or kicking her arms away from him. I nonchalantly made the comment, "I hope this is how other babies are too..." She slowly looked up at me, smiled, and said, "No, not quite...I hope that you have a pair of roller skates ready because you're going to need them with his energy." FANTASTIC! I am extremely, extremely beyond thankful that he is so healthy, but I never imagined having such an active baby! Guess I'll be purchasing a pair of skates in the near future!

At the doctor's office attacking the baby in the mirror, and tearing up the paper like always...

 Besides being on the go at all times, we have a really hard time getting Ryder to sleep. I was always rocked as a baby, and even child, so naturally, Ryder has always been rocked to sleep, but in the last couple of months, rocking him is like wrestling a large (definitely not small) baby alligator. By the time he is finally asleep both of us are sweating and I'm the one that needs the nap! I've tried several times to put him down when he's drowsy and just let him go to sleep on his own, but of course the weakling that I am, I never let him cry more than a few minutes. Well, today the doctor said no more rocking..."he's 6 months old and it's time for him to learn how to put himself to sleep," were her exact words. She said to let him cry it out for 5 minutes, calm him down without picking him up, then cry it out for 10, calm him down, then 15, and so on. I drove home thinking, "if I have to listen to him cry for 15 minutes, then I will start crying." We got home and he ate and played for a little bit and then started fussing like he was tired, so I put him in his bed and left...about 5 minutes later (of course after rolling around like the "rowdy" maniac he is), he started crying, so I timed it and then went and calmed him down without picking him up, despite how incredibly hard it was when he grabbed my arms trying to pull himself up to me, and then left again....not even kidding yall...that kid was alseep LESS THAN 2 MINUTES later! What the heck?! Hopefully it continues to work! So all you mommas out there..the pediatricians do sometimes know what they're talking about! :) Of course most of you are probably reading this thinking the whole sleep training makes complete sense and only an idiot wouldn't have tried it that way to begin with...well, I guess I'm an idiot (or at least my child knows how to play me for one)!

I apologize for the longevity of this post! I just had so much to say about my little man, and here's just a little bit more! The big boy weighs 19.7 lbs and is 27.75 in long, still around the 90th percentile for both. No teeth yet, but he is teething. He is currently drinking 6 oz., eating fruits, vegetables, baby yogurt, and he LOVES when Daddy shares his popsicles with him (which I'm sure does not contribute to any of his hyper activity at all...lol). He is rolling over, army crawling everywhere, sitting up, getting up on all fours and rocking, and sometimes he puts his feet down and tries to go on his hands and feet...he face plants a lot. I think that's about it...I'm sure there's more, but I know this thing is long enough!!!

Two versions of his "crawling"