Six Months Old!

Brandon and I really can't believe it has already been six months since we woke up early and excited on a Tuesday morning, headed to the hospital where our families were waiting, and came home a few days later with this precious little stranger who is now one of the most famliar parts of our lives.  Can it really have been half a year since that day?

It's crazy to think of all the questions we had then, all the things we wondered and worried about.  What would the c-section be like? Would we enjoy being parents?  How would having a baby change our relationship with each other?  Would we ever feel well-rested again?  It's funny that, since that time, we haven't thought much about these questions (okay, except maybe the sleep one).  I guess they have answered themselves, and our brains have been focused on the things that we now know actually make up the job of parenting.

Carson had her 6-month check-up this week, which went great.  She endured the long wait, the poking and prodding, the shots, an eye test where they attached these little nodes to her head and she had to sit still and watch a screen (she passed!), and even a trip to Scottish Rite for an x-ray (more waiting, poking, dressing & undressing, etc.) without the tiniest complaint.  Well, she cried a little after the shots, but other than that, no complaints  (By the way, the x-ray was no big deal--just checking into a "hip click".  Results came out normal).  Carson has gained about 2 pounds and grown an inch and a half since her last visit 2 months ago! 

And I just have to say--while we were at Scottish Rite for C's x-ray, Brandon and I thought of about 300 reasons to be thankful Carson and all the kids we know and love are as healthy as they are.  In just an hour there, we came across countless families whose lives seem infinitely more difficult than ours, if for no other reason than that their child is sick.  Even someone who has only had a child for 6 months knows that has got to be all-consuming and terrifying.  And while we will accept whatever God has planned for us and for Carson, we are incredibly grateful for her happiness, her health, and our own health and ability to care for her.  Turning in report card grades and preparing swimming pools for the summer just don't seem worth complaining about after that, you know?

And for my final random thought, there's a book called Touchpoints, which I love to read as Carson grows.  It focuses on emotional and behavioral development, rather than physical growth and development like most books.  I think I would have liked this book even before I was a parent.  The social development of a baby is just fascinating! 

Anyway, in the six-month chapter, the author explains that by this age, a baby's personality is pretty well set.  At first, this shocked and almost upset me--you mean there's not a whole lot that we can do to change her personality after this age????  Why the heck are parents here?  I mean, that answer is obvious, but isn't that crazy?  And then I remembered what my daughter's personality seems to be like and realized it's probably a good thing it won't change too much.
 
Here are the nine elements he says are used to assess a child's temperament (and, if you care, our evaluation of where C is on each of them):

1. Activity Level--pretty high.  See future post regarding her newest activity:  crawling
2. Distractibility--Brandon and I agree she seems pretty easily distracted.  Feeding time often has to compete with Moe, Daddy's voice, and whatever shirt Carson is wearing at the time--because they are all FASCINATING. 
3. Persistence--she seems to us to be fairly able and willing to persevere when a challenge presents itself. This post instantly comes to mind.
4. Approach-Withdrawal (how she handles new & stressful situations)--we think she's in the middle here.  She doesn't LOVE strangers approaching her or unfamiliar places, but usually doesn't mind it much either.
5. Intensity--we feel like she's pretty intense.  While she's fairly distractable, she also doesn't mess around when she's working on something.  I present to you exhibit A (which is probably more convincing if you know that this was about minute 48 of this tag-exploring position):

And here, exhibit B, an excerpt from the washcloth-chewing marathon:

Oh wait! It has a tag!

6. Adaptability--to us, Carson seems pretty chill. She doesn't usually mind being held by different people and is generally content to just "hang out" (or pass out) wherever she is.  While she hasn't been in tons of new and different situations, I remember being nervous about the weekend we spent at a cabin for Easter.  Would she be uncomfortable being away from home and around lots of new people, etc.  But she didn't even seem to notice or care we weren't at our house.

Seen here chilling with Aunt Christine

And here she is at her first luau.

7. Regularity--um, not so much.  This is most likely our bad.  Her schedule seems to shift some from day to day, but that's probably because we have always let it.  However, I do wonder if she was more regular, would she be as adaptable to changes and adjustments as she is?  Who knows.
8. Sensory Threshold--(how do stimuli affect her? is she easily over-stimulated?)--again, I feel like she's in the middle here.  I wouldn't say she's easily over-stimulated, but it does happen from time to time.  She can take a fair amount of noise, moving around, new faces, etc. before she hits her limit.
9. Mood--(is she primarily positive or negative?) Uh yeah. Definitely positive.  She even responded positively to her first vegetable, green peas.  Brandon & I decided not to tell her they're gross.