"Baby I": Isaac at six months

February 25, 2008
Isaac Samuel is six months old as of Monday. Every time I think about calling him by his full name, I can’t do it; which means yes, I may change it (back) to Samuel Isaac. (Kevin is sick of me changing my mind.) But we still call him Isaac, and either way it really doesn’t matter. Maybe one day I’ll remember to tell you how he got his special names. Kevin told me just to figure out what I want to call him by the time he goes to nursery.

Kate calls him “I.” Or “Baby I.” His other nickname is “Sam I. Am.” I don’t think it’ll stick as an official nickname, though.

Isaac has abs and thighs of steel! A month ago, at five months, he could get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. I was told today at his 6-month checkup that that is a 9-month-old skill. Cool, huh? Except it gets better. He really wants to move. He can get into a pushup position and hold it. He also tried walking like Mowgli, with his bum in the air, but even though he moves one leg forward, he doesn’t move his arms, so he doesn’t go anywhere. He has given up on that approach since and moved on to crouching like a frog and trying to “jump” forward. Ha ha! I have videos of everything but the frog thing; it’s too new. Anyway, I think you can see that he has incredible muscular strength for his age. It is fun to see talents showing through. He is a little behind on fine motor skills and sitting, but we will work on that. He is still a sweet, loving boy. And all around, his health is doing so much better. He is 15% for weight and 75% for height (tall and thin, just like Lisa). He is cutting top and bottom teeth (which explains the lower weight—he used to be 25% but doesn’t eat much when he’s teething).

He had a rash that covered everything but his tummy and back, and that is almost gone. After four months of elimination diets for me and additional self-testing, I think Isaac is allergic to milk, nuts, and soy. I don’t eat any dairy, and I use rice milk or water or apple juice to replace the milk in my recipes. I also have allergen-free cookbooks on hold at the library, so all is not lost. (I took him to an allergist, but I have to wait for Isaac to be a year old before they will test him for allergies. )

Isaac is still on Prevacid for reflux and likely will be for three or four more months.Wow, is that everything? So many times I start an email trying to explain everything going on with him, and it’s nice to be able to keep it short and say he is doing better! Oh, I guess he still wakes 4-5 times at night, but his Prevacid dosage was adjusted today, and hopefully that will help.