Life with Charlotte: Six Months In

How has it been half a year that Charlotte Shea came into the world?  It feels like she’s been here forever, but then it also feels like it’s going way too fast and everything in life is moving at lightning speed.  She is really starting to become her own little person now.  Her personality is STRONG and she is just so much fun to be around.  She is such a pleasant, happy baby that really comes everywhere and anywhere with me and we never have a problem.  She has come to work with me, shopping, restaurants, friends homes, family homes, you name it.  We do not have a schedule that we stick to, and although I know people swear by their schedules, Charlotte fitting into OUR lives instead of the other way around is working for us.  When she’s hungry, she eats.  When she’s tired, she naps.  I usually start the “bedtime routine” around the same time every night, and by bedtime routine I mean take a bath, scream and eat naked, get dressed and play and go to sleep, but even that will get disrupted too and she just goes with the flow.  She’s like her dad that way.  Eric is very easy going and goes with the flow and never gets agitated and I see that in Charlotte.  We drive to my parents in Staten Island and sleep there every Thursday and she’ll nap in the car, wake up when we get there to say hi to the family and Uncle Spanky, eat a little more and pass out again.  She is just like, cool beans new scenery WHAT UP NONNA’S HOUSE.  She’s just so chill.  I love that about Eric so I love that about Charlotte.  She has me in her too though.  She is dramatic.  She is loud.  She is opinionated.  All at only 6 months.  She gets so mad and screams right in your face when you do something she doesn’t want you to do.  This is basically me.  The hunger screams are also me.  I can just see her when she’s a toddler screaming at me and Eric.  Eric will sit there and be calm and I’ll probably scream right back.  We’re in trouble!

She is learning new things every single day.  It is fascinating when you watch a baby learn things.  When you think about it they really don’t know a damn thing about anything.  They have no idea what fingers or toes are, and when they discover them and stare at them it’s just phenomenal.  It’s like oh hey here is my hand WHAT THE HELL IS COMING OUT OF MY HAND.  The other day I caught her with her hands in front of her face and she was flexing her fingers and staring at them so hard she was cross eyed.  Then she let out the biggest sigh and it was just so damn cute.  She loves new toys that she can hold and wave around.  Now that she is able to hold onto things really well she is constantly grabbing and waving shit.  This morning at 5:30 AM when I let her come in bed with me (WE WERE IN THE CRIB ALL NIGHT BEFORE THIS, YAY US) she was wide awake and grabbed her wubanub.  For those of you that do not know, a wubanub is a pacifier with a stuffed animal attached to it.  Charlotte’s favorite is from her godmother and it is giraffe.  Well, at 5:30 this morning she pulled the wubanub out of her mouth and started shaking it back and forth with a fury.  She was beating the shit out of me with the wubanub.  The giraffe was moving around so much it looked like a rodeo bull trying to buck off an imaginary rider.  After all of that activity she passed back out right in time for me to go to work.  She’s just so considerate.

She loves people.  She honestly has no stranger anxiety at all.  Every new person she comes into contact with gets a big smile.  I want her to be comfortable with people and I let anyone hold her that wants to because I don’t want her to be one of those weird kids who hate everyone around them except their mother.  I mean, I want Charlotte to prefer me over others OBVIOUSLY, but I don’t want her to cling to me and think everyone else is stranger danger.  It’s better for her to love people now anyway, because when she gets older she’ll realize what a giant pain in the ass most of the human race is and hate them all on her own.  Innocence for now, little one.

We have big things in store for this month.  She’s getting her ears pierced, she’s getting baptized, she’s going to sleep through the night, she’s going to keep trying new vegetables and fruits.  I feel like if I write that she is going to sleep through the night as a fact with all other facts, it will come true.  I love you so much my Charlie girl.  I am sad for the months that are over, but so excited for all that is to come.  Being a mama is the best journey I’ve ever taken and I love every single day.