everything hits at once

the living room has turned into a crack den including a mattress pad on the floor. but i think the sheet really pulls the room together.


enjoying lunch at veggie planet in harvard square with friends sonja and chris.


wedging himself between the jumperoo and a file box.




leon's six month check-up went pretty well. we decided to do the pneumococcal conjugate next month, so he had DTaP, Hib and Polio this time. obviously i'll never know for certain, but he was much less fussy this time. he also avoided having a fever (99.9 was the highest temperature i took compared with 103 last time).

everyone comments that he's large for his age. at 27 1/2" (90th percentile), it isn't surprising, although he's only 16 lbs, 4 oz (50th percentile).

yesterday i bought a new pair of pyjamas from baby gap in size 6 to 12 months, although he still fits into his 3-6 months. because cloth diapers are bulkier, i try to use them when we're at home. hardly any of his pants and onesies fit over them. two new wool pants are arriving soon from new zealand (thank you catherine!), which i think will be perfect over the cloth diapers.

i also ordered a few more cloth diapers including two sustainablebabyish bamboo fleece fitteds for overnights. this past week was a first in the diaper leaking department. since he's been nursing so frequently at night, we now need to change his diaper at least once between 7 pm and 5 am. a few nights ago there was a bedwetting incident. and two nights ago matthew didn't snap his onesie over the diaper. i awoke to find my hand in a dirty diaper that leon had managed to pull off. note to all new mamas--a blowout is bad, but this is much worse. snap those onesies and pyjamas!!

i bought a luxe baby wool diaper cover. yes, we're finally starting wool covers, which are expensive but hopefully worth it in the long run. they're more breathable than the PUL waterproof covers, and i like that you can air them out between uses. i also bought (yes, i know, i've been buying a lot of things for leon!) a snuggle wool blanket for the side-car'd crib. i'm hoping this will make crib-sleeping more attractive to leon. i don't mind sharing the bedroom with him, nor do i mind him rolling over onto our bed, but it would be nice to have more space. it is only a full sized mattress, after all.

as you can see from the photos, our house isn't babyproofed. leon is starting to creep fairly efficiently which means that he no longer stays on our prescribed padded floor covering. there are cords and sharp corners and all sorts of things that he can now access.

the future is now!

6 months

leon is one crazy funny kid. we've been playing hide and go seek on the bed. i hide behind a piled up blanket and pop my head up at various points. leon thinks it's the most hilarious thing and laughs hysterically while wiggling and flopping like a seal.

he is also trying his damndest to crawl. this means more push-ups, but he still hasn't figured out how to get up on his knees. this frustrates him to no end. i prescribed more tummy time, which he does somewhat grudgingly. like me, patience isn't one of his strong suits.

i also find it fascinating that his favorite objects are paper and electronics. even trying to edit my chapter is a perilous task because his sticky little hands are constantly trying to grab the sheets of paper and stuff them into his mouth. crinkly plastic is also a major draw.

sitting, crawling, walking, eating solids. i feel like all of these things are going to happen in rapid succession very very soon. let's hope his sleep schedule settles down soon, too.

speaking of crawling, does anyone have recommendations for padded floor mats? i like the skip hop foam tiles, but i have a feeling that the cats would completely destroy them in about two days. even the cheaper foam tiles would suffer the same fate. i don't know, but the thought of having to clean up the ripped up foam bits every day is unappealing.

sophie is shrinking

1 month

5 1/2 months

the best thing about going to a new mothers' group is that you get to see just how much your baby has grown. the first 2-4 weeks are so hazy in my mind. i tried my best to keep a hold of the first moments with leon, with his squishy softness and strange dinosaur noises, but now i have a hard time believing that the 4 week olds aren't actually 2 weeks. they all look so tiny and helpless to me in comparison with my robust nearly 6 month old. it's nice to keep some perspective on leon's growth and to also remind myself that every stage of his life so far has been fascinating, challenging, and equally wonderful.

the many faces of leon

the pugilist

the bored aristocrat

the darling

leon is holding steady with his sleep patterns. a 4 hour stretch in the late evening, and then 2-3 hour segments before waking up at 5.30-6am. this morning he napped for 1.5 hours. it was truly amazing. the afternoon? not so much.

the car ride to and from middlebury, vt., was very rough. he managed to sleep a solid hour each way, but otherwise spent his time crying, crying, and crying. i stopped pretty frequently to change his diaper and feed him. at one point i pulled over to check his temperature, i was so worried that he had a fever. my voice was hoarse by the end of the trip because i sang to him non-stop. poor leon. for a kid who doesn't really nap, it's pretty boring and frustrating to be stuck in the back of the car alone for hours. the only way he'll become sleepy is if he plays or is active. strapped into a car seat, his only option is to cry until he's exhausted.

everything else is taking a backseat to leon. i was jogging at least three times a week, but not so much in the past few weeks. i feel completely worn out, more than a little ragged around the edges. carrying him around all day feels like enough of a work-out, but i know i'd probably feel better if i continued exercising. my baby development books warns that spoiling your child can begin as early as 5.5 months. this is probably the last thing i should be worrying about, but it's hard to keep him active and engaged every single minute of the day. the second i stop playing with him, the whining begins. i'm suppposed to avoid the intentional cry, and yet it doesn't look like i'll be successful on this front. leon is always 'on,' except for those rare moments when he's sleeping. he doesn't know how to keep himself amused for even a minute. i am looking forward to the day when i can eat my lunch without him in my lap. the hardest part is trying to keep the food and plates away from his grabby little hands. no wonder i'm turning into a wraith.

this has been frustrating, exhausting, and emotionally draining. i used to tell myself that it would get better, but after 5 months, it is what it is. it isn't really an issue of things getting better. things change, new challenges arise. but he's such a little charmer. all i can do is keep moving and enjoy the good moments without overthinking the bad.

last days of the hadagi

2 months old


5 months old


makie needs to make these for 0-12 months. they are by far my favorite piece of clothing for leon. i am skeptical that the 0-6 month version will last very long, so his hadagi-days may be coming to a close...

cloth diapering

leon uses a cloth diaper part time. the main issues for us are money and time. there's a coin-op washer and dryer in the basement, so washing 16 prefolds and 6 covers every 4-6 days costs an extra $4.50 per load (two washes, cold and then hot, and a dry). the diaper service is about $20 a week, which ends up being as expensive as our disposables. the reason why i like cloth is because it allows for a closer fit and leon's skin looks better (although he never had really bad rashes). i usually do laundry at night when he's sleeping, and so far it hasn't been too much extra work.

i decided to go with prefolds because they're simple, easy to use with a snappi, and quick to wash and dry without worrying too much about stains because they're so cheap ($2-3 each). the apple cheeks cover (the red one) is actually lined in microfleece and has a pocket for an insert. supposedly it agitates out in the wash so that you don't have to take it out before putting it in your diaper bag. i think the size 2 (18-40 lbs) fits leon a little too big, but no leaks so far with a prefold. i haven't tried an insert yet, but i do have two bamboo prefolds that are small enough to fit in the envelope, so i'll try that this week. i don't know if it's because it's too large, but this cover definitely gives leon a bubble-butt. plus the elastic is a bit ruffly, adding to the poofiness of the whole look. the thirsties duo-wrap (size 2) is definitely too big and will easily fit leon as he gets bigger. i'm not so sure about the apple cheeks... but at any rate, the duo wrap hasn't given us any issues, and it's a bit cheaper than the apple cheeks. normally i prefer snaps to velcro/aplix, but the laundry tabs on the thirsties have been doing their job so far.

i don't think i'll switch to full-time cloth diapering. when you're outside for more than a few hours, you end up carrying a lot of bulk if you bring cloth diapers. eventually i'll have to carry more stuff than i do now, but i'm going to try to avoid that for as long as possible. i am glad, however, that i didn't try cloth in the beginning. 12-16 diaper changes a day would have driven me crazy. now it's more like 6-8, which is fairly manageable. the only annoying thing about cloth is that i need to size up in bottoms and onesies because leon's regular size doesn't fit over the covers. a t-shirt and diaper cover works for now, but winter will be trickier.

shopping for fall

maybe it's because today was cool and rainy, but i'm already looking forward to leon's fall wardrobe. this little jersey coat would be perfect with one of catherine's wool pants. plus a pair of lambskin booties, a merino long sleeve kimono top, and leon's bieq mia knitted hat in the cheeriest yellow, and he's set for crisp autumnal strolls.

we're also trying out applecheeks diaper covers. they have the most beautiful colors that i've seen so far.

*EOWE for 10% off and free shipping on Boden. i just ordered the coat for leon.