I've never met a baby like Will. He's so very different from Katie, from my siblings, from any baby I've heard of. He took what I knew about parenting and shook it up in many ways, but especially in the way I know how to calm babies. For Katie, whenever she cried - it didn't matter about what, it could be absolutely anything - simply nursing her would cure all of her ails. There was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a quick nursing. Will was never like that. From the very first moment he came out of me, crying angrily, he would not accept the bribe of a boob to keep quiet. It scared me, thinking that I couldn't latch him on, and maybe I had somehow forgotten how to nurse a newborn. Instead, as I'd learn in time, it was just because his anger will not be quenched through breastmilk.
At 6 months old, he has made it very clear what will calm him. No matter what he's crying about, no matter what time it is, no matter how terribly boring it is for me, only one thing will universally solve every problem this little boy has: stepping outside. It can be 95 degrees out, it can be 40 degrees out. It can be raining, stormy, or terribly sunny. He doesn't care, he loves it all. If he's outside, he's silent. It's not even that anything special is happening outside. When we're out front, every ten minutes or so a car may drive by. That's it. Out back, once in a while the wind may shake the tree branches a bit. Nothing else. He doesn't care, he loves it.
All day long, he looks at the front door to the back door and screams a high pitch wail. He knows how to get outside, and he knows he really, really wants to be out there. He looks back and forth and cries desperately for someone to get him out there, like he can't stand being indoors for even another second. This child would literally live outside if he was allowed. When I bring him back inside - no matter how long we've spent outside, he cries the saddest little sobbing noise. He tries to squirm out of my arms, and he stares at the door as he cries. What in the world am I to do with this child? If he's not outside 100% of the time, he acts like he's suffering.
When I was pregnant with him, I thought he'd be my little traveling Sagittarius. I likened him to Bear Grylls, he'd be my wild adventurer. Once we passed Sagittarius and entered the stable, grounded Capricorn era, I changed my thinking. But maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe my little Outdoorsman is my wilderness baby. Perhaps he'll be the survivalist that I had strived to be. Maybe my original thoughts were not wrong?
Besides his obsession with the outdoors, he also needs to be in motion at all times. Whether he's in my arms and needing me to walk him or if he's on the floor rolling, scooting and squirming, he's always on the move. This little boy is not able to sit still for even a minute. While he's napping, he even has to be in the swing because the vibrating bouncer doesn't fool him and he thinks the bed is a joke.
He's tried bananas about a week ago and loved them, but I haven't really started him on solids. However the last few days, he giggles like crazy when I'm eating. He watches me so closely, and then tries to steal my spoon from me to shove in his own mouth. I'm considering giving him little things here and there to see how he does now that he's six months old. He's also a juice cup stealer. If Katie is standing close to him holding her juice cup, he'll swoop in and grab it right out of her hands and immediately put the spout into his mouth. Or, if it's on the ground, he'll do a series of rolling and scooting until he can grab it and get it in his mouth. I bought him his own juice cup yesterday and he went nuts. He mostly just likes to chew on the spout since I got him a soft one, so I haven't tried putting anything in it yet. I still have lots and lots of frozen breastmilk to use up though!
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