Scott Hanselman

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Z is Six Months Old

May 30, '06 Comments [22] Posted in Parenting | Z
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Z is six months old today. He's sitting up, sleeping from 8 to 8, eating bananas, rolling all over the place and his mouth is open (as seen below) nearly 24 hours a day. We stopped reading the books that give measurements and tests, but we figure he's where he's supposed to be - he's happy at the very least. He's one jolly fellow.

CIMG5127CIMG5071CIMG5124

Things we've learned in the last six months

  • Babies that can't walk CAN leap off beds head-first and stick the landing.
  • Breastfed Baby poop is cute; Solid-fed Baby poop less so.
  • Everyone has an opinion and only yours matters.
  • If you're a geek folks will assume your infant has a laptop and a blackberry even if you want him to be the outdoorsman you aren't. You'll find out who knows you and who doesn't at this point.
  • Your wife is always cold and you're always hot, and she'll transfer her temperature paranoia to the baby, who will be bundled in a large blanket in the sweltering heat. "He's nippy!"
  • Babies don't respect national holidays, nor do they appreciate sleeping in.
  • Digital cameras were made for babies.
  • You think you love you wife when you marry her. Then you have a baby and you realize you'd throw your wife yourself under a bus to save your baby. You can't love something more.

Pics of the ongoing saga are always at http://www.flickr.com/photos/computerzen/.

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About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. I am a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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Comments [22]
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 6:19:43 AM UTC
Sleeping from 8 to 8? Now you're just showing off ... :)
John Lam
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 6:28:09 AM UTC
Heh...it's true...getting him on a schedule from 2 months really paid off. :)
Scott Hanselman
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 6:43:28 AM UTC
hehe...funny discoveries, but i find the last one the most brave one to say, and it can be felt how true it is by the example! hehe
anonymous
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 7:06:03 AM UTC
Our little fella, Jack, sleeps from 8 until 5 :) Your correct about the poop too! :)
Paul Kinlan
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 7:16:39 AM UTC
Hey Scott

Love the comparison with throwing your wife at the rushing bus to save Z, even thou she wont like it :D

The geek think is a general misunderstanding, i personally works as a developer and people assume that i am the stereotype it-employee with no life and always working. But my true call is outdoor life which i have gotten alot of recently, and will get more this summer.
Sometimes in your life you find out who knows you and who don't. First step is the change from school to worker, next is after a couple of year on the big marsh of real life. Then there is alot a steps concerning the opposite sex and the result of that :)
Stefan D. Poulsen
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 8:23:57 AM UTC
I'm glad to hear that he's where supposed to be ;-)
Keyvan Nayyeri
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 12:12:48 PM UTC
My children are now 4.5 and 20 months. All I can say to you Scott? It just gets better... :)
Eric D. Burdo
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 12:19:46 PM UTC
Wow, Scott. I always get a kick out of seeing what I have in common with other (relatively) new fathers (like the poop thing), and where we all differ (my kid is all about sleeping in).

Since I'm actually up here in Hillsboro for a two-week stint, my wife Michelle and our 18-month-old son flew up for the 3-day weekend. This isn't his first vacation, but it is the first vacation where air travel is involved. I'm proud to say that he was a little trooper, being totally cool with the flight (and its 2-hour delay) and only fussing a minimum during his long stays in the car seat as mom and dad drove around Mt. Hood, the zoo, and Cannon Beach.
Cam
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 12:40:32 PM UTC
Great collection of lessons - all absolutely true. The third one was the most important to learn. The last one was the most surprising.
Joshua Flanagan
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 1:48:40 PM UTC
An addendum to the last one: if the roles were reversed, you'd jump in front of the bus to save your wife the trouble.
matt
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 3:16:09 PM UTC
Awe.........deja vu all over again!
Dad
David Hanselman
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 3:36:50 PM UTC
nah, if you are a geek your baby should have geek toys. i let my son (1 year old) play with my old microsoft wireless router. he likes to chew on the antenna.
Darren Kopp
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 4:52:49 PM UTC
The bus priority thing is understandable, but don't let Z ever find out. Children should think the husband-wife bond is the strongest in the world. It's what establishes their own security in the family. </opinion that isn't yours>
Jeff
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 5:01:03 PM UTC
Congrats, great post. We'll be at 6 months on Friday.
Mark Miller
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 5:24:01 PM UTC
It was wonderful having dinner with you and Z last week! And, could it possibly be that since your wife is from Africa, she DOES find Oregon, shall we say, cold?
Andy
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 6:20:07 PM UTC
re: where they are supposed to be.

Yeah, it's all a crapshoot after the first two months. All our "baby friends" have different tricks even though they are all about 8 months old. Some crawl like champs, others like to scoot, some just sit and play.
My daughter is pulling her self up to a standing position, but won't crawl. She's a rug swimmer. Her schedule is 7ish - 5ish. I havent' slept past 6AM in 9 months.

If you think the solid food poop is "not cute", wait until you give him a little bit of meat. The human digestive tract does something when it processes meat that turns it into pure evil. If hell is a place, I imagine it smells something like my daughters first "meat poop".

One addendum to your list of things you've learned. "Whenever you tell other parents about what your child is doing, at least one of them will tell you 'Wait until he does X'". ;)
Scott
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 8:08:50 PM UTC
That diaper comment is so true, and it just keeps getting worse as you introduce new food. After a while it's like you're changing the pants on a dirty little hobo.

Like a few of the other commenters, I would say that I would throw MYSELF under the bus. At least that is the story that I'm sticking with.
john
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 10:12:32 PM UTC
"You think you love you wife when you marry her. Then you have a baby and you realize you'd throw your wife under a bus to save your baby. You can't love something more."

Oh, you'd better watch out with that statement. ;-)

Congrats on the 6 month mark...a milestone to be certain! It really does only get better; more fun and interesting as they begin to interact with you on so many new levels. I absolutely love being a parent.
tod
Friday, June 02, 2006 11:44:22 PM UTC
Scott - Z is adorable! This is a really fun age... Gayle was big on scooting with her elbows like a sniper at this age. And kudos to you for even knowing what baby poop is like (I assume it means you help change the diapers!)
Jerry Ann
Sunday, June 04, 2006 3:31:31 PM UTC
One of your best posts all year! He is so cute!
Good job :-)
Thomas Wagner
Monday, June 05, 2006 6:33:17 PM UTC
Nice list, so true. my second child (9wks) is just springing throught things. Will say that on the second one other than curious about height and weight (I'm 6'2" , wife 5'10" , and both daughters tracking like weeds) rarely pay attention to were there supposed to be, creates tendency to compare to others.

Yeah the geek thing is something else, Yes my 4.5 has a computer and can use it, but not something forced in anyway. What kills me is that kindergarten requirements now call for computer familarization by 1st grade. What gives. People need to stop focusing on computers, it will come by nature of our society.

Lets push for more social skills and creative writing/storytelling at that age. People look at me weird when I say that, hehe.
Kevin Marino
Wednesday, June 07, 2006 1:57:54 AM UTC
You nailed it, Scott. I mean, you just... you GET it.
Quinn
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way.