Our little Charlie has been waking up during the middle of the night every couple of days lately. And of course, it’s not a quick or quiet affair. She wakes up screaming and will seemingly go on forever.

Up until last night, Mark was going in, changing her and giving her a bottle. Last night Mark so generously nominated me for the job (thanks!). I don’t want her to get used to night feedings again since we’ve successfully weened her from them, so last night, I went in, changed her and swayed with her. With her tiny head pressed against my cheek, we rocked back and forth in her room. It was actually really sweet and peaceful.

After about 10 or so minutes, I decided to put her back down (awake). Instantly, she was crying again. I put her paci in her mouth, gave her a dolly to snuggle or gnaw on or whatever and left the room. I spent the next hour watching her on the monitor.

She cried and whined and fussed, but what was so interesting was how skilled she seemed. I watched her as she rolled on top of her paci and thought, “great… She’s never going to find it now!” But after a minute or so, she must have felt it on her neck and worked and worked until she was able to find it with her hand.

She grabbed it and immediately started chewing on it. She was biting the wrong end, but seeming to enjoy chewing on it. Her cries turned to whines and then to chatting. After about an hour, she finally flipped her paci the right way, put it in her mouth and rolled to her side before drifting off to sleep.

While it was 315 in the morning by the time she fell asleep, it was pretty fascinating to watch. And today as I feed my little 6 month old baby, I can’t help but think how old she’s already become. It’s such a crazy thing to watch these tiny infants who just sleep and eat turn into miniature people.

Such a blessing.