Six Months Old

Whew! Baby Girl! We made it through your first six months of life! There were certainly plenty of crazy moments in our family, but we survived. I don't know how many fears jumped in my head when I first learned about you joining our family, and while some of them have proved true (three kiddos loaded and unloaded out of the car with winter coats on and a double stroller to cross a parking lot actually IS an ordeal), I'm proud of how all five of us have adjusted to this new normal, and I'm so very grateful for the smiles and coos, cuddles and snuggles, and laughs and raspberries these last six months have brought. You are a joy to all of us.

You've sort of always been a mommy's girl since you were tiny, but it's really come out in the last month or so. You want me ALL the time. You make your daddy sad sometimes when he can't comfort or rock you to sleep, because you prefer me. And the church nursery has called me the last three weeks to come rescue you because you get so sad when I leave that they can't console you. The first time, they said you had been crying constantly for 10-15 minutes when they came to find me. I took you from them, and you just grinned and laughed at them like you were so proud of yourself for figuring out a way to get what you wanted (your mommy). I think it's sweet that you are so fond of me, but it would be nice for you to let someone else take care of you every now and then.

We started you on solids this month and you are doing pretty well. So far, you've tried rice cereal, green beans, squash, peas and carrots. Rice cereal is definitely your favorite, but you don't seem to mind your veggies (except green beans).

You hated green beans. The first time I gave them to you, you didn't make too big of a deal out of it, but you did act like you didn't like them.


But the second time I tried, you screamed and flailed your arms and were very dramatic about it. Any time I touched the spoon to your mouth you would scream (even when I tried rice cereal). You wouldn't even taste it, you would just cry. I thought about giving them to you again, just so I could video your reaction, but I decided to not be mean to you. We'll try them again in a month or so and see if you've changed your mind.

I've just been giving you solids once a day (at your 7:00pm feeding), but we're going to add breakfast soon. As soon as I put you in the bumbo you start smacking your lips looking for your food.
 

You're on a pretty consistent feeding schedule these days. Although sometimes we adapt to changes, most days look like this:
7:00am- nurse
10:00am- nurse and 2oz bottle
1:00pm- nurse and 3oz bottle
4:00pm- nurse and 3 oz bottle
7:00pm- nurse and rice cereal/veggie
10:00pm- nurse and 4-6oz bottle

You're napping schedule is a little more consistent these days too. You take a morning nap around 8:30-9:00am. Honestly, most days this is a car nap, because we're usually leaving the house around the time for Bible study, to take Nathan to school or other outings. If we're home you'll sleep 45min-1hour during that nap. Then you can usually stay awake or take a short cat nap (20 minutes or so) around 11:00 or so. A lot of days that's also a car nap. After I feed you at 1:00, I usually almost immediately put you down for a nap (at the same time Samuel goes down), and you've been sleeping for about 2 hours during that nap which is so awesome! You'll take another 30-45 minute nap sometime around dinner time usually. And then I put you down around 8:30 for the night (waking you up at 10:00 for a late night feeding).

You've been sleeping much better at night, but it's a little inconsistent. There have been several nights this past month that you have slept all night until 6-7am. However, there have also been nights where you're up every three hours. I can't count on you sleeping all night, but I know it's possible now, so that's a big improvement! You've outgrown the Rock and Play. You're big enough to squirm around enough and fall out of it, so we don't use it too often. You nap in your crib in your room during the day, and at night you sleep in the pack and play which is in the dining room. I'm just not ready to climb the stairs at night when you wake up.

You really love your brothers, and they are so very sweet with you. The other day, I laid you down upstairs on a blanket. Samuel saw me, and he immediately ran into your room and grabbed your bucket of toys and brought them ALL to you. He can be rough with you at times, but it's all in love :). And Nathan is one of your very favorite people. You light up anytime he's around, and he can ALWAYS make you laugh!

You've started to really enjoy playing in your bouncer. You reach for the toys and jump around. Sometimes you get upset if we take you out of it. Your brothers love to play with you while you're in it too!

You started sitting up unsupported this month, and you are so much happier now that you can. I usually still stick the boppy behind you, because you can be a little unsteady at times. But your favorite way to play with your toys is sitting up. You've never enjoyed lying on your back (I think because you couldn't see everything going on around you), so now that you can sit up, you'll play by yourself for longer periods of time.

You love to play peek a boo. It can always get you to laugh.You are usually always happy as long as Mommy is close by and someone is paying attention to you. You do not like to be left alone.

You're wearing 3-6 month and 6 month clothes and a size 2 diaper, and you kick off almost any shoe I try and get you to wear :). We go for your six month well check next weeks, and I'll update your stats then.

You've rolled over one time from your back to your tummy, but I haven't seen it again. Your daddy says you're not rolling over because you hate being on your tummy. And it's true, you much prefer sitting up to lying down on your tummy or your back. When you're on your tummy, you can use your arms to pivot around, but you're not showing any signs of scooting or crawling anytime soon.

Oh I just love having a daughter and getting to love on you and take care of you everyday. You are such a special gift to me. I'm so looking forward to your next six months and all the fun it will bring!