6 Months

Little Peanut,

Today is your half birthday!  Are you kidding me?  How can you possibly be 6 months old already?  Your 6th month has been filled with ups and downs....mostly ups!  You are full of life and such a happy girl!  You are getting so mobile and want nothing more than to be able to move.  You lay on your tummy and kick your hands and feet in hopes of being able to propel yourself across the room....soon my little peanut, soon!  Your personality is starting to shine through and you are a ham! ;-)  You LOVE being around people (such a social butterfly) and love attention!  You have even started smiling every time the camera is pointed in your face (which is a lot!)...future model?  We are so in love with you and can't even remember life before you...who wants to?!

• You weigh 18 lbs. 5 oz. and are 26.5 inches tall!  SO big!!
• Still no teeth or really any signs of teeth...but you do drool like crazy and put everything in your mouth! 
• You love to ride in the front of the shopping cart, sitting up like a big girl.
• You sat in a highchair at a restaurant for the first time the other night.  You loved it! 
• You still love bath time and now sit up in the tub instead of laying down.  You love being able to play with your toys, but mostly you just love the water.
• You haven't said very many consonant sounds yet, but you do like to "talk".  Lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" and high-pitched screams (thankfully they are very soft though).
• Everything you see, you pick up and put in your mouth...everything! 
• You are ticklish under your arms and giggle all the time now.  Sometimes I can just look at you and you crack up! :-)
• You sit up all by yourself and never fall over....well, unless you get really curious and try to turn all the way around to see something behind you ;-)
• You roll all over the place now and can spin yourself around in any direction you wish.  But you also still love to "fly" on your tummy (arms and legs up in the air, kicking away).
• You know your name and turn towards us when we call you
• You love everyone!  So far, you have no signs of separation anxiety and are more than willing to share your beautiful smile with everyone you see.
• You are nursing 4 times per day (8am, 12pm, 4pm, 7:30pm) and eating solids 3 times per day (8am, 12pm, 4pm).  You were eating all kinds of foods, but then had a horrible case of constipation, so we stopped all solids for a few days.  Then we started again, but very slowly.  All you are eating now is pears, carrots, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes.  But so far, you love everything we give you!  You are now even faster at nursing (only 5 minutes per side!)
• We have been working on highchair manners a lot this month.  I am teaching you a few words in sign language ("please", "all done", "more" and "thank you") and teaching you how to keep your hands on the tray while I feed you.  So far you have done GREAT with that and we have avoided messes at meal time, so far.
• You are wearing size 3 diapers now.
• You wear 6 month (3-6 months) clothes now and some 9 month (6-9 months) clothes fit you too.  I have finally packed away all your 3 month stuff!
• Your sleeping is getting so much better (although you still have your bad days - and nights).  Most of the time you are sleeping through the night (10-12 hours) and napping 3 times per day.  Bedtime is still a struggle most nights, but there are those occasional nights where you fall right to sleep without a peep (like tonight!)  Your schedule right now looks like this:
• 8am - Wake, eat (nurse and solids), play
• 9 or 10am - Nap
• 10 or 11am - Wake, play
• 12pm - Eat (nurse and solids), play
• 1pm - Nap
• 3pm - Wake, play
• 4pm - Eat, play
• 5pm - Nap
• 6pm - Wake, family dinner time, play
• 7pm - Bedtime routine (bath, pjs, nurse, bible, prayers)
• 8pm - In bed

 
Today also marks 6 months of nursing for us.  From the beginning it was always my goal to try to nurse you for at least 6 months.  And here we are, going strong!  I have no plans on stopping anytime soon. 

It's amazing how fast time flies...it's already been half a year!  Before we know it you will be walking and talking!  Oh my!  There are so many things that I don't want to forget about how you are at this exact moment.  You are just so precious!  I don't want to forget the sound of your sweet giggle, the noises you make while nursing, how you get so talkative right before bedtime, and how every time I go in to get you out of bed, you have the biggest smile on your face!

We love you so much little peanut!  More than you'll ever know!