6 Months

Taken on my 6 month birthday

Alayna is 6 months old (as of the 15th) and I am a bit behind on posting about her dr appt last week. We had her 6 mo appt on Monday (a week ago already!). Alayna weighs 15 lbs - 30th percentile and is 25 3/4 inches long - 50th percentile. So - she is doing great. We started doing cereal with her about 5.5 mos, but were delayed a bit with the first reaction she had to rice. The dr encouraged us to start pounding through her stage one veggies, meats & fruits and then go right into stage 2s. Rather than go 2-3 days between trying something new she said to just do 2 and move on to the next one. So far last week we tried green beans (not a big fan yet) and over the weekend she had just a few peas. She's not a huge fan of cereal and veggies overall. Seems like she is still getting used to the spoon as most of it is still being spit back out at me. Does it really take more than 3 weeks? I guess...she can't be rushed. As frustrating as it is...I just have to laugh sometimes because she pushes her little lips together and will not let that spoon in. It's like she's 6 and I'm forcing her to try beats. I had been undressing her to feed her too b/c it ends up all over her. Especially the sippy cup of water. Oh Well! For breakfast today we braved it and left her jammies on - didn't go too terribly and I think she took in at least as much as was on her bib - so we are moving in the right direction :)

Really Mom - Green Beans? YUCK!

This is what happens when Mommy tries to multi-task...feeding me and making dinner at the same time leads to me trying to feed myself and the chicken turning a bit dark
Silly Mommy - she'll learn not to leave the bowls on my tray.

What else is she up to?

*Rolling both ways. She is now a tummy sleeper. She can get there herself and has decided she likes it better. We had to put the bumper in this past Thursday b/c Wed night she woke up crying twice because an arm or leg was stuck between the spindles. (not good)
*Sitting is getting better, but has a long way to go. She leans really far forward still when sitting on her own.
*Enjoys her exersaucer. This is something that she can now play in for 20-30 mins without getting board. It's fun to watch her play in it. She actually "gets" most of the toys on it...where a couple weeks ago she was getting mad at the ones she couldn't get off. :)
*She does not stay sleeping as easily when moving the car seat in and out of the car anymore - nor is it a guarantee that she will fall asleep on a drive (longer drives yes, but around town - not so much).
*Grabs at everything and puts everything in her mouth
*Loves to chew on her toys
*Can be entertained with the TV (my little TV junkie - bad mommy!) :)
*Attended her first movie with mommy and daddy to celebrate their 7 yr wedding anniversary. Since she will not take a bottle - she had to come along while Grant stayed with a sitter. Not the best of plans, but it worked fine and she was a good girl.
*Started taking a bottle about a month ago and did so for about a week, now she REFUSES again! Really - I find it a bit difficult to accept that this 6 month old is calling the shots on this - but what else can I do. I've tried 5 different bottles now, mixing formula and breastmilk, straight formula, straight breastmilk, slightly different temps (not straight out of the fridge though), waiting until she is super hungry or trying before she can get too hungry (and mad)...she's not working with me at all on this one. Oh - I've also had Brian try to feed her as well as the Grandma's...she doesn't buy it. Any other suggestions? Just letting her get super hungry isn't really an option...then she just gets super mad and then...she really won't take a bottle. She's even pursed her lips shut for me...that seems a bit sassy.
*Has started sleeping a bit better (knock on wood). Getting up once a night I can do.
*Still sucks her thumb

Please check out a couple of her 6 mo pics from the photographer's blog...
http://www.marygundrumphotography.blogspot.com/