6 Months, Part 3

So Bean is nearly 6 months now. A lot has happened since we brought our little Valentine home and frankly, I'm exhausted. 

Part 3: Motor & Physical Developments

So, one day, I wake up and all of a sudden, my "newborn" baby can sit up unassisted, reach for and grasp objects, and pass them back and forth between her hands (and sometimes her feet!) This stuff happens FAST! But man is it AMAZING! I am so overjoyed watching Bean learn something new every day! She explores her world and expands it regularly and I get a front row seat. I'm afraid to blink, she'll be crawling in no time!

I'm happy to report that Bean's hair is also starting to fill back in. It appears to be a dark dirty blond? Poor kid is a complete mix of her mom and dad, not taking any one gene from either of us. (More on that later: personality traits identical to us.) Her eyes are a complete mystery... They can appear to be brown one day, green the next, blue the next, and gray later! None the less, they're beautiful. 

You might also be interested in knowing that while she babbles, coos, and giggles on a regular basis, Bean is also now playing with screams and screeching along with FAKE laughs and fusses! I was not prepared for these fake "emotions" until she was quite a but older, but it can be kind of funny. How do I know it's fake? Because I'm her mom, duh! Well, that and the sound is different but she will give this mischievous little grin and cock her head down. Little nugget...

Bean is quite interested in the world around her including people, but heaven forbid someone other than mom or dad try to hold her! She will give THE saddest pouty face, fill her eyes with tears, glare, then go into full hysterics. But, if mom or dad are holding her, she will grin, smile, and flirt with anyone who will talk to her. This girl has such a big personally.

Since I'm writing this just before Bean turns 6 months, I don't have her current percentiles, but I'll share those later. I do know that about three weeks ago when I brought her to the clinic for a suspected ear ache, she weighed in at 16 lbs! Growing fast!

6 Months, Part 2

So Bean is nearly 6 months now. A lot has happened since we brought our little Valentine home and frankly, I'm exhausted. 

Part 2: Eat & Poop

At around 4.5 months, Hubby & I decided to start Bean on solids. She was sooo interested in our food when we would eat, she could sit assisted well, and we were secretly hoping she would sleep better if she started eating more as well. We started off with organic rice cereal mixed with breast milk for 2 weeks. We wanted to make it something fun for her as well as get her practice for "real" food; she was learning how to swallow and eat from a spoon. Man! This baby caught on fast! And, whew! Does she like to eat! Now, "food before 1 is just for fun," as the saying goes. So we only give her a tablespoon or two an let her have as much or as little as she wants after she has breastfed. We then started introducing purées. Buying "baby food" in jars from the store freaks me out. I don't like "prepared" food so why would I give it to my baby? So, I bought fresh avacado, banana, sweet potato, and butternut squash and puréed & froze it all myself. It's really easy and I'm able to make the consistency thicker or thinner with my own breast milk. Avacado wasn't a big hit but banana & sweet potato certainly were! Bean seems indifferent about squash. She eats it, just without the "mmm yumm!" I get when I give her sweet potato. 

With introducing solids, Bean got a high chair! (Of course it was the one matching the car seat, stroller, & pack and play.) she loves it! It allows her to sit up and see as well as provides a play space. (Testing gravity & learning cause and effect.)

  

As you can see, we're also starting what «they» call "babyled weaning". Essentially, providing food on baby's tray and allowing her to choose to eat and then feed herself. She loved it!

Along with adding solids to Bean's diet, her (ahem!) poos have changed A LOT as well. I was used to the seedy, mustard-like, sweet smelling breast milk poo... SURPRISE! It started coming out the same way it looked going in. (Uh.. Is this normal?!) Seriously, I was so worried one day that I took a picture and sent it toy one friend L! (I hope you're never trying to eat when I send you text...) Upon further discussion and research, Bean is in the "in between" stages now, before solid but not as liquid. Talk about a whole new diaper routine. (We made the switch to cloth, remember? ...Did I write about that? If not, it's going GREAT!)

6 Months, Part 1

So Bean is nearly 6 months now. A lot has happened since we brought our little Valentine home and frankly, I'm exhausted. 

Part 1: Sleep

Remember my post on her 4month wakeful period? Well, that has extended into the following two months and has only regressed further. We went from 1-3 wakeups at night during month 3 to 3-5 wakeups in month 4. And then, month 5 hit... It was HOURLY! Can you imagine? Waking up every hour from 10pm-8am?! It's not fun, even if its that gummy grin and this chipmunk cheeks starring up at you. She wasn't waking up to eat. I honestly think she was just lonely and wanted to snuggle. So, we went from being sooo proud that Bean was sleeping in her own crib in her own room at 3 months to back into the pack and play in Mom and Dad's room. Then... "NO NAPS!" The girl just would. not. nap. She was tired... Fussy, red eyes, ear tugging, eye rubbing, giggles... Full hysteria in this household. Not only was momma not getting any sleep, Bean wasn't getting any sleep! (Then there's my one friend L & H who's boys sleep 12 hours a night like pro's... Who want advice from them?! They've had it easy... I'm so jealous! But really, they do give many suggestions and I'm thankful for their support.) So, it started out slow... By 5 or 6 am, I was soooo tired and sooo fed up with getting up, that I would bring Bean into bed with me. Well, this is kinda nice... We're both snuggly people, daddy leaves in an hour or so then we get the whole bed to ourselves. AND THEN! Bean sleeps 3-4 hours without waking up! There were several days that we didn't wake up until 9:00-9:30. A few times I had to wake HER up! Can you imagine?! Well, I go about researching safe co-sleeping. This is not a new thing, people and cultures have been keeping their infants in their beds for centuries. It's actually recent that adults got this crazy mentality that this tiny human, who is used to being held and rocked and fed constantly, could and should learn how to be all alone in a room and bed and go 8-12 hours without contact or feeding. THAT'S INSANE! I don't mind the night feedings/wakings so long as they're 3 hours or more apart (I know Bean can go much longer stretches without waking.) But, this idea of co-sleeping intrigues me and we give it a try. Bean lays down in bed with me and falls to sleep on her own. She wakes a few times at night but only enough to roll towards me and give my top a little tug. A slight waking for mom, let out the tap, and Bean nurses and we both fall right back to sleep with barely a memory of any of it. She goes on to be in bed/sleeping for 12 hours. 12 HOURS! But then, the down side... I'm used to moving around in bed, switching my sleeping positions, snuggling with blankets and Hubby too for that matter. Now I'm waking up with sore shoulders and headaches from my sleeping positions. And I miss hubby... A few more nights and Bean has really taken to it and my body is getting used to the new sleeping arrangement, I wear warmer PJ's to bed and Hubby and I make time for each other in other times of the day. We both agree, Bean is welcome in our bed any time she wants. For me, I'm thankful that we have found a way to get everyone much needed rest.