Here she is in her adorableness. I'm lucky that I caught this photograph this month because a) I deigned to put her on the ground b) she was on her back which she suddenly detests, and c) she was crying. Her outfit is cute though, right? There's a little red sweater that goes with it but since I can't remember the last time I stepped foot outside our apartment, the sweater is really superfluous.General Observations, Physical Changes, Etc.
Zara is a big girl for her age. Her six month check-up is next week so I don't have her official stats yet, but she has consistently been above the 90% for weight and height. But she's not a chunky baby. Oh her thighs have many rolls which I love, but she really seems to be thinning out.
Zara has been in 6-9/6-12 month clothes for the last month and a half. The few 3-6 month clothes she still did manage to fit in (like pajamas) are now way too small. I need to get her more pajamas. I love footie pajamas but she seems to grow out of those so fast since she's so long.
I can't keep shoes or socks on this girl's feet so I don't buy very many for her. (But then again, I hate them too.) I did buy one really cute pair of black slippers with a polka-dot ruffle to wear with her church outfits but one shoe has gone missing. I think it got left at church but we've scoured the building looking for it, to no avail. I think the Koreans are hiding it.
Zara can grab items--both big and small--with her hands and fingers and can move objects from one hand to another.
Zara loves to smile and laugh. Just about anyone can get her to smile by smiling at her, but laughing requires a little more skill and I'm getting really good at getting lots of adorable baby giggles out of her.
Zara babbles and coos and occasionally it does sound like she's stringing together consonants and vowels but there's nothing consistent.
Zara and I have both had a cold for the last week. I can now officially saw that she hates having her nose wiped. Luckily, the cold has been very mild but it's been accompanied by a cough which I don't like.
Though Zara has been rolling, moving, and crawling for the last two months, I think she's frustrated by her lack of mobility and gets fussy after only a brief time spent on the floor. She used to be content playing for quite some time but, at least for the last two weeks, she's spent a lot of time here:
She used to hate the Moby wrap (and I find it really annoying most days from a mechanical aspect) but she seems to enjoy it now. I just ordered an Ergo carrier and I'm super excited to see if I like it better. In any case, she's too big for the Bjorn now and I don't find the Moby very practical or comfortable to wear outside the house on longer errands.
Zara has exhibited many signs of teething but none have shown up yet. I'm okay with that. I shudder to think of what breastfeeding will be like when my babes has teeth with which to bite me.
Eating and Sleeping Habits
My baby likes her milk. She doesn't care much for rice cereal though she will eat it but I think more of it gets on her bib than down her throat. She's also added sweet potatoes and bananas to her solid foods list. She seems to enjoy bananas but she kept sticking her tongue out every time I put sweet potatoes in her mouth. I'm looking forward to introducing more fruits and vegetables to her this month.
Sweet potato face.Zara's sleep habits are an ever-changing mystery to me. Just when I think I've finally figured her out, it all changes again.
Since we've been sick the last week, Zara has been taking a 1-2 hour nap (on me or in the Moby) about two hours after she wakes up and another 1-2 nap (again on me or in the Moby) around 2 or 3. I generally join her for the second nap but since I'm starting to feel much better, I probably won't do that as much. Plus, I'm pretty sure this semi-consistency will completely change next week.
After fretting and stressing over how to get our baby to sleep, David finally told me, "You are her mother. What do YOU think SHE needs?" And with that, I decided to ignore all those books that tell me I shouldn't rock my baby to sleep, that I shouldn't let her nurse to sleep, and that I should just let her cry herself to sleep. Because I hate listening to her sad, sad cries as she bangs her head against the side of her crib. I just can't do it. There are gentler ways to help guide Zara to sleep and I'll continue to use those methods until I feel they are no longer needed. Yes, I may be resigning myself to years of rocking my baby to sleep but since she's my first, and I have the time and the inclination, we'll just see how it all works out. She's a pretty smart cookie, I think she'll figure out how to sleep on her own once she understands what it means and how to do it.
The getting Zara to sleep part actually isn't the tricky part. It's the getting her to STAY asleep when you try to put her down that requires a perfect combination of timing, proper hand placement, and flexibility. I literally have to bend over with Zara as I gently lay her in her crib and slowly remove my hands. Many nights, I have to try two or three times until I get it right and she stays asleep.
I do sometimes put her down for her afternoon nap in her crib and let her cry herself to sleep. But she never sleeps as long in her crib as she does when she sleeps on me.
Accomplishments and Firsts
Ate sweet potatoes and bananas for the first time.
Proficient army crawler. She's been moving in her own fashion for two months now, but it's only been in the last two weeks that she has learned how to coordinate her movements with purpose and direction. When she sees something she wants, she's one determined young lady and will plow through all toys and obstacles in order to reach her goal. Mostly, this means the computer cord which has me constantly keeping on eye on her.
Zara, sadly, also had her first real accident. She rolled off our bed two weeks ago. Aside from a small bruise on her forehead (which is already gone), she was fine. It was a more traumatic experience for me.
Zara has gotten much better at sitting up unassisted. She tends to fall over after a few minutes but I think she'll get much better at it soon.
Baby's favorite toys, places to go, etc.
One of Zara's favorite toys is a soft "Animal Countdown" book I bought for her. Each of the animals attaches with velcro and she loves pulling them off and eating them. Her favorite are the one giraffe and two kangaroos but she's been visiting the three dolphins and four elephants more frequently lately. I try to keep her away from the nine birds and ten fishes because they are pretty small and the seven chicken because it's just bad grammar. The book was made in the Philippines, after all.
I picked up this used walker for Zara because I thought she might enjoy it since she dislikes being on the floor so much lately. But she doesn't seem to care for it much either. Well, she's happy in there for about 15 minutes and then she wants out. She can only move backward so far which I think might be part of the problem.
David likes to play with Zara's squishy rubber blocks and Zara likes to play with Daddy, even when Daddy wants to build ON her.
Here are some of my other favorite photos from this past month:
This is my new favorite photo of Zara. Those eyes! Those lips! Who knew I could make such a beautiful baby?
3 comments:
You're definitely allowed to have an age you aren't so fond of. I give two thumbs down to the first three months! I also have a time of the day that I am not so fond of that has lasted a loooooong time and that is dinner-prep: boo. She'll probably get happier as she gets more control with the crawling.
As far as sleeping, do whatever the heck you want. So much of it seems to be the baby's personality anyway. We did very little CIO (moreso for naps but she took to it a lot better), though I would do it for a couple days for one feeding a night when she would get stuck in a rut and be waking at times when she really was not hungry. However, her finally sleeping through the night (meaning 8p-7a) a few weeks ago? She just got there on her own.
Sorry if it sounded like i was giving you advice. I really just meant to say right on, sista.
Your husband is wise. I think Heavenly Father gives us the children we have for a reason--we need them or they need us or both. And he's also given us all our instincts as mothers, so they are there for a purpose too. It's hard to find the balance of meeting everyone's needs. I carried Morgan in various wraps for every nap until she was a year old. She would sleep for hours, but barely at all if laid down. Sometimes I was going crazy, but of course now I miss the time where I could dote on my one baby. I'd still say checking out the No Cry Sleep Solution might give you some strategies, but ultimately you need to do whatever is right for you and your baby, and you're the only one who can answer that. It all will pass eventually :)
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