Abby - 6 months

Dearest Abby,

My baby girl is 6 months old! You have definitely left the newborn phase behind you and are now a full of energy, happy baby. Such a different baby than the one we came home with. I love each day that I spend with you, and I absolutely love the smiles that you give me all day long.  Now people tell us what a good baby you are, and comment on how happy you are.  Never got that a couple months ago! :)

You are such a good eater, and so quick too!  You still get so distracted when you breastfeed, though.  I have to try to find a quiet space or else you are just too interested in everything else. About a week ago, I got a clogged milk duct, which I haven't had since the first week we had you.  In an instant, it brought me back to that week and the feelings, emotions, and stress I had.  I almost felt panicky, so terrified that the same things were going to happen again.  And then it was time for you to eat and you took care of it right away.  It was amazing how quickly I felt the panic melt away. Things are definitely different now!

You still haven't had any solid food yet, but probably will in the next few days!  I really haven't been looking forward to it.  Breastfeeding is so easy now and so simple. I really like where we are right now. Adding in solids is just one more thing to worry about, and also really makes it seems like you are growing up so fast. I am looking forward to doing homemade baby food, though. I just need to decide what your first food is going to be...

You have settled into a regular nap schedule, which is great!  You have two naps a day, around 9am and 1pm and sleep for about 1 - 11/2 hours.  Some days you still need a third nap in the late afternoon if the earlier ones have been a little short. Overall you have been sleeping really good at night too, waking up twice at night to feed, which I was fine with.  The last week though, all of a sudden you started waking up 4-5 times a night, which was not fun.  I am pretty sure it was due to a 6 month growth spurt, because the last two nights have been better.  Last night you only woke up twice again.  The doctor says you don't need to eat at night and that we need to just let you cry it out when you wake up at night.  But I actually don't mind waking up to feed you (as long as it's not more than two times!), I love that quiet time with you. I'm hoping you will transition yourself into sleeping through the night on your own.

This month you decided on your own that you didn't need your pacifier any more. I was very happy with this since I was wanting to get rid of it very soon anyways, and you just saved me the trouble!  You have become a finger sucker instead.  This is nice for the fact that it means you have gotten so much better at soothing yourself, especially at naps and night time.

Still no teeth yet, though the doctor said that it looks like one on your bottom front is going to come in any time now.  It sure seems like you are teething though.  You drool like crazy, chew on everything, and out of the blue have really fussy times.

You have grown and developed so much this last month!  You have become a little more independent and are able to play on your own for a few minutes at a time.  Which means I can do things like take a quick shower after our runs without waiting for your next nap.  Very nice.

You can move yourself around  pretty good, rolling over, scooting yourself to reach things, and turning yourself around in a circle on the floor so you can face different directions. Crawling might still be a way off, but you can push yourself up on your hands and knees. You reach for things you want and then have quite the strong grip on them. Often this means mom or dad's hair. Or mom's nose or lip when you are feeding.

You love to give kisses. Big slobbery open mouthed kisses.  It is absolutely adorable. If I stand you on my lap you will reach out and grab my face and give me lots of wet kisses.  Either that or put my nose in your mouth.

You also love your feet. You grab for them anytime you can, and stick those toes right into your mouth. Putting cloths on and bath time is not the easiest because of this.

You are quite the talker and squealer.  It is one of my favorite things each day just to hear you babbling away. Oh and you laugh so much more now!  Last week, Dec 5 or 6th, I got you to laugh the longest and hardest you ever had.  Before that it was just little mini laughs, lasting just a short second.  But this was the first real loud longer laugh.  I loved it!

Probably the most exciting development is that you can sit up on your own now!  You have been really good at sitting up with minimal support (like holding on to one of my fingers) for weeks now. But in the last week you have suddenly gone from needing me to doing it on your own!  At first it was just for a few seconds.  But the day before your 6 month birthday (Dec 6th), you sat up for a couple minutes, playing with your toys, before toppling over.  And now, just a couple days later, you seem to be quite the pro!  You get a little stuck when you lean over to reach for something since you can't quite pull yourself back to sitting up straight. But so amazing!!

 

I love you baby girl.  I love how happy you are.  We are so grateful you are here with us. You make every day a happy day.  Happy 6 months pretty girl.

Love,
Your Mamma

6 month stats

Weight: 14 lb 2.2 oz (20th %tile)

Length: 26 1/2 in (75th %tile)

Head: 16 1/4 in (20th %tile)