6 Months!!!
Maura is 6 months old today!!! I have no idea how this happened, I can't believe she's been in our lives for half a year. The time is flying by way too fast. Everyday is something new and exciting. We have so much fun together. It is amazing to watch a little person grow and develop. She is such a good baby, we love her so much!!
I haven't done this up until now, but if no one minds, I'm going to start doing a little update post each month.
But first, I've been taking photos of Maura every Friday in her Pottery Barn Kids Bunny chair since she was born. Here are her shots for this month (we'll take her 26 week pics tomorrow):
Weight: 14 lbs. 15 oz.
Height: 26.75 inches
Breastfeeding/Bottles: I am still mostly nursing Maura, although she gets a bottle every night for her last feeding right before bed (Dad does this one). We also will give her a bottle if we are out in the afternoon or if we have company over (I used to creep upstairs for the hour it takes to nurse her if we were at close friends'/family's houses or if we had people over, but lately I think its more important for her to be actually in the company of the people we are visiting with, so we do a bottle).
New Foods: We started solid foods this month!! So exciting, I love this time of the day. We began with rice cereal and she hated it, so I gave up and moved right on to sweet potatoes and she liked those. Now she has had and liked sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, apples, bananas. We are now mixing a bit of rice cereal in with the fruits and vegetables and so far she hasn't noticed:)
Bedtime: She goes upstairs at 9:00pm and is for the most part asleep by 10pm. We are still only successful at getting her to sleep if she falls asleep while drinking the bottle or worst case if I "swoop" in afterward and breastfeed her for a few minutes (she is notorious for falling asleep "on the boob"). We'd like to move her bedtime to earlier and start to get her to fall asleep on her own (putting her in the crib while she's still awake but sleepy) but are not really sure on the best way to go about this. Any advice?
Sleep Habits: From two months on Maura was sleeping through the night! Such a blessing, once you start to get more sleep everything gets better. She would wake up anywhere between 5 and 7 am, we'd nurse and then she would fall right back to asleep for another couple of hours!! Then, the last month all that changed:( She is now not consistent at all, some nights sleeping through the night, most nights though waking up one or two or three times...and never at the same time each night. In the last couple of weeks she also started to roll over onto her stomach to sleep! At first we were very paranoid, but she seems to be more comfortable this way and she is strong enough to lift her head/chest and turn her head side to side, etc. so I guess its alright. This does make her wake up more often though, as she rolls around now to find a good position.
Developmental Milestones and Firsts: first Valentine's Day, started solid foods, started rolling back onto her back from her tummy, she is now able to sit up on her own for a few minutes (as long as I place her in that position, she does not get into a sitting position on her own yet), first time playing in the snow
Favorite Toys: Fisher Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym, Bright Starts Links, Fisher Price stacking rings, Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Laughing Kitchen, Sophie the Giraffe, Baby Einstein Around the World Activity Excersaucer. I actually need to get her some more stuff to play with, any recommendations?
Favorite Pastimes: bathtime, walking around with mommy in the Baby Bjourn doing chores, grabbing at anything and trying to chew on it, drooling, rolling around naked on her bedroom floor
I haven't done this up until now, but if no one minds, I'm going to start doing a little update post each month.
But first, I've been taking photos of Maura every Friday in her Pottery Barn Kids Bunny chair since she was born. Here are her shots for this month (we'll take her 26 week pics tomorrow):
Weight: 14 lbs. 15 oz.
Height: 26.75 inches
Breastfeeding/Bottles: I am still mostly nursing Maura, although she gets a bottle every night for her last feeding right before bed (Dad does this one). We also will give her a bottle if we are out in the afternoon or if we have company over (I used to creep upstairs for the hour it takes to nurse her if we were at close friends'/family's houses or if we had people over, but lately I think its more important for her to be actually in the company of the people we are visiting with, so we do a bottle).
New Foods: We started solid foods this month!! So exciting, I love this time of the day. We began with rice cereal and she hated it, so I gave up and moved right on to sweet potatoes and she liked those. Now she has had and liked sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, apples, bananas. We are now mixing a bit of rice cereal in with the fruits and vegetables and so far she hasn't noticed:)
Bedtime: She goes upstairs at 9:00pm and is for the most part asleep by 10pm. We are still only successful at getting her to sleep if she falls asleep while drinking the bottle or worst case if I "swoop" in afterward and breastfeed her for a few minutes (she is notorious for falling asleep "on the boob"). We'd like to move her bedtime to earlier and start to get her to fall asleep on her own (putting her in the crib while she's still awake but sleepy) but are not really sure on the best way to go about this. Any advice?
Sleep Habits: From two months on Maura was sleeping through the night! Such a blessing, once you start to get more sleep everything gets better. She would wake up anywhere between 5 and 7 am, we'd nurse and then she would fall right back to asleep for another couple of hours!! Then, the last month all that changed:( She is now not consistent at all, some nights sleeping through the night, most nights though waking up one or two or three times...and never at the same time each night. In the last couple of weeks she also started to roll over onto her stomach to sleep! At first we were very paranoid, but she seems to be more comfortable this way and she is strong enough to lift her head/chest and turn her head side to side, etc. so I guess its alright. This does make her wake up more often though, as she rolls around now to find a good position.
Developmental Milestones and Firsts: first Valentine's Day, started solid foods, started rolling back onto her back from her tummy, she is now able to sit up on her own for a few minutes (as long as I place her in that position, she does not get into a sitting position on her own yet), first time playing in the snow
Favorite Toys: Fisher Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym, Bright Starts Links, Fisher Price stacking rings, Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Laughing Kitchen, Sophie the Giraffe, Baby Einstein Around the World Activity Excersaucer. I actually need to get her some more stuff to play with, any recommendations?
Favorite Pastimes: bathtime, walking around with mommy in the Baby Bjourn doing chores, grabbing at anything and trying to chew on it, drooling, rolling around naked on her bedroom floor
What a cutie!! And she has a Sophie! I have just been introduced to this toy - my dad sent me this article about how bloggers helped launch it in the US! :) I must say you are pretty lucky to have her sleeping that long! My fingers are crossed our little man will be the same way! :)
ReplyDeleteShe is adorable Sarah! And she looks just like you. :) Congrats!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful girl, her smile!! My girl is just about to turn 10 and I can't believe it has gone so fast...wasn't she looking just like your girl a few moments ago? Amazing...they are fun at every age! Janell
ReplyDeleteOh Sarah...she is just darling! I love how you documented all of the things about her, especially the weekly photos, thanks for sharing. Enjoy every minute, every parent will tell you, they pass quickly!
ReplyDeleteCathy
Wow- what a cutie! I love these posts. =)
ReplyDeleteSo cute! I read an article the other day about getting your child to fall asleep on their own and self soothe. It said not to let them get in the habit of being rocked to sleep, or something like that because then when they wake up in the middle of the night they have to be rocked back to sleep. I would set up a night time routine, and do it consistently for two weeks, and if it doesn't work by then, maybe try another routine. I think ours will be something like: bath at 6:30 or 7, putting lotion on her to help her calm down, reading a book in the rocker, then putting her to bed while she is sleepy but not asleep (like you said). As far as toys go, when I watched children her age one of their favorite toys were these:http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Starts-Lots-of-Links/dp/B001ABZGU2/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299774805&sr=8-2-fkmr0 and anything that played music. Hope this helps :)
ReplyDeleteShe's such a cutie!!!
ReplyDeleteSarah, I love the personal aspect of this post! Bring more! :) Adorable.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Maura!
ReplyDeleteWe've had a pretty good bedtime routine since Nora was 4 months old (probably due to the fact we needed a schedule since we had to be out the door by 7:15 am). We start bedtime routine around 7:00 and she's usually asleep by 7:40 and sleeps until 6:30am-7:15am. I can tell you more about what we did but don't want to write the longest comment in history. ;) If you're intersted, email me - nld17@yahoo.com.
Oh, my. She is adorable!!! :)
ReplyDelete