6 months in the blink of an eye

I can't believe it, but last week Little Ms. Magpie turned six months old.

She's still a wee little girl, last officially weighing in at 12 pounds at her four month appointment. I know she's bigger now, but not sure how much bigger. She's wearing some 0-3 month clothes and a fair amount of 3-6 months clothes (although some of the brands are still way too big in that size, like Baby Gap). She wears size 2 diapers, but they are fairly big on her.

What is Magpie's personality like these days? Magpie is a pretty happy girl much of the time. She'll let you know when she's not, though. She is very determined and motivated. She works at a new skill over and over again until she has it nailed. And when there is a toy that she wants, she persists in her efforts to get it, not giving up easily. She seems to be very independent to me, not the little cuddler I was imagining she would be. She will let me hold her but doesn't curl against my body unless she is very sleepy, and mostly she seems to prefer to be on the go and exploring rather than hanging out for any length of time in mommy or daddy's arms. We are told by others that she has a great attention span for a baby really able to focus for a long time on a single thing (I haven't focused on that myself, so not sure).

Communication: Magpie is a pro at making "ssspppppttt" noises with her lips and loves to do this back and forth with others. She does some cooing but is not really babbling yet. She is very expressive and has a piercing shriek she enjoys practicing, just to hear herself, I think.

Moxie and Magpie: Magpie and Moxie are developing a very good friendship. Moxie brings her balls and stuffed animals over to Magpie and drops them near Magpie. And Magpie will bat at the ball or toy, the two of them "playing" for minutes at a time (well supervised, of course). Moxie will lay down beside Magpie and roll against her nuzzling her. Magpie is particularly enamored with Moxie's collar and tags these days, although she also likes to touch Moxie's ears and paws. And Moxie is very patient and tolerant of it all. 

Motor Skills: Magpie is a busy, busy girl. She has learned to crawl in the past week, and in just that time has gone from barely crawling to making it across the room at a rapid rate. She has also become a champion sitter upper. She can even get up off of her back into a sitting position (this little girl has abs of steel!). She loves to grab things and puts everything in her mouth. She mimics us chewing with her own mouth and watches intently (but no teeth yet, still a wonderful gummy smile!). She misses nothing, this girl! Once last week, she held herself in a standing position in her crib. Gah! No standing yet! I am not ready!

Bathtime: I just got Magpie a bath seat, which she likes a lot, but often tries to lean over in, making it unsafe. She has several plastic bath toys, that she loves. Her favorite baths are when mommy gets in too and she can sit between my legs and play with her toys. This can turn bathtime into a happy 20 minute activity, a nice relaxing bonding time at the end of the day when otherwise she might be cranky.

Napping: Magpie usually has three naps a day. The first is about 45 minutes to an hour at 9am, then another longer nap at 12 for 1-2 hours, then a final nap at 4pm-ish for another 45 minutes or so.

Sleeping: This is still fairly rough, and deserves its own post. Magpie goes to bed at 7-7:30. She often is awake around 11 and needs help finding her pacifier to settle back down again. she might be up again at 1am briefly and then eat (2-3 ounces) at 2am or 3am. She sleeps until 5:15 most days....maybe 6am if we're really lucky. Then she is up for the day. If only her parents were feeling like being up for the day at that time!

Eating: Magpie still is not a good eater. We struggle to get 30+ ounces of breast milk into her (four feedings of 7.5 ounces each, plus usually 2-3 ounces overnight). She is now using the Playtex Nurser bottle. Often she won't drink if you hold her (slightly heartbreaking for me) and does better if you feed her in her swing or in her crib while she watches her mobile. We used to swaddle her while she ate and this helped, but now it seems to frustrate her. Yesterday we introduced solid food to her - sweet potato mixed with breast milk. She loved it! So she will be having that each morning in addition to her regular milk intake. 

I can't believe she is here. That we are a complete family. I am so thrilled at her presence. So in love with her. As the days pass and she becomes more and more interactive, the connection grows. 

I think it is slowly sinking in: We are a family. We made it out the other side. She is finally here, and she is growing up right in front of me. How did we get so lucky?

Mo

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