A year in pictures: Magpie photos month-by-month

OK...so this is overdue, but here are our month by month pics of Ms. Magpie, for the first year. Here she grows! Can't believe she's not so much a baby anymore and more and more is moving toward little girl. The time has gone so fast!

Click here to subscribe

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

Click here to subscribe

Magpie at four months

This post is late...almost coming at Magpie's five month birthday....but here is Ms. Magpie's four month photo. She's growing up!

She's got quite a personality now - very smiley, very interactive. She's fairly mellow, but she knows what she wants and will definitely let you know if you're not providing it!

Magpie still very small for her age. We were just at the doctor last week and she now tips the scales at 12 pounds, 3 ounces. Not much, especially considering she was born at 8 pounds, 1 ounce. She's at the 6th percentile now (down from the 45th). I try not to worry too much about this, but I do find that her weight continues to be on my mind. She's drinking approximately 30 ounces of breast milk a day now, so it should be enough. Not sure why she doesn't grow a bit faster, but alas. Perhaps when she starts solids at 6 months she'll pick up the pace a bit? Or maybe she is just going to be a wee lass. We shall see.

I don't have her measurements with me for her length and head circumference, but both are at the 25th percentile, which the doctor was happy with.

So enough of the numbers. The bigger question is, What is Ms. Magpie up to these days?

• She's smiling at everyone, including Moxie, even when you are across the room.
• She's looking at everything, everywhere we go, her head a constant swivel as she soaks in the world around her.
• She turns toward you most of the time if you say her name.
• She's grabbing for toys, for mommy's hair, for the placemat on the table when she's on my lap, for  the paper on the doctor's exam table. Everything she can get her little hands on.
• She loves putting everything she can into her mouth - her hands, her toys, your hands, your arm, eeevvveerrything.
• She's rolling over front to back.
• She's rolling over back to front.
• She has great head control and likes tummy time for long stretches.
• She loves to bounce herself up and down in a standing position on mommy's lap...over and over and over.
• She coos and groans and gurgles.
• She makes bubbles and "spppttth" noises with her lips (maybe she's a future trumpet player?)
• She's drinking about 6.5 ounces at most feeds now and is using the Playtex Nurser Bottle. She seems to prefer the fast flow nipple.
• She grabs her feet with her hands and pulls them up toward her head.
• She loves to sit up if you help her balance.
• On a good night, she sleeps from 8 or 8:30pm until 3am. Then drinks another few ounces and sleeps until 6am or so.

We are still swaddling her but transitioning out of this soon. Still using paci for sleeping and as a last resort for soothing during the day.

She really enjoys her swing and also loves her Fisher Price playmat. Looooves it. Maybe I'll have to do a "Magpie's favorite things" post soon. She has a crinkly Winnie the Pooh book that she also loves (I think she loves the sound more than anything).

Little girl is a joy and is growing up! One day at a time. I still can't believe she's mine.

Mo

Click here to subscribe

1, 2, 3 months (in pictures)

Click here to subscribe