claire - six months old!

Claire at six months - June 24, 2012 
(Please ignore the dog hair on my furniture. Ugh.)

This month's pictures were by far the hardest to snap. Claire's into everything she can reach now and is constantly putting her hands in her mouth. She is also the Queen of Drool, which explains the shine on her face. After a few minutes of photos, we were both over it. 

Weight/Height: 13 lbs, 1 oz and 24 1/2 inches long. Which puts her in the 5th percentiles. I'm still having trouble with how small she is, but Dr. B is happy, and I keep trying to remind myself that she's healthy - just small.

Clothes: 0-3 months; however, I'm happy to say that I think she is growing out of some of them. Finally. Dresses are still roomy, but rompers and sleepers and some onesies are starting to get too short. I feel confident that we'll be moving up (at least in the sleepers) in the next couple of weeks. Some 3-6 month outfits are fitting now, especially the little bubble outfits. And Claire is still in Size 1 diapers. Thankfully, since we were lucky enough to be gifted a couple of packages, and I want to use those up!

Eating Habits: Bottles are pretty much the same as last month: 7ish am (4 oz.), 9:30 am (6 oz), 1 pm (6 oz), 4 pm (6 oz), 6:30 pm (6 oz) and 3-4 oz right before bed (usually around 8:30 pm).

The big news is that we've introduced solids this month. Rice cereal first, to mixed reaction and this week we've added squash to the mix. At first, she really liked the rice cereal - even leaning forward and saying what sounds like "Mmm" to us. But she tired of it. We started mixing applesauce in it and that helped. So far the squash is a big hit. Must be b/c Bob grew it in our garden, and I steamed and pureed it. :) Not going to lie...it's a big mess when she eats, but a pretty cute mess!

We have learned, though, that it's best to feed her solids when she's not hungry for a bottle. If we give her the solids before the bottle, we have a ticked off little girl on our hands - especially if she sees the bottle. We're trying to time her meals in between bottles to help with that a little.

Sleep: Claire is still a rockstar in the sleep department. 8:30p to about 6-7a most days. Some weekends, she sleeps longer. Her sleep has been interrupted a little bit lately due to a persistent cough, but she's such a good girl and goes back to sleep as soon as she gets those coughs out.

Eye Color: Blue some days, blue-brown others.

Biggest accomplishment: The aforementioned eating habits are a big step. She's also trying harder to sit up and enjoys her time in the exersaucer now. It's so cute to watch her jump around and really play with the toys.

How We Spend Our Day: Pretty much the same as last month: Momma wakes up at 5:30 and gets ready for work. I wake Claire up around 6:30, she eats and then we head out the door around 7:15. After dropping her at school, I head to work. Depending on the day, Bob or I pick her up around 5:15ish. She usually takes a bottle soon after getting home, before Bob and I eat dinner. She hangs out with us while we eat dinner and then plays or snoozes afterwards. Then it's time for bath, jammies, bedtime snack and bed. Then Momma and Daddy straighten up the house, fix bottles for the next day and pack our lunches. Our time together passes very quickly during the week, but we make up for it on the weekend!

On the weekends - she sometimes sleeps a little later. We run errands, play, and if we're home, she takes a long (3 hours) nap over lunchtime. I think the weekdays wear her out b/c it's hard to sleep with all those babies, so she makes up for it on the weekends.We take Claire anywhere and everywhere and as a result, she's able to nap anywhere.

Likes:

• Playing with Molly Dolly
• Being told she's beautiful
• Laughing at Mommy and Daddy's silly faces
• Putting anything and everything in her mouth

Dislikes  (funny that these all revolve around eating)

• Eating solids when she's hungry
• When the milk doesn't come out fast enough
• Being interrupted while eating

Favorite Moments: Claire's little personality has really come through this month. Both Bob and I really enjoy the times that we can just lay around and make her laugh. It is the sweetest sound. Everyone tells me that they just get more fun as they get older, but I sure love this stage. We also enjoyed Claire's first trips to the lake and to the pool.

Doctor's Orders: Momma had the stomach flu this month and while it kept me down, it only hit Claire a little bit and she was a real trooper. I was so proud of her for being such a good girl while I was sick and Bob was out of town. She's still having a little trouble with her eye, but Dr. B wants us to keep up the drops and says that it's a clogged duct that will clear up as she gets older. We are also to add a third meal of solids each day in the coming weeks and work with Claire on sitting up more.

Comparison: