Six Months

Today is Janie's half birthday! We have been a family of four for SIX MONTHS now and I wasn't sure how we were going to manage two kids that were both so young. But now, I cannot imagine what our lives would be like without Janie's sweet & smiley presence. It has been such a joy having Janie as part of our little family.

Janie Elizabeth, six months old

HEIGHT: 26 1/2 inches

WEIGHT: 16 pounds, 10 ounces

Sweet baby girl, smiling!

Janie has shown lots of interest in moving around and socializing this month, as well as making some good progress on her eating. Since five months:

I like to sit & stand, not lay down!

Eats every 3-4 hours during the day We can usually stretch Janie to 4 hours between bottles, though every now and then she demands it a little sooner. Janie has begun to eat solid foods this month in addition to her bottles so she has been getting dinner a little before her last bottle of the day.

Eats 6-8 oz. bottles of formula Janie is taking 7 ounces per bottle. Sometimes she doesn't seem to need all 7 ounces but she never asks for more. Usually right at the end of her bottle she starts talking and smiling at me, indicating to me that she is just about done. I think it's her way of saying "Thanks, mom!"

Has tried rice cereal We tried a few foods other than rice cereal. We started with carrots, which Janie ate but didn't act all that interested in. We are currently on sweet potatoes, which she loves! She will eat 2 ice cubes of pureed sweet potatoes at dinner. She reaches for the spoon and tries to put it into her mouth! She also has gotten very good with eating and swallowing in just a short time. It's probably because of her age (we started later than with Nora) but I am happy that she's gotten it so quickly. I am going to try parsnips next and then add in some fruit for breakfast!

Sweet potatoes! Yum!

Sleeps unswaddled in her crib Janie has continued to sleep well through the night. She is sleeping on average about 12 hours every night. She has been consistently putting herself to sleep for awhile now, though she does seem to need a little help every now and then. She has lately begun to have some separation anxiety issues arise and cries a lot more than she used to once I walk out of the room but she hasn't changed her sleeping habits, which is great!

Takes a few 30-45 minutes naps a day One of our biggest changes this month is her nap time schedule. Janie has been taking really good naps. She is taking about three 1-1 1/2 hour (give or take) naps throughout the day. I've begun to notice that being out at nap time - although she doesn't complain about being tired as much as Nora did - makes her naps shorter. So, although she doesn't put up a big fight about being tired and needing naps, she does take better ones at home than out running errands. 

A now-rare nap time with mommy

Wears a helmet 23 hours a day Janie is officially out of her helmet!! We are thrilled! More information on this in a separate post, coming soon, but she has a beautiful, breezy, stink-free head for her half birthday! Due to her being helmet-free, we have begun putting her in a sleep sack at bed and nap times again. Unlike Nora (our sweat baby), Janie gets cold and sleeps waaaay better when warm and snuggly.

Uses a pacifier for soothing Janie does still use her pacifier on occasion. She can officially put it in her mouth on her own. We've been keeping one in her crib so that she can use it if she wants, but she doesn't use it all the time. She has been teething a bit and I think she uses it to chew on instead of her fist when she needs a change. 

I may have drooled a bit...

Rolls from back to tummy We've been working on rolling & sitting this month in physical therapy to help her strengthen her core muscles. She does really well in one direction with rolling but struggles on the other. 

Loves tummy time Janie still enjoys her daily tummy time. She has started to push up so that her belly doesn't touch the ground (planking!) and sometimes pull her knees under her belly, too. She has the desire to want to crawl and move so I can see her making some serious progress in this area this next month.

Using my muscles!

Tries to sit on her own Like I said before, we've been working on this. Janie does and can sit on her own, but not very consistently. She will sit up then fall over, or sit up then lean forward. She can only sit for a few seconds without moving in one direction or another. She is doing better, though! 

Sitting, or trying to at least

Puts everything in her mouth Janie still loves putting everything into her mouth! She likes to put clothing, fingers, toes, toys (much to Nora's dismay), jewelry... anything! She has been intently watching us eat and drink and is very curious about that as well. 

Talks & giggles Janie has been quite talkative these days. She gets especially talkative at bed time. She likes to play peek-a-boo and be tickled. She thinks her sister is pretty entertaining. She smiles at herself when she sneezes, which is obviously funny.

Wears size 3 diapers We are still in size 3 diapers!

Wears 3-6 month clothing We've started to wear a few 9 month sized outfits, though the pants tend to be long. I'm going to need to get more of that size out just for the sake of the weather - the clothes we had packed away in Janie's current size were for winter/early spring and we don't have a lot of warm weather options!

All in all, it has been a great month for us. We have one less weekly doctor's appointment to attend but are still going to physical therapy weekly. Our therapist is hoping that can be switched to bi-weekly in the near future but Janie has shown a bit of resistance to the therapy and wavers in her success at sessions, so we will continue to watch her closely as long as we need to. 

We visit our pediatrician in a week or two (timing of vaccines got us off a bit) so I will update with her weight and height stats then.  UPDATE: height & weight listed above. Otherwise, here is her six month wrap up:

Takes four 7-ounce bottles each day

Eats pureed veggies for dinner

Sleeps about 12 hours each night

Uses a sleep sack

Takes three 1-1 1/2 hour naps a day

Is helmet free!

Uses a pacifier for soothing

Pushes up when on tummy

Sits assisted

Puts everything in her mouth

Appears to be teething, yet no teeth to be seen

Likes to play peek-a-boo

Loves her big sister

Wears size 3 diapers

Wears 3-6 & 9 month clothing

Happy Half Birthday to our beautiful baby Janie!!

A little ball of cuteness.