Juliana, is... incredible, indescribable, unbelievable, amazing, what else can I say? And honestly, I don't say this just because I'm extremely partial, I say it because it's true. She already has a reputation that precedes her. I dropped her off at day care one day and one of the other moms, who I have only seen in passing before, saw me bringing her in and said, "It's the strongest baby in the world!" I sort of chuckled, but thought to myself, "boy, what do they say when I'm not around?" Day care absolutely loves her. Maybe because she's one of only 3 girls on the most busy days, maybe because she's into everything, maybe because of her quirky personality. At her 6 month well baby check up, the nurse said "This is the busiest 6 month old I've ever seen!", the doctor said "What are you, 9 months old?", the nurse said "You're supposed to be a baby! You're all over the place!", the nurse asked "How do you change her diaper?", Brian and I answered "Keeping her attention by singing to her, or using an arm to man-handle her and hold her down." Good thing both of us were there, because it took us both to hold her down during her shots!
So what else can I say? I guess I'll break it down... Food wise: I never thought I'd be the person to make my own baby food. Especially when a baby eats a puree for only a few months. But, in my mind, I felt like making my own food would mean that she "might" be less likely to be a picky eater as she grows, and I want to be able to make one dinner that she can sit down and eat with us in the future... So I bought a book "The Healthy Baby Meal Planner: 200 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Recipes for your Baby and Toddler" by Annabel Karmel and began dipping my toes into the world of homemade baby food. In the beginning, the root vegetables were the most time consuming, because you have to cook them until tender and then puree them, versus fruits like pears, which you cook for a short amount of time and then puree them. So, on my days home, I might make 1-2 things, I have her try new foods only when I'm going to be home with her, and she tries them for 2 days in a row, just to watch for adverse reactions. She "eats" at lunch time every day. Right now her main nutrition is still breastmilk, so this is more of a time to expand her pallet than offering full on meals. I figure in another month she will have tried everything from the "First Foods" chapter in the book. Besides the time it takes to cut up, cook, puree, and freeze, I have enjoyed doing it, and have quite a stash in the freezer!
Here's the list of the foods she's tried so far:
1. Sweet Potato (loved it)
2. Apples (a little tart)
3. Pears (a little tart)
4. Banana
5. Rutabaga (hated it, like was gagging and choking in an effort not to swallow it. Which was fine by me, since I haven't ever cooked Rutabaga before nor do I plan to in the future)
6. Carrot
7. Avocado (loved it)
8. Zucchini (loved it)
9. Butternut Squash
Things in the freezer for her to try:
1. Cantaloupe
2. Red Bell Pepper
3. Parsnip
4. Apples with Cinnamon
On to the developmental milestones: So at 5 months, I blogged that she was almost crawling. She's definitely crawling now. She's not always doing the stereotypical crawl (hands and knees), she does that sometimes for a few paces, but she does "the worm" crawl most of the other time. And overnight, it was amazing to see how she all of a sudden discovered the world around her. For example, she is interested in the air vents, the kitchen, underneath her swing, window sills, etc. She still tends to get whimpery and frustrated if I put her on one side of the room and a toy she wants on the other side. I guess she feels like it's too far to go, but if she wants something, she's gone. Then, at the 6 month mark she decided she wanted to pull up on things. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), we don't have furniture in the living room which is her play room, so she's been trying to get to a standing position by pushing up on books (i.e. downward dog from yoga), but the books slide. So I'm trying to think of things I can put in the room for her to practice on, but I feel that any "walkers" are too tall since she's only 6 MONTHS OLD?! Oh well. Everyone's saying she'll be one of those ones that's walking by 9 months... Oh boy! What're we in for?!
She has her first tooth (on the bottom), and after a few weeks of disrupted sleep characteristic of teething, we thought the other bottom tooth would come in, but sadly, no. The doctor said it could take months (yikes!), but when she looked, she said the bottom one didn't look like it was there, but the top two were right at the surface (double yikes!). We shall see! Hylands Teething Tablets have worked wonders for us though. And the major congestion that was also disrupting her sleep seems to have been cured by putting the humidifier on high.
So, her little determined personality has definitely emerged over the last month. We think she has Nana (Huff) in her =) She is an extremely happy little girl, such a delight, and we are definitely enjoying seeing her explore her world, get into things, problem solve, and grow! And finally the pictures you've all been waiting for...
Being silly before bath time.
JMU baby!
Happy girl!
Reading (eating) books, making her teeth "wise"?
5.5 months old.
On the way to day care, she pulled her hat down over her eyes and then complained the whole way. Mommy lesson: push hat up high enough that she doesn't feel tempted to tug on it, but it keeps her head warm from the cold car seat in the mornings...
Red nose from the brisk fall walk outside with Mommy and Daddy
Chewing on a baby carrot to ease the teething pain.
Sitting pretty (all by herself).
Enjoying the fall weather.
Trying to stand up on anything.
Still working on standing. I wonder if she's going toward the swing because it's the only "furniture" in the room?
Pulled up to standing position.
Now big enough to ride in the shopping carts!
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