Monday, May 19, 2014

Currently, Chief is... {6 months}

First, let me apologize for taking over a week off from blogging!  Life got really busy around here, mainly because I had to work late 3 days in a row.  I've done some re-evaluating, and I think, for now anyway, a 5-day-a-week schedule was a bit too ambitious.  So, for a while, anyway, keep your eye out for new posts Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, just like the good ol' days, and if I manage to squeeze a couple more in, then you'll be all the more pleased!

Secondly- remember a few months ago when I did the first Currently, Chief is... post? Here's the second installment of this series!

 Growing every day, though her growth rate has slowed a bit.  I could tell by the way she was fitting into clothes for longer that our growth curve had slowed, and I was getting really, really nervous.  Was I not feeding her enough?  I thought for sure that the doctor would see her weight and say the 'f' word- formula.  I was so afraid that exclusively breastfeeding was not going to work for us anymore.  I knew she was healthy, because, well, poop- there's lots of it, and it's always the right color and consistency!  As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about.  At her 6 month check-up last week, she weighed in at 15 lb 6 oz- yes, her weight gain has slowed, but she's getting taller every second and she's as healthy as can be.  The doctor was happy, and so, finally, I breathed a sigh of relief and I could be happy, too.  She has officially outgrown most of her 3-6 month clothes, and she's moved into the rest of the 6 month clothes from the brands that run a little bigger, as well as the 6-9 month clothes from The Children's Place, which run a bit small.

Eating exclusively breastmilk up until her 6 month birthday, when we introduced bananas.  We did bananas for a week, and then yesterday we started avocados.  We're trying baby-led weaning, which is an interesting experience, but basically it means that Chief is not so much eating food as tasting it and learning how to pick up tiny things and put them in her mouth.  We had to see a different doctor at her 4 month check-up, and that doctor said we could go ahead and launch into "solids" (which really means purees), but everything I've read has said that you should wait until 6 months, so we did.  I don't think she'll really be getting any significant amount of nutrition from solid food until she's about 9 months old or so, so we're going to keep on trucking with the breastmilk which has served us well this far.


Talking more each day!  She has completely mastered her vowel sounds and has moved on to her consonants- "da da da" and "ba ba ba" and "ta ta ta" (no "ma ma"s yet, unfortunately).  She will wake up on Saturday mornings and just babble to herself, singing and cooing until somebody comes in and picks her up.  She'll talk to her toys and she'll talk to us, and lately, she's started singing in church.  She loves being surrounded by people singing, so she'll join in...only she doesn't stop when the hymn is over.  And that's fine by me- so long as she's not screaming or crying, she can make whatever noises she wants right there in the pew.  If she gets upset, Mr. Geek or I will either slip off to the side and walk her back and forth, or carry her to the cry room, depending on how easily she calms down.  I like to think that her giggling and babbling is just her way of praising the Lord, so I don't mind if she's not perfectly quiet.

Making facial expressions that crack me up!  When I do something that I hope will make her laugh, but doesn't quite hit the mark, she'll stare at me and sort of raise one side of her upper lip- I can't quite describe it, so I'm going to have to get a picture of it one day, but it's the exact same expression Mr. Geek makes when he's not impressed.  She still smiles pretty much all the time, and now she has two tiny, pointy teeth to show off!  And those eyebrows...oh my goodness.


Listening to Mommy sing Disney songs!  Once Upon a Dream is still her favorite lullaby- it will calm her down immediately almost every time she gets upset.  She loves listening to all kinds of music- especially when we have little dance parties!  Aside from music, she loves listening to people read stories to her- and she loves to grab at the pages and crinkle the paper.  (The soft books and the board books are great right now because she can't tear them and it's okay if she puts them in her mouth.)

Sleeping through the night, still- although she's pretty much stopped napping during the day.  On weekends, she'll sleep for 20 or 30 minutes at a time after nursing, but that's about it.  She sleeps more at daycare, probably because I wake her up early, but I'm not sure how they get her to sleep.  (Unless they just let her be upset until she falls asleep...which is probably what they do.  I don't want to know.)  I chalk up the lack of naps to the teeth that are rapidly coming in and making her generally cranky.


Loving sitting up to play with her toys; watching Daddy build towers with her new wooden blocks; knocking down the towers of blocks; having her feet tickled; helping Mommy pick out an outfit; dancing with Daddy; bath time; blowing spit bubbles; rolling over onto her belly; grabbing her feet; drooling all over the place; putting everything in her mouth.

Hating putting on bibs; taking off bibs; sitting still; putting on sleeves; taking off sleeves; having a toy taken away from her; putting on pants; (she actually doesn't mind taking off pants); being bored.  Not much upsets her, really, but if she gets bored or otherwise tired and cranky, she'll let you know.

So that was month 4-6!  How has life been for your little one lately?

Much love,
The Geeks

*all photos personal*

2 comments:

  1. Hi! Thank you for posting your blog to my twitter! I'm glad I checked it out! Firstly! I absolutely love the title of your blog! And your daughter is adorable! Both of my boys are teenagers! One will be 20 next month! Yikes! Still don't Know what to think about that! They're so cute when they're small! Then they grow up with their own opinions of everything! Which can be hilarious! Love your blog!

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    1. Hi, thanks for stopping by- I'm glad you like what you see here! I do sometimes imagine what Chief will be like when she's older, but one of my many mottoes is "Don't wish her away" because sometimes we get so wrapped up in looking forward to the future that we're in danger of not enjoying the present. And it's crazy how much she's grown already- she's already 6 months old, but it seems like just yesterday I was holding her for the first time. I bet you feel that way about your teenagers, too!

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