Our baby girl, Alessandra, turned six months recently. Here’s our update.
Our sixth month together: Every month gets more fun because Alessandra is more alert and her interactions with us increase! She is much more expressive! She expresses joy and when she is upset. Luckily for us, she is a happy & easy-going baby, so it is mostly lots of smiles, chuckles, and high-pitched coos. When she is upset, she grunts, every once in a while she cries. She usually cries only when she is tired, needs a diaper change, or in uncomfortable. So far, she has been pretty good about getting in her car seat/stroller (we have a Doona, so it is an all-in-one car seat & stroller). Only until recently has she occasionally started to complain a little and get fussy for a few seconds when I put her back in the car seat. It only lasts a few seconds and rarely is there a tear shed. As soon as we get in the car and get going, she is fine. If we go to the store or a quick outing, I try to leave her in the stroller because she gets excited when I get her out, but then she gets a little upset when I need to put her back. I try not to leave her in the stroller for long periods of time though. If we will be out for a while, we take turns carrying her or I bring the Bjorn baby carrier. I also like to let her stretch out, so I will let her sit or lay on my lap,or if we are visiting family or my hubby’s office, I will place a blanket on the carpet and let her lay down and play.
Our sixth month was an important milestone because we introduced solid foods! I will write a post about the research I did, advice I received, the Baby Brezza steamer/food processor we purchased (it’s very useful and convenient), and which foods we started with. It was important to me to make fresh, organic vegetable puree at home for Alessandra. She is a good eater and it has been fun to spend time feeding her daily! We purchased a high chair for her and it has helped with the feedings. It is also nice to have the chair placed on the kitchen island next to the stools we have. I sit Alessandra there in the mornings and we interact as I am preparing coffee, meals, or washing dishes. I explain the things I am doing, like heating water for tea, pouring the water into the mug, etc. Experts recommend this, it helps with the baby’s development and teaches her new words, as well as what they mean. I spend lots of time during the day talking to and with Alessandra. Even though she doesn’t speak back, she interacts and reacts to my words. It’s fun!
Testing chairs at the store to see which one she preferred.
Physical Changes: She is growing, growing, growing! She is on the 91 percentile in length and 55 percentile in weight. She did great during her sixth month regular check-up with the doctor. She is a healthy baby and is right on track in her development! We are fortunate and blessed! Her first bottom tooth made an appearance, with the second one breaking through just a few days later. She was a bit fussy, but not too bad. She mostly seemed uncomfortable and is biting everything she can get her hands on to help with the discomfort. She looks adorable with her two little teeth! Alessandra has started to crawl and is quickly discovering new toys as she crawls around her nursery. I also let her crawl on the carpet in our bedroom. Soon, we’ll let her start crawling downstairs, oh my, that will be an adjustment! She is now wearing size 6-9 months or 9-12 months clothing. I have had to pack lots of her clothes and am constantly clearing out her closet as she outgrows various outfits. She is doing better at sitting up on her own and not toppling over. She still hasn’t quite mastered it though. I think she has a few weeks left of using the small bathtub insert during bath time. Once she sits up more firmly, we will remove it and let her sit in her bathtub (we use a baby bathtub inside her bathroom’s regular bathtub).
Her little tooth is visible in this picture.
Motherhood Challenge: Time! Finding time to do everything I want to accomplish in the day. I am learning to be more patient with myself and less demanding of myself. My priority right now is taking care of our baby girl, pretty much everything else on my to do list comes second. Some days, I feel more productive because I get lots done. Other days, I just stop myself and my need to feel productive, and remind myself that caring for our baby is being productive. It has been an adjustment for me, but one which I cherish. I feel fortunate and appreciative to be able to take care of our baby. I know not all mother’s (or parents) can make that choice. And, yes, losing weight continues to be on my “motherhood challenge” list. I chose not to register Alessandra at the daycare at the gym because I did some research and she could get sick by catching something someone at the daycare has. So, for now, I decided to try to exercise at home more often and continue walking with friends a few times per week. Maybe in a few months, when she is older, has had more of her shots, and her immune system is stronger, I will feel more comfortable enrolling her at the daycare at the gym. We’ll see. Thus far, she has not gotten sick at all, not even the sniffles or an upset stomach, and we hope to keep it this way as long as possible.
Outings: She continues to join us for meals at restaurants, as well as visits with family and friends. We took her to the Zoo for the second time (see picture) and on this occasion hubby went with us. She joined us for two Padres games this month (see picture) and The Art of the Brick Opening Night event at the Fleet Science Center. She liked the Lego exhibition and playing with the Lego pieces at the end (see post). Alessandra is part German, on her father’s side, we took her to her first Oktoberfest in El Cajon! Of course, she was dressed in a dirndl (see picture)! She visited her first park during a visit with family (my sister, nephews, sister-in-law, and brother). I put a blanket on the grass and she had fun crawling on it, while enjoying the fresh air and playing with her toys. She also rode her first choo choo train (see picture) and went to a theater dance performance (see pictures here and here). We had friends in town for a few days and visited some fancier restaurants for dinner, luckily Alessandra behaved very well and made it through the four evenings without a hitch! She seemed mesmerized by her first La Jolla sunset at the Marine Room (see picture) and took in the views during a Sunday Champagne Brunch Cruise on the bay (see picture). It’s surprising to realize how many places we took her with us this past month! I didn’t really think much about it until I am writing it now. We truly are lucky to have a happy baby, she adapts to our outings and seems to enjoy them!
Family outing to the San Diego Zoo.
Favorite Outfit: The two piece Old Navy outfit she is wearing in this month’s picture! It was a gift from my friend, Lorena. I couldn’t wait to put it on her! The color tones and loose-fitting flow of the top reminds me of fall. The weather has continued to be warm, so hopefully she will be able to wear it during the remainder of the season. The top is long sleeve, which makes it good for the season once the weather begins to drop a bit. I will mix and match it with peach or light-colored pants. maybe even jeans so we can stretch it into November and hopefully December.
Favorite Motherhood Moment: Seeing how happy she gets when she eats and how she truly enjoys her food! It makes me feel good since I make her puree at home. She knows it is time to eat when she sees me take out her bowl and put on her special feeding bib. She gets giddy with excitement! So cute! She smiles while she eats and grunts to let me know when she wants more. I am trying to teach her to say “mas” which means “more” when she is ready for her next spoonful of food. Our baby is a good eater! She makes me smile and laugh every time I feed her!
Do you have fond memories of the first time you fed your baby or the first time they crawled?
Hugs,
Paola
PS – In case you missed it, Alessandra’s first, second, third, and forth/fifth month updates, and see more pictures of our everyday life on my Instagram (@paolahernandezjiao) and Facebook pages.
She truly is a happy baby!
Playing with Lego pieces at The Art of the Brick Opening Night.
Sunday Champagne Brunch Cruise on the Bay.
Playing at home…most of these stuffed animals used to belong to my nephews and my sister passed them on to Alessandra. A few, are toys which used to belong to me and I saved them for years so my baby could play with them someday. Well, that someday is here and I could not be happier! We are enjoying parenthood with our little doll! (Note: I washed all the toys before Alessandra played with them).
She is teething and constantly biting her hands or anything she can. Poor baby! It was challenging to take her sixth month picture because she kept putting her hand in her mouth, but she was cheerful and smiled for a few pictures (included above in this post).