This morning I woke up thinking, "Oh, what a glorious day!" Emily had her 6 month check-up today so we got to sleep in a little. I knew I was going to get to spend a few extra hours with her this morning, which helped my good mood. By 9:15am all my delusions of a wonderful day were gone. First, our lovely doctor was 35 minutes behind schedule by 9am. Interesting since they open at 8:30am. Whatever. Then my doctor spends 2.5 minutes with us and says, "Well, the Nurse will be right in with her shots." Super. 35 minutes later the nurse arrives. Hello?!?!?! You knew which shots she needed before we arrived. They are the same immunization shots every 6 month old gets. Maybe you could have had them ready? So after over an hour in an 8x10 foot room with a now, hungry, sleepy child, I get to help hold down my sweet girl while she screams her head off. The nurse very carefully (aka. super slowly) gives her 2 shots in the legs and and applies band-aids. Did I mention slowly! Finally I nursed her to calm her down and off to dreamland she went.
The good news is that she is the image of health! She weighs 14 pounds even (25%), 25.5 inches in length (50%) and a head circumference of 42cm (50%). She is sitting up by herself, although not for extended periods of time. When she sees something she wants over to one side, she pretty much face plants as she leans over. The doctors said this is normal and that by 9 months she will learn to put her arm down to cushion the blow. She is transferring objects from one hand to another (the doctor was very happy about this fact) and she has superb strength, particularly upper body strength (If you met my child, you already know this).
Action items for Mom and Dad:
- Solid foods three times a day now (We had been doing breakfast and dinner. Now she gets lunch too!)
- Fruit and cereal for breakfast
- Fruit and veggies for lunch
- Meat, fruit and veggies for dinner
- Start teaching her to clap her hands
- Teach her to say "Bye-Bye" by waving her arm
- Start reading books with big pictures so she can associate words with things, like "House," "Mommy," "Dog," etc.
- She gets to start drinking from a sippy cup. We've tried this already and it is quite funny. The cup has a valve that keeps the juice from pouring out unless you suck on the spout. Well, she can't suck hard enough to get anything out yet so she gets frustrated. So we have to take the valve out so she learns that juice comes out of the cup. You should have seen the puddle of apple juice on my kitchen floor and on her outfit! SO cute!
The doctor suggested pureeing my own baby food since "the stuff in the jars is so expensive." Well, therapy is much more expensive and this working Momma can't handle another chore without a mental breakdown. So, at $0.50 per jar, we will buying our baby food from Wally-World! Don't worry Grandma Jamie, we buy organic baby food! :)
I can't believe my baby is 6 months old already! She is growing up so fast, but each day holds new and wonderful moments. I am so proud of her and love rejoicing in the small accomplishments. I look forward to each new milestone and each new chapter. But at the same time, those moments are bittersweet, because I know she will never be this little again. Praise God for He is Good!
