6 Month Molly

Well folks, its true. Miss Molly is half a stinkin' year old. How did that happen? She is so BIG!

Here are some things that best characterize Molly at 6 months:

Squirmy: Molly's new nickname is the SquirmWorm because this child truly cannot sit still. I know, I know - you are rolling your eyes saying, "Cami, babies don't hold still." But seriously. Come spend and hour with my baby. I dare you. She is adorable and sweet and perfect but you WILL understand me. Yesterday we skyped with Bret's parents. I felt so validated when after 30 minutes of watching Molly try to eat the computer keys and grab my hair and twist around and kick her feet and... (whew)... reach for a toy and eat her burp cloth Millie said, "Wow, she is squirmy, isn't she?!" Yes. Sigh.

* Teeth: She finally has two! The first one came in nearly a month ago but the second one, although really close to the surface, took weeks to finally cut through. The symptoms? LONG long nights. Sometimes she'd wake up three times and could easily cry for an hour. Nursing seemed to be the only real solution, and although I tried not to create a bad habit, when you've just been woken by a screaming child for the second time that night, either extreme exhaustion or severe sympathy will take over. She is finally starting to sleep 9-10 hours again, and though I wish it were 12, I am so grateful for this improvement!

* Slobber: Always. Everywhere.

* Eating: Molly loves eating solids! We feed her oatmeal or rice cereal in the morning and then a vegetable in the evening. She spat out the peas the first time I tried to feed them to her, but other than that she has never refused a new veggie (and she was okay with peas a few weeks down the road). I will start feeding her some fruits soon. This week a friend and I are going to try our hand at making some homemade baby food together that we can store in the freezer. I'm pretty excited.

The other "eating" update is that at her 6 month doctor's appointment the pediatrician was concerned about her low weight. (She is 14 lbs and 26.5 inches.) I was starting to wonder if Molly was really getting enough breastmilk, but this appointment made me realize that she probably is not. She suggested we start giving Molly a formula bottle after nursing and let her drink until she is full. I don't mind doing this, but holy cow - formula is expensive! I would rather keep nursing her, but I guess we'll just see how things go. She seems more content and happy since we started feeding her more.

* Sitting: She can now sit up all by herself for minutes at a time. She has great  balance! Occasionally she topples over, but she still has decent control on the way down. It has been fun to have new ways to play with her and to watch her try to figure things out from an upright position.

* Entertainment: My mom sent her a "Jumperoo" playset for her half-birthday that she can bounce and turn around in to play with different interactive toys. IT IS A LIFESAVER. She will actually stay occupied for 15 - sometimes even 20 minutes at a time. THANK YOU! She also likes when we lay her on a blanket underneath the glass coffee table and put a couple toys on top. She is thoroughly amused!

* Babbling: Molly is finally starting to be more vocal - usually when she is by herself or when we aren't paying a lot of attention to her. Blowing raspberries is her favorite new trick and sometimes she can even get a spit bubble coming out of each corner of her mouth. (I've tried it. I can't figure it out. Give it a shot... I know you're curious now!)