6 Months

It's hard to believe this little girl is 6 months old already!  I started the monthly picture folder here.  We had fun this time around dressing her up cute for her pictures and we'll do it from now on (although the dress hides how long she's getting).

Playing on her new floor mats.

Good days and bad days

This month Clementine has continued to conquer new milestones and master ones she's been working on.  She has almost outgrown her play gym since she rolls over and around so much she gets tangled up in it then frustrated, so she spends more time on her playmat now where she has room to spread out.  This past week she discovered that her toes are the world's best chew toy and that she finally has the ab strength to mostly hold her self upright.  She still teeters over at a moment's notice but is much better at staying up and righting herself when she leans forward to grab a toy.  This seemed to indicate it was a good time to get her clip-on high chair out so it gives us another way to let her sit in a room with us while we're eating or doing something.  We have her clipped to the table in the breakfast nook and she likes to play with her toys while we're cooking or eating which is a nice change of pace.  She'll be starting solids in a few weeks, so we figured it's a good time to get her used to her chair now.

Modeling her starship captain's high chair.

And we still haven't figured out a rhythm with her quite yet.  I'm starting to figure out when to get her down for morning naps (around 9 and 11:45), but the afternoon has been a real crap shoot this week.  I can get her asleep on me, but the minute I transfer her to her crib she is up and crying no matter how many times I start over.  For my own sanity, my rule has been that I won't try putting her to sleep for longer than she will sleep, so after 40 minutes of trying I give up and we play instead.  From what I've read she's also supposed to be at the age to transition to 2 longer naps a day rather than 3, but she's been doing more like 4 since she cat naps (20-45min).  Every now and then she'll surprise me with a glorious 1.5hr nap but it's never predictable.  She does seem to be better at staying up longer now (for about 2 hours) before she turns into a mess.  We've been trying a few things from the No Cry Sleep Solution book, but it seems some of this is just a phase she needs to work through.

When it comes down to it, Clementine is actually a good sweet happy baby, but when she's tired you can tell she's off her game, and if she doesn't get enough sleep she eventually melts into a sad little baby complete with quivering bottom lip.  Otherwise she's not a crier - if she fusses it's because she was left alone too long or we missed her hungry or sleepy cues, otherwise she's pretty laid back.  So when she does her meltdown cry (which is very different than her I'm not thrilled about something or I'm hungry fussing), then I take notice because she is very clearly trying to send a message of genuine distress which, if ignored, turns into hyperventilating/choking extreme distress cry which is scary and heartbreaking.

So it's funny when people tell me, "Oh, it's ok, babies cry", because I know that - babies evolved to cry to let us know when something is wrong or jeopardizing their survival (too cold, hungry, can't breathe, etc), it's their one self preservation skill.  But her meltdown cry is something else entirely different.  So I do live in genuine fear of being somewhere in public and not being able to help her through a meltdown since she could literally cry herself into a blackout (the more she cries the worse it gets).  So far the only way to break the cycle is to nurse here somewhere quiet until she dozes off.  She has good days and bad days - days that I really enjoy being a mom and like spending time with her and feel like I can do this - like last weekend when we took a long walk with her while she napped, came home enjoyed time in her kiddie pool, made dinner, then went to the park before sunset for some playtime and it was a magical day (pictures here).  The next day we went down to Anna Maria and she slept the whole day down and back and we had fun pool time and all was well - a wonderful weekend which was in stark contrast to the previous week when she shrieked the whole way down to and back from Anna Maria and hated the sight of her stroller (an entirely bad weekend for her).

One of the good days.... playing with her toes.

A family outing to Vinoy Park at sunset.

So at this point I have to tell myself we have good days and bad days and I don't get to pick when or where and just have to go with it (which is also true of any adult).  I also just pray that the good days will outnumber the bad days in any given week.  I will finally start getting some help in the form of sitters (and Granzie) for a few hours a week so I can start trying to get some stuff done for work.  With her unpredictable naps and spending more time awake needing interaction I have had very little time to get anything done (this is the first time I've cracked open my laptop in 2 weeks!).  I'm hoping that's going to change with some help.

I am also hoping her fussiness from last week was still her working on her first tooth - she would only sleep on me or not at all last week, but was getting better about being down at night for longer periods before waking up for a quick snack.  She's showing all the classic teething signs, but still no tooth yet.

5 months

At the end of August Clementine turned 5 months - at this point she's over 18 lbs 3oz (97%tile) and over 25.75" (78%tile) long as per our last pediatrician visit.  I got some photos but she was definitely feeling more subdued than normal when I take these photos.  I can't blame her, she's been busy mastering lots of skills - she rolls over easily both ways now, she can spin around to reach things, she's blowing raspberries and talking our ears off, she can easily take a toy from us and put it in her mouth (her hand eye coordination is getting good), she can support her weight when we help her stand, she is getting closer to supporting herself while sitting, is doing some big time push ups ("tripoding"?), she has an incredible interest in our food when we eat and frequently gets her hands on our plates (Wade usually eats dinner with her sitting in his lap bellied right up to the table with him).  It's exciting to think she'll get to start solids next month and we're hoping it'll be an avocado or sweet potato from our yard for her first bites.  My mom ordered C's dining wear this week so we can let her start playing with her spoon and bowl while we eat dinner - give her something to do and help her get used to them. We're also hoping she'll get her first underwater plunge in the pool once she hits the 6 month mark too.  Below is a video of her splashing in the pool (her favorite activity) this weekend while we were visiting with my Aunt Titi and Uncle Rick.

I've been working to improve her napping, and despite some small signs of improvement at night, the day hasn't changed much.  In fact this past weekend was pretty awful for her since any time in her car seat meant a meltdown which made us feel like we were torturing her.  Thankfully Labor Day was better since we stayed close to home to let her recover.  We were able to get some chores done around the house and let C get caught up on sleep.  Last night we also packed up the co-sleeper and the swing to send them back to the friend we borrowed them from - she was just too big for both of them now and only seemed to be frustrated by the swing.

Oh my, 5 months old already?!

And some folks have asked how things are going for me since my last post was a bit of a downer.  I am feeling somewhat better - I've been trying to get out more and have had some small successes there which have helped.  Being outside and seeing friends are a huge help and I'm eagerly anticipating cooler weather when I can get out and walk with C more often.  I'm hoping we can finally get a patio put in this Christmas for me to enjoy with C so even if it's a bad day, we can both get some fresh air.  I've also been looking for a tree swing so C can enjoy the yard too.