does that mean in another half a year Lydia will be one?! Can’t be true!
A few things I am thankful for in the past 6 months: to be on this parenthood journey with Chase, to get to wonder if her bath water is too hot, if she is comfortable in her carseat, if she got enough milk from me, if she is crying because she has teeth coming in, to see her sit by herself for the first time, to celebrate when she does something new, to cuddle with her when she wakes up, to rock her to sleep, to feel pain when she cries, because it shows me a fraction of love that Christ has for me, to pray for her each and everyday that she would be healthy, have friends, grow to know, love and follow Jesus, and for her future husband…. am thankful to be her mom.
Sleep: Lydia’s 6th month has probably been her worst month of sleep thus far… For some reason (maybe teething, maybe growing… who knows?) this month she has decided to stop sleeping through the night and has been going through “nap strikes” once a week or more… sigh. I know I don’t have much room to complain as far as sleep, because overall she has been a great sleeper, but when you aren’t used to waking up in the middle of the night, it’s rough. Her favorite time as of late has been 4 am. We finally moved her to her own room/crib this last week- she has spent 2 actual nights in there because of A/C issues and traveling. We let her “cry out” both times at 4 am and she went back to sleep! And then has been waking up around 6:45 am to eat… which is totally doable. We also stopped swaddling her arms this month… she just sleeps in a sleep sack with her arms out! It took a little bit, but she can do it now. Poor girl, had to adjust to lots of changes in her sleep habits this month.
Clothes: She has been wearing 3-6 month and 6 month clothes. She has a ton of cute stuff that I have almost not had to repeat anything! I just love dressing her up. It is getting hotter and hotter here so we are pretty much done with socks, pants and jackets. Hello summer! I am loving putting one piece rompers on her. She is in size 2 diapers and has had less and less blow outs, which is super nice.
Food: She is still breastfeeding 5-7 times a day about every 3 hours. She has added the 7th feeding the middle of the night this month, but hoping we will drop it soon as she continues to sleep in her own room. We started rice cereal on March 26! She seemed to like it that day, she especially liked grabbing the spoon from me and playing with it. We have had a crazy busy two weeks so I haven’t been super consistent in giving her rice cereal (I also have given her oatmeal twice, once with cinnamon) and haven’t tried anything else, but once our guests leave I will start to introduce new stuff. I have a feeling she is not going to want to be spoon feed much and just want to do it herself- we’ll see. Oh, I also gave her a cucumber stick to suck on- she made a funny face at first, but then I think she liked it.
Travel: For most of this month we stuck close to home. It was so nice. She actually got to take most of her naps in her own bed and not the carseat… a first for her. At the end of the month we did take a trip to Sohar and two other coastal cities, Sur and Muscat. She has become a little more impatient in the carseat for long trips- I think she gets board, looking at pics on my phone still calms her down & makes her giggle… I am going to need to put some movies on our iPad soon and get a strap for the car so she can watch stuff… crazy that even at this age they love technology.
New Tricks and other fun stuff:
* March 28 she started sitting all by herself with no help! At the beginning of the month she could do it with my help or a pillow, but then just one day she stayed for over a minute without our help! Its crazy how quickly that changes. She still needs us to be close by because she will topple over eventually.
can you tell I couldn’t decide which picture to use?!
*She loves the walker that we are borrowing from a friend (thanks Katie)- its so cute to see how excited she gets in it, she also moves backward in it.
*She rolls over from front to back and back to front really well now and loves doing it.
*She pushes up on her arms and turns herself in circles and looks like crawling is just around the corner! (at least scooting)
*She loves to hear herself “talk” and has been really working on her vocal cords- sometimes she is so loud Chase and I can’t hear each other over her! I think we will have a talker on our hands- not sure where she got that from?? 😉
*She lays on her back and scoots all around the room on her back, thus causing her too keep her bald spot on the back her head!
*She loves to stand and jump. She.does.not.sit.still. She is going to be an active one… again, not sure where she gets that from? 😉
*She still loves people, she lights up when people talk to her and give her attention. Our little social butterfly. However, if a local woman with a black shayla (head scarf) on takes her from me she sticks out her bottom lip and cries, however, a local with a colored shayla she is just fine…
*She loves the sound of wipe packages, playing/sucking on water bottles, my Chewbeads are still a huge hit, playing with her feet, she responds to her name being called and laughs for no reason- just cuz she is a happy girl.
*She got her first drink of water this month… she wasn’t quite sure what to do with the water bottle at first, but now likes it!
*She went to the zoo for the first time this month, she mostly slept through it, but It was fun to have her there with us.
*Whenever you have something in your hand or something is in front of her and she sees it she opens her mouth real wide, bobs her heads, and leans in to try and put it in her mouth! It is too cute.
Stats: (on March 28th- 6 month check up)
*Weight: 15 lbs. 4 oz., 50%
*Height: 25.8 inches, 50%
Liddy bug,
We love you so much! What a wonderful half a year it has been! You make our hearts swell with joy. Sometimes we just go into your room and look at you while you are sleeping and smile at each other. We still can’t believe you are ours and that God loaned us you to raise, love and cherish always. You have grown and learned so much this month! So fun to watch. Happy half birthday sweet angel.
love, momma & daddy
Even though we talk and Skype still love hearing about your feelings, her firsts and daily happenings. Just can’t get enough!!
I completely agree with mom — I just can’t get enough! And I swear that baby knows what to do when someone is about to take a picture; she just lights up, without a doubt