Six Months

Our sweet little peanut is growing up so fast.

On Sunday, K-Mac turned 6 months old and today she had her six month appointment.  It was a nice appointment because for the second time ever, daddy went with us.  She's pretty blunt about picking him over me (ie; not crying when daddy gives her a bath, refusing nap time unless daddy puts her down, staying up to see him when he gets off of work at super-dark o'clock, etc) but I'm not offended.  In fact, I love it and it makes me want to cry.  But that's beside the point.

I know, I know, you guys want some measurements.
Birth:  7 lbs 4 oz       +   20.25 inches
Now:  14 lbs 15 oz   +  25 inches

At her four month and this appointment, I filled out "surveys" on what K-Mac can do, sometimes does, and never attempts.  Last time we were concerned that she clearly favored one hand and leg but that worry is long gone.  At this particular appointment we didn't have any worries.  Yes, she doesn't exactly get on all fours and certainly isn't crawling but that's okay.  At this stage, babies are very different.  I walked at 8 1/2 months while hubs didn't even crawl at that age.  It doesn't matter because now we are both running and hardly fall down while walking.

Haha.  I've got jokes.

But, for those of you who want to know what most doctors expect from the six month social butterfly stage, we will break it down and enlighten.  Red means we don't do this (yet!).

Behavioral

• Begins to play social games (K-Mac loves peek-a-boo, dancing, and so big)
• Establishes routines (we're so blessed that she made her own and stuck to it so far)
• Has a special blanket or toy for self-soothing (we don't have this yet- she clearly likes toys that play music or are soft to cuddle but she'll take anything)
• Plays with toys: banging, dropping, swinging

Development

• Begins to speak single consonants (we get ababa and maaaaa and dadadadada but I don't think they *mean* anything yet)
• Rolls over both ways (not all of the time, she still struggles)
• Looks for dropped toys
• Begins to "tripod" when sitting (that's when they put their hands out front to support themselves)
• Gets on all fours (it's very rare and I think it is an accident when she does it)
• Transfers objects from hand to hand
• Rakes at small objects with fingers
• Shows displeasure with loss of toy (Um, more like gets super pissed)
• Recognizes parents and shows stranger anxiety (she'll bury her head in my chest but smiles at strangers)
• Attempts to feed self
• Smiles, laughs, squeals (we squeal hardcore)
• Puts weight on legs

Feeding

• Eats routine meals
• Eats solids
• Uses sippy cup
• Drinks 4 oz of juice a day (Guess we'll start this for real now)
• Drinks water (fluoridated)
• Gnaws (On everythingggggg)

Sleeping

• Consoles themselves when put in bed awake (Yeah, but sometimes we just cry-it-out- sue me.)
• Decrease naps (unfortunately)
• Sleeps through most nights :)

So that sums that up!  Now quickly, I'm going to run through some likes and dislikes of our six month world.

Likes

1. daddy, daddy, and....oh yeah, daddy
2. spinning in circles with momma
3. momma pretending to drop K-Mac (my kid is twisted)
4. her stupid cat and the dogs
5. the high chair and the freedom it provides
6. trucks
7. when people pretend to eat her feet
8. watching momma cook
9. BEING OUTSIDE
10. the stroller and momma's baby backpack

Dislikes

1. socks
2. green beans
3. napping for more than 30 minutes a day
4. bath time
5. having shirts put over her head
6. when she smacks herself in the face with a toy
7. getting changed in a public restroom and someone flushes (OMG)
8. when momma stops her from eating grass/dirt/bugs/leaves/twigs/multicam
9. sitting still
10. SHOTS, like the 3 we had today, although we still love that oral rotavirus thing.  YUM.

So there you have it!  Half way to her first birthday and already such a little character.  It's been a great 6 months and we can't wait to see where else K-Mac and our adventures will take us!



Big Girl!



Cat: 1 & Parents: 0

We have a fancy baby monitor.

It cost too much and is my security blanket and I need it.  It monitors not only morning time cries but also K-Mac's breathing.  Words can not even express how completely terrified I am of SIDS.  Lucky me, hubs also shares some intense fears over it and was completely behind me when I suggested we toss literally a fourth of his paycheck into this.  Blessed. 

We felt better about our decision to "waste" this money when K-Mac was 8 weeks old and stopped breathing.  We ran into her room and I picked her up and shook her (oops).  She gasped and went back to sleep.  We'll never know if she would've started breathing again or if the monitor goofed or if she was really in danger.  Either way, a device told me that my child was without air for 35 seconds and it very well may have saved her life.

So.

The other night, the monitor starts going crazy.  The special thing about these angel care bad boys is that you can program them for everything short of fixing me a frappe.  I've set this thing to go off if it gets to be under 68 degrees or above 80. 

When we wake up, fuzzy eyed and confused to a new sounds on Monday we realize the baby's room is 85 degrees and increasing.  What the hell?  So I walk sprint to her and realize, hey, it feels like the rest of the house (about 77 degrees).  Okay, so that's weird, I go back to bed, tell hubs it must have glitched and we reset the monitor and close our eyes.

Beeping like crazy within a minute.  I call not it and he gets up.  Checks out the baby's room, feels fine, blah blah, let's change the settings to 88 degrees, it's obviously not working.

Wouldn't you know it, that sucker is still going off.  So alright, I'm going in there thinking hey, maybe she peed and it's so warm the monitor is confused.  I get into her room and go to turn on her monitor's night light.  I keep it in her crib (like a bad mom) so I can have easy access plus she really isn't moving too much yet.  Crazy enough, I can't find the damn thing.

THE STUPID CAT IS ON TOP OF THE STUPID MONITOR.

She busted into the baby's room after sneaking out of the mudroom and is in my child's crib.  She's also ON TOP of the monitor, keeping it all crazy warm and stuff. 

Okay cat, strike one.

We were so stinkin' tired the next day but didn't have the strength to tell everyone that we spent an hour freaking out over a monitor that our three month old kitten sabotaged. 

Friends....learn from my fail.

Multicam

K-Mac has a kitty.

My cat died a month before we had K-Mac.  I swore to hubs, no more animals.  We have chickens and three dogs and I really don't want to take care of anything else.  But my mom found this poor itty bitty thing a month ago in the same sad situation that our previous cat died in. 

I believe in fate.  So we took in the cat.

I was pretty nervous to have this clawy wild thing in the house with my BABY.  She's obviously a stranger to people and like already mentioned, HAS CLAWS.  For one reason or another, she likes the baby.  A lot.

K-Mac has made it a habit to climb out of her bumbo to grab her kitty.  She also enjoys chewing on the cat's tail and picking her up.  I worry she's rough on the cat but when I see them curled up in the playpen together, both with their mouths wrapped around the same toy, sleeping away, the worry leaves.

K-Mac has also been modeling for my etsy store.  Well, we just started I guess.  I'm making tutus (tuti?) and use her for pictures.  She cried while wearing her own tutu in her four month photo shoot.  She also cried while I was making a tutu for a friend's little girl and tried to measure it against her.  BUT!  She did NOT cry when I told her a really really really needed her to model my tutu for etsy.  I guess she only dishes out the smiles for professional occasions.  I'll take what I can get.

K-Mac and I have also started walking around the block in the mornings when she's up.  If she's still sleeping I just go for a jog.  Which is something I dread but kind of need to do.  She's so alert in the mornings.  It's when she really shines.  Sometimes she wants to play a little too early for us, but we still haven't learned to sleep when she sleeps or whatever they tell you to do. 

Speaking of sleep, I'm scared to tell everyone this but my kid sleeps.

Like a champ.

She goes to bed around 8 and wakes up a 7:30.  Like clockwork.  The only thing she doesn't do "right" is nap.  She'll nap once a day for an hour or so and maybe have some twenty minutes naps once or twice.  But it works for me.  It just means more time in the backpack or jumperoo so I can get stuff done!  Because mommies need to clean and cook and other stuff too.  Got it K-Mac?



YOU GOT IT DUDE!

 P.S.  The cat's name is Multicam.  Because when you live in a house of pink and bright colors and all things girly, sometimes you have to let your husband name the cat. <3