Annie is 6 months old! I cannot believe it. While on the one hand I am so happy that she is growing up and developing well and that she is so healthy and happy, on the other hand, I can't help but be sad about this milestone. It's such a big one and she is getting so old so fast.
I just don't want her to not be a baby yet!
We went to the doctor on the 30th for her 6 month check-up. She got 3 vaccinations and did fine with them. She cried hard but recovered fast! She has been such a healthy baby and we are so thankful! I didn't feel like she had grown as much this past month and I was correct. She gained less than a pound and did not grow any in length - but as you can tell - she is still just right and very healthy!
Here are her stats:
Weight: 17 lbs 8 oz 75%
Height: 27 1/2" 97%
Head Circumference: 17 1/4"
And a look back at her 5 month picture for comparison
And 4 month picture!
This month has been a very exciting month full of lots of new firsts! It seemed like every day Annie was doing something new and different.
Annie is a pro at sitting up all by herself!
She can look around, hold toys, lean over and reach for toys all while keeping her balance!
 |
| One of my favorite pictures! |
She also really likes to be in a standing position while holding on to our hands or onto the furniture. She cannot pull herself up yet but can definitely keep herself up. She like to practice walking while holding onto my hands as well! I think she is ready to move!
No signs of rolling from her back to her stomach or of crawling yet.
At the very beginning of the month, Annie started pat-pat-patting with her hands. She touches me or something else and just gently pats it over and over. It is so sweet and you can tell she is exploring her world.
 |
| New car from JoJo and Grandpa! |
Annie is now extremely interested in her toys and sometimes becomes almost obsessed with playing with them. It seems that her mind is desperate to fulfil the need to learn and explore!
She still loves to go for walks and be outside! She usually rides sitting forward in the stroller so that she can see everything around her as shown below or she will lounge back in the seat with her feet propped up on the bar!
Annie and I also enjoyed our first picnic together! We have had such beautiful spring-like weather lately!
And we went to the zoo with friends! Here we are visiting the llamas!
Can you see him in the background?
We also joined Jeffrey and all of his friends for cake and ice cream after his paintball birthday party!
He turned 14! Happy Birthday Jeffrey!
Also, she still loves her bath! We now keep lots of toys in the bathtub to keep her occupied! She also loves to kick and splash so you are guaranteed to get wet while bathing her!
I have been meaning to include this in her monthly update already, but she knows what the word "kisses" means and will lean in, open mouthed for a big, wet kiss! It is so sweet and so cute! She will also initiate kisses without me even asking which I love!
 |
| Giving Lynlee kisses |
Also, this month, she became aware that people and objects still exist even when she can no longer see them. If someone walked out of the room, I could tell she was looking for them. And, if I hide an object, she will look for it at least for a short time. Along with this awareness came some very mild separation anxiety. She really wants to be in my arms most of the time! I am, of course, very okay with this!
Annie tasted sweet potatoes around Christmas and avocado for the first time in early January. I just mashed up what I served to us. After the first bite of each food, she gaged and made a pretty funny face!
 |
| Not her first taste but still not so sure about solid food! |
After a few bites, she seemed to come around on both and not mind them. She tasted each several more times throughout the month but has not had any solid food as part of her diet yet. My goal was to wait until 6 months in order to lower the possibility of her developing a food allergy. I plan to slowly introduce Annie to whole foods such as sweet potatoes and avocados this month. We will not do any cereal because of what I have read about the difficulty of babies digesting grains too soon and the problems that it can cause. If you have any information on introducing whole foods to babies, please share! I am having a hard time finding much information!
As you can see, we also set up her travel high chair that attaches to our kitchen island or to the kitchen table. She enjoys helping me cook in the kitchen or sit at the table while we eat! It reminds me so much of Jeffrey when he was a baby and he sat in one just like this.
In addition to food, Annie started showing an interest in my cup with water anytime I was drinking it. We actually first noticed this at church when Brad or my family would be drinking coffee. She always wanted to try it.
So, I started letting her sip out of my cup of water whenever she was interested. Over the month, she has gotten better and better at drinking from the cup. Sometimes, she just wants to play with the water and lets it run right back out of her mouth. But, other times, she actually drinks it and seems to be thirsty. I also introduced her to a sippy cup with water. She is very rarely interested but she is getting the hang of it.
At 5 1/2 months, Annie was ready to sit-up in the grocery cart!
She looked like such a big girl and really liked her new view! She was very quiet and still and took it all in.
We watched our first movie, or part of a movie, together this month -
Baby Einstein Baby Signs. She was very interested for a full 11 minutes. I was impressed! I hope to start teaching her some sign language so that she can learn to communicate with us before she can actually talk! I have to learn the signs first so the movie was actually very helpful to me!
Finally, Annie got her first tooth this month! It is her bottom right tooth and it is actually not in yet, but it has broken the surface. You can barely see it if you pry her mouth open. She seemed to be extra sleepy right around the time I first noticed the tooth and possibly a little uncomfortable and fussy due to the tooth, but otherwise, she did not show any signs of teething.
Annie's sleeping improved a lot this month from last! We had a lot of nights that she slept through the night and even more nights where she only got up once around 5am to feed and go right back to sleep. I am so thankful for better sleep for her and for me! Maybe one day soon, she will start sleeping through the night every night!
In response to our sleeping woes last month, I had hoped to start teaching Annie how to soothe herself to sleep instead of being rocked to sleep. I have felt very torn about this though because I love rocking her to sleep so much and cherish our cuddle time together. But on the other hand, there are times when it would be so helpful if she could just fall asleep on her own for a nap. I also know that it is a good sleep habit for her long term sleeping health. And it would be most helpful if she could go back to sleep if and when she wakes up in the middle of the night. I was not sure how to teach Annie to soothe herself to sleep so, one afternoon after Annie fell asleep in the car on the way home, I decided I would take her inside (she never stays asleep!), swaddle her, and put her straight to bed. I figured she would already be sleepy so it would help. She cried HARD for 23 minutes but finally fell asleep. It was so hard on me to listen to her cry so hard. The next day, I tried it again after she fell asleep in the car. This time, she never really cried and fell asleep within 8 minutes. WHAT? Here is the email that I sent to Brad afterwards:
"I knew she was a really good baby and also very smart and would learn quickly, but I hope she still lets me cuddle and rock her some. I didn't want to totally give that up! Sweet sweet baby - now all I want to do is go pick her up and hold her!
So, we tried it again the next day. This time, Annie stayed awake in her bed and was happy and talking for 30 minutes. She never once went to sleep so I had to go rock her to sleep! Since these initial attempts, I have put Annie awake in her crib on several occasions hoping that she will fall asleep, but usually she just talks and rolls around in her crib! I guess that crying it out is not an option! All this to say, I am really very happy rocking Annie to sleep so we are going to continue doing that until I feel a strong need to teach her to go to sleep on her own!
Overall, this has been such a wonderful, happy, fun, and joyful 6 months of my life! I love being a mom and am so thankful to have Annie in our life! Thank you God for this opportunity and blessing! May we always remember to turn to you at each step on how best to love, nurture, and raise Annie.
We love you baby girl!
