Claire at 6 Months

Thank you to everyone who offered support and encouragement after my last post. I am so lucky to have such caring friends and family. I'll be okay- don't worry! I'm quite resilient. It feels good to get out in the open that I just have a lot going on right now, although that probably wasn't a surprise to anybody! I think anyone in my shoes would be struggling a bit. Last week I got an unexpected raise at my midyear review (very uncommon!) so that helped a little- it's nice to know all of my crazy hours and hard work are being noticed and appreciated.

Okay... on to more exciting things... Claire turned 6 months old last Sunday! Wow! I can't believe our little girl is half a year. I almost feel like I need to start planning her 1st birthday party- haha.

Claire at 6 months:

• Drinks 5 ounce bottles. She still eats about every 3 hours.
• Gets up 1-2 times per night. She goes to bed about 7:30PM. She shows tired signs earlier than 7:30 but Josh and I just don't want to put her to bed yet! We get such very little time with her in the evening and we hate to put her to bed at 7PM! Especially when she can sleep as late as she wants in the morning since we don't need to drop her off at daycare.
• Is mobile, mobile, mobile. She has the backwards scoot down pat. She can find a way to get anywhere she wants to go. She'll get up on all fours and launch herself forward. She also rocks back and forth slightly while on all fours. We even had to start babyproofing!
• Pees like crazy at night. She pees through her diaper and pajamas multiple nights per week. It is not fun nor easy to completely undress her, wipe her down, change her diaper, find new pajamas, put new pajamas on and put on a new blanket at 2am with a little baby that is screaming because all she wants to do is eat and sleep!
• Drools less. I don't know why she's drooling less but she doesn't need to wear a bib like she used to.
• Loves to be scared/startled. She even waits for it in anticipation. She'll just stare at you and blink her eyes as you lean forward to give her a little shake around her chest and yell "boo!!".
• Doesn't really care for rice cereal quite yet. Her reflex to push the spoon and food out with her tongue is still pretty strong.
• Takes a fair amount of naps still. She'll nap maybe 3-5 times per day. Sometimes they're 15 minutes long and sometimes they're 1.5- 2 hours.
• Weighs 12 lbs 14 oz (3-5th %) and is 24 3/4 inches (10-15th %).
• Wears 3-6 month and 6 month size clothing.
• Has taken sips of water "to wet her whistle" as her baby doctor says.
• Is starting to be better at "cuddling". Before she didn't like being held really close unless she was eating or sleeping and wouldn't naturally lay her head on your shoulder or relax in your arms while awake. She's starting to a little bit though and Josh and I are very excited about this! Josh often says to her "I wish you liked to cuddle!" and "I can't wait for you to be able to give hugs!". She has his heart, that's for sure.
• Is a super happy girl. She is always smiley. She loves to giggle and belly laugh.
• Sleeps in her crib!!! This started on October 17th. The transition went well for all of us. Claire didn't seem phased by it and I wasn't too sad because I knew it was time!
• Is the love of my life. I yearn for her when I'm not with her. I'm always praying that I'll have an opportunity to work part-time. Even 4 days a week would be absolutely amazing!