Paige at 6 Months

She's half a year old!!!!! Oh my goodness, that's crazy!

Paige turned 6 months on the 19th! We had her check up this past week and things are looking good! I have so many pictures because we seriously think she changes more and more every day.

6 Months Stats:

Weight: 7.1 kilos or 15.7 lbs (45%)

Length: 66 cm or 26 inches (45%)

Size Diaper: OneSize BumGenius Diapers, and Pampers Medium at night

Size Clothes: 3-6 months, she can still fit into a few 3 months

Sleep: Naps are 9-11 and 1-3. She dropped her evening catnap. She goes to bed at about 7 and sleeps till 7 the next morning. The past 3 days I had to wake her at 7:30 and sang hallelujah choruses!

Feedings: 7am-nurse, 11am-nurse with about 1 tbs of a new solid food, 3pm-nurse with 2Tbs cereal and 1 Tbs solid food, 7pm-nurse

So far she's had rice cereal, pumpkin, apple, sweet potato, and banana. She loves cereal the most!

Speaking of feedings.....we had to really back off on solids. Paige is SO interested in them and would eat them all the time. She starts to get upset when we are eating and she isn't. I was nursing on one side, offering solids, the nursing the second side. But she quickly started to nurse much less and not eating the second side at all. I had my crazy meltdown about how I wasn't ready for her to self-wean (there were a few tears), I decided it was better to nurse both sides, then solids. Because milk supply has never been my issue, so I know she doesn't need lots of solids to supplement or anything. And for the love, she's only 6 months. Daniel and I joke all the time that I'll never wean Paige. I love nursing!!!!

She is now officially sitting up on her own. I still sometimes put the boppy or a pillow behind her, but for the most part, she sits all on her own!

Look Mom-no hands!!! (and I could just die over the cuteness of this bunny outfit!)

This past month there were several milestones!!! Paige got her first tooth on the 20th! Teething wasn't too bad. I've heard so many horror stories about how bad teething is, but she did pretty well. Paige loves her mesh chew toy. Right now we just put ice in it and she goes to town!

She is also rolling everywhere now!! We put her down, turn our backs for a second, then have to go find her. She loves to roll around and scoot everywhere!

Paige reading her favorite book-Sheep in a Jeep!

It's getting a lot harder to get her to cooperate for pictures. She seems to smile every time we don't have the camera in our hands. And she wants to be mobile! She gets on all 4's and just tries to scoot and scoot. 

She gets upset when she realizes she's not moving as fast as she'd like. Heaven help us when she starts crawling!

This month Paige watched her first football game!!! We have a pretty strict no-TV rule until she's 2. But Daniel found the pre-season LIVE Green Bay Packer game and that rule went right out the window. Because while we don't want Paige watching TV right now, we're bigger believers in training her up in the way she should go. And that means cheering for the Pack! :)

Paige is such a good baby! Not like in a braggy-look-at-me-my-kid-is-so-great-way, but in a Praise the Father He gave us an easy baby I'm so extremely grateful way. She makes me want to have 10 kids and nurse them all till their 5, hahahahaha! j/k...sort of.....(i know i'm scaring my sister right now)

She's my little cupcake and i adore her!

Happy 6 months Paigerator!!!! We love you!!!

love

laura

My First Bite

So solids.....

About a month ago, I was LOATHING the idea of starting solid food! Nursing is so easy, I didn't want to add anything to it. Especially with making my own baby food. I was convinced I wouldn't start solids until Paige was over 6 months old.

But then Paige kind of put herself on the 4 feedings/day schedule, and I felt like I needed to start solids too. When I read all about the signs a baby shows when they are ready for solids, Paige had been there for a few weeks. I honestly think I could've started even earlier. But I was convinced that I didn't need to. So glad I'm learning as I go :)

My mom brought cereal when she came in July. I picked up the spoons and stuff at the local Babies R Us store. I really like the little Babies R Us brand containers-they are a great size and the lids snap really well. I also like the spoons because they change color if they get too hot.

So.....we tried cereal for the first time on August 4th. The first 3 days, Paige mostly just spit it out or let it run out of her mouth. I thought for sure she would never quite grasp how this works. But about the fourth day, it clicked and she LOVES it now! She is such a good eater! 

Right now I nurse on one side, she eats her solids, then I nurse the other side. When I first read this method, I thought LAMERS...who wants to stop in the middle of nursing just to offer a few bites of cereal?? But it really does work best for us. If I finished nursing then try to feed Paige, she is too full. And I like being able to offer her liquid after she eats.

For the first 2 weeks she ate only cereal, working herself up to 3 times a day, about 1-2 tablespoons each time. Then I offered pumpkin. She ate it, but based on her faces, she is not a fan, ha!

After 4 days of pumpkin, she tried apples. I really thought she would take to them since they are sweet, but she doesn't seem to really care. She loves cereal the most right now. After 2 more days of apples, she will get carrots, then bananas. I'm following the Babywise II approach combined with this book. I mostly follow the books, but depending on our schedule for the day I switch things up a bit. When we run out of this cereal, I'm going to try another grain-like oat or barley. 

She likes it, i promise! 

love

laura

Everything

I feel like I have so much to catch up on......

So......I might just have to do bullets or we'll both be here forever.

1. I ran this morning. For the first time, in.a.while. ugh I hate when I take long breaks. Despite all my excuses for why I haven't been running, i'm SO glad I did today!!! I didn't wear my watch because sometimes it's just better not to know. I had a slow run and felt so good!

2. Our building is having some type of water issue. There's a big hole right outside our building. I'm not sure why it's taking so long to fix it, but hurry up will you! We've had 3 days (not in a row thank goodness!) without water. And I was not prepared or forewarned on any of them. Score.

This is what our water looked like after it came back on.

3. A few weeks back I decided to make my own hamburger buns. Now, truth be told, when I first heard that you could make them yourself my first thought was "why?" We can buy them here so to me....that's a win for every one. But the place where I buy them relocated and isn't that convenient anymore, so I gave it a whirl.

The recipe was really easy, but they were a little bit too bready for me. I might've done something wrong, because they fell apart when we ate them.

4. We got carpet this past weekend!!! We actually bought a large piece of carpet that was cut to look like a large rug. It's in our living room and we love it!!!!!!!! I'm not sure how much carpet is in the states, but I thought we got a great deal. And with peanut rolling all over the place, I feel better knowing she won't be face planting onto the wood floor anymore. Here is Paige enjoying the new carpet. 

5. Paige has started solids-that's a whole other post. But I started making her baby food this week, and it was SUPER easy!! You can buy jarred baby food here, but it's so beyond expensive. I made pureed apples. SO easy.

6 apples gave me about 3 ice cube trays.

6. Paige turned 6 months yesterday!!! How crazy is that?!?!!? We don't go to the doctor till next week so I'll do her post then so I can have her stats correct :)

Happy Tuesday!!!

have you ever made baby food? what's your fave site or book for recipes?

love

laura

She'll be comin round the mountain

Last Thursday we took our first trip to the mountains as a family of 3. Daniel had traveled thru a few times before, but had never spent any real time. And it was me and Paige's first time to these mountains. I have traveled to the mountains before, but not these mountains. clear yes?

Anyways, the altitude is between 8-9000 feet. It's a little high for the kiddo. But the doctor said she should be fine and to just watch Paige for anything unusual. I'll admit that I was a bit nervous.

We left early Thursday morning. We borrowed a car seat for Paige, because we don't have a car or a car seat. We rented a van and a driver and us along with 3 friends headed up to the mountains about 9 hours away.

This is how we secured Paige's car seat. I kept thinking of my sister the whole time and how this would never fly in America.

Paige did GREAT in the car!! I was a little worried considering she hadn't been in one since she was 6 weeks old, and that was for about 45 minutes.  One thing that is nice about not having any rules regarding child safety in cars here, is that I could just pick her up and nurse her without having to stop the car. Hard to do on a bumpy, windy road with a monk sitting next to you. But it's whatever.

Everywhere we went the locals would flock to Paige and ask to hold her. Some moms (especially first timers) might be intimidated to do this, especially when they take her outside and I couldn't see her. But for someone to willingly hold Paige so I could eat my dinner using both hands....yes please.

We had breakfast most mornings at the hostel. There is a "grandpa" that works there and he would instantly come get Paige. I didn't get a picture of him holding her, but it was the most precious thing ever!

The weather was wonderful!!! We've been dealing with heat and humidity in our city and because we were at higher altitude we were running the heater at night! It was glorious!!! 

We stayed at a little hostel. We shared a bathroom with a 6 person dorm room next to us. And yes, this is my idea of roughing it. The hostel is up on the side of the mountain, so it's a little bit of a trek to and from town. But there was an amazing coffee shop down the mountain, so I could easily justify all of my treats!

Paige is pondering the deeper things of life.

We got back yesterday and I don't know the last time I was so tired. Actually yes, I do. I haven't felt this tired or worn out since right after having Paige. The main difference, is that there isn't anyone here telling me to go lay down while they hold the baby then offering to go get me Wendy's. 

love

laura

The many names of Paige

One thing I love about Paige's name is how much you can do with it! We call her all different variations of her name, and almost anything that starts with a P-goes!

Here's a list of what Paige is called around our house!

Paigers-we call her this ALL the time!

Paigerator

POM POM -her initials

Pumpkin

Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Pie Pie

Puddin Popper

Puddin Pie

Goober or Goob

Gummy Bear -Daniel gave her this name and we use it all the time. She has the cutest gummiest smile!

Peanut

Pudge

Sweetie Pie or Sweetie Peetie

Weasel -which is what my dad calls me

Munchkin

Pumpkin head

Wiggle Buns

Love Bug or Snuggle Bug

(Paige at 3 weeks, oh my gosh she has changed!!!!

we love you Paigers!! What do you call your baby?

love

laura