...months that is. Little girl is growing so fast! She is so very interactive and fun. She's currently trying to learn to clap and wave (doesn't have either down yet) and is in 6-9 and 9 month clothes. We introduced her to a cup with a straw, which she loves (but doesn't totally get). In terms of food, Alaina is totally loving pears. Yesterday we gave her avocado for the first time. She really did not know what to think. She loves food but was conflicted by this odd texture and taste (I don't like them either so I can't really blame her...). Once I added some pears to them she ate it up. Tonight I mixed the avocado with oatmeal which she also liked. I'm thinking her next food will be carrots. I expect that she will love carrots.
Unfortunately Alaina is still coughing pretty bad. We did a week long trial of claritin but it never got better. Now we are trying zyrtec. If that doesn't work, we may come to terms with this as a virus that is just taking forever to get rid of. Overall, she acts normal except for the cough. Her voice is totally back now.
Reaching the seven month mark also means we hit seven months of nursing. I've had a few people ask how that is going so, briefly, we have started the weaning process. This has been a really difficult decision. Some days it makes me really sad but (most of the time) I know that it is best for our family. Things are going really well though. I may be able to eat normally for thanksgiving and I have enough frozen that we will probably make it to 8 months with her getting some milk each day. Knowing that she is thriving and also starting to explore new food makes this (a little) easier.
She's still totally a momma's girl. In general, if I am holding her or hanging out with her, she is happy. Daycare continues to go really well. There is a brand new, 8-week old baby who just started today. We are hoping his cuteness wears off soon so Alaina will still get plenty of cuddles. :) her cuteness has clearly not worn off.
Alaina had her "6-month" appointment on Friday. It ended up being almost a month late. She had a couple of immunizations and her well child check. She weighed 16 pounds 11 ounces and was 26 inches long, both of which are hovering around the 50th percentile. We talked about her cough and the pediatrician said we could do a nasal swab to determine if it was a viral infection but really all that would do is put a name to it. We discussed the possibility that it's allergies and decided to do a trial of Claritin. We started the allergy medicine on Sunday and so far we have seen no difference in the amount of coughing. She handled the shots well. She was a little grumpy Friday night but Tylenol and cuddles seemed to help. Unfortunately, she only got the Rotavirus oral vaccine, Hep B, and the flu shot so we have to go back in a month for additional immunizations. :(
She woke up too early on Sunday morning though and didn't want to take a long nap so we played in the bed for a little while before having to get up.
A few people have asked so I'll just update that she is doing great at daycare. She loves her teachers and seems to have fun. She really enjoys the other kids. There is an 8-week-old starting on Monday so Chad and I just hope that Alaina will still get tons of love and hugs even though the teachers will be fighting over holding the itty bitty baby.
She's just too funny.
Over the weekend, we introduced Alaina to a "sippy" cup with water. Oh my goodness, she loves it! She doesn't really get the concept but she loves that cup. I've also ordered one with a straw for her to try. In terms of food, today we started pears. We took a little break from solid food early last week just because of all of the Halloween craziness. So far, she has still only had oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and now pears.
The latest development is the beginning of a fear response. She had previously showed slight clinginess when entering a new place or seeing new people but really no strong reaction (and she is easily held by anyone). However, an interesting thing happened this weekend. A couple of months ago, I got her this Fisher Price Bee that's antennae light up and has little phrases ("Be a bee!"). She seemed to really like it. But then when she and Chad got sick, I put several of her toys away to disinfect. Well, I hadn't gotten around to pulling that one back out so I did that this weekend. She is now terrified of it! When it lit up, her little face just fell and she didn't know what to think. Like any good psychologist, I am gradually exposing her to this bee so that she doesn't grow up with impairment related to this experience! She's okay touching it if it is turned off or if I am holding her. Mostly she just looks at it suspiciously. Hilarious. She is having similar reactions to the vacuum cleaner.
Tuesday evening we went downtown for a Halloweencelebration (along with about 8,000 other people!). They had inflatables, food stands, games, and trick or treating at local businesses. We just strolled around, looking at all the other people in costumes. By the time we got home, Miss A was conked out. Too much excitement.
Alaina's daycare also had the kiddos dress up for picturesand they made a craft. The craft (her first!) is a spooky ghost made from her footprint! :)
For Halloween night, Alaina, Ricki, and I handed out candy to the neighborhood kids. It was fun! She liked watching all the people come by.
Here are a few additional shots of Alaina in Halloween gear before going to school.
Poor sweet pea. Her cold has taken a weird turn which has worsened her cough and congestion and made her lose her voice. All day today Chad and I have joked that she sounds like something you'd see in Jurassic Park. But in reality, she is pitiful. Her cry is just heart breaking.
She is eating okay (yay, sweet potatoes were introduced today; I'll post a video later) and sleeping her usual amount. So we aren't too worried (Dr. Google is about as helpful as taking her in to the clinic right?). She was supposed to have her 6 month appointment last Wednesday but that got canceled because her doctor had a sick child. So we will be taking her in Friday afternoon.
I always wonder who's reading this blog. It's a strange thing to know people are reading it but you don't know what they're thinking or how they're doing (you can update me on your life, too, you know). However, it's become clear to me that Alaina must be sneaking on the iPad and reading my posts. Remember how I have been complaining that she isn't gaining weight? Well, she must have decided that she didn't want to concern us anymore. In the last week, she went from eating an additional 20-24 ounces of milk/formula per day to eating 30 ounces. She even wakes up in the middle of the night hungry. And she seems hungry all.the.time. Holy growth spurt, baby. On Tuesday she weighed 15 lbs 8 ounces. On Saturday she weighed 16 pounds 2 ounces.
We decided we could no longer hold off on introducing solid food. I thought we would start with avocado or sweet potato but we decided to start with oatmeal cereal because it tends to be gentler on digestion and be fairly low-allergen. She.loved.it. Oh man, she knew just what to do and couldn't get enough. Our roly poly chunky monkey is back!
So funny!!
Seriously. See the jump in how much she ate in a week?? Insane.
Feet are still pretty yummy!
She has also been doing this crazy dance where she shakes her head and moves her body. She's so silly.
It's mostly when she's overtired. We try not to let her get so tired but it's hard when she refuses to nap...
Little girl loves to play. She's really been loving this little stacker toy that plays "twinkle twinkle little star." She mostly wants to eat the star (because she wants to eat everything??).
