It’s hard to believe that 6 months has come and gone and our little girl is half way to 1 year old. I’m glad we’re over the newborn stage, and into babyhood. It’s not that Abby’s less work at this stage, it’s just that there is so much more interaction and daily progress. Plus, she’s better at giving us constructive feedback on how Dustin and I are parenting. We’re playing a game she likes, she’ll laugh like crazy; she’s bored of playing with a certain toy, she’ll throw it across the room; she’s exhausted and wants to go to bed, she’ll bawl and scream like house is on fire. It makes for more exciting interactions with Abby.
This month has been pretty fun. We spent the first part in London, then back to Oakville for the rest. We’ve been enjoying the cooler summer weather to get outside - to swim, run and walk. Abby still loves her stroller and being in the fresh air. The great thing about 6 months, is that Abby is really starting to make her preferences known. She loves being outside, she loves the bath and water, she loves music and books. She’s not a fan of being held constantly but she doesn’t like being left alone either. Preferably, she likes to be playing with you and her toys on the floor.
Month six has brought some excitement into our lives - in the form of movement. Watch out world, Abby is on the move! For a while now, Abby has be able to get around in circles on her tummy on her playmat. She has been rolling this way and that to get a toy just out of reach, but now, she’s been able to make forward progress. She can transition from a sit to her tummy, and from her tummy she’ll inch worm her way forward, using a combination army crawl (pull with her arms) and a bum up-push forward movement from her feet. Abby has just started to get on all fours, and from there she lunges forward to make huge gains quite quickly, keeping her mother on her toes! I joke that I should be doing the Abigail Harding Ab Workout (the Abs Abs Workout??), because she’ll go from lying down, to airplaning her arms out (or a Superman), to a plank, to a Cobra pose, to all fours, back down to airplane, and then rolls over and will do a boat pose to try and sit up. It’s exhausting just watching her, but also hilarious, and frightening (our condo is going to feel very small very soon!). She’s already starting to get into crawling position, she just has to realize that her limbs can move independently from each other. I’ll post more about her movement in another post later (with video!).
Not only has Abby’s gross motor skills improved, but also her fine(r) motor skills are improving as well. She is excellent at passing objects from one hand to another. Abby’s eye-hand-mouth co-ordination is fantastic and accurate, again, much to her mother’s distress. She moves quickly, and the more forbidden an object is, I swear the faster she moves to get it and eat it! She loves to grab hair and faces now. If you let her, she’ll reach for your face then smack her mouth on you and either bite or suck your face/nose/cheek/eye. I call them kisses, to make me feel less gross about it. Abby’s started to grab two separate objects in each hand. No banging them together yet, but she does bang/shake/rattle one object, which makes for very noisy and wet (for me) bath times when she smacks the side of the tub with her cup. She still loves her bath time. She really wants to start sitting up in the tub, but we aren’t quite there yet (unsteady and slippery sitting baby + ceramic tub = disaster!).
At Abby’s 6 month checkup, she weighed in at 14lbs 7oz (21st percentile) and 27in long (91st percentile), so it looks like she’s continuing to have her father’s metabolism and her mother’s height - again, let’s hope this lasts! I have a theory on why she’s so lean, it’s because she is in constant motion. She never stops moving: not while eating, not while playing, not while reading, barely while sleeping. But because she’s moving all the time, she’s burning all the calories, which means, she’s hungry all the time. I really think that’s why Abby is still up at least 3 times a night (very constantly I might add - 11pm, 3am, and 6am, +/- 30 minutes). So, while the “experts” will recommend waiting until after 6 months to start solid foods, I did a little independent research (you know you’re a scientist when...) and found literature to support my decision to start food early. The decision was a bit of a stressful one, as there are so many differing views on when to start food and what the first foods should be. The decision is compounded by the fact that the “experts” (WHO, American and Can Pediatrics, Halton Health, etc.) aren’t supported when I looked into the actually literature, then throw in the two cents of all the nutritionists and mommies of the internet and neighbourhood, and you are left with 10 different theories on what is best for baby. So, I did what any good parent would do, turned to my scientific journal database and dug into the scientific literature. What we’ve decided to do, is to forgo cereals and purees and dive right into “real” food. This way, Abby will get used to how food actually tastes and feels like. We’re also planning on giving her all kinds of foods that would have been unorthodox 5 years ago (namely eggs and strawberries). So far, Abby has tried watermelon (likes), sweet potatoes (not really a fan, yet), banana (likes), peach (likes), cucumber (meh), broccoli (LOVES, I know, right?!), apple sauce (likes), avocado (likes) and carrots (maybe starting to like them on second exposure). I’ll write another blog about her food experiences later - and you’ll get to see the mess!
Other than that, Abby has a new sound - a screech that would wake up the dead. She’ll squeal and smile and squeal and griggle and you can’t help but laugh (while plugging your ears!). She’s starting to make more sounds, which is exciting. I keep repeating “ma, ma, ma, da, da, da” over and over in hopes she catches on. Plus, she laughs - a lot. She loves being surprised/scared into laughing. Peek-a-boo is a favourite game now. She loves being bounced and jiggled - again, probably due to her love of movement. As mentioned, night time is still a chore. That 3am feed is a pain, but I’m bound and determined to give her the best possible nutrition, which means more breastmilk and forgoing Pablum. Oh well. Another part of the night-wakings, is her teeth. She’s been gumming everything and today she was pretty grumpy and sucky (pun intended) - I think because of her teeth. No sign of teeth, but her bottom gums are white, so maybe (hopefully) soon.
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| If she doesn't have a toy, she'll happily suck on her toes! |
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| This face... I love it! |
In other news, Dustin and I got a fantastic date night thanks to Nana Cheryl! She basically held down the fort while D and I went out for dinner when she was in town before flying out west. It was a treat to get all dolled up and I felt like I was on a first date again. It was really nice (Thank you, Nana Cheryl!!).
This month has been exciting, but everyone keeps saying that the next year (6-18 months) is some of the most exciting and amazing times. I have a feeling we’ve got a hilarious, active and curious little girl on our hands. I really can’t wait to see what kind of a girl Abby is going to develop into.
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| Newborn (maybe a week) |
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| 6 months - how she's grown! |
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| Newborn |
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| Now - more serious, apparently |
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| 1 week - with monkey |
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| Now - with her friend! |
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| Abs Abs Workout - Cobra Pose |
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| Abs Abs Workout - Superman pose. |
Daddy is so funny (he's playing peek-a-boo):
I love when she kicks after I say her name. Making the bed is a lot more fun/challenging!
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