Juliette: 6 Months

Juliette

6 months

25.9 inches (48%)

14lb 10oz (19%)

Pretty baby turned 6 months on April 22. She has been out in the world of sunshine and starshine for a whole half of a year (yes, a whole-half) and we all agree that she is a delightful addition to our family. In fact, there she has hardly a waking moment when one of us isn't making up a song devoted to her, kissing her face, or otherwise adoring/entertaining her.

And I am not kidding about the songs. "Do you want to be a Snow-Squish?" became popular after Grace and I saw Frozen in January, and Charlie has been singing one I made up at the kitchen table which simply goes "Squishy Squishy baby is a chub chub chub." She also enjoys when we dance her feet around to "Happy" (from Despicable Me 2)--but of course we sing "Squishy" instead. (Squish along if you feel like squishiness is for you!)

So basically she has a pretty rockin' life.

At 6 months old Juliette...

Still sleeps well--and hard. Charlie has meticulously trained her to be a good sleeper by being insanely loud during her afternoon nap, which just happens to fall during his "quiet time" when he has solo playtime in his bedroom. He is so loud he will trigger the sound-activated baby monitor in her room, and then I check the screen to find her still totally zonked out. She sometimes misses her morning nap for the gym (or sleeps there occasionally if she can allow herself to miss some of the party), and she is getting less dependent on the pre-bedtime catnap. She usually goes to bed between 6 and 6:30 and sleeps until 6:30 or 7 the next morning.

Her favorite position for sleep is on her left side. As I lower her into her crib for nap/bed she immediately rolls up onto that side and plugs her tiny thumb into her mouth. IT IS SO CUTE. If she is not to sleepy-sad, I like to sing to her, and sometimes Charlie will join us and sing/talk to her before bed, too.

Eats real food! She is getting so grown up. She was initially a little suspicious of baby food, but has since decided that she definitely likes applesauce and banana, tolerates carrots, and thinks that sweet potatoes are the best food in the world. Peas she could do without. And those are all we've tried so far.

As to nursing, she has cut back to about 4 feedings, around 7ish, 10:30, 2:30, and 5:30. When she takes a bottle she sometimes eats a full 8oz! She likes to pull my hair while she nurses, and her little hand flies up to grab a fistful of hair as soon as I have her settled into my arms. (She also likes to pull hair during playtime, and sometimes pulls Gracie's out!)

She's also decided that if she's hungry, she will just test stuff out to see if it is edible. Like, for example, my shoulder. At the pool the other day she got a good suction going on my arm (just in case, you know) because she was hungry, and before I could get her off she had made a big fat hickey on my shoulder. :/

Wears six month sized clothes still. Today it was warm enough for her to just wear a onesie, and I very much enjoyed squeezing her cute thighs. Onesies are the best baby clothes.

Dislikes being put down for nap (it seems to hurt her feelings, but her thumb helps), being hungry/tired, and eating peas or green beans.

Likes watching her siblings--and they like watching her. There is a LOT of discussion about what Squish is doing/thinking--the kids (and okay, Steve and I, too) often narrate her thoughts as if she is conversing with us all. (She apparently spends a lot of time thinking about food.)

Charlie is really enjoying how interactive she is getting. He likes to help change her diaper, feed her bottles, and give her toys. He also likes to play "Kicky Legs" with her, which is when he (gently) kicks her legs back and forth and says "Kicky legs, kicky legs, kicky legs" while smiling at her. She mostly likes this. Gracie picked her up out of her carseat today and carried her, legs dangling, over to me in the kitchen. (I was more than a little surprised to see this, but she did a good job.) Everybody likes to sing to her.

Jules loves her feet and just recently mastered getting those chub toes all the way to her mouth. She is also rolling up a storm now, flipping from front to back and back to front whenever she pleases. She is no longer offended by being on her stomach, and will flop over to reach an escaped toy, grin up at us, and then plop right back onto her back.

She's also (finally!) beginning to use her voice for gurgles and coos. I think she heard me tattling to her pediatrician that she had only been razzing, because two days after her 6 month visit to the doctor she suddenly began chatting to us, herself, and her toys. We love hearing her sweet baby voice.

And I love the back of her sweet head.

She has a contagious smile that lights up her whole face. Her nose crinkles when she's giving you a really big, gummy, happy-baby smile (and that is often). We are so happy to have our little dolly in our home.