This morning, Stella went to see Dr. G for her six month check-up! It looks like she is doing really well and is growing like a little weed. She had her blood drawn today to check her iron levels (looking good!), and she had to have two vaccinations. We are so blessed to have a healthy girl who won't need to go back until she is nine months old. (Side note: I went ahead and scheduled Stella's next appointment for her 9 month visit....in March! Isn't that crazy!? March! That seems impossible to be so close to that time of year).
Here are Stella's Six Month Stats:
Height: 26 inches (70th percentile)
Weight: 15 lbs., 3 oz. (45th percentile)
Head Circumference: 42.7 cm (50-75th percentile)
Just for fun, here are Nora and Liam's stats at six months old:
Nora:
Height: 25 1/4 inches (45th percentile)
Weight: 14 lbs., 5 oz. (25th percentile)
Liam:
Height: 26 3/4 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs, 2 oz. (60th percentile)
It looks like, once again, Stella is somewhere in between her brother and sister!
Here is what life is like with Stella these days:
1. Stella is really starting to enjoy eating solids! I feed her twice a day, breakfast or lunch (depending on our schedule that day) and dinner. She eats rice cereal mixed with a fruit or veggie. So far she has had: pears, apples, bananas, plums, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, and green beans. She seems to enjoy all of them so far. It is funny to me because it has been such a slower process with introducing Stella to foods than it was with Liam and Nora. Honestly, it is just harder for me to fit it into our busy day, but we have gotten in two feedings pretty consistently now, and the doctor told me that she really only needs to eat twice a day at this point. He recommended that we follow her lead as to how much and that over the next few months we should see her eating more food and less milk.
2. Nursing is still going really well, and it seems like we've just recently transitioned to a three hour feeding schedule during the day. (She kind of just started napping longer and stretching them on her own). Stella still doesn't sleep consistently through the night. Some nights, she will sleep from 9 pm to 9:30 am, but that is definitely a rarity. I still nurse her for a "dream feed" somewhere between 10-11, but I have decided that I am going to start cutting that out this week. I'll keep you posted on that. Stella sometimes will wake up around 6-7 am to nurse, but I put her right back to bed and wake her around 9:30 to nurse again and eat breakfast. I love nursing her and am so glad it's going well, but I do wish she would sleep for longer stretches at night. However, I keep telling myself that she WILL at some point, so I am just trying to enjoy my quiet, cuddly nursing time with my girl.
3. Stella will take a bottle! I noticed that once she got the hang of eating cereal off of a spoon, she was less resistant to the bottle. The first few times we tried to get her to take a bottle she would gag. However, she is much better with it now. In fact, tonight Jonathan and I are going to a Christmas concert and are leaving Stella with a sitter and a bottle for the first time! I am so excited! I have left a bottle with Jonathan before while I was at choir or getting my hair done, but this is our first date without our littlest love. I do supplement the 8:00 pm feeding some nights if Stella isn't nursing well. There are just some days where my milk isn't enough for her, so she will oftentimes take an ounce of formula on those nights.
4. Dr. G said that her gums on the bottom look swollen, so perhaps teeth are a few weeks away. She's definitely started to drool.
5. Stella is a rolly polly these days. She has been capable of rolling for quite some time now, but just in the past week, she is a rolling machine. She is starting to understand that she can get places by rolling. Also, just in the past few days she is so wiggly when holding her that it's almost difficult. Mobility is on the horizon!
6. Stella loves her feet, her hands, and anything she can get her hands or mouth on. She is really into toys and gets visibly excited when you hand her something to play with. Her favorite play things, however, are probably Nora and Liam. They just love her and she loves them in return. If the kids are gone from us for any length of time, the moment they get home it's, "Where's Stella!? Hi Stella! I need to hug Stella!" No, "Where's Mommy?" "Hi, Mommy." Hahaha.
7. Stella eats her meals at home in the high chair; we've moved out of the bouncy seat because it's just too hard to feed her in there anymore. She bounces so much that food is everywhere. Also, she likes the Bumbo chair and the Johnny Jump-up. I keep meaning to get the exersaucer out of the attic, but I have yet to do that. I know she'll love that toy when we get it out.
8. Finally, here is a sample schedule of a "typical" day in the life of Stella at six months. We are much more flexible with her than I was with the other two, out of necessity and for the good of us all:
9:30 am- Wakes or is woken up to start the day. Nurses, followed by a little play time and some breakfast (cereal and fruit)
10:30 am- Naptime
12:30 pm- Wakes from nap and nurses. Playtime or we may use this opportunity to run errands. If we are home, I will lay her down for a nap about 1:30, but it's typically a shorter nap.
2:30-3:00 pm- Nurses and goes down for a nap. If we are out during the lunch time hours, Stella usually goes down right away with very little playtime because her wake time is extended while we are out and about. She will take a very good nap in the afternoon usually.
3:00-5:00 pm- Naptime.
5:30 pm- Nurses followed by dinner (Cereal and vegetable)
7:00 pm- Short nap. Sometimes she refuses to go down, but most nights she'll take a 30 minute power nap
8:00 pm- Wakes, nurses, bath and getting ready for bed. (We may supplement with a bottle here occasionally).
8:30-9:00 pm- Bed Time
10:00-11:00 pm- Dream feed. (Which I hope to drop soon).
No comments:
Post a Comment