Ivy May is halfway to one year old!!! Is anyone stunningly shocked by that? I am. I cannot believe she was born six months ago and we are on the downward slide out of babyhood and into toddler years. I truly...I really can't even put words to it other than shock! Maybe it's because she is a tiny little lady or more than likely it's the time warp nature of 2020 in general, but I don't believe it.
Ivy at Six Months
Weight: 15 lbs. 4 oz. (13 lbs. at four months)
Height: 27.4 inches (25 inches four months)
Personality: sensitive and sweet
Likes
Being held - always
Bath time
Splashing
Teether toys or anything she can stick in her mouth
Naps in the stroller
Nursing all hours of the night
Music
Getting to lay in Kip's bed
Sitting up
Watching Kip's Lego train
Being held so she can stand on her feet
Dislikes
If you set her down immediately after she gets up
Diaper changes
Being scolded for grabbing hair
Hearing you but not seeing you at the same time
Being awake for more than two hours
Wearing
Size 3 diapers
6 months or 6-9 month clothing
Nested Bean sleep sack
Things I want to remember about Ivy at 6 months old:
How she sucks on her lower lip
The way she acts like she is chewing when she watches us eat
How eager she is to get something...anything...into her mouth
The way she pushes into my shoulder and almost hugs me when I'm taking her up to go to bed at night
How chatty she is
Our little "girl party" when I slept over in her room while we had visitors here
Chicken hair!
How she thumps her legs/feet against the crib mattress
How flexible she is and the way she gets herself into a ball to try and eat her feet
Her gummy grin
How excited she is to see me in the early, early morning when I have to change her diaper from a mid-night leakage
The way she looks out the windows
The way she spins her ankles around and around
Sleep
This girl is a sleep mystery to me. I just really need a spare day (or week) to figure out a game plan for her sleep. She seems to be a "high needs" baby when it comes to sleep, in that she needs a lot of it. It seems like she is constantly showing signs of sleepiness (yawing, fussing, rubbing eyes) even if she has only been awake for an hour or so. But then she only naps for 30-40 minutes. She is inconsistent with napping and although, at her age, they say she should be able to go 3 hours between naps, we can't get her much past two hours and fifteen minutes. This month she seemed to be dropping her third nap but because she can't hang for long, she was ready to go to bed at like 4:30 PM and sleeping close to six hours before waking up. We need her on a schedule but we can't get her on a schedule. Ugh. At night she picks up bad habits quick! I made the mistake of going to her at 10 pm one night when she woke up and now she gets up every night at 10 pm. She is now nursing between 3-4 times at night which is more than she EVER did as a newborn. Gaaaaa!!! This month it's game time. I will have a sleep trained baby by the next time I post a monthly update. The universe can hold me to that! It's all I asked for Christmas from Santa this year. In the meantime, I try to remind myself to treasure the midnight snuggles because they will be over soon.
Eat
We started trying solids this month because Ivy is showing SO much interest in eating food. She even mimics chewing when she watches us eat. First she tried applesauce and then sweet potato. She enjoyed both. Then we got the highchair all set-up and gave her banana which she LOVED and went face first into it. Then she had a bad reaction to the banana and got a rash all over her face and body. It took two weeks for the rash to clear and I've been terrified to try anything else. Apparently a banana allergy isn't entirely uncommon but it could be linked to a latex allergy which is linked to a TON of other foods like avocado, tomatoes, nuts, kiwi, mango, etc. She has a well check next week so I'm hoping to get some guidance there and move forward cautiously. Food allergies terrify me and I've even questioned whether she has reflux at all and maybe its' been reactions to my diet via the breast milk all along.
Play
Ivy is finally beginning to play. She still loves all her teether toys and is starting to enjoy her jumperoo and activity stander. She adores when Kip engages with her and is constantly trying to grab at his toys in her reach. She loves eating her toes and is a big fan of stuffed toys.
This month Ivy had her first Halloween and FINALLY got to meet both sets of grandparents. I often feel bad that she is a pandemic baby and we have to delay so many first traditions and experiences because of the circumstances. But, I know she doesn't understand the difference or what she is missing and I hope she just enjoys spending time with us and getting used to her little world. In the next couple of months I'm excited for Ivy's first holiday season and the next six months when she really starts to explore her world and become mobile.
I love the updates! Noah was allergic to the proteins in my breastmilk (he constantly spit up & had eczema on his head). At 4 months we switched him to formula & it instantly cleared up and he didn't spit up so much. He did end up being allergic to cow's milk at 1 year old (we found out by his excessive coughing), and we discovered various other allergies as he got older. It is scary but also manageable. I'm hoping Ivy will outgrow her reflux & that it's nothing more.
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