Six month update: state of the Alex.
Oct. 12th, 2005 01:04 pmAlex had her six-month doctor's visit today. She weighs seventeen pounds, 1.5 ounces, which explains why my arms are always tired. According to the pediatrician, she is also "very cute" and has a "great disposition," so, you know, it's good to have a diagnosis.
We have the all-clear to start exciting new solid foods, with the exception of any sort of peanut product, egg whites, wheat, and fish. (We'll probably start wheat around nine months, bony fishes and egg whites at a year, and peanuts and shellfish at two years or later.) Other than that, Alex can have whatever she seems to be able to tolerate. He thought we'd probably need to wait another month before giving her anything more challenging than purees, but it's up to her. So tomorrow, once we're sure that she's not going to have a reaction to today's vaccines, we'll start her on sweet potatoes or carrots. Yum.
In other news, he warned me to expect multiple colds this winter, but said that she doesn't need a flu shot unless we really want her to have one. He said he was impressed with her muscle tone and that we'd better childproof the house. And, after all of our mouth pain false alarms, he found a tooth bud that's imminently ready to break through the gum. (This time, the white swelling is on top of the gum, and not just in the front.) Go, Alex!
She's been a lovely child to have around, lately. She smiles all the time, laughs frequently, rarely cries. She throws her whole self into exploring her world, flinging her little body around the room towards the fascinating things that used to be just out of reach. (As I write this, she is rummaging through the diaper bag and, oh lovely, has found the plastic grocery bags we carry for used diapers. No Alex, not for babies.) She's not crawling yet, but she can scoot backwards or wiggle around in a circle, and can get surprisingly far. We frequently find her halfway under the couch.
When I leave her with Michael and go upstairs, she watches raptly as I disappear. When I come back down, radiant smiles. Her papa always gets a lovely greeting when he comes home from work - she grins as though she thinks he's hung the moon. She'll often wrap her arms around me and rest her head sweetly against my shoulder when I pick her up. The down side of all this lovely affection: she's started bursting into tears if I try to leave her with her toys while I go to the bathroom. She's not afraid of strangers - in fact, she flirts outrageously at every opportunity. Taking her out in public is a sure way to cheer her up. But she wants to experience strangers from securely in a parent's arms.
She still likes rhymes and poems, but has also started showing more interest in the pictures in her books. She likes to turn the pages, if I lift them slightly for her. She babbles. She likes it when we babble back.
I have always enjoyed six-month-olds - it's a great age, with the sitting and toy playing and cheerfulness. But wow, having my own six-month-old is fantastic.
We have the all-clear to start exciting new solid foods, with the exception of any sort of peanut product, egg whites, wheat, and fish. (We'll probably start wheat around nine months, bony fishes and egg whites at a year, and peanuts and shellfish at two years or later.) Other than that, Alex can have whatever she seems to be able to tolerate. He thought we'd probably need to wait another month before giving her anything more challenging than purees, but it's up to her. So tomorrow, once we're sure that she's not going to have a reaction to today's vaccines, we'll start her on sweet potatoes or carrots. Yum.
In other news, he warned me to expect multiple colds this winter, but said that she doesn't need a flu shot unless we really want her to have one. He said he was impressed with her muscle tone and that we'd better childproof the house. And, after all of our mouth pain false alarms, he found a tooth bud that's imminently ready to break through the gum. (This time, the white swelling is on top of the gum, and not just in the front.) Go, Alex!
She's been a lovely child to have around, lately. She smiles all the time, laughs frequently, rarely cries. She throws her whole self into exploring her world, flinging her little body around the room towards the fascinating things that used to be just out of reach. (As I write this, she is rummaging through the diaper bag and, oh lovely, has found the plastic grocery bags we carry for used diapers. No Alex, not for babies.) She's not crawling yet, but she can scoot backwards or wiggle around in a circle, and can get surprisingly far. We frequently find her halfway under the couch.
When I leave her with Michael and go upstairs, she watches raptly as I disappear. When I come back down, radiant smiles. Her papa always gets a lovely greeting when he comes home from work - she grins as though she thinks he's hung the moon. She'll often wrap her arms around me and rest her head sweetly against my shoulder when I pick her up. The down side of all this lovely affection: she's started bursting into tears if I try to leave her with her toys while I go to the bathroom. She's not afraid of strangers - in fact, she flirts outrageously at every opportunity. Taking her out in public is a sure way to cheer her up. But she wants to experience strangers from securely in a parent's arms.
She still likes rhymes and poems, but has also started showing more interest in the pictures in her books. She likes to turn the pages, if I lift them slightly for her. She babbles. She likes it when we babble back.
I have always enjoyed six-month-olds - it's a great age, with the sitting and toy playing and cheerfulness. But wow, having my own six-month-old is fantastic.