kate_nepveu

SteelyKid was six months on Saturday.

According to the pediatrician this week, she is 26 inches long (roughly 70th percentile) and 15 pounds 10 ounces (roughly 50th). She is quite healthy, though the doctor advised that considering her very slight eczema and her sensitive digestive system, we hold off on giving her nuts for as long as possible. I don't think she's presently allergic to peanuts, as opposed to finding them hard to digest (determined, alas, via Five Guys fries, which are cooked in peanut oil), but much better safe than sorry.

Speaking of food, our introduction of new things was put on temporary hold when she got a cold and wasn't interested in eating solids for a while. (And now she's getting another one, whee.) And then when we did, well, I discovered that I really hadn't been paranoid about eliminating certain foods out of my diet earlier, even though they had seemed problematic before I rigorously cut out every trace of dairy or soy. The current list is:

Absolutely confirmed to give her digestive trouble:

• Dairy
• Soy
• Carrots
• Pears

Not about to seek absolute confirmation after the carrots and pears, thank you very much:

• Poultry (definitely chicken, possibly turkey)
• Corn
• Peanuts
• Broccoli

Triggers for acid reflux, for which I cannot be medicated while nursing:

• Chocolate
• Citrus
• Onion
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Mint
• Alcohol
• Caffeine

Oral allergy syndrome triggers:

• All kinds of fresh fruit
• Almonds
• Cucumbers

(Soliciting advice: if anyone's kids had trouble with things on the first two lists, and had additional problem foods, I'd be glad to hear it.)

So you can see why the discovery that carrots and pears are bad was frustrating: it would be really nice to wean her now that she's six months (my OB/GYN saw that I was down 20-odd pounds from pre-pregnancy and ordered a thyroid test (which was normal)), but we haven't been able to determine just how well the current formula works with these other problems clouding the data. It's obviously better, but whether it's good enough for full-time use . . . ?

The good news is that twice this month, I was able to put her down in her crib immediately after her 1 a.m.-ish and 5 a.m.-ish feedings and then not pick her up again until her next feeding. It is hard to convey just how amazingly wonderful that was. One of those times was last night, despite her coming down with a cold; I'd propped her head up on a Boppy pillow for her cold and her feet up on a folded blanket for her digestive system, so maybe I'm on to something. She wants to sleep, really, she does . . .

She continues to make incremental but perceptible progress with her motor skills. I forgot to mention, last report, that she'd started reaching out and picking up things off our shoulders, when we'd hold her in a standing position on our laps. She continues to reach for things this month with a charmingly purposeful expression on her face, such as a particular toy out of several before her, my keyboard, Emmy (who continues to be absolutely fascinating), or the dinosaurs in her crib mobile, which as I just now saw, she can touch the bottoms of, though not quite enough to grab. Either we lower the crib mattress or take that out permanently, and not just when she's propped up on a pillow . . . Several times, she has not only picked up her pacifier, but got it in her mouth the right way around (it has a plush little red dog sewn to the handle, to give her something to grasp). She's discovered her feet, which are of course fascinating, and managed a tripod-style sit (using one hand to support herself) several times this month. (Other times she gently lists forward or to the side, and ends up on her stomach.) And she loves, loves, loves bouncing up and down, like so:

Her other favorite thing this month is having raspberries blown at her, especially close to her face. I can't do it consistently, but fortunately even my sputters amuse her.

It's inconclusive whether she's developing stranger anxiety, as the times when she's had the most contact with strangers, she's also been tired. Since she is spending most of next weekend with my parents, who she hasn't seen for a couple of months, I devoutly hope not; but at least she's well-established in daycare now.

The bird-cries seem to have backed off a bit this month. She still gurgles and makes vowel-heavy noises, but I'm not sure that there's been any significant change in that for a while. The hair on the rims of her ears has now rubbed completely off. And she still has the best smiles.

Edit: oh, and I forgot, her new favorite thing to chew on is tags, as in the things that give washing instructions on plush toys. I'm keeping a close eye on this and will cut the tags off and just her give her Taggie blanket if necessary, but so far with only two bottom teeth she's not getting them off.

As always, no unsolicited advice.