Half a Year

(For the record, I started writing this post two weeks ago.)

Two weeks ago Miss Emma Bug turn six months. She's now officially in the second half of her first year. How about I freak out a little bit. Out of control. I think all her health issues have sort of prolonged the newborn haze. She's still swaddled, still in her cradled, still not sleeping through the night. So I think that those things have kind of made it feel like she's still a fragile newborn. But really, she's decidedly not. She sits up, plays with her brother, makes all kinds of noises, eats three meals a day (veeeeery small ones, but still), and judges entertains us all.

Speaking of food, even though she’s not a fan of eating it, she’s started getting a little feisty at the table. She reaches over and tries to grab her bowl. If I’m not quick, it ends up…well, I’m sure you can guess.

She’s really trying hard to crawl these days. But she’s got the patience of a…something that has no patience—it’s 6am, my brain is mush. (Who am I kidding? I don’t sleep. My brain is always mush.) So she gets frustrated fairly quickly. Actually, this pretty much applies across the board—her majesty already has the OC Instant Gratification bug. She can backwards scoot on her butt across a slick surface and roll, so she can get somewhere if she really wants to. But probably not to her intended destination.

Her favorite activities are playing naked, sucking on her toes, playing with her keys, and watching her brother. She’s a generally serious little princess, but when you earn those smiles and laughs (yes, earn—it takes work), it’s like the sun just rose in the living room. One sure way to bring on the joy: Ben. No one can make her smile and laugh and squeal quite like he can. And I’m okay with that.  What often makes her smile all big is Ben crying. True story. I’ll tell you what, though. Once I get her smiling and laughing it’s kind of like a drug. I just keep doing whatever I did over and over and over again until she’s ready to barf from joy and laughter. Because it’s just so dang cute.

She’s getting really good with her hands. She can pick things up, pass them between her hands, and put things where she wants them (pretty much just her mouth). If she sees something she wants that’s out of reach, she tries hard to get it. Usually this ends with her tipping forward on her face. She’s been standing since she was a month old, but now she’s getting really good at pulling herself up (usually just by holding on to my stationary hands—she’s too little to really reach up and get a good grip on any furniture). And in the last week or so she’s been starting to walk (a little drunkenly) while holding onto my hands. She loves her toys, and she’s figured out all the ones with levers and buttons and whatever. Pretty smart, this one.

At her six month appointment she was a petite 14 pounds 15 ounces and 25 inches (20th percentile). I know, I know. You take a look at those cheeks and think I’m lying. But I’m not. She’s got chipmunk cheeks, semi-rolly thighs, and kind of beefy arms. But she’s got a slim little waist. So back off random ladies at Target.

And of course, the question on everyone’s mind…what’s the deal with her issues. Well, there are a few things we know and a few we don’t. It looks like the reflux, for the moment, is under control. And we did recently discover she’s got some wheezing. Without any other symptoms, this probably means asthma. For now she gets breathing treatments when she gets the Crazy Cough and/or wheezes. We’ll wait until she’s older to really commit to a diagnosis there. As for the night waking, we’ve ruled out a dairy allergy (I gave up dairy and we started her on Unicorn Formula, and it changed nothing) and serious intestinal issues. Mostly because if either were the culprit, her days would suck as bad as the nights, and they just don’t. She’s great during the day. Which leads us to…sleep training. The doctor (and Matt and I) are beginning to suspect that all of the issues that have kept her up at night for the last six months (the ear infections, reflux, constipation, gas, coughing, etc.) have created a night-waking habit. The health problems have been resolved, but the waking continues. So now we’re working on “teaching self-soothing”. That’s another post for another day.

So that’s our girl. Now it’s 6:11am, and she just sneezed herself (and her brother) awake. The joys of room-sharing. So I must go.

We love you, Emma bug! Happy Half Birthday!