It's been quite the interesting month- a lot of changes, some drama and stress, but of course lots of laughs and smiles! Elle started out her 6th month of life with some serious separation anxiety! Of course right?! I knew it was bound to happen. It started anytime I'd go to lay her down. Knowing what was coming, she'd instantly begin crying. Ah- it drives me crazy!! I hate to see her sad (especially when it's because she wants to be with me), and I do love sitting and snuggling her, but seriously- I refuse to create a monster! She's actually gotten a little better- I just always have to make sure naps and bedtime are timed perfectly. If she's the least bit overtired, she'll always end up crying. Aside from naps and bedtime, she'll cry when I leave the room if she's all alone or if she can hear me but doesn't know where I am! It's not bad though- I went through it with Madi so I'm not too worried about dealing with it again.
*Warning* If you're not comfortable reading about bodily functions (namely poop and the inability to do so), please do not read the following two paragraphs.
As for changes- I started Elle on baby food two days after she turned 6 months. Everything was going great! She's a fabulous eater- loving all the food I was giving her, even opening up real wide and saying, "Ahhhh". Then almost 2 weeks into her "new foods" experience, I gave her a jar of bananas (I wasn't planning on letting her eat the entire jar, but she was just loving it way too much). BAD idea! I then spent the next week dealing with constipation (I know- such a lovely conversation piece)! But really, it's been quite stressful for me (as I'm sure it would be for any mom). It's not fun watching your 6th month old cry in pain when they have to go! After stool softeners, a trip to the Dr. and completely changing the foods I give her, I think I've finally got the problem under control (knock on wood). I've taken her completely off of cereal and only feed her a jar of fruit in the morning (can only be: peaches, prunes, or pears), and a jar of veggies in the evening (peas or green beans). Quite the boring diet if you ask me, but I'm still a little nervous to try anything else.
Well, the stress didn't end there. Since Elle wasn't popping regularly and would painfully cry every time she was trying to have a bowl movement, it messed her sleeping up a bit. The only way (I believe) to get a baby to sleep through the night to to not go and get them when they cry. Well, Elle's present circumstance made this a little difficult. She'd cry out in the night and I'd fly out of bed knowing that she was trying to poop. Using my trusty flashlight I'd peek into her diaper to check it out. Sure enough, she usually was- so then I'd have to take off her pj's, undo her diaper, and push her legs up to her chest to help it out (sorry for all the vivid details). There were a couple nights I had to do this 3 different times (doesn't sound that bad, but remember- I hadn't been pulling nights like that since the beginning of October- so it was definitely exhausting)! It's now been a week since her last episode and Elle's thankfully doing much better. She is currently still waking up once though.
Before I get to the fun, happy, wonderful parts about the month- I have to say one more thing about sleep. Elle is an incredibly short napper. I'm not used to a baby needing such little sleep- at this age Madi always took a 2 hour morning nap and a 3 hour afternoon nap. Since Elle likes to nap in short increments, it's been tricky trying to get rid of her third nap of the day. Luckily, she had a whole week at the beginning on February where everyday she'd take a full 2 hour afternoon nap! It was wonderful and I'm trying my hardest to make it the norm.
I think it was all the constipation/ sleeping drama that threw Elle off. She just didn't seem like her happy, easy-going self this month. But then about a week ago, I solved the poop problem, Elle had a huge blow-out, and she instantly had her charming personality back. Since then Elle's back to being her happy, smiley self. Elle's actually become even more fun and entertaining this month. She'll dance when music comes on, and laughs at the littlest things. And it's not always just that cute "baby laugh". It's the whole body, fling your head back, and bounce off the pillow type of laugh (still working on getting a good video of this- it's hysterical). Here's a couple videos to give you a glimpse.
Most of the time Elle just laughs at all the weird noises we make- but sometimes she's the instigator. . .
One last thing to note for the month- not only is Elle's dark hair fading, but she's also loosing her curl. The only time I kinda see curl anymore is after the bath when her hair is still wet. It's adorable! But, I do realize that her hair was destined to be straight (and blonde)!
