Claire had a very busy 6th month and spent half of it away from home. I’m sure it would be a big deal to some babies who are on a schedule and sleep in a crib…so I guess I am lucky that doesn’t apply to us!

In a way being away was good for Claire. I knew she was getting into a routine but with two weeks of other people entertaining her sisters, we got a chance to work some stuff out a bit better.

Hair:
Her hair is coming in now. We still get the “ohhh her hair is red” comments but it’s more of a reddy brown. Still pretty straight.

Eyes:
They are still getting lighter. I don’t think they have settled yet. She has no problems with her vision - she doesn’t miss a thing.

Teeth:
Still just the bottom two. She likes to chew on everything and I have to watch her while she’s feeding. She gets really annoyed with our new ’if you’re not sucking you’re done’ rule.

Eating:
Claire is not a good solids eater. In the six weeks since we started solids there has been one meal that she got really excited about. It was sweet potatoes but the love only lasted one day. We have tried a bunch of things with her but she purses her lips and refuses to eat. I’m not concerned especially since there have been a ton of things going on this past month. It is really frustrating trying to get her to eat and I don’t push it beyond what I think is a reasonable attempt on our part.

Breastfeeding is still going well. It amazes me how efficient it is. We have started giving her one bottle of formula at bedtime and it is much more tedious getting it into her. She rarely takes more than 5 ozs so  the knocking her out into a deep sleep with a bottle theory isn’t working out all that well for us.

I have to really think about how many times she eats a day. It’s so quick and easy you lose track. She is feeding between 6-7 times a day still - I expect this number would go down if she’d open her mouth and eat solids.

Size:
At her 6 month appt on the 16th she was exactly 16lbs and 36 inches. She is in the middle of the curve for both.

Sleep:
Our vacation time gave me a chance to figure out Claire’s sleep. If everything is going well she naps for about 45 mins in the morning, has a long nap after lunch (1-2 hours) and then has a catnap around dinnertime. She is tired for the night at around 8pm and she is getting better at settling for the night. We still get messed up with the bedtime catnap which has her wide eyed until after 10 but those nights are becoming less frequent.

She doesn’t do well with falling asleep on her own but I have figured out how to get her to sleep in just a few minutes. She fell asleep for most of our family members over our vacation so I take comfort in knowing it’s not just me that can get her to sleep!

Over our vacation we also learned that Claire has a really bad case of fear of missing out. At the cottage it was next to impossible to get her to nap for more than 30 mins. Thankfully things were a bit more peaceful in Ottawa and she settled back into being a decent sleeper.

Co-sleeping is still working for us and it was pretty convenient while on vacation. She is still eating twice a night.

Things she’s doing this month:
-She can sit up on her own. if she lies back on the breastfeeding pillow she can muscle her way back up.
-When motivated she can roll from her belly to her back now but she still isn’t a fan
-She can lung forward and to both sides. She is getting more graceful at getting out of the sitting position.
-She can move in circles while on her tummy by going hand over hand.
-She claps
-She blows raspberries
-She growls (it’s a funny noise she makes when she’s excited about something)
-She is very good with her hands and can now pick up small objects
-She puts her arms up when you say up
-She is less attached to her soother this month
-She gets upset if she can’t reach something or you take something away. Thankfully it passes quickly.
-She gets upset if she’s in a room by herself (I never had to deal with this one with the girls!)
-She is extremely easy to travel with. The car keeps her in a deep sleep.

Personality:
Claire is still a very happy baby. She had a busy month meeting all sorts of new people and she did really well. She’s only played strange once so far and I think it’s because she got scared more than she found the person scary. She loves attention and will still smile and play with anyone who is willing.

This month her stubborn side came out. The best example is how she purses her lips and refuses to eat solids.

Claire is really spoiled. She is such a good natured and happy baby that people don’t agree but she really is. When Leah and Emma were born I had a lot of rules. Now I know those rules saved my sanity but they aren’t rules we have followed with Claire. I honestly don’t think another baby is going to happen and I am just enjoying her.