28 Weeks

Isla had her 6 month well baby check up this past Wednesday. She weighed 13 pounds, 13 ounces (10-25%ile), she measured 24 1/2 inches in length (10-25%ile) and her head circumference was 41.5 cm (25%ile). Her growth has definitely slowed since our last visit but she gained on all parameters so our doctor wasn't worried (I have to laugh though at the possibility of the dietitian having a child with growth troubles!) She figured that Isla's intake probably slowed with her illness/cough over the past couple weeks (which it did) and expects her growth will pick right up again. At the appointment, she got 4 shots (including the H1N1 and regular flu vaccines) and was a trooper!  

We officially stopped swaddling Isla when she sleeps this week, per our pediatrician's recommendation (we'd sorta stopped before then restarted). Isla did not sleep well at first and I was joking that I gave up Isla's swaddle for Lent and in turn Isla gave up sleeping. :o) She hasn't been napping for nearly as long and she started waking up between 3 and 4 AM to eat rather than 5 something for her early AM feed. But then, come Sunday night, she slept from 6:30 PM to 6:30 AM SOLID!!

Speaking of solids, Isla is loving her new diet. We have introduced her to the following (in order): avocado, sweet potato, black beans, homemade rice "cereal" (but it is hard to blend up so it has some actual whole rice grains in it) and banana. I love her reaction to each new food. Of course, it always looks like she HATES it, but she has warmed up to each one so far (although bananas are new as of yesterday and she just does not know what to think). When she first tried the beans, she gagged and gagged. The 2nd time she had them, she gagged so hard she didn't breathe for a few seconds and freaked me out. Now she gobbles them right up, especially when mixed with rice and avocado (who wouldn't!?)

Isla is an incredibly messy eater. Mostly because she absolutely insists on "helping." I'm learning a few tricks like 1) Use 2 spoons so she can hold one while I scoop up food with the other and 2) Feed her naked. There really is no other way! Rarely will she let you give her a bite without her first grabbing the food off the spoon with her hand, then rubbing her hand on her face, legs, the chair, table, her bib, under her bib....it's pretty cute but is a HUGE time investment. Graham says she likes to control what goes into her mouth, just like her mommy (ha ha, I guess it's true!)

This week, Isla added a Michael Jordan tongue to her bucket of tricks. This picture doesn't do it justice because normally she has her mouth wide open and her tongue out but she does it when she is excited. Then she pants like a dog. Don't ask me where she got it. I really have no idea!

Remember how I said we're saving lots of $$ on diapers with her once weekly poo schedule? Scratch that! I seriously think she pooped 6 times today if not more. Poor girl! Now that she eats solids, you can totally tell when she's trying to go and sometimes it is painful. Our Dr is having us give her a sippie cup of water every time we feed her so she can learn to drink from a cup (and avoid constipation) but she's not very good at it yet. Oh and for the record, everyone always warns you about a baby's poop changing for the worse when they start solids. For Isla it is a welcome change as her previous diapers were SO smelly and messy!

Enough of that....it's been a while since I mentioned Isla's nicknames. We've taken to calling her Isla Bear quite often and I've caught myself calling her Peanut Butter on a number of occasions (????). Guess it sorta goes with her other nickname, Peanut.

It feels like Isla is definitely becoming a little girl now that she is eating solids, sitting, pooing, laughing at appropriate times. We love her!