The Randazzo Family: Maisie is SIX/SEVEN months old!

Life got the best of us in September, so Mommy totally fell behind on blogging. If there was one post I wish I had completed, it would have been Maisie's SIX month post. Oh well, by the time I even thought of it, it was so late in the month, I figured, we'll just combine the post when she turns SEVEN months...no big deal, right?

How Maisie has changed in the last two months is unbelievable...she is now moving ALL over the place, eating whatever we feed her (baby food is a thing of the past) and definitely has separation anxiety. So many changes since the last post, the main one being that I don't get to spend every waking moment with her anymore, as I have gone back to work full time. Thankfully, she gets to spend her days with my parents and we couldn't ask for better, more loving care than what she receives when she's with them. Our lives are so NON-STOP between school, work, soccer, ballet, birthday parties, grocery shopping, etc that I haven't had a chance to really stop and FEEL what it's been like for me NOT to be with her all day, every day, but of course as I sit here and write, it makes me tear up. Of course I miss her when I'm not with her, but I think because my work day is so busy, I honestly don't have the time to think about how much I actually miss her. What I do know is that I am 110% ready to see her when my work day is done. As much as I'd love to stop and run a quick errand before I have all three kids, I usually don't. My first stop is almost always my parents' house...I can't get her in my arms fast enough (Brody too of course!)

STATS from her 6 month check-up:

15 lbs, 13 oz (90th %ile)
26.5 in (97th %ile)
43 cm in head circumference (92nd %ile)

We had a great visit with Dr. Huang, as usual. She had to get three pokes, which broke my heart, but she was easily calmed with some comforting. Dr. Huang still is pushing for us to get her in her own crib (oops) and said to experiment some more with her food, seeing as how well she is taking it. The one concern we talked about was the fact that she was refusing a bottle at the time. I was just starting to go back to work and Maisie would refuse a bottle (of formula or breast milk) from anyone. This was SO unbelievably stressful for me. So while I was ready to give up breastfeeding all together when I started work, it really scared me that if I did, she wouldn't get the nutrition she needs! Brock and Dr. Huang are of course so much smarter than me, because they both were insistent that if she was hungry enough, she would take the bottle. Sure enough, while this whole bottle refusal did last a couple of weeks, she got through that phase and is now taking bottles like a champ.

How she is SLEEPING...

She is NOT sleeping through the night, which would really be lovely at this point in her life...she takes cat naps. It is very noticeable at this point that she doesn't sleep as much during the day as she used to. She will play and play with her toys until she gets tired, then she's very predictable and it's clearly feeding/nap time. Some naps are easier to put her down for than others.

How she is EATING...

She is getting really good with her fine motor skills; picking up little pieces of food and making sure it gets into her mouth. We are experimenting with a lot more "people" food with her, but are noticing that because of it, she really isn't taking to the baby food much anymore. She loves rice and almost any kind of fruit you give her. It is apparently Brock's job to introduce her to any and all flavors of meat we eat. Don't get her ANYWHERE close to your drink or plate; she will go for it...can cause a mess. Bibs are a definite must when feeding her and bath time usually follows dinner time and sometimes other meal times throughout the day.

What else about little Maisie?

...her scooting far at the beginning of 6 months has turned into a full on CRAWL. She was crawling just before turning 7 months (Brody was 7 months; Maddi was 9 months)
...she makes what we call the "squidgy face" on command
...makes other sounds (mama, baba, mmmmmm)
...got her ears pierced!
...opening cabinets and pulling contents out
...wants her Mommy over anyone else. She is fine with Halmoni all day long UNTIL she sees Mommy, then Mommy is done for...all attention is to go to Maisie.

Not sure what else to add other than we love her more and more each day. Her siblings still dote on her and there is no one in her little world right now who can make her laugh quite like Brody. Maddi is still a wonderful hand if I need it here and there. She knows her well enough to know what to do and when and is magic in the backseat with her.

We are looking forward to more FIRSTS with her as we enter the fall/holiday season...gets me giddy just thinking about it!

Yes, Maisie can LAUGH, but she wasn't really doing it for Mommy here...