Madison's Monthly Highlights
Weight: 17 pounds, 14.5 ounces as of earlier this month. She has the cute chunky baby face and a little bit of a tummy but is pretty lean overall.
Clothing: She is getting longer/taller still! At 29 inches, we are finding a lot of her bottoms, leggings and sleepers are quickly getting too short. Maddie is mostly wearing 9- or 12-month bottoms and a few of her 6-month tops and sweaters. Socks and shoes are staying on her feet a little better this month! I think it's mainly because she's discovered there's a whole big world of more interesting things to touch/pull than what's on her feet.
Sleep: About 10-12 hours a night, and as of last week, we just started transitioning her out of her amazing magic sleep suit (seriously, if you have a baby that doesn't roll in their sleep yet, get thee one of these!). Because she's sprouting up like a little bean stalk, we knew the day would be coming where we couldn't just zip her into her cozy sleeping bag and call it a night. As silly as it may sound, I found myself getting so worked up about it! What Madison doesn't sleep ever, ever again?? What if she's up all night long?? After talking to a dear mama friend, I was reminded that it would be all right. What, like God isn't sovereign over everything except how Madison goes to sleep? It's the little AND big things we have to turn over to the Lord.
Since cramming her into a too-small suit was quickly not becoming an option, we purchased a Halo SleepSack (a wearable blanket) to keep Maddie feeling snug as a bug when her marshmallow suit was gone. I decided the best time to start the transition was when Dean was off work so I had him there during the day in case things went poorly and I didn't get adequate sleep at night so Christmas break it was! The first two nights we tried it, putting her in a zip-up onesie and the SleepSack, and Madison did wake up. We put her back in the sleep suit for the rest of the night each time. Since then, she has slept through the night. Cue the hallelujah chorus! Although she has been sleeping about 10.5 hours which is less than before, it's great that our baby girl is sleeping in her cute little sack like a big girl!
Eating: She is SO interested in food, y'all! Like if we're eating and I'm giving her baby food, her eyes will follow over to my plate and look at me like, "Seriously, when do I get some of that??" And Madison just is so excited to have her own sippy cup! We fill it with water and has gotten pretty good at picking it up and bringing it to her mouth with both hands. She has tasted some more solid food, too - a nibble of crust twice. And we've added a few more fruits and veggies - pineapple, prunes to name a couple. After giving her organic brown rice cereal for a couple nights, we realized the necessity of prunes since near-constipation became an issue. Thanks to the ABC's of remembering what to feed her in moderation! What to feed/not feed to babies is a whole new world!
Personality: Still as sweet as ever! Definitely a little explorer, Madison is grabbing, swiping, hitting, pinching, poking, reaching for and kicking everything in it. Her sweet innocence and curiosity are just the best to watch in action! She giggles all the time, is always alert, active, moving, rolling over, patting us on the shoulder, practicing her clapping. She's been a bit more fussy than usual. We're thinking it's teething related, which my MIL reminds me, "You can use teething as an excuse to do/not do something for the first two years!" So sweet to hear her wake up on most mornings with cute little sounds (Goo, gah, ma, da, sss). And she said her first word this month - Mama :) And no, that is not a biased-mom perspective. She's even said it in the nursery at church when I drop her off. Her second word - Dada! She practices them over and over, along with high-pitched trilling and rolling of R's and G's.
Likes: Her daddy, being thrown up in the air, bouncing, looking at books, shaking everything, splashing at bath time, sitting on our laps, looking in the mirror, playing peek-a-boo, looking at and interacting with other babies (so fun to see!), her singing apple toy, holding and shaking little balls, sitting in her high chair. She also likes food, my water bottle, anything she shouldn't like (she tries to grab at wires, cords, plastic bags, electronic devices - you name it, she's probably reaching for it).
Dislikes: Waiting to be fed, having her nose/eyes/face wiped off at all, getting ready for bed after her bath (it's like she doesn't want the play party to end), when we say no, when I leave the room.
What I want to remember: Everything. She is growing so much each day. This is of course a given, and a natural part of life. I want to recall the moments that may not seem like much at the time, but looking back, made up the days, weeks, months and years of our lives. This month, there were lots of firsts - trying on all her pretty first Christmas dresses from Granmom and Grammy, went to her first Singing Christmas Tree production, attended her first Christmas party, heard the story of Jesus' birth for the first time, joined us for a candlelight Christmas Eve service and opened presents of Christmas morning for the very first time.
You may also like: Madison's 6 Month Highlights | Follow our daily adventures with #sweetmaddiegirlgram
