Rowena at Six Months

Well, believe it or not, it's been a half year since Rowena's birth. I can't believe she's already six months old! CRAZY! She is growing like a weed--. She continues to be very happy and sleeps pretty good. This past week she's been getting up once or twice a night...come to find out that she's been teething and is currently having an allergic reaction to something. She woke up yesterday morning with a nice rash all over her body--very prominently on her belly. The doctor said that allergic reactions like this take 3-5 days to appear, which makes it very hard to determine the cause. We're thinking it might be from the towels at the hotel. All of our girls have extremely sensitive skin (especially as babies), and the use of Dreft (detergent) is necessary. She wasn't able to get her 6 month shots yesterday, so we're taking her back in one month. Dr. Paul wants to give her about 5 days on some meds to help with the reaction, and because of the size of her head and the rate in which it is growing, he wants to give another month and measure it again. If it continues to grow this quickly, they'll have to run tests. As a mother who has gone through NUMEROUS tests before on a child...to that I say--NO THANKS! What I mean is, that I really hope that we don't have to go through that again...as it's stressful, hard, and sad.

Rowena's Stats at Six Months:

Weight: 16 lbs, 12 oz (70%)

Length: 26" (55%)

Head: 45 cm (95%)

She's about 2 lbs heavier than Delaney and 1 lb heavier than Kate at that age. :) Our Chunky Monkey!

Eating:

Rowena is on Stage 2 foods. She likes everything she tries. She is cutting down on nursing (or bottle in-take) after her meals. She usually has about 3 meals a day, along with one nursing snack and a bedtime nursing snack. She has also been using those mesh bags to chew on apples--which she seems to like. We keep using the sippy cup with water, but she doesn't take in much.

Playing:

She is now sitting unassisted for longer periods, so she is able to play with more toys. She likes to chew on any- and everything. She loves to grab just about anything--so keep your hair up and necklaces at home. She still loves her megasaucer too, and enjoys stroller rides.

Movement:

She loves laying on the floor, and rolling around. As soon as she sees something she wants, she reaches and rolls right to it. She continues to use her muscles...getting up high off of the floor on her chest or up on her knees with her butt in the air. She's getting close to getting herself coordinated to do both at the same time. The girl's legs are in constant movement...always kicking, kicking, kicking.

Talking:

She's coo'ing like crazy still. And, now she's starting the baby screeching. INSANE! She can get really loud, and the girls, especially Katie, likes to immitate her and tries to see if she can be louder.

Misc:

She loves to be held-especially by Mommy. She doesn't, however, like it if you're holding her and sitting. She LOVES the floor and just chilling. She LOVES her "blankie" which just so happens to be a burp cloth. In fact, all of our girls became pretty attached to their burp clothes, and used them as blankies. When I'm holding her, she loves to snuggle up to my shoulder. When someone talks to her, she gives a big smile, and then snuggles into my shoulder like she's shy.

Paci or Thumb:

She doesn't take the paci...since about 3 months old (about a month after she discovered her thumb). She sucks on her thumb on her left hand, but on her right she prefers the first two fingers.

Sleeping:

This girl LOVES her sleep! She takes great naps--two to three a day. About an hour or two after she wakes up in the morning, she needs a 1-2 hour nap. Then, she'll be up for 2-4 hours and then go down for another nap. She usually needs a short nap around 6 or so. She is up for another 1-2 hours and then is down for the night--from about 8:30-7. Not bad. She's been pretty consistent with this schedule since she was about 2 months old. She's gone in spurts of having rough nights--a week here, a week there, but she tends to be great on her schedule.

So...that's Rowena Dale at 6 months. Next up for her: 6 month pictures, doctor appointment (shots and head measurement), and baptism.