Six Month Stats

We had a great doctor's appointment today if you don't count the three shots (including H1N1) which made Charm City Baby's world come crashing down. That and the fact that she was terrified of the paper liner on the hospital table. Weird. She loves playing with paper towels at home, but the noisy nature of the tissue paper surrounding her, had her bug-eyed, jumpy, arms out and shaking. Poor baby. I held her during her entire exam and she repaid me by peeing on my jeans. Yay!

At any rate we confirmed what we already knew...Olivia is an eater. She is now allowed to have stage two solids. Haha well, we may or may not have already been feeding her the larger quantity stage two stuff! She also gets 4 bottles a day varying in range from 5-7 ounces each.

Here are her 6-month stats:

- Height: 27 inches  (90th percentile) She's getting tall!
- Weight: 17 lbs 9.6 ounces (75 percentile)
- Head Circumference: 43.1 cm (50th percentile)

I just can't say enough how much fun this age/phase is! Recently she has started bending over at her side ("like a teapot short and stout") to look at people or objects. She does it all the time--whether I'm holding her and she's staring at people sideways, or when she's sitting alone.

She is starting to understand that objects can be behind, underneath things. I am also enjoying her reaction to music--she studies it, she dances, and she sings too. She also loves applause and it can snap her out of any crying/whining fit.

Just remind me how much I am loving this as she begins to teethe more! :)

Your baby might be a porker if...

...the waistline of a jumper must be improvised and shifted upward to become an "empire waistline" to accommodate her belly.

Exhibit A: (notice the long suspenders just dangling and serving no purpose at all)

 

Yes, the outfit is a bit crazy today. I did that. I wanted her to wear this corduroy  jumper for the first time (purchased for $4 at Old Navy while pregnant), but then I didn't want her to wear just a plain white shirt, and THEN I realized it was too cold for her not to wear tights! So you have stripes, corduroy trimmed in plaid, and hearts! 

 Hey, while you're here want to see something funny scary? Our little horror film star in the making...

Glee for this Glider...

And I thought my glider was chic...

Congratulations, Oilo. Your furniture is the new benchmark in sophisticated, modern nursery design.

Happy Half Birthday- Six Months Old!

My baby is half a year old!

Holy Cow.

Growing up I had a friend whose family celebrated their half birthdays in addition to their "whole" birthdays. I guess in hindsight, they really only half-celebrated. There wasn't any elaborate party-- just a small gift/surprise, perhaps inviting a friend or two for a slumber party, and cupcakes. As a kid I always thought that was soooo cool and vowed to do the same when I grew up. Now that I am amidst my opportunity--I am hesitant to begin a tradition that I may not be able to keep for as many kids as Charm City Daddy and I ultimately want--four! That's 8 whole and half events a year! As it is, I've probably already over-recorded/documented Olivia's first 6 months...thousands of photos, videos galore, a dvd, a baby book that is bursting at the seams, this blog! Need I say more? So...I will make the call on whether to celebrate half birthdays at a later time...but until then....

Here are some Valentine's pics of the queen of our hearts... 

   

 

Charm City Baby: Six Months Old
Getting your hair platted like a big girl. Screaming and squirming while getting your hair done. Arching your back so mommy can't get to the back of your hair. Loving your reflection (stops the crying everytime!) Fake laughing. Growling louder than ever. Imitating and repeating sounds. Scrunching up your nose (and taking quick breathes out of your nose) when we come in for a kiss. Dancing in your bouncer. Sitting Up. Rolling Over. Pushing all the way up. Saying "Bah Bah Bah"  and "Alli Alli Alli" (there, there, there in Spanish). Whining at even the slightest glimpse of your bottle. Scarfing down solids and eyeballing our grown up food. Grabbing with purpose and understanding cause and effect.  Recognizing regulars and being shy with strangers. Putting EVERYTHING in your mouth to figure out what it is. Enjoying my iPhone apps that let you play instruments and voice flash cards. Soaking up all of our love, attention, and kisses.

A Victim of Cabin Fever

This weekend Olivia fell victim to mommy's cabin fever! On Sunday morning, my mom gave her the cutest little braids and I tried to recreate them myself when we got back home and the second blizzard attacked Charm City.

Check out my skills...

Don't be fooled by the happy face. That is a look of relief and excitement because I was done messing with her hair! This little one screamed and squirmed to the point where I had to stop halfway through and just hold her and apologize. I kept rocking her and telling her, "I'm sorry baby girl, but it only gets worse for little black girls who become black women. You have hours, days, years ahead of you that will be spent in a hair salon. Get used to it. Mama loves you."

An Unforgettable Birthday Weekend

Yep, I'll never forget this one. Mostly because of all the snow that hit the Baltimore/Washington Region...

(My bro and his perfectly chiseled driveway job)

But also because when we returned home (from camping out at Mom's and Dad's) on Super Bowl Sunday, planning only to drop off our things, one of the cars, and dash back out to a friend's Super Bowl Party, we discovered that someone had broke into our home while we were away. They saw our unshoveled driveway (probably even knocked on the door) and then took advantage of the opportunity.

The chill of the open back window in our living room was the only thing that gave it away, as the house wasn't ransacked or torn apart like you would imagine.  The culprit(s) methodically (I mean they spread it out on the bed!) went through my jewelry taking only the "good stuff" and a few items from Charm City Daddy including a laptop he had in his home office. Our first reaction? Violation."They got us!" Our second reaction Thankful. "Glad we weren't home, and the baby has no idea what happened." Our third reaction? Anger. "I wish I could find the person who did this, and....!"

Despite the serial numbers and detailed descriptions, the police will probably never recoup what we lost. I hope I am wrong, but we shall see. I have no doubt our stuff is on the black market probably being used for drugs or something.  The weather has been a terrible factor in the response  and follow-up of the police/detectives too. I have to think that the police are also more consumed with crimes like homicide than a breaking and entering in good ole' Baltimore.

So why am I sharing this with you? I debated whether or not I would share this here, but then I thought if I could encourage others to take the time to make sure you have additional insurance on their valuables (I didn't have coverage on every item taken), turn ON their home alarms (even in a great neighborhood and especially in 30 inches of snow!) then sharing my story with you would be worth it.

So, that's that. It happened and as my friend Jess eloquently put it, "It's just stuff." Although I no longer have my "push present" and some other sentimental "stuff" I am thankful to have the REAL present that came after the push--Miss Olivia, who laughed and talked when the police officer arrived.  Love my baby so much.

Oh and we didn't make the Super Bowl party (nor did we see any of the fun commercials). 

SnOMG 2010 & Happy Birthday To Me!

Sooooooo here's why  my lifelong dream to have a pool party on my birthday will NEVER happen (unless we move)...

 

my parents' backyard in SnOMG 2010

We're snowed in at my parents' house again! The Baltimore/Washington area got record breaking snowfall for our region. Something like 27-30 inches. It's stupid.

This time we decided to head south of Bmore to my parents' place BEFORE the storm hit, so we arrived Friday afternoon.  It snowed and snowed and then this morning at 7:30 a.m. the power went out and stayed out for 9 long hours.

There were only three things that worked: Charm City Daddy's laptop--on which we watched comedy shows (thanks to iTunes). My dad's Bose iPod speaker--which provided great dance music for me, mom and Olivia. The gas cooktop--on which we made breakfast and dinner--chili!

   

my lil' bro roasting toast

By 12 noon, there was a noticeable nip in the air, and we had to dance to keep warm. We LOVE dancin'!!

 

Their fireplace has an electronic lighter, so all we could do is watch the temperature drop on the remote and suffer.

I documented some of the boredom  suffering. 

Dad (aka "the FEMA director" today)

 

Mom (and Merlot)

 

 

       Charm City Daddy (look who's gotten hip to the odds of appearing on this blog)

 

 

my birthday drink of choice- Vodka sour!

 

modeling my snow shoveling fashion - a hat my little bro sewed in middle school.

 

 

The lights (and heat) came on just in time for dessert...birthday ice cream cake from CCD--which was sooo good. No dry cake-all ice cream and the crust was cookie. Thanks Babe.

I was supposed to be at the spa today getting the royal treatment (and CCD spilled that he had made dinner reservations), but I definitely had more fun laughing and spending time with the family.  I couldn't have planned a better birthday. Oh, and I'm 29!!

Let's Potty!

Five months into motherhood and three months into cloth diapering I've definitely formed my preferences on what I use and when I use it. Here goes...

1. gDiapers - Great hybrids for travel or excursions when you don't want to carry around soiled cloth diapers. Sleeker, more fitted than pockets or all-in-one's (hence great for newborns) but there are drawbacks when explosive poos happen. This diaper has never leaked on us, but the disposable liner often cannot contain all of the #1 or #2 and the plastic pocket holding it as well as the cloth cover often become the 2nd and 3rd lines of defense and end up soiled as well. So you will find yourself changing the entire set, not just the disposable lining as intended. These diapers are very expensive and no cheaper than disposables. Olivia outgrew the smalls, and I am reluctant to buy medium covers and liners to start over again.  Also *clears throat*, I do not recommend flushing these "flushable" disposable liners even in big commercial toilets. One Sunday, Charm City Daddy and I were in tears from laughing so hard about the hurting we put on a brunch buffet, and the punishment Olivia did to the bathroom of the same establishment. Ahhh, our happy little, destructive family.

2. Giggle Infant Bath Seat - Olivia took her first bath in this little seat (which sits in the big tub) and will still be using this seat until she is at least 7 or 8 months old. It allows baby to lay back with head support and the seat has a hole that allows it to fill with water to immerse the vital areas.  I wrote a review on the Giggle website months ago that says it all.

3. Giggle Organic Pre-Folds - Thick, soft, absorbent, washes clean and easily the best pre-fold on the market. They make other pre-folds look like 1-ply toilet paper. I used these more when Olivia was on the small side--between 8-10 lbs, but keep them around as emergency backups. I wrote a review on the Giggle website for these as well. Five Stars! Use with Snappi Diaper Fasteners.

4. BumGenius 3.0 Cloth Diapers - Easy to use. Easy to clean. Easy to size (adjustable). I just said easy three times! Each time they come out of the wash, I am always amazed to see how clean they get considering the damage Olivia can do. I must admit Olivia moving to solids has taken cloth diapering to a new level. I mean, you can't really look at poo as poo anymore. It's more like play-doh or something. 

Also Great: A&D and Balmex Daily Skin Protective Ointment for when we use disposables while traveling or when Olivia needs a little added moisturizing, protection.

I hope these gear reviews are helping gift givers, moms, and moms-to-be out there! I know I read lots of mommy blogs and reviews (still am!) gearing up for Olivia.

*I was not compensated or gifted any of these items for the purpose of this review.

CCB's One Year Anniversary

Charm City Baby (the blog) turned one today!

One year later and 155 posts later, I still love logging on and sharing funny stories and pictures about our new little family---and other little things that pop up.

 

daddy and baby in matching sweaters

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