Miracle of Miracles

The first time Elise had solids [here's the video if you missed it], we were convinced she really liked them. She didn't even make weird faces, and she seemed to eat the rice cereal pretty well for it being her first time.

Since then, however, she hasn't seemed to like to eat from a spoon. Ever. Every day I dreaded offering her solids because she always resisted so much (and because it made such a mess without getting much of anything in her tummy). I was convinced that she would never eat anything but breastmilk, and I was never going to get a break. We even gave her pears with the rice cereal because they were sweet (I know, I know, if I give her the sweet things first, she'll never eat vegetables). We were just hoping that she would eat something.

The truth is, I have been looking forward to Elise eating solids for months now. I have been hoping that she would get full, nurse less often, and sleep better. Because right now she nurses every two hours, night and day. She's six months old. I know newborns that do a lot better than that. I am so tired all the time, and I feel like I'm constantly nursing Elise. So, I guess solid food was my only hope for a break.

And then she wouldn't take them. And I was devastated. And I gave up hope. (Okay, that's a little dramatic, but I was pretty sad about it.)

But today, a miracle happened. Matt gave Elise sweet potatoes for the first time before church, and she seemed to like them okay. But I wasn't going to get my hopes up again because she always seems to like a food better the first time she tries it. Then tonight, I offered her peas, and—wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles—she eagerly finished all of it. Like, I scraped the bowl clean. That's never happened before. I refilled the bowl with sweet potatoes, and she liked that even better. Another bowl of sweet potatoes, and I couldn't get the spoon into her mouth fast enough. A second bowl of peas made her fourth bowl of food. About that time she finally slowed down (maybe that had something to do with the sweet-potatoes-to-peas switch). But I couldn't believe it. She had eaten way more than she ever had before.

So here we are, crossing our fingers. Maybe tonight is the night. Who knows, she might sleep four hours, or maybe even six. What am I doing here at the computer while she's asleep? I'm going to bed!

P.S. She may not look like she's enjoying the peas much if you're judging by the faces she's making in these pictures, but you should have seen her inhale that food!

P.P.S. Because I love Fiddler on the Roof, and because this calls for celebration (even if she doesn't sleep through the night tonight), here is a little video for you to enjoy:

Little Drummer Girl

Elise is obsessed with the raisins container. Here she is playing the raisins like bongos.

Two Teeth

As of yesterday, Elise has two teeth! She has had the bottom left incisor in the middle since March 13th, and yesterday the one beside it broke through. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a good picture for a while. It's hard enough just to see them. (If you're trying to see her teeth in these pictures, you can't. I just think she's cute.) You can definitely feel that they've come through, and the right one is getting easier and easier to notice. She's getting so big!

Georgia On My Mind

Tonight, I'm missing the mountains. This beautiful place is where I grew up.

And yes, I know I live at the foot of an even bigger mountain, but sometimes that just doesn't do it for me. There's something about those green rolling hills that makes me feel at home.

This Is the Way We Brush Our Teeth

Elise's new favorite thing to teethe on is her toothbrush. She likes the end with the bristles, but the handle end is great too. That second tooth should be popping through any day now.

The Numbers Are In!

We just got back from Elise's 6 month well check, and the numbers are in! So I thought I'd post briefly about our visit. She's 6 months and 2 weeks old today.

She is 27" tall (85th percentile), weighs 17 lbs 13 oz (80th percentile), and her head is 42 cm (25th percentile).

The doctor was pleased to hear that she is sitting so well. He also gave us some suggestions about how to get her to go longer between feedings, especially at night. We'll probably start working on those things later this week. And we'll be working on getting her to eat more solids. I'll let you know how it goes. Wish us luck!

It's good to hear that she's growing and doing so well!

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a video of Elise's silliness.

Gearing Up for a Busy Week

I have been looking forward to this week, but I know it is going to be crazy!

Tomorrow is Monday, and we have Family Home Evening and also need to do laundry. We always need to do laundry, it seems. Even our neighbors have noticed that we're always going to the laundry. I guess that's just how it is sometimes with babies.

Tuesday is the day of Elise's 6 month well check. It's always fun to see how she's doing and to find out how big she is. Shots aren't so much fun, but she usually does pretty well. And we love our pediatrician. I'll be sure to post about how the visit goes!

Wednesday we are getting pictures taken by Angela Marie Photography, the same photographer who took Elise's newborn pictures. I seriously can't wait. I have been so excited about this for a while now. We have to do our session at 9am so that Matt can get back for his class at 1pm, so let's hope Elise is happy and alert! She has been teething (she has had a tooth for a week now, and I think the one beside it is coming in), so wish us luck!

Thursday night is a Relief Society activity with the Easter Seals Northern Rocky Mountain Provo Early Intervention Program. I have been really looking forward to this activity. Early intervention specialists are coming to present to our Relief Society and to answer our questions about child development. What a great opportunity!

And all of this will be fit in around Matt's and my classes and assignments. And Matt's work. And Elise's schedule. And everything.

If that doesn't seem like very much to you, you probably don't have kids. If you do have kids and that still doesn't seem like a busy week, I take my hat off to you.

Who Wears Short Pants?

Elise wears short pants.

These pants are size 6-12 months, but Elise is so tall that they're getting too short already. Same story with most of her other pants. I can't keep up with this kid. I really think she's going to be extra tall when she is an adult. We already had to move the jumperoo to the second setting because she was too tall for the first one. Maybe she takes after her grandma, Matt's mom, who is 5' 10" (or 5' 11"? I can't remember.). We're going to have to get another car seat soon at this rate, and hers is supposed to go up to 30". I thought it was going to last her entire first year at least, but I guess I was wrong.

At 4 months, she was 26" and 95th percentile for height. Tuesday is her 6 month well check, and we'll see then how much she has grown. I can't wait for summer weather when I can put shorts on her and we won't have this problem. In the mean time, I guess her pudgy ankles will just have to show.

It's official. She's six months old.

Elise turned six months today! We celebrated by giving her her very first tastes of rice cereal. She loved it! She has been a little cranky (refusing to nap'll do that to ya), so hopefully she'll be even more receptive the next time we try.

Oh, and patting is her new favorite way to explore things, so that's why she's patting so enthusiastically in the video. Isn't she adorable?

I Can't Believe It.

Elise will be six months old tomorrow. I'm sitting here thinking about that and getting a little sad. If I didn't plan on having more kids eventually, I'd be pretty depressed right now. Tomorrow starts the time when Elise's only food isn't my breastmilk. She's never had anything else. Her being able to eat other things, I'm sure, will feel like a relief sometimes, but right now I just want her all to myself to love and take care of. As exhausting as this first six months has been sometimes, I'm not sure I want Elise to be a big baby yet. But she's definitely not a newborn anymore.

I was talking on the phone to my oldest sister recently, and she mentioned that my mom didn't want to stop breastfeeding me. I am the youngest of seven children, and my mom nursed us all. I said something about how weird it was that I was like 18 months old when my mom finally weaned me (and even then it was because the doctor told her she should because she had bad bruises on her chest from being in a car accident). Now that I think about it, though, I can understand how she might feel that way. There's something happy and intimate and innocent about nursing a baby.

Elise is so grown up all of a sudden. Matt said the other day, "She's so cute when she sits and plays. She looks like an actual human, not like a lump of lard." Translation for those of you who are offended for Elise's sake: "She's so cute, and she's getting to be so grown up and independent." Matt keeps things light around here.

Elise is so ready for solids. Today she lurched to grab the food I was eating, and for quite some time she's had a hawk eye on me as I eat. She loves to sip water from a cup (even though most of it comes back out of her mouth again), and she thinks spoons are really great to put in her mouth. (Then again, I'm not so sure she cares about spoons in particular because she puts everything in her mouth.) She's been sitting since her 5-month birthday, and she's getting better at it all the time. She's going to love solid foods.

We're planning on introducing rice cereal tomorrow. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and maybe even a video, and you can expect a blog post about it. And I'll try not to be too sad that my little girl is growing up.

8 days old

now