Six-month wellness check and birthday celebration

Still on your way to becoming a model...tall and slim. Also smart and strong.
Weight: 6.5kg / 14.35 oz (50%) 
Height: 67.3cm / 26.5in (75%)
Vaccinations: DTaP and Rotavirus  


We celebrated your 6 month birthday a little late, to time it with Aunt Gaia's arrival from New York. 

This also allowed Grandma Maria to finish knitting the pink alpaca dress you wore the eve of the celebration. She was surprised at how beautiful it turned out.You are also carrying a little gold bracelet with your named carved, complements of my uncle's family. Elegance from head to ankle, as you have no shoes on.

We went to a Japanese restaurant and ate delicious sushi with chop sticks. We ended up asking for multiple sets, as you kept throwing down the sticks. In the end I ate with my fingers and one stick.

Love, Mommy

Six-month milestones

Baby Zoe,

You're crawling! January 16: The day after your 6-month birthday, you moved forward on your knees and hands. No more than 4 steps at a time, but it's great progress.

Lately you've been testing various forms of commute to take you around a room - rolling like a sausage, swimming on the carpet. But your mind was set on crawling. Every time we'd put you on the floor, you'd practice. I'd get on my knees and show you how, and you'd try to do the same until you got tired, and frustrated by the difficult task. But you made it. you are yet to perfect the move to take you further in your expeditions, but it's only a matter of days.

You're eating! We've been slowly experimenting with food for the last few weeks. A bite here and a bite there. On your birthday Mommy made a meat broth with mashed potatoes and carrots. That's what I call an adult dish. Our baby food processor is not pureeing the pieces enough for you to swallow with ease.

You ate a few bites at a time, but it didn't excite you like yogurt. I planned on giving you a few spoons of yogurt last night, but you finished the entire portion with great appetite. Then you smeared it like lotion, on your hands and feet until they were covered in a layer of white paste.

You're not going to bed! Zoe, It's 11:30. Go to sleep. You are sleepy, but you insist on staying up. You used to go to bed at 9:30. Little by little you pushed your bedtime, and now it's bordering midnight. Last night we put you in bed at 11:15. You started crying. We decided to let you cry it out, but the cries became louder. I peeked in, and found you sitting on the bed, facing the door and crying in the dark. When you saw me, you looked at me with terrorized eyes, begging to be rescued from a distressful situation. From what? I picked you up and brought you back into the living room. You are a happy baby in the company of mommy and Papa. Happy six months!

Herculina

Herculina... That's what we've been calling you lately. You lift your laundry basket with one hand, lock your grip on our cheeks, nails penetrating our skin, you kick like a race horse, and carry your weight on your feet, intrepid. Even the doctor noticed your strength. You're tall, with strong quads. Looks like you'll kick some ass.

Solid food mini success

Little Zoe,

The sippy cup experiment went relatively well. So did the butternut squash. The colorful spoon going into my mouth got your attention and you started moving your lips as you watched me eat. You accepted a few spoons, each with uncertainty and doubt, then you got control of the spoon and used the squash as face mask.

Apples are still your favorite. When you see me eat an apple, your eyes get fixed on the fruit, as you reach your arms forward, hold it with two hands (or feet), and suck the juice with appetite.

No potatoes

Grandma Maria informed me of the potato incident... of your rejection of the starchy paste with disgust and quenched mouth. The banana and the butternut squash shared the same lot.

I know what to do. It's Friday. Mommy doesn't work on weekends. You and I are going to eat like grownups - the way you like it.  You don't like to be treated like a baby. You like to do what we do. I bought two identical sippy cups and a set of baby spoons. All colorful and fun. We will sit together and have a meal, using the same type of spoon and cup. We will do this every day. First on the menu, pureed butternut squash!

Milk siblings

Baby Zoe,

You are an only child, but you have many milk siblings, through the milk bank, and one through family acquaintanceship. A  little girl, younger than you by a few months.

The dollar value of the milk I donated so far was quoted high - $1723.50 for 383oz - that it's hard to believe the bank is not making profit. So I'm looking for other ways to share the milk. I posted an ad on a website where people sell milk, and got an email from a man. Turns out, there is a whole subculture of men wanting breastmilk. I might have to keep donating it to the bank as the freezer is continuously filling up. Your refusal to drink from the bottle when I'm at work, is not helping.

Now that I'm working full-time, your hatred toward the bottle pushed us toward solid foods two weeks sooner than planned. I come home at lunchtime to feed you, but you go hungry for hours until my work day ends. Yesterday I asked nonna Maria to feed you some grated apples. Today for your afternoon meal nonna Maria will steam a potato and puree it with breast milk. Sounds pretty tasty. Can't wait to hear how it went.

Love,
Mommy.