Cute as a button! :o)

Here's Mia playing w/ her little gym and showing off her tamed hair. ;o) I finally found clips that will stay in her hair, so hopefull the Flock of Seagulls era is now over...

New Photos!

Hey, all. I finally got Mia's photo album updated again. :o) Enjoy!

Six-month update

Mia had her six-month doctor visit yesterday, and it went really well. Our waffle weighed in at 18lbs 0.5oz and measured 26.5". She had been in about the 95th percentile in both measurements at her last appointment, but now she's in about the 85th percentile for both measurements at her age, which is good. They say that breastfed babies tend to be bigger than formula-fed babies for the first six months, and then they tend to be a little slimmer than formula-fed babies for the next six months as they start rolling around and crawling. So it's good that she's developing well.

Mia received her third round of shots yesterday, which actually went fairly well. She didn't even cry at the first shot...she just looked really irritated. Then she cried pretty hard for about 30s after the second, and that was it. I think the nurse that we've had the last two times is just really good at giving them. And now we get a three-month break before our next round! :o)

Our pediatrician is pretty eager to get Mia eating a lot more solid food ASAP, which sort of surprised me. I guess she's been studying for her board re-certification, and there is a lot of new research that kids often don't get enough iron in the second six months of life. So, she wants us getting Mia up to 2-3tbs of iron-fortified cereal three times per day...and then moving right along into veggies, fruits, and even meat. She also wants us to feed her solid food first three times a day and then to finish those feedings off with breast milk "if she's interested". Alas, my first disagreement with the doctor. I agree with most of what she's said, and we will definitely offer Mia more cereal and start making progress towards veggies and fruits, but I still plan on breastfeeding first at all meals and I don't plan on offering Mia any meat for a few more months. Everything I've read says that a feeding schedule like that can lead to a baby weening herself way early, and everyone agrees that "breast milk is best" for the first 12 months. And in fact, I was reading yesterday that if she does stop nursing before 12 months, then I'd have to supplement with formula anyhow!

The other interesting note is that Mia still doesn't shed tears... And my doctor has never heard of a baby her age not shedding tears, at least unless the baby's sweat glands were also not working. But Mia doesn't have that problem. (Hence the wonderful hairdo she's always got when we take her out of the car seat...) But Jeff found a message board where some parents said that their kids didn't start w/ the tears until 7-9 months. So I'm prepared to be heart broken when that starts... ;o)

Road Trip!

We just got back from Mia's first road trip, and we all had a great time. It was a whirlwind, but we were thrilled to see all of you we were able to get to. For those of you who have never road tripped w/ an infant, it is amazing how much longer a pit stop takes when you have to factor in a diaper change, possibly a change of clothes, a feeding, and just time out of the car seat.

See how happy she looks? It's like she knows that she's on the Cal campus. Go Bears!

Connor was super nice to share all of his toys with Mia for the afternoon! :o)

Mom & Dad were even able to take a break from the driving for a while! (Just kidding!)

It's only been a couple of weeks since I started sitting, and I'm already digging the high chair when we eat out. The view is so much better up here!

Developmental Milestones II

It is amazing how much Mia has already changed in the last three months!! When I posted this chart previously, she'd only hit about half of the milestones and I couldn't picture her being able to do the rest of them yet. Now we're there! She's hit every single one of them

Sadly, Friday has made no progress whatsoever. However, as our friend Ari mentioned, Friday should at least get an honorable mention for being potty trained. In fact, he came that way and has never (to my knowledge) needed a diaper. So, hats off to you, Friday!

	Mia	"Friday"
	(3 m/o human)	(5 y/o house cat)
Follows objects briefly with eyes	x	x
Vocalizes: oohs and aahs	x
Can see black-and-white patterns	x	x
Smiles, laughs	x
Holds head at 45-degree angle	x	x
Makes smoother movements	x	x
Squeals, gurgles, coos	x
Blows bubbles	x
Recognizes your voice	x	x
Does mini push-up	x	x
Can grasp a toy	x
Rolls over, from tummy to back	x	x
Recognizes own name	x	x
Turns toward new sounds	x	x
Rolls over in both directions	x	x
Is ready for solid foods	x	x
Sits without support	x	x
Mouths objects	x	x
Passes objects from hand to hand	x

Mia's first playgroup :o)

Mia and I attended our first parent-tot group, and it seems to have gone over really well. The tot classes are divided into two "age" groups: non-walking infants and walking infants. We are obviously in the non-walking group. The class ran about 45 minutes, which seems to have been the perfect length b/c at minute 46 a few of the babies (including Mia) starting crying. It was pretty funny. Anyhow, before we got to that point we let the babies roll and/or crawl around on the floor and look at each other and play together. Some of the kids can crawl already and came charging over to Mia who was like, "Oh, hello..." Then we sang some songs for them, blew bubbles, played with a parachute, and rolled some balls around in a circle. I think the parachute was the best part. If you've ever seen those giant parachutes that kids play with in P.E., this was the same sort of thing. We all set our little ones on the parachute near us and fluttered the 'chute a bit. Then we put them on the floor and fluttered it above them. Mia was amazed by the moving rainbow of colors...and of course she tried to eat it. ;o)

Site Feed

Quick note... If you're into site feeds (like RSS, Atom, etc.), I've added one for Stork Notes. You can use the following URL or click the button at the very bottom of the site. http://babysketeris.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Toes in the mouth!

Mia finally figured out to get her toes in her mouth, and she seemed pretty pleased with herself! :o)

Jumping bean!

Until today, Mia has only really liked her jumperoo as a place to stand and play w/ the toys on its tray. Today she suddenly figured out what the springs were for. It was a pretty fun afternoon! :o)

First solid food

Mia tried her first solid food on Sunday, and it went over pretty well. :o) Jeff fed her a small bowl of rice cereal, and Mia ate all of it. We made a couple of rookie mistakes (like forgetting a bib...), but otherwise, it was a success!

Growing fast :o)

Had to share this adorable picture of Mia:

It's been an interesting week with the baby. I think she must be going through another growth spurt b/c she's been waking up for a late dinner (btw/ 10pm and midnght) and then up for an early breakfast (btw/ 3am and 5am) when she used to sleep all the way through from around 7pm to 6-7am. Plus, she's been really fussy lately, too, which is totally not normal for her. But if I'd grown over 5 or 6 inches in the last 5 months, I probably be grumpy, too. :o)

She's already up to 18lbs, and it looks like she really, really wants to crawl soon. She can hold herself up really well on her arms, and she's got the motion down in her legs, but she can't quite pull her legs under herself yet. She made a couple of serious attemps at it yesterday, though, so it probably won't be long now!

Look what I can do!

So today was a big day! Yesterday, Mia started putting her arm down when she started losing her balance when put into a seated position. Today, I put her in the middle of my bed (lots of safe room to tip over…) and tried to see if she might try to hold herself up on her own…and she did! After sitting while leaning on her hand for about a minute before tipping over, I decided to grab the camera to get a picture. But when I propped her back up, she sat for another minute, but without leaning! So I guess Mia can officially sit up! At least for a minute. :o)

Mia figures out beverage containers...

I decided to let Mia start playing w/ an empty sippy cup this week when she demonstrated that she's figured out how grown-ups use beverage containers... Here are a couple of highlights (lowlights?) of her trying to get at my coffee and Pat's beer:

Weekend long run w/ Mom & Dad

I took this picture of Mia and Jeff about a week ago while the three of us were on a six-mile run on a local trail that followed a stream. It was a beautiful day and it was also the first time we had to stop for a diaper change during a run... :o\

Mia's trip to Seattle

So here I am catching up on news from earlier in the month! Ask & you shall receive! ;o) The big news of the month is that Mia and I flew to Seattle on the 1st of the month so that my paternal grandparents could meet their new great-granddaughter. We had a blast on the trip, but it went so, so fast! We flew out on a Thursday morning and had to fly back the following Monday. Mia was the best baby on the whole trip, and my secret is now out about how good of a sleep Mia is. ;o)There were only about five hours in the day that my grandparents really got to see her b/c she was asleep the rest of the time, including all the way through each night. Mom was very happy about that! Here are some highlights from the trip: This is Mia sound asleep on the flight to Seattle. I was really hoping I wouldn't be that woman on the flight with the crying baby...and luckily I wasn't. :o)

This is Mia and her great-granddad. So cute!!

Mia and I got out for one long run during our trip. We ran about 5.7 miles to and along part of Puget Sound. They are apparently building a golf course on the beach along the sound behind us.

Mia was snug as a bug in a rug on the drive w/ Gram & Granddad to check out the new shopping center that opened in their area.

Mia with her great-grandparents! And, if you look closely, you can see one of their cats sneaking into the photo. ;o)

Mia entertaining herself at the gate before our flight back. Unfortunately for the lady sitting next to us on this flight, Mia discovered her ability to "squawk" during our stay in Seattle...and she practiced all the way home. :o( Oh well, at least she wasn't crying!

Mia at 5 months!

Mia is five months old today! I really can't believe it's been that long already. :o) This is a video Jeff shot today after I gave Mia a bath. She's been an absolute doll this week. She's learned how to blow raspberries and picked up a few new ways to play with her voice. And I promise: more cuteness is on the way!

Finding Fingers & Toes

She's finally found them! About three days ago, Mia began absolutely staring at her fingers. She would hold her hands a few inches in front of her face and just stare. Then something would distract her, but shortly after that she'd turn back to those every curious fingers. Then today I watched her discover her toes. For a while she looked at them like she was trying to figure out when they got there, and then she managed to get her fingers hook around a big toe for a while. So cute!!

Back to School

As many of you know, I started class again on Jan 3rd. It's been a pretty interesting experience to try getting reading done while I'm at home with Mia during the day. Sometimes I try to hold her in my lap while I read over or around her, but she figures out pretty quickly that she doesn't really have my attention and demands something different. :o) My first paper of the quarter was due today, and I finally figured out the most productive way for me to get my work done. I grabbed my coffee and my laptop and hit the floor next to Mia and her toys. That way she's free to roll around and do her thing, but she's able to keep an eye on me the whole time. Jeff and I figured out the other day that she's pretty content sometimes when she can just hear or see that we're around. And luckily it worked out for me today so that I was able to finish my first paper.

Rock and Roll!

Mia's grandma got to witness a major milestone yesterday: Mia rolled over in the other direction yesterday (back to tummy). Then she proceeded to repeat the feat over and over. At one point, Mia rolled herself to her tummy and stayed there a while...so tummy time apparently isn't so bad as long as it's Mia's idea and not her mom's!

Fingers?? Toys?? Fingers?? Toys??

It's so hard to decide! I watched Mia trying to chew on both hands and a couple of linked rings for about twenty minutes today. Here are some highlights, including amazing bed-head, a shot of her flipping the bird, and a brief attempt to fit her whole fist in her mouth. Jeff and I are trying to decide which of these to show her prom date when the time comes. ;o)



And just 'cause, here's another cute picture of Mia from the other day. We can't believe how big she is already!!