6 months! Time really freaking flies. I feel like Raelin was just born, like that crazy, fast, nearly perfect birth just happened. But she was small for about a week, really, and then she exploded into Giant Baby and has yet to slow down. At her 6 month appointment she weighed 18 lb 9 oz and was 27.5 in long.

The week she turned 6 months old was a rough one. Raelin came down with her first illness, a double ear infection, and she was just miserable. My usually happy baby was a mess of snot and watery eyes and just generally unhappy. Thankfully she is back to her usual self, but still fighting the ear infection. She’s on some stronger medication, so hopefully it clears up soon.

6 months old also means the start of solid foods. She’s been doing great with Baby-Led Weaning! So far she’s had apples, cucumbers, toast, bananas, and carrots. I think the bananas were the biggest hit, as she was coated top to bottom in banana slime. There was also the most “evidence” of banana in her diaper than any other food. Yep, poop. Oh, and last night we gave her “loaded spoons” of potato cheese soup which she devoured. Here’s a video of her enjoying some cucumber with her Opa:

We’re getting to the point where the pink bear is no longer safe. This is the best picture I could get before she grabbed the unsuspecting animal and attempted to devour it. I can also no longer leave her on the floor, because she rolls herself clear across the room and grabs and tries to eat anything she finds. And thanks to Rory, the floor is full of toys and crumbs that I don’t really need the baby ingesting.

Way behind schedule, yet again. Raelin turned 5 months old on March 18. She is still a happy, agreeable baby who gives me little to complain about. I can’t even tell you how nice it is to have a baby who is able to put herself to sleep. She doesn’t do it every time, but often all I need to do is put her in bed with her music/light thing attached to her crib, and she goes to sleep on her own. Other times I nurse and rock her, and she goes right to sleep. I thought I would lose my everloving mind trying to get Rory to sleep as a baby (and sometimes still…) so this is a glorious change of pace.

She has started to space out her feedings a bit more, and is very interested in our food when we eat. I plan on doing baby-led weaning once she reaches six months old, instead of doing baby food purees. I did homemade purees with Rory which was a lot of work, but after reading up about baby-led weaning (giving the baby large pieces of solid food instead of mush), it definitely seems like the way to go. I think Raelin will enjoy it, too!

Milestones & random tidbits:

• She rolled back to front one day after turning 4 months old. Still trying to master front to back.
• She has mastered the art of the raspberry, and is often covered in spit from chin to chest.
• Still in 9 month clothes… for now.
• She loves the jumperoo. Sometimes I think she’s going to spring right out of that thing.
• Her farts could kill a man.

Raelin is a 4 month old, but is the size of a 9 month old, according to her clothing. At her well checkup she weighed 17 lbs 2 oz and was 26.5 in long, putting her in the 97th percentiles. Incidentally, that is the exact size Rory was at 6 months old. Needless to say, we have a big girl on our hands. I’m hoping her growth slows down a little, because I’m about to get a hernia trying to carry her in her car seat, but she can’t sit up yet so I can’t very well just take her out of the seat and plop her in the shopping cart.

As for milestones, this month she graduated to the crib in her own room. This was partly because she was getting too big for the pack & play in our room, but also because her sister now graces us with her presence in our bed, and with Raelin waking up to eat in the middle of the night, it was getting a little crowded in our queen sized bed. Luckily, she sleeps great in her crib and goes back down easily after waking to eat.

This month she laughed for the first time, like those silly baby belly laughs that result in hiccups. Apparently my making a high-pitched “AHA!” sound was hilarious. She continues to be a smily, happy girl most of the time. I’m incredibly lucky to have such an easygoing baby this time around. Though I’m convinced it’s some kind of baby ploy to make me want another one, despite saying I was done with two children. She’s so cute and easy and I think it wouldn’t be so bad to have another wee one. Then I remember twins run in my family… And THEN I remember what toddlers are like… Yeah, nevermind.

Raelin turned three months old last week. There’s still not a whole lot to say except she’s gigantic. I had to start putting her in 6 month clothes because the 3-6 month was getting too snug. My back already aches when I have to hold her for any extended amount of time, and I’ve contemplated installing wheels on her infant seat to push her around because that thing weighs at least 500 pounds with her in it.

I’m pretty sure Raelin is the smiliest baby in the world. She is so happy and loves to babble and grin, and has even started to laugh a little bit. She loves rattles and toys, and will bat at the hanging toys on her play mat (and even made the music play on one… obviously a genius… or took a lucky swing…). Her big sister makes her smile, and she nicely tolerates Rory constantly being in her face. She also loves having her legs wiggled back and forth, watching cartoons (yikes), and this thing on her crib that plays music and does a little light show. She will fall asleep watching it, which amazes me after having Rory, who took two hours plus an act of congress and possibly a miracle to go to sleep.

My chunky girl has a giant head full of cheeks and chins, and her big old ears stick out so far I have been known to call her Dumbo. I love her so.