{almost} North Country Smith's: Stella

Dimples and giggles… I love her.

Our sweet baby girl turned 6 months old on July 23rd. She's growing much faster then I would like. She is an absolute joy and I love everything about her… the dimples, constant drool, little giggles, chubby thighs, pointy ears, her fingernails that grow faster then I can keep trimmed (and therefore always scratch me), her smell after a bath, the way her eyes follow big brother, the way she can make anyone smile, just EVERYTHING.

Her first 6 months have been so different for me then they were with Gavin. While Gavin's baby days were nothing but extraordinary, it has been so much easier this time around {minus the fact I have an almost 3 year old to keep up with}. I'm sure its the fact that Stella is our 2nd and we kinda know what we're doing this time around. She is just a perfect little baby. I know I'm going to jinx myself here, but in her 6 months of life she's never been sick. By this time with Gavin we'd already struggled through RSV, hand/foot/mouth disease, colds, and the never ending battles of asthma. It's been a blessing to never hear a wheeze from Stella, no chronic coughing, no constant runny nose, nothing. I know the time will come for her to be sick, but I've been so thankful that she hasn't had to suffer as a small infant the way Gavin did.

She still has no teeth (Gavin got his first two at 6 months) but there are signs that they are soon to come. Stella is constantly drooling, looking for anything to chew on, and she has two little white spots on her lower gums. I am still strictly nursing her (with a bottle here and there) so I say the later those teeth want to arrive the better!

I am making her food, just as I did with Gavin. She took a few weeks to figure out the whole eating from a spoon concept, but I think she's got it now. So far, she's had sweet potato, butternut squash, avocado, apples, banana, and we just introduced carrots. She's also had cereal. I'm looking to start a few new vegetables soon, but I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to make it since we'll be road tripping soon and I don't want any of it to go to waste. We've bought a few things of organic store bought foods to take along with us on the trip, I'm hoping she'll accept those as well as home made!

I imagine she will be crawling within another month or so. She rolls all over the place and when she's on her back she uses her feet to "back scoot" to where she wants to be. I knew it wouldn't take her long to figure out how to get mobile - she has a big brother and dog she loves too much and desires to keep up with at all times! In the last week or two she has mastered sitting. We used to keep the Boopy behind her for support, but now she no longer needs it. She's discovered there is a whole new world out there from her new upright view!

Her nicknames are "Stelly", "Stelly Belly", "Lil Mama", "Baby Girl", and "Stella Bella". Gavin never calls her by her name, he always uses a nickname for her and I LOVE IT.

Ok, I've made it sound like she is the perfect little baby and 95% of the time I truly feel that way. We did have a few weeks of sleep issues. She went from sleeping through the night to again waking every 2-3 hours wanting to eat and just be in my arms. I'd get her asleep and go to lay her down and she'd wake instantly screaming. We aren't sure if it was a growth spurt or just a "I want mommy" phase but we're nearing the end of that and she's back to sleeping through the night again. She's not much of a napper but as long as she's sleeping through the night, I can adapt during the day!

I don't have any of her measurements because the pediatric clinic on post is so backed up and she can't get an appointment until the 19th.

Alright, here are Stella's 6 (and a 1/2) month pictures! We took these out in the yard tonight. The bugs were bad so I had to work quickly! There were even a few gnats in the pictures I had to edit out. They are horrible down here right now!

Teething, maybe??

These toes work extra hard trying to figure out how to crawl forward!

May 23, Stella turned 4 months old. The start of one of my FAVORITE ages! I love getting out the "big" kids things (Bumbo seat, Exersaucer, Johnny JumpUp, High Chair, etc) and watching them explore a whole new world. I love how they start really reacting to you at this age, welcome you with a smile, laugh at the simplest of things, work so hard to grasp at things, and are mesmerized by your face. Yet, I love that they are still tiny and sweet enough to be your little baby and they love to cuddle. They still smell so sweet, and aren't yet old enough to cause any hint of trouble or escape! Our now 4 1/2 month old Stella is such a joy. She has no fear of strangers at this age. I love that she will go to anyone, but you can still tell by her reactions that she surely knows who mama, daddy, and big brother are. Gavin can get her to chuckle like no one else. She is such a pleasant baby.

With all that being said, I'm frustrated to say that on May 25th, at Stella's 4 month check up, I let myself feel totally defeated by a complete stranger. I loaded both kids up and headed to the doctor for Stella's appointment. I knew it'd be quick, so I wasn't going to pay a sitter to keep Gavin. We got there and were told that Stella's normal doctor wasn't available so we'd have to be seen by someone else. At that point, I wish I would have rescheduled. We were quickly taken back with a nurse and all Stella's vitals/measurements were taken. She weighed in at 13 pounds, 10 ounces, or about the 50th percentile. Her height was 24 3/4 inches, in the 70th percentile, and her head circumference was 15.9, in the 30th percentile. (All keeping right on track with the %'s from her 2 month check up). Then we went to the room to see the doctor. It all went downhill from there. The doctor started checking Stella and going down a checklist with me of "4 month milestones". Steady head control - check, lift chest off ground - check, reach and grasp for objects - check, bear some weight when in standing position - check, smile - check, continue to coo - check, turn toward voice - check, bring hands together - check, roll front to back - no. I was pretty impressed, she'd reached 8 of the 9 milestones and was well on her way to reaching the last one. And then I hear the words "She's not reaching her developmental milestones, she's delayed. I'm gonna put a question in her chart about steady head control and lifting her chest off the ground, because I don't see evidence that she is doing those either." I think my heart hit the floor. I'm not sure if it is the fact that I have a special education degree and I know what the future is for many people that hear the words "delayed" or "not reaching developmental milestone", or the fact that I know how tragic Stella's birth was and the fact that the doctor told me that if I didn't stop pushing immediately to go into c section that she could forever be delayed, but yet I asked for a second opinion instead of believing him right that instant, or maybe the fact that I have a mentally handicapped brother… I'm not sure what it was, but I instantly was defeated. The truth is that Stella is just FINE. So what if she hadn't rolled over at that time. She is not developmentally delayed and I'm so upset for letting that woman tell me that and make me feel so discouraged. To make matters worse, that doctor had me sit there feeling like an unfit parent, trying to "teach" me how to properly do a tummy time. She then brought me the 6 month checklist and said to start working now so that my daughter wouldn't be behind again as a result. We then spoke about feeding. I explained about strictly breastfeeding. She questioned why I hadn't started her on cereal yet. I explained that her weight was fine, and she wasn't yet showing signs that she was ready for solids (showing interest when I eat, opening mouth for spoon, not pushing tongue out, doubling birth weight, etc.) She again talked to me like I was wrong in not yet giving Stella cereal. I explained her I'd always been told that starting anywhere between 4-6 months was acceptable, but she came back telling me that I needed to start ASAP giving Stella at least 1 tbsp of cereal a day so that her digestive system could properly develop. Again, I'd never heard of this. The entire appointment, the woman never said one thing positive about my children or my parenting. She never once had an encouraging word. I will never again see this woman. I got to the car, buckled both kids in, and just sat there upset, unable to say a word. I want to hit myself for letting her get to me like that.

I got home and did tummy time with Stella, it wasn't 5 minutes later that she rolled over, all on her own. I was so happy I think I may have cried. I put her back on her tummy, and again she rolled over.

Just despite that woman, I waited another two weeks to give Stella her first taste of cereal (really it was just breast milk in a bowl with a splash of cereal). And low and behold, she pushed every bit of it out with her tongue. About every other day I offer her some more cereal, just to help her practice learning how to swallow and not push it out. She's getting better, but clearly not yet at a point that she needs it for the calories.

And just because it makes me feel ALL BETTER to look at these, here are a million pictures of Stella at 4 to 4 1/2 months of age, doing all those new things I love so much!