6 months

My little Snowflake turned 6 months yesterday.
I still see her very much as a little baby. I find it almost unbelievable that when Cubling was this age, I was already back at work four long days a week.

She loves holding things for ages and exploring it in her mouth. She loves biting into things. She doesn't like being spoonfed but is more than keen about feeding herself. So I guess we'll be doing mostly baby led weaning this time around.

There is no mad giggles as with Cubling - where Cubling was intense with her emotions (and still is), Snowflake is observant, spends longer with one toy, and actually takes an interest in toys (Cubling was and is mostly interested in people, not toys). Of course she loves people and Cubling in particular - she's the one who gets the most smiles, the most giggles.

On the sleep front, the baby who started out a great sleeper is no longer that. We have occasional nights where she sleeps for longer stretches (3 hrs at a time). Most nights she won't settle well in the evening (she does if I hold her, but don't let me try and put her into bed or sneak away) and during the night she wakes a lot. I don't watch the clock, but she wakes regularly, mostly not for long, but increasingly she will only settle back when cradled into my arm. My poor 40 year old shoulder is not happy.

I'm trying to change this but the thing is that she goes from one cold/cough to the next and it's not that she doesn't want to sleep. She just wakes herself a lot. She is not exactly the picture of health, and maybe we'll have to explore treatment. Since she was born, she's only been a few days without a snuffle nose or a cough. And that was after 2 weeks of IV antibiotics. I've raised this concern with Health Visitor and GP yet both say she's just picking up bugs through her sister and as long as she feeds without problems, she's ok. Well, she feeds ok but brings up a lot due to her constant coughing, and the 6 months weigh in has shown that she is in fact lighter than Cubling at 22 weeks, which is surprising considering that a) she feeds so often and I feel much more efficiently than Cubling and b) she never strikes me as not getting enough (a concern I very much had with Cubling - incidentally, both girls were exactly the same weight at birth). Maybe she is not putting on the weight as she should because of bringing up so much with her coughing fits. Our handwash regime is good, and I do try to keep Snowflake away from those with colds, but still she gets one after another. I've heard of other children who were like this as a baby, and that it can be very normal, which is reassuring. Yet I've reached the point where I'd give anything for a couple of good nights to recharge the batteries and where I think it's not fair on Snowflake to just do nothing.

During the day, she's a happy girl. Even with a snuffly nose and a bad cough. Chilled yet determined at times. I can't wait to see her personality develop over the next months, while I also wish she'd stay a baby for a bit longer. Every day, especially on those where I'm tired and feel I'm running on some hamster wheel, I keep telling myself to treasure those fleeting baby moments and just be there.