Michelle at 6 Months

Time flies, Michelle gets older and bigger so fast. Or it stops when she can’t be consoled. The last six months have been very different from any other 6 months of my life.

I have established a great bond with Michelle. She spends most of the day with me and we have a great time. Yes, there are frustrations and problems, like the teething she is doing again after which she’ll have 3—4 teeth. There is also the feeding issue. Michelle is very moody about her feeding habits. It requires a lot of patience and effort to feed her. You can see that she is hungry but she’ll refuse the bottle or the breast if it is not offered at the exact time she wants.

Michelle is also very attentive and observant. She is not afraid of people or dogs. The only thing that startles her is loud noise, including loud and sudden laughter. She behaves well with lots of people at parties or at the doctor’s, turning around and observing everyone.

A few days ago, while walking in the apartment complex with Michelle in the Baby Bjorn carrier, two dogs came running to us and started sniffing my feet. I thought Michelle would get scared, but she was just looking interestedly at the dogs and their antics. Even when one dog tried to reach up, Michelle didn’t bat an eye.

Michelle is also interested in everything we are holding. It can be a Coke can, a book, our dinner plate, TV remote control or my laptop. She has her favorites which include the laptop and Coke can. She likes to use the mouse, use the keyboard and close the laptop.

She also likes new toys better than old ones. If she has started playing with a new toy and you offer her another new one, she forgets the one she was playing with and takes the one from you.

Michelle is aware of the camera and likes to pose for it nowadays. This can be a problem sometimes as we want to take more “natural” pictures of her. She also likes looking in the mirror a lot (which is why the changing station is one of her favorite places) and at photographs.

She can sit now but still not for too long. The maximum she has sat without support would probably be around 10 minutes or so. With a bit of support she can sit continuously. She likes to sit much more than lying down. While sitting when she tries to reach out to get a toy, she balances herself on one hand.

She can even stand when she wants to, though it is for seconds, not minutes and with a support. We haven’t been able to get good photographic evidence of that because of her camera awareness.

Solid food is progressing by fits and starts. Sometimes, Michelle takes more and at other times less. We have found something that she really hates. When I gave her lamb (Gerber’s baby food jar), she hated it so much she made barfing sounds and even threw up. So lamb is out for the present.