Elsa Louise at 27 Weeks

Our newly six month old tipped the scales at 22.1 pounds the other day. I was pleasantly surprised to get a green light from our doc to WAIT on solids until Elsa is 9 or 10 months old. Obviously if she shows signs of being hungry before then, we'll jump on board, but for now I'll keep nursing on demand as I have been from the beginning. Her nursing sessions have decreased from every two hours to sometimes making it five hours before she wants to nurse.

Two things are different this week for our sweet pea. The obvious one is that she's sitting up to play (and doing it well I might add - she almost completely skipped the wobbly stage and if she does happen to lean too far for a toy she can already self correct). The more subtle change is that you can see more hair coming in! No more bald spot in the back!!!

I lost every.single.pacificer this week and had to go out and buy more .again. She's partial to the 6months+ Mam brand unlike her siblings who used the Nuk brand. If I hold a paci in her mouth she automatically knows to make noise when I move it back and forth. She's getting the hang of using her fist for her favorite noise making activity as well - that and blowing raspberries. :) Miss Elsa is a chatter box much of the day but start to sing a favorite song and she quiets down and focuses on my face while I sing. I reorganized her room the other day so we spend more time in there (it's where the most natural light is) reading books, chewing on stuffed animals, & looking at her colorful curtains. Anything to keep her from grabbing my face, my hair, my chins, the skin on the underside of my arms...I'm surprised I'm not a walking bruise with the way she clamps on to me!

With a face like this I can't stay mad for long! I just keep distracting her and offering her things to hold. Speaking of holding....I made it a goal for 2012 to wear her at least once a day. I used to rationalize that if I wasn't going to wear her for a long stretch it wasn't worth the effort to put on a carrier/sling or that I didn't want to her to fall asleep on me and then I'd not be able to get as much done while wearing a sleeping baby. That's hard to admit since I really really do enjoy being able to sit and hold her while she naps, but the reality is that at 22 pounds I NEED a break from carrying/holding - carrier/sling or not!

Now that Elsa can sit up, she's got a whole new perspective on the world - one that I can't wait to experience right along side of her!  Happy 27 weeks baby girl!