6 Months!

Gnarl slurp grunt

Lately Crystal has been crying whenever I don't let her grab food from my plate. I've given her a couple bites of oatmeal puree, but lately I've been letting her gnaw on some carrots. I think that I like the idea of letting her explore the texture of adult food and practice biting and chewing even though she hasn't any teeth. Don't worry, I keep a close eye on her and I won't give her something that she can totally fit into her mouth. It would be a plus if she is getting some nutrients from licking and biting the outside of the food, though, as she's not yet 6 months old, she doesn't need to actually ingest it.

Wet Grass

Crystal is 5 months old now. I am still breastfeeding her. Instead of cutting her off when she's 1, I kind of like the idea of letting her wean herself or stop whenever I'm pregnant again after she's 2. I hope that I won't be throwing up as bad during my next pregnancy because that was the worst.

I tried sleep training for one day and decided that I really love holding the baby all of the time. The sacrifice of hurting back is way worth the sweet closeness that I get in return. :) And, seldomly, if I put her down in an exact place at the exact moment and cover her with the blanket in an exact way, she'll dose off on her own. This has worked only a couple times so far but I'm eager to see her gently learn at her own pace how to fall asleep.

We've stopped looking for houses. Partly because the tax credit deadline has passed and partly because of our fear of being tied down. Also, I really love it in our small apartment in Greenbelt. I know that we can't live there as Crystal gets bigger, but I would like to move to something that's a lot like it where there are beautiful walking paths and a grocery store and bank within walking distance.

Speaking of the outdoors, Crystal seems to be fussy all the time unless we go sit outside and then she's the perfect angel. Lately, we've been spending a lot of time outside but the mosquitoes are killer, so I have to wear long sleeves and pants while we're out in the heat.

Momentarily Sits

Pretty good for a 4-month-old! She's also moving around a lot on her back and comfortably rolling in both directions!


Crystal's new sound that she's been working on is: loud gasping. I'm sometimes wonder whether she'll make herself pass-out while breathing like that. She does make herself cough though. Last week's sound was: constant raspberries.

Since church made Crystal not get enough napping and she was less happy, I've lately been trying to be more diligent about following her nap schedule and bedtime.

I've also just started using sign language with her so that she'll be able to tell me more easily in a few months when she's hungry, tired, sick, etc. Yay! Fun!

I'm planning on not going back to work full-time. But, they might let me keep working part-time from home until my replacement is hired in a year or so.

We're resuming the house-search this week. We're visiting three 3+ bedroom houses in Lanham/Riverdale/Hyattsville for around $100K.