Vaccinations!

Today Melina goes in for her first vaccinations. I waited until she was 6 months old to get any shots, because it just seems unnecessarily cruel to subject a tiny baby to vaccinations (especially if she's not in daycare). Also, I wanted to wait until her system was a little stronger. Vaccinations are so controversial in certain circles - on one hand I feel like a terrible mother risking her life unnecessarily (especially after reading Mothering magazine). Dr. Sears, on the other hand (who is also on the alternative parenting side of things) is pro-vaccine. Anyway, I don't want her to get sick, and I generally believe in vaccinating kids. Today she gets the whooping cough and HIB vaccines. Whooping cough seems to pop up here every winter, so I think it's a good idea. I am not looking forward to it, though. Apparently I'm supposed to act like nothing is wrong, greet the doctor as if I'm glad to see her, massage Melina's arm before the shot, and then instantly distract her with a toy. She doesn't seem so into toys lately, but maybe a bowl of spaghetti would work...

Lots of laughs!

Jeff got Melina laughing last night more than I've ever heard her laugh before. He made a bunch of funny faces and whooshing sounds that she found absolutely hilarious. It was unbelievably cute. We got some of it on video (sideways, unfortunately... it's so hard to remember not to do that!).

Babies on the way!

I know so many people who are pregnant right now, or who have just had babies. My friend Amelia just had a baby boy, Andrew, last week; my friend Tara is due on November 7; my friend Becky is due in late March; and my neighbor across the street is due October 28. Very exciting! I can't wait to get all these babies in one room!

No rolling yet

Melina still hasn't rolled over on her own. It's strange, because she is very advanced in other areas. She's been holding her head up since she was about 1 month old, and has been standing for 2 months. Now she briefly can sit up unsupported before flopping over onto her side, but she still has yet to turn over. I wonder if it's because I don't give her enough tummy time, or maybe because we're still swaddling her at night? She sleeps so much better swaddled up. When she's in our bed it's impossible to sleep with her if she's not swaddled, due to flailing limbs. She doesn't really like to be on her tummy, though she's definitely getting better at it. After a few minutes of looking and grabbing at the rug, she starts to cry; she doesn't show any interest in (or awareness of) turning over by herself. Oh well. I guess she'll figure it out eventually...

Grabby grabby!

According to my Dr. Sears Baby Book, the primary accomplishment for baby's fifth month is to accurately reach out and grab things. Melina has been working hard on mastering this skill. She can now reach out and grab an eye, a nose, a string bean, a few single hairs, a fork, a cup of coffee, a dinner plate... Now when we go out to dinner she can sit up in a lap (propped up with arms on both sides). She puts both hands on the table and can reach out and slap or prod whatever happens to be on your plate. It must be so much more satisfying for her to actually grab the things that interest her! As an adult, it's a whole new world of keeping hazardous items out of her grip.

Squishy squash

Last night we tried giving Melina some "solids" for the first time. She's been showing a lot of interest in food lately - studying what we're eating and grabbing at our food. That, plus the two teeth, is a sign that she might be ready to start solids. (Though why they're called solids I don't really understand...)

I wanted her to have "real" food for her first try (as opposed to prepared baby food), so I mashed up some acorn squash and Jeff fed it to her on his finger. She gummed it for a bit and rolled it around in her mouth with a "what the hell is this?" expression on her face. There was no apparent moment of epiphany; instead she spit most of it out and grabbed for the empty squash skin, which provided several minutes of messy entertainment. We'll try again in a few days with more squash. (Apparently you're supposed to give them the same food over and over for several days, to get them used to it and to watch for any allergic reactions).

I was a little disappointed in her reaction. I wanted her to get all excited and start bouncing up and down. I guess she's not quite a "foodie" yet.

Back to work

I'm on my third week of half-time work now. I was kind of dreading it, but it's not that bad, especially since the rainy season has started and it would be dreary to hang around the house all day. It's nice to be using new parts of my brain, and to be able to respond to emails and drink coffee with both hands. I'm working a full day on Mondays, and half days (until 1:00) on Tuesday through Thursday. The biggest challenge is not getting quite as much sleep as I was before, though I can still take naps in the afternoon. Luckily we found a wonderful person to take care of Melina; she's our old neighbor, and a friend. She has a ten-year-old daughter who also comes over after school on Mondays to play with the baby. I have no doubt that Melina is in very good hands, and she doesn't seem to be unhappy or lonely - heck, she doesn't seem to miss me at all when I'm gone. She obviously knows who I am and prefers me over other people at times (especially when she's in the car seat), but she doesn't bat an eyelash when I leave for work. We'll see if that changes as she gets older.

Two real teeth

Melina now officially has teeth. They have pushed up through her gums and can be seen with the naked eye. They both came out at the same time, right in the middle of her lower front gums. They do make breastfeeding a little more interesting, though I haven't really been chomped yet. Apparently we are supposed to start brushing them sometime soon, though that just means rubbing them with gauze. I think I'll wait a few more weeks, until they're more than 2 mm long.