My little girl turns six months old today!

On one hand, I can’t believe that it’s already been half a year since she entered our lives.

On the other, I can’t wait for what’s to come. I’m eagerly awaiting her first steps and first word. I’m even looking forward to the teenage years, if you can believe it.

(Toy courtesy of the super-thoughtful package Other Pieces of Me sent us soon after Claire was born)

I thought that Claire was still behind on most of her developmental milestones, but upon more careful examination of the chart, it seems that while she is behind on some (eg, she has not rolled since the day she rolled twice, and she has yet to roll front-to-back), she is ahead on others (she’s been pulling/dragging objects toward herself for a few weeks now).

She is also doing great with solids. She doesn’t care too much for veggies but LOVES fruits and sweeter vegetables (like sweet potatoes). Her face lights up whenever she sees her spoon, and gobbles up her purees like there’s no tomorrow. She now has two servings of solids a day: a 2-2.5oz serving of fruit or veggies in the morning, and half a cup of rice cereal in the afternoon.

She naturally weaned herself off an additional night waking last month and has been only waking up once a night since. She will usually sleep 11-12 hours a night, waking up at around the 8th-9th hour mark to eat, then sleep for another few hours.

And last night, she hit another milestone…

GIRLFRIEND SLEPT TWELVE HOURS STRAIGHT!

I have read that sleeping through the night — not the technical definition of sleeping 5 hours straight, but a good, 10-12 hour stretch — is more of an emotional milestone than a physical one. Because once a baby starts eating enough to physically sustain her, all that is standing in her way is that emotional/mental hurdle.

This is the longest that Claire has ever slept, so we are thinking that it was a fluke…at least for the time being. And I actually didn’t sleep well last night because I kept waking up to make sure that she was okay.

But the event makes me happy all the same, because now I know that she has the mental capacity to sleep a good, 12-hour stretch at night. Which means that she’s growing and maturing just fine.

We will be going to the pediatrician next week for her 6-month visit and her next round of vaccinations. I’m interested to see if her height-to-weight ratio has improved.

Later today my mother will be coming over to watch the baby while I take a trip to the dentist. I’m horrible about going to the dentist and normally would put off a visit as long as possible, but a crown fell out and needs replacing. I’m pretty sure I have at least one cavity too. It should be a fun (and expensive) afternoon.