Leaves!

This morning we went with friends to the Bolz Conservatory at Olbrich Botanical Gardens here in town--it's got birds and tropical butterflies, but I figured that primarily AJ would be into it for the leaves.  She loves leaves.

I guess butterflies are kind of like brightly colored leaves that move even if it's not windy, so she probably liked them, too.  She definitely liked the waterfall.

(The mark on her leg is not baby leprosy.  It is a butterfly stamp indicating that she has admission to the conservatory, although since admission is free for children under 2 it seems kind of superfluous.)

They don't really allow strollers in the conservatory so it's a good thing I brought the front carrier, but I got pretty tired.  Looking forward to when she learns to walk.

The nursing necklace

I didn't really blog about it much here, but AJ spent two months on a nursing strike (I hate this term, because it's not like they're NEGOTIATING, but that's what they call it), from three months to five months.  She would take the breast when she woke up from a deep sleep, so in the middle of the night (if she woke up at all during the night--she sometimes doesn't), and first thing in the morning, but other than that, she'd basically scream and try to hurl herself bodily away from me.  It was awful, and pretty much none of the general literature accounts for the fact that a baby that young would even GO on a nursing strike (although apparently I did at TWO months), so a lot of the advice on how to deal with it was impossible (for example: she wasn't even capable of taking a spoon or a sippy cup; bottles were pretty much our only alternative feeding option), and the rest of it was useless anyway because none of it made any damn difference.  I got pretty sick of the Lactation Clinic consultants telling me to "cuddle her more."

Then we went to a specialist recommended by our awesome GP, who talked to me for like five minutes, diagnosed the problem as boredom, and told me to make sure AJ faced in for bottles (thus not getting a good view with them) and to wear a necklace of toys when breastfeeding to keep her attention.

This pretty much ended the "strike" immediately.

She's still very easily distracted, but that's very different from the shrieking and trying to launch herself off my chest.  She needs the necklace to focus on a full feeding about half the time, but sometimes can even get a full feeding in a pretty distracting environment without it--I had forgotten to put it in the diaper bag when I took her downtown to run an errand on Friday, but still managed to get her to nurse at a coffee shop.

Saturday at the park we had it, though, and we got some pictures, which I mainly wanted to share because let's face it, it's pretty hilarious looking:

It's made from some cheap links we got at Target, along with a set of three cheap toys meant to be attached to the bar over a stroller or car seat (also from Target).  One of them has a chime in it (the specialist specifically recommended something that made noise), and that was AJ's favorite for some time, but lately she seems really into the ladybug.  That leaf she's grabbing here crinkles, and she does love crinkly things.  (She got a crinkly toy purse from her great aunt recently and she goes WILD over it.)

Here you can see the chime (black and white stripes); the bug under it is a butterfly, I think.  The third toy is a bee with a rattle.  I include this photo mainly so you can see how big she's getting!  Look at her!  Giant baby!

Half a year old!

Only slightly assisted sitting:

And here she is looking less evil:

These were actually taken yesterday morning when we went to the park, and TECHNICALLY AJ turned six months old today, but we really only got one photo today, with Instagram shortly after we got up this morning:

AJ enjoys sitting on Daddy.  I particularly like how his knees form a sort of throne here.

She also briefly enjoyed the baby swing at the park yesterday, but then it became a little too scary.  She's not quite big enough.

Her very favorite game is one we learned from Mama Lu, wherein I bounce her on my knees with accompanying narration:

"This is the way the ladies ride: trot, trot, trot, trot!" (measured up and down bouncing)
"This is the way the hoydens ride: gallop-y, gallop-y, gallop-y, gallop-y!" (frantic up and down bouncing)
"This is the way the farm girls ride: higgle-dee, piggle-dee, higgle-dee, piggle-dee!" (slight up and down bouncing with side-to-side swaying)


(The narration has been slightly modified.  I also call the baby bunny in The Runaway Bunny "she," and while I was pleased that ONE of the six pirates in This Is Not My Pirate was identified with a feminine pronoun, I edited our copy with a sharpie to bring the ratio to 1:1.)

It really was beautiful at the park, and the lake didn't even stink, which is honestly noteworthy.

Mother, Baby, & Cow

On Saturday (July 21st), we went to the Epicnic at Don's work (or as I liked to call it, the "epicniciknikpicarchaeopteryx").  There was a lot of cool stuff that I am sure AJ will love when she is a couple of years older, like GIANT BOUNCY CASTLES.

There is a ton of cool art on the Epic campus, and the Epicnic was in an area that I hadn't really seen before, so I was pleased to discover that Epic has, of all 101 the CowParade art cows, the one possibly best suited to be my Patronus:

My only regret is that I did not go with the green tank top.  Ah, well.

Rolling champ

In case you were wondering, though, she is totally a rolling champ now.  She can't really do forward motion (she can scoot backwards on her stomach, as well as pivot efficiently), but she rolls from back to front AND front to back now without any problems:

Achievement unlocked (kind of): sitting

She'd actually already been sitting a little bit on the floor (for very short periods), but I put her on the quilt because she kept toppling over and I was hoping to provide a marginally softer landing.  Dee Dee the Dragon held her attention for a few seconds.

Looking to the side may have been her undoing.

...And then she toppled over.

But she seemed unfazed!

We'll just have to keep practicing!

You may also notice the giant bib she's wearing despite the lack of any other clothing (it being hot as balls in Wisconsin once again).  She's started teething--while the teeth do not seem like their appearance will be SUPER imminent, she is basically a drool fountain and they're definitely causing her some pain.

We got two packs of these Carter's teething bibs from Great Aunt Sue and were overjoyed, because they're not just bigger than the bibs we had--they also snap instead of velcro, which AJ had recently learned that she can yank right off if she's feeling sufficiently Hulkish.  We ended up having to pick up two more packs at Target just so I'm not washing them twice a day, though.  She soaks those suckers impressively quickly.

Art for babies

Years ago, a friend of mine did this pop art print based on a photo self-portrait of mine:

It hangs on our living room wall, next to another print she did in the same style from one of her own photo self-portraits.  Every time I carry AJ into the living room, she stares at it.

At first I thought it was just the contrast in the image, but when I turn her toward the other print (which is black and yellow and white), she actually turns her head to continue looking at the one of me.

It's pretty gratifying, I admit.