6 month visit

The last two nights have been fabulous. Rachel went to bed around 10:00 without fussing both nights. On Sunday she still wasn't awake after 10 in the morning, so I had to wake her up to get her ready for church. This morning she also slept in a bit, so we slept in a bit and it was a big rush to get us to the doctor's office in time. It was nice to sleep a little late and nice that Andrew drove us there and nice that our appointment was one of the first ones of the day--we hardly had to wait at all!

Rachel was her little busybody self at the doctors office, snatching at all the instruments and twisting around so that the nurses and doctors couldn't get proper readings. I had to hold her head so that Dr. Olson could measure the circumference of her head. She kept whipping it around and trying to eat the measuring tape.

"She does the same thing when I try to do her hair," I said as I put her shoulders in a death grip between my elbows and steadied her head with my hands.

Have you ever tried to tie a bow on a moving target? It's no easy task.

Rachel's doing well though--I suppose that's why they call them "well baby" visits. She certainly is getting to be a big girl. She measured in at over 27.5 inches (95th percentile) and was 16 lbs. 8 oz. (around the 68th percentile). Her head is in the 65th percentile but I don't know how big it is in inches.

No one has ever told me how big her head was. I don't even know if they measured it when she was born, I assume that they did...but I don't know how big it was. I know how big it felt, but that's about all.

Rachel has become such a mommy's girl recently. She only ever wants me, which can be tough on a lot of people. She even screams when she's left alone with Andrew. This new trait of hers did not bode well for the doctor.

Every time he touched her, she screamed at him and reached out for me. He would put his hands out to her and she'd start crying, then he'd put his hands down and she'd stop. She wouldn't sit on the table by herself. She had to hold my hand--what, like having a stethoscope on your chest is scary?

"I'm glad I have nurses to give her shots. She's a loud one," the doctor remarked casually as he left the room.

And, with good reason, Rachel was also wary of the nurses. I laid her on the table on her tummy, she kept a good grip on my arm but kept twisting around to look from one nurse to the next. She did not want them near her at all.

"A, ba, ba, ma, ma!" she implored, her eyes begging me to pick her up and take her away from these strange people.

"It's okay, baby," I lied.

"No, it's not, Mom," said the nurse in a mock baby voice. And then poked her with a needle. And again. And again.

Rachel, of course, started caterwauling and thrashing about wildly, successfully bending one of the needles completely perpendicular. She only cried for a few seconds though. As soon as I picked her up she stopped crying and gave me a big hug and kiss. All better!

So it's kind of nice to have a mommy's girl, I guess...as long as you're the mommy!