The Schmitt Family: Elisabeth is 6 Months!

Elisabeth is now half a year old! I can’t believe it! She has changed so much the past six months. It is hard to believe how much she will change in the next six months. She could be crawling, walking, talking…all things that are crazy to think about! I took her for her six month check-up and some more shots. She weighed 17 pounds and 5 ounces (73%) and was 26.5 inches (70%) long. She had not really gained any weight since her 5 month check-up which wasn’t surprising since she hasn’t been eating much due to a cold. I had many things to discuss with the doctor this check-up, which I will talk more about below.
Elisabeth has changed A LOT the past month. Here is the latest:

She is sleeping through the night!!!!! And not the technical term, which I think is considered 6 hours. I do not consider 6 hours of sleep to be sleeping through the night! She goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 at night and doesn’t wake up until 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning. It is wonderful!!! Sometimes she will wake up during the night/early morning and talk to herself but then will go back to sleep on her own. She will frequently wake up in the morning and talk to herself in her crib for 15 minutes or so while I am busy getting the other kids ready for school downstairs. She is such a great baby!!! She is napping twice a day, once in the morning and again in the afternoon. She usually sleeps for an hour to an hour and a half in the morning and then 2 to 3 hours in the afternoon.
She is eating baby food! I tried her on cereal a couple of times but she had no interest. Considering she is having constipation issues, we are not giving her any cereal at all. Her first food was sweet potatoes, followed by squash, peas, prunes, pears and apples. She was doing well eating, not eating that much but at least not refusing to eat, until she got her cold. Then she refused to eat any baby food and would just cry the entire time in her high chair. She was also eating a lot less of her bottles. Now that she is better she is slowly starting to eat baby food again. I really don’t think she is that into it and think she might be more interested when it is time to introduce real finger foods.
She only gets four bottles a day now for a total of 26 or so ounces. She is still on her special formula. The great news is that after 2 long months of repeated calls to the insurance company, medical supply company and pediatrician, her formula is now covered under our insurance!!! We received our first monthly supply this month, 11 cans, which would have cost me $285 to buy at Walmart. Needless to say we are extremely excited it is now being covered!! I think the insurance company was hoping that if they didn’t do anything for long enough that I would just give up. Not happening. I knew that it was covered for Abbie and Carter and that is should be covered for Elisabeth as well. I mean your body rejecting food and causing you to bleed internally is a pretty serious condition. Had I not been familiar with the process with Abbie and Carter under our old insurance, I am sure that I would not have known the right things to do and say to get it covered, which is completely ridiculous. Anyway, I am so thankful my 2 month battle was worth it in the end!
Elisabeth’s two bottom front teeth poked through right at her 6 month birthday! Teething plus a cold equals one miserable baby.
She is still wearing a size 3 diaper and 6-12 month clothing.
She is sitting very well! She is now able to sit upright and correct herself when she starts to fall for a short time. I am very excited because her 6 month pictures are coming up.
Elisabeth is very easygoing. Most of the time she is content to watch her big sister and brother. Even if she is whining she stops the second one of them says or does something in order to pay attention to what they are doing.
She is so smart already!! She is so used to her little routine that she knows when she is going to sleep for naps and immediately starts crying when I close her curtains and lay her down to change her diaper before bed. Fortunately, her crying is short-lived and she falls asleep fairly quickly.
She is babbling more and more. She has started to say mama. Not in reference to me, just the sound. Maybe it will be her first word!
She is drinking a few sips of water with her baby food from a sippy cup. She can even use a straw cup!
She was diagnosed with laryngomalacia. Because her voice box is too soft, she sometimes makes a high-pitched noise when she breathes in, called stridor. The first time it happened I thought she couldn’t breathe and was about to call 911. She wasn’t acting in distress or turning blue though, so I just waited it out. Eventually she stopped. It was terrifying! The doctor says it will get better with age and all of this is also related to her acid-reflux issue. She did have an x-ray of her neck to make sure there was nothing blocking her airway. Poor baby!