Misha: 27 weeks (6 months)

Nursing
This week I attempted to put Misha to sleep without nursing. I realize I have been going back on forth on this. Sometimes I think maybe its ok to nurse before she sleeps and then I start to worry its creating a habit. So this week I've decided it's better to feed her after she wakes up. I just might change my mind next week!

In all honesty it's a lot easier to feed her to sleep. But I've come to realize easier isn't always better. For one thing I don't want to have the same issues I did with Meera which resulted in my switching to formula. I want to breast feed Misha for as long as possible. (With Meera my goal was 6 months but now seeing all the benefits...I think it's better I hold off formula as long as possible). Also I hate always second guessing myself every time I put her down wondering if she's hungry or not. If I feed her as soon as she wakes at least I know she has a full/ proper feed. A lot of times when she feeds before bed she falls asleep so I'm not sure if she had enough.

Eating
Solids are going well. So far she's only had rice cereal and sweet potato (which I steam and batch freeze). Still very small portions...she doesn't seem so interested in feeding but I can't really remember if Meera is the same. She seems more interested in chewing her bib than eating off the spoon.

Sleeping

So now that I no longer feed her before naps, I have a harder time putting her to bed. The sh pat method doesn't seem to work...in fact it seems to get her more riled up. Right now, I sing to her while I carry her then I say good night and put her down. She fusses and cries a bit then sleeps. Usually within 10 minutes. Hopefully in time she cries less. It's not exactly the 'cry it out' method but a gentler approach.
She is still not doing 12 hours of sleep at night. But I notice she has quite long naps in the afternoon so maybe she doesn't need as much sleep in the night. I mean if she's already asleep 4 hours in the day its unrealistic to expect 12 hours at night. Or is it? Either way I can't really tweak this so will monitor and see how it goes. It seems to me she only sleeps about 10 hours in the night.
This week she has stopped waking up at 5 am for a feed. Most days she woke up at 6 am and that was the start of her day. I am hoping it extends to 7 am. I am not ready to start my day at 6 in the morning!
At the end of this week we moved her crib out of our room and she is now sleeping nights in her own room.  

Milestones
Notice she is trying to move forward by thrusting her body. Not very successful but she keeps trying. Most times she ends up going backwards. She only seems to do this in her crib and never on the mat or floor (?).
I also notice that she can pass an object from one hand to another. Not sure if that's a significant milestone(?) or when exactly it developed.

Starting Solids

This was something that I have been looking forward to for quite a while. A lot of people seems to dread this stage of baby's life but I couldn't wait!
And when I finally started it did not go as I had imagined! I started on a Saturday and I tried to do it as similarly to Meera as possible (since that went quite well). But Misha did not seem to enjoy the experience. After a few mouths she was wriggling and squirming trying to get off the high chair. I had to end the session before she finished eating (and it was only like 1 scant teaspoon of rice). Sunday wasn't any different...she didn't eat everything.
I started to get concerned (although it was only day 2, I did not want this to become a habit where every feeding session had her unhappy). I looked back at our videos of Meera eating and realised a couple of things; the spoon was different. I bought a Combi spoon which Meera ate from but I realise initially I had started with a different type. Also because I was using the Combi spoon (which has a deeper scoop) I was having to feed her by tilting the spoon way back into her mouth. I also re-read my book on solids which says you should place the spoon at the tip of the tongue and allow baby to suck in the food.
So on Monday I made a few changes (the munchkin spoon actually made it easier to place food at the tip of the tongue since its quite shallow) and she ate really well. *beaming* It's still early to tell but I'm guessing those few changes made a difference. The other thing is maybe she was too tired during the weekend...

I came across this site which gives an idea of how much she should be eating:

• At least 5-6 breastfeeding sessions per day or 24-32 ounces formula or combination (decrease solids if your baby is not taking in at least this much)
• Water is unnecessary (breast milk and formula have plenty of water in them). If your baby has any constipation issues, focus on P-foods (pears, prunes, etc.)
• 1-2 servings baby cereal (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons dry)
• 1-2 servings fruit (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 1-2 servings vegetable (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)

Misha: 26 weeks

Solids
Started feeding solids! Although she's still a few days shy of 6 months I wanted to start on a weekend so that Jing would be around to take pictures. It didn't go as well as I had expected. Partly due to my forgetting how different a baby eats. She hard;y took to the spoon and after a few mouths (if you can call it that) she was done! :(
Somehow I remember Meera being more enthusiastic but maybe time has made me forget. For now it's just rice cereal and very little at that. I plan to follow the same variety as I did with Meera (since it went well) so next would be sweet potato (except I haven't made any puree yet).

Milestones
She is finally starting to sit up a lot straighter now. She still tips over but her back is quite straight when I put her in a sitting position, I notice she is also getting quite good at rolling over both ways now (although she still seems to prefer rolling towards the right).
She;s also discovered her toes...and that has led to her sucking them...especially when she's on the changing table. 
After our trip to Penang she has started to grab at her toys on the rocker (which makes music). She is also grabbing a lot more things.

Eating
More accurately Nursing. Still no major issues. Right now she's feeding around 5 times. The last feed is typically a bottle (around 140 ml). She wakes up a round 5-6 am for a feed. (after a lot of denial on my part....I've come to terms that this is actually normal for a baby). I still carry on hoping that she will eventually be able to last till her wake time without a feed.

Sleeping
Lately the sh pat method doesn't seem to be working. Could be she is overtired from everything that's going on...SO now she either sleeps off while nursing or I have to carry her till she's asleep. Usually she will immediately relax (within a minute or 2) so it's not so difficult to put her to bed but I do not want this to become a habit either.
We have yet to move her out of our room....since she is still waking up for a feed. But since this might be going on for a while I think we will be moving her out next week. (Meera was moved out at 5 months).

I am constantly reminded that no 2 babies are alike. As much as I try to do everything as similar as possible Misha is quite different from Meera. And I need to adjust and accommodate to her differences.

Personality
Misha loves Meera! Whenever Meera is around she gets really excited (her arms will be pumping and she will be wriggling like no tomorrow). And Meera can make her laugh so easily.
Overall though, she is a really happy baby. I think I say it a lot but it constantly amazes me how easily she smiles. Especially when I go in to get her from nap time (she has this huge beam on her face!)

Misha: 24 & 25 weeks

It's been a busy few weeks what with Chinese New Year and our trip to Penang...so this is going to be a 2 week summary.

Mommy's Girl
Misha definitely prefers her mommy. Sometimes when she is very fussy she will only calm down if I carry her. Even Jing has noticed this. He will try to calm her down but her crying escalates and when I take over she will calm down within seconds! As flattering as it sounds, it also stresses me out a little.

Baby Bjorn
We notice she is a lot more content being carried around in the carrier than lying in her stroller. Previously she was facing inward but now that her head is very steady she is facing outwards so not sure if she will still like the carrier.

Chinese New Year
We had quite a few disruptions due to a lot of dinners and visiting relatives. Overall she was okay. She even took a nap during our reunion dinner so we got to eat (enjoy) dinner for the most part. But as usual her nap will only last for about 30 minutes...still better than nothing.

Milestones
At the beginning of this period....we noticed she was sorta sitting. During bath time I would prop her against the tub and she would slouch forward a bit.
She still topples over though. She's also starting to grab things now. She has finally grabbed the toys on her rocker (one will make music when it's pulled).

Eating
Have decided not to do dream feeds anymore. I think it was actually disrupting her sleep more than anything. Now we just feed her before bedtime and wait for her to wake up to feed. For the most part I don't see her waking any earlier to feed. In fact there have been a few nights where she only woke up around 6 am to feed. Could be because she is so tired from everything going on...

Penang
This was Misha's 3rd time to Penang! She is becoming a seasoned traveller. I commented to Jing that with Meera we only made a trip to Penang when she was closer to a year old. She was quite adjustable. Luckily she can still sleep in her playpen (once we move her crib to her room she might not be used to a playpen anymore.) I'm contemplating letting her take occasional naps in the playpen so she's used to it....
The car ride was a bit tough. Coming home we wanted to drive straight through (we had lunch in Penang itself) but I think it was too long for her. About 4 hours into the journey she was crying and fussing a lot. Kept thinking she was hungry (fed her but didn't work). I think in future stopping for a bit might be better.
We spent a night at Hard Rock Hotel and Misha got her first pool experience. Initially I think she wasn't really comfortable in her float but after a bit she discovered a part that she could suck on and was contented.