Seriously, half a year! It’s insane how fast Miss Emilia’s little life has been going for us. Glad I get to take the time to reflect on each month with these posts. It’s crazy how much she changes from month to month at this age.
Sleep – Definitely better now than the last time I posted. We are still at two night feedings (though she did only have one two nights ago!). She was struggling with naps quite a bit and fighting them/skipping them. I have her on a three nap schedule right now but I think she’ll be moving to two pretty soon. She actually took all 3 naps on schedule two days in a row for the first time in weeks so that was nice! She sleeps in her crib with a sleep sack and loves holding her little lovie blankies while sleeping. She rolls all over the place and mostly sleeps on her tummy. For the most part she goes to sleep on her own with very little crying unless she’s super overtired. If she’s really upset, we get her out for a bit and try again which usually works. Some mornings she still does get up early (before 6 am) but that’s getting more and more rare which is a welcome change.
Breastfeeding – Going strong. Can’t believe it’s been 6 months of breastfeeding. It’s been much easier this time around than with Enzo. Though she did decide that bottles were evil that past couple of times and screamed her head off when someone tried to feed her one. Luckily, Joe got her to take two bottles the other day when I was gone so hopefully that was just a short phase. I’m not a fan of pumping but I need to have some freedom to miss feedings now and then!
Milestones – She’s a rolling pro now and is all over the place. She’s learning how to maneuver her body in other ways too in order to get what she wants but not crawling yet. She can sit up on her own for a bit but not strong enough to be left alone fully. She’s also getting more and more interactive and her personality is really showing through.
Teething – If I had posted this a few days ago I would have nothing to add. But just yesterday I noticed she was chewing on her hands a lot more and trying to bite my shoulder when I held her. She also was a lot more upset at naptime than usual. Felt her gums and her first bottom tooth is about to pop! I’ve been thinking she’s teething for months, basically any time she has a rough day or sleeps poorly, but it’s finally happening! She got up at 4 am for the day today likely because of it. It should be through any day now.
Mental Health – I feel mostly like my pre-postpartum self which is amazing. Anxiety and stress about sleep has greatly decreased. And now that I’m not working, my stress levels are better. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything when I was trying to work, especially when trying to work at home. I think it was the right call to stop working for the moment and I look forward to what God has in store for my future in that area. Though I do feel like I have less time to do things now that I’m fully staying at home which is not what I originally expected. For example, I started writing this post a week ago and I’m finally able to get it posted while the kiddos are asleep!
Exercise – I hurt my wrist a couple of weeks ago and so have laid off most exercise for the moment. It was bugging me but I just kept working out on it (yoga, pushups, etc.) and it kept getting worse. I made a doctor appointment to get it checked out but by the time I went it was already getting better. Want to rest it up a bit more before trying those types of exercises again. I did ride my bike for the first time in a year while pulling Enzo in the bike trailer. That was a workout!
Food – We started baby led weaning with Emilia about a week and a half ago, meaning we skipped purees and just gave her soft foods she can feed herself. After about a week she’s gotten much better at putting food in her mouth and actually eating some. She’s tried bananas, avocados, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, pears, pancakes (made with just bananas and oat flour), mangoes (her fav!), quinoa and apples. Overall, it’s going pretty well and I’m looking forward to feeding her more yummy foods!