Month 6 of Life with Emily

We’re halfway there…..Ohhhhh oh! Living on a prayer! Haha. I know it’s so cliché to say “where has the time gone” but it’s true. Feels like yesterday I was looking at 3 month things and thinking 6 months was WAY far away. But alas, it’s here and my sweet baby girl is growing like a weed. I can’t believe we are halfway through her first year! Everyday is such a blessing.

New Stuff: There’s a lot!! Emily is now sitting up for a long time without help. She can turn all ways on her tummy and roll from back to front very easily. She can roll from front to back, but hasn’t mastered it yet, and when she rolls onto her tummy, she will play there for a bit. She then realizes she “cant” get back over and gives this “I’m stuck, come help me!” cry. It’s pretty adorable! She is really grabbing and playing with all of her toys. She LOVES her stuffed puppy Scout who sings to her and says her name. She loves to “help” me when I’m holding her. She holds my phone, helps me hold my glass, and wants to be involved in everything I’m doing. She is very independent and wants to do a lot by herself. She even holds my breast when she’s eating….I think it makes her feel like she’s doing it all on her own :) She loves to talk and squeal….we love our little chatterbox!

Eating: She is eating every 2-3 hours during the day and night right now. At 5.5 months we started solid food and her first food was avocado! She was so funny to watch and didn’t care for it too much. It was all such a new experience though, so I don’t blame her for the funny faces :). We have done avocado, sweet potatoes (liked!), bananas (LOVED!), and pears (hated at first, but now likes!). I’m making all of her baby food and I LOVE doing it! It’s so easy and cheap. She’s starting to grab the spoon and try to feed herself. No teeth yet!

Allergy: I figured out on my own through trial and error that Emily also has a soy protein allergy. She also has silent reflux. Makes me incredibly sad that it took me 6 months to figure out her allergies and that she was in pain before. But when we know better, we do better and I have cut out soy along with dairy in my diet. She is on prevacid for her reflux and she has made a 180 degree turn for the better. She is happy a LOT and only gets fussy when she’s hungry or tired. This is a huge improvement from a month ago when she would fuss from the minute I got her up from a nap, until she went down for another nap. She very much still has her allergies, so I will not be adding in dairy or soy back in anytime soon.

Sleeping: For all of the past month, her naps were 26 minutes long. Just in the past 1.5 weeks, she’s thrown in a couple 45 minute and a couple 1.25 hour naps which has been awesome! She is still in the sleep regression and is getting up every 1.5-3 hours at night. I have come to be at peace with it, I know it’s a phase and wont last forever. She has been sleeping with me in the bed since daddy has been away at training and we really like this new setup :) I don’t know what we are going to do with daddy when he gets back since his girls are bed hogs ;)

Favorite things for month 6: Sleep sacks, Sally Seahorse, NUK pacis, Jumperoo, Galt Playnest, Boppy, Sophie the Giraffe, toys and teethers, Ergo baby carrier (MUST have), stroller, Gigi (lovey), itzbeen timer.

A note from the mommy front: It has taken 6 months to figure out and solve Emily’s allergy problems, but we have made it. She is such a trooper and pushed through it all. God gave me Emily because he knew I would push through and figure it all out while still doing the best thing for her. Not everyone could have handled Emily! I have gotten many questions as to some of my decisions, and every decision I have made has been in Emily’s best interest. Everything has been backed by a TON of research on my part. I am giving everything I am to my daughter, mentally, emotionally and physically and all I ask for is support. Please trust that God gave her to me to make these decisions, and be at peace with the fact that because of these good decisions, Emily is a happy and healthy baby girl.

A note to new or expecting moms: I know we are only 6 months into this journey, but I think I’ve learned so much so far and I wanted to share some insight with some brand new or expecting moms. I don’t really know what I expected when I was pregnant. I was in a state of bliss and nothing anyone could have told me about what to expect made me take off my rose colored glasses. But honestly, that’s the way it should be. Pregnancy is such an amazing experience and I’m glad I wore my rose colored glasses  The “just waits”, talks about teething, sleepless nights, meltdowns at the store, food allergies, and the fact that my world was about to change forever, went in one ear and out the other. When Emily was born, I felt like we were thrown into the fire. By week 3 she was screaming everyday, the hormones that hit me after I had her were HORRIBLE and I had a severe case of “baby blues.” By month 2 Emily had blood in her diapers. Nothing in the world could scare me more than seeing blood coming from my daughter on a daily basis and going crazy trying to figure out what was causing it and trying to ease her pain. Every baby is different, God gives you your perfect baby for your individual journey. You may get an “easy” baby (who turns into a hard toddler!), you may get a “high maintenance” baby, you may get a sleeper, you may not sleep for the first year of their life (we are on our way folks!), you may get a baby who is not sensitive to anything you eat, or you may get one with severe allergies like my sweet Emily. But you will get YOUR baby. Your life will revolve around them and you will question EVERYTHING you do. “Am I holding them too much?” “Am I holding them too little?” “If I rock them to sleep, will I ever be able to break the habit?” “If I eat this, will it hurt their tummy?” “Am I playing with them enough?” “Can they tell I have NO clue what I’m doing?” You will think you have no idea what you are doing (and it seems like you don’t, but you do!). My advice to you, sweet young moms and moms to be, is to be easy on yourselves. Everyday you are going to be doing your best, and your baby is going to be just fine. Rock them to sleep. Lie down and take naps with them. Snuggle with them. When you lay them down at night, breathe them in. Follow your instincts and don't let anyone make you feel bad for what your feel is right in your heart. They don't know your journey. It goes by so fast, and I wish I would have been able to see past the fog of the first few months (hell, 6 for us!) to realize that I was not actually going to ruin my child. So, while there are many crazy “just waits” I could tell you about, I will say just wait for the first time they reach for you, just wait for the smiles you get when they see you and hear your voice, just wait for the first time they roll over and you scare them with your excited screams, just wait until they wake you up in the middle of the night for the 6th time and you are greeted with the biggest smile and can’t help but squeeze them. Motherhood is the most rewarding and most precious journey I have ever been on, and I know it will be so special for you as well…..just wait :)