(View months 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 and all motherhood posts here)
HAPPY half a year to my baby (and to me, haha!) I cannot believe we’re here, at 1/2 way through the one year mark. I felt a bit emotional as this day rolled around, knowing my last baby is just growing so quickly. It really does fly by, and that’s with mostly staying at home and doing nothing. I couldn’t imagine the speed it would go by if I was actually living my life without a pandemic. The one difference I can say with Charlie VS Hudson is that we really were able to soak him in during those tiny days, spend so much solo time as a family and figure out how our life would look as a family of 4. I feel good about where we are at, the routines in place, and just life as a whole. It feels settled, and great, and the sleep has started to slowly creep back in, and I am just happy.
BABY UPDATE: I feel like Charlie has not changed THAT much this month, but one of the biggest changes is that he now sleeps through the night. It is rare if he wakes us at like 3/4AM now, and if he does it’s because of a poop or teething, but for the most part he is down from 7PM – 6:15AM every day. I feed him at 6:15AM and then he goes back down until around 7:30AM. I never did that with Hudson, I would just get him up at 6:15AM, but with Charlie he actually does just got right back to sleep, and I feel like that extra 45minutes or so makes him a happier baby. He is slowly transitioning to 2 naps a day, depending on the day, but if he wakes up around 7:30AM he usually naps at 9:30AM – 11AM and then again from 2PM – 4PM ish. It is not a perfect science, and some days he does need that third nap, but he rarely falls asleep when we are out in the carrier or stroller, so if we are out in between his naps he will usually stay up. I’ve realized as a human, he requires less sleep than Hudson did to be in a good mood. Of course he needs his naps, but if he is out and about and stimulated, he will almost forget he is overtired, and be fine.
The other huge difference between my two boys is the things they focused on physically. Charlie is still not sitting on his own, which Hudson did by 6 months, but it is because he just has nooo interest in it. He is soo wiggly and wants to be on his belly or in a jumper moving his body. Hudson had no interest in moving much or crawling, so he was always happy to just sit up and play with his toys. I have been trying to prop Charlie up in the boppy every day and teach him how to sit, but he usually really wants to worm his way back onto his belly!
We’ve also ventured into more solids this month, and he is now eating stage 2 foods along with puffs. He is such a solid eater, and seems to get how to chew, so I started him on puffs this week. I really want to do a mixture of BLW, sort of how I did with Hudson, where I promote self-feeding, so I am moving him toward eating soft cut-up pieces that he feeds himself. I always start with purees though, because it is nerve wracking to watch them try eating new things.
Overall, Charlie is the happiest most pleasant baby. He is that baby that gives you baby fever (he gives me baby fever haha!) – he smiles all day, is super chatty, says dada now, and has such a calm disposition. I love to go on walks with him in the carrier, and see him watch the world. I wish I could just keep him this size forever!
MAMA UPDATE: Can we just say mommy’s tear ducts are broken? lol. I don’t know why, but from 6 months – a year I just find that I get so emotional. Most women say it’s right after they give birth, but for me it is the 2nd half of the year. I think it’s just seeing how far your baby has come, how far you personally have come, and just knowing that they only get bigger from here on out. I just cannot believe Charlie is already as big as he is. I’ve been trying to really reassess the meaning of “busy” at this time of year for myself. I always see the Fall/ Winter as my BUSY season, and I feel this compulsion to work work work. I of course enjoy the season, but I get addicted to this idea of constantly working late hours, booking too much work and over committing myself. This year I am trying to not do that. I want to really enjoy this season with Charlie, when he is small and at home with me full time. I’ve been trying to take the day off if I am being pulled to stay in PJ’s and play with him. Yesterday him and I went to Trader Joes, got a bunch of fun foods, and then I cooked pumpkin ravioli for dinner. It was fun and fulfilling and something I did for me, not for my work or my instagram. It felt nice.
