6 Month Update + 3 Things I Wish I Knew Before Motherhood & What I’ve Learned So Far

What an adventure this last 6 months has been! Lots of sleepless nights, snuggles & kisses, dirty diapers, tears, questions, prayers and more smiles then I've ever had in my life. Addison James has been the most perfect addition to our little family. It is mind blowing that this much time has already passed, but it's also hard for me to even imagine life before him. Thankfully I can say their have been way more ups than downs. Motherhood is truly an unbelievable experience that no one can really prepare you for. Learning to go with the flow has been tough for me which I wasn't expecting. I'm a fairly chill person, but when it comes to a schedule or a plan I like to stick to it. Well, that's just not possible with a baby and that was discovered very early. I'm happy to report that I have definitely found more of a groove now and I'm even more in love with Addison than ever before. It's really crazy writing this 6 month update because it just seems so long when I head half a year. Time truly goes way too fast!

6 Month Update: Addison James | Everyday Mama

All The Specifics

How old:

6 months 5 days (27 weeks on Friday)

Weight:

16 pounds 12 ounces - 31%

Height:

26 inches - 21%

At birth:

6 pounds and 15 ounces & 19.75 inches

Mama chat:

I am a major lover of chunky baby thighs and I am so happy Addi finally has lots of those. Meal time is basically his favorite time of day. He actually gets hangry right before we feed him and he's spotted the bottle. It's kind of funny. 6 months in and I'm finally much more go with the flow. I still get lots of first time mama worries and thoughts, but feel comfortable in trusting my gut. It's such an amazing thing when you feel as though you understand what your baby is wanting. Knowing his cues and solving problems much quicker is such an accomplishing feeling.

People always say how much parenting  is a guessing game. It really is! The first few months were filled with so many questions and way too many thoughts of doubting myself. You just can't really prepare for being a parent at all. It's important to roll with the punches and understand that the baby will let you know when things need to be done. Even if it's in the form of a high pitch cry as you check out at Target. You'll know... Lol!

6 Month Update: Addison James | Everyday Mama
6 Month Update: Addison James | Everyday Mama

Life With a 6 Month Old

Sleep

We are slowly, but surely figuring out what this whole sleep thing is about. We hit a minor bump with Addison's first real cold, but finally just had a really good night last night! Addison completely puts himself to sleep now. I actually enjoyed rocking him to sleep and holding him when he was sick because we never do that now (held him from 12am-3:15 one night!). It's just crazy how fast things change! Just in the last week he became a master at putting his own pacifier in which has been so fun to watch. He rolls all over his crib like a wild man and is a big time belly sleeper. It seriously feels like he has grown up so fast these last 2 weeks. Kirby and I both agree that this has been our favorite stage so far. Addison has such a personality and is such a good baby!

The only thing working against us right now with sleep is teething. I feel like teething is something I'm going to be talking about for the next couple years. No one really thinks about that as you go into motherhood, but wow do teeth have such an impact. I find myself constantly questioning if his crankiness is from teething... Who knows!

Overnight Crib Sleep

Right after I published my 5 Month Update on crib training Addison made the switch! It was a long period of taking naps in his room, switching from rock n play to crib, testing swaddling $ unswaddling and lots of short naps in between. Once my little man started showing a sign of rolling over it was game over. I luckily had been easing him in with one arm out, but had to basically cold turkey the swaddle all together. We also just decided one night to have him try his crib overnight. We didn't plan it out or wait for the right time. Kirby and I had been talking about it for a few weeks, but it just felt right.

Addi has been a champ ever since we switched him over to his room. He stopped needing night feedings right when we switched him over which is one thing I was trying to get passed. The most we have to do now is run in their to pop his pacifier back in. Even that is slim now that he just recently figured that out on is own. He sleeps almost 12 hours overnight each night and it's amazing. Don't get me wrong... He could wake up at 3 am needing his pacifier so I'm not over here sleeping like a baby. However, I get that I'm a little spoiled.

Addison is an earlier riser so I've been having to train myself to get to bed early. I like waking up with at least 10 minutes to myself, but everything is always open for change. For example, this morning he woke up at 5 am. Kirby popped his pacifier back in and I tried to fall back asleep, but couldn't. So I made coffee, put mascara on and started working! I just love having quiet time to think, breathe and wake up.

Naps

Addison may not be the longest napper, but he has become fairly consistent. We are down to 2-3 naps per day ranging from 40 minutes to 3 hours. Usually his first nap is the shortest and then we go from there! I have finally stopped having expectations which has helped a lot. It's so hard not to get in your head with all of the information out on the internet. I catch myself saying, "That's what he should be doing". Um, excuse me, no. Every baby is different. For me, I know Addison knows how to nap long because he can easily do it. So if we wants to take 3 shorter naps one day and 1 short nap + 1 long nap another day... So be it!

All About Addi

Playing, Siting & Rolling All Around

Like I mentioned above, this is probably bother mine and Kirby's favorite stage so far. Addison is such a goober and has quite the little personality. He loves his quiet time for playing on his own, but also loves to be loud and let out some screams. Addi is a huge book reader! We fit it in before almost every nap and I just love snuggling up with him. It's also super fun doing different ascents with different books... Or maybe that's just me. One of his current faves is the classic 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?'.

Addison's 3 most favorite things to do: roll around, sit up and jump! He is getting so so close to sitting on his own, but is still just a little wobbly. He always makes me nervous because when I'm sitting behind him sometimes he'll just shoot his head and back into my chest. I'm sure that will stop within the next week and he'll be good to go. He can sit there on his own, but will just kind of topple over eventually. He scoots all over the place when he's on his belly. Within a second of turning the corner you'll find him on the other side of the area rug. We're to the point where we can't walk away from him if he's on the bed, changing table (like, not even to grab clothes without holding his leg) or anything else off the ground. Sooner than later he'll be all over the house and it will be a new adventure with trying to keep him safe & out of things!

First Word

We went on a staycation a couple weekends ago and had the best time ever. To top it off, the morning we were packing up to head home Addi said his first word! Hearing "Ma-ma" was the sweetest music to my ears. I of course immediately started crying and hugging him. Since then he's only done it one other time and I've heard little blips of it other times. He is constantly moving his mouth and just on Monday started sticking his cute little tongue out of his mouth as he figures out all it can do. Addison is really studying Kirby and I when we talk. Watching him try to start forming words is beyond cool.

Outside Zen

I don't know what it is, but whenever we are outside Addison is the chillest baby on the planet. I'm sure you've seen by now how animated Addi is through photos and videos. Well, he could not ve more opposite whenever we take him outside. It doesn't matter if he is being held, sitting in his stroller, strapped up in a carrier or being carrying in his carseat... He.is.so.chill. It's like he finds his zen or something. I try to get smiles out of him, but he'll only give me smirks. It's just the funniest thing that I'm sure like everything else won't last long. The poor kid has been locked inside for months because of how cold it is so the outside world is a big thing for him. With the temps warming I can't help but get excited to be outside on a daily basis. We have already started walking almost everyday which is the best ever. I love seeing him view the world.

Formula Switch

My last official day breastfeeding Addison was the day after my 29th birthday. It was a special moment and the perfect end to such a good journey with him. My goal was to make it until 6 months and I was only a week early. So I count that as a win! I eased him into formula while I was still breastfeeding to help his little tummy get used to it. Since I was basically dairy free with him from 2 months switching onto a milk based formula was not working. He broke out in eczema all over his body. I was giving him oatmeal baths, using special thick lotion and constantly wondering why it wound't go away.

I did some digging online and found a thread where another mom mentioned having the same experience and that switching her daughter onto a dairy free formula cleared it up within 2 days. Instantly a light  bulb went off in my head! We switched over to Nutramigen and instantly his skin started clearing up. Within 3 days his skin was the softest it had been in months! Softer than when I was just breastfeeding too because I was still eating small amounts of dairy.

To say I was relief is an understatement. He finally wasn't squirming around itching his skin or feeling any burning from the dryness! I was so happy. It's super common for babies to have a diary allergy so I'm not really worried at this point about it being something long term. However, I myself just started really cutting out diary all together and it has made the biggest difference for me. So if he does have an allergy it will b easily worked around!

6 Month Postpartum update | Everyday Mama

Postpartum Update

I wanted to do something  a little different this month with my postpartum update. Since it's been half a year I wanted to share some personal feelings and opinions around motherhood. There are so many things looking back that I wish I wouldn't have done or I would have maybe looked more into. That goes for so much of what I do in life honestly. I love to plan things out, but usually end up jumping in head first. So I constantly find myself feeling that same way with all the changes in my life. I want to say I'll work on fixing that, but I think it's just the way I am! As always, I like to keep things real with you so I'm sharing 3 things I wish I knew before becoming a mom + 3 things I've learn so far.

*Disclaimer: Almost everything I wish I knew beforehand are things people truly can't express or explain to someone without a child. However, I wish it was possible because you just don't know, what you don't know.

**Second disclaimer: I wouldn't change anything.

What I Wish I Knew

One

How much time you truly give is something no one could ever prepare you for. It is 100% the most exhausting thing I have ever done in my life. Every single ounce of you, especially in the very beginning (or when sick), is completely given to your child. I look back at life prior to Addison and just laugh because I had no idea how good I had it. All I have to do is go to work, eat, sleep and do whatever else I want in-between? Excuse me, what? Like I stated above, I can't even remember what that life feels like because when I was in that life I had no idea what parenthood (or giving my all to someone) really meant.

It's not like giving your all in love. Totally different. Love is a big part of it (duh), but it's just unlike anything else. My tip: be as selfish as you can before kids. Kirby and I truly lived our best life in CO for 6 years and I'm so happy we took that time for us. We aren't stopping the adventure. Just living a new one that looks very different. Also any pregnant mama's - sleep in every dang day of your life before that baby arrives!

Two

It's mind blowing how quickly each stage changes with Addison. I would get so stressed about everything in the first few months. Obviously a lack of sleep or any time to myself did not help when trying to think rationally. Being at 6 months now and looking back it all goes so dang quick. I finally truly grasped that in the last month or so and just started laughing off the tough days or weeks, the random crabby attitude or freak out and the sleepless nights. My tip: Don't think that you have to have an answer to everything. Not every "issue" with a baby needs fixing. Babies are babies and with so much developing going on things are going to come and go quickly. Remember to walk away and breathe when you need to. It's okay for a baby to cry some.

Three

I was 100% unprepared for the change my marriage and relationship with Kirby would go through. It's clear going into parenthood that things will change. Marriage is work. It's fun, adventurous, loving and 'easy' work, but it takes effort from two people. hen a third person comes into the picture that needs all of your attention things quickly flip. All that effort given to each other is now given to your child x10! Having a child is just the craziest experience ever. Kirby and I truly did fall in love all over again through the process. However, finding time for one another is more difficult than ever. We are pulled in so many directions each day and not having the time to focus on Kirby is more real than I ever thought it would be.

What I've Learn So Far

One

It's something that is constantly said, but oh my gosh, self care & self love have never been more important in my life. Motherhood is hard & exhausting. Working from home with Addison leaves me with zero time to think. If I start to catch myself feeling like I'm going through the motions then I know a break is needed. I'm now getting better and better at not letting it get to that point. Spending even just the smallest amount of time alone where you can think without an interruption is necessary. Sometimes my favorite form of that is a long hot shower at night. It's my space to relax and breathe. Yes, it usually right after a workout and goes right into dinner, but no matter what it's my little bit of time. Once is started making a point for that and seeing how far something little like that can go it made all the difference.

Two

That I need to stop letting the internet tell me how to parent. I'm not saying that with sass. I just think that too much information isn't always a good thing. We can so easily google whatever question we may have about parenting, babies, etc. and get answers back from every side if the internet. All in all every single baby is different. You baby shouldn't be doing this or doing that. He/she is doing exactly what they're suppose to be doing. The internet can be awesome for seeing that others are struggle with the same thing and getting suggestions, but make it stop there.

As parents we are so hard on ourselves and constantly try to fix everything or better everything. I'm learning the importance of really going with the flow, living off the so called "right way to parent" with every single little thing and riding the wave of however my son is living. It's been fun living outside of constantly looking to the internet (aka 'others') to tell me what to do next.

Three

Every parents day consists of a little crazy, don't let yourself feel alone in the struggle. Parenting is a hard at times for anyone. Obviously there are easier babies than others, but raising a human is tough work no matter what. I so quickly found myself feeling lonely or like I was the only one dealing with whatever issue was going on that day. Having a 'woe is me' attitude isn't going to bring the most positivity into my day. When I am positive and care free, Addison totally feels that. I've learned to not let everything I see around me get to my head or fool me at all. Behind every cut smiley baby are lots of dirty diapers, tears and a whole lot of figuring things out. Life has been much easier for us all by just rolling with the punches. As always, happiness is a mindset!

 

6 Month Postpartum update | Everyday Mama
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