6 Month Update: Philomena Jean

Philomena Jean's 6 Month Update

Our girl is getting so big!! Philomena Jean is the happiest, easiest little sweet P and we are so lucky to know her. She brings so much joy (and high pitch squeals!) into our household with endless smiles. She seriously has the most easy going personality and typically is very go with the flow.

Month 5 & 6 were full of change in every way. Sharing a look at the highlights below + answering some of the most frequently asked questions.

Our Schedule

This is a very basic outline of what one average day looks like. Philomena just started sleeping a bit later and taking longer naps so it's all shifting, but generally everything is the same.

5:30AM ~ Philomena has consistently been waking up for a pacifier, but usually goes back down after getting it.

7/7:30-9 ~ She just started sleeping in until about 7 or later. After a quick diaper change she breastfeeds. This is the only time I breastfeed her (I don't pump or anything else all day)

9 - 9:30/10 ~ Nap 1

10-12/12:30 ~ Small amount of solid when she wakes up and 8oz of formula after then playtime

12/12:30-2/2:30 ~ Nap 2. This long stretch is new! She has done it multiple times, but never consistently until just recently. Addison sleeps at this same time so typically I use this time for creating content, editing, planning out content or linking products.

2:30/3-5 ~second 8oz formula bottle of the day (3rd feeding) & then playtime.

5-5:30/6 -  Nap 3

6/630 - Last 8 oz formula bottle

6:30-7:15/7:30 - Bath, books, snuggles & bedtime!

the little things

--she can almost sit up on her own. still wobbly, but seriously gets noticeably better each day

--we started supplementing formula and went through our freezer stash of breastmilk. As of right now she is 90% formula fed. She did end up needing the dairy free formula (same one we used with Addison) after noticing some allergy reactions to a couple different milk based formulas (I'm dairy free & so is Addison).

--still sleeping through the night (ever since 7 weeks!!), but she is now fully in her room. We made the switch to the crib from the bassinet at 5.5 months & it was the right fit for all of us. She been queen of the 5:30am wake up,  but we are working through it.

--solid food! So far she's tried 4 foods: banana, avocado, sweet potato & pear. She had the biggest reaction with avocado, but by the 3rd time trying it she came around. We're having her feed herself with a little spoon & it's been going awesome. Instead of pureeing the food, we mash it so its a little bit thicker to help keep it on the spoon. We decided to start her on solids a couple months later than Addison which I think made the self-serve easy for her.

--we began lightly teaching her sign language about a month ago. It was always so helpful with Addison before he could talk.

--recently started falling asleep on her own (still uses a pacifier) and it has made a huge difference in naps (so far lol). More below!

--she loves being on her belly (sleeps on it sometimes too!) and rolling all over her mat. Also a big fan of her jumper lol which Addison loves to play with her in.

--Philomena's always chatting and rambling on, but hasn't strung together any words yet. I know she's right there. Just over here patiently waiting to hear her sweet little voice say "Mama", eeeeh!

FAQ from You!

Did you start with veggies, fruit or rice cereal for solids? Are you doing BLW?

We're having her feed herself with a little spoon & it's been going awesome. Instead of pureeing the food, we mash it so its a little bit thicker to help keep it on the spoon. We decided to start her on solids a couple months later than Addison which I think made the self-serve easy for her (Addison started at 4 months). We started with banana, avocado, sweet potato and pear (in that order). Waiting 3 days between each to make sure no signs of an allergy show.

How did you get her to sleep through the night?

She slept through the night on her own at 7 weeks. We started using her weighted sleepsack (code CHIFFON for discount) and I truly think that has helped nurture good sleeping habits. We did hit a rough patch right when she hit 5 months, with 4am wakings and consistent 30 min naps, but we are passed that now. Keeping up with a routine when possible, being flexible with expectations and helping "teach" her good sleep all helped make it easier to get back on track.

How are you getting her to sleep on her own (not held)?

As many of you know, she was wrapped up and sleeping on me for the majority of her first few months. We went on a trip to Michigan in the middle of August and when we got home from that I worked on putting her the snuggle me lounger (not intended for sleep, but I was closely monitoring her) for naps. That quickly transitioned into naps in her crib (still in the snuggle me) and then the switch to night crib sleep (not in the lounger).

The first few days the naps are typically short. Everything is a transition with sleep. With it being my second, it's so much easier knowing how short each stage is and how fast things change. If you've been wanting to make a change, just try it! And don't be afraid to go against the rule books and long as baby (and you!) are being safe.

How are you surviving the short naps? I'm dying over it!

"Sleeping training" hasn't really been something we had to focus on, but we did due a light version of it over the past 4-5 days and the results have been shockingly amazing. We used the "fading method", but only lightly because Mena truly has always gone down so easy & has already slightly gone down alone many times. We were still rocking her, which I didn't mind, but I hated the short naps. After ruling out a lot of potential factors for the short naps I realized that rocking her to sleep was probably the culprit (once she hits the end of the sleep cycle she startles when she notices she isn't in my arms). So we started layering her down drowsy and stood by the crib. The first couple of times seemed silly, but after that she got the hint and now by day 4 has put herself to sleep every time. Ever since, her naps have become much longer!

Are you still breastfeeding and pumping?

As of today, I'm breastfeeding for the very first morning feed only. It's crazy that I almost stopped at 1 month and now I've passed my goal of 6 months (which is how long I BF Addison!). I love my morning feed with her, but sometimes wonder if she is getting the milk out fast enough now that she is mainly bottle fed. Either way, I have no set end date and I'm just rolling with it.

I am not pumping anymore. I stopped a month ago.

Can you share tips on stopping breastfeeding?

I started by supplementing the night bottle so I could get rid of the one pumping session I did each night. To start, I mixed 25% formula with 75% breastmilk and after a couple days increase the amount until it's all formula. After a while each bottle slowly switched over to formula as we worked through the freezer supply of milk. I have one bag of frozen milk left that I'll give to her the first day after I finish breastfeeding fully (whenever that may be).