Well, I guess babies still grow older, even in the midst of a pandemic.
Days still turn into months. Little baby legs get longer and tiny arms get stronger. Teeth sprout through pink gums. Songs are sung and books are read and milestones are reached.
I’m caught somewhere between wanting to pause this time with my last baby, and longing for the days ahead.
Either way, I’m trying my best to enjoy my sweet, sweet boy.
XO
HEIGHT + WEIGHT
I’m not sure on this one. We missed his 6 month appointment because he had a cold and we wanted to play it extra safe with Coronavirus. I am calling his Ped today to see how she wants to handle his 7 month appointment. Stay tuned…
BREASTFEEDING
We are still going strong! Now that he’s getting super distracted and wants to see everything that’s going on around him, our nursing sessions almost always take place in the glider in his nursery.
I will nurse him before and after his nap, and that’s it.
SOLIDS
I’m using the term “solids” loosely because we’re not doing Baby Led Weaning, so he’s on purees.
I’ve gotten a few messages from new mamas asking for tips on starting solids. I always think “Food before one is just for fun.” So, my advice is to make sure baby is still getting all of the nutrients from breastmilk or formula, and then add some food in.
The goal at this age is to get them used to different tastes and textures, not to fill them up on rice cereal or fruit and veggies. Your breastmilk or formula is more nutrient-dense than any purees will ever be.
That said, Baby Gray is ALL about some real food. He’s been trying to grab food off my plate for a few months now. So, I’m following his lead.
I will make sure to nurse him first, and then put him in his highchair and give him some food. Normally, he will nurse for 5-10 minutes (he’s always been an efficient nurser), play for a little bit, and then go in the highchair and put away a pouch or jar of food.
I’ve also mashed up some banana or avocado and added breastmilk, and he loves that, too.
ROUTINE
Our routine is slowly coming together and revealing itself. I’ve never been on to impose a strict schedule on my kids, but I’m all about a routine or rhythm. I’ve found, though, that you can’t force it. Instead, I try to look for signs and follow his lead.
I always base our routines are SLEEP. Because I think it’s THE most important thing – for babies, kids and adults.
I’ll be sharing a more in-depth look at our “schedule” in a blog post soon, but it’s pretty much this, over and over: SLEEP, NURSE, PLAY, EAT, NURSE (if needed), SLEEP.
I try not to let him be awake for more than 2.5(ish) hours at a time.
NIGHTTIME SLEEP
In case you missed it, I shared a blog post with my sleep training tips and how we did it.
Overall, sleep is going pretty well. He had a cold for a few weeks, and since it always breaks my heart to let them cry through a cold, we backtracked a little. I would nurse him more often in the night than I normally would.
Now that he’s feeling better, we’re getting back on track. He still goes down around 630/7pm and his first wakeup is around 2/3am. MUCH better than his 3-4 wakeups he was having prior to sleep training.
NAPS
He’s been taking 3 naps for awhile now, and I’m pretty sure we’re close to dropping that last one.
Naps are always tricky, but in my experience if you stay as consistent as you can (easier now more than ever), they will get longer and longer and you won’t be stuck in the 30-45 minute nap hell forever.
In the past few weeks, Gray has started extending his naps to 1.5-2 hours. It’s not for every nap, but more often than not, they’re longer than 45 minutes.
Once they’re consistently long, I’ll drop that last nap.
MILESTONES
He’s rolling front to back and back to front like a champ, and now he’s using rolling as a form of transportation. I’ll put him down and look over and a minute later he’s in a totally different spot.
He’s trying SO hard to scoot and crawl. He’ll stretch forward and kick and try to lurch himself forward. He’s just started to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth, trying to take off. It’s the cutest thing ever and before I know it, he’ll be off to explore his world.
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