Weight and Height: Emerson just had her 6 month check-up and she's right at 14 lbs. and 24.5 inches long. She's gained 1.5 lbs. and didn't gain any inches since her last visit. Initially, I was very concerned about her height. I don't think I've ever been to a doctor's appointment for my kids where they hadn't grown any. But the doctor reassured me that it had only been 2 months and now her height was a little more proportional to her weight. Emerson is an itty bitty thing, but very healthy! Our girl is in the 10th percentile for weight and the 20th percentile for height. She's petite like mommy and daddy! I try not to worry, but I always do when it comes to the size of my kids. I just want them to be healthy and like every other kid. Josh and I just don't make big kids and we aren't very big people ourselves, so maybe one day I will accept that! ;) Overall, she did great at her 6 month check-up except for those mean old shots. She is quite the drama queen when it comes to shots! She was screaming from the moment she got the shots until we got to our house. Poor thing!
Monthly pictures are a group activity!
Sleeping: Emerson is about the same in the sleep department. She still gets up twice a night most nights. Once in a while, she will sleep 5-6 hours straight, but most nights, she sleeps 3-5 hours at a time. It's tough, that's for sure. I will never fully understand why my babies don't want to sleep through the night, but I know breastfeeding is a (small) factor. Emerson is learning to self-soothe, but she struggles with it. When she wakes up during the night, half the time all she wants to do is be cuddled and then goes right back to sleep. We are trying to let her cry a little and learn to self-soothe, but after a while of crying, she just gets louder and never seems to get back to sleep on her own. I do still feed her when she wakes up a lot of the time. While a part of me knows I shouldn't, she eats a good bit, so I assume she is genuinely hungry. We are still working on her sleeping through the night and I know she will get there one day! While it's frustrating right now, I know this is just a short season. At least I try to tell myself that! Ha. Emerson goes to bed around 9pm (with Grayson) and she wakes up for the day around 9am. She typically wakes up at 1am and 5am. Emerson is taking 2 naps a day now and they are very predictable which I love. She takes a morning and afternoon nap. Emerson only goes 1.5-2 hours after she wakes up before she wants a morning nap. Her morning nap is shorter and her afternoon nap is longer. Grayson and Emerson take the afternoon nap at the same time (most days) and that has been amazing! Even if it's just 30 minutes of them both being asleep at the same time, it's a nice time for me to get something done or even sit down and clear my mind. They are getting more and more on the same schedule, so that's nice! A funny little habit that she has is crying during a nap, getting mommy to come get her believing she's awake, then falling back asleep once we get downstairs in mommy and daddy's bed! She doesn't do it often, but it makes Josh and I laugh. I think she is secretly plotting to get us to bring her to our bed! Haha. Emerson also wakes up much easier than she used to. She used to sleep through anything when we were out and about, but now she immediately wakes up when I get her out of the car or if we change settings.
Eating: Emerson is still breastfeeding like a champ! In fact, it seems to be all she wants to eat most days. Poor thing is cutting teeth and you can just see that she is in constant pain. She cut 1 tooth right before turning 6 months and I'm pretty sure the second one is right behind it. At least I hope! (It is! I found the second tooth today!). She is doing okay with solids. Before she turned 6 months, I was feeding her solids about once a day, just so she could get the feel for it. But I wasn't super consistent. If we had a really busy day or we were out of town, I would just skip the solids. Unfortunately, she makes such a mess, that I kind of dread doing it! I end up bathing her after almost every feeding. But as of 6 months, the pediatrician says she needs to be eating solids 3 times a day just to get the hang of swallowing. Of course, that was right around when the tooth came in, so she's been very uninterested. She is flinching when we put the spoon in front of her, turning her head away from us, crying, and even biting down on her lip, so that we can't even get the spoon in there. (This kind of makes me laugh because Grayson was the same way! He never liked purees.) But it's also extremely frustrating because she needs to eat especially being that she is so tiny. I try not to get too stressed about her eating solids because I really think it will improve once her new tooth comes in and she isn't in so much pain. She is also almost always congested! Her nose is like a little faucet and I know all that drainage doesn't help her appetite either. We are looking forward to the weather making up its mind, so that her congestion finally goes away! Emerson likes banana best, but has also tried peas, yogurt, green beans, a mango, apple, and pear mixture, squash, and sweet potato. I was given a bunch of baby food from a friend, so I am using that in combination with homemade baby food. She is quite an independent eater which surprises me. She wants to hold the spoon herself and enjoys the more "baby-led weaning" style. She really likes these apple rice rusks we bought her that she can hold and eat on her own and she also likes eating bananas out of the mesh feeder. It helps with her need to be independent, but it also helps with teething and gives her something to chew on while getting some nutrition. Emerson is a much more distracted breastfeeder. She gets distracted by her surroundings or touching my face and hair and forgets what she is supposed to be doing. Nursing her with a cover is especially challenging because she just plays with the cover the entire time! Haha.
Clothes: Emerson fits perfectly in almost all of her 6 month clothing while still being able to fit in a few 3-6 month outfits. Despite being small, she really fits in her clothes very normally. I just switched out some of her clothes for the 6-9 month size, but that's all a little big for now. She's in a size 2-3 diaper. She can wear both depending on the brand.
Mood: Our happy and go-with-the-flow girl has been struggling a little more this month! Like I said, teething has gotten the best of her and she is quite moody lately. She still has her smiley and giggly moments, but they have been more rare this month. She has been extra fussy. She is getting more opinionated and will burst into tears if she doesn't like something or isn't happy. Grayson used to be able to take a toy from her or give her a hug and she would care less. But now, she lets us know if she's doesn't like something! She very much prefers to be held and will cry if you put her down. She likes to play with her toys independently for a little while, but then wants mommy or daddy to come get her. She loves to be walked around in someone's arms. Grayson was always so mobile and independent, so it's nice to have a more cuddly baby. Some days, it's frustrating when I want to get something done and she won't let me, but I'm trying to enjoy all the snuggles I can! Overall, she is still fairly quiet and doesn't babble much. When she does, I ask Grayson what she is saying and he insists she is saying "water!", so we will have to see what her first word is! Haha.
Milestones: Emerson is an expert at sitting up these days! She rarely even tips over. This month, she started sitting in the shopping cart by herself and sitting in the baby swing at the park. She loves them both! We broke out the big bouncer for her and she enjoys that too. Although she is only in it for a little while before wanting to be rescued. One of her favorite things is to just sit on the floor and play with her little pile of toys. She has no desire to be mobile or roll, but she loves to sit up and play with everything. She is reaching and grabbing at everything! I still consider her like a newborn in my mind (obviously, I need to catch up!) and have been surprised this month when she would pull things off the table or grab at something on my plate. She actually threw 2 pieces of bacon on to the floor from my plate recently. She is always swatting at everything with her arms! I think she is practicing her defense mechanisms against her brother, personally! ;) She still hates tummy time, but she is getting better and better at it. She has absolutely no desire to roll from her back to her belly! She's never even attempted it. I'm pretty sure walking isn't going to happen until she is 2! Ha! She is extremely present and loves interacting with others. You can sing to her or play peek-a-boo and she smiles and laughs.
Teeth: Emerson has 2 teeth as of, well, today!
Loves: Like I said, Emerson loves to be held and carried around. She loves mommy, daddy, and especially big brother. She loves to sit in the floor and grab at all her toys. She loves to chew anything and everything! She is always sucking on her bottom lip. She loves to dance with mommy or for mommy to tickle her. She hates getting buckled into her car seat, but then she immediately looks over to Grayson and starts smiling. Seeing their sibling relationship grow has been so fun! They love each other so much. She loves to sit in Grayson's crib with him and play each morning when they wake up. Emerson loves anything musical and brightly colored. She does well in the car once it's moving and likes to be in motion. She loves taking naps with daddy, mommy and daddy's bed, and watching other kids play. She also likes to be outside. Emerson loves when I kiss her cheeks over and over and she loves to scratch different surfaces with her nails!
Mommy Update: (Copied from my recent Facebook post) To be honest -- parenting has felt extremely challenging lately. These two little ones take every ounce of energy I have. They are extremely needy, demand my attention at all times (usually at the same time), and one of them (or both) is crying most of the time. My patience is constantly being tested. The diapers, tantrums, breastfeeding, and doing everything in my power to keep them happy seems endless at times. I am constantly cleaning just to turn around and see another mess. I'm so exhausted (mentally, physically, emotionally) that only months of sleep would allow me to feel truly refreshed at this point. I beat myself up on a daily basis wondering if I am a good mom and feeling like I'm not enough. Raising up little people is HARD work and there are days where I've struggled to find the joy in it. If I allowed it, I could let the hardships consume me and leave me feeling negative and discouraged. But when I am intentional about finding the joy in motherhood, I see it. Clear as day. The smiles, cuddles, sweet laughs, adventures, finally seeing something they have been working hard on click, I Love You's, seeing their sweet sibling relationship form, the quality time, the privilege of getting to stay home with my babies...there is so much joy DURING the struggle! What's my favorite thing about being a mom? Gosh, a million things! But one of my favorite things is just spending quality time with them. I can be playing cars with Grayson and reading him books, cuddling with Emerson and watching her smile and giggle, and in those moments, I just feel so complete and content with life. My heart is so full. Doing the simplest things with my kids and enjoying their presence brings me so much joy! I love just being with them and being that person for them who can make everything better...and they do the same for me! And that's enough -- that's enough to get me through the tough days. So on the days where you want to throw in the towel (You're a parent, so that's not possible! But the idea might sound appealing!), I encourage you to be intentional about finding the joy and the positive in the situation, and I promise you, your day will turn right around. -- In short, this month has been challenging, but I am getting through it and learning to accept that some days things just don't go right and that's okay. Accept the imperfection and move forward. While also learning to be intentional about finding the joy and positives in each day. I am also learning to stop beating myself up for when my kid's don't act the best and realize that my worth isn't found in their behavior, but in Christ. This is a BIG on-going lesson for me and I hope to do a blog post on this soon.
Until next month!
