My baby is six months (almost seven as I write this). How did this happen?! The first few months after she was born seemed to go so slow. Then, one day, she became a little girl. Curious and independent already. Always looking to play, smile or laugh. I truly cannot believe she’s half way to being one year old. The time really does fly.
As someone who didn’t love the newborn phase, so from birth to three months, things are now so different. I noticed the biggest different after her four month appointment when she started to become more interactive and alert. The random crying subsided and we started to get into a groove each day.
One of the biggest steps we took at four months was going through sleep training. Like many other parenting topics (breastfeed v. formula, purees v. BLW) this one is controversial. There are numerous “programs,” or methods you can follow. However, after all my research and talking to many of my mom friends, the Ferber method seemed to be the most effective. It can also be the most heart wrenching because it’s basically “cry it out,” with check-in intervals. But I was at the point where Claire was demanding I replace her pacifier any time it fell out at night – which caused me to get no more than an hours sleep at a time. So one Monday morning, after a rough Sunday night, I made the decision that we were doing it. It took three nights in total, with the first being the worst. Since then, Claire sleeps a pretty solid 12 hours and we get up at 6am everyday. Literally the best decision we made parenting wise and it saved my life and sanity.
Claire is the happiest, most chill baby and just rolls with everything. She rarely cries, loves to smile and laugh and is super active. She’s learning to give kisses, dance in her activity center and is trying her hardest to crawl. She’s very vocal and loves to screech and babble in her crib before falling asleep. I didn’t think it was humanly possible, but my love for her grows every passing second and I am amazed to watch her learn more every minute.
Right now we are attempting two “meals” a day, aside from bottles, of all different purees and greek yogurt. I attempted baby led weaning for a couple of days but just was too nervous and anxious about her choking. So we are going to take a step back and not force anything. My plan is to do a mix of spoon fed purees and baby led weaning.
She is totally on the verge of crawling and wants to so badly. So I’m helping her practice and teaching her to get up on all fours. It’s so funny how they rock back and forth or do the worm on the floor trying to get up!
Time is flying as she hits her seven month birthday next week. I feel like once we hit September, it’s going to fly even faster and she will be one year old. Being a mother to this beautiful little girl is the best gift God has ever given me. I cherish each and every day we are together and want her to stay my baby forever.