6 Months With Blake

When I think back to those first few weeks at home with Blake, I frequently thought about the phrase I heard most often, you're going to blink and she will be one. My exhausted self usually just rolled her eyes, convinced I was never going to sleep again. Part of that is still true, I haven't slept through the night since I was 20 weeks pregnant, but I do feel like I blinked and went from a newborn to a 6 month old. I still stand by the phrase that being a mom is the hardest job but also the most beautiful and amazing thing I've ever experienced. Only being 6 months in I feel like I've learned so much which is what I wanted to share, but I am also still totally clueless and winging it. The one thing I have learned and would tell all mom's to be is you don't need nearly as many things as you think you do. When you're putting together a registry I highly recommend just registering for all the diapers and wipes because that shit is expensive and you will fly through them. I started following On Track Baby on Instagram a few weeks after Blake was born (go follow them). The women who created it are two occupational therapists and they talk about how the more you do for your baby, the less they do for themselves. I found we really only needed a blanket or mat for Blake. Floor/tummy time is the only time babies move unrestricted and that's the movement that grows the brain. That's all we did with Blake and at 6 months she's already crawling around. I'm kind of (actually I'm very psychotic) about all of this stuff and I'm sure Blake will tell all of her friends that her mom is crazy when she's old enough. I've avoided all exersaucers, and anything that assists with standing or sitting as this weakens there core strength and slows down their development. We also chose not to swaddle Blake because research shows that this prevents their startle reflex from developing and we wanted her to be able to move as freely as possible. This method also eliminated a bunch of baby clutter from taking up space in our house which PTL because I don't like plastic or clutter at all. Brian says he feels like one baby is enough but she totally needs a sibling so I'll either find a new husband to have baby number two with or he will eventually give in ;) The only two baby accessories I would purchase next time around would be this organic mat for tummy time, it's washable and easy to lay anywhere along with this portable bassinet, it's nontoxic and easy to take anywhere. Sleep. I'm still wondering what that is. I told B if he's considering leaving me or getting a girlfriend I would appreciate if he waited until Blake slept through the night. I used to get a solid 9 hours of sleep a night, now I would be cool with like a 5 hour stretch. Also the phrase I slept like a baby is very misleading. I want to sleep like my husband. I went back and forth on doing sleep training with Blake. I don't think babies should ever be left alone to cry as research shows babies cannot self soothe and if they are crying it is because they genuinely have a need. At around 4.5 months Blake completely stopped sleeping for us. It didn't matter if I held her, nursed her or rocked her all night. The girl was awake every 45 minutes and then she was exhausted and crabby all day long and so was I. I did a ton of research and decided to do a form of sleep training I felt comfortable with. We went through Snooze Baby Co. and did the camp out method. Jillian was so amazing and helpful through the whole process. There was definitely some crying involved, but we never left her alone to cry which I felt comfortable with. We sat in her room with her and talked to her and sang to her (actually Brian did it all). It only took about 3 nights before she got the hang of it and now she can put herself to sleep for naps and bedtime and she's a MUCH happier baby. She does still wake up a few times a night and I always respond. I'm not one of those moms who can ignore nighttime cries so I either feed her or soothe her. Taylor Kulik on Instagram is one of my favorite people to follow for research on the importance of responding to your baby. She also talks extensively about co sleeping and yes there's a safe way to do it if you feel like that's right for your family! Teething. The thing I dreaded the most. Blake popped two of her bottom teeth through and she was really only crabby for a couple days before they popped through. Before I had Blake, I did extensive research and decided I wasn't going to do any Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Studies have shown that Tylenol use even once per year increases a child's risk of asthma and eczema. It is also the number one cause of liver failure. Tylenol and Ibuprofen are also known to deplete gultathione levels which is your bodies master antioxidant. Low glutathione levels are associated with almost every single health problem. Luckily I found numerous alternatives to Ibuprofen and Tylonel. Camilla homeopathy liquid drops have been great, We also love Earthley Teeth Tamer and Wellements Organic Baby Teething Oil. IF those all fail just take some whiskey and rub it on their gums. That's what we did before Tylenol was a thing and we all turned out fine ;) Natural Minded Mom and Natural Nurse Momma are two of my favorite people to follow on Instagram if you're looking for medicine cabinet swaps. One is a lawyer and the other is a nurse practitioner with a focus on holistic health so extensive research goes into all of their posts which I thoroughly appreciate. Food. I legit had zero idea that having a baby required so much research. Brian tells me if I were just a normal person it wouldn't be so difficult but I just cant help myself. We are doing a combination of baby lead weaning and some purees. As far as purees go I only use the pouches from Serenity kids and Once Upon a Farm. Both are made with whole food ingredients and tested for heavy metals. Baby lead weaning exposes kids to all different textures and flavors, the idea behind this is you give baby foods that are big enough for them to grab and put in their mouth which helps prevent choking. There's an app called solid starts that goes over all of this and gives some great ideas on first foods for baby. There are a lot of things you can do to develop your kiddos palette so they prefer salty over sweet. I decided that for the first year Blake wont get any processed sugar and very minimal fruit (something I hope to follow throughout her childhood). We're focusing on grass fed meat, health fats, full fat fairy and veggies. You know this poor baby is getting her liver in too. Liver is more easily absorbed in the body when combined with vitamin C so I usually take Perfect Supplements Desiccated Liver Powder and mix it with some fruit and feed it to her a few times a week. Poor girl never stood a chance. Luckily I work 3 nights a week and her dad loves McDonald's so she'll have some normalcy in her childhood. Okay kids, I'm off to get my three hours of sleep.