Almost 6 months!

Hello long lost blogging friends! This is just an update to say hi and give an update on baby A. 

She will be 6 months old on Monday! Seriously, where did the time go? I think she’s just over 14lbs based on my inaccurate weighing myself and her and then doing math. She’s really strong, already rocking back and forth, loves jumping in her jumper, sitting up with me close by and rolls all over. She’s getting better and grabbing objects but doesn’t quite pass them between hands. And she’s vocal, but just vowel sounds (ooooo and ahhh), and an occasional goo or gaa. She’s a tough cookie, smiles a lot at mommy and daddy but getting her to laugh is so hard! And she rarely laughs at the same thing twice. She does squeal and squeak though. Her favorite things are her changing table, chewing on her Sophie the Giraffe toy, and bath time with Daddy (complete with blow-drying her at the end…her most favorite part). 

Sleeping has gotten better. We are still co-sleeping but I have stopped nursing her to sleep at bedtime (as of this past Sunday). I just lay with her in bed (around 7pm) while she falls asleep. She cries for less than 10 mins. The first two nights she woke up after about 40mins and cried for just over an hour. My husband and I took turns soothing her until she fell asleep. Then she slept for about 5 hours before needing a feed. I still nurse her in the middle of the night (especially to keep up my supply with being back at work). Last night she only cried for 5 mins and then slept 5 hours before feeding. So I guess it’s working. We are planning to transition her to her crib this weekend (in our room…we live in a 1 bedroom apartment). Honestly I’m not wild about sleep training but she really needs to go to bed earlier than 8:30-9 (more like 7) and it’s just not feasible for me to lay down with her at 7 every night (especially since on work days I get home around 6).  We will be starting with the camping out method. I’m going to give it a week. If it’s not working we will go back to me laying in bed with her around 7pm till she falls asleep since that is working right now and we will try again later. I’m just glad we easily stopped nursing to sleep. I also plan to keep co-sleeping in the middle of the night for easier night time nursing. 

Please don’t bite my head off about sleep training!! But if you have any suggestions or can tell me about your experience (both good and bad) please feel free!!

Naps are better as well. I keep her awake for about 1.5 hours before putting her down. She generally will put herself to sleep at nap time. The past couple of weeks I’m FINALLY getting some 1.5-2 hour naps out of her instead of the 30-40 min cat naps. But she still cat naps in the afternoon. She’s also a tummy sleeper (we put her down on her back in the crib and she immediately flips over to her tummy). I do not let her tummy sleep in the bed, she sleeps right next to me. And daycare doesn’t let her tummy sleep per my request. At home I can check her frequently but you can never be sure at daycare. Luckily she sleeps pretty well at daycare (better than at home). Baby A loves daycare and we found a great in-home provider thank goodness. Certainly makes it easier to go to work!

We have been giving her tastes of solids but with no real structure. I plan to actually start with avocado and go from there. Maybe this weekend? I’m going to make them myself. She’s still exclusively breastfeeding, and seems to love it (as do I), so no plans on weaning yet. I still haven’t gotten my period so I wonder when that will happen. Not that I miss it!

I also got a new job! I work in a procedure center, with a later start time and NO WEEKENDS!!!! I like it so far, but I really miss the kids at my old job. But family first and this works way better for my family. On another note, this is the same place I had my hysteroscopy and now I’m giving the IV sedation for that very procedure. Weird being on the other side. I also work with the IVF doctor I consulted with, Dr. H. He remembers me (and he’s awesome). If I worked Wednesdays I would work with my actual fertility doctor, Dr. N. Weird! 

My pumping schedule at work is a bit off but it doesn’t seem to affect my supply (yet) so I’m just going with it. I pump before work for 15-20 mins, at lunch 4-5 hours later for 25 mins, then at the end of the day 3-4 hours later for 10-15 mins before driving home. That’s why I still do the night feeds. Since I’m only working 3-4 days a week I just make sure to feed on demand on my days off. 

I think that’s it for now! Even though I post pretty rarely, I love reading everyone’s updates so keep them coming!