Six months, it’s been six months of non stop new experiences! Between sleeping routines, sleeping arrangements and breastfeeding schedules I’ve never practiced before- this kid has really taught me something new every few weeks. If you ever find someone online who claims they’re an expert because they have X amount of kids- run the other way because they’re completely full of shit and far too confident. I’m willing to bet moms with the most kids are still always learning something new. No one baby is the same and as life would show me, neither are their needs and routines.
One day I’m going to go back and read all of my monthly updates and wonder how I made it this long with my sanity (haha). My little dude has really tried to check off all the boxes when it comes to sleeping and eating. We started in a bassinet, which I LOVED, then due to my over exhaustion and sleep deprivation, co sleeping found us. As it would turn out, little dude also loved the co sleeping life, so we had to navigate that real quickly- read this month update for more on safe co sleeping resources. Now we are six months into sleeping like two peas in a pod and honestly, I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I did buy a mini crib, only use it to lay him somewhere when I run around the upstairs floor quickly. It’s just a little lay down yard for this cutie right now, but a safe one, so I’m okay keeping it around for this use.
His feedings haven’t changed a ton, he’s still a snacker at night and bottle drinker during the day. This schedule keeps me pumping all day long like an exclusive pumper. If I’m being honest here, I still consider myself an exclusive pumper, ultimately, because that is the main method of feeling him. Admittedly, he does nurse at night and sometimes before a nap- but these feedings are so sporadic and unreliable that if I depended on those milk removals alone, well my supply would have disappeared months ago.
Six Month Ideal milk removal sessions
|
7a |
Longest pump session around 30-40 minutes |
|
9a |
Average pump session, around 20-30 minutes if I can sit for that long |
|
Noon/1p |
Average session or sometimes mobile for errands |
|
3:30/4p |
Average session |
|
6:30p |
Average session or sometimes mobile for errands |
|
8:30/9p |
Average session |
|
MOTN |
Whenever Boob Monster wakes to eat. Sometimes that’s as early as 10p or as late as 3a. How many times? All depends. But I also think he uses me as a pacifier, so it’s not always milk removed. |
Nap/Nurse Schedule
If I’m available I will always attempt to nurse to nap, because- well I can and it’s a special time for us that I’m not ready to say good-bye to, just yet.
|
930a |
Nurse to nap |
|
Noon-ish |
Nurse to nap |
|
Sometime 2:30/3p |
This nap is a hit or miss but if he’s showing signs of cracky, eye rubbing, we know |
|
4:30p |
This nap is usually a sure thing. But it’s a short one because bed time comes up quickly. |
|
7:30p |
Nap to sleep for the night |
Now for the new game changer. Something that I’m not a total stranger to but finding that with four wild kids and one six month old, this accessory has proven to be extra helpful to have on hand. Cue the baby carrier. Similarly to co sleeping, baby wearing just found a spot in our routine also. I’ve owned a few carriers, some of which I have already gotten rid of; the twin Weego and Ergo Baby. Both I didn’t have a ton of luck with. Baby carriers that I currently own are two Wildbird slings, a few Momcozy options and a Sukura Bloom Scout. All carriers have been gifted with the exception of the Wildbirds. I owe more thoughts on these items in a later blog but for now I’ll say that I have been really happy with the Sukura Bloom Scoot but would like to have something in the house that doesn’t have the leather accents and more spacious area for baby’s head to rest- so I recently ordered a Happy Baby carrier. Right before Christmas we got hit with some fever bug, this followed the GI bug we had two weeks earlier, fortunately little guy only got hit with the latter of the two. This low grade fever stuck around for about a week, but it resulted in unwanted horizontal laying and as much baby wearing as possible. This is really what triggered me to bust out all of the carriers I could find. In addition to the cold and before that even hit the house I was laying him down to nap and then leaving the room to get stuff done. Problem is, he’s such a short napper that I found it to be more trouble than it was worth. So being able to carry him on me has also made those naps a little easier if I’m not able to take the time to get him to fall asleep.
His bottles have stayed the same pretty much around 4-5 ounces. It’s often I get the question, my baby is X months old, should they be drinking more? The answer to this is no, once baby hits their 4-5 ounce bottles of breastmilk, or about one month old, that is pretty much it for the remainder of their breastmilk drinking career. Even as they grow older you won’t increase their volume or the nipple flow for that matter.
Another minor detail that has been added to our routine is feeding a bottle while side laying. Since he had a cold and had trouble latching and feeding at the same time I brought in the bottle. I don't anticipate this to be our new thing but it was definitely a must while he was a snotty little thing.
All I can say is that I hope the next six months are snot free because these last two weeks put more gray hair on my head than ever before. Looking forward to seeing what else this little guy is going to teach me in the months to come!
