We did it!! 6 whole months of breastfeeding, I am so proud of myself and Alex for reaching this feeding milestone and I can’t believe how quickly it has come around . I haven’t updated my breastfeeding diary in a while as, to be honest, after the struggles we had in those first few weeks feeding has been going really well. However, now that Alex is 6 months old I couldn’t not write another diary entry to celebrate this achievement. View Post
It’s happened. My baby boy is now half a year old – 6 whole months! The 6 month mark feels like such a big milestone and Alex really has changed so much since I wrote his 5 month update, he’s like a completely different baby. Here is what has been happening with my little man over the last 4 weeks.
What does he look like?
Size – I finally got around to taking Alex to baby clinic when he was 5 and half months old and at that point he weighed 15lb 4. The health visitor was quite concerned with his weight as he had dropped down two centiles on the weight chart. She encouraged us to start weaning him early – more about that later. Alex definitely looks and feels a lot bigger this month despite the issues with his weight, age 3-6 months vests are straining over his belly now and the dungarees in that size are now popping open over his bum!
Teething – The mystery of the front tooth is still to be solved; sometimes there is a little spike of tooth popping through and other times there is no sign of it. Someone commented on my last post saying his tooth could keep disappearing because his gums are swollen up around it, poor baby. There has been lots of dribble, chomping and rosy cheeks this month but no sign of any more teeth coming through yet.
Personality
What he likes/dislikes – Alex really loves playing with his toys this month. He has one of those singing and moving balls which is meant to encourage crawling and he loves it. He is also really enjoying rolling everywhere, he is not crawling yet but he can cover some ground just by rolling and pushing himself backwards. This month alex has started sitting unaided and he is really enjoying seeing the world from a different perspective. We are still going to baby sensory classes and both Alex and I really enjoy this one hour a week of fun quality time together. Alex is smiling at everything and everyone lately, it is so cute and it is clear he loves it when people tell him he is handsome. As we have started weaning Alex is enjoying trying new foods, his favourite is banana and he is not too keen on the plain baby porridge but I can’t blame him really. Alex does not like being put down when he is tired AT ALL and gets really grumpy at bedtime when I am getting him changed after his bath. On the most part though Alex loves most things and is really enjoying exploring the world.
Character – As I said above, Alex is so so smiley. All you have to do is look at him and he gives you a big gummy grin. He loves it when you make him jump for some reason and he loves nothing more than a cuddle. He is a boy who loves his food though and can get pretty hangry if I don’t feed him quick enough! Alex is so interested in the world around him, you can see him taking it all in and he always fights his sleep as he obviously doesn’t want to miss out on anything. I know I say this every month but Alex is such a happy baby.
The day to day
Feeding – Alex and I have managed 6 whole months of breastfeeding! There have been a couple times this month where Oli has put him to bed so he has had a bottle of expressed milk and there was one occasion where my father in law looked after Alex and I hadn’t pumped so he had a bottle of formula. Feeding has been going really well, we are currently on 5 feeds in the day and 1 or 2 night feeds – Alex is fed on demand so we don’t have a schedule but he has got a sort of pattern so it is easy for me to know when he will be hungry. I am so happy we have made it to six months of breastfeeding and it is my mission to keep feeding him until he’s one.
Weaning – So, we have started weaning! The foods Alex has tried so far include: banana, avocado, broccoli, strawberries, apples, carrots, baby porridge and I may have let him suck on a bit of pizza while we were in Italy. He is such a good little eater, he loves the purees I make him and will happily munch on pieces of banana and strawberries from his netted snack pot. It was clear Alex was ready for weaning as he kept trying to swipe food from my plate and he seemed to want to breastfeed constantly. I am exciting to keep introducing Alex to lots of yummy healthy foods and to discover what his preferences are.
Sleeping – Um, I don’t really want to talk about sleeping this month. After spending the last 3 months bragging about how amazing Alex is at sleep, he seems to have been hit with the 4 month sleep regression a month or so too late. Night times have been awful! Not long after Alex turned 5 months he started waking for night feeds again, some nights he was waking up to 4 times! The worst thing was that he wouldn’t go back to sleep after his feed, he either wanted to laugh and play or just scream like a banshee for hours on end. I really am exhausted, I seem to have got him down to just one night feed this last week or so but he will not go back down into his cot. The second his little back touches the mattress Alex’s eyes shoot open and he is wide awake – it is so frustrating! Not only has bedtime sleep been a nightmare but naps seem to have gone completely out the window too, I count it as a good day if Alex naps for half an hour. The only way a nap is possible is if I feed Alex to sleep/drive him in the car or push him in the pram (I am attempting to encourage better daytime naps by using lavender oil has part of our sleep routine). I don’t know how long this regression will last but being awake for hours in the night again really isn’t fun at all, I am so tired all the time.
Who we have seen
This month Alex has seen a lot of his family. My cousin Jes came to stay for a couple nights, my parents were here for Mother’s Day weekend and we took Alex on his first ever holiday with 10 other people! Alex and Leo met their Aunty Marge from America for the very first time, spent lots of time with their cousins and uncles as well as their beloved Nanny and Grampy.
Where have we been
At the start of Alex’s sixth month we headed to Bournmouth beach for a lovely day out. We also have had lots of trips to the playground as the weather has been nice but the best place we have been this month is Italy! I know Alex won’t remember any of it but while on holiday he visited Florence, Perguia, Assisi and the amazing city of Rome. We stayed in a beautiful villa in the even more beautiful Umbrian countryside and, as far as I could tell, Alex really enjoyed his first ever holiday. At just six month old he has already been on a plane, seen the Coliseum and experienced the amazing historical culture of Italy.
Brothers
What does Leo think – Leo loves Alex, I know I have said this most months but he really really loves him now. The more Alex grows and starts doing new things, the more interest Leo takes in his brother and the more he want to interact with him. Alex is in his own cot now in his own room and some mornings I wake up and I can hear Leo has climbed into the cot and is talking to his baby brother. Leo seems to have accepted that Alex needs so much of my attention and doesn’t seem to be getting grumpy and annoyed with me as often anymore which is brilliant. I absolutely love seeing my two boys together and the love between them both is just wonderful to see.
Sibling bonding – These boys of mine love to play with Alex’s noisy V-tech tat (I need ear plugs!) and Leo is getting better at sharing. Alex’s little face is the cutest thing whenever he sees Leo and many a baby meltdown has been avoided thanks to Leo doing a dance or singing to Alex. It hasn’t all been perfect though, there was a time Leo forgot he was playing a bay and not someone his own age and he tried to push Alex’s head into the change mat -he was obviously told off and he has not done anything like it since, I think having Daddy and Mummy shout at him probably made him realised he’s not to play rough with his brother. Leo is really interested in Alex’s weaning and also likes to come and discuss Alex ‘eating my booby’ whenever I feed him! The boys are so adorable together and their bond is really starting to shine.
The little things
There are so many firsts from this month that I don’t want to forget
That is it for Alex’s sixth month update, I can’t get over how much has happened in just one month. Fingers crossed Alex starts sleeping through again soon and I will keep you updated on all his weaning progress and maybe he will be crawling by the time of his next update. See you at 7 months and, Alex, happy half birthday!
Have you got a baby of a similar age, how are you finding everything? Anyone else’s baby had a sleep regression, any tips for me? If you write baby updates too drop a link in the comments and I will pop over for a read.
If you want to follow Alex’s develop from his birth then you can find all is baby updates here.
Despite my blog being called Naptime Natter, neither of my children are very good at napping. Leo is 3 and a half now and can be forgiven for not wanting to sleep in the day anymore (not that he loved napping when he was younger anyway) but Alex’s lack of napping is a lot harder to accept. My baby boy is only 6 months old, he should be having 2 reasonably long naps a day but I am lucky if I can get one 20 minute snooze out of him these days. Naps in the house just do not happen unless I feed him to sleep and then I find myself trapped under my sleepy boy for ages, the pile of washing still untouched and the dirty dishes left to stew in the sink. The only way I can guarantee Alex to have a sleep without having him stuck to me is to go for a long pointless drive in the car or to walk him in the pram for longer than the amount of time he will eventually spend asleep. I have tried lots of ways to get my boy to just go for a sleep in his damn cot but no amount of back patting and shushing is working. I have recently read that using essential oils can help your baby to sleep better and I have reached the point now where I will try anything to get Alex to take a decent nap. I am not an expert when it comes to essential oils but, after doing my research, I am going to start using them in Alex’s bedtime and naptime routine (note to self: start naptime routine) to see if what I have read is true. View Post
If there is one thing every parent to be should buy in bulk before their little one arrives it is baby wipes. Babies seem to enjoy pooing a lot and it is surprising how many wipes you can get through in a single day. It can be difficult deciding which wipes to buy with so many different brands out there, most of which claim to be perfect for newborn skin, and it is also hard as you don’t know how sensitive your child’s skin is going to be. Alex is 5 months old now and we have been using supermarket own brand wipes up until recently. There have been a few occasions where Alex has suffered with mild nappy rash and we have had to use some Care&Protect to clear it up. Recently we were given the opportunity to test out WaterWipes, the only baby wipes out there made almost entirely of water. I was interested to review these wipes to see if using wipes free from any chemicals really made any difference to Alex’s sensitive skin. View Post
Welcome back to Alex’s monthly baby updates, my baby boy is now 5 months old! Alex has developed so much in this past month, it is amazing to watch him grow and learn new things at an alarmingly fast pace. Here is what has been happening over the past 4 weeks. View Post
Yesterday I decided to go to my first ever spin class. Alex is closing in on 5 months old now and apart from that one 20minute run I did last month and the few times I did some yoga youtube videos, I haven’t done any exercise. I have been very lucky that, thanks to breastfeeding and good genes, I have pretty much sprung back to my pre baby weight with very minimal effort and I have not even had to shy away from the cake. Despite all this, my body may look good in clothes but underneath it is a bit of a squishy mess that is in need of some attention if I want to be rocking it in a bikini on our holiday next month. I decided now was the perfect time to get fit and tone up the mum tum once and for all and I foolishly believed a weekly mum and baby spin class was the answer to my wobbly problems. Um, I was SO wrong. If you are thinking of going to your first ever spin class please learn from my mistakes, this is how not to get back into exercise after having a baby. View Post
Oh lucky readers, do I have some exciting news for you today!
Kid Transit, a company specialising in making travel with kids easier, have an absolutely fantastic giveaway running at the minute and, if you have a baby, you definitely don’t want to miss this one. View Post
Yes, it is that time again. Alex is now 4 whole months old so here I am writing another monthly update. The past month has gone by quicker than any other I swear, I feel like Alex was 3 months for about 10 minutes! Here is how things have been going over the last 4 weeks. View Post
Over the past 3 and a half months we have accumulated quite a lot of baby paraphernalia in our house. While there are a few items that have been left to gather dust in Alex’s nursery, there have been a few products that have been literal lifesavers since Alex was born. With baby stores bursting with products parents are coaxed into believing they MUST HAVE and are ESSENTIAL, it can be easy to overspend when shopping for your new arrival. However, there really are some baby products that have made life with a newborn so much easier and I simply could not live without them now. If you have a baby on the way then here is list of baby products I couldn’t be without and you might just find useful too.. View Post
If there is one thing parents to be and new parents alike obsess over, it is baby sleep. Should my baby sleep in a cot, moses basket or bed side crib? Should I be co sleeping with my baby? Will my baby EVER sleep through? Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Baby sleep is a hot topic amongst us parents that’s for sure. As well as always striving for that magical full night of sleep, the safety of our children while they have a snooze is of paramount importance to parents. Thanks to babybundle‘s SafeDreams range parents can be sure their little ones are sleeping safely, when they do eventually decide to drop off that is! Alex was lucky enough to be sent a cot wrap and cuddly soft toy from the SafeDremas range, here is what we thought of these innovative bedtime products. View Post
Recently I shared my story about my mental health after pregnancy, how I have been feeling anxious and horrible since I gave birth to Alex in October. I have been completely overwhelmed by the response I have had to the post, everyone has been so supportive and I was actually quite surprised to see how many fellow bloggers have felt the same way as me, I really felt like I was the only one. Although I was terrified publishing that post, worried I would be judged or people would view me differently, I needn’t have worried as the response has been nothing but positive. I have had a post sitting in my drafts for months now, a post I wrote the day I realised something had to give. The day where I phoned my health visitor in tears and spoke to my GP. The first day of my fight to get myself back on track, to find myself again amongst the anxiety and stress, yet it was also the day where I felt like I had hit rock bottom. After allowing myself to be honest and share my experience of perinatal anxiety I have started to feel a lot better. It is a slow climb though and there are still bad days, days that are just so difficult, where the intrusive thoughts take over and I feel like I am being the worst possible Mum ever. But writing about all those horrible thoughts and feelings has really helped me to start to feel better so I have decided it is time I pressed publish on that post that has been sitting gathering dust in my drafts folder for months. It is quite hard for me to read back as the feelings I wrote about are still very raw but I know that by sharing them it will help me to recover from this and hopefully show other mums who are feeling this way that they are not alone. View Post
Creating a beautiful nursery for your baby is near the top of every mum to bes to do list, isn’t it? There is something so special about creating a space in your home just for your baby and decorating a nursery is a great way to satisfy your natural nesting instincts. When I found out I was expecting my second baby I knew immediately which room we would be turning into a nursery and once I knew we were having another boy I decided I wanted his bedroom to have a nautical theme. Turning our never been used, bleak and miserable junk room dining room into a cute nautical themed nursery took quite a bit of work, Alex is 3 months old and it still needs some finishing touches. However, creating your dream nursery for your baby can be really easy, with a bit of planning and organisation you can transform any room in your house into a bedroom fit for your little prince (or princess). Here is my quick guide to making all your baby bedroom dreams come true… View Post
