Happy 6 Months Claire!

Oh Claire- how did it come soooo fast???

Somehow, someway my tiny little newborn is already half way through her first year and weighing in at a whopping 16 pounds!   The intensity of those first few months are behind us and we are easing into a more predicable pattern each day, which I love!

Claire is in a size 3 diaper and wearing 6 month clothes.  Her pajamas are 9 months so they are long enough for her to stretch her little legs.  She is still a drooling machine as the picture below clearly demonstrates!  It is truly never ending!  It just pours out like a faucet, yet still no teeth!

We are nursing about every 3 hours now.  She has gotten sooooo much faster.  I actually thought something was wrong.  Some feedings are as short as 5 minutes, others are as long as 15-20 min; it just depends on what she needs!  I never would have believed that Claire would be that fast in the beginning.  I remember thinking to myself, "How will I ever be able to do this for an entire year?"  but if she keeps up like this it's going to be a piece of cake.

Can you see her rash on her neck from all that drool in the picture below?  We have tried so many things and it won't go away.  I don't think this heat is helping.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

We are getting ready to start solids and I think she is really excited because she is reaching for everything on our plates at dinner time and really watching and observing our every move when we put food in our mouths or take a drink from a cup or water bottle!

We are down to 2 naps a day now.  She takes her first nap about an hour and a half after she wakes up.  It's usually not a very long nap, just about 30-45 minutes.  Her second nap is around 12:30 or 1:00 and varies in length from 40 minutes to sometimes 1 hour and 45 minutes.  She really resists falling asleep.  She is still napping in her swing because that it just what works best for her.

Bedtime seems to be moving earlier and earlier.  We used to start getting ready for bed around 8:30, then 8:00, then 7:45 and now we pretty much have to start the routine of PJ's and nursing at about 7:15ish because she is just done for the day.  I tried putting her to bed this early a couple of nights ago for the first time and it was perfect!  We started around 7:20 or so and she fell asleep nursing and then went right into her crib around 8:00 and slept until 7:00am the next morning!!  We repeated the same routine the following night and she didn't end up going to sleep until 8:45, so who knows!  She does still wake up in the middle of the night about once each night, usually before 11pm when she rolls over and needs a little help getting settled back to sleep.  If I put the pacifier in her mouth and gently rock her body while she's laying in the crib she *usually* goes back to sleep.  We've had a few early mornings where she wakes up around 4am or 5am and wants to eat, but she usually wakes up around 6 or 7.

Is it just me or does it look like she is pulling up in these pictures???

 

Okay, it's not just me...this girl is really wanting to go somewhere!  Looks like we'll be lowering the crib sooner than expected!!

 

She hasn't quite figured out how to crawl yet, but she's definitely getting close.  Look at those little legs!  

All that exercise sure can be exhausting...

I thought it might be fun to share an *average* day for Claire at 6 months...everyday is different and I really don't have her on a schedule, but this has become somewhat of her routine...some days it's not even close to this, but often it's something along these lines.

Between 6-7am 

Wakes up making cooing sounds in her crib.  I let out the dog, feed the dog, go get Claire and sing to her and play with her for a minute and then change her diaper.  I bring her and Bindi back to the bedroom and nurse Claire in bed.  I love this time because I get to lay down again and it's so peaceful!  After she's done eating she cuddles in bed with her Daddy for a bit if he hasn't already left for the day.  Then we put her in her bumper jumper so we can shower and get ready for the day.  She has fun watching us!

Around 8:00-8:30

I put Claire down for her nap in her swing.  She's been pulling out the pacifier right before she falls asleep and then fussing so I stay close by in the rocking chair and replace it with another one until she falls asleep.  I laugh because I know I'll never be able to do this with a second baby, oh how much different that will be one day! :)

8:30-9:30

While she sleeps I eat breakfast, put on my make up and do my hair and let the dog out again.  If there is any extra time I will make a list for groceries, reply to emails, check the work email, etc.

9:30

Claire gets up, new diaper, new outfit for the day and time for her to nurse again.

10:00

This is our "going out" time.  This is our best shot at getting somewhere each day.  Sometimes it's a doctor appointment, play date, grocery trip, etc.  It's not too hot yet (as in it's only 95 degrees and not 105 degrees) and Claire is well rested and ready to go.

12:30/1:00

We need to be back home by this time to nurse again and get ready for afternoon nap.  If I push it and try to stay out longer sometimes Claire falls asleep in the car on the way home and wakes up when I bring her in the house but then won't go back to sleep and the afternoon can be pretty grueling!  Eventually she will go to sleep but's it't not an easy task!

1:00-???

While Claire sleeps I eat lunch and get caught up on stuff for work.  Working from home is often hard because it never fails that as soon as I get started I need to stop.  I've been really busy with new hire stuff and I'm always having to pay bills, return emails, edit employee schedules, order something, review inventory, work on accounting or payroll and numerous other things.  If I get all that done I can then open home mail and pay home bills, plan meals, do laundry, unload the dishwasher, clean up the house, check emails, and blog!  Sometimes I blog first and then do the work, shhhh, don't tell!

2:00-5:00

This seems to be the longest stretch of the day.  Lately it's been about 110 degrees outside so we can't go outdoors for a walk or to swing in the hammock and it's really too hot to go anywhere or do anything so we have a rotation of tummy time, jumper time, jumper bumper time, play mat time, reading books, playing with toys, etc. Oh- and there's another nursing in there somewhere too!

5:00-6:00

During this time I prep for dinner...wash and chop veggies, season meat, etc.  Claire is usually getting a little fussy around this time so there is a lot of starting and stopping and holding her while I'm doing it so everything takes longer than I would expect! :)  Oh and there's another nursing at about 6:00.

6:30ish

Daddy is home!!! YAYYYYY!!!!  Claire gets so excited when Kevin comes home!  Her little legs kick and you can feel her whole body squirm with joy when you are holding her and he comes through the door!  She is suddenly no longer fussy anymore, at least for a little bit!

6:30-7:00

This is CRUNCH time!  Kevin has just gotten home and we only have about 30-45 min before Claire goes to bed.  We have to get dinner finished cooking, eat dinner, and then I clean it all up while Kevin spends a little time with Claire.  Before we know it, it's already time to put her to bed!  This time goes waayyyyyy too fast each day.  I really wish Kevin could spend more time with Claire in the evenings.  If he goes to the gym in the morning he only gets to see her about 45 min for the entire day during this time and he misses her sooooo very much.

7:00-8:00

I put Claire in her PJ's, nurse her and rock her to sleep if needed.  This can sometimes go on and on until 8:30 or 9:00 because some nights are just harder than others.  If she wakes up again it's usually about 30 minutes after she falls asleep and I go back in and her rock her to sleep or nurse her again depending on what she needs.

8:30-10:00

Usually this is the time Kevin and I talk about our day, go over work stuff and maybe watch a show on the DVR.

10:00

We're usually pretty wiped out and take showers and get ready for bed around this time

10:30

I go check on Claire one more time before I go to sleep just so I know she is safe.  Then Kevin and I chat in bed for a while before we fall asleep and do it all over again the next day!

I love these days!  It's funny though because as I am writing this it's going on 10am and Claire has stillll not taken her morning nap!  So, obviously this can always change but I wanted to record this here so that I can look back on it again, maybe when we have a second baby and remember what this time was like! I clearly remember the days when I didn't even have a chance to shower or make breakfast and had to go like 4 days between hair washing (gross I know!) because I just didn't have the time to do it, so hopefully this will give me hope for the return of regular bathing and somewhat of a predictable routine when I am going through it all again next time!  I am so thankful for each day as Claire's mommy and sometimes it's still hard to believe we are finally here!