I don’t know if its the fact that we’re living through a pandemic or if time just flies in general when you have a baby but HOW DO I HAVE A SIX MONTH OLD?? I can still vividly remember the last few pushes to bring him into this world, and the first few cuddles before we moved to the recovery room. Here are a few updates on what life is like with our little guy, our 6 month old baby routine, and how I’m feeling 6 months postpartum.
Our Daily 6 Month Old Routine
Here’s the rough general schedule we’ve been keeping every day.
- 7am: wake up & nurse
- 7:30-9am: read a book, independent play (we use this activity gym and this play kit* mostly for play time – the toys in both keep him stimulated and are also research-backed!)
- *link gives you $75 off your order!
- 9-10am: nap
- 10-12pm: breakfast + nurse, sit outside, independent play
- 12-1:30pm: nap
- 1:30-4pm: nurse, independent play
- 4-4:45pm: quick nap
- 5-6:30pm: dinner + nurse, play with Mom & Dad
- 6:30pm: bath time with Dad, nurse
- 7pm: bedtime
- 10:30pm: night feed #1
- ~4am: night feed #2
- 7am: wake up & start everything again!
We do have a part-time nanny/cleaner who comes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. She focuses on TKB in the mornings until he wakes up from his afternoon nap, and then he’s in the office with Jonathan and I. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I usually take care of the kid in the mornings, while Jonathan takes the afternoons. On the weekends the schedule is much more flexible – sometimes we all sleep in until 8 or 9 (the baby will sleep if cuddled in our bed) and then just put him down for a nap once he’s tired.
I still don’t trust moms who say their babies sleep through the night lol, but I’m celebrating our small wins because TKB is mostly sleep trained (can fall asleep while drowsy), and sleeps in his own room. He still wakes up twice in the night – though the 4am feed is usually super quick so I plan on weaning him off it in a few weeks. I swear the night he sleeps through I will do a backflip or something!
Solids & Weaning
I’m still breastfeeding, and plan to do so at least through the first year. I’ve had mental concerns about whether I’m producing enough milk, but the doctor says he’s growing fine so I try my best not to worry (which would only affect my mil production adversely). At the 5 month checkup, our doctor gave us the go ahead to start small tastings at 5.5 weeks, which is what we did. So far we’ve had banana, butternut squash, papaya, avocado, oatmeal, and apples. I’ve been making everything myself, and freezing them in regular ice cube trays, but recently got these molds that I’m excited to use for larger meals. We use this high chair, and this feeding bowl & spoon is my favorite (though this set we also have is way more economical). Oh and we just discovered these silicone bibs by a Black owned company!
Postpartum Update
It took me a minute, but I’ve come to accept my new postpartum body, with its flatter butt and wider waistline. I can fit into my pre-pregnancy clothing, but I don’t feel svelte yet lol. It’s definitely difficult to find motivation to workout regularly since we don’t go anywhere, but 90-95% of my meals are homemade and balanced with fruits and vegetables, so I’ve been able to maintain my weight and feel decent about my body.
As I mentioned in this post, my libido took a hit post-baby, but its definitely getting better now as my hormones are balancing out. My period hasn’t yet come back, but my edges are already regrowing! I went back to work at around 8 weeks, but am still transitioning back into full time work. We haven’t yet decided if we want to seek out childcare for Tuesdays and Thursdays, or continue with our current arrangement.
Overall, motherhood has been extremely fun. It’s crazy how quickly babies grow and develop, and I’ve been relishing every second. The only thing that I’m really sad about is that TKB hasn’t been able to spend any time in person with my family, and with the way the year is panning out, might not be able to see them at all this whole year.
In other news, TKB’s crib FINALLY made it, so I will be finishing up his nursery in a few weeks!! I got some questions about why I imported a crib instead of buying one or having one made locally – I had a lot of store credit for my previous work with BuyBuy Baby so needed to spend it on something. All that’s left is shipping the wallpaper and finding the perfect lamp, and then the third room of the apartment will be complete!
haha at not trusting moms who say their kid sleeps thru the night..I think it’s definitely a lie for kids under 6-9 months..as they just can’t got that long without a feed..my son was on formula so night time feeds were shared…but really once TKB hits the point where he can have some ugali and nigerian swallows prepare your back flips..my son is 3 now and nothing like a carb heavy dinner to usher him into dream land..and no one tells you that once you get used to them sleeping thru the night you have to wake them up to pee for potty training 🙂 ha!
Oh I believe it – we’ve already started having to change diapers more at night otherwise he’ll wake up soaking. But I am very much look forward to carb loading dinners haha
My son turns seven months in eleven days. He has random all nighters but I still can’t quite figure out what I’m doing right during those times that I’m not doing at others.
I feel my milk production has reduced but going back to full time work has contributed to this. I find myself researching on ways to boost production like a quarter of my office time 🙁 *sigh*
My periods are not back yet either! Hey, I thought it was weird, glad to hear I’m not alone. I don’t miss them at all hahaha.
I don’t miss them either! I’m actually dreading their return ?
Great blog post! Definitely with you on that backflip on the morning after a full night’s sleep ?. A