My baby girl is going to be 6 months old this week and I am, like most other parents, in shock. How did we get here so quickly? Those first few weeks postpartum seemed to drag on as I recovered, but once your child starts learning new things, you blink and six months have passed.
Here’s a little recap of Mara’s life to date and 6 months postpartum for me.
Mara at 6 months old:
+ Just like her mom was, Mara is on a mission to grow up as quickly as possible. She seems to learn a new skill every day now. She’s sitting mostly on her own, with the occasional wobble, she loves to stand and hold onto our hands, and she is very chatty. I love how expressive she is when she tells a story – you can almost tell what she’s trying to say by her expressions and hand gestures. She can also roll but prefers not to.
+ She started some solid foods over the past few weeks and she’s not entirely sure about them yet. She likes Greek yogurt and rice crackers, but she hasn’t been super keen on anything else. I’ve had a number of people ask me what method we’re doing for feeding and I don’t think we’re strictly following a method. I guess a bit of baby-led weaning? We’re just using the Solid Starts app to see how to serve her whatever is in the fridge.
Oh, and the dogs love that Mara is starting solids – lol. They both sit right next to her high chair and wait patiently for her to serve them, which she does.
+ She is OBSESSED with Encanto! She’s been drawn to the TV from very early on, but ever since the first time we watched Encanto, it’s on a new level. She starts bouncing around and laughing every time it’s on, and she’ll instantly stop crying if we start singing ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’. Luckily, Kirby and I love the movie, too.
+ We have been blessed with the best sleeper, but I’m not holding my breath that it will last. We loosely followed the book 12 Hours Sleep by 12 Weeks Old, but honestly, we don’t have a solid routine for sleep. Mara naps when she wants to throughout the day (usually about two hours mid-morning and then two or three short naps later in the day), she goes to bed sometime between 7pm and 9pm and she sleeps 10-12 hours almost every night. We have yet to have a regression.
I do think that part of why she sleeps so well is because she’s been in her crib in her own room since she was very young and doesn’t really know any different, but I also think she just really likes sleep. That said, I just have this feeling that when she’s a toddler, she’s going to develop FOMO and hate sleep… I’ll take what I can get now!
Me at 6 months postpartum:
+ Just in these last couple of weeks, I’m starting to feel a bit more like myself again. I’m sure that recovery from delivery of any kind is no joke, but speaking from the experience of a C-Section, recovery was a b**ch. (You can read Mara’s birth story here) My friend actually just had a C-Section and I swear I experienced phantom pain just knowing what she was going through.
+ I have been fairly active since my doctor signed off on activity at six weeks postpartum. I’ve been playing soccer one or two nights a week and working out in the home gym with Kirby. I’m a few pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, but my body certainly looks and feels different. I’ve finally given up on the dream of fitting into my old jeans and I’ve started purchasing new ones that actually fit. Certain movements create a twinge of pain where my incision was, but overall, it’s manageable.
+ Pregnancy was very tough on me mentally and I worried that would carry into motherhood. Although I do struggle sometimes with balancing my passion for my work and spending time with Mara, I feel much better mentally than I had anticipated I would. She’s so fun and has such a cool personality, I am loving watching her grow up.
We are a happy little family of five! Kirby is living up the dad life, spending lots of time playing with Mara in between his sessions for work. We’re lucky to work mostly from home, so we rarely miss any big moments for her! I am very grateful for that. So many more exciting moments to come as our little lady grows.
