BABY & MAMA UPDATE AT 6 MONTHS
Leo is half a year old. Already. It’s gone so quickly!
I know every mum says that, but really, the last six months have rocketed by faster than a blink of an eye! Or so it at least seems.
I should also point out that technically I’m also a good week and a bit late with this post too as we’ve been on holiday sunning ourselves in beautiful Mallorca, but anyhow here we now are. Six months in. Here’s a little update as to how we are both getting on.
LITTLE LEO
He’ll always be my dink, but to be honest he’s not so little now! Leo is now at that lovely chunky baby stage where I just want to cuddle him and squish his beautiful baby rolls as much as possible. Know what I mean?
At six months old, he is now being weaned (will cover this a bit more soon) and is so far rather partial to sweet potato and banana as well as baby porridge. Unlike his sister who adored fruit, he’s not too keen on anything slightly tart like apples or strawberries and pulls the best / funniest faces when I try to feed him these kind of foods which we all find pretty funny to watch (Sorry Leo!).
He’s still being breastfed and is still waking at least twice during a night to be fed, but I honestly don’t mind. Second time round, I’m well aware that our night cuddles and feeds will soon come to an end so I’m taking it in my stride and as bonkers as it may sound, I’m just trying to enjoy them.
Leo can now almost sit upright unaided and is rolling front to back to front again like a good ‘un! He’s incredibly strong and hates to sit down when he’s on your lap, preferring to stand or bounce up and down. (Which is proving really good for my arm muscles!)
His grasp has really come on too over the past few weeks. He’s getting nimble with his little fingers and loves to touch our faces and grab our hair, which is both cute and occasionally a little painful. He loves to grab his feet and suck his toes and has also now discovered his little boy bits and consequently won’t leave them alone! The joys of boys huh?
Teething has well and truly kicked in with a vengeance but no sign of any teeth yet! Just lots of dribbling, painful cries (and he rarely ever cries) and lots of disturbed sleep. I’m tackling it as best I can with a mixture of teething gel, Anbesol, Calpol and lots of mama cuddles.
Sore gums aside, Leo is still the most chilled out, happy little boy who loves to smile and squeal and chuckle when he finds something amusing. He really is an absolute joy to have around and we’re so lucky to have him.
(Plus it turns out he’s a pretty good little traveller too as he was amazing on our holiday, taking everything in his stride. That a boy!)
ME
Six months into new motherhood and I’m generally feeling pretty great to be honest. Life is chaotic at times which is to be expected and yep I’d definitely like a bit more sleep than I’m currently getting, but I can’t grumble at all. I just feel so incredibly lucky to be experiencing baby life all over again.
Physically I’m beginning to feel a lot like my old self too.
I’ve lost a little bit of baby weight that I was carrying and my figure – although forever changed – is resembling my pre-pregnancy one, more and more. I’ve been in no rush whatsoever to lose the extra pounds that came with growing and birthing Leo and I personally don’t ‘do’ diets, but I’ve making a more concerted effort to just eat healthier and to lay off the biscuit tin a little (not so easy as I do love a chocolate hobnob) and it’s definitely helped. So much so, I even felt happy wearing a swimsuit on holiday.
Stretch mark wise, my mama stripes are barely noticeable now and have faded from pink / purple to white so I’m feeling much more confident about my tummy too. I’m still amazed at how quickly your figure changes throughout the whole baby process. It’s just astonishing.
I have had a couple of horrendous months of hair shedding but that finally seems to be slowing down although I still find my hair everywhere! My barnet is not looking it’s best – ‘sorry for itself’ is probably a more apt expression to use – but I’m having my hair chopped in a few days in an attempt to liven my bonce up a little so that should help work wonders hopefully.
I’m still breastfeeding and am feeling pretty proud right about the fact that Leo and I have made it to the six month milestone. It hasn’t been easy at times but somehow we’ve managed it and I’m still loving breastfeeding as much as I always have. People keep asking when I will stop but I’ve honestly got no time frame in mind. I’m just taking each day as it comes and going with the flow, to pardon the pun.
Work wise, I’m struggling to find the time to get everything done and my blog is suffering a little because of it. Now Leo is older and doesn’t nap as long, I have very little spare time to do anything so it is suffering but there’s no point in getting stressed about these things I guess. I keep admiring other bloggers from a distance, wondering how on earth they all do it with babies and families and can sometimes beat myself up that I’m not achieving what they are. But we can only do what we can do, can’t we? So I’m plodding along as best I can and trying not to put too much pressure on myself.
I have however realised that if I did get more organised, that this would help! So I’ve bought myself a special planner to see if that makes a difference and I’m on a bit of a mission to get to grips with few things. I’ll keep you posted!
All in all though, I’m just incredibly happy and content. I don’t know if it’s a second baby thing (I’m guessing it is?!) which means I’m more relaxed about everything or if it’s more to do with the fact that is Leo generally an easy baby (could be) but I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy in my life.
The last six months have been wonderful and I cannot wait to watch Leo develop as time will inevitably continue to run away with itself – and his baby days – some more.
Hi I found you on instagram. After my Leo who is now 2.5 years I had lot of hair shedding too and still feel my hair looks rubbish on the right side. It’s thin brittle and hard to style. I’m also considering a restyle. Thanks for sharing x