Six Month Baby and Motherhood Update
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I honestly can’t believe I am already sharing my six month baby update! It seems like yesterday I was still pregnant (see my last pregnant photo at the end). The day my water broke is forever stored in my mind, with every detail as vivid as ever. That entire day I grumbled in defeat and throbbed in pain that my baby, John, wasn’t ready to come out yet. After all, I was beyond ready to finally meet the little guy who had been kicking my ribs nonstop. I spent the entire day on my feet, walking everywhere in hopes that it would help induce. Whether or not it was a coincidence, I strolled into labor that night.
I remember feeling so happy about heading to the hospital. Not nervous or scared that I was about to experience the all-dreaded childbirth, but instead I felt a weird calmness fused with excitement. If you missed my birth story, I mention how I insisted my husband, Sam, paint my toenails after my water broke. Hello, they would be in the air for all to see! Priorities for sure. But nonetheless, I felt calm about everything.
I wish I still carried that calmness on a day-to-day basis. It is quite routine that I remind myself to find that calmness and live by it more. Because time is fleeting and I need to spend more of my days in a peaceful mindset, rather than frazzled. But hey, I’m new at this motherhood gig. I’ll figure it out.
Motherhood at 6 Months
Here I am, six months into motherhood. Loving every moment, which includes all the moments I hate (it makes sense, trust me). The past 6 months have been filled with every emotion possible.
There have been moments of pure happiness that have made me cry. Like the time both John and I couldn’t stop laughing together on our living room couch. The more he laughed, the more I laughed, and vise-versa. I cried. Or the time he and I sat outside, waiting for Sam to get home, and a butterfly fluttered next to us for a while. I watched him watch it and then I realized it was the first time he was experiencing a butterfly. I cried.
Babies can really teach us something special about life. When I allow myself to be totally relaxed and vulnerable and basically live through him, I am able to stop worrying as much and I can feel myself becoming more present and living in the moment. And most of all, I feel nothing but happiness.
I used to spend my days sitting at work behind a desk, praying for time to move faster so I could go home. Now I find myself at home with my little boy, praying for time to move slower. Life is drastically different, to say the least.
Motherhood is Different
Motherhood is a lot different than I always envisioned it to be. For starters, it’s a lot more exhausting than I thought. I knew it would be, but I didn’t realize to what extent. Because it’s not only physically draining, but mentally as well. The two combined can be numbing.
I can remember nursing him nonstop around the clock as a newborn. The feeling of exhaustion was unlike anything I had ever felt. My body hurt. My mind hurt. I wondered when I would ever sleep again. Six-months in, I am still musing that exact question. But it has definitely improved A LOT.
“It gets better.” This idea and words of advice from others used to rattle around my wearied mind during some of the lowest times thus far, and I used to think “but how and when does it get better?”
The greatest thing I’ve discovered: it certainly does get better.
Motherhood is a learning experience. Everyone struggles at times. Bonding with other moms has been a saving grace at times for me. Because they have been there to prove to me it’s OK to struggle, it’s OK to hate moments, it’s OK to give in to feelings of sadness and anger.
Give yourself the space to break down and wallow in sadness when you need to. In motherhood, all of that is normal and OK, as long as you figure out how to control those negative feelings, learn from them, and push out of them.
Six Months of John
I look at my little guy and can’t believe it is already halfway to his first birthday. I word it that way because I know his first birthday will be here lickety-split. You don’t even want to know how much I will cry then. Every single day he amazes me, makes me laugh, fills me with an overwhelming amount of happiness.
His unwavering smile is a constant reminder to myself that I am doing something right in motherhood.
Lately, he is full of huge milestones. I am super proud that my little boy is starting to:
- crawl
- eat cereal
- sleep all night
- look when we say his name
Sam and I purchased a floor mat with walls for our hardwood living room floors because he is starting to crawl. It has tremendously helped John out because he no longer slips all day. However, the walls are a bit useless to his already well established destructive path. I am in trouble.
But well-deserved trouble. At six months he is already a “busy bee” as my mother used to call me as a baby and child. What goes around comes back around, right? (don’t forget to check out my other 6-month baby necessities!)
Nonetheless, it is amazing to watch him grow and learn every single day. Every day I get a front-row seat to the greatest show: I get to watch my baby boy experience life for the first time. Somewhere in all the diaper explosions, drool covered everything, sleepless nights, and napless days, he helps me learn and grow as well. I can’t wait (just kidding, I can wait, time please slow down) to see what the next six month baby update will bring!
Here’s to motherhood, a rollercoaster of emotions, a front-row seat to literally the greatest show on Earth.
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