Six Months Into Parenthood: Lessons Learned
Since Naiya was born on August 30th, 2017 and February had only 28 days, we've been celebrating her half birthday for a few days now like crazy proud first-time parents. Six months into parenthood, we finally feel so much more like our old selves again.
From months 1-5, I wondered if this would ever happen. We barely recognized ourselves from our epic lack of sleep and sheer exhaustion.
Thanks to sleep training over the past couple of weeks, though, we're finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel; it's pretty incredible.
Baby Update
At six months, Naiya is 16.8 pounds, 25.5 inches long, she has 20/20 eyesight (clearly inherited from Phil's side as mine is practically if not actually legally blind).
She's sitting up unassisted, rolling over, crawling all over the place and she's even pulling herself up into a standing position (especially in her crib).
We blinked and our newborn has turned into a full-out baby who is taking in the world around her and growing by the second.
The Elimination Diet Update
We're loving this age so much--especially because so many of Naiya's newborn issues--her G.I. troubles, allergies, constant crying in pain--are all dissipating.
I've been on the "elimination diet" (no soy, dairy, gluten or nuts) for 6 months while nursing Naiya because she was seemingly allergic to everything since birth (more about that here and here).
That said, Naiya's pediatrician finally gave me the go-ahead to start adding some of these initial allergens back into my diet now that Naiya's gut is fully formed. As a vegetarian, this was pretty much the best news ever. I was getting sick of all of the foods I've been having to eat on repeat. I started out by adding nuts back in last week and so far, so good! Naiya hasn't had any bad reactions yet and she's still nursing like a champ.
Next up I'll be adding soy and dairy back into my diet too but I'll do that very slowly over the next few weeks to make sure Naiya is still feeling okay.
Meanwhile, Naiya's loving eating her solids--sweet potatoes, butternut squash, strawberries, raspberries, bananas and carrots. We're excited to add in more this week, including proteins! We've been steaming her veggies in our instant pot and they are ready to be blended in just four minutes. We've been making about 3-5 days worth of solids for her at a time so that her meals are all set a few days out.
Things I Wish I Knew Before Baby
If I could go back to the first few months of Naiya's life, I'd tell myself to join a mommy and me group. I wasn't into this idea at first--mainly because I felt overwhelmed finding one to go to soon after Naiya was born. I'm now realizing how important it is to have other moms in my life--especially moms who have babies the same age as Naiya.
Phil and I are amongst the first of our friends to have a baby and while most everyone has been so supportive, I think the extra camaraderie of being with other moms and babies in a similar stage of life would be really beneficial to Naiya and I. I wish I had realized this sooner but I look forward to exploring this world now.I'd also tell myself that Phil and I will find our new normal.
Especially during the first three months of Naiya's life, it was so impossible to imagine. I wondered how I'd ever balance work, my commute and Naiya but it totally works. I had so much anxiety around trying to figure everything out at once.
Looking back, I now know that six months is such an important milestone and that the newborn phase is just a crazy time for everyone--let alone first-time parents.
We still have our hands full and I'm sure we'll have so many more uphill battles to climb in the future but for the moment, I finally feel like we're figuring it all out one step at a time.
Outfit Of The Day
For her six month birthday, Naiya is wearing the cutest onesie by Jacaranda Living with hand-stitched sheep. The material is so soft and it comfy for sleep. They make really cute gifts too for moms-to-be. We topped off the look with the softest headband by bling baby.
