OH MY GOSH. How are we here though?! I can’t believe I gave birth at home 6 months ago now, and that this little guy has been apart of our lives for that long! I honestly have a hard time remembering life without him (except sleep.. I remember that fondly). I’ll only touch on milestones briefly in this post since they remain the same as the last 2 months (we will move onto new ones next month) but will talk more about the past 6 months and life in general for baby J.

A Quick Milestone Update

Please refer to last months post here for the 4-6 month milestone list.

I can happily say that James has hit all of his motor, sensory and communication milestones now. He recently started using consonants in his babbles – MAMA is his favourite, HA!! – and it’s so cute. I think that was really the last one on the list of those we were waiting for.

In regards to feeding, we have started with a few things. With Maggie, I followed a strictly BLW introduction to food but I am doing a mix with James because we were so generously sent the Quook (which I’ll be reviewing soon) baby food processor by Quark. So we’ve started with a few purées this week – James has been a champ with sitting in his highchair really well! He opens his mouth for a spoon and has tasted a few different things. He wasn’t a fan of puréed apple or carrots but does like banana. I’ve also cut some things up for him like peppers which he doesn’t seem to mind, and cucumber. I think we’ll try avocado next week and see how he does – I love the food processor but I prefer BLW in the long-term because I like being able to feed baby whatever we are eating! But it’s nice to have the option for some things for tasting first (I wish I had it as a first time mom!).

James has also started to sit up – not on his own, but if I sit him up he can now tripod sit for a few minutes usually and he even has enough strength to push up fully for a short amount of time. I’m quite sure he will be sitting in no time which is exciting but also sad – I don’t want my baby to grow so fast!

James can also now spin in a circle on his belly! He has also gone up on his knees a few times – but I don’t expect crawling too soon (hopefully).

Sleep & Sickness

We were just in Leap 5 for Wonder Weeks and man, that was a long one. I literally felt like it was never going to end! Then it finally did and James had two good nights of sleep (finally). Unfortunately, they were short and sweet because he now has a cold. He did sleep about 6 hours straight the other night despite this, but I can’t wait for him to feel better and catch some more Zs. He’s so tired in the mornings the past few days he falls asleep in the car on the way to daycare drop off, which he hasn’t done since he was a smaller babe.

James cold is mostly a cough so it is waking him up from sleep. He is also congested, so my best friend is the nasal aspirator and Hydrasense (Amazon affiliate links, FYI. I may earn from your purchases). He’s also had Tylenol a few times as he has been clammy – I’ve checked his temperature multiple times a day but he seems to be fever free which is good. Other than when he coughs or gets too congested, he has been in good spirits. I have also been sick though – so that’s been the hardest! We’re both tired and had our cranky moments. I did take a COVID test, which was negative thankfully!

I’m hoping once he’s over this cold, his sleep will resume as it was for those glorious two days before it started! Cross your fingers for us.

Reflection On The Past 6 Months

Looking back, I am so thankful for these past 6 months of James. He is not the best sleeper, but he is such a happy boy and he brings so much to our family.

I know everyone says this – but before you have a second (or third, or fourth and beyond I’m sure) child you wonder “how can you heart get any bigger?”. You love your first so much, it just doesn’t seem possible. But it is. I love both my kids so much it’s crazy – and what I love the most is seeing the two of them together. In the mornings, Maggie is so excited to see James and he is equally excited to see her. At daycare pick up during the week, she has to go and “say hi to brother” and he always smiles back at her. Some days she tells me she misses him. She calls him Jamesy or Jimbo and it’s just too cute. I totally understand why people have like a million kids because that sibling love is too cute (even if it’s intermixed with not so loving moments). So far, we have been really lucky with how these two love each other.

I still think fondly back to my birth experience with James. My birth with Maggie was amazing – but what I remember the most is pulling her out (yes, at the end I did the last pull) and having her on my chest in those first few moments. My labour itself is somewhat of a blur – lots of pain, little focus and what felt like two days worth of contractions (but was actually 15 hours). I do remember having a safe birth though, and a happy and healthy baby. James’ birth was much more smooth and I, much more relaxed. I’m not sure if it was a second-time mom thing or a home birth thing, or a bit of both – but it was bliss. I remember each phase in much more detail and it was just a very positive experience. Everything I could have hoped for from a home birth. Both these scenarios led to my beautiful children though – and were so special and worth it in their own way! I can’t believe James’ birth was 6 months ago and Maggie’s 2.5 years… wow.

Anyway, I’m just walking down memory lane – these past 6 months have been mostly very lovely. Of course, I’ve had hard days. When you’re overtired, this happens sometimes. Having two kids isn’t always a walk in the park. Some days are harder. But most are pretty good. Figuring your family roles back out after two kids can be hard – but I’m thankful for an amazing partner who works with me to do that. James fits perfectly into our family – and it has been so nice this time to have a “real” or closer to real, maternity leave experience. More of what I had envisioned with my first that I didn’t get to have because of COVID. More play dates, meeting other moms and just having the freedom to leave the house with less fear (not no fear, because I’m not naive but less fear or more knowledge of the protections I can use to keep us safe). One thing I do miss though is having my husband home and off work LOL! But that was truly a silver lining of Maggie’s first year!

I can’t wait to keep sharing James’ growth with you all, and our family’s! I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer, and if you’re wondering what we’re up to on a daily basis, check my Instagram page out! Stay tuned for a 6 month postpartum update, amongst other blog posts I hope to release in the coming days and weeks.