Almost two weeks ago our little lady turned six months old!  I can’t believe we’ve been parents for half of a year already!  Dusty took Annabelle to her 6-month checkup and came home with all kinds of information for me.  I had written a list of questions for the doctor about food, breast feeding, sleeping, etc. and Dusty was so great about asking all of my (somewhat crazy) questions.  Annabelle is 15 lbs, 6 oz and 27 inches long.  She’s in the 34th percentile for weight and 88th percentile for height.  In the past 2 months she’s gained 7 oz and grown 1.25 inches.  The doctor said she’s just perfect and I must agree with the man!

Our doctor told Dusty this is the best time, 6-months.  And I really have to agree.  She’s so inquisitive, expressive, and just plain fun.  She jabbers to me in the mornings while I’m changing her and smiles such big smiles when she sees her daddy.  She’s making so many developmental changes it’s hard to keep up.

She’s sitting, almost! She sits just a bit longer by herself than she did last week but I can’t, in my heart, officially say she’s sitting yet.  I dropped her off at daycare this week and some of her friends were sitting, playing with a couple of toys.  I sat her down so she was sitting near them and I just couldn’t leave her there, knowing that she would plop right down seconds after I left.  I was a little sad to lay her down on her back but know she’ll start sitting anytime now.  Her teachers say that she is sitting well enough that she sits at the small tables with her friends to eat her yummy lunch though.

This week Annabelle tried bananas.  I had bought some bananas, wanting to give something sweet to Annabelle.  Really, she’s been eating butternut squash and sweet potatoes, which are pretty darn sweet, but this was her first official fruit.  It’s so much fun to watch her eat.  The first spoon full is always the best.  She’s eager to put anything in her mouth but then she has this moment of “What did I just put in my mouth? Am I going to like it?” and then “Yes, please, more, now!”

I really enjoy making baby food for Annabelle.  I didn’t know if I would like doing it and if I would have the time but most of the time I whip some up when we’re cooking on the weekends.  I’ll prep my food, steam it, puree it, and then separate it into small portions to be frozen for the week, right along with the other cooking that we’re doing and it doesn’t end up being a big deal.

Sleep was one of the questions I had for the doctor.  As much reading as I’ve done on sleep, I thought asking the doctor would be a good idea.  He said that a 6-month old should be able to sleep 9-12 hours without being fed.  I think this gave Dusty and I both encouragement that feeding her just once during the night will be okay.  She goes to sleep at 7pm and often times sleeps until 2 or 3am when I feed her.  If she wakes up before then we just rub her on the back and give her a kiss before heading back to our beds.

We have such great parents and siblings! I feel very lucky to have so many of them close to us.  I know each family is different and dynamics can be difficult but to have family calling us, asking, really telling us, “You should go out on a date, I’ll watch Annabelle.”  Or my sister offering to take Annabelle on a Saturday night when she has an otherwise empty house (and all four kids are out).  It means so much.

When I started writing weekly updates about my pregnancy I scoured the internet looking for soon-to-be mommies and new mommies who were writing about their pregnancy and new babies.  It was a good way to figure out what people wrote about and gave me some inspiration.  One thing I wasn’t quite sure about was when people wrote their blog as if they were writing to their child.  I didn’t quite get it.  Why write to someone who is still in your stomach or who’s just weeks old.  So, I get it.  They can read it when they get older but really, are they going to want to.  And here I am, wanting to do it.  I want to tell her all of the wonderful things she’s doing (and not so wonderful things), how her smiles make me laugh, and how she just amazes me everyday.  I’m not sure exactly what to do but don’t be surprised if I go back and forth, writing to all of you as well as to Annabelle.

Dusty’s birthday was this week and we had a great time celebrating with family.  Family gatherings are a lot of fun with our dear little Annabelle.  She’s changing so much that every time we see our friends and family we have new updates and Annabelle has new tricks to surprise everyone with.

I can’t get over how much Annabelle smiles. Is this normal? I’m sure it is but really, I love it! I think she really likes us.  I mean, I’ve hoped she likes us, she’s stuck with us for a while but it’s so nice to see her smiles and giggles to reassure me that she really does love us.

Sleeping is going much better.  She’s waking up 2-4 times each night but the big accomplishment is that we’re only feeding her once, usually around 2 or 3am.  Otherwise, when she wakes up we go into her room, comfort her a little and leave her to fall back asleep.

We’re still working on sitting.  We can leave her for just a few moments and then she’ll start to sway and head for the floor.  We’re not leaving her sitting on her own quite yet but we’re getting so close.

It’s amazing how much I look forward to the weekends but in a different way than I did before. I think everyone looks forwards to the weekend but it’s different when weekends aren’t any longer just about what I want to do.  Our weekends are beginning to look very different compared to when it was just the two of us, and even when we were a family of three at the beginning when Annabelle was still a little unmovable blob.  She was an adorable little blob but for the longest time she didn’t do much of anything but eat and sleep so we spent the weekend working (Dusty) and sewing/housework (Me).

It’s hard to describe but I look at weekends a bit differently than I did when it was just Dusty and I. These days we’re doing a lot less catching up on work and housework and a lot more spending time with each other.  We spend time amusing our little bean (while she amuses us).  I can’t wait until the weather warms up and we can go on walks together and really introduce Annabelle to the Old Market.

The trials and tribulations of being a parent. Trying to balance adult time while getting enough sleep.  I had a perfect girls night! A lovely friend of mine got tickets for Christmas from her husband to see Justin Timberlake and all he asked was that she find a friend to go with.  I was that lucky friend!!!!  I almost forgot how much fun it was to go out for a nice meal with a good friend and do something completely out of the ordinary.

The reason I mention all of this in Annabelle’s weekly update is that the concert was on a Monday, we had a really busy schedule for the rest of the week and by Friday I was completely dead on my feet.  I hate to admit that at some point during the week I went a little crazy due to lack of sleep.  I remember the days when Dusty and I had something going on every night of the week and were eager to go to our favorite restaurant for a drink at the end of the week.  Now, as Friday approaches, I’m thrilled when I see nothing on the calendar and can be in bed before 9pm.  Annabelle, what did you do to this super awesome couple that were always up for doing something before we had you?

Happy belated Valentine’s Day.  Annabelle celebrated Valentine’s Day with a party at school and got her very first card in the mail from her great-grandma Dee Dee.  Another lesson as a new parent, even the youngest of children celebrate holidays at school.  Thank goodness for the note that went home with Annabelle a week or so before the holiday letting me know what kinds of things would be best to give for valentines.  Annabelle gave little containers of play dough with her valentine card.  My favorites that Annabelle got were bubbles, a pair of socks, a balloon, a toothbrush, and chocolate chip cookies the size of pennies (because I got to eat the mini cookies).  Annabelle’s favorite seemed to be the heart-shaped balloon.

Quick note, I always thought it was weird when parents called what I viewed as daycare as “school” but here I am doing it myself.  I’m not sure if it’s that the staff go by Ms. (fill in first name) which makes me think of a teacher, or if it’s that I work at a school and so when I talk to Annabelle I ask her how school was or how much fun she had with her friends at school, or if it’s that now that she’s going to daycare I feel like she’s learning things just like she will be when she’s actually in “school. “

Annabelle’s sleeping great.  She goes to bed sometime before 730pm and if she wakes up before midnight we comfort her by rubbing her back, talking to her and playing some music.  Most of the time she goes right back to sleep.  And then when she wakes up after midnight we change her if it’s necessary (this is when she usually needs it) and I nurse her before putting her back to bed.  She’s been waking up just twice a night.  Life is good!

Annabelle had peas for the first time this week.  I was a little worried she wouldn’t like them because, well, who really likes peas but you would have thought it was the best thing she’s ever eaten.  She eagerly waits for that spoon to hit her mouth.  Next week we’re trying winter squash.

Annabelle is still working on sitting by herself.  She’s a bit wobbly and after a few moments starts to lean and then fall to one side but she’s getting better!  She’s got the tripod down but needs just a little more stability.

This week’s outfit might be one of my favorites. Annabelle is wearing daddy’s Flywheel onsie as a tribute to her love of amazing WordPress hosting and to Valentine’s Day.  She’s also wearing a pair of DIY jeans I made from Dusty’s old jeans and a pair of DIY TOMS inspired shoes I sewed while she was taking a couple of naps over the past. I’ve also made her a few sensory play toys and a doll I’ll share at some point.  And of course, I love the bibs I’ve made for her. We use them all of the time.  I spend a lot of my free time finding baby-related sewing patterns and tutorials that I can make as well.  I’m sure Annabelle will be embarrassed that she had to wear clothes that her mother sewed and had homemade toys but I think it’s absolutely adorable.

I love how much our little bean smiles these days.  She’s so expressive and bubbly.  She’s never in a bad mood (okay, maybe when she’s just pooped or when she’s hungry or when it’s getting close to bedtime but otherwise, she’s darn near perfect).

Right now Annabelle’s in this great spot where she enjoys playing on the floor by herself and is trying to figure out everything around her.  Sometimes I think she’s trying to look right inside of us to figure us out.  I know she’s thinking, who is this person and how can I get her to do everything I want!  I’m just amazed at how her little mind is growing.  She’s getting even better at “finding” toys around her and trying to grab them to put in her mouth.

Annabelle is in loves tags.  Yes, she loves those tags that they put on stuffed animals, on the inside of shirts, on blankets and on toys that say what the product is made out of and includes all kinds of warnings.  I’m telling you, we have some of the coolest toys and what she’s doing is laying there, with this cool toy, trying to grab at the tag attached to the cool toy.  I remember months ago saying to myself that one of these days I should cut those tags off some of those toys because they were ugly.  Now I’m kind of glad I didn’t because they give her all kinds of entertainment.

Annabelle loves her food.  We’ve been making and feeding her baby food for a while but it’s never been very consistent.  We’ll try some squash or cereal or sweet potatoes here or there but it’s not every day.  We’ve starting finding it to her every day though and she really likes it.  This week I brought sweet potatoes for Annabelle’s lunch and her teachers said that she’s a really great eater.  I guess some of the other kids don’t like eating (or aren’t good at it) but she’s a rockstar! Loves her sweet potatoes.

Sleep, the topic I like thinking about the least but end up talking about (and thinking about, and reading about) the most! Annabelle’s sleeping like a 6-month old.  She has good nights and not so good nights.  We started trying a bit of sleep training at the end of the week.  I’ll save that fun stuff for another post.

Each week I try to jot down notes on how Annabelle’s changing and what she’s doing so when I finally find time to write a blog post I have something to write.  For some reason, these updates are becoming a little harder to write each week.  I’m not sure if it’s that we’re just so busy or that things are just becoming “normal” and weeks fade into each other.  I’m not always sure what to write or what really stands out from last week.  Yes, Annabelle is changing but we’ve gotten into a rhythm and our days are looking a little more predictable.

Our little lady has some kind of cold virus again.  She’s got a runny nose and a bit of a cough.  The virus has made her night feedings a little difficult.  Because she’s congested and coughing there have been a couple of times that she’s eaten and then promptly thrown up during one of her coughs.  The hard part is that it happens in the middle of the night or early morning when neither Dusty nor I are at our best.  We learned quickly though and have adapted a few things to help her get through the nights.  One of them being, putting a blanket under Annabelle’s crib so her head is propped up to help her breath.  Towards the end of the week she’s started sounding horse and it’s so sad yet adorable all at the same time.  It just makes my heart melt when she tries to talk and she sounds like an old toy who’s voice box got a little mangled.

I remember babysitting when I was younger and love playing peek-a-boo with the kids.  They laughed.  They giggled.  All I had to do was cover my face or put my hands over their face and then suddenly produce a surprised face while moving my hands.  They loved it.  Every once in a while I try to play peek-a-boo with Annabelle but most of the time she just stares at me with this look, like, “what the heck are you doing mom, you’re crazy.”  This week we got her to crack a smile and even jump a little.  She was a bit surprised when Dusty and I both popped our heads out from behind our hiding spot, saying “peek-a-boo.”

This week we also discovered that Annabelle’s able to hold her own bottle.  We don’t feed her a bottle at home very often but one day I picked her up early from daycare and we had an extra bottle so I thought we’d better use it.  I was holding her and trying to feed her when she grabbed ahold of the bottle and was essentially telling me should could do it on her own (without saying it out loud).

Sleeping is better this week, even with her stuffed nose and coughing.  She sleeps for about 5 hours the first leg and then she’ll wake up around every 3 hours after.  I cross my fingers that things continue to progress and soon she will only be waking up once each night.  I’m still waking up two to three times a night but getting a little extra sleep in between each feeding has helped tremendously.

I love hats on Annabelle! This hat and booties is from Dusty’s mom.  She got it at a market while visiting her sister in Indianapolis.  I’m absolutely in love with both!

I always wondered why parents said, “time went too fast” or “that their kids were growing up too fast.” I think it was because I always thought that time just went too fast for everyone but here I am, saying it myself.  Our dear little Annabelle is growing up so fast.  She turned 5-months old (and well on her way to six)!  I think parents say it so often because you have this little human that’s growing in front of your eyes and you see how things change so fast.  When it’s only yourself, you don’t stop to look in the mirror everyday and notice the changes.

Annabelle has the grip of an arm wrestling champion.  She’s man-handling her toys (and my hair) and not afraid to grab anything and everyone.  It’s so amazing to see how just in the past couple of weeks we’re no longer putting things in her hands so she can gingerly let them lay there while she investigates what it is but she’s going after things on her own.  I love putting a couple of her favorite toys near her and then watch her roll over, grab for them, and then shove them into her mouth.

How are our nights going you might ask?  I’d say the same except that Friday night she slept five hours straight!!!  She slept from 7:30pm to 12:30am and then got up at 3:30am and 6:30am.  What’s even more surprising is that she stayed in her crib until almost 10am on Saturday.  It was the most amazing night and morning ever!  And naps are great too.  This is Annabelle’s third week at daycare and she’s adjusting well to her schedule.  She takes a short morning nap and then a longer afternoon nap.

Annabelle’s almost able to sit on her own* (*her form is still lacking just a bit but she has the general idea).  Her sitting position resembles a hunch back leaning tripod.  I’ve been sitting on the floor with my legs stretched out and having Annabelle sit between my legs so she can practice her new found skill.  We’re also having her sit in a clothes basket with a blanket in front of her to practice her balance (an idea we got from daycare).  It’s so much fun to watch her in her tripod-seated position and then slowly lean forward or to the side and then, plop, she’s laying on the floor.

This week was full of sickness in the Davidson household.  I always heard that daycare is a great way to build up your child’s immune system but really, is this what they meant.  This weekend we got together with both Dusty’s family and mine.  Friday we went to visit Dusty’s mom and then on Saturday we had my family over to celebrate family birthdays.  Late Saturday night I made a comment to Dusty that I just wasn’t feeling right and that my stomach was a little achy.  Long story short, I ended up with a stomach bug late Saturday leading into Sunday and then Dusty got it Sunday leading into Monday.  In the end six of us got the stomach flu.  Annabelle was saved from the disaster but we have a feeling she was “patient zero” as Dusty likes to say.  Dusty and I were so very grateful that our sickness was staggered and that Dusty started getting sick just as I was starting to feel better.  Our house would have fallen completely apart otherwise.

As Dusty was still recovering from the stomach bug on Monday, I got a call from daycare letting me know that Annabelle had a nasty bout of pink eye and I needed to pick her up (and she couldn’t come back until 24 hours after it was treated).  And here was another learning moment for a new mommy.  I actually didn’t know exactly what pink eye looked like or how to treat it.  I’ve heard of it and get that a person has a pink eye(s) when they get it but had no idea what it really looked like.  It’s not just red eyes but there’s gooey, crusty stuff that also collects around the eye (and the way doctors really detect pink eye in my opinion).  Another learning moment, it’s very contagious and you must take your baby to the doctor’s to get it diagnosed and then treated (prescription eye drops will do it).  So, after one week at daycare Annabelle brought two illnesses home, went to the doctor, and had to stay home an extra day until the medication kicked in, and we learned what it really means to be parents.

On the brighter side, Annabelle does love daycare and I can tell she’s soaking so much in, interacting with all of the other kids and with her teachers.  This week we also attended a daycare infant and toddler parent meeting.  I heard they have meetings once a month.  I was a little skeptical on what I might learn that would require having meetings monthly but I was so surprised and am excited for the next meeting.  It was an awesome learning opportunity and so glad I went.  Dusty was able to go too and he thought it was really helpful as well.  They talked a lot about the Montessori philosophy and what they’re teaching our little infants and toddlers everyday.  They gave me so many great ideas of things we can do at home with Annabelle.  And yes, we’ve been doing lots of learning activities at home with Annabelle but as a teacher myself, and Dusty and I wanting to do as much as we can to help Annabelle grow intellectually, I’m always excited to hear more ideas.

Sleep is still not improving.  I’ll leave it at that.  We’re waking up every three hours.

She’s rolling over like crazy and we’re spending a lot of our time helping her get to her back once she’s rolled to her stomach.  Every once in a while she’ll roll to her back by herself but most of the time she wants help.

Annabelle’s so well tempered.  Even with her pink eye and a bit of a runny nose she’s in good spirits.  She’s always smiling and loves talking to anyone who will listen.  She’s in love with mirrors.  We have a huge mirror in our bedroom that’s at least 6 feet tall and she loves laying on the floor just looking into it, smiling and trying to figure out who that adorable little lady is looking back at her.

Love catching all kinds of faces when we take our weekly pictures.  This was a really good one.  I think she was telling us it was time for the photo shoot to be over.

Annabelle officially started daycare this week.  It was a bit of a crazy week getting her and me ready.  And so here is my daycare story.  I had totally psyched myself up for the first day.  I even started getting a little excited about all of the things I planned on accomplishing, including getting my syllabi and other class materials ready because classes started for us the following week.  The night before, I loaded up Annabelle’s diaper bag with all of the things she needed and got bottles ready in the refrigerator.  Many of the local schools around town were also starting back the next day.  It was supposed to be one of the coldest days recorded in a long time so there were announcements of schools were closing. But daycares wouldn’t close, would they?  Needless to say, a little after 9pm I got a phone call letting me know that daycare was closed.  Who would have thought daycares close due to cold weather too.  It was a huge letdown.  So, we tried it all again the next day. Officially, our first day of daycare was Tuesday.  Annabelle did great!  She seems to really like all of the interaction she gets with her teachers and the other children.

I had a lot of friends ask how it went as well as a lot of people who mentioned how difficult it can be at first for parents to take their kids to daycare.  I was very fortunate that Annabelle stayed at home for the past 4 1/2 months.  I went back to work after 8 weeks but I worked half of my workweek at school and the other half from home so I got plenty of time with Annabelle.  I was also lucky to have a friend who nannies watch Annabelle while I was at work.  And then I had the last three weeks off of work for winter break so I really felt Annabelle was ready to go to daycare.  And after a week at daycare I’m even happier about her going.  She’s surrounded by so many great caregivers and is meeting lots of new “friends”.

Daycare wasn’t the only thing that changed this week. A couple days before she went to daycare she started making new noises and talking to us a lot more!  It’s so great because she’ll start making these fun high-pitched noises that make no sense at all but you’d think she was telling the best story.  And if we respond with similar noises she’ll go right on telling her story.

Someday I’ll get more sleep but not right now.  She’s officially in her crib.  No more bassinet.  And I love our baby monitor.  It’s really nice to have since I don’t have her right next to me in the middle of the night.  Annabelle did have a couple of good nights of sleeping this week.  I attribute some of it to her busy days at daycare and being exhausted from all of the new stimulation.  I’m still hoping (and hoping) she’ll go back to waking up once to nurse in the middle of the night but no holding my breath.

It seems that Annabelle has naturally started falling asleep on her own this week (most of the time).  One late afternoon (I picked Annabelle up a bit early from daycare) I was trying to clean the bathroom and had put Annabelle in her crib to watch her mobile while I was doing the last bit of scrubbing when she started to fuss.  Five minutes later I walked in her room and she had fallen asleep.  Since then when it’s time for bed I nurse her and then  lay her in her crib, letting her watch her mobile until she falls asleep.  Most of the time she only fusses for a few minutes before closing those pretty little eyes.  It’s not perfect but it’s making bedtime just a little bit easier.

We welcomed the New Year this week.  I’m still catching up but getting closer.  Sometimes one outfit isn’t enough for our weekly pictures so we tried two!  Dusty got me a new camera for Christmas and I’m loving it!  I thought our last camera was wonderful but this one is so much faster and the lens is awesome!  I’m still trying to figure it all out though.

This week was difficult.  My stepbrother got very ill over the holidays and was rushed to the hospital.  We weren’t sure if he was going to make it but he’s a strong person and is pulling through.  Dusty, Annabelle and I made a trip to see him and my family.  He has a long recovery ahead of him and we keep him and our family in our thoughts constantly.  Things like this remind me how precious everything is and to cherish every moment we have.

When we got back to Omaha we celebrated New Year’s Eve at home.  We had a low-key evening.  It’s so interesting seeing how life changes once you have a child.  Last year we stayed home because I was pregnant and we weren’t telling people yet but almost every year before that we went out on the town and celebrated with friends.  At one time we even hosted an annual NYE gathering.  And this year it seemed so much nicer to stay home.  I won’t blame it all on our little lady but I think we’re just getting older and all the crazy shenanigans don’t seem as appealing.

Dusty and I made a nice dinner while Annabelle took a snooze.  Dusty actually left for a bit and met up with some friends in the Old Market.  And then he came home so we could kiss at midnight as the ball dropped.  It reminds me how we met (for the second time) at a New Year’s Eve party and started dating shortly after.  We’ve officially been together for 10 years!  We’re in the double-digits now!

Annabelle’s still not sleeping at night.  She’s waking up every 3 to 4 hours.  We’ve transitioned her into her crib and she takes most of her naps in her there and starts each night in her crib.  When she wakes up Dusty or I usually bring her into our room to be fed and then we put her in the bassinet.

We didn’t try any new foods this week.  It was a bit crazy with us traveling to Oklahoma.  We’ve tried rice cereal, squash and sweet potato so far and she liked them all.

Annabelle is smiling and cooing more than ever.  She’s very inquisitive and wants to touch everything.  She still loves putting everything in her mouth and really likes looking at herself in the mirror.  We have a huge mirror in our bedroom and she really likes when we lay her in front of the mirror and she can take full advantage of the view.  We’re playing a lot of music and reading books to her too.  She’s soaking all of it and I can see her getting smarter by the minute.

This week Annabelle and I went to visit the daycare she’ll be starting next week.  I’m anxious yet excited at the same time.  I need to get ready for classes to begin and get a few other things done before the holidays end and I know it’s going to be great for Annabelle to meet some new friends.

And my final update is that Dusty and I signed up for the Lincoln half marathon.  Dusty’s been running regularly for a couple of months now but I haven’t so I need to get back into a routine.

Post-baby weight? I talked a lot about how much I was gaining all through my pregnancy but I haven’t mentioned it much since then.  I’ve lost all of the weight I had gained during my pregnancy.  I walked/jogged a lot while I was on maternity leave and really tried eating healthy (not only for me but also for Annabelle since I’m nursing) but once I started back to work things took a nose dive.  I’ve barely worked out and don’t feel like I’ve gotten a handle on when to workout.  I feel lucky that the weight came off but as everyone says, my body isn’t the same (not even close).  I hope training for the half marathon will help me get back into a workout routine.  Exercising with a 4 month old is a huge challenge and I’m working to find a schedule where Dusty and I can both run at some point each day.