6.5 months with Emmett

Okay, at the risk of sounding like most moms, I’m not gonna lie, I was totally not expecting him to turn out this cute! 

He’s beginning to become more confident with sitting on his own unassisted. Even though he seems plenty confident he can walk already. Lol

And a little update on my breast feeding journey? I’m still going at it. I met my goal of 6 months and at this point, I’m taking it each day at a time. I told myself if it ever reaches a point of stress, I won’t feel bad stopping. Surprisingly, I’ve enjoyed it a lot more lately. I stopped pumping in the middle of the night and am now only pumping twice during work. And with Emmett sleeping 10-11 hours a night through the night, I’ve been feeling a lot more well-rested fortunately! He is seriously gonna trick us into wanting a second one… I just know it.

We’re still slowly introducing him to new foods and it’s been kinda fun getting to be creative with trying new things for him. Turns out he may have some food sensitivity but thankfully no allergy so far! Crossing my fingers it stays this way!

Sometime I look back at his newborn pics and I get so nostalgic. So weird how I remember how hard it was yet I stil miss it immensely. 

I mean look at them cheeks!

5.5 months with Emmett

His sweet gummy smile.

I discovered slinging and convinced Kallen to try. We liked. A good tip though is to buy slings that are used and already broken in. They’re so much easier to work with because they’re so soft. 

Emmett started solids. I was hoping this meant he would need less milk which means less time at the pump for me, but this growing boy apparently is growing through a growth spurt and ended up needing even more milk. *Le sigh* 

I did reason with myself that at 6 months I’m going to stop waking up in the middle of the night to pump. 

He had one of his first outings at a restaurant with us and Kallen’s parents.

I asked again if they wanted to stay forever. They decided their retirement life back home in the warmth of Hawaii is definitely a better choice. 

Weather is finally warming up for more walks so my dad took Emmett for a stroll and was almost mistaken for a kidnapper.

Love him to pieces. Love seeing him be so observant. Love watching him pick up new skills. But boy, is this motherhood thing so difficult. The constant worrying about what we’re exposing him to is nonstop. The pressure to make sure we don’t accidentally do anything to mess him up mentally/physically is giving me all the gray hairs. Everyone is already inquiring about baby #2, but I can’t help but constantly take mental notes of everything we’re experiencing with Emmett to remind ourselves 1 child is good enough. 

Sad but true…

Don’t be too impressed, this will only last Emmett 5 days. 

Took me almost 5 months of long pumping hours and if for some reason I no longer produce, all of this will be devoured in less than a week. 

My 4.5 month milk monster.

4 months with Emmett

This little guy can now roll over from back to belly, but still struggling to roll over from belly to back. 

Kallen said he heard him giggling the other day but still haven’t gotten a genuine laugh yet. Can’t wait for this one. Going to be so unbearably cute. 

And hallelujah he’s sleeping longer stretches at night now thanks to me going back to work. It gave us the motivation to sleep train and although the first 2-3 nights was the hardest ever, the rewards now is totally worth it. Not because we can sleep better but that he can sleep better. He has the tools now to put himself back to sleep. So proud of this little nugget. One caveat is that we have to stick to his routine as much as possible. Last feeding around 7:30pm then bedtime right around 8pm. He then usually stays down through the night until 4:30-5am when I then nurse him back to sleep and then we snuggle until I have to wake up for work at 7am. 

Unfortunately not all nights go as smoothly. He just had his 4 month appointment. He’s now 26in. and weighs 15lbs. He received his 2nd round of vaccinations. And although he dealt with it fine at the doctor’s, he’s been a little more fussy and sensitive during our nighttime routine. 

Looking forward to starting solids next month! Have a feeling he’s gonna love it. 

Reminiscing

Definitely not pregnant. Very far from it. But I had to clear a lot of space from my phone to make way for 10,000 more pics and videos of Emmy and came across my old friend the preggo belly. These were taken at 8.5 months when I was looking for a dress for my brother’s wedding. Do I miss it? Yes, yes I do. Especially during nights when Emmy’s sleep regression is getting the best of me.

Still debating when I should share his birth story. Maybe a little bit later when I’m feeling forgetful about how traumatized I was. Haha jk. I’m exaggerating. The minute Emmett came out I told Kallen I’m never doing that again. But looking back 4 months later, I’m seriously forgetting how painful the experience was. Crazy how the mind just makes you forget such a thing. 

My proudest stash

It was quite a journey to get here but I made it. I feel like I’m barely producing just enough for Emmett so building this freezer stash took almost 2 months. But my goal was to have enough just to last my first day back at work and I’m so glad to say goal is met! 

3 months with Emmett

We haven’t had him do tummy time much (bc it hurts my heart seeing him uncomfortable) but when we do, he seems to be quite ambitious. 

I go back to work in 1.5 weeks and I’m sad I might miss seeing him learn how to roll over. But the other part of me feels so ready to go back. I miss having some me time and I miss chatting it up with coworkers.

I’ve also been trying to encourage him to express himself more whenever he’s upset or sad about something. The result is a lot of babble in between whining. It’s the cutest.

Definition of self-control

Is looking at these cheeks day in and day out and resisting the biggest urge to bite them. 1,000 smooches will suffice for now. 

Success is…

Watching Daniel Sloss’ comedy special and did NOT want to break up with my husband. Loved his relationship bits and couldn’t agree more. 

And seeing this guy’s satisfied face after a feeding. Now going on almost 2 weeks of just breast milk. 

2 months with Emmett

He is becoming un-bear-ably cuter each day! He is also quite the chatterbox and it’s my favorite watching him talk to himself and occasionally burst with giggles. I don’t know what it is but he finds the ceilings and the decorations on the walls really funny. It’s the cutest. I guess from his perspective he’s on quite an adventure discovering the world bit by bit and I’m really glad he’s enjoying the ride so far.

He had his 2 months wellness check and he’s now 24inches and 12 lbs! He’s literally growing so fast!

He went to his first “party” when we took  him with us to our coworker’s Christmas gathering. He slept the entire time, which we certainly appreciate. Something about being in a carrier really soothes him. He can sleep for hours in it. If it weren’t so strenuous on our backs and if it were more healthy for him we’d totally wear him all day. 

Kallen and I rarely see each now since we’re sorta on opposite schedules as he works during the day and I go to bed super early to get a few hours of sleep in before I’m with Emmett through the night. Our relationship is kinda on the back burner for now. I can see now how marriage can fall apart with having kids. Communication is of the utmost importance now more than ever. Couples without a strong communication will certainly feel the strain of raising a child, but really even ones with already strong communication can suffer as well. Kallen and I definitley had to have a few talks. I have to remind myself he’s not a mind reader, expectations need to be reasonable, and mostly that he also needs reminding of my needs too (that was a whole-lota “needs”)! So far we’re making it work!