I’ve heard from many young moms that you don’t start to feel normal after having a baby until 4-6 months postpartum {and sometimes longer, so please don’t freak out if you’ve hit six months and still don’t feel back in the groove yet}, and I must say that’s been true for me. Sometime during the fourth month I started to feel like maybe I could accomplish some school work finally. Around month five, Zianne started taking a consistent, long morning nap and that was a game-changer. Having a two hour-ish window to get things done in the morning has started to make me feel human again, and gives me stamina to get through her two afternoon naps that are sometimes long, sometimes short, and sometimes non-existent.
Being a mother is grueling and often unpredictable. I’ve learned to take a deep breath when changes happen unexpectedly, and I’m slowly disciplining myself to sit down and work on school stuff the instant the baby goes down for her first nap, instead of folding laundry and cleaning bathrooms and all those chores around the house that easily distract me. I wouldn’t say we’re on a schedule yet, but Zianne and I have rhythms and routines that are working well for us right now. I know things will change as she gets mobile, when she drops her early evening nap, and as we introduce more solids and “meal times” into her diet, but for now I am enjoying each day we spend together. I am loving the six month age so much. I love seeing Zianne’s personality emerge each day and getting to watch her develop new skills, but I also really enjoy that she still can’t crawl or walk, and I’m trying to savor my days with an immobile baby who will sit on my lap and laugh at my antics.
I want to share a peak into our days together. My reasons for posting this are twofold. First, I want to capture these memories and moments of life at home with my six month old daughter. I know I’ll look back on this time with hazy nostalgia, so I want to paint a picture for the older me as clearly as possible. Secondly, if and when we are blessed with another baby and I feel lost and overwhelmed in those first weeks and months, I want to look back on this post and remember what six months is like… because six months is pretty sweet.
I try to wake up at 7:00am, approximately an hour before Zianne. This is my quiet hour to drink coffee and read the Word as Micah gets ready for work.
Zianne wakes up around 8:00, ideally. I feed her and then she does some tummy time on the floor of my room as I make the bed and pick up any lingering clothes on the floor.
Zianne’s wake time is super short in the morning, so about an hour after she wakes up, I give her a quick bath and then it’s right back in her crib for her morning nap.
Thankfully, Zianne’s first nap has become a consistent 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, so I try to privilege working on school work during this time. The one exception to this is Mondays when my mom comes over during nap time and I run errands, go to the gym, and go grocery shopping for the week.
When Zianne wakes up, I feed her and then it’s play time. I try to do some floor time with her, and she also enjoys her jumper, her play mat, and her exersaucer. I usually rotate her through these “centers” every ten minutes or so, as soon as she shows signs of boredom. Her favorite place to be, if I’m not actually holding her, is in her Prince Lionheart chair up on the kitchen counter. She is perfectly content sucking on a teething toy and watching me cook or unload the dishwasher. Now that we’ve started solids, I give her a few bites of food before her afternoon nap.
I usually devote Z’s second nap to housework… folding laundry, cleaning bathroom, etc. As I mentioned, this nap is much more inconsistent – sometimes 45 minutes, sometimes an hour and a half – but regardless, I can get one or two big tasks done during this time. I also usually try to scrounge something for lunch at this point. I am really bad about finding something substantial and healthy to eat for lunch on days I’m home by myself.
After Z’s second nap, she eats again, we do more play time, and I might start prepping dinner. Every once in awhile we’ll run an errand in the afternoon or go for a jog around the neighborhood. Usually she will go back down for a super quick nap {30-ish minutes} around 5:00pm. I try to finish cooking dinner during this time, so we are ready to eat when Micah gets home.
I’ve been successful at getting to the gym three days a week. This usually happens on days my mom watches Zianne, so if it was a gym day, I try to squeeze in a shower during her afternoon or early evening nap.
Around 5:30, dad gets home! I feed Z again before we eat our own dinner. I’ve started giving her solids during our dinner meal, and she seems to like eating them the most at this time of day.
From 6:30-8:00pm Zianne and Micah hang out as much as possible. They play around the house and sometimes he’ll take her for a run around the neighborhood. In the last half hour or so before bedtime, she gets increasingly cranky and we both try to keep her super stimulated and distracted until it’s time for bed.
Bedtime starts around 8:00pm, but Z nurses FOREVER during this time, so she’s often not actually asleep in her crib until 8:45 or 9:00pm. But if that means she’ll keep sleeping in until 8:00am, I have no problem with it!
So this is what a day at home looks like. Of course, not all days work the same way. On Thursdays, I teach at ASU and Zianne spends most of the day at grandma and grandpa’s house. At least once a week we try to get together with friends for lunch or a play date. And usually, at least once a week, we have an evening event to go to, and Z goes to bed a little bit later. I’m glad we have a full calendar to keep us busy, but I usually find our sweet, slow, monotonous days at home are my very favorite…
I love that last picture of her!
I see another "baby gear" item I don't have but might have to get: the jumper that attaches to the door frame. Miss Z looks like she really enjoys that! I love this post and how you incorporate normal life activities into new routines with Miss Z. Your schedule is very much like mine, even though Kamden is just three months. but he normally doesn't take a mid-morning nap and opts, instead, for a nice two or two-and-a-half hour nap in the afternoon. You are extremely blessed to have family nearby too. That's one thing I really miss and wish we had living here. My family is in Kentucky while Husband's is two hours away. I'm blessed to have close friends here in the community where we live, but it's not the same as having your family. The silver lining: Kamden is a social baby that goes everywhere with me! You hardly even know he's in the car with you because he goes to sleep before we get to the end of the driveway. He's a great car-rider and is starting to stay awake while I'm in the grocery and enjoys looking around at the big, bright world around him!
BIG HUGS, you are going to love having all of these memories later on. I know I will with Kamden too!
I love reading this. It looks like our days are very similar. It is refreshing to hear that not every mom has it all figured out before six months. I feel the same as you that as soon as the longer nap started, I started to feel like I could do something noticeable around the house. I also have grad school work to do and it's tough to discipline myself to get it done during nap time. I am loving this stage at six months! And loving your sweet girl and all her rolls! š
I'm also curious.. did you do any sort of sleep training to get her to sleep so long? Or is she just naturally a good sleeper? We are struggling big time in the sleep department lately!
She. Is. Adorable! Those rolls… ahhh!
This was such a fun read! š
Yeah, I felt like around six months-ish is really where we got into a groove two. But you're right, it will change, it's a constant motion and need to adapt. Little Z is a doll! Love the photos of her laughing with you and daddy.