6 Months: Lessons Learned

                    

After 6 months of life, Jonathan has learned to:

• Sit up on his own
• Babble away at a remarkably high volume
• Nap for longer than 30 minutes (finally!!)
• Eat baby food. He loves sweet potatoes, but don't even think about serving him green beans unless you want to scrub green barf stains out of everything.
• Smile at absolutely anyone--this kid is such a charmer.
• Laugh! His little belly laugh is hysterical.
• Recognize Mom and Dad. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing him light up when one of us enters the room. This parenting thing totally rocks right now.

After 6 months of motherhood I have learned:

• Dish soap can get stains out of almost anything.
• The power of the "mom uniform." Yes I wear basically the same outfit every day, but hey if it's machine washable, nursing friendly, and makes me feel somewhat put together, it's a go!
• As soon as we find a routine, it changes. This little guy is In Charge and he knows it. It's a good thing he has me wrapped around his little finger.
• Jogging with a stroller is harder than it looks. Kudos to all you double-stroller people. I hope to be as cool as you someday.
• Cuddling my baby in the middle of the night really isn't so bad. Ok, sometimes it is, but sometimes I miss him when he goes back to sleep.
• With my arsenal of plastic grocery bags, I can handle anything. Spit up all over his clothes in church? We've got this. Epic poop explosion in the parking lot? No problem. I have those babies stashed in the diaper bag, in the car, and in every room in the house. 
• I can handle long days and sleepless nights as long as I allow myself a meltdown every week or two. It sounds crazy, but accepting the fact that the meltdowns will come (and hoping that I'm not the only one who has them...?) helps me to be gentle with myself when I feel like I'm not good enough.
• I have a very patient husband.

Time Flies!

**This post was written (and forgotten about) in January 2015

Sweet Jonathan is 5 months old! I can't believe it. A couple of my friends have had babies since he was born, and as I hold their newborns I just marvel that he was ever that small and fragile. In preparation for childbirth I remember reading that the first few weeks fly by in a sort of "haze." New mom is in survival mode; completely focused on and basically obsessed with her baby. I'm happy to report that although the haze has certainly cleared, I am still very much obsessed with this kid. Matt and I enjoyed our first holiday season with a wee babe (more on that later) and are now back in Houston enjoying our homebody (and school) routine once again.