6 Month Update

6 Month Update

Sunday, May 23, 2021

I can't believe we have a six month old! Time is really flying by. *cue the tears* I feel like just yesterday we were released from the hospital and now we're closer to toddler years than the newborn phase. 

We're really trying to soak in each moment and milestone. I'm excited for her to start crawling, but I'm enjoying this wobble phase. I can't wait to see her chase the dogs, but I love watching her roll around with Poppy. (Side note: Poppy is SO good with Merloe. Poppy will bring her ball over to Merloe waiting for her to throw it. They will be the best of friends pretty soon!)

 

At Merloe's 6 Month checkup she was 27.5" long (94%), 17 lb. 5 oz. (69%), and 17.2" head circumference (84%). At our previous checkup she was measuring tall too, which is so funny since Seth and I are on the shorter side. Our Pediatrician explained how they estimate the height of each baby and said she'll probably slow down soon. But then when we came back she was still measuring tall. Who would've thought! Remember when you're pregnant and you take the Old Wives Tales test to guess the gender? I feel like it's the same with genetics. "So and so said that if you take the average height of the mom's father, that'll be the height..." Only time will tell! She's currently wearing Size 3 diapers and 6-12m clothing.

She is a roly poly and quick! When she first started rolling, she would only roll from back to front. I think she was afraid to fall on her head. But now she's a professional, rolling from one side of the room to the other. We really have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't roll onto the tile. And as soon as we lay her down to change her clothes, she'll immediately flip over. She doesn't mind hanging out on her tummy either! 

 

Lately she's been extra fussy and if you've met Merloe, you would know her personality is really chill. Very calm and happy. So when she starts fussing I know it's unusual. We think it's teething, her bottom two teeth feel like they're getting close to coming in. Our Pediatrician said it will probably start happening soon and not to worry too much about the pain, she'll be able to handle it. Sometimes we'll give her this teething oil or teether pop to help relieve the pain for a little bit. When we squeeze the oil into her mouth, she sucks it up like a little guppy fish!  

She loves to play with toys that light up, play music, and randomly loves chewing on tags. She's really good at entertaining herself while she plays, too. She also loves to "read" her board books. Her favorite toys include her Jellyfish Musical Toy, Banana Teether, Stacking Cups, and of course Sophie the Giraffe. She also loves her pacifiers! We'll give them to her for naps and bedtime. And then occasionally throughout the day if needed, especially lately with the teething. She's really good about putting it back in her mouth all by herself, so we'll leave a few extras in her crib so she can find one in the middle of the night!

When she gets excited, she starts kicking her legs. Her laugh still sounds like "heh" unless you really get her going she'll belly laugh. Her tickle spots include her chest near her shoulders, on her thighs and her belly. When we blow air on her face or her head she gasps, like she's shocked and doesn't know where it's coming from. She giggles at any animal noises. And she recently started tilting her head back and squinting her eyes like she's shy or embarrassed -- so funny! She'll look over if you call her name, you might have to say it a couple of times but she knows. She also loves to look at anything yellow, we think that'll be her favorite color! 

We've started introducing foods. I want to try BLW (baby led weaning) but I'm nervous so we're starting with some purees until I feel more comfortable. We've tried Little Spoon purees, which she didn't love. I think because it was her first food and the texture, not necessarily the puree itself. We started BLW with banana, which she loved holding and playing with but not putting in her mouth. Then we tried avocado by slicing it into a long stick length and she kept bringing it back to her mouth! The first food she actually kept wanting to eat. We did some mashed avocado too, she loved it all. 

 

At her past checkup, her Pediatrician said she still had some cradle cap and suggested using a small amount of Head & Shoulders shampoo to clear it up. I had been trying to get those last little bits off, but they were stubborn! We took his advice and also started applying Tubby Todd's AOO -- this helped tremendously! I wish I would've done it sooner. First use the Head & Shoulders shampoo with this scrub brush, then I use this set to brush her hair before applying the Tubby Todd.

She's a great napper, we usually have to wake her up from her naps. But at night, she's waking up at least once. Our Pediatrician gave us the go ahead on letting her cry it out, but we're not ready quite yet! We have her sleeping in the bathroom (LOL) so she can't see us but is still close by. This has really helped with all of the little wakings throughout the night. She'll put herself back to sleep most of the time. She usually wakes up around 1:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m. for a bottle, then goes right back down until it's morning. I can always tell she's sleeping hard when she tucks her hands behind her head and doesn't budge. Here's a little look at what her schedule has been like lately:

7:00 a.m. - Wake 

7:20 a.m. - Bottle 

9:10 a.m. - Nap 1 (1.5 hours max.)

10:40 a.m. - Wake

11:00 a.m. - Bottle 

Noon - Nap 2 (1.5 hours max.)

1:30 p.m. - Wake 

2:00 p.m. - Bottle 

4:30 p.m. - Nap 3 (30-45 minutes max.)

5:00 p.m. - Wake 

7:30 p.m. - Bedtime Routine (Bath, Lotion, Pajamas, Sleepsack, Bottle, Book, Pacifier)

8:00 p.m. - Bedtime 

*Disclaimer: She does not nap exactly to this schedule (other than her first nap and bedtime.) We're flexible with her day depending on how long she naps or based on her sleepy cues. 

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Traveling With A Baby

Traveling With A Baby

Monday, May 10, 2021

Traveling with a baby for the first time? Us too! And let me tell you...traveling with a baby is quite the TRIP. I recently heard someone say, "Traveling with a baby is a TRIP, traveling with just your husband is a VACATION" and it couldn't be more true! We traveled to Salt Lake City, UT to visit my grandparents and extended family so it was a quick flight, but wow also very exhausting. For being so little, Merloe needed so many things. I'm sure some of the items we brought weren't a necessity, but I think they also made our trip more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, we will definitely travel with her again but we might have to extend it longer than 4 days. 

I figured I would write about our experience for other families looking to travel and give you more insight on how it was to travel with a baby during a pandemic. I feel like everything is slowly reopening and getting back to normal, which is good but also made for busy travel days. Since all events were cancelled last year, we actually had flight credit through Southwest so we decided it would be a good time to test flying with Merloe on a quick flight before attempting a longer flight like Hawaii. At the end I'll also link our travel favorites so you can stock up before your next trip.

 

BOOKING TICKETS & AIRPORT

Like I mentioned above, we had credit to fly through Southwest. We love flying Southwest, especially with the free checked bags. I figured we would need to utilize that more with Merloe's bags so it's definitely a perk to consider when booking. We also considered flying around her nap schedule but since she's still so young it changes day to day. We booked a direct flight during the day, we felt like it would be easier to do one flight and we thought during the day other travelers might be more forgiving with a crying baby compared to a red eye. For this trip, my mom actually drove down the day before us so we had her take some of our luggage to lighten the load. When booking tickets, infants under 2 fly free -- as long as they're sitting on your lap. We figured since it would be a quick flight we didn't mind. We looked into buying her a seat, since it is more safe for them to be buckled into their car seat but it cost just as much as our ticket and we weren't willing to make the splurge. (Side note: After flying with her, I would purchase a seat for a longer flight, but if there are empty seats on the flight they will let you use one for free!) When you book your child's ticket they ask for her information, it also mentions calling but when we did they didn't really do anything for us just gave us pricing if we wanted to purchase her seat. When you arrive to the airport you will need to go to the Ticket Counter with a copy of their birth certificate to show the agent. (We brought a real certificate and a copy, but they only needed to see the copy. You still get to keep it.) 

We showed up to the airport 2 hours before our flight. And good thing, because the airport was so busy. It took almost 30 minutes just to talk to someone at the Ticket Counter. So give yourself that extra time. We checked her pack n play, which counted as one of our two free bags. We didn't buy anything special to protect it and they mentioned they're not liable for any damages. (Note: there was no damage and it was waiting on the side of the luggage carousel when we arrived.) We decided to push her stroller and car seat through the airport and check it at the gate.

At Security they had us unload the stroller, put all bags and electronics through the conveyor belt. They also asked me to remove Merloe from the stroller and carry her through. She was asleep, so that was a bummer having to wake her up. We also used a baby carrier through the airport, which she loved! They scanned her stroller on the side. We only feed her formula now but they didn't check any of it. We brought 3 containers (6 oz. each) worth of formula powder and 3 empty bottles. You do have to get water for the bottles once you're through Security. I've heard if you have breastmilk they will test it, but you can definitely bring it through. 

 

FLIGHT

Once you arrive to the gate, be sure to check in with the agent at the gate window. They will give you a special tag for your checked stroller and car seat. We purchased the travel bags for our UPPAbaby Vista Stroller and UPPAbaby Mesa Car Seat because they cover any damages made by the airline. The bags weren't too expensive and gave me peace of mind knowing they would be safe after we picked them up. While we waited for the plane to arrive, Seth packed up the stroller and car seat in the travel bags so they were ready to quickly drop at the door as we got onto the plane. If you leave them at the gate, they don't count toward your checked bags. Some of the passengers did not cover their strollers and they seemed to come out ok, but I wasn't willing to risk it. There are other travel bags if you're looking for something a bit cheaper.

Before we left, we asked our pediatrician about flying. His advice was to give her a pacifier or bottle during take off and landing. This will help with their ears popping. Our flight leaving Las Vegas was actually delayed and it was during her nap, so she fell asleep as we were boarding the flight. When flying Southwest if you have children you're allowed to board a little early. If you're familiar with their boarding process, A Group goes first, then families, then B Group and so on. We tried to check in early  to get A Group, but it was completely full so we were thankful to at least get on somewhat earlier. Once we got seated, I kept our diaper bag under my chair for easy access. Seth had some of Merloe's items in his backpack too. The only thing I wish we would've packed more of was her bottles. Because the flight was delayed we used her last bottle during take off. I would've liked to have an extra for back up, but we ended up not needing another one. We did purchase and bring this Bottle Brush Travel Kit, but I had packed it so we didn't have it in the airport.

She was sound asleep as we sat down, but then the pilot came on to make an announcement and she woke right up! We used Babyganics Hand Sanitizer Wipes to wipe down anything she might touch: window panel, arm rests, seat belt, tray table, seat back in front of me. We clipped her pacifier to her shirt and any toys we brought out we tried to clip them to her too. I found this Busy Baby Mat with detachable tethers, you can also use this on their high chair. Around the last 15-20 minutes Merloe finally fell asleep -- surprising? We made sure she had a pacifier as we landed and she slept through the entire thing. Getting on and off the plane is a little tricky with a baby, diaper bag and wearing a mask but definitely doable! I wish we could've given her the little Southwest Airlines wing clips, but the agent said they didn't really do them anymore. I did keep her ticket as a keepsake! 

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I hope our experience was helpful for you and eased any anxiousness you might have. I was definitely anxious, but some advice I've heard: the flight is only temporary, you can't control your baby no matter how many tricks you try and the best tip of all -- you'll probably never see anyone on that flight again! So if there are other passengers getting upset, just brush it off and know your doing the best for your baby in that moment!

I have included commissionable links on this post. Thank you for supporting me and my family!