Last Updated on 25 September 2023 by Colette
Wow. My baby girl is 6 months old. How has she been here for half a year already. HALF A YEAR?!
I’m a few days late with this post as it has taken me a little while to write but here goes . . .
Sleep – We’re getting there!
In last month’s update I wrote that 2 hourly night feeds had become pretty much the norm. A month later and things are, touch wood, starting to improve. The Easter holidays were great because they meant I didn’t have to leap out of bed in the mornings and rush Ben and Chloe out to school so I got to make up for the bad nights a bit more. We’ve still had nights where I’ve been up and down so much that I’ve felt physically sick with exhaustion the following day but more often we’re in a pattern of two or three feeds. As long as she’s not disturbed by us going to bed she will usually wake around 1.30am and 4.30am. Either way she’s still very good at just feeding and going back down so I really can’t complain too much! Perhaps weaning will change things again. Her bedtime routine is still very good and we’ve got things relatively settled into a pattern with the three of them now – I tend to sort Amy while Dave does Ben & Chloe then everyone comes to have a story at Amy’s bedside.
Her daytime sleeps are now taken in bed where possible – of course she often falls asleep in her car seat or pram while we’re out and if that’s the case I leave her where she is but if we’re at home I put her to bed. As yet there’s not a definite routine to this but she will usually sleep sometime after the school run and after lunch at some point. I let her sleep as she likes – it goes against my nature to wake a sleeping baby (though of course sometimes the school run interferes!)
Chubby Baby Thighs!
Although there are one or two items of 3-6 month clothes left in her drawers she is steadfastly into her 6 – 9 month clothing now, with even the odd item of 9 – 12 month depending on the style!
As ever I don’t actually know what she weighs (I really must jump on the scales with her) but she’s so long! She was very slim when she was born but now has proper chunky little baby thighs and chubbier cheeks. We tried out some cloth nappies for Real Nappy Week and found we got on a lot better with them now she’s a bit bigger.
Breastfeeding & Weaning
Last month I excitedly wrote that we had managed a couple of bottles and that I had been able to go out and leave Amy with Dave. Once or twice Dave has given her a few ounces of formula on a morning to allow me to sleep and we pretty much thought we’d cracked it. However last weekend I left her for a full day for the first time – I fed her shortly before I went out at 9.30am and got home just after 6pm – she only took 1oz all day! I felt SO guilty though Dave said she had been ok and it proves she could go longer at night if she chose too! As it stands I don’t think I’ll leave her like that again for a bit – apart from anything else my poor boobs were exploding by the end of the day!
In terms of “real food” I will blog about this separately but we started her with a mashed banana yesterday and she surprised me by eating quite a bit of it!
Illness & Accidents!
My poor little pickle has had a bit of a of month really – on Easter Sunday we ended up taking her to A&E after she had been vomiting (not just a bit of baby sick but proper yellow bile) and had reached the stage of not feeding, being very pale, very still, super sleepy and not really responding to us. She had me really worried. As it turned out she perked up quite quickly once we were in the hospital and made Mummy look very silly! I’m sure the Nurse thought we were being ridiculous but I was really worried about her and am still glad I went to get her checked out. WIthin a couple of hours she was much more her normal self – I can only think that she had a bit of a bug or her tummy hadn’t agreed with the few oz of formula that she’d had that morning.
On Saturday just gone she had a bit of an accident at Aunty Custard’s house – I had popped her in her car seat and asked Ben to talk to her while I went to grab some stuff from the kitchen. The next thing I saw from the kitchen window was that he had hold of her and of course I assumed her had tried to pick her up out of her car sear – which surprised me as it’s not something I would have expected of him. Anyway as we were rushing out to them he was trying to put her back in her seat and it turns out he had been rocking her to try and settle her (bless him!) but just managed to tip her out face first onto the decking instead!! As you can imagine the poor little love was hysterical, I could see a bit of blood on her face but couldn’t work out where it had come from so instinctively just put her on the boob to try and calm her down. She fed ok but was clearly still really upset. It took both sides, some Calpol and a sachet of Nelsons Teetha to finally settle her! She had a bit of a fat lip and we could see a bit of a graze but it was only the following morning that you actually see she had scraped her nose and top lip – the poor little love!
Physical Development
Amy will now roll from back to front – but not very often and she hates it when she does. She does the usual thing of getting her arm stuck underneath herself and she really dislikes being on her tummy so just gets upset with herself. Her hand-eye coordination is really getting there now – she’s getting good at grabbing toys in front of her and is able to keep hold of them for a bit. She has a tendency to shove muslins in her mouth and still loves a good suck of her thumb (or occasionally her fingers). She clearly gets lots of comfort from her thumb and we can her sucking it down the monitor some nights – super cute!
Family & Friends
She’s such a relaxed little lady and just loves to sit and absorb what’s going on around her. She’s very easy to take out and about – smiling freely at people who talk to her and not worrying about being passed around. There is a little bit of separation anxiety setting in when she sees me disappear – for example if I’ve gone to the kitchen and she can’t see me – so I do think she might become more clingy over the coming weeks. She completely adores Ben – saving her biggest smiles and her best giggles for her big brother with his daft faces and silly noises. Nobody can make her giggle the way he does! Chloe is always so excited when we go to collect her from Playgroup asking “Is my Amy awake?” before rushing to the pram to check on her.
And that hair!
As her hair continues to grow its starting to get really fair at the roots so from a distance she can look like its going a bit thin. She has some amazing curls which look completely styled – she looks like she’s had a proper little blow dry and often reminds me of my Grandma H. It seems quite straight at the roots though so I think it will end up being straight and fair like Chlo’s. Her fringe is starting to get in her eyes a bit now – I’ve tried hair bands but she just looks like an aging rocker, I’ve tried clips but her hair is still too fine. I think realistically I’m going to have to get her fringe trimmed in the next week or so as it’s starting to get in her eyes now.
Much as I hate how fast she’s growing up, I can’t wait to see how she changes next!
You can read all about Amy’s first two years here:
Thirteen Months Old – Amy Watch
Fourteen Months Old – Amy Watch
Fifteen Months Old – Amy Watch
Sixteen Months Old – Amy Watch
Seventeen Months Old – Amy Watch
Eighteen Months Old – Amy Watch
Twenty-Two Months Old – Amy Watch
Twenty-Four Months Old – Amy Watch
Its funny how even though they are birthday twins Amy & Emily are so different. Emily loves being on her tummy and has been rolling for a couple of months, if you put her down on her back she has usually rolled over within 30 seconds and then starts crawling (albeit backwards at the moment). She's properly into everything now – grabbing at anything which is within hands reach of her. How on earth can our babies be 6 months already?!
I should think it will be a long time before Amy is crawling. Her floor time has been very limited due to two thundering older siblings! 😉 She's really not bothered though – she likes to be sat up on our knee chatting and playing. Would be interesting to see the girls together! x
She is so, so gorgeous! I cannot believe she is 6 months already! How did that happen?! My Little Man is near enough exactly double her age – How funny! x
I know. I can't get my head round it. I feel like someone has stolen several months from me!
Poor little Amy, they can be such a worry. She is super cute
Attachment at this age is totally normal hun, she will get through it and learn that you will always come back for her 🙂 ps. she is the most adorable little thing, you beauty Amy xx
Love the shocked expression on her face, what a little darling!
Her hair is amazing! She has the cutest little expressions. One of my twins occasionally rolls onto his tummy and totally panics, he hates it! I'm having such a hard time trying to get them to nap in the cot as well, I hope it gets better soon. She really is adorable xx
Lovely big eyes and gorgeous hair! Happy 6 months little one! X
I loved this post, my youngest us 6 months now and OMG!!! I love that card, I had no idea you could get them.
I've just cleared out his 3-6 month stuff also with the exception if a couple that still fit… Strange that isn't it?