Well…time flies. I can’t believe that the “lil tot is 6 months old!
Cannot. Believe. It.
I have a serious case of obsession for this little doll. She gets cuter and sweeter by the minute. Lily is such a happy little baby!
She has had a pretty eventful 6 months, and has had a photo or two (or 3000) taken. (Sooooo many pictures in my phone of Lily…it took me hours & hours to go through the photos to make these collages)
To take you back, our little babe was born on December 6, 2016…just in time for Christmas. I shared our birth story a few months back. She was a petite little thing, weighing in at 6 pounds 6 ounces. Lily wore her newborn onesies up until she was 3 months old (she even still wears a couple of them, lol!).
I thought I was going to be able to dress her up in all the cute Christmas outfits I had for her, but she was too small to fit into any of them! Nonetheless, we really enjoyed the holidays. It was great to spend time with the family!
The first month was NOT EASY! I thought I would not survive. We only slept like 2 hours a night, and I am not a happy camper if I don’t get adequate sleep. I’ve always wished I was one of those cool people who can function on 4 hours sleep, but that has never worked for me.
Our lives became much easier when two things happened.
The Swaddle & The Swing.
These are the two things that got us through these six months! Apparently not all babies need a swaddle at nap/bed time, but Lily definitely needed it. She has wild arms, and if they aren’t snug when its time to sleep, she wakes herself up every few minutes. (Think baby straightjacket!) We tried a few, and this one was our savior.
Ok, moms, if you want to get anything done during the day, get an automatic swing. We used this one, and Lily still uses it. Her swing time is like her zen time! She absolutely loves it! Anyways, you’ll see what I mean. It is the greatest invention ever. It’ll give you your sanity back. (just a little) 🙂
We breastfed lots and lots and lots. That also wasn’t easy. Talk about some painful stuff! I had all kinds of organic/homeopathic remedies on my boobs. Nipple salve? Used it! Cabbage leaves on the boobs? Yep! How about raw potato on the ta-ta’s? Yep! Tried that too. (what I like to refer to as Tater Tits). It’s a pretty tough job, but very rewarding, and of course, the perfect food for a ‘lil tot.
At about the 6 week mark, once life started getting a little easier and more routine, we began to make a few more adventures outside.
For some reason every time I got her in her car seat, I felt the need to to snap her picture!
We went on our first road trip to LA! I had a blog meeting to attend, so I took the tot along for the ride. She was an angel! She loved the adventure, and even slept great in the hotel. (#travelingtot is what I call her!)
When Lily was 8 weeks old, we had a scare that kept us in the hospital over the weekend. Thankfully, the tot was okay, but she she did have a bad case of bronchitis. Children are so resilient; Lily was an absolute trooper! Between all her treatments, she was still such a happy little girl.
We were able to take her home after a few days, and had to do a few breathing treatments on her.
Seeing your baby not feel well, is not an easy thing to deal with! I can only begin to imagine how families feel with children who are going through very difficult health situations. My heart will always go out to them.
Just thinking about it makes me need to go squeeze Lily immediately!
I’ll actually be right back. It’s definitely time for a hug…
Ok.
I feel better now! It was time for some Lily love.
Moving on…
Let me tell you about all the FUN that we’ve had over the past 6 months!
Lily has been a social butterfly and has made lots of friends.
She’s also had lots of beauty sleep!
Lily wore her first Easter dress and opened her first Easter basket – which happened to be my Easter basket that I used when I was little. My sweet mom saved it all these years!
SWOON!!! 🙂
Lil felt the grass for the first time! She is so curious to feel new textures. The grass is very exciting for her, and she loves it.
Well, most of the time! Ha!
She can also be so silly! I love all her funny faces. 🙂 We call her Silly Lily!
Although…sometimes Silly Lily gets upset…
Especially on New Years Eve.
She did n0t approve.
Maybe she was upset because I had her outfit pinned in the back with a chip clip?
Who knows. 🙂
Almost always, Miss Lil is a very happy baby. She definitely knows how to work the camera, and she is quite sassy!
Let’s not forget about Lily’s first time eating real food! She ate organic butternut squash for her first food. She ate the squash for one week, and the next week I gave her organic yam. She didn’t each much, maybe only a teaspoon or two. The majorly of it ended up on her face and hands.
The next food I plan to try is avocado. (maybe she will like avocado more than mommy because it’s not my favorite!)
To me, the best thing about being a parent is watching your child grow and evolve. There are new surprises all the time, and it’s so amazing to watch your child learning and taking in all the newness around them.
When I first started writing this post, I felt a little sad. For a moment, I felt like this chapter was over. All of these milestones can be emotional. I call them my “Happy-Sad” moments. These times are so special; I feel so happy that she is learning and growing, but also a little sad because it’s just one day further away from her being my tiny little tot.
Perhaps it is in some ways it’s an ending, but whats really happening is just a new beginning.
My friend worded it perfectly when she described the feelings she had as her daughter transitioned from high school to college; “sometimes these milestones feel like the “lasts” when really they are just stepping stones to so many “firsts” for us and our children.”
I only hope that Lily continues to be the happy, curious, healthy, and fascinating little tot for our next 6 month adventure. I’ve always heard mothers saying that they can’t imagine their life without their children, and now I really feel it.
I find myself looking at her pictures when I am away, and I can even smell her sweet little baby scent when I’m not with her.
Lily completes me! She’s a bundle of joy, I’ll just simply say that I love her forever.
Our next update will be for the 1 year milestone! Until then, keep up with us daily on Snapchat (@MissAshleyDiana).
