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Stetson is six months old today. My little boy has rocked our world for half a year and my heart cannot take it.

I always thought it was going to feel like forever when we finally hit the six months mark. Turns out, the days are just flying by.

I don’t think my brain can really comprehend that six months ago, at 4:54am I was handed this tiny six pound baby that I get to keep forever.

The amount of love and responsibility you feel in that moment is truly indescribable.

It feels like a distant memory but I also remember every tiny detail so vividly. This past month I have found myself leaning into a rhythm more than I ever have on this journey so far. We still don’t have a strict schedule but our routine is starting to feel more consistent and honestly, I am just having so much fun at this stage.

Stetsons little personality is really shining these days and I swear he knows when he is being funny.

Our little social butterfly loves to laugh and loves making everyone else laugh too.

He’s his happiest self when we are out and about and people are paying attention to him. This mama already knows she has a little flirt on her hands.

Sleeping Through The Night

I swear since the moment he was born this is the question I have been asked the most. Is he sleeping through the night? And this question makes me chuckle, because, are babies supposed to do that on night one? From everything I have heard and read, they are not. But some people get lucky!

Stetson has never been a bad sleeper by any means. From the time he was born, he was eating about every 4 hours even throughout the night. So we would get a decent chunk of sleep. Never did I feel totally sleep deprived or like I wanted to pull my hair out (okay maybe sometimes) but I am truly grateful that he made nights not too hard.

And now? As of a couple of nights ago, I think dare I say it, we might be totally sleeping through the night on our own.

He goes down at about 7:30 to 8pm and I have not had to go into his room one time for the past couple nights. Fingers crossed this isn’t just a phase!

Sleeping Tips

I’m not going to lie, I became a sleep obsessed mom before Stetson was even here. I was looking up all the videos, reading all the articles, and doing all the things to prep for this baby’s arrival and to make sure he slept good.

Now, looking back, that was all a little silly. I definitely felt overwhelmed by all the advice that I was giving and feeling like I needed to be doing a million different things.

So I am going to share some sleeping tips that I believe helped Stetson get to this point and you can take what you want or take none of it.

1. Drop the expectations
2. Put baby down drowsy but awake 60% of the time (including naps)
3. Make sure they are getting super full throughout the day (solids are a huge help)
4. Sleeping on his stomach
5. Lots of play time and outdoors

Six Months Milestones

Stetson is doing so many new things this month! He is a rolling machine and you can hardly ever keep him on his back. Stetson loves to roll over onto his stomach and scoot around on the floor whenever possible.

Plus, he is also all about the mouth sounds. Blowing bubbles, making this weird sucking sound with his cheeks, and just talking/babbling away as much as he can.

We are not totally sitting up on our own yet, but he is close!

We had our first week away from Dad this past month and it really proved to me how much he changed in a week. When Tyler came back from his trip he commented on all the noises the baby was making. And for me, I thought he was around for all of them because they just came on so fast. Turns out he started doing those things when Tyler was gone. That was only a matter of days!

I also realized this month how hard it’s going to be to leave him with anyone. Not because we don’t have people we love and trust, but because I am totally attached to him and he is definitely getting more attached to me. I know, I know, we need to let go a little and get space for our own mental health and to help Stetson but dang.. it’s going to be hard. We are planning a little Valentines date and we will drop him off for a few hours for that as a test run. But no overnight stuff for a while!

Working Mom Life

My household had 2 working parents outside of the home. So I know what it’s like to have grandparents watch you after school and drive you places. Tyler grew up with a stay at home mom, so his experience is totally different than mine.

For me personally, my lifelong dream has always been to stay at home. But I am also such a busy body that there is no way I wouldn’t be able to do something. Work on some kind of project or have some sort of creative outlet. My business definitely fills those cups for me. It allows me to have the best of both worlds of being a stay at home mom but also work and financially contribute. But dang… it’s really freaking hard.

One thing I have learned in these past six months is that I am not really great at time management. Especially because there is really not a whole lot of free time in my days.

I wake up around 5am every morning and go to bed at 9pm and I still feel like I could use 6 more hours in my day.

For some reason I thought I would be able to just set the baby down to play and I would be able to sit at my desk and get so much work done. Yeah, right. If the baby isn’t in my lap, he is probably making noise playing with his toys. And when I try to get things done during his nap, suddenly a 2 hour nap turns into a 30 minute nap.

In the beginning I was so frustrated by this and found myself getting so stressed out over the fact that I could get nothing done it seemed like.

But these days, while I still have some bad ones, they are mostly good. We are more in a routine now, and I have also let go of certain expectations. Which is honestly really freeing.

Things We Loved This Month

1. Now look, I am coming in hot with a controversial one. I understand that screen time isn’t for everyone and I was super against it at first. But talking about not being able to get anything done, I had to cave a little bit for my own sanity. I am not one to prop Stetson up in front of a tv for hours at a time. But a few 20 minute chunks throughout the day so I can go do something I want or need to do, yup I will take it. If you are open to the idea, I HIGHLY recommend checking out Ms. Rachel for your littles. Her Youtube show is educational, fun, and makes me feel better about him watching it over cartoons. It’s almost set up like a Zoom call which I heard is better for their brains too!
2. Sitting in the front facing part of our stroller has been so fun for both Stetson and I. Though it’s not as convenient as just clicking in the carseat, I love being able to sit him in the front part where he is much more content for longer periods of time and it’s fun that he actually gets to see the world now. And not to mention, everyone is totally obsessed with him so I love watching people interact with him when he is sitting there. This stroller has been really great for us! It’s easy to fold up, not super heavy and the carseat clicks in really easy.
3. This Wrap: I have several different wraps and carriers that I love for different reasons, but these are some of my favorites! They are light weight and easy to use. And very breathable for baby! Not to mention that the customer service is amazing and they do a fantastic job at giving you information to make sure you are wearing the wrap correctly.

To Sum It All Up

I love the direction we are going and how much more fun I know it’s going to get over the next few months and we have so much to look forward to. 2023 is going to be filled with a lot of trips and new milestones. But I am also doing everything I can to savor the moments as they come because gosh, six months has just flown by. And he has been such a good first baby, he makes me want 6 more (sorry Tyler).

Through all the hardships and the troubles, this has been the best six months of my life and I fall more and more in love with this little guys every day. Stetson truly is the best thing I have ever done and I am so beyond proud to call him mine.

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Resources

PAST MONTHS WITH STETSON

• 5 months with Stetson
• 4 months with Stetson
• 3 months with Stetson
• 2 months with Stetson
• 1 Month with Stetson

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