brooklyn and emerson: 6 month update

You guys.

It took me over two weeks to write this post. TWO weeks! I’ve been horrible lately, I swear! I haven’t opened up my computer for a week, and this post was just staring me down. I had to finish it! So, even though we’re only a week and a half away from 7 months (for real), here’s the girls’ six month update!

We had professional pictures taken for their 6 month milestone, so I thought I would share those instead of the pictures I normally take. Enjoy!

Emerson

Oh my Emme. My sweet girl. This one loves with just about everything she has, and she loves people (and all of their attention). My once laid back girl who just went with the flow now needs to be held and cuddled with most of the time. Her smile is contagious, and her giggles crack me up!

Weight & Height: We had our 6 month check up last week, and this lady is weighing in at 16 pounds 6 ounces and 25 inches long. For the six month growth chart (even though they were a month early), this puts Emerson at 50% for weight and 10% for height. I’m trying to figure out where she got her shorty genes from!

Eating: We started on solids 2-3 weeks ago, and it took Emerson a few weeks to really grasp the concept that food is delicious. She was pretty picky up until a week ago and then it all clicked for her. . So far we’ve tried butternut squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, avocado, banana, carrots, and oatmeal.

We just started oatmeal with the girls this past weekend – Emerson LOVES it. I wanted to wait until they were a little older to start any sort of grains, and I picked Earth’s Best organic oatmeal cereal for them. This cereal actually has an enzyme in it to help their sensitive digestive systems. Win win! We mix 4 tablespoons of the oatmeal with an entire pureed banana and add a little bit of cinnamon into it. That seems to be enough for both the girls.

As of right now, we are doing solids once or twice a day.

In the bottle department, Emerson is still drinking about 26-30 ounces a day. I am expecting that to decrease a little bit as we increase her solids.

Sleeping (naps): Oh my little cat napper. Emerson is still all over the place with her naps. I would love to say that she takes 2 two hour naps as well as a short cat nap at the end of the day, but I just laugh at that idea. Most days she will take 2-3 cat naps and one long nap (2’ish hours). Some  days all she takes is cat naps. Honestly, I’m okay with it. When she is awake, she is typically not crabby. She’s just a cat napper! You just do you, Emme!

Sleeping (night): Nighttime sleep is still going pretty well. Emerson goes down without a fight (okay, most of the time she is already sleeping when she get put down – apparently I’m breaking “rules”.. I’m okay with it). She does usually wake up once a night looking for her pacifier or because she rolled onto her tummy and can’t get off. She goes right back to sleep. The only thing I would like is for her to sleep a little bit later! Granted, she does go down anywhere in between 6:45 and 7:15 PM, but girlfriend starts stirring as early as 5:00 or 5:30 AM. She’ll go back to sleep, but on the days where I have the chance to sleep in, I would love not having those early morning wakeup calls. Advice would be nice – and no, a later bedtime is not possible. She is a hot mess and wakes up at the same time regardless.

We also dropped the dream feed this past month. I was super scared to bite the bullet and stop, but it went without a hitch. The girls never even noticed. So now, they are sleeping 11-12 hours through the night. Aaaah, it’s wonderful…. until they you know, start getting teeth and won’t sleep anymore.

Clothing: 3-6 month clothing still! I was thinking we would be ready for 6-9 month in a few weeks or so, but I think we’ll be in 3-6 at least until the middle of April. I have been buying a lot of summer clothing in 9-12 month, so hopefully we will be ready when she seasons chance. Fingers crossed!

Social: This girl. She is such a sweetheart. She loves just about everyone, although she did have a few “stranger danger” moments this past month. Most of when they occurred she had just woken up, so I feel like she may have just been a little out of it and confused when that happened. She will go to anyone, and she is our touchy feely girl. Emme loves reaching out and touching faces. My favorite is when she’s drinking her bottle, and she’ll reach up to touch my face. She also loves touching daddy’s beard when he’s holding her.

This girl is a talker – I’m actually quite scared for what is to come when she actually starts using words instead of babbling and screeching. She still loves her sister, and she pays Brooklyn much more attention than Brooklyn ever gives back. Another one of her favorites is Aubrey. They spend two days a week together, and Emerson adores her.

New this Month: I feel like this month was so full of firsts! Rolling back to tummy, sitting in her high chair, eating real food. We also pulled out the jumper which she can take or leave. She’d rather be held than have to ,you know, be a baby and play with baby toys.

Emerson is also getting much better at sitting up unassisted. She is much better at it if someone or something it around her (even if we aren’t touching her – weird). She’s taken a few topples over, but she couldn’t be any more less phased by it.

Likes: eating, oatmeal (like her mama!), sleeping in people’s arms, being held, George her wubbanub monkey, her giraffe lovey, getting kisses, raspberries blown on her thighs, trying to hold her own bottle, “feeding herself”, touching/grabbing/eating faces, singing songs, Daddy

Dislikes: dirty diapers, not being paid attention to, being hungry (for like more than a second), long naps, tummy time, getting her sleep sack put on at night (she knows it means “time for bed”)

Overall, Emerson is such a happy girl!

Next up, Brooklyn!

The life of the party, this little one is my bouncy baby. She will do anything for a laugh, and apparently she has somewhere to be because she wants to be on the move! Her little eyes take in just about everything. There isn’t a moment where this one isn’t observing her surroundings.

Weight & Height: 6 month stats – Brooklyn weighs the same as her sister at 16 pounds 6 ounces, but is 26.25 inches long. That puts her at 50% for weight and 50% for height. I did my own research and compared that to a 5 month growth chart, and she’s pretty high up on the height for that one! She is going to be tall like her daddy.

Eating: Brooklyn is such a good eater. She loves real food and except for gagging a few times while eating green beans, she has loved everything she has tried. Brooklyn cries and carries on if her spoon is not shoveled into her mouth the second she swallows a bite of food, which happens frequently if they are both eating at the same time! She has tried the same foods as Emerson, and seriously loves them all. She’s an oatmeal lover as well!

Brooklyn has been drinking 26-30 oz a day as well. Little chunky monkey!

Sleeping (naps): Brooklyn’s naps have been more normal than last month (thank goodness!). It seems like she will have one or two days a week where she will not nap very well, but the good news is that she typically isn’t crabby if she’s only cat napping. My mom actually calls her “Party Girl” because she never ever stops! There are times that she will absolutely not settle down and will shriek and giggle in her crib until I swaddle one of her arms. Oh that Brooklyn!

Sleeping (night): We finally got rid of the swaddle! Woot woot! I was so so nervous about it, but it went without a hitch. We swaddled one arm for about a week or two and then just stopped one night and all was well! Brooklyn is a fairly good sleeper, except that she frequently wakes up and chats to herself during the night. The other night I swear we were all up all night because of Chatty Cathy. It’s hard not to laugh though – it’s so stinking funny!

Clothing: We are still in 3-6 month clothing. This mama is going to have to go on a shopping trip for 6-9 month clothes. I think we have maybe 4 outfits in that size!

Social: Brooklyn still loves all people, especially her daddy. This girl lights up the second he walks in the door at night. I never get quite the reaction John gets! She will also still go to just about anyone and loves ignoring whoever is holding her so she can take in everything that’s going on around her. “Nosy Rosy” has been her nickname for a few months now, and that still holds true! She also loves Charlie and cousin Aubrey.

New this Month: We pulled out the jumper for this little one this month, and I was right – she LOVES it. All of her energy goes into jumping or figuring out how to move these days. Brooklyn has become quite the roller this month. We will put her on one side of the carpet and in seconds she is about to roll onto the hardwood. We have to watch her like a hawk! Brooklyn is also really trying hard to figure out how she can crawl. She has been getting her knees up under her but then scoots backwards. She has no interest in sitting up patiently like her sister. “Why sit if you can move” is her motto!

Likes: Charlie, big cousin Aubrey, bouncing, giving big cheeser smiles, rolling around everywhere, chewing on her fingers, Daddy (like seriously, I am chopped liver when he is around)

Dislikes: dirty diapers, being held “like a baby”, getting the sleep sack put on at bedtime, having to wait more than 3 seconds for her bottle to end up in her mouth