Never say never: the co-sleeping version

I always said I would never co-sleep - like NEVER. But then Tynsleigh was born and I spent countless hours each night rocking her back to sleep.

Then I found out I was pregnant with Morgan and I knew I had to find a better way to get through the nights. I began to look into co-sleeping as a potential option and asking the advice of friends who had done it with their little ones. I was nervous about letting a baby sleep right next to me but I didn’t mind the idea of a “pillow” or co-sleeper attachment to keep the baby safe. After a crazy amount of research, I purchased a dockatot to use once I had Morgan. For us, it was the best option because we have limited space in our bedroom. The first month went great - it made breastfeeding SO EASY! I loved that I could roll over and pick her up when she woke in the middle of the night, and I never had to leave my bed.

And then she lost that newborn sleepiness. One sleepless night I was close to tears from exhaustion and pulled her next to me in bed to nurse, hoping to catch a few minutes of sleep before she wanted to switch sides. She woke me three hours later to let me know she was hungry again and that’s when I knew that co-sleeping was the only thing that was going to allow me to keep my sanity. My husband was kicked out of the bed and Morgan and I have been sleeping together ever since. At the time, my time frame of allowing her to stay was 4 months because shortly after that babies start rolling and trying to move around, and I wasn’t sure how I would be able to keep her safe.

Four months came and went and she was not ready to sleep anywhere but curled up next to me. So she stayed. Truth be told, I love the cuddles and special time I have with my girl. The time when they’re young goes by so fast and I realize she won’t want to sleep next to me forever.

When she hit 6 months I knew I needed to start getting her down for naps by herself so that I would have an easier time when I tackled nighttime sleep around a year - did y’all catch how much my original timeline was changed?? Babies lol. She sleeps in the car seat and Solly wrap really well but my goal was to have her go down for naps in the dockatot or pack’n’play. I started April 5th and it took 4 long, exhausting days before she would nap by herself for a solid hour in the dockatot. Typically, I let her nurse herself to sleep and then rocked her for a few minutes more. I would then place her in the dock for her nap. I realize there are people who say you shouldn’t do this because your child will develop an attachment but neither of my girls were able to self soothe themselves to sleep at this age and this has worked well for us. The first few days I would place Morgan down and her eyes would pop open. She would look up at me with a huge smile and start to coo. I would ignore the smile (so hard to do!!), pick her up and start the process over again until she stayed asleep or she was just too bright eyed to go to sleep. Those first FOUR days were HARD but I stuck with it and tried my best to remember two things: 1) sleep is difficult for them to learn and it takes time and 2) to not get upset with her because she didn’t “get it” as quickly as I wanted her to.

Here I am reflecting on day 6 about how I really thought it would take longer to get to the point where she would stay down by herself. This is day 2 of a two hour morning nap and shorter afternoon naps (about an hour each). Maybe she was finally ready for this...or maybe I’m counting my chickens before they hatch here! Babies sure don’t keep, y’all, but I’m so proud of her little accomplishment.

Solids: 1 Month In | Morgan

I’m not sure if there is another stage that overwhelms me more than starting a baby on solids. Don’t get me wrong...once my older daughter and I got in a groove I LOVED feeding her solids. But the uneasiness of where to begin, what to feed next and how to get her used to the textures left my mind in a whirlwind.

Let me first start by saying that I’m a teacher by trade and have no medical background- ZERO - so I am not giving out medical advice, I’m simply sharing my experience. The two big categories for baby solids seem to be puréed food and babyled weaning. In my opinion, one is not better than the other. The better option for each parent/child is the one that fits your lifestyle and you are comfortable with. Regardless of how you feed your child, FED is always best. Always. I started my older daughter on purées and switched to babyled weaning about two months in. I started Morgan with BLW at about 5 months. We don’t have known allergies in our family so I have been free to experiment a little. 

Her first food was avocado that I mashed up and fed her with a spoon. I also put a couple slices on her tray but she didn’t even try to grasp or pick them up. She ate a couple bites and made some hilarious faces at the difference in texture. I was able to get 2-3 spoonfuls in her mouth and to me, this is plenty these first few weeks. At this point, breast milk is still her predominant source of nutrition and the solids she will be trying don’t account for much of her dietary intake yet. It takes time for them to get used to the change in texture and get excited about what they’re eating. With my older daughter it took a solid 1-2 months of solids before she decided she liked them.

Foods Morgan has tried during her first month of BLW:

Avocado (mashed, spears)

Sweet potato (mashed)
Red potato (roasted and finely chopped, mashed)

Banana (whole, mashed)

Blueberries (quartered)

Apple (grated, roasted spears)

Pear (grated)

Tomatoes (homemade sauce, Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup)

Spaghetti squash (finely chopped)
Zucchini squash (spears, roasted)

Celery (boiled and finely chopped)

Beef pot roast (finely chopped)

Chicken (finely chopped)

Egg (scrambled)

Pasta (finely chopped)

I typically put a little of what we’re eating on the tray to encourage her to play/eat on her own and the rest I offer to her on a spoon. You may be thinking it sounds messy...and it is!! Babies are just messy though - there’s really no way around that.

Baby Favorites | 6 months

I cannot believe my sweet Morgan is old enough for me to compose her 6 month favorites. These days can be long but the years are so short! I’m pretty sure she is trying to cut some teeth because she is gnawing HARD on anything she can put in her mouth. Tynsleigh didn’t start doing this until she was closer to 10 months (and cut her first tooth at 11 months) so it will be interesting to see what Morgan does :)

1. Hanna Anderson jammies - these are seriously my FAVORITE pajamas to put the girls in. They’re cute, high quality and I love that they zip up so there aren’t any feet that get stuck between button holes. Right now, all of their pajamas are 30% off and everything else is 40%!

2. Bumbo - Morgan isn’t big enough yet to stay up in a high chair or booster (and in all honesty, we don’t have room for one!) but she fits perfectly in the bumbo. I love that you can get one with a tray and place toys on it while she’s playing (working those core muscles!) or use it during mealtime.

3. Wood teether - I’ve made several purchases to Smiling Tree Toys and the quality is always amazing. This teether doubles as a rattle and both my girls have loved theirs.

4. Jumper - when I was first told that we “had” to have a jumper my first thought was, “Wonderful. Something else that requires batteries.” Both of my girls have been happy jumping in this and I tell y’all, it sure gives me a few minutes to sit, start laundry or eat breakfast. I don’t see the exact one we have but I think any will do. 

5. Moses basket - I have been using this with Morgan since we brought her home. Over the past month if she’s wanting to play and I need to do a few things around the house, I stick her in here with a couple toys and move her to where I need to be. In the early weeks she spent most of her day napping in here. Sign up for emails to find out when they do restocks. It’s so worth it!

6. Car toy - this isn’t just a car toy but it’s the one that I always put in the car seat with Morgan. She loves this thing! And I love that it keeps her busy until she falls asleep and takes a nap!

7. Sophie the Giraffe - this is a recent favorite of Morgan's. It's by far the priciest toy I have ever purchased but both of my girls have enjoyed chewing on it. The toy is light weight, made of natural rubber, does not have a strong odor and is free of latex.

There are other toys that we have around but these are definitely our “go to” items for every day baby use.