Six Months of Quinn Evelyn
Half a year!! Where did the time go? It has been a busy month, but I guess every month feels that way. Time now seems to be calculated by how old Quinn becomes.
At the start of this month, soon after turning 5 months old, Quinn began to roll in her sleep. At first, we had a few hard nights because she would roll and wake herself up or I would wake her up by turning her back onto her back as it had been so drummed into me that back sleeping is the safest position! I searched for sleeping contraptions that were designed to keep babies on their back, however, after a few conversations with our Plunket Nurse she reassured me that tummy sleeping is perfectly OK because Quinn has the arm and neck strength to push up and move her head. It did take me a good week to get used to the idea though but as soon as Quinn was comfortable rolling on to her tummy, it became her favourite sleeping position. I also think it has helped link her sleep cycles over the lunch time nap because after the first sleep cycle she can easily move herself into a cozy position to drift back off again. Quinn continues to sleep pretty good during the night. She is currently sleeping from 7pm to 7am with 1 or 2 (sometimes 3) wake ups – usually these are around 10pm and 5am. I don’t mind the late-night feeds because she is much easier to feed when not being a wriggly, curious, and distracted baby like she is through the day. And the sleepy night-time cuddles are definitely worth the wake ups.
Quinn and I have been enjoying SPACE for the last two months. We are fortunate that our class consists of a lovely group of Mums and babies which makes Thursday afternoon so much fun. Over the school holidays recently, when SPACE had a break, we still organised to get together at someone’s house which was awesome. A few of us live just minutes down the road so every now and again we head off on walks around the neighbourhood.
There have been so many developmental stages this month. She.is.on.the.move. There is no stopping this girl! She has mastered how to roll from her back to tummy but isn’t quite as confident when rolling from her tummy to back. Although, she doesn’t let that stop her as she is slowly working out how to use her arms, elbows, knees, and feet to get to where she wants to go. Her two party tricks this month have been to army crawl 360 degrees, reaching for each of her toys along the way, and to show off her strength with her impressive planking abilities. Last week she even discovered how to rock back and forth on her knees, so I’m sure she will be crawling in no time, keeping me on my toes no doubt. Quinn still loves to stand on her feet and her new favourite past time is to sit on Dad’s shoulders and hold tightly on to his hair. This always seems to bring out so much enjoyment… for them both!
As we reach the 6-month milestone the topic of solids has been front and centre. I’m so proud that I have been able to exclusively breastfeed Quinn for the last 6 months, with no plans of stopping anytime soon. However, the thought of introducing a little bit of food has me all emotional. It feels like such a big milestone. My little girl is not so little anymore (cue the tender mama heart.) In saying that, I love watching her grow, and I am so excited to see how Quinn enjoys her first taste of food. I’m sure it is going to be messy!
Even with a new baby to take care of, when you run a small business, you never really stop thinking about work. Now that Quinn is older and not needing to feed as regularly, I decided to open bookings from this month onwards. Wednesdays and Fridays have become my “shoot days” because both my Mum or Matt’s Mum are more than happy to look after Quinn on their days off work. For the rest of the week, when Quinn sleeps, I try to edit and get admin done. It has been refreshing getting back into doing what I love, but at the same time it has been quite full on trying to juggle it all. I haven’t dedicated much time for self-care, which I know is important and something I have been craving as of late. I am working on making this a priority in some way, all while balancing work, home life and mum duties.
As I looked back over my camera roll from the past month, what stood out to me was all the images of Quinn in the front pack. We have thrashed the front pack this month with lots of fun adventures around New Plymouth. With Matt working Monday to Friday and football on Saturdays, Sunday is our only day to do things together as a family of 3. We try to make Sundays “family day” by creating special memories together. So far, Brooklands Zoo, Eastend Beach, Lake Mangamahoe and Tupare Gardens have been a few of our favourite places to visit. Matt loves to wear Quinn at any opportunity. She is at a very fun, inquisitive and interactive age and I’m sure as she gets older these traits will only continue to grow.
Happy 6 Months Quinn Evelyn, we love you.