Emery Harper 6 Months

 Emery just turned 6 months old! Just like with her brothers, on the one hand I feel like she was just born (um, I really need to write her birth story...) and on the other it seems like she's been a part of our family forever! She loves her brothers and they love her right back. Every single morning since she's been born Marshall runs into our room to kiss her good morning.

She is ridiculously happy most of the time. The first few months were hard. I think she's been the neediest baby so far... or I'm just so outnumbered at this point that it seemed that way :) Around 3 months it started feeling easier, then around 5 months Jerad and I both started constantly commenting on how fun and funny she was.

She recently discovered her toes and is obsessed.

 We haven't started solids yet and probably won't for awhile. I'll occasionally give her a carrot or piece of celery to gnaw on while I'm cooking, but since she doesn't have any teeth yet she's not really eating it. One of the boys "shared" an apple slice with her a few days ago and she was in HEAVEN. She sucked on it for about 30 minutes.

Sleep is starting to get better. She usually takes a nap around 9 or 9:30  lasting 1-2 hours, then another around 12:30 for 2-3 hours. For both of these I can just put her in her swing or on our bed wide awake as soon as she starts looking tired and she will go right to sleep.  Which is HEAVENLY because for the first 4 months or so of her life she would only sleep if I was rocking or wearing her. The boys also nap during her second nap so I usually have a few hours to myself in the afternoon. She won't take a pacifier, but prefers to suck on a blanket, just like Miller. Also (just like with Miller), it has to be a muslin Aiden and Anias blanket.
 I didn't even know blanket sucking was a thing... and somehow I ended up with two of them! I'm still trying to encourage the pacifier but it's not looking like she's going to prefer it any time soon.

Besides those two naps, she usually squeezes in one 30-45 min cat nap in the evening. The time varies and its a struggle to get her to sleep for that one.... but she's a wreck if she skips it. She goes to sleep between 6:30-7:30 and will only fall asleep if I lay in bed and nurse her. The night's Jerad is home its a piece of cake and he puts the boys to bed (Miller between 7 and 7:30 and Marshall between 7:30 and 8). When he's not home its very difficult for me to get everyone peacefully asleep on my own and there's about an hour of running from one kid's room to the other and I usually bribe Marshall that he can lay in his bed and play on my phone while I get Emery and Miller to sleep.

For the last week she's only woken once every three hours during the night, which feels heavenly. Before that was up to once an hour. I'm trying to get her out of our bed and it's been slow going. She cries and wakes up constantly if she's in the crib, so it's just not worth it. I have been having moderate success with putting her on a floor bed in our room which makes nighttime feedings easy. Usually I move her to the floor bed around 10 or 11 when I'm ready to go to sleep and feed her in her sleep. Then she wakes up to nurse around 1 and I lay on the floor bed to feed her, then again around 4 at which point I usually bring her in our bed. She wakes up for the day around 7. Now that I'm not working our morning's start a little later thank heavens!

Speaking of breastfeeding, it is going AMAZING this time around. Well, I guess it's going normal which feels like amazing after my last two experiences. I haven't had mastitis ONCE and I'd had it 3-4 times with each boy by this point. Also no thrush (she had a small case but I didn't get it), blebs, clogged ducts, cracked nipples, abscesses, or over supply. Because I'm not working, I don't have to pump at all which has also made the whole experience so much easier. Even though she's exclusivily breastfeeding, she will take bottles with no problem. I went out of town for a few days (first time EVER since having kids!), and she drank pumped milk during that time plus a bottle here and there if Jerad and I are lucky enough to get a date.

I haven't taken her in for her 6 month well check yet, but on our home scale (which is pretty accurate) she is 16.6 pounds which is exactly the same as Marshall and Miller were at 6 months. We make consistent babies apparently.

She is rolling and scooting all over, but hasn't started to crawl or get on her hands and knees yet.

She is just like baby Marshall in that she love love loves showers and baths. If she's fussy I just have to stick her in some sort of water and she mellows right out.

I can't think of much else to say. She's just an easy going little chunk and although I'm trying to soak up every baby moment and not rush her, I can't wait for the next few months when she starts turning into more of a little person and crawling and walking and talking.

And for fun:
Marshall at 6 months
Miller at 6 Months