Almost half a year into this journey! What a whirlwind. This experience is SO amazing and bittersweet and I could fill it with all the common cliches about motherhood that you’ve probably heard a million times (they’re all true) but instead I’ll just tell you what we’ve been up to.

A few noteworthy things we’ve done in the last couple of months:

– Took Leo swimming for the first time. He loved it!
– Met lots of extended family for the first time
– Left Leo to be babysat a few times, by his grandparents and his aunt and uncle. Thank goodness for family.
– Went on his first road trip to Brandon. His longest one yet!
– Lots of sitting up, rolling over and belly laughs

Leo is getting more fun every single day. He’s super silly, determined and strong willed. He still loves bath time and his jolly jumper and he’s starting to become super curious about the dog. Also, he’s obsessed with his dad. Our favourite time of day is when Dad gets home from work, for sure. We treasure the weekends when we get more time with him.

I had some concerns about a flat spot on the side of Leo’s head so he had an X-Ray to rule out any issues with his skull development (all is well!) and has been seeing a physiotherapist due to a mild case of torticollis. We’ve been learning stretches and exercises to help with this and it’s been going really well. He’s also rarely sleeping on his back anymore now that he’s rolling all the time so his head is rounding out nicely.

Leo also had an allergic reaction right before Halloween, complete with hives all over and wheezing. It was so scary! Of course this happened at bedtime on the first snowy night of the season and we were dragging our exhausted baby all over the blustery city, looking for an open walk in clinic at 8pm. Between seeing the doctor and waiting for his prescription we didn’t get home until almost midnight and he was on meds for a few days after but he was a trooper. We are certain it was from a new lotion and soon we meet with an allergy specialist to get a game plan together.

Something else super weird that happened: our baby swing got recalled! My sister recognized it in an email she got and sent me the info. Sure enough, our swing matched the recall number and I had to cut it into pieces and send half away and throw out the other half. I loved that swing and it was pretty much the only place Leo slept for the first two months of his life so I was sad to see it go. That said, I’m also super horrified that he could have burst into flames in it and glad it is out of here.

We’ve been enjoying all the fun and festive things this season has to offer. We set up our tree extra early, did photos with Santa and got Leo his first engraved ornament. What I’m really struggling with is not going totally overboard with gifts. I’m trying to remind myself that the best memories I have as a child are of experiences and not things and I’m hoping to parent with this in mind. Christmastime with a baby is magic though, I’ll say that much.

I am still wishing for more sleep and I do feel like sleep deprivation makes me a little off on occasion. I’m definitely more forgetful and scatterbrained. I also really struggle with making conversation and collecting my thoughts these days. Mom brain is so real! One definitely forgets how to interact with adults when home alone with a baby all day.

Physically, I’ve also been dealing with tendinitis in both thumbs/wrists and it has been AWFUL. It started in my left wrist right after Leo was born and then because I started wearing a brace and favouring my right I developed it there too. It is super painful and really makes my day to day a challenge. I am still waiting on a referral to a specialist and in the meantime I am wearing braces on both wrists the majority of the time. Apparently it’s common in new mothers due to relaxin and the sudden constant lifting of a baby. I never knew it existed and it’s kind of comical to me that after pushing a baby out of my you-know-what that wrist pain is my biggest postpartum health concern.

I alternate between serious baby fever and then thinking that there is no way in hell I’ll be ready for another anytime soon. I feel so excited when I see pregnant women or things like ultrasounds on TV and I can’t wait to do it again. That said, I do want to enjoy Leo as much as possible before throwing another baby into the mix. I’d also like a bit more sleep before having another one. I just want to get caught up on sleep before I sign up for more sleep deprivation. Because that makes sense, right?

Most recently, we just moved Leo to his own room after room sharing since he was born. I have mixed emotions. I feel anxious about it but I also know that none of us was sleeping as well as we could have been and that the arrangement had run its course. We also just started experimenting with solids and so far it’s been fun! Will keep you posted as we learn more of course.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and for all of your support! I love sharing our experiences here.