Happy 6 months Rowan!
This makes my heart ache! How the heck did half a year fly by?!?!? I don't want my beauty to keep growing, lol!!!! It seems like yesterday I looked this, ready to deliver at 34 weeks:
and it seems like it was a minute ago that Rowan looked like this:
And now, she is my 6 month old tank of a girl!
Be warned, this post is long. I am your typical over emotional, overly sentimental girl. I will go over her stats in just a minute, but be aware, this blurb is long, LOL!
It has been quite the journey with our little girl. I will admit, it hasn't always been easy. Being a parent is pretty tough. She definitely keeps us on our toes. However, we feel beyond honored and blessed that God handpicked us to be her parents. She has brought so much joy to our lives. As many of y'all remember, I really struggled with wanting children. Then, my life forever changed once I found out I was pregnant. Prior to writing this, I re-read some of my old posts of while I was in the hospital, NICU and our first few weeks home. Being the emotional person that I am, I totally cried. The start of our journey with Rowan wasn't easy at all, and it was so overwhelming of what we went through to get to her. The hospital stay was quite traumatic. People have asked if we will have more babies, and honestly, I am not too sure. Our experience was frightening. However, I see how God brought us through everything and protected my girl this whole time.
I remember how overwhelmed I was in the beginning. I full blown had the baby blues. Everything about being a mother was super overwhelming and I was terrified if I could even handle the job. Again, through God's grace, we all got to know each other, the blues disappeared and I can't imagine life without our girl. Life sure has been incredible, and Rowan makes me want to be a better person. I just love her so much!
Okay, enough of the sap, let's get to the fun stuff!
Name: Rowan Decaris Potter
Rowan's age: 6 months old, 20 weeks adjusted age
Weight: Well, this girl is a solid 17.13 pounds. I keep calling her my tank, because she is SOLID! I am SO not even close to being in decent shape, however, I have some strong arm muscles thanks to holding this heavy girl! Oh the rolls and cheeks! Kissing my chunkette NEVER gets old.
Solids? No solids yet, still a little nervous. However, we bought some rice cereal and we will try this week. I think she is ready as she has great head control and she just STARES at us when we eat!
Clothing size: definitely 9 month clothing now, size 3 diapers and she can fit in very few 6 month clothing! We had bought a lot of cute, warm winter outfits in 9 months. However, in California its just not cold enough and she is outgrowing everything. We had to get 12 month clothes, sheesh! The one funny thing about her, is she has the tiniest feet! It makes me sad we have the cutest shoes for her, but they just keep falling off!
Solids? No solids yet, still a little nervous. However, we bought some rice cereal and we will try this week. I think she is ready as she has great head control and she just STARES at us when we eat!
Clothing size: definitely 9 month clothing now, size 3 diapers and she can fit in very few 6 month clothing! We had bought a lot of cute, warm winter outfits in 9 months. However, in California its just not cold enough and she is outgrowing everything. We had to get 12 month clothes, sheesh! The one funny thing about her, is she has the tiniest feet! It makes me sad we have the cutest shoes for her, but they just keep falling off!
Rowan milestones (for her adjusted age):
-Rowan is has become the professional roller! Its amazing what a few weeks can do! She rolls everywhere, on both sides, etc. She is crazy and on the move! I am very excited for her physical therapist to see all these changes!
-Rowan is has become the professional roller! Its amazing what a few weeks can do! She rolls everywhere, on both sides, etc. She is crazy and on the move! I am very excited for her physical therapist to see all these changes!
-Rowan is NOT a huge fan of sitting. Her term baby friends are all sitting up and we are still working on it. However, I HAVE to remember her adjusted age! In the last few days, Rowan has ACTUALLY been sitting up, the longest for about 15 seconds before she plopped over! We work on "bottom time" (haha that sounds weird) everyday, as much as possible. She will get it!
-Rowan hits things with force, and also is starting hold her own bottles. However, I still hold them for her as she drops it, lol!
-Rowan holds and grabs things with such confidence! You have to be careful, because she grabs EVERYTHING. She is also good at putting her own paci in her mouth too!
Rowan loves:
-her food! She is eating about 6 oz most bottles, 8 oz at bedtime.
-loud, screechy noises. I know that sounds strange, but she will squeal, laugh, and scream back
-Songs, like "Row Row your boat" and this random weird "I know your name" song that I made up. Don't ask how it even came about, lol!
-CHEWING, especially burp cloths!
-Other kids. She loves watching older kids at preschool, especially her cousins. She will squeal, scream and coo at them.
Rowan doesn't like: Sitting in her carseat too long. Ooh she gets mad! STILL hates being burped.
Her first cold: Yep, Rowan got her first cold. Sadly, she caught it from me, despite my best efforts to be careful. I was super sad because she was so dang congested. However, she was a trooper! She had a very low grade fever one night, but beyond that, she took in stride! I am glad she is building immunity.
New/fun things we did this month:
-For our 5th wedding anniversary, we went to the beach again, and stayed in a hip hotel called The Aloft, which was awesome, modern looking and fun. I want to go back simply because they had Bliss body products in the room. Heck yes! Rowan once again was an incredible traveler, and did so well! We visited one of my closest friends and she was such a good girl!
-We went to the pumpkin patch! It was so fun! She was amused by the pumpkins and even tried to eat the hay bales when sat her on them!
-She was asked to be a flower girl! My friend Shannon is getting married and asked her to be the flower girl! Shannon's wedding won't be till February 2016, but still, so fun to be asked! I also got asked to be a bridesmaid! Yay!
-I was off for 2 blissful weeks, thanks to a fall break. That's why I love being a modified traditional teacher! Thanks to that, days were spent with my beautiful little girl. I just loved it! It sure was different, considering breaks prior to Rowan I was a lady of leisure and I had a ton of free time. However, spending tons of time with her was awesome!
-loud, screechy noises. I know that sounds strange, but she will squeal, laugh, and scream back
-Songs, like "Row Row your boat" and this random weird "I know your name" song that I made up. Don't ask how it even came about, lol!
-CHEWING, especially burp cloths!
-Other kids. She loves watching older kids at preschool, especially her cousins. She will squeal, scream and coo at them.
Rowan doesn't like: Sitting in her carseat too long. Ooh she gets mad! STILL hates being burped.
Her first cold: Yep, Rowan got her first cold. Sadly, she caught it from me, despite my best efforts to be careful. I was super sad because she was so dang congested. However, she was a trooper! She had a very low grade fever one night, but beyond that, she took in stride! I am glad she is building immunity.
New/fun things we did this month:
-For our 5th wedding anniversary, we went to the beach again, and stayed in a hip hotel called The Aloft, which was awesome, modern looking and fun. I want to go back simply because they had Bliss body products in the room. Heck yes! Rowan once again was an incredible traveler, and did so well! We visited one of my closest friends and she was such a good girl!
-We went to the pumpkin patch! It was so fun! She was amused by the pumpkins and even tried to eat the hay bales when sat her on them!
-She was asked to be a flower girl! My friend Shannon is getting married and asked her to be the flower girl! Shannon's wedding won't be till February 2016, but still, so fun to be asked! I also got asked to be a bridesmaid! Yay!
-I was off for 2 blissful weeks, thanks to a fall break. That's why I love being a modified traditional teacher! Thanks to that, days were spent with my beautiful little girl. I just loved it! It sure was different, considering breaks prior to Rowan I was a lady of leisure and I had a ton of free time. However, spending tons of time with her was awesome!
How is Rowan's spit up?: Actually its flaring up! I kinda think its because she is so dang active that it just comes up more easily. It doesn't bug me, and more importantly, she isn't fazed at all.
Sleep:
I am furiously knocking on wood as I write...but her sleep is decent. She isn't sleeping perfectly through the night, but our routine goes like this. Bath around 6:15, bed by 6:30-7. She eats at 11 or 11:30 and then "typically" sleeps till 5:30, sometimes 6. She will squeak and let out small cries usually around 3 am, but usually a paci re-insert does the trick. She starts off on her back, but she ends up on her tummy. I am beyond PETRIFIED of SIDS, however, I have to let go and let God. Especially now that she's rolling around!
Naps?
She takes a cat nap in the early am, a bigger one in the mid morning and afternoon.
Rowan's personality so far: This girl is hilarious! She is super squealy and now screams for joy! She gets super loud sometimes! Grumpy kitty faces sometimes make an appearance in pictures, but in reality, she is super happy and so smiley! She loves to be snuggled and doesn't mind the endless kisses we give her. However, there is one thing. She literally, throws fits. She gets super screamy, to the point where she sounds like a 2 year old. She will arch her back and let out the angriest of cries. 90% of the time is because we aren't moving fast enough, or we left her playing alone (probably because we went to the bathroom or something) and she is mad about that. Honestly, it makes me laugh, because its so dramatic. However, we will have reel that in as she gets older. I am furiously knocking on wood as I write...but her sleep is decent. She isn't sleeping perfectly through the night, but our routine goes like this. Bath around 6:15, bed by 6:30-7. She eats at 11 or 11:30 and then "typically" sleeps till 5:30, sometimes 6. She will squeak and let out small cries usually around 3 am, but usually a paci re-insert does the trick. She starts off on her back, but she ends up on her tummy. I am beyond PETRIFIED of SIDS, however, I have to let go and let God. Especially now that she's rolling around!
Naps?
She takes a cat nap in the early am, a bigger one in the mid morning and afternoon.
It sure has been an incredible, life changing 6 months. We love you forever sweet Rowan!!!
Here's our photo dump:
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