6 Months With Everly Austin

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 MY SWEATER: Topshop  //  MY GINGHAM BUTTON DOWN: Amazon  //  MY RAIN BOOTS: Hunter  //  TASSEL EARRINGS: c/o Lisi Lerch  //  HAIR SCARF: similar Kate Spade  //  RIPPED WHITE SKINNY JEANS: similar Nordstrom

EVERLY’S SWEATER: similar Gap  //  EVERLY’S JEANS: Levi’s  //  EVERLY’S FUR VEST: similar Carter’s  //  EVERLY’S BOOTS: H&M  //  EVERLY’S HEADBAND: Baby Bling

Happy Friday!! Once again, this post is long overdue, but I’ve had it in draft mode since the day Everly turned six months, and today I finally have a little extra time while Everly is at her grandma’s house to finish it up – hooray!! As a continuation of my bumpdate and baby update series, today I’m sharing all about life with little Miss Everly at 6 months (side note – she’s already nearly 7 months, but just typing out 6 months seems sooo crazy…how is my little baby already half a year old?!). Just in case you’re new here, I’m a first time mama, so everything my husband Cole and I have experienced has been a first, which makes it all the more exciting and terrifying. The last “Life With Everly” update I shared was when she was 2 months old (you can read that here). I followed that up with a post about my fave newborn essentials, but today I’m gonna follow the same format as my bumpdates and break it down month-by-month for ya.

Click on the read more button below to read all about life so far with our six month baby girl, Everly Austin Green.

Side Note – after going through and writing about every month, I realized I recommended the INCREDIBLE book that’s gotten me through all the more difficult times we’ve had with a new baby. It’s called The Wonder Weeks and it’s an absolute MUST-HAVE for all new mama’s or really all mama’s of little one’s in general, so I figured I’d go ahead and mention it right in the beginning of this post! You can buy it here for just  $13$ or put it on your registry (you can thank me later)!! 

**quick side note – the photos of us in the pink sweaters were taken when Everly was about 4 1/2 months old. 

6 Months With Everly Austin

WEIGHT: 18 pounds, 12 ounces (90th percentile)

HEIGHT: 26 1/2 inches (70th percentile)

HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE: 17 1/2 inches (93rd percentile)

EYE COLOR: light blue-green (like her daddy’s, but everyone says her eye shape is just like mine)

HAIR COLOR: still mostly bald, but what she has is light brown.

LOOKS LIKE MAMA OR DADA: At first glance, many say she looks like Cole because she does have his face shape (his is round whereas mine is oval) and his little chin dimple, but she actually looks nearly identical to many of my baby photos. It’s been such a cool/surreal experience to look down and see the same face in Everly that I recognize from all my own baby photos. I think she also inherited my skin complexion. Cole has more of a dark reddish tint to his and mine is olive, and Evie’ seems to be more olive too.

BIRTHMARKS: the strawberry hemangioma that is on the top of her scalp got really big and puffy around 4 months, so at her checkup, her doctor decided to put her on an oral medication that would reduce the size and stop it from growing any further. The medicine has worked SO well – it’s already flattened out and hasn’t grown since her four month appointment. We’re told that by nine months it should stop growing on its own, and it will eventually fade to grey then forever disappear at some point during her childhood. I actually get questions about it ALL the time, so I’ll make a note to do a blog post further explaining it in the coming months. 🙂

SLEEPING PATTERNS: so I’ll probably get backlash for this, but this is my personal blog after all, and if I’m not 100% honest about the parenting choices that have worked bets for us, then what would be the point?! Everly sleeps in her Dockatot in our bed and pretty much has since the day we brought her home (she did spend lots of nights in her Halo Bassinest in the first couple of months though!) I have done a ton of research on how to safely co-sleep, and she sleeps only on my side, in her sleep sack only without any blankets, and on her back in the Dockatot. It has worked out SO well for us. She does usually wake just once for a bottle, so I always have one ready to go on the nightstand. She’s actually a great sleeper and sleeps about 10-11 hours at night and still takes 3 naps throughout the day, lasting anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours.

EATING HABITS: I’m still exclusively pumping, but I have introduced a 5oz bottle of formula a couple of times a week so I can add to my freezer stash of milk. Cole and I are going on a week-long cruise in March (SO excited!!), so I want to have plenty for when we leave. Between months 3-6 she averaged anywhere from 32-40 ounces of breastmilk a day. We dabbled in trying some foods here and there starting at 4 months with avocado, but

MILESTONES & MEMORIES: at 6 months, Everly can roll over on her own, sit up on her own, pick up toys and play with them, and make all kinds of noises like “rrr” rolling noises, spitting noises, and the latest is lots of repetitive “ba ba ba“. She also recognizes faces now and protests when she thinks she’s left alone in a room (especially when mama is out of sight). She is SO happy and giggly, and loves interacting with people and talking to our dogs, Lucky and Lady.

FAVORITES: Everly is absolutely obsessed with music. The second a song starts playing, whether through the television or on the radio, she perks up, stops whatever she’s doing (even if it’s crying!) and turns toward the sound happily. I’ve caught her dancing in her activity center when I have music playing. I often play Disney tunes n my phone or speakers for her. She also still loves being cuddled (hope this one never goes away) and held + loves her back rubbed while she’s going to sleep. She’s obsessed with putting her toes (and everything these days) in her mouth. She seems to be a very social baby and enjoys face-to-face interaction (and protests if she doesn’t get it, all the time!) Playing games like “Patty Cake” always bring out the best smiles and giggles + she looooves looking at herself in a mirror.

3 MONTHS

A quick side note, since I’m pressed on time and I always make my IG captions for my #vandibabybump-dates extra descriptive anyway, I decided to pull copy from those captions for these month-by-month breakdowns on what Everly loves most (also…it’s sooo hard to remember everything from a few months ago because she changes so fast, thank heavens I wrote this stuff down!!) Besides all of her favorites listed below, what I do remember at 3 months is for the first time really starting to see her personality come through bit by bit and also realizing that she recognized my face, both of which were sooo exciting!

3 MONTH STATS

WEIGHT: 14 pounds, 14 ounces

HEIGHT: 24 inches (I was totally wrong when I measured her for this shot- she was wiggling way too much!)

At 3 Months, Everly Austin Loves:

Talking – Whether an inanimate object like the 3D flowers on the wall above her changing table or her mama, she loves chatting, mostly using her “oohhhs” “ahhhs” and my personal favorite, her “geeeees”

White Noise – it’s true what the baby books say (at least for Evie!!), when it’s time for a nap or to go down at night, I turn on her white noise machines and her eyes immediately start to roll back!

Watching Mama Eat – this is a new one (and apparently one that means she’ll be ready for solids soon!!) but when I’m eating, Everly thinks it’s the funniest thing ever! She can’t stop giggling and lately has started bringing her own hands to her mouth and imitating me!

Her Binky – this was the first month where her binky became an integral part of her nigh time routine (in case you’re wondering…it still is!)

Anything With Lights – as much as we try to keep her away from the tv, her sights always seem to find it, my iPhone or the computer (& there miiight have been a few desperate nights where I gave her the bottle and let her watch tv to calm her down).

4 MONTHS

From three to four months, I remember noticing huge changes in Everly. This was when she began rolling over on her own regularly, grabbing toys by herself and just becoming so much more aware of the world around her and interested in everything in it. It was like her eyes were suddenly opened to the world and she was able to understand and see them in a way she couldn’t before. Side note – as I’m writing that, it reminds me, if you’re expecting or have a little one, you MUST buy The Wonder Weeks! It has been so essential in helping me understand Everly’s development (and has also helped me keep my sanity when she’s gone through a fussy phase). Everly seemed to do a TON of growing during this time period, and at her doctor’s appointment we learned she was in the 95th percentile for weight (just look at those chunky thighs y’all!!). He also explained this was completely normal for a baby drinking breast milk exclusively through a bottle, and that she’d level out eventually, but I certainly didn’t mind all her extra rolls!

4 MONTH STATS

WEIGHT: 18 pounds, 12 ounces (95th percentile)

HEIGHT: 24 1/4 inches (45th percentile)

HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE: 16 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

At 4 Months, Everly Austin Loves:

Rolling Over – she mastered this one right at the end of November and has been our little Rollie Pollie (in more ways than one😂) ever since!!

Touching Her Toes – just after she started rolling, she became fascinated with grabbing her toes, which she thinks is hilarious and helps her to roll over from her back to tummy!

Making “RRR” Sounds – she’s figures out how to roll her tongue and she’s obsessed with doing it + listening to mama do it too.

Grabbing Her Toys – she’s also figured out how to grab her toys (& my hair & my face & anything she can get her hands on) and frequently bangs them, throws them on the floor, etc.

Teethers & Fingers– we think she has started early teething because she’s been loving & using all of her teethers & constantly wants to be chewing on something, whether it’s her fingers (or mine) or her Sophie giraffe

Music – whether I’m singing Disney tunes or lullabies or she hears music on our record player or playing on her toys, she’s obsessed with music of all kinds!!

5 MONTHS

5 months was a bit of a challenging one for us. For one, because it happened to be the month of December and it’s by far the busiest time of year for me, but also because Everly went through a few weeks of fighting sleep (both at night and during her naps) and constantly wanting to be held or have my full attention span. There were nights when the only place she would sleep was my chest and days where my usually perfect little napper wouldn’t nap at all. It was a struggle for us both, but as I sit here and try to remember those difficult days and nights, it’s honestly hard because all the happy, wonderful moments in between completely overshadow any of the negative. This is again where keeping the book “The Wonder Weeks” close at hand was super essential because it explained that she was going through by far the longest and most difficult “leap” of them all. It basically meant her brain was going through an enormous change and

5 MONTH STATS

WEIGHT: 18 pounds, 6 ounces

HEIGHT: 26 inches

At 5 Months, Everly Austin Loves:

Spitting & Shouting – Evie has discovered how to make spitting/bubble noises and how to raise her voice quite loudly this month.

Avocados – we decided to give our first solids a try this month, avocados, and Everly loved them!! We haven’t made it a daily/regular thing but definitely will in the coming weeks!!

All The Attention – because Everly is much more perceptive of her world, she now demands eye contact/attention when she’s awake (& this is part of the reason I’ve been MIA lately…sorry y’all!!)

Lucky & Lady – she’s also discovered our dogs now and is obsessed with looking at them, talking to them and occasionally reaching out to pet them!

Fighting Sleep – and this would be the other reason I haven’t posted all week. Everly now understands what it means when I begin to rock her, turn on white noise and sing her to sleep and she does everything she can to stay awake, tossing and turning, making those spit noises, laughing loudly, fussing, etc. it’s been quite the challenge in our household lately (& has made for one tired mama!)

Sitting Up – although she still needs a liiittle bit of support, Evie girl can pretty much sit up by herself now and when she’s awake, wants to be sitting up at all times!!

6 MONTHS

Since this post is about Everly at six months (AKA the age she is in real time), I’ve already talked a lot about the new changes, milestones and favorites we have at six months at the beginning of this post, but I had to go ahead and share the image we shot to celebrate six months and list all the faves I wrote out on her board. One additional thing about six months…it’s true what they say about daddies suddenly becoming very interested/smitten with their baby at the six month mark. Nearly right to the date that Everly turned six months, Cole suddenly started interacting with her soo much more, giving her baths, taking her for strolls, and eagerly wishing to hold her and play with her when he got home from work. What triggered this was the first time Everly had a reaction to him coming home. Right around six months, Cole came home from work one day and Everly just lit up with excitement to see her dada. And that was it. She officially had Cole wrapped around her little finger.

6 MONTH STATS

WEIGHT: 18 pounds, 12 ounces (90th percentile)

HEIGHT: 26 1/2 inches (70th percentile)

HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE: 17 1/2 inches (93rd percentile)

At 6 Months, Everly Austin Loves:

Eating Her Toes – Everly started attempting to do this at the end of December, but in January, she started shoving alll her toes into her mouth whenever she got the chance. We probably encouraged her with our laughter, but it was too funny/cute. Funny enough, her doctor asked if she’d tried putting her toe sin her mouth yet, to which we replied “Yes!! every second she can!” He said this was a sure sign she was at the six month mark.

Mornings – Everly is little Miss Sunshine in the mornings. I always try getting up at least an hour before her, and since I usually have Good Morning America on, I have to turn it down super low so I can be sure to hear her giggles and coos. She rarely ever cries when she wakes up, she just gets up with the biggest smile on her face, making the cutest little noises and when I come into our room to get her out of bed, she shrieks with laughter and happiness. Evie girl, if you might make a morning person outta me yet.

Giving Mama Kisses – Everly is still the snuggliest little bean around, and I just looove it. I previously mentioned how much she loves looking into mirrors. Just a few days before she turned six months, I was holding Evie and letting her look at herself in the mirror while I gave her hundreds of kisses on her cheek. To my surprise and delight, Everly turned to my cheek and imitated the kisses (which mostly consisted of her attempting to put all of my cheek in her mouth). Melt my heart!!! We kept doing it back and forth and now it’s something she treats me to daily.

Bananas– Some of the first foods we gave to her were in her mesh teether, starting with avocados and then bananas. She quickly developed an affinity for eating whole bananas in her feeder. Our little monkey is OBSESSED! She practically bathes herself in it whenever we treat her to one.

Playing With Toys – It has been such a joy to watch Everly actually play and interact with all of her toys. You can just see her imagination spinning as she attempts to bang the hammer on her  xylophone or stack colorful cups. Six months is such a fun age!!

Phew!! That was a long one! But that’s all for now. Stay tuned – I’ll be following up once more with a blog post featuring all of my must-haves for ages 3-6 months, and I’ll be back again with a baby update once our Evie girl is nine months!

Fairwell xx,

-photography by Angie Garcia Photo.