Bryce - 6 Months

I haven't been doing monthly updates but I want to start now. I feel like time is slipping away from me and Bryce is growing so quickly. The first couple of months I felt like went by soooo slooowww. Probably because I was sleep deprived and completely overwhelmed with motherhood. First off I want to say that when I would read other people's updates on their babies I would usually get depressed because I felt like mine wasn't "doing what he was supposed to". Let me just say - please don't do that. All babies are different and although there might be something you could to help his/her schedule or sleep habits, don't stress about it. I know I did and it really didn't help anything - I just got more stressed :) I did reach out to other mom friends for advice and that did help.

6 month stats:

Weight: 18.5 lbs
Height: 27 inches
Milestones: Sitting up! We still have to watch him pretty closely if he's not on a soft surface, but he's well on his way! Rolling over - he first rolled over from his stomach to his back when he was 3 months old but he really isn't that interested in rolling over - he loves to roll on his side and just hang out there. He has rolled from his back to his stomach a couple of times in the past month but again, doesn't seem too interested :)
One thing that I can't WAIT for is to hear him laugh. He smiles all of the time now but hasn't laughed yet. The doctor said it may just be his personality but I can't wait for it.
Diet: He eats every 3 1/2 to 4 hours now - trying to get him more on the 4 hour schedule. Some days it works, some days it doesn't. We just started solids on his 6 month birthday so he gets a couple of tablespoons of either butternut squash, avocados, carrots or bananas once or twice a day. I'm still nursing - trying to do it for as long as I can. It's so much easier now that he eats 4 times a day. I recently dropped his 10pm feeding when I started him on solids and he doesn't seem to miss it!
Teeth:  None yet but he has GOT to be getting them soon. He's drooling constantly and always wanting to bite anything in sight.
Sleep: We put him down at 7pm and he sleeps til usually 6:30-7am. He did not always do this - it was probably around 4 months that he would consistently sleep that long. There was a while that we couldn't seem to get past 5/5:30am. Let me just say that this did not just "happen". I worked really hard to get him to sleep 12 hours. I took parts of Babywise and started sleep training him around 3 months. There was a couple of rough nights but it really didn't take that long until he just stopped waking up. I also did the "dreamfeed" at 10pm - meaning I would go in and pick him up while he was asleep with the lights off and feed him and then put him right back down. I wouldn't change him or talk to him. This helped him make it until morning but he still got the right amount of sleep. I got that advice from friends and blogs. It really helped a lot. Now naps, those are a whole different story. I can't for the life of me get this child on a nap schedule. He's pretty consistent with the morning nap - he'll usually sleep 1 1/2 - 2 hours but after that it's just hit or miss - sometimes it's 30 minutes sometimes its 1 1/2 hours. I feel like I've tried everything but he just fights it. I really can't complain when he sleeps so well at night but he just gets so over tired during the day. Hopefully he'll consolidate naps soon and that will make it better.

They did find a heart murmur at his 6 month check up so we have an appointment on Monday with a pediatric cardiologist. We are praying that it will just resolve on it's own!

I know I will probably say this at every stage but 6 months is definitely my favorite age so far. He's just getting so fun. He reaches out for me now and lights up when Mark or I walk in the room. I just melt. He loves to jump and stand. He does not want to lay down. He wants us to hold his hands and let him stand. I have a feeling he will be high-energy like his father :)

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

The kind of wife I want to be

That is sort of a loaded title - but this is just one part of the kind of wife (and really any role) I want to be. I am by nature not a very encouraging person. I am definitely sarcastic, a pessimist (or realist as I like to call it), and not naturally a happy, go-lucky, all-smiles type of girl. I a lot of times wish I was - I always admire women that seem to just be so genuinely happy all of the time. I have many times thought that I wanted to be like certain women because they were soft spoken, respectful, and just sweet. Although I do need to work on being joyful despite my circumstances - among many other things - I realize that I am just not some of those things - and that's ok. My pastor, J.D. Greear, has been going through a series called First Love. It's been about relationships - one of the things that really convicted me was when he was talking about his wife. He said that she was his biggest cheerleader. He said that she built him up so much that sometimes he would have to go into the bathroom to look in the mirror to make sure there wasn't a big "S" on his shirt. He was joking of course about thinking he was superman, but the story really stuck with me. It's always been hard for me to be an encourager. I don't really know why. I have parents that were always extremely supportive and constantly told me how precious I was to them and how proud they were of me. I don't know why it's hard for me to do that with others. I think a lot of it is pride. I want other people to see good in me but I don't really want to point it out in others. I see this in my marriage almost daily. I know that my husband needs words of affirmation (thank you, 5 Love Languages!), and a lot of times I think positive things about him I just don't say them. Although we have a fun, banter back and forth relationship where we can make fun of each other, I realized that I do not encourage him daily. I have always had a hard time too with wanting to be real with people. Meaning, I don't want to act as if I have a perfect marriage. I want people to know that we struggle and life is not always the way it looks from the outside.
Side note: I started to realize this through social media. I even did it myself. I would think - "so and so must have a perfect marriage because I see all of their cute pictures on Facebook and they seem so happy" well they very well may be happy but you can't compare your life to others through what you see on a computer screen. We ALL have issues to work through.
 However, I know there is a balance between being real with people and tearing down your husband. So what do I do when I want to find an answer for something I don't know how to do? Google, of course! No, but seriously, I did find this 30 Days of Encouragement challenge:
https://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/30-day-husband-encouragement-challenge/

I challenged the girls in my small group to do it with me - basically the premise is to not say anything negative to your husband or about your husband to anyone for 30 days. I've failed, pretty much every day. BUT I realize that I'm failing. ha. There goes my "realism" again. It really has opened my eyes to see that I have to consciously make an effort to build him up. Does this mean he always deserves it or never disappoints me? Absolutely not. This, however, is how I can show him gospel. We are given salvation when we absolutely don't deserve it. We are given grace because Jesus paid the price for us. I know that if Jesus can look at me, a sinner who was on my way to hell, as righteous, I can certainly give grace to my husband and build him up as the man God created him to be.

I must say, it's hard. It's counter intuitive for me. Sometimes it even feels awkward when the words come out of my mouth. I see though, through this, that this is how God intended for marriage to make us holy. To put another person above yourself is totally against what the world teaches us. The world says only look out for #1. If it doesn't make YOU happy, don't do it. God says think of yourself last. Serve others. Serve your spouse. Give him grace because you have been given grace.

This will be a daily struggle for me, I'm sure. I hope I look back in 10 years though, and Mark can say with confidence that I am his biggest fan - and I tell him so.