6 Months with Baby E

Last week we hit the half year mark. I think I will probably say it in just about every post, but where does the time go? This month has been pretty amazing and it seems like she has grown and developed a ton in the past month.

6 months

Her 6 month doctors appointment was this week and she is 17 pounds 2 ounces and 27 inches long. I think she may be a little longer than that because they didn't really stretch her out as much as they sometimes do. It seemed like overnight she started looking longer. It may just be that she lays with her legs down more often now.

  Developmentally this month has been huge. She is all about sitting and will sit and play for a long time without falling over. Playing with blocks is one of her favorite things. She also started playing with the toy we have attached to her car seat. Prior to that she didn't really care if it was there or not. Two teeth have come in and there may be more on the way since she is still drooling a ton.

I love to play with these blocks

The biggest thing this month is that she has started to both sleep in her crib and put herself to sleep. Until about 2 weeks ago she was still sleeping swaddled in her Rock and Play overnight and for naps. Then one day I went into daycare and they said she put herself to sleep in her crib twice that day. This was huge. Up until this point she needed a lot of help to get to sleep and wanted nothing to do with sleeping flat on her crib. (She also figured out how to stop all the swings both at daycare and at home, which is part of why she got put in the crib in the first place...we are in so much trouble.) Since then she has been going down drowsy, but awake and starting the night in her crib. She has been waking up a little bit more, but seems to be progressing in the right direction. (I think we may have the easiest baby ever, so I know we are in trouble when she gets older.)

This month Baby E went to her first hockey game. We are also staring to use the stroller without the car seat. She isn't 100% sold on it, probably because I wear her a ton.

First Hockey Game

Sitting in my stroller like a big girl

 She also started eating some solids during the month. We are taking a mostly baby lead weaning approach and it seems to be working pretty well. At this point she has tried avocado, acorn squash, broccoli, carrots, chic peas, cucumber, peas sweet potato and apple sauce. It has been fun, but messy. After one meal we nicknamed her pea-face carrot pants.

I am not so sure about this broccoli, but it is fun to throw around

 I am doing well and starting to feel more and more like myself. Running is getting better and I am finally getting some of my endurance back. My core is still pretty weak, and I am trying to work on that. I am still figuring out how to balance work, life and motherhood. Some days it seems impossible and others it seems to be going well.

What have you been up to this month? Any baby food favorites from your children?

Lady Track Shack 5k Race Recap

Yesterday I ran the Lady Track Shack 5k. I ran this race last year and enjoyed the course, so I knew it had to be my February race. While I was excited for the race, I was not super excited when my alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. The past couple of weeks Baby E has gone from a great sleeper to an alright sleeper. We are now getting up a couple of times a night to comfort her and most nights she ends up in our bed. This makes for a tired mama; however, after hitting snooze once, I was out of bed.

I quickly pumped, packed and got ready and was out the door by 6 a.m. The first time I walked out of the house I forgot my race packet, including my number. Luckily, I realized I was missing it before I got out of the driveway. Then it was a quick 20ish minutes to the race site. The good thing about getting to a race early enough to pump is that you get really great parking.

Once I was there I fished my bib out of my packet and took a look at the race instructions. Surprise...the start was at 7:30 a.m., not 7:15 a.m. which was when I thought it started. I hung out in the car for a bit then pumped and started walking to the race start. It had rained most of the week, so I was very happy the rain cleared for the race.

After a quick stop at the porta potties, I lined up toward the front of the 10+ minute mile group. This race made up for the lack of people at my race a couple of weeks ago. We were packed in there like sardines. I got my Garmin together, the national anthem was played and we were off.

Lots of Ladies

The first mile or so was a bit crowded and I had to do a lot of weaving in and out of people. This race has a lot of first timers and walkers. I don't mind them, but it does sometimes make the course a little narrow. I felt good and I hit the first mile marker at just barely over 12 minutes.

By the second mile the crowd thinned out a bit and I picked up the pace. I felt good and ran through the water station without stopping. There were a few small hills on this part of the course and I was reminded exactly how flat my neighborhood is. When I hit the 2 mile marker, I was under 12 minute miles. At this point I thought I could possibly crack that pace for the whole race. This was my tentative goal going into this race because it would be almost a minute faster than my pace for the Run Nona 5k.

The next three-quarters of a mile flew by, and then I started to hit a wall. I knew I was pushing myself, but I didn't realize by how much. I took an extra 30 seconds to walk and catch my breath. When I saw the clock at 3 miles it hit me that I may be able to finish in a little over 36 minutes. I got a burst of energy and sprinted to the finish line. My clock time was under 37 minutes, so I was excited for a 36-something 5k. I was even more excited when I looked at my watch and it said I was under 36 minutes.

I knew this was a bit off.

My official time was 35:48 (pace 11:31). It is amazing how much faster I am when I am not pregnant. My time last year was 44:13 (pace 14:13).

This was another great race and a huge PR for me. My February race is complete. Next up is the Best Damn Race Orlando Half Marathon.