POPPY: Six Month Update - sitting up, weaning and lack of sleeping!

Poppy is now six months old - can you believe it?! I haven't done any updates since writing her birth story and, as you can imagine, a lot has changed. We're now much more settled into life as a family of four; if I'm honest I can't remember life before Poppy now. It's funny how quickly you adapt when  your new addition arrives, isn't it? I love how busy life is now, with every moment having to be planned and prepared for, so that everything runs smoothly. Especially now that Poppy is weaning, it feels like some days are eat, sleep, feed, repeat.

Poppy was such a good little sleeper for the first few months, with her first night of 'sleeping through' was at 8 weeks. Those days seem long gone now, as when we hit the four month sleep regression everything went downhill and has never quite returned. Poppy is still sleeping in the Babybay in our room at night, but has started napping in the cot during the day. It got to a point where taking a few hours out each day to have Poppy sleeping on me was just not achievable anymore. It broke my heart, but having two children meant those snuggly naps had to come to an end slightly earlier than I really wanted. Luckily, she has taken to napping in her cot really well and can sleep for around 1.5-2 hours two times a day. She usually naps around 10.30am and 3pm, but I'm still trying to figure out the best routine for her. As Poppy isn't in her own room yet, she still goes to bed when I go despite falling asleep on us at around 8pm. When she moves into her own room it will be easier to get her into more of a routine at bedtime that doesn't involve sleeping on us, though I'm in no rush for that. During the night Poppy is waking up anywhere between 2 and 6 times, during which I try to feed her only once (twice maximum) and the rest of the times soothe her back to sleep. We often fall asleep holding hands, which is just my favourite time of the day with her and I never want it to end. 

Poppy can now grab hold of things, most of which end up in her mouth, and is able to sit up by herself. She is still quite wobbly and tends to either lean over to one side or fold herself in half! We've been popping her in the Bumbo Floor Seat to help her strengthen her muscles enough to sit up by herself, which has been working really well. The Bumbo Floor Seat is a saviour for a lot of parents because it allows inquisitive babies to sit up and see the world, whilst keeping them safe and secure. It is made from a lightweight, wipeable and soft material making it comfortable for babies to sit in, whilst being travel friendly. It is also ergonomically designed, ensuring that Poppy is fully supported. The Bumbo Floor Seat can be used from 4 months and the safety harness strap helps to give peace of mind that your little one is secure. Since putting Poppy in it she's really strengthened her core muscles and is now able to sit up unaided. However, because she still isn't overly confident at sitting up on her own I still opt for the Bumbo a lot of the time.

It was ideal for taking with us to family over the festive period because it is much more compact that taking a bouncer, it doubles up as a chair for eating in and the Play Tray is perfect for putting an array of toys on that are within reach. Bumbo also do a range of suction toys, including this Suction Safari Animals which Poppy has been really enjoying. As the name would suggest, it suctions onto the Play Tray and includes a spinning rattle ball, moveable beads, twisting elephant, cup holder and flap book with some mirrored pages. The only thing Poppy find frustrating is that she can't get any of the items in her mouth! Isabella has also really been loving having Poppy sitting up in the Bumbo too, so that she can play with her and show her the different toys. It's been adorable watching them 'play' together, which of course consists more of Isabella jangling a toy in front of Poppy's face! 

Another big milestone Poppy has reached is weaning! When I started weaning Isabella I felt overwhelmed and unsure, but this time I'm much more relaxed and trying to embrace the mess. As with Isabella, we're doing a mixture of finger food and purees to begin with. So far, Poppy has preferred the savoury purees rather than the sweet, which surprised me. Potato, pea and avocado (all separately) have been her favourite purees, whilst mango and pear have been her least favourite. She's also not a big fan of baby porridge yet, but does prefer her food warm rather than cold. She's up to three meals a day, though fitting them in alongside naps, Isabella's routine and 'life' is proving to be tricky. Any tips would be gratefully received because at the moment it feels like there's not enough hours in the day or arms on my body to do everything. 

I'm so excited to see what the next few months hold, as Poppy starts showing more of her little personality and learning so many things. 

Did/does your little one use a Bumbo?

Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)

Helen x

*This post contains PR samples, as always all opinions are my own and completely honest.