Baby K at 6 months - AKA sleep deprived

Reading with Grandpa

So we're still having a blast with Baby K. She's a ton of fun. However, month 5-6 has been a trying one as it relates to sleep. I write this a week and a half late, and we've JUST stumbled on something that might be the answer to our problems. More on that later, because her first "all night long in the crib extravaganza" merits its own post. I'll try to stick to the monthly updates. Baby K:

• Wears 6 month clothes and 6-9 month onesies
• Weighs 16 lb 3 oz (50th percentile) and measures 27 1/4 inches (95th percentile). Still long and lean
• Has started to sleep with a blanket - the crocheted one from Great Aunt Annette
• Loves the bath and splashes a lot
• Just started sitting up with more stability. She still topples over, but will stay up for a minute or two
• LOVES jumping. Her jumperoo is still her favorite! Wants to stand more than anything else.
• Scoots around on the floor but not crawling. Can move an entire 360 degrees on her tummy
• Loves saying the letter "p". Constantly saying "puh, puh" - thinks it's amusing when we do it back!
• Still loves the letter "b" but "p" quickly took over. No mamama or dadada yet, as much as we try :)
• Is generally in great spirits. Which is interesting, considering her sleep issues.
• Goes down easily, but gets up every 1-3 hours all night. Wants to be awake, fusses, sometimes falls back asleep, and often cries to be nursed. We are sleep deprived!
• Has started food! Green beans, then carrots, then avocado, then sweet potatoes. Mixed with milk and rice cereal or oatmeal. She loves food!
• Loves books. The pic above is a great capture of her interest in books, and really, the entire world around her. She is curious, focused, engaged, and intent on learning about everything. It's awesome to see.
• Loves the outdoors and going on walks. She's started being carried in the back carrier, and she loves it because she sits high and can see all around her. 
• Generally is laid back about being held and passed around, but is starting to show preference for her mommy and daddy over strangers. Especially men - she's now cried when being held by every guy except her daddy (grandpas included).
• Gives big kisses by pulling our faces in with her little hands, and planting a big wet gummy mouth on our cheeks/chins/noses/foreheads. So sweet!

We are still in love! (and don't plan on that changing anytime soon) I can't believe it's been half a year already!

Exactly as it should be.

For fear of sounding sappy, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, and am really about to burst at the seams. BECAUSE, I feel like life is exactly how it should be. I feel confident now that on a daily basis, true happiness is within my reach - that I have found this amazing combination of luck, blessings, action, and decision-making on my part to achieve happiness in the purest sense of the word. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs paints human needs into a pyramid, with the most basic at the bottom (food, water, shelter) then moving up next to safety and health, followed by love and belonging, then self-esteem and confidence, and lastly, self-actualization. I often think of the idea of self-actualization, and what it really takes to achieve it. There are lots of definitions out there, but the simplest is, "the full realization of one's potential." I think by reaching potential, one develops confidence and strength, which in turn, brings happiness.

There have certainly been times in my life when I have felt completely less than my potential, and there will be times again in the future. Confidence ebbs and flows, but I think right now I've found that being a mom has stretched me into a true place that I was meant to be. I keep saying, "I was meant to be a mom." And it's true! I can feel it. Being a mom is tiring, confusing, and frustrating at times, but I can already see how fulfilling that part of me has made me more fulfilled in other aspects of my life (i.e. work, hobbies, family, friendships). I've found a certain calm amidst this current state of chaos, and it feels great.

Being a parent doesn't help everyone realize potential. For some, it's hobbies, marriage, getting promoted, mastering a skill (like running a marathon). I love that we each have different things that make us tick. I hope that you will also take a moment to think about where you find your potential, where you can stretch it and where you can realize it. Because for this very moment, self-actualization feels really great.