Anders Martí - 6 Months Old

Anders is 6 months old today! How has it already been half a year with our sweet little Anders here? That seems impossible!

Anders is doing great, always happy and content as can be. He is such an easy, chill little guy (thank goodness!)

He still doesn't love tummy time, and generally hates being put down at all haha. He has plenty of people to hold him all day, and that's where he prefers to be! So we have to work extra hard to get some floor time in for him!

Anders loves to smile, coo, and laugh. He has the biggest open-mouthed smile, and it's heart melting every time!

Anders has been sleeping through the night for about a month now. He still dreamfeeds so we can sneak in an extra feeding and move him into our room for the night.

Anders was growing like crazy, but it seems like that has really slowed down this month. He's still rocking 0-3 month clothes!
Last week we took everyone to Disneyland for the first time. Anders did great. He took lots and lots of stroller naps, and he was his usual happy, content self! One night while we were there, Anders rolled over a couple times at 4 in the morning! It hasn’t happened again since then, but I hope it continues! We haven’t had a baby roll over naturally on their own since Fynn.

Even with that night, I anticipate Anders will need therapy like Jackson & Luca did/do. He’s showing similar trends as them when they were infants. Overall, I am okay with it. We’ve done this many times over. I’ve advocated for my babies for years now. We’ve figured out how to add 4-8 hours of therapy sessions into our weeks. We know what exercises to work on in between, how to help them succeed. And I know they will all be just fine in the end. But I won’t lie, it is emotionally draining. I have completely forgotten what it looks like for a baby to progress normally. It’s hard not to compare to other babies or even just the ask question, “why God?” A part of me does wish I didn’t have to watch my babies struggle through the smallest things that comes so naturally for most. I know we’re never guaranteed an “easy” life, but sometimes it feels like we’ve been dealt an unfair hand. Losing 1 son, another with epilepsy, and 3 developmentally delayed children—parenthood has not been easy for us. All I can say is that it has been very refining and sanctifying. I’ve been immensely humbled over the years, become more empathetic, and learned to focus on the important things in life. Most days, I’m doing just fine with it all. But sometimes, like today when I sit down and try to think up what new milestones Anders has hit and fall short, it’s a tough day. And I say all of this not to have a pity party, but to just step back and remove the rose-colored glasses for a minute and reflect on the true state of where I’m at tonight. I know others can relate, I talk to people who do quite often. I’m grateful to not be alone in the trenches!

Anders is truly a light in our family, and we are so so grateful for him! I continue to hope and pray his development will pick up, but if now, he’s got two parents who love him immensely and will get him all the help he needs :)