Month 12

We made it to one year! Yahoo! I don't know who deserves a bigger high five, Evelyn. You or me?

I say this a lot, but every month is seriously the best. You were so much fun this past month as you continued to learn and explore the things around you. I am constantly amazed at how much you know. We've sure come a long way since this time last year.

While you still aren't saying a ton, you jibber jabber all the time. Dadda is still your most often used word and I recently caught you saying Uh-Oh. When we sing or play music, you often chime in with some sweet version of your own. You also do the "Ei-Ei-O's" in Old McDonald.  Although you aren't saying a lot of words, it seems like you understand a lot more of what we say than we thought. These include outside, ball, dadda, milk, nurse and belly.

Probably the cutest thing you started doing this past month is kissing your stuffed animals. Mouth wide open you lean in to give them a big, slobbery kiss on the nose. And even sweeter is when you give me a few at night before I put you down for bed.

You are seriously so quick on those little feet. You've become rather fearless as well and don't think twice about trying to go up the stairs or run across the playground when mommy isn't looking.

You've been pointing. It is more like a limp reach, but you have started to point at things you want or like.

Perhaps the most frustrating behavior you've developed is food flinging. When you aren't particularly fond of a certain food I put on your tray or when you've become bored or full, you simply toss the item over the edge to splatter on the floor, without an ounce of emotion. Sometime it takes all I have in me not to laugh. I certainly don't want to promote this irritating behavior. The other day I bent over to grab the sweet potatoes you'd thrown, and the next thing I know you're dropping ground beef in my hair.

You enjoy taking things in and out of baskets, furiously flinging videos out of our TV console, putting food into our mouths and throwing toys over the gate. There is always a mess of something or other in each room you enter.

Teething is awful. If you give us a super fussy evening, we usually know it's because a tooth is working its way through. I noticed one molar on the bottom the other day and suspect more are on their way.

You love to mimic the things I do. This includes combing hair, jumping, laughing and coughing.... You received a toy stroller for your birthday and I was shocked to see that you knew the toy baby went into the seat, even if you do put her in upside down and stick her in your new play kitchen oven.

Such a ham you are. You love attention and seem to thrive in group settings when people are watching YOU.

You are getting 3 solid meals a day and usually 1 or 2 snacks. You still don't eat a ton in one sitting, but you are getting better. We've been working hard to move away from purees to strictly finger foods. I am also happy to say we made it an entire year breastfeeding, and are still nursing about 4 times a day at this point. While I never had an official goal, I can now honestly say that it has been one of the best experiences for me. It included a lot of sacrifices and hard work, but has been totally worth it and I have nothing but sweet, sweet memories.

Sleeping has been so much better. Even just three months ago had someone asked me about sleep, I would have told them that I thought you were never, never going to get the hang of it. And here we are, finally at one year, and you are ALMOST always sleeping from when we put you down (around 6 or 7 in the evening) until somewhere between 4 and 6 in the morning, in which case you nurse and go back down for another 3 or 4 hours! If anything I hope I can be of encouragement to any other mommas out there who are pulling their hair out thinking they will never ever get a full nights sleep again.

We celebrated your first birthday here this year with your grandparents and aunts and Uncle. You got some pretty fun toys, a ton of attention and love.... and even a few bites of cake!

Our much needed stay-cation

Our pediatrician told me once that traveling is never a vacation when you have a baby, it's a trip. And boy is he right. Initially we though it would be nice to take a family vacation somewhere come fall, but it turns out traveling with a baby is a lot of work, so we decided that a "stay-cation" would be more relaxing.

And it was.

Ryan took a MUCH NEEDED week off of work last week and we had so much fun just piddling in the house and around Cincinnati. And in between all of our fun outings, we were even able to accomplish a few so many tasks around here. Things were just "getting done" for once, and we were finally able to check some to-do's off a list that had been growing since we moved in a year ago.

Here are a few photos from our trip to Shaw Farms (a cute pumpkin patch nearby)  and Oxford (our old stomping grounds at Miami).....

11th month

Your 11 months old...what?! Ok, updates...

If someone asked me when you "started walking" I would say when you were 9 months.  Afterall, it's when you stood up and took those first little steps before toppling over. You certainly weren't getting anywhere on those two feet, but you were walking. This past month though, you've really gotten the hang of the whole walking thing. In fact, you rarely crawl anymore and your preferred method of moving from point A to point B is by foot, looking a lot like a little Frankenstein.

You jibber jabber lots. Mamma and Dadda are favorites, but we are pretty sure we've also heard duck and dog. You also understand ball, baby and no.

About a week ago you were terribly fussy. Nighttime rolled around and you were screaming. We figured something was up and sure enough the next morning we noticed ANOTHER tooth poking through on the bottom, giving you a total of 7 teeth and it looks like another bottom one is on the way.

You shake your head no at us a lot lately. While at first we though you had actually figured out how to express "no," now we are pretty sure it's just your way of showing overall discontentment.

Now that summer is gone and colder days are upon us, I've been slipping on your socks to keep your feet warm. You usually rip them off so I'm not sure what to do about your little feet when it's super chilly outside and you refuse to keep anything on. Luckily, you seem to like your shoes and we even bought your first pair of walkers from Stride Rite this month.

The sound of music causes you to jam. You sway and bob up and down to the beat.

You enjoy books, but not for reading. You walk over to your book shelf and furiously pull the books off and fling them on the floor. You'd pull every last one off if I didn't stop you. As a result of your aggressive book tossing, you also received your first ouchie (see my friend Holly's pic below) when you slipped and smacked your face on the shelf leaving you with a bruised cheek for a few days.

You do things to see a reaction now. Throw books. Toss a ball. Put toys into boxes. Open and close doors. It's so fun to watch you explore and figure things out.

And finally, we think you might give kisses? You'll get real close to our faces and place your lips on us. So sweet, whatever it is!

Next month I'll be writing your 1 year update! Eeek! Can't believe it.

10th month

Unfortunately this month got away from me and I wasn't as on top of my game with photos and "new discoveries" as usual!

This month you learned to stand without pulling up on something. You just stand right up in the middle of the floor with those strong legs of yours. You can stand for a few minutes, keeping your balance quite well before you plop back down on your butt.

You are now taking 5-6 steps before you fall, and ah, so exciting! Each day your walking skills seem to improve more and more.

You are so so mischievous. We have been practicing "no" when we see you move towards things you shouldn't have your paws on. You definitely understand, and it stops you in your tracks. I have to bite my lip so not to laugh at your adorable smirk.

We continue to introduce new foods, some of which have included cheese, yogurt, strawberries, potatoes and other finger foods. We've also been practicing using the straw to sip water and you're getting the hang of it!

I say "Where's baby?" and you look and reach for the photos of you in our living room.

Your latest obsession is with doors. You've discovered how to push them open, and while you understand that pulling them opens them as well, you can't quite figure out how to do it.

Balls are a favorite toy. You could seriously chase one around for hours. Sometimes I actually let you do just that.

You are such a silly thing. You love to play. You love when daddy chases you, and you usually tease him so that he will. You love to look at photos of yourself and other babies. Sometimes you smoosh mommy's cheeks between your two miniature hands and bring my face close to yours, putting your mouth onto mine or my nose. And my heart melts.

Goofy girl we love you. 

Cinnamon Sweet Potato & Chickpea Salad

Lately the Evster is learning to pick up foods and feed herself.  Blueberries, apples, squash, corn, potatoes....she won't cram just anything in her mouth, but she does enjoy the independence of self-feeding. This is great because I don't have to bother with the spoon and all the puree crap, but on the other hand, it does require a bit more planning and preparation on my end.

I'm learning that by selecting healthier foods that the whole family can enjoy, Evie can simply have what Ryan and I are having, just cut into smaller pieces. This eliminates the need to create two separate dishes and it encourages Ryan and I to eat healthier. Win for everyone!

Here's a lunch/snack type recipe I made the other day. Evie and I were both able to enjoy it for lunch. Yummy and easy, it's a keeper.


What you need:
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can chickpeas
1 small white onion, peeled and chopped
Cinnamon and sea salt to taste
1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, mix together chickpeas, uncooked chopped sweet potato, chopped onion, cinnamon, salt, and 1/2 tbsp coconut oil. Mix well. Spread onto baking sheet and place in the oven for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and plan into large bowl. Add remaining 1/2 tbsp coconut oil and stir well to coat. Add additional sea salt and cinnamon if preferred.

And it made our house smell heavenly!

Enjoy!

Sleeping Like a Baby: What They Didn't Tell Me About Infant Sleep

Of course I knew sleep would be hard to come by after we had a baby. But what I didn't know was that infant sleep was one of the most widely discussed topics among mommies EVERYWHERE. And did you know there are a million books out there that offer various sleep methods and techniques to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep?  From crying it out, attachment parenting, no crying, sleep training....the list goes on. Everyone claiming to have the right solution to get your baby snoozing through the night in no time.

I too found myself googling things on more than one occasion like: "Why won't my 3 month old stop crying at night" and "How to soothe a fussy infant at bedtime."

And of course, thousands of listings and online forums popped up with moms like me offering their 10 cents on baby sleep, blah blah blah. Usually these "helpful" tid-bits would leave me feeling defeated and even more confused about the best "solution" for Evie's sleep habits.

Hold her more. Put her down. Let her cry it out. Make sure her belly is full. It's colic. It's reflux. It's gas. She's teething. She's manipulating you. Change your diet.  With so many suggestions pouring in, many of which were conflicting, what was a new, overtired momma to do?

Here's what: Follow your gut. Momma really does know best. 

Evie has never quite fit any sleep pattern found in a book, and she has been so unpredictable from day one that I could never really enforce any sort of schedule to help her ease into a sleep routine. It took a few months, but I finally realized that the best solution for us was not to teach Evie to go to bed, but instead, to create the best possible environment for Evie to relax and feel safe so that she could finally reach a state in which her small, tired body would drift to sleep.

After 5 months of sleeping in bed with us and some really (I mean really) frustrating evenings, Evie FINALLY started to to self-soothe. That means I could put her down, sleepy in her crib and she would fall asleep.  On. her. own. Before I would have to nurse her, nap with her, nurse her again, repeat....it was the only thing that would work. Looking back, Im so grateful for those little moments with her, snuggled up. It's what she needed, and it's all I could give.

I do wish someone would have offered me this bit of advice, though:

Be patient
It's going to pass, really. I mean what 13 year olds do you know who don't want their mom to go away so they can sleep a few more hours? I hope we don't have to wait until Evelyn is a teenager for sleep, but I do know that Ryan and I have been doing everything we can to make sleep easier for her, and that's all a parent can do. Hang in there and know there's an end in sight. This is coming from someone who hasn't reached the end, but I'm being optimistic. :)

Laugh
MANY other emotions that do not include smiling will flood your mind when you have a baby at home who keeps you up all night, but seriously, you just gotta laugh. Some nights (after having a good cry of course) Ryan and I would just look at each other and laugh. "What in the world just happened?!" Yep, it's funny. This two foot tall, 15 pound girl just wrecked our whole evening for the 20th week in a row, and it's already 2 a.m., and I'm exhausted and she's probably going to wake up again in a few hours. And guess what? It's funny.

Lower your expectations
I think it's perfectly fine and even encouraged to read up on infant sleep for advice, tips, etc, but don't beat yourself up when it doesn't work for YOUR baby. There are a few books that I found offered some good tips here and there. But to be honest, none of the so-called sleep methods worked for us. Rather than getting frustrated every evening because, oh guess what, the baby won't sleep again, just find ways to prepare yourself for whats to come instead. Our sleep challenges change week to week. Rather than getting discouraged with every new challenge, we've learned to respond the most appropriately to each of Evie's unique night time needs instead.

Treasure it. 
These fleeting moments really do come and go so quickly. The first baby is tough because you really have nothing to compare it to. Don't be so hard on yourself or wish away certain "stages." They really will pass.  In the meantime, enjoy the extra snuggle time your baby demands and loves (even if it is a 2 am). It's going to pass, and you'll miss it.

Still feel defeated? New moms should read this article for a chuckle.

Today, at 9 months old, Evie still gives us a run for our money at bedtime. But it's better. We survived are surviving, and we are better for it. I certainly don't regret any of the extra rocking, nursing or hours not sleeping that I spent loving on and helping our daughter attain the rest she needed.