9 Months

Time for Kyla's 9 month update!

New skills:

biting (now has 2 upper front teeth that came in this month)

pulling up to knees

standing 

saying Dada

eating all kinds of new food

sleeping through the night

drinking more from a sippy cup

feeding herself

having her teeth brushed

sitting by herself on toys

first cold

Eating:

Breakfast: half a banana, a quarter of a waffle, bits of pancakes, etc.

Lunch: 1 jar of Beech Nut baby food.  We've tried all kinds and she likes everything except squash.

Dinner:  Bites of whatever we are eating and/or applesauce

She still snacks on puffs and I give her a sippy cup of water to go with all her meals.

She is still nursing when she wakes up, after each nap, and right before bed.

Sleeping:

Up for the day at 8

Nap at 11

Nap at 3

Down for the night at 8:30

She sticks to this schedule pretty consistently these days unless we are out and about.  

Wearing:

Size 3 diapers and size 9-12 month clothes

Favorite toys:

Still loves the little blue Bear laptop

Pulling all her little toys out of a basket and throwing them on the floor

Dumping out blocks from a tub

Walking backwards in the walker

Still loves the exersaucer

Anything crunchy like the wipes container, water bottles, etc.

Nana and Pop came to visit for Easter!

Sitting up on the rocking horse

Playing with her favorite friend...

This was a great month for Mom and Dad because Kyla finally started consistently sleeping through the night at about 8 1/2 months.  It was the moment we've been waiting for.  I still can't believe its happening, but she goes to bed around 8:30 and sleeps until Dad gets up around 6:45.  Then she nurses and sleeps with me until about 8 most days.  It is so so nice.  I love that she can finally go back to sleep when she wakes up during the night, and I also love our cuddle time in the early morning.  

Practicing sleeping through the night

Sleeping angel

I don't feel like there's a whole lot to update on this month.  She is still not really interested in crawling yet.  We spend lots of time playing on the floor while she's on her tummy every day.  If I put her on all fours, she will rock back and forth a bit, then crash onto her belly and whine most of the time.  We are working on it, but I've been told that I need to enjoy this time before she's mobile so that's what I'm trying to do.

One of my favorite pics this month. Just love that smile!

She loves being outside.  Now that the worst winter of all time is finally over, we spend lots of time going to the park, sitting out in the grass with toys, and playing in the sun room.  Nana even gave Kyla a little pool to use this summer so we are looking forward to the hot days.  Mama might need a bigger pool so she can enjoy the water too...

Swinging at the park

Testing out the grass

She thinks stroller rides are so relaxing!

Love that hat! She could sit out in the yard for hours, watching Cookie play.

9 Month stats from doctor appointment coming soon along with 9 month photo shoot!

8 Months

8 Months Old!

Kyla is bubbling with personality now, and I must say there is nothing in the world sweeter than listening to a baby's laugh.

She thinks Cookie is hilarious and laughs if she even sees him walk by.

She is loving ALL kinds of food! We typically give her a little sample of whatever we eat and she loves it.  

Schedule:

8:00 Wake up, nurse

9:00 Breakfast of half a banana

11:00 Morning nap

12:00 Nurse, play

1:00 Lunch of a jar of stage 2 baby food, usually a fruit or veggie

3:00 Afternoon nap

4:00 Nurse, play

6:00 Small nap, usually 30 minutes if she will even go down

7:00 Oatmeal

8:00 Bedtime routine-nurse, story, song, night night!

Still waking up 1-2 x a night to be re-settled in her crib and one early morning feeding around 5.

The "fun" thing about babies is as soon as you get them on a good schedule, you decide to go somewhere for the day or have the grandparents over for the weekend and the whole schedule goes out the window.  I'm sure it's very confusing to a baby.

Another "fun" thing we experienced this month was Kyla's first real cold.  She had a cough, snotty nose, and fever.  For about a week, she did not sleep well at night and she was quite cranky during the day.  I'm so glad she is not in daycare because I don't think I could handle her getting sick too often.  

Kyla is wearing size 9-12 month clothes.

Still in size 3 diapers.

Kyla has 2 teeth breaking through on the top in front.

She can sit up great.

She does not have any interest in crawling.

She can stand while holding onto a short table or toy.

She "tries" to pull up on things but is not quite strong enough yet.

She can walk backwards in her walker.

She can pick up food in her hand, but does not get it into her mouth yet.

She drinks a very small amount of water out of a sippy cup.

She goes to the nursery for Sunday school and church.

She loves her Mama.

We use puffs to keep her happy when we're out in public and she starts to get fussy.

Those things are magical.

She notices and plays with her Seahorse lullaby toy in her crib.

  She cries if she drops a toy she's playing with.

She hates wearing sunglasses.

She is starting to get chubby belly and legs.

As for me, this month I gave up pumping.  I noticed that she was still hungry in the morning after eating on one side so I had to start offering both which left nothing to pump.  I have quite a bit of milk stored in the freezer so I am just using that if I need to leave a bottle with a babysitter or in the nursery at church.  I will also use milk to make her oatmeal.  I've also been working out consistently and eating healthier, which has finally gotten me down to my pre-pregnancy weight.  

7 Months

7 Months Old!

I can...

Sit up unassisted

Sit in a high chair when we go out to eat

Lift my head and chest up high while on my tummy

Roll over from belly to back

Take a bath sitting up in my baby bathtub

Sleep for 7 hours in a row at night

Go to sleep on my own in my crib without making a fuss

Go back to sleep in the middle of the night with just a little help from Mom. (Roll her back over to her belly and pat her back for just a minute, say good night, and leave the room.)

I have...

2 bottom teeth!

I'm eating...

lots of purees and baby oatmeal as well as all my normal meals of Mama's milk.

My schedule is...

8:00-9:00 Wake up for the day, nurse, change diaper

9:00-11:00 Play time in the exersaucer, on the floor with teething toys and blocks, in the doorway jumper, or in the walker.  Sometimes gets a morning snack or puree or oatmeal.

11:00 Morning nap

12:00 Wake up and nurse

1:00 Afternoon snack of puree, banana, or oatmeal

Playtime until next nap

3:00 Afternoon nap

4:00 Wake up and nurse

More playtime

6:00 Sometimes a short nap

More playtime until getting ready for bed

7:00 Feed baby oatmeal before bed

8:00 Start getting ready for bed. Bath, Pj's, nurse, story, song

8:30  Bedtime!

*Up almost every night around 1:30 and 4:30.  I am no longer feeding her at these times.  She usually wakes up at 7:00 and I do feed her at this wake up.  She will then nap in bed next to me until she wakes up for the day around 8:30 or so.

My baby girl is getting such a fun personality.  She is quite chatty, starting to make more "gaga" "dada" type sounds.  She still loves hearing herself talk in the bathroom after her bath.  She is going to Sunday school now and doing well in the nursery for two hours.  She does not cry when I leave her in there, but she usually gets whiny about the time between Sunday school and church because she is tired.  She thinks Baby Einstein Numbers Nursery is hilarious, especially the horse that eats the flower.  I think she likes all the sound effects.  She thinks its funny when I snort like a pig or just look at her and say BOO.  She is starting to notice cookie and gets very distracted by him when she is eating in the kitchen. 

Cry It Out:

Right before Kyla turned 7 months, we decided to bite the bullet and attempt the cry it out method for her middle of the night wakings.  I knew she could sleep for 7 hours without eating, so this is what I did.

 When she would wake up crying, I would get up and turn the monitor down for ten minutes.  She would not really get up to a full out cry for help, but more of just a whine.  After the ten minutes were up, I would go in her room, roll her back on her belly, put her pacifier back in, and say good night while patting her back.  Then I would leave the room.  The first night, she would cry horribly, even after I comforted her.  I would go back in after 10 minutes, if she was still crying and repeat what I did the first time.  I would then wait 15 minutes and repeat again, if needed.  This happened three times the first couple nights, but then she started to get the idea that she was not getting out of her crib.  Since then, if she wakes up, I go in, pat her back for a second, and walk back out.  9 times out of 10, she goes right back to sleep without a peep.  Now if she could just stop waking up....maybe next month!

All cheery and sitting up so well

She looks huge next to Cooper now!

Big girl

Having a crazy hair day after I took off her bow

Her festive St. Patty's day attire

Starting to get bigger than Cookie

She was not in a smiley mood!

My new favorite pic!

Newborn / 3 months / 7 months

Kyla's Half Birthday (6 Month Update)

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, BABY GIRL!

My, how time has flown by these past six months.  It's hard to believe that 6 months ago, my baby was sleeping 24/7 and could fit in the crook of my arm.  Times have certainly changed!

At 6 months, Kyla is: 15 lbs 6 oz and 27 inches long. (Had her 6 month check up on February 25)

Wearing: 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers

Milestones: 

ROLLING OVER - Kyla can roll over like a pro now.  She started rolling over consistently one day out of the blue right after she turned 5 month old.  

SITTING UP (assisted) - She is doing great at a wobbly sitting up.  I will sit her up then prop her up a little bit with the boppy and she loves to sit and play with a toy like that.

LAUGHING - She laughs when you tickle her, especially under her armpits and on her bare belly.  Sometimes she even laughs if I look at her funny or make a silly noise.

SMILING - Kyla is such a smiley girl.  She will just give you a big grin if you even look at her.

ATTACHMENT - I have noticed that she now has an "I want Mommy" cry.  She gets really whiny and starts reaching for me.  Although this is heart warming to me, it is quite annoying to anyone else.

TALKING - No, she does not use words yet but she certainly has developed her own language.  She will just go on and on with a screechy sound with her mouth wide open.  It often times involves kicking her legs wildly while doing so.

SLEEPING - She has slept through the night a few times, but it is still unpredictable.  Most of the time she at least gives us a 5 hour stretch, then up to eat, then back down for a couple more hours until she's ready to play.

TEETH - No teeth yet, but she certainly shows signs like drooling and chewing on her hands like crazy.

FOOD - We started solids this month.  We have tried peas, carrots, avocado, sweet potatoes, and green beans.  She did not enjoy peas.  (But it was also her first food so that might have had something to do with her pushing the food back out with her tongue.)  Everything else she has been a fan of.  Sweet potatoes were yummy, but I'm pretty sure they make her belly ache so we will hold off on those for a while.  We will probably start some fruits soon, but I wanted to make sure she liked veggies before starting anything sweet. 

OUR SCHEDULE: Times are not set in stone.  Kyla has pretty much put herself on this schedule.  She wakes up and is happy for two hours until she starts rubbing her eyes and getting grouchy.  Just recently her naps have gone from being exactly one hour to now almost exactly two hours per nap. 

8:00-9:00 : Up for the day, nurse, change diaper

9:00-10:30 : Play time in exersaucer, walker, bouncy seat, play mat, and door jumper.  While she entertains herself for a while, I usually pump, have my coffee, and watch the Kelly and Michael show.

10:30-12:30 : Morning nap (usually 2 hours)

12:30 : Wake up, nurse, change clothes/diaper

1:00-3:00 : More play time

3:00 : Afternoon nap

5:00 : Wake up, nurse

5:00-6:00 : Play

6:00 : Eat solids

6:30 : Short nap

7:00 - 9:00 : Nurse, play with Daddy, hang out in the living room

9:00-10:00 : Get ready for bed

10:00-?? Changes night to night when she wakes up for a snack.  Still looking forward to her sleeping through the night!!

Taking her 6 month pictures was much more difficult!

This picture shows why...she is so interested in EVERYTHING!

Here are some Valentine's Day pictures.

 

5 Months

Kyla is 5 months old!

SLEEP:  This is hard to figure out and has caused us the most stress the past month.  I was really hoping Kyla would be one of those babies that slept through the night from 6 weeks on until forever, but unfortunately that didn't happen!  Although she did start sleeping from midnight to 6:00 am at just six weeks old, she regressed to sleeping for only about 3-4 hours at a time when she turned 4 months.  We had not really started a schedule of any kind before Christmas, but sleeping in the car for all our random car rides did not help her figure out the difference between naps and bedtime.  This girl was become quite the fighter of sleep.  Once we got back home, we started developing a better sleep schedule with two naps (lasting about an hour each) a day and trying to put her down for the night at 9:00.  One night, after fighting sleep every night for a week or so, we attempted to just let her cry it out.  After three hours, I gave up on that method.  The next day, I got desperate and put her on her stomach for her nap, just to see if she would go to sleep that way.  And much to my surprise, she fell asleep right away and stayed asleep for more than an hour.  (She has always slept on her back since birth.)  We now have a bedtime routine of a book, turning down the lights, and starting the noise maker.  I lay her down on her belly in her crib, turn on the seahorse that plays lullaby music, and she will fuss for a few minutes before falling asleep.  We came to the conclusion that we would just go back to putting her to bed when we go to bed between 10-11 instead of 9:00.  Now she sleeps in her crib until about 3-4, up to eat, then nurses off and on until getting up for the day around 9:00 am.  This has been working for now. 

EAT:  Kyla LOVES to nurse.  She would just nurse all day if I allowed it.  This does make it confusing for me sometimes because I'm never quite sure if she's done or not.  After she starts slowing down and only swallowing a couple times a minute, I take her off.  She usually accepts the paci in replacement.  She still eats every 2-3 hours during the day.  She is still taking a bottle all day on Wednesdays when I'm at work.  She loves her bottle and can hold it herself.  She even gets mad when you take it away.

SIZE:  She is wearing almost all 9 month clothes now.  Six month pants are too short and look like shorts on her.  She is still wearing Target size 2 diapers, but they are starting to look small. I believe she weights about 14 lbs now, but not sure how tall she is.

APPOINTMENTS:  No doctor appointments this month.  February will be her 6 month check up and probably more shots.

PERSONALITY:  Kyla has such a funny personality.  She gets shy easily.  If you get close to her and talk, she will smile and then turn her head away.  She loves to growl when she's happy.  It usually involves her sticking as many fingers, hands, and toes in her mouth as possible, then growling up a storm.  I think it is her secret language.  

TOYS:  She really enjoys her bouncy seat now and will sit in it for about 30 minutes before she gets bored.  She also has a bumbo and an exersaucer that she plays in every day.  Her favorite chew toy is a little flower with keys attached to it.  I'm trying to get her monkey blanket to be her attachment item, but only time will tell.

MILESTONES:  Kyla has rolled over from tummy to back about half a dozen times.  However, she does not do it on command nor does she seem to really have much interest in doing it on purpose.  She loves to try to sit up if you help her.  She really strains forward like she's doing a sit up.  But she will just  face plant if you let her try to sit up on her own.  This month, she also discovered her feet and plays with them all the time.  She does not have any teeth yet, but I feel a little bump on her upper right gum line.  She is very drooly and chews on her fingers constantly so I don't think it will be too much longer.

4 Months

Wow I'm super late on this one! But I still want to remember what this month had in store, so here we go!

Kyla had her four month check up and shots on December 18th.

Weight:  13 lbs 2.5 oz.
Length:  25 in. long
Still a long skinny thing!

Diapers: Still in size 2 Target brand. We tried the Parents Choice diapers this month but we were not fans.

Clothes:  She was in size 6-9 month clothes. 

Food:  Still consuming only breast milk.  Pretty proud of myself for making it four months of breastfeeding.  There are times when I just want to quit.  Like when I want Daddy to be able to help more so I can have half an hour to myself or when I'm with friends or family and I have to disappear for a while to feed her in private.  But then I remember 1, formula is expensive and 2, breast milk is the healthiest thing I can provide for her. 

On pumping:  I have gotten into the routine of pumping about 4-6 ounces every morning so I can keep up with my freezer stash.  I am so glad I had a stash in the freezer this month.  I had my ovarian cyst removed and Kyla had to stay with a sitter for a day so that stash came in handy!  I do not really enjoy pumping.  However, a strange part of me feels satisfied when I see the bottle of milk I got out to save for later.  I pump at work 2-3 times a day depending on how long I'm there.  I try to go every 3-4 hours in between sessions, and I usually get between 3-5 ounces per session.  It's kind of awkward because I made one of the spare consult rooms my own little pumping area by covering up the window with paper.  Occasionally someone needs something out of the room, but I have never been walked in on yet.

Milestones:  Great at controlling her head.  She will now sit in the exersaucer and bouncy seat without problems.  She also likes the bumbo seat and still likes laying on her play mat.  She does not attempt to roll over yet.  We are giving her lots of tummy time but she still does not find it enjoyable for more than 10 minutes at a time.  The pediatrician mentioned that Kyla feels a little floppy in her upper body strength.  At her six month appointment, we will see if she has made any improvement.

She loves playing with her toys now.  She will swat at things and reach for toys.  Most of the time she wants to put them in her mouth.  She is really starting to chomp on things, mostly her fingers.  They are almost always in her mouth.  She loves to growl when she's playing!

Sleep:  What's sleep?  Kyla is starting to become quite the fighter when it comes to naps and bedtime.  She will be rubbing her eyes and I just know that she's tired but she cries and cries.  The only thing that seems to calm her down enough to get her to sleep without crying is to nurse.  I am trying not to get into that habit though because then no one will be able to put her down except me and that is just not realistic.  We have been putting her down for the night between 9-10.  As the month went on, she started getting up more and more during the night.  At the beginning, she would sleep straight through until about 5-6.  She would feed and then go back to sleep until about 9-10.  But as the month went on, she started waking up earlier and was no longer comforted by her pacifier enough to go back to sleep.  I'm hoping this is just a phase and she will start being able to self soothe enough to fall back asleep on her own soon.