And I’m no exception to it. They say it goes by way too fast and you really don’t know what it means until it happens. What they mean is that once one milestone happens, then they all start coming one right after the other. Which is totally fine, if I were ready for my baby to start growing up.
While nothing super exciting happened this past month (i.e. trips, events, etc.), a lot has happened in the physical and mental sense. We spent a lot of time at home (inside because we live in Southeast Texas and the heat/bugs are ridiculous) and occasionally we’d go out to the store for some social time. I ended up purchasing a playpen for her (which I LOVE) that is pretty big and its collapsible. She enjoys crawling around in it and even pulling up.
Her personality is definitely start to evolve and she’s becoming an interesting little character with a little bit of sass and a whole lot of crazy. She lets you know what she likes and doesn’t like. She’s “talking” a bunch, but no real-ish words yet. But the greatest thing, she’s starting to chill out and actually will let you cuddle with her for about 5-10 minutes. Which is a huge improvement from never letting you just hold her and hang out in bed or on the couch. She’s just always on the go, a busy bee.
Also, in exciting news, remember when she was crazy (here) and I couldn’t take her anywhere without her losing it? When she was 3 months old, we tried to take her out to dinner at my fave BBQ place and she screamed bloody murder the whole time. We didn’t take her to eat anywhere after that. Fast forward five months and we tried our hands at redemption. IT. WAS. AMAZING. She was all smiles and grabbing the attention of all the people around. Total one-eighty from how she used to be. (Maybe bribing her with food helped a little bit, too. No shame in my game.)
Sleep: The past month has been a really rough one when it comes to sleep. Some nights she’d sleep 6:30p – 4:30/5a. Other nights we’d have a wake up anywhere between 1-3a. For the most part, she is usually up by 5:30a at the latest. She takes a 30-45 minute morning nap and a 2 hour lunch nap. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to sleep in until 7a.
Feeding: This child is never not hungry. She can eat and eat and eat. She’s been eating 3 meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. We give her a finger food at each meal to practice her pincer grip and spoon feed her as well. She’s loving almost every food I’ve given her, but is in love with avocados. She would eat a whole one if I let her. Still breastfeeding, but only about 3 times a day and still giving her a bedtime bottle. She’s mastering the sippy cup with a straw and is loving her some water.
Growth: I tried measuring her, but no such luck. She is such a squirmy wormy. I don’t think she’s getting taller very fast, but she sure is packing on the ounces. Or at least she feels like it.
Strength: She is getting stronger and stronger every single day. Her arms have gained so much strength from trying to pull up on everything she can find, along with climbing over or up whatever is around. And she has mastered the crawl then push up into a seated position. There is no stopping her.
Interests: She has a few favorites that definitely peak her interest and make her smile from ear to ear. Bubble Guppies on Nick Jr. is her all-time favorite show right now and she bounces with joy when it comes on. A small stuffed egg with a squeaker in it is her go-to toy and she pretty much has it with her at all times when playing. She loves trying to eat Boeing’s tail and chase George around. The books with finger puppets really catch her attention (mostly because she tries to eat the puppet). And the number one thing that makes her smile: daddy. He is the only one that can walk into a room, say her name and she gets excited about.
Nine months is on the horizon and I’m not ready to admit I’ll be sad to see her turn it. But, I get to watch my baby girl grow and come in to her own character on the daily, which is beyond a blessing.
xoxo,
Adventure Is All You Need 