Evie Brooke - 7 months

J

How is it possible that 7 months have gone by?! In this time warp, she will be odriving next month, I'm sure of it. This was a huge developmental month for Evie! 

We FINALLY rolled over on our own! She did it in the bathtub of all places, twice, right after she turned 6 months. She has since then rolled a few times from belly to back, but not often! She also loves grabbing her toes now when she's on her back. 

 

We started solids! She's obsessed with food of every kind so far. We started with sweet potatoes, oatmeal and banana and have just continued to add everything we can think of. We do mostly purees but introduce tastes of things we eat - rice, a smashed bean, little bits of chicken, pizza crusts, etc. She eats avocados by the slice instead of puréed, unless I mix it with something for her.. We've also done baby led weaning style eating for banana and hunks of meat.

Commence the onslaught of messy food covered baby pictures: 

First bites of sweet potato

Not too sure, but ended up loving it

Papa feeding her some oatmeal

BLW Bananas

BLW avocados and pancakes

She sticks her tongue out with her mouth wide open every bite!

French fries off Mama's plate

Fresh tomato from Oma's garden!

Okay what else? She's sitting up on her own! It happened really fast - over the course of about two weeks she went from nothing to 20-30 minutes playing while sitting. She tips over occasionally but it's pretty rare nowadays. 

We took another trip to the omits ins, to Snowmass, this time for Papa and Uncle Bryan to run the Tough Mudder. It was a blast! She did really well, and had her first gondola ride! 

She has become so aware of her actions and reactions now. She learned to fake laugh and fake cough - I would probably say she fake cries as well, since she's taken to crying and screaming for attention, especially if we leave her sight! 

Sleep. Oh sweet sleep. Evie has started sleeping on her belly - cue the anxiety. This started because we were letting her sleep on her side because she like to have her butt patted to fall asleep in her crib. Then she would cross her leg over and eventually started just preferring her belly. This actually helped her to start sleeping longer stretches once we got the okay from our pediatrician. We feel better about it now that it's been going on for a month. 

We also started sleep training just a few days before she turned seven months. We are I going with the most gentle style we thought would work, so there's no cry-it-out and we are with her the whole time. We've been working on cutting back the number of times she nurses each night (it was every time she woke, 4-10 times a night) for all of September. Our plan is this - we now wait 3 minutes (this will be extended to 5 then 10 eventually) before going into her when she wakes. She has a planned nursing session between 3-4 a.m. which I go directly in to her. For every other waking, Luke always goes in first, and it relieve him after 10 minutes if she's still up. Luke will come back in after another 10 minutes, and if she's still awake after that, I nurse her or help her get to sleep no matter what it takes. We figure after half an hour awake, she's too stressed and awake to go back to sleep with out a lot of help. It's only happened once though! The first night was pretty bad but since then, she usually falls back asleep within the first 10 minutes with Luke. As of October 8th, she usually wakes only 3ish times now, and has put herself back to sleep within those first three minutes a few times. Here's the best part - one glorious night, I only had to go in once to nurse her at 330 and she slept until 730 in her crib! That's twelve hours people!!!

The other major news is that this little chicken got her first two teeth the week before turning 7 months! Teething = hell. She was congested and stuffy over the weekend, woke up still yucky and with a MAJOR diaper rash (her first) Monday morning. I checked for a tooth that morning and found nothing, then that afternoon I felt a tooth! She got the left one first, and then felt yucky all week. I didn't expect it, but found the second tooth Friday!  I then felt like a jerk for starting sleep training her while she clearly was teething, but I actually think it helped because she was really sleepy all week and it probably helped make it easier. She even took an hour and a half long nap once! Ha, oh the little things. 

Other firsts: high chairs and shopping carts! Ponytails! She took a bottle from mama! She held her OWN bottle! She likes sippy cups and straw cups with water! 

Favorites: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom before bed, Finn, papa, playing with a mirror, other babies, waving, rattling/ shaking toys, and food!

Dislikes: if Mama leaves the room, being alone in general, tummy time, loud noises and motors (trash trucks, blender, vacuum, motorcycles, etc.)

Evie Brooke - 4 months - 6 months

Age: 4 months

Height: 25"

Weight: 15 lb even 

Head:  41cm

Age: 5 months 

Weight: 16 lbs 2 oz (no other measurements because she just had a nurse's visit for vaccines) - you gained 1 lb and 2 oz in just 3 weeks?!?

Age: 6 months 

Height: 

Weight: 

Head:  

This one won't follow the other posts' format, as it's more of a pictures + fun facts post for lack of time. I am posting this one just after you turned 6 months! 

What we’ve learned: This is FUN! Evie has come into some serious awareness and is so interactive. She belly laughs when you tickle her and play peekaboo, and during so many other moments. She is a happy girl, and we constantly get comments from strangers on how alert and happy she is. It's definitely a proud mama and papa moment when we hear it! (Written for 4 months update)

What we’re enjoying right now: (4 months:) Evie still loves her bathtime which we started doing in the bathtub instead of the sink. She loves being around other people and kids so our playdates are so much fun. She has so much personality!!! (5-6 months:) Still with the personality! You are an imp just like your dad, and have everyone wrapped around your finger. We get compliments EVERY TIME we go out on how cute you are. I'm pretty sure you have a fan club in Ridgway, CO from a recent trip we took there with Papa for work. ;) You love playtime if someone is playing with you (dance monkey, dance!) We sing lots of nursery rhyme songs, blow raspberries, and tickle you to hear those laughs. You like playing on your piano kick mat and will tolerate tummy time for a while if you have one of your favorite toys - Jacques the Peacock, the green rattle O-ball, or one of your Indestructibles books. 

What our biggest struggles are: (4 months) she still isn't sleeping well, especially nap time. She cat naps for 30-45 minutes so I'm wiped.  (5 and 6 months) we are sleeping for all naps in the crib as well as trying to stay in the crib as long as mom and dad can handle getting out of bed at night. You usually make it to somewhere between 1 and 4 am before getting back in our bed. You are still waking ALL THE DANG TIME at night and it's more exhausting than ever for me. 

What has been Evie's most exciting milestone: 4 months -  first flight, first vacation, first time in a pool! (

5 months - sleeping in her crib for at least part of the night, breaking the swaddle habit (mostly) 

What we’re looking forward to: movement! Get on it girl! We are increasing tummy time now! (... At one day Before turning 6 months you are still not rolling!! Back to side and side to back, yes, but no back to belly or belly to back yet)

 

Eating:  still nursing exclusively, and gaining like a champ! We will hold off until 6 months before introducing solids. 

Other Highlights: 

We started working on sitting up with help: 

She has really started taking an interest in books which we love! 

We celebrated papa being done with the marines with a great party!

We started grabbing our toes, sitting up, and sitting in highchairs! 

I wouldn't call this a highlight, but she had her first cold, including a temp of 101.4. It didn't last long but we dealt with the cough and congestion for almost two weeks! 

Other adorable pictures: 

Evie Brooke - 3 months

Age: 3 months

Height: no new measurement

Weight: 12 lb 13 oz

Head: no new measurement

What we’ve learned: Evie is a smiley, happy girl, and really social! She will give a smile to just about anyone and loves being around other kids. We've learned how to avoid getting overtired, which has helped our mood immensely. She doesn't need much sleep to reset her mood, luckily, since she still doesn't nap for very long. We are working on learning how to fall asleep without being rocked to sleep. It's slow going. I've also learned how to read her better and recognize which cries or noises mean what. It helps that she is learning different ways to use her voice - she now whines, squeals, and fuses in different ways to let us know her thoughts and opinions, and she's got plenty of them!

What we’re enjoying right now: We LOVE making her laugh! I could listen to that all day. We love going to play groups, and she's starting to interact with other kids through smiles. She watches them so intently! We go to a baby play group every other week and do other activities with the group at least once a week - a trip to the zoo, or a park, getting doughnuts, or maybe another play date at a house. She is JUST starting to really show interest in toys and it's great to see how excited she gets over them. 

What our biggest struggles are: Still struggling with the sleep. The naps affect us and are more difficult on me personally than the night time. I would love more than 30 minutes to maybe accomplish more than one thing - perhaps a shower AND breakfast? She has also shown some signs of separation anxiety very recently when apart from me, but this seems VERY early, so I'm not sure what is going on. She's had a meltdown once with my mom and once with Luke when I was away from her, either briefly or a more extended amount of time. We will see if that continues. Either way, once Luke returns from AT we are going to work on her being away from me more often so they can develop more of a relationship now that she's getting older. 

What has been Evie's most exciting milestone: THE LAUGH! Oh my heart explodes every time. She laughs the most over repetitive things - saying "boo", "eating her toes", and she also loves being tickled, especially if it's accompanied by piggy noises (don't ask me why I know that haha). 

What we’re looking forward to: we are excited to get through Luke's final AT and not have any more prolonged absences hanging over our heads! On a developmental side, we are so excited to see her start playing with toys and discovering more about her surroundings through touch!

Sleep: We have decided to start working on a better nighttime routine for her (I'm writing this a week after she turned 3 months). We haven't been great about a bedtime so that's changing. She goes to sleep generally between 7:30 and 8:30, in her swing. Then, when we are ready for bed, I pick her up and bring her to bed for a dreamfeed and she's right back asleep. She wakes around 2, 5:30, and then is usually up for the day between 7 and 8. She had a spell where she was waking every two hours all night, but I'm thinking that might have been our fault for not putting her to sleep early enough. Nap time is still 30-45 minute increments, about 4-6 naps a day. Ugh. First one is around 9, and I try not to let her be awake for longer than 1 hour after a nap (exception is in the evening before bed). We are trying to follow a sleep/wake time chart that has these recommendations and it seems to work for her  because she doesn't nap long enough. We are starting to extend the wake time a little now that she's three months. To nap, I swaddle her and give her the pacifier. I walk around a little or rock and shush her, depending on how wound up or fussy she is. Once her eyes start drooping I put her in the swing and leave the room. I try to do the pick up/put down method if she wakes and gets upset, or I'll put her pacifier back in if she spits it out. It seems to be getting a little easier. Maybe once day we can try this in a real crib! :)

Health: shes been doing well! She did have an eye infection right after her two month appointment but we got her in immediately and the ointment cleared it up really fast. Her three month shots (the Prevnar and Hib vaccines) went well, but she definitely didn't feel well the rest of that day. I think she's been in a growth spurt pattern this last week after turning three months, because she's been sleepy a lot and nursing longer. 

Eating:  Nursing patterns are still the same! She's getting better about being so fussy when she is done eating - sometimes she even starts smiling and talking to me, almost playing. It's adorable!

Other Highlights: 

- mama and papa got two date nights this month! The first was just for a family friend's surprise birthday party, but the second was a movie out. She took the bottle okay the first time, but much easier the second night, just a couple days later. 

- She found her hand! Her hand eye coordination is getting much better and she can be found chewing on her hand pretty often. She is starting to show interest in toys as well, which is helping to improve car rides :)

The month of May

Brings us many new discoveries!

We realized we have a dog, and he's funny looking - 

We found our hand, and it's delicious - 

We realized there is a 60-inch monstrosity (the television) and it is super entertaining - 

We learned there are a million ways to smile, and simultaneously make mama's heart explode - 

We learned we like to sleep just like mama - 

We learned that it's easier to embrace our curls early on in life - 

Evie Brooke - 2 months

Age: 2 months

Height: 22.5 inches 

Weight: 11 lb even

Head: 14.96 inches

What we’ve learned: my patience is not endless! We struggled for two weeks through a growth spurt and over-tiredness issues, and recovering from the tongue tie clipping at the same time, and I had to give in and ask for help. Luke is a big help in the evenings but those hours go by fast. We are still living by the motto - "whatever works". 

What we’re enjoying right now: we love playtime, bath time and snuggles, just like any family. She's a snuggly girl that wants to be held all the time, and usually I love it (except when I need to accomplish something!). We've found she loves being outside too! It's amazing to watch her little wheels turn as she figures things out, and seeing her face change when she recognizes me, Luke or my mom. 

What our biggest struggles are: Sleep and balancing her need to be held with my need to accomplish things. She also HATES the car seat, especially when riding in the car. 

What has been Evie's most exciting milestone: we still love her smile most of all, and she's recognizing us! She's tracking objects and faces really well, and will turn towards noises now too. 

What we’re looking forward to: I can't wait for a laugh!! She's so close. I also am so looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day with this beautiful girl who made me her mama. 

Sleep: oh man this is hard. Evie likes being bounced and shushed to sleep which is exhausting! We are working hard to keep her from getting overtired because then she fights sleep so much. She's also refusing to be put down once she's asleep, even at night. She will only nap 20 minutes at most if I get her to stay asleep in her swing. Nighttime has been the biggest change - we've resorted to her sleeping in bed with us. 😳  She was waking every time we tried putting her in the cradle and no one was sleeping well. She is now sleeping THROUGH THE NIGHT in our bed - usually 10-430 then back to sleep until 630 or 7. We are struggling with guilt over loving the snuggly sleep and worrying about what this could mean down the road. She still has yet to sleep in her room!

Health: No big issues! She took her first shot like a champ and is handling it well after. She had the rotavirus oral vaccine and dTap injection. We go back at 3 months for her next vaccines - we are following Dr Sears alternative schedule from The Vaccine Book. We also just started Zantac for her reflux since that hasn't improved much. Dr Sarah said she looked great overall and was impressed with her muscle tone!

Eating: She had her first bottle of pumped breast milk, given by dad, and loved it. I felt a little cheated on ;) I stopped tracking how often she nursed because I was tired of constantly living by the clock. It wasn't really "nursing on demand", which is what we do now. She still only nurses on one side for about 5-10 minutes. 

Other Highlights: 

- Evie had her first trip to the zoo with me and Oma. 

- Dad gave her the first bottle. 

- She had her first vaccine injection at her two month appt. 

- We sent out her announcements around 6 weeks old. They were so cute! 

- We joined a Meetup group! It's a playgroup of sorts for moms and kiddos and we've met a few nice moms. We are going to our first baby play date sans crazy toddlers tomorrow and looking forward to it!