Oh my! Once again I'm behind..I seemed to have forgotten a whole month!! My oh my how time flies...my little baby is now looking and acting more like a little person. We've been busy as usual...with nothing too extreme..just seems like LIFE gets in the way of doing things sometimes. Hoping that gets better with time, but I think just the opposite will be true:(
Anyways, Stella is changing so much EVEN week to week it's crazy!!
Seven months
At our 6 month check up I talked with the pediatrician about weaning from nursing. She offered some great suggestions for working moms. That very day I stopped pumping at work (can we say FREEDOM!) but continued to nurse at night/first thing in morning and some throughout the day on weekends. Stella made the transition great. At first, I used my overstock pile of milk from the freezer but BOY did that dwindle quickly! Inevitably we had to breakdown and buy formula. We started mixing formula(Earth's best organic) with mommy milk then slowly went to all formula (still nursing at night though!) Again, no problems! Stella's such a good eater..no worries! And now she's eating veggies and fruits all made by me! I know it seems like a lot for a working mom (believe me I'm all for easy peasy with my schedule) but it's really easy. I usually make a batch of whatever during her naps on the weekend, then freeze! Her absolute favorite is butternut squash, but apples is a very close second (even Adam liked the apples!) She's not a big fan of avocado or bananas (I think it's a texture thing)
Stella is growing up! She now has her two little bottom teeth. Teething is no joke...she would be fine during the day for the most part but the night time was rough. Highly recommend the Hyland tablets. Also, she's sitting up great, reaching for things out of reach. And starting to get on all fours and rock back and forth---momma's not ready! We also started swim lessons:) This is so much fun! I know she's not going to be swimming laps anytime soon--it's more to get her used to the water so she's no scared down the road. Like most things she's a little indifferent to the new environment; she didn't smile or laugh with enjoyment but she didn't scream either! Still babbling lots. Says "Dada"
Oh goodness does Mommy need sleep!! Our schedule is nonexistent at this stage:( We usually have to wake her up for daycare and that's always a different time almost everyday. We try to do bedtime at the same general time but it usually around her last nursing. It's so unpredictable as far as how long she will sleep..sometimes til midnight other nights til 5. Doesn't make any difference whether she had good naps or no naps. The good thing is that she typically is just up once at night and quickly goes back to sleep after eating.
She now is in size 2 diapers and size 3 at night. Wearing mostly 6-9 months and 9 month jammies
Loves books and all of her toys. Starting to really enjoy Brodie too! Nicknames are still about the same and different everyday. Most common continue to be Stella Bella, Lil Adam, etc
Eight months
Wow! Just writing this makes me realize how many changes and advances we've made in the last few weeks:) Stella continues to amaze me with her laid back demeanor and sweet sweet personality! She loves to people watch when we are in big crowds and typically has no problems with strangers. On the rare occasion she has cried when we say bye at daycare but is quickly soothed by her teachers. When lots of people are around she doesn't nap--I think it's because she's afraid she might miss something HA! When we sing to her she makes "singing" noises with us (it's one of the most precious sounds) She still likes to pat our faces or put her hands on our mouths. She's definitely a snuggler
We are mobile!! She rocked back and forth for so long. She would move either one arm forward or one knee but never all together for the longest time..I was so afraid I would miss it just by looking away for a second. Then one night (weekend before Thanksgiving) she just took off...after the remote control nonetheless. She takes one true crawl step on all fours then does this funny thing where she uses her arms to pull herself around. My sister described it perfectly as the army crawl!! Now that she's mobile she likes to pull herself into our laps--pure love
Well, Stella is now on 100% formula. It's only been about 2 weeks but overall I feel good about my decision to wean. I'm proud of myself that I stuck with it for so long. It was hard! Now I realize that both have pros and cons. Stella has yet again not skipped a beat...she had no problems. Although I miss the extra time with her at night I now find other ways to have special time with her.
On that same note, we started sleep training about the same time (Nov 9th). We decided to try the Ferber method after a friend at work recommended it. The first night was HORRIBLE!! It seemed as though every time we went in there to comfort her, she would initially calm down but as soon as we left things were much much worse!!! After about an hour of crying, I was ready to throw in the towel. I mean seriously how is this any better??! If I had just fed her then WE all would have been back to sleep by now...UGH! But we stuck it out and eventually after 2 hours she fell back to sleep. Pure exhaustion--physically, mentally, and emotionally. I definitely felt like a horrible mother in the midst of all of that. The next few nights got better and better though. On the third night we only had to go soothe her ONCE. Then from then on-NONE! Now my baby sleeps from 730pm-7am (unless we have to wake her early). What a difference a little sleep makes--I feel like a new woman!
Stella is wearing size 3 diapers. Size 9 months clothes and 12 month jammies. And she was the "Star of the Week" at daycare in November (I realize all the kids at some point or another get this "award" but nonetheless you can't help that it makes your heart full!) Starting to enjoy and play during bath time more and more. Loving her bathtime book.
