What We're Lovin' - Seven and Eight Months

Since Kaitlin is only nine days shy of turning eight months old (!!!) I thought I would combine our favorites from the last two months into one post. Now that she is getting older she has more and more opinions about what she likes and doesn't like on everything from toys to food to clothes (ok, maybe that last one is a bit of a stretch. But there are some clothes she lets me put on her more easily than others! I'm taking it as a sign of her developing fashion sense).

These have been a few of her (and my) favorite things over the past couple of months. Some were favorites before then and have stood the test of time. I find that she is growing so fast now that she is very fickle about what is her "favorite" toy to play with, so items that she returns to time and time again are a rarity! 

Xylophone by Fisher Price

Kaitlin discovered this toy after playing at a friends house one afternoon. She lit up when we played the xylophone for her and she heard the music. I knew that I had to get one for her and boy am I glad that I did. She still doesn't really know how to play it correctly, even though we have had it for a few months, but that doesn't stop her from loving to play with it. She usually jams the mallet in her mouth as soon as I bring it out for her to play with, but eventually she starts to wave her hand around and manages to hit the keys. She loves when someone else plays a song or just bangs on the keys for her to hear the different sounds. She gets really excited, bounces up and down then swipes the mallet out of your hand and jams it back into her mouth. Whatever floats your boat, little girl.

Sassy Ring o'Links

This is another toy that we have had for several months and it continues to be a favorite. When Kaitlin was a few months old I was searching the internet for a "rattle" that she could hold in her tiny fingers. Most of the ones that I found were too big and/or heavy for her. I saw these on Diapers.com and just had to get them. The bright colors, different textures and small size really appealed to me. When all of the links are on the ring she can shake them like a rattle and she loves to hear the noise. These were a  hit from the first time I gave them to her and she still loves to play with them. They are great for her to chew on and I'm convinced the different textures help relieve teething discomfort. The best part about it is that the links can be attached to anything and (almost) everything. I used to hang them from her playmat and her car seat. Now that she is a little older I attach them to her stroller and grocery cart cover (more on that below). And the fact that they are less than $5.00 makes these superstars in my book!

Munchkin Duck Tub

You might have noticed this tub during my last What We're Lovin' post when I featured our favorite bubble bath. We have been using this tub since Kaitlin was about 4-5 months old. I already can't remember when we started using it (this is why I write everything down!) but it was basically when she was almost sitting up on her own (we helped her sit up in it the first few times until she was strong enough to do so on her own). The other infant bath we had required her to lay down and as soon as she got the hang of sitting up - even if it was assisted - she wanted nothing to do with laying down. She absolutely loves this tub. It is deep enough that she stays warm when we fill it up but not so deep that she gets scared. It has a safety disk on the bottom that tells you if the water is too hot for the baby. She loves to splash around in the water and play peek-a-boo with us around the duck head. It is bright and cheerful and it has made bath time exponentially more fun for all of us!

Bumkins Bibs and Splat Mat

Since we started Kaitlin on solids at six months - and more specifically since I switched to baby led weaning - big mess is the name of the game. I first purchased these super bibs (for their big size) by Bumpkin and have loved them from the start. The adjustable neck fits snuggly against her and the large pocket manages to catch a lot of what she drops. The bibs are thin enough that they aren't bulky for her to wear but not so thin that they let food/water seep through to her clothes. 

The Splat Mat is a relatively new addition to our house and I'm in love with it. I just put it down underneath her high chair and it catches (most of) the food she throws. Anything that doesn't make it on the mat gets thrown out, but most of it I am able to put back on her tray for her to try to eat. It is made out of the same material as the bibs and is a breeze to clean. I usually wipe it down with an antibacterial wipe after each meal and then throw it in the washer once a week. Easy breezy - an A+ in my book!

Cart Cover

Now that Kaitlin can sit up on her own we have started putting her in high chairs and shopping carts when we are out and about. For grocery shopping I used to use my Ergo (and still do sometimes) to carry her around, but now that she can sit and look around I prefer to use a shopping cart. Now, I am not an overly germaphobic person. I let her eat things that have fallen on the ground (I check them before giving them back to her, don't worry) and I will still give her a toy to play with if it has fallen on the floor (again, as long as it still appears to be clean). Since becoming a mom I learned to carry hand sanitizer with me but that was more for cleaning up after diaper changes. However, when we started putting her in shopping carts and in high chairs at restaurants I got really skeeved out. They are usually sticky and you can visibly see the dirt on them. This cart cover has become one of my favorite items, even though I'm sure Kaitlin could care less. Ours is by Comfort & Harmony but I'm sure any brand will do. Ours is big enough to fit over a wide variety of shopping carts as well as high chairs - I haven't had a bad fit yet. There are several straps to secure the cover around the cart and around the baby. Since Kaitlin is still small she does tend to fall over sometimes, but that's mostly because she's so nosey about what's going on around her she leans all the way over to look around. The cover has several loops that you can attach toys to (like our favorite Sassy links mentioned above) and a few pockets that you can use to store toys or other small items. I wish it had slightly more padding on the back area as a lot of the shopping carts are made out of hard wire, but really that is just meet nitpicking. I cannot recommend this product enough, especially if you are a clean freak!

*All opinions are my own, certainly no one paid me to say any of these nice things. But that would be nice, so if you want to pay me to say something nice about your stuff feel free to send me a sample ;) *

Watch Me Grow - Thirty Two Weeks

Merry (belated) Christmas! We are finally back home in Houston after spending the holidays with family in New York. It was super fun, super busy and super crazy but we had a great time. Kaitlin LOVED visiting with all of her family and is now used to getting tons of attention. She has a rude awakening coming this week when it's just me and her at home :) We all had a blast celebrating her first Christmas with her - even though she had no idea what was going on it was still really special for us. It was also pretty cool for Brian and I since this was our first Christmas back at home with our families since 2007! It was long overdue.

Kaitlin has grown SO much over the last few weeks. Maybe she put on a few holiday pounds like the rest of us - probably because of all those Christmas cookies she ate (oh wait - that was me). Literally over night she felt like she gained a pound or two, which for her size is a lot. We weighed her today and she is about 16 1/4lb. I can barely hold her for longer than fifteen minutes or so now because she is so heavy! I'm going to get some major guns from holding her - bring on the biceps! She is comfortably fitting into all of her 6 month size clothes and all of her 3 month clothes are now put away (*sob*).

I think the biggest developments that she's had over the last couple of weeks in her insatiable urge to crawl/walk/stand. She is standing up like a champ. She is now pulling herself up to standing, usually on our fingers but she has also done it on an upside down laundry baskets and toys. If she isn't standing she is trying to stand at all times. She must be burning a ton of calories because she has been eating a ton of formula and a lot more solids than she ever has before. She has also been sleeping really well (hopefully I didn't just jinx anything). While standing you can watch her try and figure out how to grab a toy or lift one of her hands. She looks like she's concentrating really hard and then makes a weird grunting or yelling noise and then will lift her hand or grab the toy. It's almost like she's saying "Heeeerrrrreeee we go!!!!" A couple of times she even decided to let go of the laundry basket she was holding onto and stood all by herself! Granted, it was only for a couple of seconds but I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Her Grammy bought her this Stride-to-Ride toy and she is obsessed with it. We usually stand her up and let her hold onto the handle, and a couple of time she has actually pushed the toy forward and taken a couple steps!! This is happening WAY too fast for me. Her legs and ankles are still too weak to walk any time soon but as soon as they get stronger she is going to be off and running. Literally.

When she isn't trying to standup she is trying to crawl. She loves to bounce while sitting down and has learned that she can bounce and launch herself forward to reach toys that are slightly out of her reach. She has learned to push herself backwards a little bit and manages to get around by sitting up, launching herself forward, rolling and then repeating the sequence. She isn't covering too much ground yet but I know it's only a matter of time. The baby gates have been purchased and are going up as soon as possible! 

I can't believe we are at this stage already...it seems like just yesterday she was an immobile blob sitting in her boppy. 

The Seventh Month

That's it - it's all over. My baby is officially closer to one year old than she is to being a newborn *sob*

What? Am I being a bit dramatic? It must be the holidays. They get me all emotional and weepy anyway. Celebrating the holidays has been so much fun with Kaitlin, even though she has no idea what is going on and won't remember any of her first holidays. We started out her seventh month by celebrating Thanksgiving. She was still only eating baby cereal at the time but was doing so enthusiastically (even though it tastes like cardboard to me). We quickly moved her up to more tasty solids - sweet potatoes, peas, apples, avocado and bananas. She has loved all of them (at least she seems to like them) and gets excited about sitting in her high chair and eating with a big girl spoon. Grammy and Pop-pop came to visit for Thanksgiving and were able to get in on the action of feeding her. It sure is messy - but a whole lot of fun!

She continues to grow bigger and stronger every day. At her six month checkup she weighed 15lb 10oz and I swear she gains another pound every week. She is sitting up on her own without any help from the boppy or bumbo (who comes up with the names of these things?) and has been for quite some time. She started pushing herself up to sitting from laying down and has gotten on her hands and knees a few times. She acts like she wants to crawl so bad, but has only gotten as far as reaching really far for things - no rocking or crawling yet (although it's only a matter of time).

Right after Thanksgiving we started getting ready for Christmas. She has loved looking at all the pretty lights on our tree and she loves Christmas music. Our town had its annual tree lighting ceremony and you could meet Santa. We weren't sure how she was going to react to meeting the big guy but it turns out she reacted how she usually reacts - with a blank stare. She just stared and stared at him and pulled on his beard a little (to make sure it was real, I'm sure). In Texas Santa gets to wear his casual clothes - a red polo and shorts for him! Considering it was 70* out I don't blame him.

During the seventh month she went to the park for the first time and discovered how awesome the swings are. She loves them and I try to take her a couple of times a week. She also loves "flying" in the air, especially with Daddy. We did some more real flying as well this month, taking our second trip with her up to New York to see family. I had to fly with her by myself for the first time, and while it was frantic and stressful she was a rockstar and did a great job. She got to meet her second set of great grandparents and has had a great time hanging out with her grandparents, aunts and uncles. She is getting used to having a lot of people around!

 

I thought for sure she would have several more teeth by now but they have proved to be illusive. Teething is at an all time high though so I hope that they come in soon. She has been drooling like crazy and everything goes in the mouth - if she can fit it in there she will chew on it. And if she can't fit it in her mouth she sure as heck is going to try and get it in there. 

A few more things I have learned...

Milestones are awesome annoying as hell

It has been really fun watching Kaitlin learn new things and start to hit her first milestones. She amazes me every day and I am her biggest cheerleader. However, with every new milestone she reaches it puts a major kink in her routine. Luckily (knock on wood) they don't interrupt her night sleep very much, but naps pretty much go down the tubes. When she first learned to roll over that's all she would do while in her crib for a nap. Now that she has learned how to sit up and how to get on her hands and knees, all she wants to do is practice those new skills when she is supposed to be taking a nap. It's hard to get mad at her considering she greets me with a huge smile and you can tell she is so proud of what she has been practicing, but by the end of the day she is usually super cranky and she ends up having to go to bed really early. We have been trying to move back her 5:30 bedtime to be closer to a normal 6:30-7pm but when she refuses to nap all day it's a little hard to do that. The good thing is she is usually so exhausted by the end of the day, she goes right to sleep - and stays asleep for at least 9-11 hours. I know we have many more milestones to hit - and a lot more teeth to come in - so I am trying to learn to be patient with her lack of naps. I see a lot more wine in my future.

Write Everything Down

Oh wait, I was already supposed to have learned that a few months ago. Now that Kaitlin is even more on the move, and especially during this busy holiday season, I have learned again to write everything down. I definitely learned more than one thing this last month, and yet I have nothing to show for it because the only thing I can remember is that milestones are a pain in my butt. This serves as your friendly reminder to write as much as you can down when it happens. Because come tomorrow you might not remember a thing.

Watch Me Grow - Twenty Nine Weeks

Super late, as usual. Such is life as a new mom I suppose. Speaking of which - how much longer am I allowed to use the excuse that I'm a "new" mom? So what my daughter is almost seven months old - wait, what?! I am most definitely, probably still going to use that excuse when she is 15.

I can't even get her to stay still for 5 seconds so I can take a photo. On Saturday she absolutely, positively did NOT want to lay on her back long enough for me to take a photo. Thanks a lot kid. And since I'm doing this post on my phone (wayyy too lazy to go all the way downstairs to get the computer) I couldn't even make a speech bubble for this one. Not that I would have any place to put it since her head is barely even in this picture. So this weeks photo kind of stinks.

Last week Kaitlin learned how to sit up from laying down. And since she figured that out it is ALL that she wants to do. But she only does it when she's in her crib. Which is infinitely more exciting than taking a nap, obviously. So, not a lot of day sleeping going on in this house. I thought I saw one of her top teeth pop through last week but it quickly disappeared. I thought I was going mad but now I have heard from a few people of these mysterious disappearing teeth, so maybe I'm not so wacky after all ;)