Well, I guess it’s true what I’ve heard – as the baby becomes more active it becomes increasingly harder to find the time to write down all of these milestones! Would you believe that I don’t have one note written in this Google document from the past month? Luckily, I have been writing the major stuff down in her One Line A Day book, so I’m going to pull from that (and my memory, even if it’s a bit foggy) to talk about this past month!
Oh what a month it has been! I have to say we’ve seen more change and development this month than any month prior. It’s really been exciting. I love witnessing it. I said to Eric that this is hands down my favourite month so far (and it has even included teething, so that tells you something!).
About that teething. Well, teething hasn’t been as dramatic (yet) as I imagined it to be. I pictured Adriana up in the night screaming for hours on end, but so far we’ve only had a couple nights where she’s cried more than usual. Of course, this could all change. She cut her first two bottom teeth the same week, and it looks like the others are following closely! I wonder if the top teeth will be more painful than the bottom teeth just because they are larger? Also, can I just say how stinkin’ cute baby teeth are? Her smile is just beyond.
I have to talk about feeding because we’ve seen a huge improvement since last month’s report. I had mentioned how much we were struggling with feeding her solids and purees. I felt pretty discouraged, especially when a lot of my friends have babies that inhale their food. Adriana was just not interested for the most part. When she was around 7-8 months, we tried Baby Led Weaning, but she didn’t show any interest and she had a really bad gag reflex so that freaked us out a bit. So we stuck with purees, but she never showed much interest in them at all. She didn’t seem to like being spoon fed and always tried to whip the spoon out of our hand, hah. So at around 9 months, I decided to give BLW another shot. For the first week, she still gagged a lot (not the same as choking, as I learned) and she still seemed on the fence with this whole eating business. But after a week or so, she started to get SO excited when we fed her and the gagging virtually stopped. Now after about 4 weeks of doing BLW (3 times a day) she has done a complete 180 with her eating. We give her everything from steamed vegetables to avocado to tofu to our own meals (such as lentil stew or quinoa salad) and I don’t hold back with adding flavor with spices like cumin, paprika, etc. Every meal is different and we are having a BALL introducing all kinds of new foods to her. I never thought it would be this fun. Now when we put her in her highchair, she screams with excitement knowing that it’s feeding time! It makes me so happy. She still doesn’t swallow everything yet (she loves to chew the food up and spit some of it out…silly girl), but I can tell from her diapers that she is getting much more than I thought. Once we got over the whole messy aspect of BLW, we enjoyed it much more. I’ve realized you just have to accept that each meal will be a mess and not worry about giving them messy foods, such as a lentil stew, hummus, hemp hearts, etc. Maybe I should write a whole post on BLW because this could get long. I’m still nursing on demand, so I feed her upon waking and then we usually do mealtime an hour or so after she’s been nursed so she’s worked up her appetite again. Seems to work well. I’ve heard that it’s common for toddlers to go through a picky food stage, so I’m sure this will change at some point! I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts! haha.
Her sleep continues to improve, with the occasional “off” night or week. We’ve slept through the night a handful of times so far which is encouraging. She is still usually feeding once in the night, but now it’s often not until 4:30-5am – so she is going a long stretch overnight most of the time. It’s been encouraging to see her sleep improve overtime. The biggest thing we’re still struggling with is her bedtime. She still fights it lately and often won’t fall asleep until 9pm some nights. We’re just going with the flow right now. Summer just seems a bit more relaxed these days. As for napping, she’s in a consistent 2-naps-a-day routine with a morning nap that starts 2 hours after waking (and lasts an hour), and an afternoon nap about 3 hours after her morning nap (which ranges from 1-1.5 hours). Once in a while she’ll go on a nap strike, but for the most part it’s predictable which has been so great for me getting work done, even though the bulk of my work is still done in the evening.
Her fast army crawl is transitioning into a full out crawl this month. It’s so cute watching her put the pieces together as she learns new skills. She was doing all these planks and downward dogs one week, and this week she’s all about getting into the crawl position and raising her arms up to grab things. She isn’t standing yet, but I’m in no rush! She’s also become so much more interactive this month. Her baby talk is progressing a lot and she’s in this new “monkey see, monkey do” phase where she loves to imitate us.
We took her swimming for the first time at our friend’s pool the other week. She was cutting her first tooth that day, so she was not a happy camper and cried a lot (understandably so). We took her back the next week and she was much happier and really seemed to love the water! She’s still warming up to her pool canopy, but the second attempt went much better than the first.
I can’t believe Adriana is turning 1 in less than 2 months! I’ve just started to think about her birthday party and I’ve been testing some cakes for her first birthday cake. So excited for the cake smash! We’re currently debating whether we will photograph the cake smash on our own, or hire our newborn photographer to do it. I think I’m going to book a 1-year family photo session because I want to get into the habit of having yearly photographs taken. It’ll be crazy to compare her newborn photoshoot to her 1 year old photoshoot. I might bawl!
I’m just feeling so grateful that I get to be her mama. It’s hard to put into words just how much she’s changed my life for the better. I’m so thankful every day that she is happy and healthy. <3
Sleep is coming! My little girl FINALLY started sleeping through the night just last month….at 13 months old. You’re in the home stretch! Pretty soon 4:30 am turns into 5:00 and so on. Until one morning you realize you’re sleeping like a human being again. It’s beautiful thing.
So glad things are working out with trying new foods.
I like to use the term ” nursing” because it sound snugglier than “feedings” I would unwittingly think my baby was a milk vampire and resent my sleep being interrupted!
Right now, my baby (17 mos.) thinks doing summersaults while nursing is just awesome. Hopefully, someone will invent a sling for those of us whose nipples got stretched out to our belly buttons. Or, a special pocket in our bra cups….just kidding! Not really…..
Don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but my daughter jots down a quick word or two about her three kids right on the big calendar on the fridge. It’s handy, and she can do it quickly before she forgets. Then she saves the calendars and she has all the cute things they’ve said or done right there on the calendar. Every year she makes a photo book and includes all the milestones or funny things they’ve said or done at the back. The calendar keeps the dates all straight. It works for her and she’s a working Mum too!
And none of my business, but I would encourage your little sweetie to continue to nap twice a day. She’s very young to go to one nap – and even if it seems she doesn’t really want to nap at times, I think you’ll be glad later that you did! A tired baby is not a happy baby.
So glad to hear she is excited at mealtimes. That’s fun!
As for sleeping – I would encourage you to remember again that all babies and families are different. I still have baby 3 in the room with us at 8 months, and it’s just fine. Baby 2 was out at 6 months, and baby 1 around 9 months. They all slept differently. Baby 1 was the hardest to get into a routine (he was about a year before it was easy to put him down). Baby 2 was the easiest (naturally conked out with no coaxing at 5 months). Baby 3 is gradually improving on her own (we have off and on nights). I did similar things with all of them, and tried different things with all of them aaaaaaaaaaaand: they all just had to figure it out to a degree on their own. Also, I did not find reducing naps equated to better sleep, though you can try it – each child is different.
I think that in our highly structured world filled with averages and expected milestones, we forget that we don’t have that much control over our children. We are big on routine and discipline (and I’m a very goal oriented person myself), but at the end of the day, you are raising a woman – and many of her traits are already set – and shining through. That’s what makes it so fun.
Hey! Have been loving your blog several years, and have been loving your baby posts since I have a little boy just a month or so older than your bubba! LOVE BLW, we have been doing it since 6 months….has been amazingly successful! Was hoping that (in all your spare time;) you mite throw up some baby snack recipes – ie sugar free baby bars, etc!
Keep loving every minute of this crazy journey!
Thank you for the lovely website and recipes! I’m vegan, and love making your recipes for friends and family. Have you concidered getting Adriana a teething necklace? It seems like your little girl is in a lot of pain. Maybe this would bring you all relief. If you are interested check out: http://macraenaturals.com/
I’m really interested in a healthy recipe for a smash cake. My granddaughter is turning one at beginning of Sept. and am looking for a healthy recipe that we won’t mind her eating.
Really enjoy your blog and can’t wait for your new book.
Have you figured out what type of milk you will feed your little one after her 1st birthday? I am so overwhelmed by the options. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Soooo cute.
Really great article :)
Love,
Meike
The op teeth aren’t worse, really, than the bottom ones…it is the canine (cuspid) teeth that seem to be the worst, followed by molars. That said, my munchkins didn’t really even notice their teeth coming in other than the canines. Homeopathy helps with teething :)
TEETHING NECKLACE! Best $20 I ever spent. My son cut his first two teeth at once and it was miserable for everyone. I would have tried snake charming if I thought it would ease the pain – but the teething necklace was like Novocain! Highly recommend.
Love your site.
Hey Angela, I also vote for a BLW post !
My baby is turning 10 month next week and we have been struggling with feeding… I have been discouraged of what to serve her and how to do so… tried blw about 1-2 times a day in the last month and all we get is a mess. She plays with her food and won’t eat much. She gets hungry in between meals. Did I mention the mess ? Terrible ! Hah.
All that to say is that I would love to read your experience and have some ideas on what to feed her.
awesome! I am glad that I found your blog.. its going to be first in my bookmarks :)
I am searching this type of superb blog for me. Now, I have got it. Thanks.
Please do a BLW post? that would be awesome!! My little guy is 8 months and I love hearing your stories. I am so scared of choking and I am having a hard time figuring out how and what to give him to eat. Hopefully you can do a post about BLW soon :)
Hi Angela! I came upon your blog by my father’s recommendation: “this is the best website and the best cookbook” and then I got hooked on your story and all the pictures. At this time, I JUST HAVE TO KNOW – after hearing so many struggles with vegan parents – are you raising your daughter vegan? several pediatricians I’ve heard do NOT condone vegan diet for infants, what is your take on this? I’m trying to decide what I would do when my mama time comes.
So glad to hear she is excited at mealtimes. That’s fun!
Hi Angela (and anyone else who’d like to share),
Which recipes from the book/blog are your favourite for BLW? I’m looking for things that won’t be too difficult for my twin girls (10 months) to pick up and get to their mouths.
They are pretty adventurous and will eat most anything I give them.
Thanks in advance!