Elliott: 8 Months Old

The biggest news this month is our little miss is officially mobile. Although Elliott doesn't officially crawl, girl definitely gets around. She can wiggle, roll, and reach from one end of the room to another. She also gets up on all fours and is seconds away from taking off on her knees. She does love to stand and does well walking with assistance so once she crawls I doubt walking will be far behind. I'm not pushing her by any means!

We have also been putting a bit more effort on the eating front. Since cheerleading started, Andy and I have rarely cooked a real meal at home and sat at the table to eat it. It's been pizza and PB sandwiches and whatever we have. Although most days she did get lunch, I usually am in a rush when I get home at night and with the craziness of bedtime, meals don't get cooked and Elliott just didn't get fed (other than nursing obviously). We've been hitting our groove the past few weeks though thanks to Andy doing some cooking, so we can all eat together and I can actually follow through with baby led weaning (I couldn't give her my food if I was never eating!). I only spent $13 on purees when she turned six months and we still haven't used it all... Oops. Oh well! She is way more interested in table foods. So far she has had chunks of carrots, pears, sweet potato, raspberries, and avocado. 

Just when I think we are nearing the sleeping-through-the-night milestone, she throws me for a loop. If there is one thing about parenthood I wish I could control, sleep would be it. She is cranky when she's tired and her fighting it is most exhausting. I don't know if it's more teething, or me being gone a lot more, but girlfriend went on a solid sleep strike. After a rough week of crying to fight sleep, I was determined to train little miss and got on the controlled crying bandwagon. Three or four nights of awful later, I gave up. She screamed bloody murder and even vomitted all over her bed. I draw the line at puke. She never fell asleep on her own once. She then still went a solid ten days not sleeping unless I held her, I think I really pissed her off. Even at night in bed I would pretty much have to hold her lying down. Bedtime was a war zone until I just accepted this is what she needed, especially since she got so overtired. I've been going to bed with her early every night and bypassing the 15 minute intervals of crib sleeping. She has just recently started weaning from needing to be held again.  I'd also really like my evenings back if she could just sleep straight from 7-10!  Yep, she is still in our bed. Sleeping through the night is priority over sleeping in her crib. At this point, I can't imagine her not sleeping with us but she needs to be out before she turns one. She is still probably waking three times a night.  It doesn't help that our schedule is so mismatched but it's hard to find a balance of sticking to a schedule and also having a little flexibility to have a life. It's hard to do that when bedtime is 6:30. I'm also pushing for her to go to 2 naps a day but since she still isn't a long napper, that 3rd cat nap is still sometimes necessary. 

Some fun milestones, she gets more giggly by the day. She also loves music, especially the abc song. She likes me to sing her to sleep. Elliott is fascinated with sticking out her tongue too. She babbles a good amount and still loves blowing raspberries. Elliott has her bottom two middle teeth completely. I think we are starting to see two upper teeth but she rarely lets me get a good look in there to see.

Andy and I are both looking forward to celebrating Christmas with her here this year. Being parents has already added to the excitement of the season and she doesn't even know what's going on. I can only imagine it will get more fun with each passing year!

Elliott: 7 Months Old

The highlight for this month is that Elliott now has two bottom teeth poking out in the front of her mouth. She isn't very drooly, but she does chew on everything and has been very difficult to get to sleep because of it. It could be way worse though and hopefully the worst of it is behind us.

The other big news is that she eats a purée about once a day. She does okay with them but gets over it pretty quickly. Otherwise she still nurses every 3-4 hours. She still has some reflux but it's improved. No bottles still and we've tried 3 brands of sippy cups with no luck. She does hold and chew on them but is not interesting in sucking/drinking. My life will be so much easier once she can eat without me!

She gets time away from me almost every day now thanks to cheerleading. I've only had practices 1.5-2 hours so it hasn't been too tricky just as long as I time feedings right. Games and competitions will add another layer to that. I did cover at the hospital for a week and a half and that was difficult. I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off to finish as quickly as possible, so I was mostly done around noon. Elliott was with a sitter for two days and those were by far the best days. I'm sure she was fussy but I didn't feel as bad not working at the speed of light to rush back to her. She was with my mom for a day and Andy stayed home for a day. His mom had her another day but that was short lived thanks to Elliott's crankiness. She's definitely getting more comfortable with others but obviously the girl needs to be able to eat (please God take a sippy!). I should note that on her 7 month birthday, Andy and I went on our first legitimate date since Elliott was born. She stayed with Saxtons and did okay even though she skipped a meal. We are making some progress, at least! 

Elliott prefers to sit up almost always and doesn't seem to have much interest in moving just yet (I'm totally okay with this). Tummy time is still at the top of her hate list. She has a select few toys and teethers and her favorite seems to be the stackable cups. Even though she doesn't crawl, she has great reach to grab things.  We've officially put away all things baby now that we haven't been using them in months.  

Another big milestone is that Elliott babbles a lot and has said her first word. Appropriately, it was mama. I know she doesn't really understand what she's doing, but she says it often and with enough clarity that I'm confident in declaring it her first word. Bath time will forever be a fave, I think. She loves the ABC song and it's a great diversion if she's fighting sleep. She also loves to stand and bounce in her jumper. 

I'm really enjoying this phase! If only we could get through this teething thing and be cool when mom is away..

Elliott: Six Months Old

Apparently we have a half year old. I'm actually pretty psyched because I feel like we are coming up on a pretty fun phase. But at the same time I still think of Elliott as a forever baby and I should probably kick some of the baby habits I've instilled in her.. Oops!

We have hit our first bout of sickness. I think it started out as fall allergies and dustiness, but morphed into a cold. After a few nights of wheezing with some gross coughs, we went to the doctor. I swore I wasn't going to be one of those parents that runs to the doctor but I feel like with her well visits we are always there! He said it was nothing serious but to call back if it wasn't gone in a few more days. 

Girlfriend is pretty good at sitting up. She does fine when on her own but tumbles after a minute or so. She can also maneuver a little bit if she wants to move. Please don't start crawling yet!

After the horrendous month of sleeping that was last month, this month is so much better. I've learned that Elliott is just a very easily stimulated child who requires a lot of winding down time before sleep. I've learned to take my time with each nap and we spend a good 20 minutes in her room prior to her actually sleeping. Most of the time she eats shortly before needing to sleep so I use that as a cue to start the process. She's been a distracted eater lately so I nurse her in her bedroom. Then after some burps and cuddles, I set her in her crib to wind down. (If we have time to kill after she eats, we just read books or do things in her bedroom). She squeaks and plays in her crib while I do chores or scroll Facebook (she has yet to fall asleep on her own though). This has been a big saving grace, and she usually sleeps after a minute of rocking. She still sleeps with a fan but music is a last resort add in. I've also switched from the swaddles to ZipadeeZips and think they are a perfect fit for what we need. I could order another one. I put her in her crib at 'bedtime' and go to bed with her at her first or second wake up. Unfortunately I'm lucky if I get an hour out of her though. She catnaps in the evening and just sleeps so much better in our bed. We are at about 3 wake ups over a 11-12 hour period, but That's honestly a guess. I'm trying to cut out one middle of the night feeding to help my case, most of the time she eats for only a minute or two anyway. She seems to be sleeping more deeply but that may just be wishful thinking. She still is a short napper, sleeping anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, although she doesn't stay awake very long before getting tired (2 hours-ish).

Only minor changes in the eating category. She eats about every 3 hours, though can go 4. She got her first dose of rice cereal at 5.5 months and did pretty well. It was basically still completely breast milk. I offered once with formula and she definitely noticed a difference because she wouldn't even let the spoon near her mouth (she wasn't in a bad mood). She has gotten only a few servings so far but is eager to eat when it's offered. I'm honestly just straight up too lazy to do it since I have to pump for it. I'll start doing purees now (a new food every 3 days or so) until I add in table foods. I know I need to start pushing bottles again because I'll be away so much for cheerleading. I'm pretty terrified of how it will go and regretting coaching all together but keep telling myself it will be good for all of us.

Andy is done with harvest but has a bit of ground to work still. I'm ready to have him around again, and am hoping Elliott can warm back up to him. I often go 3 days without leaving the house/going to town and am surprisingly sane given how few people I see (no one). It would also be nice to just have the option to do anything without her with me since she still goes bonkers when I leave, even with Andy. We haven't been on a date or done anything 'for fun' without her since I was pregnant. People don't understand this but it is much easier said than done. I'm working on it. She didn't cry the day I left her with mom and Landry so I'm thinking I just need to glue her to him if I'm gone :) 

A few fun quirks: she is really into sticking out her tongue, smacking her lips, and blowing raspberries. Elliott is also fascinated watching me brush my teeth. I got a jumparoo and she super loves it! She is ticklish and has real giggle fits which are fun. She likes taking her clothes off and is still a water girl. I really feel like she's coming out of the colicky phase and just overall has a much happier disposition. Hopefully I'm right!

Baby Clothes Storage

Have I ever mentioned how much I love organizing Elliott's clothes? I get excited to do her laundry and her room is always tidy. The dresser drawers are no exception.

The room has two dressers, plus a large closet. Let's take a peak...

The dividers are from the Container Store. The depth is perfect, and we have just an inch or two extra on width. 

Here is the top drawer. It houses all of Elliott's bows, scarves, and hats. The left bin has her bib scarves, hats, and headbands that she has grown out of. The middle is all clips. I got a big set and sorted them by color. I keep the clips on their original cardboard strips, which fit perfectly in these dividers. Keeping them on the cardboard strips keeps them in order, I can see everything, and they don't get gnarly or broken. Win! The right bin houses her current headbands with a few other clips that don't belong in the big set. I have one slot for 3-6 month size and another for clips, otherwise 6-12 month headbands are sorted by color. The biggest reason this setup is so great is that I can constantly keep inventory and know if anything is missing. We haven't lost any bows yet and I thank this system for that! It also is super duper easy to find what I'm looking for.

The second to top drawer houses bottoms. The back left section for shorts, the front left for bloomers. The middle keeps leggings sorted by color (a few pairs were in the laundry). The right bin keeps folded jeans since those aren't as easily rolled. Again this makes it easy to find everything since it's all completely visible. I also really enjoy putting together her outfits because of it.

The middle drawer keeps clothes she's grown out of that I haven't had time to put in storage yet.

The bottom two drawers keep her knitted blankets, extra crib sheet and changing pad, as well as a few miscellaneous items. Nothing special about these since they aren't used much.

The other dresser...

The top left keeps swaddle blankets and burp cloths for easy access. Rolling is the way to go peeps! And I know people think I just do it for pictures, but no, the drawers have stayed this way for the past 6+ months.

The middle left drawer is for footwear. More bins from the Container Store allow each pair of shoes to have a home. The right bin keeps socks, as well as swimwear.

The bottom left drawer stores clothes that Elliott doesn't quite fit into yet that aren't hanging clothes.

The top right drawer keeps the cloth diapers. I don't fold the covers and I keep the prefolds flat. It's organized chaos but this works perfectly.

The middle right drawer is general healthcare and grooming. I had two random orange bins that I used to corral items with - one for diaper rashes and general bum care, another for general grooming items. I needed easy access to items like the lotion, hair brush, and nail clippers since they are used frequently. I put down some shelf liner and now each has a spot without needing a bin, and I don't have to worry about them moving around the drawer.

The last drawer on the bottom right keeps carriers, wraps, and sleep sacks. 

Onto the closet! It has two sets of folding doors. This side displays the clothes in Elliott's current rotation. On the left are sleepers, followed by everyday wear to the right (tops, rompers, dresses). Both categories are sorted by color so I can always find what I'm looking for. Again, I like planning her outfits because of this!

On the right hangs clothes she doesn't fit into yet. Because little kids grow so fast, I always have a stash of the next few sizes up. I use Happy Baby closet dividers to keep it all straight and would recommend.

With this system in place, I can constantly see what Elliott does or doesn't need as far as clothing. It's all incredibly simple to maintain, as well. This also prevents me from over buying things- especially when it comes to sizing since it's all sorted. It's crazy how happy this makes me. 

Elliott: Five Months Old

I know every parent says this but even though time is flying, I cannot remember my life without our peanut. We are getting such a big girl. She gets more and more personality every day.

Elliott does quite well sitting up with just a bit of assistance. I don't think it'll be too long before she can sit by herself. Also, toe touching is non-stop. If you lay her on her back she will constantly do crunches to try to sit up.

 She still has a great grasp of toys and such, her real favorites are Sophie and her vibrating corn teether. I've been 'brushing' her gums consistently and she loves the brush too, she just shoves it in her mouth too much it makes her gag. No teeth so far but her gums are hard and oddly bumpy and she does like to gnaw on everything.

We are still going strong with breastfeeding. I can't imagine not doing it at this point and am dreading having to throw real food into the mix because it's just another thing to deal with. We still haven't done any solids whatsoever but will try rice cereal in a few weeks before trying a purée at 6 months. I'm planning to mostly do baby led weaning but we'll ease into it with some purees first. (And seriously, I'm sick of the passive aggressive comments about her not doing solids yet. Get up on your recommendations, people. Also, I am dietitian for Christ's sake.)

Anyway... Elliott eats every 2.5-3 hours mostly, but will do more or less often depending on what we're doing. She eats more often at home and less often if we're out and about busy. She could eat both sides most of the time but she pukes a ton doing that so I more often stick to one. We stopped Zantac about a month ago but she is still puking alright. We have done some bottle training. I've been offering her about an ounce in a bottle every so often before giving her the boob. This way I don't waste so much freaking milk. She mostly plays with it for me. I think her boycotting bottles with sitters is mostly because I'm not the one feeding her. The girl knows what she wants! But honestly I've given up that it's gonna happen at this point.

Yes, Elliott is still not a fan of leaving me. She still cries non-stop for sitters. Luckily she is much warmer with Andy now. He has put her to sleep a few times and she doesn't cry when with him if her needs are met. We just need to work on him picking up on hunger and sleepy cues before the window closes and she gets so pissed there is no return. At least when that happens it's for a more logical reason, though. The bad thing is that harvest has officially started so I won't have him as an option really till Thanksgiving. 

When Elliott and I are together things are fairly smooth. She appreciates a routine. It makes me sad that she doesn't show her happiest side to really anyone but me. I've been reassured by a few SAHM family who also nursed that it's normal and will pass eventually, it will probably just take a while.

Sleep has been interesting. The 4 month sleep regression started exactly on her 4 month birthday. She would randomly wake up sad crying and would be tricky to get calmed and back asleep (it still is probably nothing compared to most people, but was certainly out of her norm). I figured it might be her telling us she was ready for her crib, so I tried it out. That only made it worse and I was a zombie for about two days before deciding it was not worth it. Getting out of bed is not for me (Andy had always been on middle of the night diaper duty if it's necessary). I had been trying to put her to bed in her crib so I don't have to go to bed with her at 7:30, but her first wake up is usually really quick so it doesn't do much. Getting her to sleep in general has become a chore for sure. So our bedtime routine is still all over the place, but she ends up in our bed and is back to sleeping well in the night for the most part. She still wakes 3-4 times over a 10-11ish hour period but I don't have to get out of bed or do much typically so I don't really mind. I like her sleeping with us, but we will revisit the crib situation at some point. (But send help if she's not out by her first birthday).

She does have a very set routine for naps, which is lights off, curtains closed, music on, fan on, swaddle, and would rock to sleep with little effort until a few days ago. Now she seems to hate this routine so we are revisiting our options. The swaddle situation is also hit or miss with success. The length of nap is all over the place but I'd say the average is 1 hour. If she wakes before 45 minutes I will rock her back to sleep again. I can definitely tell she is sleeping lighter because I have had to hold her more lately. Most of the time she will chill in her crib when she wakes for a bit so I can finish whatever I'm doing.

A few quirks: she is squealing all the time. I call her Squeaker. She loves it when you blow raspberries on her. E is still a fan of water and outside. She loves (!) the wind in her face and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She watches one episode a day and smiles so big when Mickey walks up the hill to say hello! Andy even says the opening line to her in Mickey voice when she's fussy. I don't think I've ever mentioned that she has always been a blankie girl - she loves to hold them and rub her face. She also doesn't love the paci but it will suffice most of the time. 

Our routine on weekdays is pretty easy. Wake, play in bed, diaper change, eat, and sit in living room while I get breakfast. Nap one. Then typically she sits in her bouncer while I shower and then do dishes or laundry. She eats somewhere in there before nap 2. I usually get lunch while she sleeps. When awake we take a trip to the mailbox and run errands or more random housework before nap 3 late afternoon. She's awake during dinner prep and dinner time before starting the bed time process, MMC is typically on to distract her. 

I love the baby stage but at this point I love seeing her reach milestones and am excited for her to keep growing.

Cloth Diaper Update

We are a good 3 months into cloth diaper usage and things are going great! I have put away the smaller sizes and am onto the bigger one-size options. It's amazing how easy they are. At this point I even prefer them to disposables.

I still am using covers with prefolds for the most part. After finding the best fold for Elliott, it's a breeze and I have had zero leaks. I'm way more likely to get poop on her clothes or changing pad when changing a poopy disposable vs a poopy cloth. Here is how this works:

Prefold and cover

Set prefold over cover, fold in back if too big (for boys you fold in the front)

Set diaper under child (not shown, obviously) and fold the sides between the legs in front

Then you pull the front up and snap wherever needed. Voila.

Sometimes after you put on the prefold sticks out a bit. Just shove it back in.

First, I prefer snaps over Velcro. All of the new covers I bought are snaps and I just feel like they fit better. When it comes to brands, I have developed a few favorites. I have one Blueberry, three Flip, two Thirsties, and one Rumparooz (so 7 covers in rotation). Blueberry and Flip are my favorite brands because they aren't too bulky and I like the fit. (Flip is thinner and cheaper, which is both good and bad. The pink cover in the pictures above is a Flip). Thirsties I also like because they are thin and you can't tell when Elliott has a cloth diaper on because no bubble butt is on display. My least fave by far is Rumparooz because they are super bulky, awkward fit, and the elastic is really tight. I only bought one new Rumparooz but I shouldn't have bothered.

I have two all in ones that get good use too. These are both BumGenius brand and I like the way they fit. They also hold a gallon of pee. Even though we mostly use overnight disposables at night, I have put Elliott in an AIO before and it didn't leak (and she pees a lot at night). But I also use these randomly during the day. 

Andy still doesn't use any cloth but I'm not pushing him to either. He is set in his ways, so it's not worth my effort at this point. I have started using cloth when we leave the house. Most of the time I don't need to change her when I am only gone for 1-2 hours so I've realized it's stupid for me to put her in a disposable for that. I have a smaller wet bag if I decide to push the envelope. 

Washing is a breeze, really. I keep a wet bag on the back handle of Elliott's bedroom door which is right next to her changing area. I wash everything on a delicate cycle (I feel like my washer has weird settings) with warm water, sometimes hot if I feel like it. I add pre-soak and extra rinse to it. Regular powdered Tide is my preference, occasionally I'll add some OxiClean. Everything air dries. I probably average 2-3 loads a week, but could do less if I had more diapers in the rotation or more than one big wet bag. It's not hard because nothing requires folding, which is the biggest hassle of laundry, amiright? 

Overall, I'm really happy I took the plunge with cloth. I think we've broken even with cost so far, which will make using them with future kiddos even more worth it. We've only had to buy maybe 3 boxes of diapers total at 5 months old and we have some left over. It's super simple, really, I swear!

Elliott: Four Months Old

I think we can say at 4 months we have a real happy baby! Elliott has never been a big crank for me, but now she is seriously smiley, and not just for me.

Elliott still enjoys being out in public (the store or on walks in town). She is also very into her routine at home. It's more when we are at gatherings/parties when she gets cranky from overstimulation, although I think we might be nearing the end of this phase just from her attitude the past week. In public, there are distractions but no one is up in her business. She also is much happier if she is being held while you're standing (I think it's a control issue, wonder where that comes from?) Elliott still really likes the outdoors, and when the weather has cooperated she sits pretty content in the shade for a while (which means we can get yard work done!).

We've grown pretty accustomed to singing, she and I. I love singing to her and Elliott smiles loads and it is my favorite. Music is a big part of our routine.   She has had a few giggle fits and they are pretty funny! We've also tried to incorporate a little more 'play time.' She holds toys (rattles and Sophie) really well and is getting pretty good with dexterity! She can even take her pacifier in and out of her mouth and pass it from hand to hand. It's adorable to watch her eyes get wide with concentration. Also, she is constantly putting her hands in her mouth if she doesn't have a paci or toy to put in there.  It's really funny to watch her stare and move her hands slowly as if she is inspecting them with intensity. We rolled from front to back just 3 days before her 4 month birthday and can go both directions. Honestly she can almost go from back to front too.

No big changes on the eating front other than she is eating more at a time. It's not uncommon for her to eat both sides. She still spits up about once with each feeding, but pretty much only as she burps. Overall, this is much more manageable now that we've been on meds for a while and she's getting stronger, although we are phasing off of the Zantac. She is still getting happier each day because of it. She hasn't gotten many bottles the past week or two, but I give her about 3 oz when she does take one, though it takes some back and forth for her to get it down.

About the bottle thing... Remember when I said I had to work for two weeks? Yeah. That happened and it didn't go so hot. Basically, Elliott hates everyone that isn't me. I've never known a kid to have separation anxiety so young, but that is 100% what it is. She would scream bloody murder until I walked in the room like it was night and day. She wouldn't eat for anyone. No, I don't think it means I need to 'leave her more.' She will grow out of it, but this is why I stay at home. It is her personality and I don't blame her for not loving strangers.

Bedtime is still about the same, although she has been fighting me this week - head to bed about 7, nurse (if she is hungry), play music. Although a lot of times she doesn't fall asleep on her own, laying with her usually works eventually. She is a real cuddler. She searches for me with her hands, feels my face, to make sure I'm there and also I think to distract herself from sleeping. She's also still into holding my hand when she's tired which is pretty lovely, too. We have kicked the bassinet to the curb. She and I both get more restful sleep when neither of us have to move at all. (The only issue with this is that she doesn't like to be woken up for diaper changes so we have changed our sheets about 5 times in the last two weeks. We are on to the baby dry diapers now). We don't swaddle at night anymore because I thought she was getting too hot. She still sleeps great so no negative change because of it. We do loosely for naps. All naps happen in her crib, and we follow the same routine as above, except I have her in the rocking chair and she doesn't nurse to sleep unless she is overtired and super pissed. Most naps average about an hour or hour and a half :) Elliott stays awake for 1.5-2 hours between naps typically. She is easily the crankiness when she's tired, but most of the time goes to sleep pretty easily as long as she is not over tired. If it takes me 15 minutes to get her down, that's a long time. She knows being in her nursery, with music on and lights off, that it's time to sleep. I've tried putting her in her crib at bedtime but it hasn't lasted long yet. I'm not going to push being full time in the crib. We are set with crib for naps, so it will happen when she's ready.

Most carter's 3 months clothes have been put away and we are on to 6 months. And I've noticed that 3-6 month clothes for gap and old navy are even larger than carter's 6 month! I still have a few 0-3 month dresses out in those brands. I think for the most part she is average baby size, and very proportional. We have been in size 2 diapers for over a month and should be good for a while in them.

I still think she is the cutest little peanut and am loving watching her grow.