15 months



Greta had her 15 month wellness visit. Her baby needed a checkup too.

Greta turned 15 months last Wednesday and we had a wellness checkup that day as well. We were happy to see Greta had gained almost 2 lbs in the last 3 months. At her 12 month visit she had only gained 1.5 oz from 9 months to 12 months and weighed 17 # 10 oz and was 28.5 ". 

At 15 months:

weight- 19 # 14 oz ~ 10th percentile

height- 30.5" ~25-50th percentile

head

What are you up to at 15 months?

- You have added several words to your vocabulary. You can say mom, daddy, puppy, milk, cheese, woof-woof, baby, ball, uh-oh, gentle, brrr, ... hmmm I know there are more?

- You wear a variety of sizes. We have you in mostly 12-18 month clothes but some of the smaller sizes still fit too.

- You are in size 4 diapers for nighttime and during the day you wear cloth diapers. You still fit in your medium BG AIOs so those are usually are first pick.

- You go to bed around 7:30pm and usually wake up once between 3-4am and then sleep until 8am.

- You still take 2 naps per day. Your first nap is around 10am and your afternoon nap is around 2pm. You are usually pretty flexible about what times we put you down depending on how busy our day is.

- You've been eating a lot better the last 3 months but still don't mind if we feed you. You still enjoy your pureed foods and we add some finger food in as well although often it gets tossed on the floor to Sofie.

- You drink usually  3- 7 oz bottles per day. One morning, noon, and bedtime bottle. You just dropped your mid-afternoon bottle last week. Since your weight increased at this last vist we'll probably soon drop the noon bottle too. I'm still pumping twice per day and getting about 10 oz and you drink the rest in whole milk. We transitioned to whole milk about 1.5 months ago and you seem to really like it. You have a straw sippy cup that you like to drink water from or try drinking water from our cups at restaurants.

- Your favorite toy by far is your baby. You are constantly carrying your baby tucked under your left arm. You usually also carry a washcloth (to use as a blanket for your baby), a little monkey purse, a crunch play dollar bill, and a couple rings you pretend are bracelets. I laugh when I'm getting ready for us to go out for the day and am packing your little hodge podge of random things you play with. You also like to put your baby in your Little People car and push her around or put her in a bucket and push her. You make a vroom noise.

- You continue to cruise around furniture and can push your walker with one hand. I know you could walk if you wanted to put it seems like you really are not in any hurry. You have your way of getting around with either crusing on furniture or scooting with your knee up so you can carry things in your left hand and this seems to suit you just fine. I'm not really in any rush for you to walk as I know it will bring a lot of new challenges:)

Your mommy and daddy love you so much!

14 months and a photo catch-up

Greta turned 14 months old yesterday. We spent the afternoon in Maple Grove Arbor Lakes with our friend Johanna and Greta's future husband, Harry. I'm bummed that I didn't take a picture of them together because Harry was looking quite handsome yesterday.

Greta in her new dress from grandma and grandpa.

She didn't like the feel of the grass on her bare legs.

A little recap of what Greta's up to at 14 months:
- She pulls up on everything and is cruising around furniture. She hasn't stood on her own for more than a second and is very cautious. I think it will be another month or so before she takes her first step.
- Her favorite toys right now are her music table and she always has a baby or small stuffed animal tucked under her left arm wrapped in a blanket or washcloth. Chad and I were just laughing tonight because we don't know where she picked up wrapping babies or animals in a blanket since she doesn't sleep with a blanket. She will sit so quietly trying to get her little square of a blanket just right and then lay her baby down on it and wrap the baby and then tuck them under her arm. She's even invented a crawl so she can get around with her baby. She will scoot with her left foot forward. It's kind of a kneel/crawl scoot. I've yet to capture it on video.
- Ever since Greta turned one year old she's been sleeping at night a lot better. She will go to bed at 7:30pm and sleep until 8:30am and usually only gets up one time in the middle of the night to eat. Last night she went to bed closer to 8pm, got up at 5:30am to eat, and slept until 9am. That's my girl!
- Greta has been an awesome napper since about 4 months. She usually takes 2 naps per day. The first one is about 1.5 hours after she gets up and the second nap is usually around 2pm. Her morning nap seems to be the most important and if we are out and don't get home until 3pm or later she is pretty flexible with her afternoon nap and takes it when I put her down. The morning nap is 1-1.5 hours and the afternoon nap is 1.5-2 hours long. Some days (like today) she was a little crabby so I put her down for a 3rd nap at 4:30pm and she woke up at 5:45pm with a completely different attitude. It's nice that she is staying up a little later at night (thanks to the daylight savings time change) so Chad gets to see Greta more at night.
- Eating has still been a bit of a struggle. Greta was in the 5th percentile for weight at her 12 month visit so our pediatrician wanted us to make sure she was still getting a good amount of milk along with trying to get her to eat more solids. She drinks about 5 bottles per day and gets about 25 oz of milk total. I'm still pumping twice a day and getting about 12 oz/day total so we supplement with a toddler formula for the other 13+oz. We've tried whole milk a few times and are going to try and incorporate it more over the next month. Greta won't drink the whole milk/formula unless it's mixed with half breastmilk. We ran out of our freezer stash of breastmilk when Greta was about 11 months so luckily I've been able to keep up with what she needs and supplement with the rest. For solid foods, Greta loves the organic food pouches from Happy Baby, Plum, or Ella's Kitchen. She's not a fan of feeding herself finger food (unless it's puffs). We continue to try different things and she's gotten a lot better in the last month. I bought some tofu yesterday and we're going to try adding that to some food for added protein.
- Greta loves music and will often try to sing along with me to some of her favorite songs- Twinkle, Twinkle, Ba Ba Black Sheep, ABCs, Itsy Bitsy (she'll try to do the hand signs), and Don't be Tardy for the Party (this is a dance favorite of hers). We play her McPhail Sing Play Learn Cd often and she loves to sing and dance to it. It's a great distraction for car rides too!

Busy practicing walking.

Checking herself out in the mirror.

Playing peek-a-boo with her dress.

Greta loves getting together with her friends. She will often squeal when she sees her friends. We had a playdate last week with Greta's friends- Elle and Ava.

Greta giving fishlips for the camera.

They play so well together!

Last Sunday, I hosted a baby shower for my friend, Kristi, who is due in July with a little boy.

Mommy's girl!

She sure keeps us busy but we are enjoying every day with our sweet baby girl!

11 months old

Look who turned 11 months old on January 25th!

Greta, you are growing so fast! I can't believe next month you will be one year old!
A little about Greta:
- You are babbling like crazy. Sometimes, it sounds like you say "hi", "I love you", and "Sofie". You definitely know how to say da-da and sometimes will say ma-ma.
- We are working on your sign language. I think I caught you signing "more" a few weeks ago when you were eating puffs in your high chair. You sign "milk" but usually it happens when you are drinking your bottle and you don't sign to let us know yet that it's what you want. We will keep working on your signs and I think you'll catch on in the next month. I'm excited to be able to have an easier way to communicate with you.
- You are a picky eater. We've really struggled with introducing solid foods to you. You prefer your bottles and more times than not won't eat a bite of your pureed foods. You love puffs! We've also tried a lot of other finger foods like peas, bananas, avocado. We just tried a new brand of food this week from Ella's Kitchen and you LOVE it! I'm hoping we've turned a corner and you really start to enjoy eating more solid food.
- You love your bottles! Most days you still won't drink more than 5 oz bottles. A week and a half ago we started mixing Good Start formula in with the breastmilk in your bottles and you aren't seeming to notice. You hated the Similac and Enfamil formula mixed into your bottles and we couldn't even hide 1 oz of formula in your bottles without you noticing. So far, we're up to 2 oz  formula and 3 oz of breastmilk and you take your bottles fine.  You still drink about seven 5 oz bottles per day. You usually drink a botte at 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 7pm, 11pm, and 3am. Sometimes you don't want to drink your 7pm bottle and then you are up between 9 or 10pm. You won't eat unless you are super hungry and not a minute before. You often don't finish your bottle. You've started wanting to sit up while you drink your bottle because you like to look around. I miss holding you like a baby and cuddling during your bottle feeds. The only times that I can rock and hold you while feeding you a bottle is at 11pm and 3am. Not a perfect time, but I guess I'll take it. You still won't hold your bottle while eating but the minute you are done drinking you want to hold the bottle and play with it. We have been working on getting you to try the sippy cup but you mostly just play with it. The last week you've started making a moaning noise when you want milk. It's different from a normal cry and let's us know it's bottle time.
- You are still taking 3 naps a day. If we are out more during the day you will sometimes take 2 longer naps. Your morning nap seems to be the most important and you usually nap from 9-10:30am, nap at 1pm, and 4:30pm. You usually need a nap about every 2-2.5 hours. You do a wonderful job of putting yourself to sleep for naps and bedtime.
- You go to bed around 7pm. Sometimes earlier if you didn't get a late afternoon nap.
- You wear size 3 diapers at night and cloth diapers during the day. You still fit into my favorite cloth diapers, the size medium Bumgenius AIOs but I don't think they are going to fit you much past your 1st birthday.
- You wear a variety of 6-12 month clothes. I'm interested to see how much you weigh at your one year appointment because you seem to have slimmed out in the waist a bit with all the crawling you've been doing.
- You are crawling everywhere. You still mostly army crawl but seem to crawl on your knees when you are on the kitchen floor. You have been pulling up to your knees more the past two weeks and on Saturday you pulled up to stand while holding onto your toy box. Daddy was home with you but I missed it. Boo. Please do this again soon so I can see.
- You are so affectionate. You love to give kisses and crawl into our laps. You often hold your arms up to be held and I happily oblige by snuggling you every chance I can get. I will sometimes put you in the Beco carrier so I can get a few things done but still hold you close so you can get your cuddles.

Helping mommy in the kitchen.

- You have started to show us a little more of the dramatic side of your personality lately. You hate getting your diaper changed for some reason and it usually causes some tears. Luckily, the tears pass quickly and the majority of the day you are pretty happy and smiley.

Love playing with mommy's cell phone.

You also love playing with blocks. We stack them high and you like to knock them down.

We can sometimes get you to wave.

Sharing? Umm... having a hard time with that one. Whatever someone has you usually want.

At storytime last Thursday with your friend Harper.



- My favorite thing to do with you is hold you and sing songs or read books. You love reading little board books and will babble and smack your lips while you turn the pages. You will also try to sing along when I sing songs you are familar with like Twinkle, Twinkle or A,B,Cs.
- Your favorite toys are not really toys. You love spatulas, measuring cups, plastic hangers, a popcorn tin you use for a drum. You love to inspect things and are very visual.
- You have always been a really good passenger in the car. You love to look out the windows and will just babble and shriek in delight while we are driving. Sometimes if I sing in the car you will chime in. You've also found your rhythm this month and will bounce up and down to the beat of music.

Your mommy and daddy love you so much!

9 months old

Greta turned 9 months on Thanksgiving. She had her 9 month checkup a few days later. Here she is sitting on the scale waiting to get weighed.
Measuring her height.

Exhausted.

Yay! All finished!

Her pediatrician thought she looked great. She's gained about 2 pounds since her 6 month visit. Here are her 9 month stats:

Height: 27" ~ 25th percentile

Weight: 17#9oz ~ 25th percentile

Head size: 17.7" ~ 75th percentile

Overall, Greta is doing good. The only issues are she's still getting up about 3 times a night and she isn't interested in solid foods.

I tried getting a pictures the other day of her in front of her blocks and each month seems to be getting more difficult.

She's not satisfied by having a few blocks but she wants the ones I lined up in front of her too. Stinker.

What is Greta up to at 9 months:

- She started army crawling on Nov. 21st and has quickly learned how to scoot over to something she wants.

- Greta has been sitting since she was 5 months old and I'm thankful this still seems to be her favorite position. Even though she knows how to crawl around now she is still happy playing in one spot for quite awhile.

- Just this past Tuesday (12/7) Greta surprised me by sittting up from the crawl position.

- She loves to clap her hands together, especially when you are cheering her on.

- She's in mostly size 9 month clothes and a few 6 month sleepers.

- She is in a size 3 diaper at night and cloth diapers during the day. My favorite diapers, her medium Bumgenius AIOs, are starting to not hold as much and I think she is starting to outgrow them. I'll be sad when we have to pack them up because they are my first-grabs from her stash.

- We wear lots of dresses and tights/baby legs because of the fluffy cloth diaper butt.

- She prefers to sleep on her tummy and we still use just a sleep sack.

- She's incredibly happy when she wakes up in the morning and from a nap. I love going into her room and seeing her huge grin.

- For the past month or so Greta has not been fond of diaper changes. She's really strong now and will try to pull to her tummy or fussy when her diaper is changed. She could have been happy just minutes before but for some reason diaper changes put her in a bad mood.

Greta's normal day routine at 9 months:

-Up between 8-8:30am
- She usually drinks 7 or 8-5 oz bottles. We struggle to get her to even drink 5 oz sometimes. Her bottles are usually at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, (about 2-3 night bottles- 11pm, 2am, 5am?)

- She takes 3 naps a day and puts herself to sleep really well. She will sometimes jabber in her crib for a few minutes and it's cute to listen to her little conversations.

- bedtime is usually around 7:30pm
- She enjoys going to her classes- 3 ecfe classes, baby storytime, and 2 parenting classes.

- She says dada, mama, baba, and babbles a few other words. It sometimes sounds like she has a word for Sofie and I sometimes think she's trying to say "I love you".

- Sofie is really good with her and doesn't mind Greta petting her. Greta has been really gentle with Sofie so far so I think that has helped with Sofie not being scared of Greta. Sofie will often get a toy and lay right beside Greta and play with it. Greta loves to watch Sofie play ball and wants to try and grab Sofie's red ball so she can throw it to her.

We've enjoyed these last 9 months with Greta and can't wait to see what the next month will bring!

2 months

Dear Greta,

I can't believe you've already been in our lives for over 2 months. The time has just flown by. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital. I'm trying to capture and cherish each moment with you because I know in a blink of an eye you'll be walking, driving, and then off to college.

I think we're starting to see your cues for when you are hungry, tired, need a diaper change, or just want to be held. You are such a good baby. You've been sleeping so well lately. We haven't had another 7 hour night of sleep but you usually sleep between 5-6 hours before waking up to eat and then immediately go back to sleep. You usually don't even open your eyes the entire time I'm feeding you. You usually sleep about 12 hours at night and get up twice. So if we put you down between 9:30-10:30pm you will usually sleep until about 9:30-10:30am before you are ready to be up for the day. You are so smiley in the morning and even though you are hungry you like to just look at me and smile and coo. It's cute because it's like you realize you haven't seen me for awhile and want to have a little chat first before your breakfast.

You just love baths. I think you like being naked. So far, you've never been upset when getting a bath. Even if you are a little fussy before the bath, it seems to relax you. Daddy usually gives the baths and I just look at you and comment how big you've grown.
You are really starting to show your personality. You are so happy and just love to smile and stick your tongue out. Daddy taught you how to stick your tongue out so now you use it as a form of communication. You will often stick your tongue out and wait for us to do the same back to you. It's too cute. Hopefully, you don't continue this little trick into grade school.

You are starting to really recognize our voices. Sometimes daddy will be holding you and I'll come into the room and start talking and you'll hear my voice and try to turn your head to hear me. I love that you are starting to recognize us.

We've started to venture out of the house a lot more and take little day trips around the city. I think you like the change of scenary and are usually just happy sitting in your stroller. The only bad part about going somewhere is that it takes forever for us to get out of the house. No matter how quickly we try to get ready it usually takes us from start to out the door- 2 hours. No worries- we just plan accordingly.

What are you up to at 2 months old?

- smile at the sound of our voice and you will smile at other people

- you can raise your head and chest when lying on your stomach

- roll over from stomach to back

- hit the objects on your activity mat

- recognize yourself in the mirror on your papasan chair and talk to yourself

- coo and try to talk to us

- you have good neck strength and can sit in your bumbo chair for a short amount of time.

- you eat about 4 oz. at a time

- wear size one diapers

- still wear newborn clothes and are in some size o-3 month clothes

- you love music and it's even better if mommy dances around a little bit.

- You are getting along great with Sofie and Bijou. Sofie will get up with you in the middle of the night and come into the nursery when I change your diaper. This is huge for Sofie because it sometimes takes a miracle to get Sofie up in the morning. Bijou doesn't really pay too much attention to you. She will sometimes lay by your bouncy seat though or come over to you if you are crying.

Your mommy and daddy couldn't love you more. We're excited to see you grow and change, but not too fast there little missy. Time- please stand still.

Love,

Mom