Less than 72 hours after I wrote Olivia's 8 month update... something amazing happened. My child CUT her first tooth. It is on the bottom left of her lower gum. I literally took a sigh of relief. This past month has been a rough one for our girl (I mentioned that in the 8 month update) and it has been exhausting for her parents as well. As soon as I felt the first nub of a tooth, it's like she took a complete 360 yet again - but this time our sweet girl shifted back to her normal, smiley, happy self. I feel so terrible for our sweet girl. I think teething is going to kick her but a little more than we anticipated. Babies truly are so incredibly different, even siblings.. With Ava, she never showed signs that teething hurt her. Truthfully, she just got super drooly and would maybe have a little more spit up than normal?
I love that we are able to experience the difference in personalities with our girls. it's humbling us, equipping us even more so, and really opening up our eyes to addressing new things with our children. To continue to the good news train, Olivia has also just started standing up and standing still in the middle of a room. I can't believe how much change has happened in our home in just 72 hours. This morning after Ava's swim class: We came home, let the girls play on the floor, and then it happened. Olivia held onto her infant car seat and let go... she just stood there. Unassisted, like a natural. She didn't take any steps though. Regardless, I'm blown away by my child's growth curve.
The exhaustion this past month didn't even matter today. I just couldn't stop myself from smiling and loving on my baby girl. The life mantra I took on during Ava's infancy still proves to be true. WHEN YOU ARE A PARENT- you are not managing an inconvenience, you are raising a human being. While the falls, bumps, and mood swings aren't always fun - I will always remember how blessed we are to have been given our sweet girls. On that note, I am off! It's family day and I'm going to soak up all the time I can with the loves of my life.
Happy Saturday all!
** UPDATE** Baby cut TWO teeth on the bottom!
♥- Leilani
YES!
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
This past month has been thee most emotional month of our lives. I'm going to keep it completely real with you guys - this month has been so completely draining. Olivia went and did a 360 on us and is currently going through teething, thee " I only want my mama phase" and the " I want to pull up on everything even if that means it will FALL on top of me" phase. I can't quite put into words how I feel... maybe constantly having my heart feel like it's going to leap from my chest and a mix of utter exhaustion. I don't even mean like tired exhaustion. I mean like emotional exhaustion. I beat myself up over EVERYTHING that happens to my children. Why? Because most of the day, I am the sole provider for them. I am home, I take care of their needs, and it's my responsibility to make sure that they are safe... This month, I feel like I failed. It actually makes me super emotional writing that (more on this later). Okay, now that the heavy feels are out of the way, lets get back to celebrating my Livy bean's eighth month of life!
Even with all the throws of parenthood, I would never for one moment change the fact that I get to be a mother to two beautiful, perfect, hilarious, little girls. Olivia's personality emerges more and more each day and she is without a doubt a strong willed, determined, intelligent little babe.
Clothes: Surprisingly, Olivia is still in 9 month clothing. I know I could probably switch to 12 months entirely if I wanted to, but the next size up would still be a little big in the length department. I also can't believe that my 8 month old is already almost in 12 month clothing. I know we will definitely be switching before Halloween (more than likely before our trip to New York in a couple weeks). I have been SUPER matchy matchy with the girls and their fall clothing. Florals, festive shirts, and so many cute cardigans. My mom would match my sister and I all the time; I plan to do the same thing with my girls.
Health: Olivia is perfectly healthy, it's more of the spills/falls/bumps that have occurred that have me feeling so emotional about her health. The other day, my child tried to climb up my vacuum cleaner. I turned away for one split second - the next thing I know: Olivia has pulled the vacuum cleaner down on top of her. Well, that's not exactly right. It didn't fall on her, but it definitely hit her on the way down. She had this indent on her head and I immediately started freaking out. I was crying, i was frantic, and I was trying to console my baby while trying to get a better look at what part of the cleaner hit her and where exactly she was hurting. The indent turned into a bump within a matter of minutes. Justin was on his way home from bringing the girls god mom from the airport. My immediate thought was to take her to the ER. Long story short: Olivia is perfectly fine. That was our health scare of the month though.
Feeding: This has changed significantly since I last did a monthly update. I wrote a blog a month ago (maybe?) about our choice to utilize baby led weaning. It was literally the best choice of our lives and Olivia's as well. She absolutely loves to feed herself and she eats so much! So many healthy choices - and i don't spend hours making purees anymore. She also loves those little puffs that gerber makes. They make these organic yogurt melts as well - Olivia LOVES them. Eating is going well and sometimes Olivia will let us feed her. As far as nursing, we are 8 months and counting! Still going strong. I almost want to say her feedings have decreased just a little - but we have a ton of cluster feeding later in the evenings.
Sleep: THIS CHILD. She is still an amazing sleeper. When she is down, she is down! Sometimes her naps can be short and interrupted (especially if we are on the go), but when it comes to that long 8-8 stretch that we have in our normal routine at night - Livy is golden.
Milestones: So many things to list here. First, we bought Olivia a walker - she actually walks in it. I mean all over the place. This is used when Justin or I need to do a quick task (dishes, laundry, etc.) but we mainly keep her on the floor for play. She loves being able to chase Ava around the house in her walker though. Olivia has taken like 1.5 unassisted steps by herself - she topples over shortly after. She opens all her drawers, our cupboards, and entertainment center doors. Her goal is to be at the highest level she can (she succeeds in this a lot of the time). Olivia pulls up on the couch, dining room chairs, and often times her sister - just to be able to stand and attempt to take steps. We are so proud of her growth and all that our babe can do now!
Things You Love: You love when we "gobble" on your neck with kisses. You love when mama rubs your head, arms, and cheeks. You love when your sister sings, dances, or pretty much does anything on your level. YOU LOVE BEING ABLE TO SEE MAMA 24/7. Seriously. If you don't see mama, there is chaos in your sweet world. You still love peek-a-boo (when it is done appropriately). You love the theme songs to two of your sister's favorite shows.
This month was full of so much change. I know before we know it, I'll be writing toddler updates for Miss Olivia Rose. It's insane to me that in four short months we will be celebrating a first birthday for our girl. I am relishing in all the moments with my sweet Livy girl - she truly is the center of our world in the Howland house. We love you Olivia Rose!
♥- Leilani
Even with all the throws of parenthood, I would never for one moment change the fact that I get to be a mother to two beautiful, perfect, hilarious, little girls. Olivia's personality emerges more and more each day and she is without a doubt a strong willed, determined, intelligent little babe.
Clothes: Surprisingly, Olivia is still in 9 month clothing. I know I could probably switch to 12 months entirely if I wanted to, but the next size up would still be a little big in the length department. I also can't believe that my 8 month old is already almost in 12 month clothing. I know we will definitely be switching before Halloween (more than likely before our trip to New York in a couple weeks). I have been SUPER matchy matchy with the girls and their fall clothing. Florals, festive shirts, and so many cute cardigans. My mom would match my sister and I all the time; I plan to do the same thing with my girls.
Health: Olivia is perfectly healthy, it's more of the spills/falls/bumps that have occurred that have me feeling so emotional about her health. The other day, my child tried to climb up my vacuum cleaner. I turned away for one split second - the next thing I know: Olivia has pulled the vacuum cleaner down on top of her. Well, that's not exactly right. It didn't fall on her, but it definitely hit her on the way down. She had this indent on her head and I immediately started freaking out. I was crying, i was frantic, and I was trying to console my baby while trying to get a better look at what part of the cleaner hit her and where exactly she was hurting. The indent turned into a bump within a matter of minutes. Justin was on his way home from bringing the girls god mom from the airport. My immediate thought was to take her to the ER. Long story short: Olivia is perfectly fine. That was our health scare of the month though.
Feeding: This has changed significantly since I last did a monthly update. I wrote a blog a month ago (maybe?) about our choice to utilize baby led weaning. It was literally the best choice of our lives and Olivia's as well. She absolutely loves to feed herself and she eats so much! So many healthy choices - and i don't spend hours making purees anymore. She also loves those little puffs that gerber makes. They make these organic yogurt melts as well - Olivia LOVES them. Eating is going well and sometimes Olivia will let us feed her. As far as nursing, we are 8 months and counting! Still going strong. I almost want to say her feedings have decreased just a little - but we have a ton of cluster feeding later in the evenings.
Sleep: THIS CHILD. She is still an amazing sleeper. When she is down, she is down! Sometimes her naps can be short and interrupted (especially if we are on the go), but when it comes to that long 8-8 stretch that we have in our normal routine at night - Livy is golden.
Milestones: So many things to list here. First, we bought Olivia a walker - she actually walks in it. I mean all over the place. This is used when Justin or I need to do a quick task (dishes, laundry, etc.) but we mainly keep her on the floor for play. She loves being able to chase Ava around the house in her walker though. Olivia has taken like 1.5 unassisted steps by herself - she topples over shortly after. She opens all her drawers, our cupboards, and entertainment center doors. Her goal is to be at the highest level she can (she succeeds in this a lot of the time). Olivia pulls up on the couch, dining room chairs, and often times her sister - just to be able to stand and attempt to take steps. We are so proud of her growth and all that our babe can do now!
Things You Love: You love when we "gobble" on your neck with kisses. You love when mama rubs your head, arms, and cheeks. You love when your sister sings, dances, or pretty much does anything on your level. YOU LOVE BEING ABLE TO SEE MAMA 24/7. Seriously. If you don't see mama, there is chaos in your sweet world. You still love peek-a-boo (when it is done appropriately). You love the theme songs to two of your sister's favorite shows.
This month was full of so much change. I know before we know it, I'll be writing toddler updates for Miss Olivia Rose. It's insane to me that in four short months we will be celebrating a first birthday for our girl. I am relishing in all the moments with my sweet Livy girl - she truly is the center of our world in the Howland house. We love you Olivia Rose!
♥- Leilani
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