CLOTHING
Linnea is still comfy in the 3-6 month clothes, with a few 0-3 month pieces still fitting. I did break into some hand me downs in the 6-9 month range. It's great to have a growing girl!
SLEEPING
Sleeping like a rock star! Linnea is taking about three good naps during the day. And by good, I mean I have no idea how long the naps are. All I know is I can play, feed, and put Ethan to bed during her naps. They are very coordinated (by no help from me!). Her evenings can vary and when she goes down for the night tends to be different every day. But she typically sleeps through the night every night waking only once in the early morning (5-7 am) to feed and then back to sleep.
EATING
Breast feeding is still a challenge and I think will always be a challenge as it is effected by her strong-willed personality. However, I have been noticing we are experiencing fewer terrible BFing days. The ugly cries are fewer and farther between. So although I can't say we have turned a leaf, we may have learned to cope. I try to feed her from the breast as often as I can, but she is still receiving bottles at daycare. I seem to be able to keep up with her needs by pumping and my freezer stash is helping out. The saga continues...
DEVELOPMENT
She continues to roll over like a champ. Tummy time is a distant memory as she flips over almost immediately. We have started to work on sitting a bit more aggressively. She almost has it! She is still tripod-ing and can sit for a few seconds by herself before getting distracted by something just out of reach. She falls over so gracefully! :) We have also been looking for signs to start solids. As we will be following the
BLW method as we did with Ethan, we will be waiting until she makes the indication she is ready. Since sitting is progressing as is her use of her thumb and pointer, it may be just around the corner. Linnea has also been working on some teeth! Although none are pushed through she has taken to chewing on anything she can find, although her favorites are Natursutten pacifiers and her SugarBooger teethers.
BIG BROTHER
Ethan is wonderful big brother. I can tell he wants nothing more than to play with Linnea. Although, I know that would greatly challenge his sharing capacity. He has recently become extremely taken with trains. I got his some train tracks from IKEA as an effort to keep him playing in his room. I can't quite tell if they are my saving grace or the bane of my existence. Time will tell... Ethan's speech is progressing. I still have to ask him to repeat quite often, which thoroughly frustrates him. He is enjoying the days he is at daycare, especially the Wednesday water days during the summer. I am happy to see him improving his play (and sharing) with other children. I see some compassion in some of his actions that I would expect from a two year old. Ethan attended his first play! We went to a show that was an interesting interpretation of Pinocchio. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he did. It is such a blessing to watch him learn and grow.
MOM + DAD
We got a date night! We got a date night! Woot! This has been a busy month for sure! Changes with my work schedule had me on site more often which means kids at daycare more often. This was a hard transition, yet again. But back to date night...Dan and I were able to sneak away for a few hours to attend Dan's company party. It was a boat cruise down the St. Croix river and we had the perfect night for it. Dan was also in on a MAJOR surprise. My older sister was flown in from Vancouver to spend a week with my family. I hadn't seen her in about 2 years. It was a very special time. We took a day trip to Duluth to ride the "Thomas the Tank Engine" train. Ethan was beside himself and I'm not sure he knew how to process what was happening. Having a hard time managing his emotions, he was crying and whining a bit more than usual. Although it was a fun day, it was completely exhausting. We took another weekend trip to Freeport, IL to visit my Grandparents and also attend to town's cruise night. We trailered Dan's classic truck to be involved in the cruise. Dan loved being out and about with his truck! It was a great visit that ended too soon! The month rounded out with Dan's birthday on the 18th. another night out we could celebrate together. Can't believe that all happened in a month! Minnesota summers are always busy and eventful!
Vi ses senare!
Emily