Eight Months with Amalia

Bow/ Striped Dress / Monthly Milestone Cards c/o

Well it’s official… The days of Amalia sitting still with a sweet smile for photos is over. This kid is movin’ and groovin’ and constantly on the move. It’s so funny, I always had this vision of our monthly photos being the same spot with the perfect outfit and one day in a frame all together on the wall. The only reality in that fantasy is the frame. If I can get my act together anyway!

Her posing leaves something to be desired, her outfits are usually last minute decisions based on our favorite look of the moment, and I’m so glad it’s this way instead of the perfect vision I had in my mind. Instead, I’ll remember each month for what it was: Messy, crazy, sometimes overwhelming, and always full of joy.

That’s a good analogy for parenthood in general. Before you have a baby, you imagine the sweet moments with your baby in your arms, but it smacks you across the face, uproots your life, and turns you on your head. And while there are many sweet moments, there are equally as many insane ones that you could never even comprehend before becoming a mother.

Milestones this month

Army crawl: I thought for sure she’d be crawling by now but she gets on all fours, dances a little and then flops down on her belly and army crawls across the room. She is pretty fast and can cover some serious distance, but it’s definitely not a real crawl yet.

First ear infection: After a particularly bad cold with her first fever (another milestone?) she was super fussy and kept spiking fevers so I finally brought her in to see the pediatrician. The NP looked in her ear and said it was a “raging ear infection” which actually gave me some peace of mind because I knew it would be better in a day or two with antibiotics. Within an hour of taking her first dose that night, she was a different baby! She was laughing and smiling and so happy for the first time in 4 or 5 days and I felt a huge sense of relief. By the next evening, she was 100% again.

First word… kind of: She’s been saying mama and dada for a while now and knows who is who. If we say “where is mama?” she will look at me and smile. But she has started looking at Boots and saying “Boo!” Granted it’s not the actual word because she can’t say T’s yet but she associates it with him so I’m counting it for now until she says a real word!

Sitting to crawling: She can maneuver her body from sitting position to all fours or her belly. She can’t go the other way yet but she’s working on it.

THE BIGGEST LESSON I’VE LEARNED THIS MONTH

I’ve learned that I really need to ask for help when I need it. After coming to terms with how bad my anxiety has gotten lately, I realized that I need more help taking care of Amalia if I want to get work done in any normal sort of way and not feel constantly overwhelmed. We decided to put her in day care five days a week for six hours a day (8:30-2:30) and that starts next Monday.

I know that some people are going to call me ridiculous because I work from home but until you’ve tried working from home with a baby on the move, you have no idea how hard it is!

I struggled with a lot of guilt making this decision but I know that it will make me a better mom in the end because I won’t feel so overwhelmed every day of the week. It will give me time to actually sit at my desk during the week days, and hopefully when I’m with her I can be 100% present, without my mind in other places.

HER SCHEDULE

7:00am- Wake up
7:15am- Feed 1 7 oz of formula (plus probiotics and Vitamin D) and solids (usually eggs or oatmeal/yogurt with applesauce)
7:45am- Playtime
8:30am- Off to day care (on weekdays)
9:30am- Nap 1
10:30am- Wake up and hang out/play
11:30am- Feed 2- 7oz of formula and solids
1/1:30pm- Nap 2
1:30/2:30pm- Wake up and hang out/play/go for a walk until she gets hungry.
3:30pm- Feed 3- 7oz formula and solids
4:15pm- Playtime
6pm- “Nakey baby”- We have her roll around naked on a towel to give her butt some room to breathe before her bath.
6:10pm- Bath/massage
6:20pm- Feed 4 (10 oz), then right to bed
6:45pm- Asleep

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how many ounces of formula she drinks in a day, so I thought I’d go over that here too. Based on the above schedule, she gets 31 oz/day. But she doesn’t always take her full day time feeds so it can be anywhere from 24-31oz in a day.

I’ve gotten more used to her “telling me” when she’s done instead of worrying about every single ounce that goes into her body. It’s made things a lot less stressful, and I know she’ll tell me if she’s hungry. She’s more excited about solids than her bottle (except at night) so I try to give her more solids and foods that are higher in protein.

HER DISPOSITION

She’s definitely still a happy baby, but her “chillness” has definitely dissipated. She’s insanely hyper and always moving. Whenever you pick her up, she kicks both of her feet hard over and over. We call it the dolphin attack because she looks like a little dolphin in the air.

Luckily she can also sit and play with a toy for a long period of time if she’s into the toy. But then she’ll see something else across the room and will be off. That has definitely changed the way our days go because I can’t take my eyes off of her now. Everyone warned me that crawling would change the game and the movement makes things more complicated!

But it’s amazing to see her taking on the world and go for what she wants quite literally.

She’s also really loud and chatty. Her new thing is a crazy dinosaur noise that she sometimes likes to throw around in her sleep too. She sounds like a total crazy person but it’s hilarious.

Her favorite foods

After many requests, I’m finally putting together a post with all of our favorite homemade blends of food so stay tuned for that later this week. In the meantime, here is a list of her current favorite foods. Anything with a * is new from last month.

Eggs: I scramble them with ghee or butter and a little sea salt for her breakfast a few times/week. Sometimes I add veggies or cheese too. I put it in the Babycook or just mush it up with a spoon and let her feed the eggs to herself.

Hummus: I just spoon feed her hummus and she’s obsessed. She can’t get enough! I eat it a lot so it’s in our rotation quite a bit.

* Yogurt/avocado/banana: In an attempt to get her to eat more avocado, I made this blend one day (with cinnamon) and she went bananas (get it?)! I make it once or twice a week now and will add other flavors like berries or spinach.

* Meat sauce: I make her bolognese with turkey or beef and then chop it up with our Babycook. She’s obsessed. Sometimes I do the same thing by just mixing chicken sausage with red sauce. Either way, it’s always a hit.

* Root vegetables: She seems to really love sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, and squash. I steam them then purée them with butter and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, garlic, and thyme are big hits).

Earth’s Best Pouches: When I don’t have time to cook/make her something or if we’re on the go, Earth’s Best pouches are our go-to. She likes most of the flavors and I think the consistency is her jam. We’ve tried a few other brands, but these seem to be her favorite.

Water: This isn’t a food, per se, but I felt I should mention that now that she’s drinking less milk and eating more savory foods, I make sure to offer her water more often. She doesn’t drink much at a time, but sometimes she’s thirsty and will sip at it for a few minutes. We’ve tried a few sippy cups and this OXO Tot cup is by far our favorite. She can get water out of it but it doesn’t spill everywhere.

HER FAVORITE THINGS

Boots- As in our dog, not the shoes! When I tell you that Bootsie is her ride or die, I mean it. The girl is obsessed with her puppy and it is just about the cutest thing on the planet. In the morning, she calls for him and won’t let me change her diaper until she says good morning to her favorite big brother. During the day she calls him over and then grabs his ears and paws. He’s shockingly chill about it. #scarypits right?

Little Nomad Play Mat– We still live on this pretty play mat. Read more about it here.

Bath Time- I wrote about it more in our bedtime routine post but bath time is one of her favorite times of day!

Playing with Daddy– Everyone told me that little girls have a thing for their dads and they were right. Amalia is obsessed with Anel. When she sees him after work, she shakes her whole body and smiles from ear to ear. He lifts her up and swings her around and plays hide and seek and can make her laugh hysterically in a way that I can’t ever seem to do. That being said, she always reaches for me if she’s tired or sick or not feeling well.

Cups– Anel bought her this set of bath cups on a run to Bed Bath and Beyond a few weeks ago and she loves them, especially the ladybug. We use them during bath time but if we’re in the car for a while, I’ll hand her a cup and she’ll play with it forever. She often wants to bring one into her playroom too. I don’t know what it is about them!

V-Tech Cube– I bought this toy after seeing it on a friend’s Instagram Story. The funny part is that she likes to put the blocks in and out of a big hole on the side instead of actually playing with it but whatever, it works.

Pulling toys out of baskets– She loves to sit in front of her basket full of toys (or my basket full of folded laundry) and pull out toys (or clothes) one by one. It will occupy her for 30+ minutes at a time.

Where we shop for clothes

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about where I shop for her clothes so I thought I’d share a list of our favorites.

Gap Kids– Gap’s baby line is far and away our favorite. I think the quality is so good for the price, which is often majorly marked down, and they have the cutest patterns. We love their footed PJs too!

Old Navy– At day care, her clothes get wrecked, so we try to put her in more affordable pieces for school. Old Navy is a favorite. She wears their ruffled leggings almost daily (we have them in every color) and I love their simple cotton dresses that are often on sale for under $10.

Smocked Auctions– For fancier events (and the big bow in these photos), I can’t get enough of the preppy clothes from Smocked Auctions. Be careful, their site is a rabbit hole of fun!

Ralph Lauren– It’s definitely pricier but for things like my sister’s bridal shower next week (she got this in pink) and the dress I bought for her school photos, Ralph Lauren makes the most beautiful baby clothes.

Would you guys want a post on her wardrobe each season? I’ve seen other bloggers do this and think it’s a cute idea but I have no idea if anyone would be interested or not so let me know!

WORST MOMENT

Her ear infection and fever were rough, but since she’s been sick so much already this winter, I knew how to handle it and it ended up being a quick fix with medicine.

The actual worst moment was a few nights ago in the Hamptons when she decided to wake up at 10:30pm and was up until 3am for no apparent reason. That was the first time she’s been awake for that long in her entire life so Anel and I had no idea what to do! She would scream if we put her down, but was totally happy, babbling, and even laughing when we held her.

At home, we would have put her down and let her cry for a little but because we were in a house full of our friends and their kids/babies, we didn’t want to wake everyone up. At about 1am, Anel and I started laughing hysterically because what else can you do in that situation?

I’m convinced it was because Mercury was in Retrograde that night (it affects my sleep like no other) but Anel thinks I’m batshit crazy and she was teething. I’m definitely right… haha.

BEST MOMENT

This month she learned to hug, and when she’s feeling sleepy, she’ll reach up for me and when I pick her up, she’ll give me a big hug around the neck. I haven’t seen her to it to anyone else yet which makes it feel even more special. No matter how anxious I’m feeling, that hug solves all of my problems. If every world leader could feel the love from that hug, the world would be a more peaceful place, of that I’m sure!