Riley Jane | 19 Months

I think it's only natural that all moms love each and every stage that their children go through. Every month and new skill they learn and we're all "oh em gee, this is the best!" But I do have to say, this stage of being stuck between a baby and a toddler is so tiring, so fun, and probably my second favorite. (I think the newborn stage is my absolute favorite.)

Stats:

Oh Riley Jane, you are 19 months old and growing like a weed! You are weighing in at 26.5 lbs, and 33 inches! We're rocking an assortment of sizes, 18 months, 18-24, and 2T in stretchy things as they last over a few seasons! And size 5 shoes, or your size 7 rain boots that you insist on wearing daily even though they fall off all the time.  Size 4 diapers are still fitting great.

Eat:

You still take a morning bottle. As soon as you wake, you start asking for your "baba". I don't know how we'll break you from it. But, honestly, you chug 10 oz of milk in about 2 seconds flat, so I really don't see any harm in it! It's the only time you have a bottle. The rest of your drinks are in sippy cups. Food is your favorite, but these canines have left you a little picky lately. You're always asking for a "craca" (cracker), and could suck down an applesauce pouch at any given moment. Breakfast foods are your favorite. You're loving pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, cereal bars, toast, eggs are hit or miss - one day you'll eat one bite, the next day you'll devour a whole egg! - and you need ALL the fruit all the time. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and grapes are you favorites! We had a little bout with a melon sensitivity around 12 months, thinking it was the acidity, so we stay away from all the other "breakfast" fruits like cantelope, melon, etc. Something with their acidity doesn't mesh well with you, so berries it is!

Lunches are harder, but you really enjoy a good ol' peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Cucumbers dipped in ranch are currently a huge hit also.

Dinners are OK in your book, pasta night is probably your favorite. But you also love squash, applesauce, rice pilaf, tomatoes, Rice with Italian Dressing (&veggies), meatballs,  etc! You are not a huge fan of meat - chicken, steak, pork.. it's hard to get you to eat any! Although you are warming up nicely to chicken nuggets dipped in ranch. 

And snacks are just your jam. You are a complete little snacker. Always needing a cookie or a cracker! We eat a ton of veggie sticks, Annie's bunny grahams, graham crackers, peanut butter crackers, goldfish, apples, watermelon, yogurt, or munchkins if mama needs a late morning coffee!

We have officially graduated from the highchair and are in a booster seat at the kitchen island now. The booster was at the dining room table, but someone is mastering her skills with utensils and kept flipping her plate on accident. So, up to the island where the hardwood floor is much easier to clean! We are waiting on some Nuby silicone plates and bowls to arrive! Super excited to try them out!

Sleep:

You're still sleeping amazing, baby girl. Please don't ever change that! You regularly ask to go "ni ni" and for your "kiki" (binky). Bedtime is about 7:45-8 since it is summer. If it's a low key day you're down by 7:45, if it's a busy day and we're outside playing, watching dada work on the garage or just not ready for bed yet, it's about 8-8:30! But as long as you have your "kiki" you happily lay down and put yourself to sleep. We use the Baby Einstein's Ocean Dreams Crib Soother. It plays a water scene and some pretty classical songs. We also put your sound machine on ocean and let it run all night long. That way if the boys show up to work early in the morning, you typically sleep right through hammers and saws and nail guns banging away right outside your window. Wake time is typically 7:30-8. 

Naps are usually as soon as you have finished lunch. Once you get down from your chair you start asking for "ni ni and kiki". Off to nap you go! They're ranging anywhere from 2 hours - 3 hours because of the guys working outside your window! Hopefully that will slow and you'll get your 3 hour naps back.. Mama really appreciates those 3 hour naps!

Playing:

Babies, coloring, and all the outdoor toys are your summer favorites!  You love carting around your "bebes" and feeding them your snacks, and little baby bottles. Sometimes you need to have one doll in each arm! They've been to the grocery store, Target, on walks around the block, and everywhere in between. Coloring is your new favorite, and you ask to color about 4209582483734 times a day. You grab your markers, your crayons, and paper and walk to your booster seat. Color Wonder markers are amazing! You love being outside. You're a little outside babe. You could walk around the house, looking at the flowers, and collecting rocks all day if we let you! You love your water table, your little slide and your lil quad. You're so nosy with all the guys working on the garage and you need to supervise what is going on all the time.

Talking:

These next few months your words will explode, no doubt. You're saying quite a ton now, but some is hard to understand! You're clearly and regularly saying: Mama, Dada, Mea (Mack), puppa, cracker, baba, ni ni, kiki, baby, no, Mimi, go, color, ut oh, boots. You also have an assortment of animal noises that you know too! It really seems like everyday you come up with a new word to add to your list.

I feel like every day you change before our eyes! You love cleaning up, throwing things, including mama's socks, into the garbage, and giving your puppa his bones and toys 17x a day. You give the best kisses and have started to give hugs, or squeezes as we call them. You hate coming inside. Ice pops are becoming your favorite, but donuts still hold a special place in your heart. You love your morning snuggle watching a show while drinking your milk. You love to walk around with flashlights, your dads hand crank radio, and an empty sunglasses case. You find the biggest treasures in everyday things. You love your sunhat and your rain boots.. so much that I think you would wear them everyday if you could! Your pink sparkly tutu is a close 3rd. You're always trying to put on your shoes, or our shoes.. whatever is left by the back door. And like every other kid these days, you really love Moana. But not going to lie, I really love it too! You're learning to voice your opinion, and let me know if you don't want to do something with a "no, no" reply. This age is really so fun, and we love watching you litterally grow and discover before our eyes. I cannot believe in just a few short months we'll be celebrating your 2nd birthday... WHAT?! Stay little, my darling. 

Here's a recent photo dump. 

(I can't with this face! Her and Wayne always make this "surprised" face at each other.. and that's exactly what they were doing here. bahahaha)

Let's Talk About Sleep, Baby.

 

So Riley's first night on Earth, she slept a ton. We had to wake her up to feed her. But the second night, she was whiney, and the third night she wailed unless she was held. It actually turned out to be she was just hungry and I wasn't producing enough, so kind of besides the point. However, we were at the hospital for a total of 6 days, and I bet we only had 2 hours of consistent sleep over the course of our stint there.

That first night home was a doozy, so many emotions, and hormones, and pain meds. Mixed with tears and being way too tired to function, we put Riley in the mamaroo and she slept for a solid 4 hours. It was complete survival mode. We woke up feeling a little less zombie like, and ready to get this parenting thing underway.

I have always been a big sleeper. I love taking naps. I love going to bed early and sleeping late. Not that I get to do all of those things, but I just love to sleep! So, I knew we had to institute good sleeping habits for Riley. 

I'm not sure if it's a result of our sleep efforts, or just a baby that loves sleep also, but our girl now sleeps at least 12 hours overnight, with a 3 hour nap during the day. She is 19 months old. And this schedule is GLORIOUS! 

Here's a few things we did that I feel helped her into her routine. 

1. Swaddling- Riley was swaddled from day 1. I know lots of moms and dads think their baby doesn't like to be swaddled as they show little magician traits like breaking out of super tight swaddles in 2 seconds flat. Baby has free roam to stretch out now, of course they are going to do so! But, think back to those 9 months spent inside your belly. The last few months baby has been crunched, and squished up tight into a ball. He or she is used to feeling tight, constricted, and held. Put the arms down as low as they can go, and swaddle baby up tight! We used the hospital blankets at first, then Aden & Anais swaddles, and around 3-4 weeks Riley graduated to the Halo sleepsack. She felt tight, secure, and comfortable. Her startle reflex was managed, and baby was able to snooze away the day. Baby may resist at first, but once the swaddle is secure, he or she will likely calm down and relax! Keep trying, I assure you it will work! I love Aden and Anais swaddles for their breathable yet warm muslin fabrics, and adorable prints. The halo sleepsack is a must for us! Point the wings down, pull tight, and then pull a spec tighter before you velcro. We never used the woombie with Riley, but I do think this swaddle looks awesome! It allows baby's arms to be up on their chest, or move down to the sides, and is zippered closed! Baby can't get out unless they legitimately are baby Houdini and can undo zippers!

2. Sound Machine or Music- so they say the inside of the womb is as loud as a vacuum, constantly running. So it's no wonder that they can sleep through some crazy loud commotions early on. We received some of the Rock-a-bye lullaby CD's as a shower gift and would play them when Riley slept. Around 4 months, when the first sleep regression hit, we purchased the Baby Einsten's Ocean Dreams crib soother. It plays some familiar songs and automatically shuts off after about 30 minutes. We also would play Billy Joel on an old ipod. By the end of Piano Man, Riley was always off into dreamland! Lastly, we invested in a sound machine. We were late to the game on this one, but it works! During the day, don't muffle sounds. Baby should get used to the day to day noises that will be in their environment. We have this mybaby sound machine. It's simple and easy to use! We put it on ocean and let it run all night long! 

 

3. Distinguish Day and Night- babies are nocturnal, and it's our job to turn that around. It's hard! We did this by opening all the blinds and curtains during the day. Making it bright and sunny. At night, we would use dim lighting. Even in middle of the night feedings, the less light the better! We distinguished day time as 6am-10pm, and nighttime was the opposite, 10pm-6am. During night time I never engaged much with Riley. So she understood it was business, eat and go back to sleep! 

 4. Scheduling feedings- So many nursing moms probably won't agree with me on this, but I was a nursing mom too, and this totally worked for us. I know many moms feed on demand, but we decided to go with a set schedule. I had gotten some great advice from my sister in law to feed baby every 2-2.5 hours during the day. I was waking Riley up to eat regardless of if she was still in dreamland. Babies do have their days and nights backwards, so they will want to sleep more in the beginning, during the day. Which can stretch daytime naps longer, and leave baby still hungry overnight! So, once Riley was back to birth weight we stopped waking her overnight (10p-6a). I let her tell me she was hungry during those times. And starting at 6am, I would feed her every 2.5 hours. I would decrease the time between feedings in the 3 feeds leading to bedtime. So when she was 3 weeks old bedtime was about 10pm. I would feed Riley at 6, 8, and 10. As her bedtime moved earlier, I still kept this 3 feed rule. When bedtime was 7, she would eat at 3, 5, and 7.  Scheduling feedings made it easier on me also. I knew when to feed her, when to schedule appointments, or run errands. Once she got a little older it stretched to 3 hours during the day, then 4 hours. But in the beginning, every 2.5 hours!

5. Sleep space- our bedroom is small. So Riley was in a family bassinet for the first 5 weeks on and off. We had a few nights in the rock n play. Or we would mix the two, starting off in the bassinet and ending in the rock n play, etc. She was literally right next to the bed in both of these. We started naps in the crib at 4 weeks, and they went well, she took normal length naps! So we went for it. The 4th week during the early morning hours 3-6am, Riley started grunting in her sleep. Constant. Grunting. For. 3. Hours. (Insert crying emoji). It was terrible! We had a doctors appointment that Friday. Our pediatrician suggested moving her to her crib overnight. We never looked back! 

 6. Establish a bedtime routine- Once you are feeling better and you are starting to get the hang of this parenting thing, start a bedtime routine! It helps baby understand that all of these things mean it's almost time to go to sleep. Our routine consisted of bath, jammies, nurse, sleep sack, quick cuddle/chat/book, down in crib awake. 6/7 nights a week Riley gets a quick bath. I use California Baby calming shampoo and bodywash, as well as the calming bubble bath. The french lavender scent helps Riley relax and unwind in the warm bath.

7. The Binky- Riley came out a sucker. She needed to suck to pacify, and I did not sign up to be a human pacifier. I had a Lactation consultant in the hospital tell me that if I needed to have Riley latched on for 6 hours on end to keep her happy that is just what I needed to do. Enter mom freak out. N. O. Way! So enter the Avent pacifier! This kind was the favorite for Riley. I loved them because they were clear and didn't take up half her face. She was good about the paci, and didn't freak if it fell out. She would continue sleeping. Of course we had some tough nights around the 4 month sleep regression and a random night here or there where she will lose her binky. A quick pop into her room to give her a new one and she is back out like a light!! It was only ever once per night that I needed to replace the binky.. if it became a 5-6x a night type of thing I would have tossed the binky in a heartbeat!

I am sure there are more things that we did or incorporated. But for the most part, these things really helped to set the tone and establish a great sleep routine with Riley. I am so thankful for my amazing little sleeper! 

Hope these tips can help you in some small way! A well rested mama is a happy mama! I truly believe the best thing you can do for your baby is give them the gift of sleep!

Halloween 2016

Everyone says it, but you can only find it to be really true once it happens to you: Holidays are so much more fun with kids! 

We knew since the snapchat filter of the bee came out that we wanted Riley to be a bumble bee for Halloween. We also knew we were going to make her costume! I had homemade costumes when I was little, and so did Wayne, so it is only fitting that we continue the tradition! Plus, it probably cost me all of $9 to make. BAM. 

We made the rounds to visit our parents and show off Miss Riley all dressed up. We headed home had a quick dinner for the babe, and then out we went trick or treating! We did leave a basket of candy on our front porch incase anyone came by. We live on a cut through kind of road, with only 5 other homes on our little section. Two houses didn't have their lights on, and the past few years the amounts of trick or treaters have been declining. I figured if we left a bowl out, we would have probably 5 trick or treaters, tops. So off we went! 

We gathered up our road sodas, and Riley's Home Depot trick or treat bucket and off we went! We only stopped at 4 homes of friends we actually knew in the neighborhood. It was cold, Riley can't eat the candy yet, and we had to carry her since she isn't walking and we wanted to keep her warm. We ended up back at our house only about 40 minutes after we left and low and behold, bowl of halloween candy was EMPTY! Darn kids. 

Regardless, Riley had a blast! I loved watching her play with her bucket of candy afterwards! She picked through all of it and enjoyed holding the full size candy the best. We topped the night off with her last round of Halloween jammies and a late bed time! And then we picked through her candy, the perks of being a parent!

I didn't decorate the house much, and I normally do! I guess time just got away from me.. watch out, next year our decorations will on point! Now it's time to find some fallish/Thanksgiving decorations! Have to pick up the pace over here. And then it's onto the birthday decor! Riley's last first holiday, Thanksgiving, is coming up! I cannot believe it! Where has the time gone?

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Bath Time Favorites

I figured I had better start documenting the things I will want to reference for the future! So I will be rounding up our favorites for some broad categories, bath time, sleeping, feeding, etc. Bath time has been Riley's favorite since she was teeny tiny, so we'll start there!

I did a ton of baby blog reading while pregnant and many moms wrote about nightly bath time. A lot of moms I also personally know do a nightly bath as well, so I figured, they must be onto something here. So once we got the go ahead from our pediatrician, we started a nightly bath incorporated into Riley's bedtime routine. It really helped to calm and wind our little girl down. We knew she was fresh and clean from the day, and ready to settle into a great nights sleep! This is just a round up of our favorites and what works best for us. 

1. // Gerber Washcloths - I use two wash cloths for every bath, one for her body, one for her face and then hair. These hold soap great, have a terry cloth feel so you feel like you are actually cleaning baby's skin, and they are soft and gentle. We have some larger wash cloths that just don't cut it, these are my go to and the ones I choose nightly!

2. // OXO Tot Bath Storage - We really just got this out recently! Riley was so content just holding one bath toy or a wash cloth that we didn't need a ton of toys out. Now that she is sitting in the tub like a big girl, she loves her bath toys and squirties. And now we need a solution for the 15 toys that are floating in her bubble bath every night! I wanted something simple and that wasn't a huge colorful animal suctioned to my wall. I wanted to try to keep my bathroom from being fully taken over by baby. So we went with this simple little basket and it is perfect! Fits all her little toys and has the holes to let the water drain out. 

3. // Aden and Anais Hooded Bath Towels - We have two of them and I always dig through to find them to use! We do have other brand towels, but these are our favorites! They are large enough, so soft, and have the cutest prints! We have pink stars and owls (both from Buy Buy Baby). The best hooded towels! 

4. // 4moms Spout Cover - You have to make sure your bath temperature is just perfect for your little one. This lets us know the temperature as the water is flowing from the spout. It's just perfect!

5. Infantino Tub O Toys - We love these cute little squirties! The bright colors are adorable, and they are perfect for little bubbly hands to grip and play with. They must taste delicious because Riley is constantly putting them in her mouth, can't say that I have tried that yet. Riley always goes for these and a little set of random bath frogs we received. 

6. // Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Cream - Riley had a bit of dry skin/eczema that began when she was around 1 month old. I went in search of a good cream and happened to pick this up. It is super creamy, thick, and does not dry greasy! I love it! It helps to keep her skin smooth and soft. 

7. // California Baby Calming Bubble Bath - I love the smell of this bubble bath! It is heavenly! To be honest, we tried a few, and when I would take a deep breath and inhale the yummy scent I was drawn to buy, the only one that really gave off a great aroma was California Baby! I was so disappointed in a few other brands and actually used them myself to just finish the bottles so I needed more and we could buy another bottle of California Baby. The bubble wand is an extra added fun touch!

8. // California Baby Calming Shampoo/Body Wash - This going along with the Bubble Bath. The scent is just like no other! I love this stuff. Perfect amount of suds. Doesn't sting. It's gentle enough yet it leaves me feeling like Riley is squeaky clean after her bath. Must have.

9. // Angelcare Infant Bath Support - we love this bath seat! We used it from about 1 month through 9 months! It is recommended for use up to 6 months so please, use accordingly. Riley never tried to crawl out, turn, twist, or anything. She laid back and lounged and would kick her legs like crazy... so we kept using it. I love that the actual seat where you sit the baby has structure, it isn't mesh or flimsy like other bath supports. It holds the baby and they don't sink down. The water and bubbles come up through the holes so baby is sitting in the water and not freezing. I loved being able to rinse her off and the water flows down through the holes into the tub. Cannot say enough great things about this seat! Love it!

These are just the items that worked best for Riley. Bath time is an important time of night around here and we take it very seriously! I know with all of these items we are sure to have a happy, content, clean baby!

my favorite picture of Riley in the bath ever! that expression is just priceless. 

see ya at our next favorite products round up! what will I be inspired to favorite next?!

Life Lately

1. Riley // She is currently 9.5 months and such a little personality! She is crawling all over the place and pulling to stand. We are working on introducing finger foods and she is cutting her 2nd tooth. She is sleeping great, growing like a weed and so much fun! I am pretty sure I spend my days just trying to get those little giggles out of her, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

2. Fall // the first day of fall is right around the corner and I am so ready for it. This summer was way too hot and humid. Our temps were always in the 90's I feel like. I have been loving these high 70's and breezy days. They are my favorite. We came up with a fun bucket list for the fall. Hoping we can check all of these fun things off our list!

3. Halloween // With fall comes Halloween! I am a busy bee starting to gather all the stuff for Riley's Halloween costume! What will she bee, you ask? Well.. I dropped two hints in the last two sentences! A bumble bee! It was inspired by the bee filter on snapchat which was the BEST filter ever, RIP bee. (snapchat if you're reading this, please bring it back!). I am going to make her costume! Store bought costumes are cute and all, but I am hoping to bring that homemade feel back. Plus, she's so little and it is usually pretty cold around here on Halloween for a baby, so this way I can incorporate long sleeves and pants into her costume with out it looking funny. Very excited to see my little bee all dressed up!

4. Supper Club //  We have started a supper club with a few of our best friends, and we are hosting our first event! It is this Saturday night. We are working on our menu and I have to go shopping this week. Should be fun!

5. Vacations // We took two fun vacations this past month. We went to Ocean City, NJ for a few days, and over Labor Day Weekend we flew down to the Keys for the long weekend. We had a great time with family and a ton of laughs. Riley did great aside from sleeping in the pack and play a night. She wasn't a huge fan of it for bedtime, but did nap in it well. Other than that she really was a champ.

6. Work Work Work // Wayne has been busy working, I have been busy with my etsy shop (link here), and now we are gearing up for the fall holiday photo season, so I am working on a bunch of sessions and getting ready for Christmas sessions too. Time flies so fast once you become an adult.

That's what's new around here! Hope everyone had a great summer and is enjoying the kick off to fall!

the little mohawk etsy shop

hey everyone! anyone still come around here to read this dusty ol blog? i do have some plans to begin posting here again! but for now, i just wanted to share my little adventure of being a shop owner. 

i own the little mohawk! i am having a blast making fun and sweet little accessories for miss riley, and for tons of other babies out there! here is my girl in some of my favorite pieces! head to our shop to check everything out! and also, now through sunday, 7/17 at midnight, use code SUMMERSAVE to save 20% off your order of $20.00 or more!

www.thelittlemohawk.etsy.com

thanks friends!

ps- look how little riley girl is in the leather bows! where did my baby go!?