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Flying with an Infant

When Eva was four months old, I flew with her to Kentucky. Little did I know that that experience was going to be the easiest time I’d have flying with a baby. It even started off with a blowout before we got onto the plane. Washing her dirty pants in the airport bathroom sink was a breeze compared to trying to entertain a squirmy, always-on-the-go, ten month old.

I didn’t give Eva a second nap the day we flew to Kentucky because I hoped it would help her sleep on the plane. She’d get drowsy, but then pop back up and ready to play some more. I’d get frustrated because I knew she was sleepy so I’d try to force her to lay down in my arms, but that would just lead to her throwing a fit and me hiding the tears from the people next to me.

There were a couple good things though about the flight that really did help. I paid the extra $40 to be in a row with extra leg room. It was brilliant because she sat in front of me a lot of the time and played. Also, there was no one in the middle seat so we had extra room and I could use the middle seat tray to hold my drink. At the end of the flight though, I was worn out, had a headache and was considering never coming back to Utah because I never wanted to fly again.

But obviously that wasn’t an option. The day of my flight back to Salt Lake, I decided to have Eva sleep as much as possible before the flight and to not even try to have her take a nap on the plane. I filled my carryon with lots of toys and distractions for Eva, snacks, and we played for the entire 3.5 hours. There were no tears and so I wasn’t an emotional wreck at the end of the flight.

We are flying to Texas this week. Wish us luck and pray that I have enough energy to keep this baby of mine entertained on the flight!

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10 Months

In two months, my baby girl will be one year old. I can’t even wrap my head around that! But I have to admit, as much as I’m sad about my Evabug growing up, she is becoming to be one of my best friends and I love seeing her grow and develop every day! It is so exciting to see her learn new things and discover the world around her. Eva is already an example to me at such a young age. She loves and appreciates life around her and is always so happy!

But boy, she is a dramatic little girl! One day when I was in Kentucky a couple weeks ago, she decided she hated baths. As soon as you put her in, she started crying and trying to get out. It was like she had had a terrifying experience in the bath and was scared! She finally will sit in the bath again for a couple of minutes, but it’s not like before where she was splashing constantly and playing with all her bath toys.

This month has also been a struggle to get her to eat food. One week she loved bananas. Then the next, she wouldn’t even let them in her mouth! Another week she’d do really well eating her baby food, and then a couple days later she’d throw a fit if you got her near the high chair. Bizarre, right? Things are finally coming back to normal again and, if we distract her enough, she’ll finish about half of a jar of baby food and a couple other bites of fruit or snacks. But as soon as she hears the bottle being mixed, she gets very excited and starts waving her hands.

Recently, Eva has been standing on her own without holding onto anything. She can stand there for quite some time and balance. She’ll stand in front of a mirror and just play there, staring at herself, and figure out who the girl is looking right back at her.

I got her a little push toy that she loves more than anything. Other than her pirate sword, I don’t think she’s played with a toy so much.

Eva loves animals. There is a stray cat around our neighborhood that we see quite often. She freaks out when she see him. I’m sure she’d love to pet him, but it’s a stray so who knows where it’s been.

Finally, Eva will sit in your lap to read a couple of books. You have to go fast, and turn the pages often. But I’m so excited she has started to enjoy listening to stories.

Likes

Pumpkin bread, being thrown in the air, sipping out of her sippy cup, doing things on her own, peek-a-boo, playing the piano, playing outside, animals, pushing her little toy, exploring, putting anything into her mouth, music, dancing (nodding her head and bending her knees), watching herself on YouTube, her reflection, necklaces, holding her own spoon, tearing pages in books, swinging, being startled, when Daddy comes home.

Dislikes

Sleeping on airplanes, baths, getting her diaper changed, sitting still, getting her toenails clipped, laying back in her stroller, getting her face wiped, wearing mittens, being rocked before bed.

Nine Months
Eight Months
Seven Months
Six Months
Five Months
Four Months
Three Months
Two Months
One Month
Two Weeks
One Week

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My Little Sicky

Several weeks ago Eva was having a rough couple of days. I thought it was teething (I’d blame everything on teething if I could), but no more teeth have popped through. One morning when she woke up, I was trying to help her feel better and thought, “Maybe she’d like a binky!”

Eva hasn’t taken a binky since she was a little newborn, but it was worth a shot to help her feel better.

I gave her the binky, she pulled it out and then this happened:

Diva Eva carried it around like a dog for the next hour.

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Eva in Motion

 

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9 Months

It always feels nuts when I tell someone I have a daughter. But recently when I tell someone I have a 9-month old, I almost can’t wrap my head around it! I know I’ve said it time and time again, but watching her grow up each month is going by so quickly! When I put Eva to bed at the end of the night, sometimes I get sad because another day is over and she’s getting older and older. Last week, we were all outside playing the yard. I told T.J. how I couldn’t believe she was now 9-months and that she’d be 1 year old in just 3 months. By the end of the sentence, I was in tears and T.J. was totally confused what happened. My baby grew up very fast. That’s what happened.

However sad it may be that my little baby girl is growing up, it’s also so exciting. Eva is such a character and is so fun to be around. Everyday brings something new. Today she won’t stop buzzing her lips. Yesterday she kept smacking her lips. Monday she wanted to walk her walker all day long.

Eva’s new “smile”

This month has been so fun with Eva. She started crawling the beginning of August, has discovered stairs at her Grandma and Grandparents’ house, wants to eat EVERYTHING that we are eating (not her own baby food though), wants to climb up on furniture, and (I think) is starting to teeth again this week.

Likes

Playing peekaboo, crawling after me, being outside, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, listening to her Mickey Mouse CD, watching cars drive by, drinking out of her sippee cup, playing in sheets, climbing on everything and anything, trying to walk, pushing her walker, eating avocados and bananas, trying to sip out of my straw, tasting my froyo, playing with her pirate sword, trying to type on my computer.

Disikes

Getting her diaper changed, sitting still, cuddling, being rocked (as you can tell, she really only wants to crawl and keep crawling), keeping quiet, dropping her daddy off at work, getting out of the bathtub, getting something taken away from her, having someone else holding her bottle.

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Eva in Motion

 

 

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Afternoons with #divaeva

Watching the rain • Toys everywhere, everyday • Zuchinni Fries

Naked runaways • Chubs • Demands to drink while bathing

Park visits • Obsessed with shoes • Drinking from a Sippie Cup like a Pro

Playing with toys • 7 Peaks • Trashy yet effective babyproofing

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8 Months

This post is a little late. Eva turned 8 months on August 8, but better late than never, right?

But boy, this has been such a fun month with Eva! Everyday she gets smarter and stronger, which means I have to get smarter and stronger too because she wants to get her hands on everything!

There were many new firsts this month. Eva got her first bottom teeth mid-July. Two popped up at the same time on Monday the 16th. That was quite a rough week before they popped through, but we made it and hopefully we’ll have some time before the rest start showing up.

Eva started pulling herself up on things this month too. She loves it so much that she usually laughs and laughs whenever she makes it up. But she’s never too happy when she loses her balance and bonks her head. She’s got a bunch of bruises on her forehead right now, poor girl.

On August the 4th, Eva started to crawl. It was in the middle of a bridal shower and so I didn’t want to make a big deal, but I almost shed a tear and in the inside I was FREAKING OUT! I can’t believe my baby girl is getting so old SO fast! A couple of days after that, she still wasn’t crawling much. You could tell it was frustrating her so much. But then on the 8th she REALLY took off. And she hasn’t stopped since.

Likes

Smiling, laughing, coughing to get attention, baths, Seven Peaks, splashing, taking baths in the sink, Sweet Potatoes, snow cones, her teddy bear (thanks, Hannah!), her new Fisher Price toys, slamming her hands down on things (she’s a future drummer), chewing on her thumb, crawling, walking (with help), being thrown up in the air, ripping leaves off of trees, cuddling when she is REALLY tired (doesn’t happen often, but when it does… it’s the best!), typing on the laptop, making messes, sleeping on her belly with her bum WAY up in the air.

Dislikes

Diaper changes, when tub time is over, being held inwards, wearing shoes, being quiet at church, getting something taken away from her, having her face wiped (talk about a conniption fit!), Daddy being gone.

Seven Months
Six Months
Five Months
Four Months
Three Months
Two Months
One Month
Two Weeks
One Week

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Cry-It-Out Method

I talked about this a couple months ago on my blog when I was transitioning Eva out of her car seat. But I was recently talking to a friend who has older kids and she asked if Eva is a good sleeper and it made me realize how incredibly happy I am about implementing this method, so I want to share it again with some more of my opinions and tips.

First of all, I owe Eva’s great sleeping habits to a fellow blogger. Her baby is about one year ahead of mine and when Eva was about five months old and only napping in my arms and wouldn’t sleep in the crib through the night, I remembered I had read a blog post from her several months back about letting their baby cry it out. She said to be a good mom, we need sleep too. I searched it on google and the only things I could find were negative. People would say it was cruel or that it hurts your baby. But then you also hear and read that your baby needs to learn how to fall asleep on their own. After talking to Eva’s doctor about it and assuring me that 30 minutes of crying wasn’t going to hurt my baby at all AND that a baby at six months should be able to sleep for 7-11 hours without getting hungry, I decided to do it.

It took a couple of days and back in May I worked up to letting her just cry it out completely. There have also been times this summer where I have had to do it again after Eva’s been sick or after travel, but after letting Eva cry it out for a night or two, she learned (/ remembers) how to put herself straight to sleep.

The results were almost incredible back in May. A routine finally came into our life. I started being able to depend on Eva napping two times a day for about two hours each. I knew she’d go to sleep without a problem around 8, and I finally felt a bit of serenity back into my life!

So, looking back I’ve come up with one conclusion. A healthy baby can become a good sleeper. You just have to give them a chance to do it. If you jump up every time they cry in the night or never give them the chance to fall asleep on their own in the crib, they will never have the opportunity to learn how to fall asleep on their own. And from what I’ve heard, it’s a lot easier the earlier you do it!

And one last tip before I step off my soapbox. I read about a study where parents had to listen to a baby’s cry for a certain amount of time. When they were asked at the end how long they thought the baby was crying, their guess usually was MUCH longer than the actual time. So, if you want to start letting your baby cry it out, look at the clock and count the minutes instead of relying on yourself. You will be surprised.

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Duck Pond

Last Saturday, I went to feed the ducks with Eva, Dustin, Lindsay, and Holly. Holly wanted to jump in or at least, try and catch the ducks! It was too funny. Eva was kind of sleepy so she didn’t react much to them. But we will for sure continue to go back because it is such a nice place to visit in Provo!

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