Linnea is 8 Months Old!

Linnea,
Oh sweet girl. You are so much fun.  This month you figured out how to move around, clap and you continue to bring more joy than we ever thought was possible.  Your dad is constantly saying "I can't believe how much fun she is!  Did you know how much fun she would be?"  Before I tell you what you've been up to this month I wanted to share a piece of my heart with others who might be struggling to get pregnant.

When we announced that we were pregnant and that it took us a while, 2.5 years and two attempts at IVF and a miscarriage, to get pregnant I had several people reach out to me telling me that they too were struggling.  Since then a few have had babies or are about ready to have a baby.  I could not be more excited for them.  But there are several others who are still waiting.  My heart aches for them.  I often think about them and pray for them.  I worry that they will lose hope which I did so many times but it just makes me so sad thinking they might actually give up.  Being on this side of the fertility struggle is great because I finally get to hold, rock and kiss my baby after so many tears had been shed for this baby.  It makes every little mundane task seem more exciting than it probably should :).  But I know the longing that others are still feeling.

I want to just encourage you, if you are still struggling to get pregnant, don't give up hope.  It is SO worth the wait.  I remember hearing that phrase "worth the wait" and thinking it was crap.  Sure, finally having a baby will be great but why do I have to wait.  I honestly don't know why you have to wait but once that little bundle of joy gets here you will be praying for time to slow down and wait for you so you can soak it all in.  If you are still struggling and want someone to talk to I'm still here.  If you talked to me about struggling to get pregnant just know you are still in my thoughts and prayers and please don't give up hope!

Stats
You won't have another well baby check up until you are 9 months old so I won't be able to get your official weight and height until then.  However, you did get your flu shot booster and I asked the nurse if I could weigh you since you hadn't been weighed since you started eating solid foods.  Around 7 months you weighed 14 lbs 12 oz (with a shirt and diaper on) which is in the 12th percentile according to the app I've been using.  You were in the 6th percentile at your 6 month check up.  I guess that means you are a fan of solid foods :) which we already knew.

Eating
You LOVE eating and get a little impatient if we are taking time feeding ourselves instead of you. You aren't that hungry for breakfast so you still don't really eat solid foods until lunch time.  I tried several times but you just seemed confused as to why you would be eating when you were obviously full from milk.  You nurse at 7:30, 11:30 and then eat lunch around 12:30.  For lunch you usually have 4-6 oz of vegetables or meat with veggies and a little bit of fruit.  I usually give you new foods to try during your lunch time then I can see if you have any reactions to them before you go to sleep or sleep through the night.  So far you don't seem to be allergic to anything and the only thing you still turn your nose up at is avocado.  We still offer it to you and most recently you pushed it all to the roof of your mouth and tried to keep eating without swallowing the avocado.  Working on your problem solving skills at 8 months old!

One night you thought dinner was hilarious.  For several minutes before this video you were laughing and making funny faces.  We caught some of it on camera.  It was so funny.

 Don't worry, we were supervising the balloon in your mouth.  You LOVED playing with your Grandpa's birthday balloon!

You nurse again at 3:30 and then eat dinner around 6:30 (I'd like for this to be earlier but it is hard to get dinner ready before then.) and then nurse again around 7:15-7:30.

You've added several new foods to your list this month including: peaches, whole milk greek yogurt, beef, turkey, mangoes, blueberries, zucchini, corn, oatmeal, pumpkin with cinnamon, kale, cucumber, beets, pomegranate and raspberries.  All of these foods have been in pureed form but I'm hoping to start you on table foods this month.  I'm not sure how that works if you don't have any teeth yet :).

You did try a puff on your 8 month birthday.  It was pretty cute watching you try to eat it.

We put you in your high chair while we are getting lunch or dinner ready and you like to throw your toys over the side and then look at us to pick them up.  We don't always get them for you and there are a few you will hold onto longer than others.  It is cute to see you look for them.

Your cousin Avery fed you.  It was so cute to watch!

Sleeping
I feel like a broken record with this category but I don't even care.  You rock at sleeping.  You sleep through the night and I think you have fewer "parties" in the middle of the night than you used to.  We've been letting you sleep in until 8 on the weekends (instead of 7:15-7:30) which means your schedule shifts by about 30 minutes.

You caught a little bit of a cold (sneezing and runny nose) towards the end of the month so I let you sleep as long as you wanted for your naps.  A couple of times you slept for 2 hours in the morning instead of just an hour.  Then in the afternoon you would take about an hour and a half nap instead of a two hour nap.  Your cold doesn't seem to be affecting your sleep which is great.

You wake up in the morning and from naps just as happy as can be.  We often hear you talking to yourself on the monitor.  Very rarely do you wake up crying and if you do it usually means you aren't quite ready to be up yet.

I love watching you sleep.  You are so cute.  You often have your bottom in the air.  It is adorable!

At the end of this month we finally started working on your nursery.  It turns out decorating a nursery is harder when you already have the baby.  While we are working on your room you have been sleeping in a pack n play in our bathroom and we moved your changing table and clothes to the hall bathroom.  It is kind of a mess but I kind of think house projects should inconvenience you so that you keep working on them :).

Clothes
You are wearing mostly 6 month clothes but your pajama pants are 9 months.  You can still fit into some 62 size clothes and the 68 size are a little long in the arms.  I feel like you kind of stalled out in length for a while so you've been in the same things for a while.  You are still in size 2 Huggies Snug and Dry Ultra diapers.  I tried Luvs again because I like that the tabs go over farther on your hips but they smell and your dad hated it!

I love this picture because it shows how excited you were about your balloon.  You are wearing a squirrel pajama that we bought in Malaga, Spain, almost exactly a year ago, when I was pregnant with you. 

I'm excited to see you in short sleeves and dresses this summer.  I did a little bit of shopping for you recently and I definitely lean towards navy blue, turquoise, purple, grey, orange and other non pink colors.  I don't mind pink (and I typically dress you in pink if I know we are going out and I don't want to get asked if you are a girl or a boy) but I like seeing you in lots of colors.  Navy might be my favorite!

Playtime
You LOVE your blocks that your Aunt Carmen bought you in Palm Springs.  Your dad loves building towers with them and watching you knock them down.  You just enjoy sucking on them.  You have a favorite piece but you will suck on any of them you can get your hands on.

  

A serious face.

 A curious face.

  A happy face.

 Your Grandma, my mom, made this quilt for me and gave it to me exactly 3 years BEFORE you were born.  She gave it to me on my 29th birthday and we weren't pregnant.  Here is the back story:  We were at a quilt store once and I saw the fabric and really liked it.  I said something like, "I like this fabric but by the time we are ready to have kids it will probably be long gone."  I was trying to throw her off.  We were actually going to start trying to have a baby but I desperately wanted it to be a surprise so I thought I could throw her off by making that comment.  Well, the joke was one me.  It took us almost 2.5 years to get pregnant and by the time you were born, on my 32nd birthday, I had the quilt in a drawer for 3 years.  I guess it was a good idea after all to get the fabric!

I love the block in the middle for so many reasons.  I love monkeys, the bicycle reminds me of Jake's dad and the fish (that Linnea is laying on in this pic - look at the pic above) reminds me of my Grandpa Otto who loved fishing.

 For some strange reason you love sucking on my jaw and cheek bones.  You prefer sucking on your dad's nose or ears.  Is it more strange that you like it or that we let you do it?  You also love sticking your finger in my mouth and giggle when I pretend to eat it.

You are starting to be just a little bit ticklish on your belly, under your arms and on your neck.

You still love your cups and rings.  Your dad often builds towers to encourage you to crawl over and knock them down.

You loved shaking your balloon.

You got this cute squirrel from one of my Jenny Becker.  I used to teach with her.  She is awesome and so thoughtful!

When we were in California you loved playing with our water bottles.  They made noise and they were fun to play with.

You are NOT a fan of your daddy's drill but he has to use it to get some things done around the house.  Thankfully you don't seem to mind wearing these and you look pretty cute!

The picture is blurry but your Grandma Debbie made this book for you and you love looking at it.

Another new favorite this month has been a ball that I've been using in the mornings to exercise.

The big one freaks you out but you love the little one.

You've been scooting towards books which is fun to see.  We usually have about 30 books checked out from the library but I don't want you to stick those in your mouth.  This month you've been reading Goodnight Moon to yourself.

Your dad's boss in Sweden, Bert-Åke, gave you a toy that we called your candy cane man and you love it!

You started tilting your head when you are sitting up or on your belly.  It is hilarious.  I often wonder what you are thinking when you do it.  The first few times you did it while sitting on your bottom you fell over to the side but then you figured out where you put your head so you could tilt it while sitting up without falling over.  Smart girl!

Our Days
We've been going to Rhyme Time at the library at least once a week.  It is fun getting out of the house and singing songs with other kids.

We've had some really nice days in February so we went to the park by ourselves or with friends.  You love to swing or play with sticks and rocks while watching the other kids play!

 

 

Weekends have always been great but now I love them even more because we get to spend time with all three of us!  Since moving back from Stockholm our weekends have been packed!  We either spend it traveling to Wichita or Manhattan or having visitors.  It was started to be a bit much especially since we were used to living in seclusion for the last two years.  We decided during the month of February we weren't driving anywhere and we weren't having any house guests.  It didn't necessarily go over that well, especially with the grandparents, but it was a much needed break.

Please look past my awesome outfit and check out that cute face!

You are not very cuddly but this morning you cuddled with me on the couch.  It was so great!

Activities and Outings

We went on our second family vacation to Santa Monica, CA and Palm Springs, CA this month.  It was awesome!

Firsts and New Skills
You can clap.  It is so cute!  I think you even know the word clap because if I say it or if I say "yay" then you'll clap.  It is adorable!

The biggest new skill this month is probably that you are on the move!  I feel like it happened so suddenly.  One day you couldn't move forward, only in a circle and the next day (February 15th) you figured out how to pull yourself forward.  You aren't fully mobile yet but you do move for some of your favorite toys (a ball, your blocks, candy cane man) or if you spot something and you want to investigate it (your dad's desk).  You are getting faster but still mostly doing a version of an army crawl.  You have started tucking your knees just a bit more but you haven't really gotten up on all fours (unless you are asleep) and started rocking yet.

You found the bathroom drawer the day after you figured out you could move forward.  I see lots of baby proofing in our future!  Thankfully we have a door to our basement so we won't need a baby gate there.

I was able to catch one of your first forward progress moments on video!

A new discovery.

Playing with cups on the floor.

You love this ball . . . too bad it won't stay in one place.

You won a photo contest this month!

We started giving you baths with you sitting up.  It is a little slick so we've been putting you in a laundry basket that way if you do tip over you'll hit the side of that which is plastic instead of the side of the tub.

You were born with dark hair and there was a patch on the back of your head that wouldn't lay down flat.  It used to bug me that it stood up but now it is starting to lie down and I miss the spiky hair.  It just means you are that much farther away from being a newborn.  One night after bath your dad blew on your hair to get it to dry and he let it stay spiked up and it stayed that way for two days.  It was cute!  I finally got it wet and combed it before rhyme time.  I was afraid people would think you were a boy.

You had your second flu shot (booster) and cried for maybe 5 seconds.  You were a champ!

Remember
I want to remember the feeling of you needing me.  If you fall over or get overwhelmed at the end of the day all you want is me.  I love it.  (Your dad isn't really a fan of it but he understands.)

I want to remember the feeling of you asleep on my chest.  You fell asleep on my chest two days in a row.  I think I've said this every month and I probably will say it again next month.  It is the best!

You sometimes sleep with one eye cracked open like in this picture which freaks your dad out.

Oh sweet girl we love you so much.  I can't believe you are getting so big.  Every time I write one of these posts I think you look normal until I look at another monthly update and I realize how tiny you used to be.  You won't ever be this little again.  I am trying to soak it up while I can.

Love,

Your Mama

Here are her other monthly updates: 1 Month, 2 Months, 3 Months, 4 Months, 5 Months, 6 Months, and 7 Months.

Santa Monica and Palm Springs, California

We just got back from our second trip as a family of three.  We had a blast!  Over Thanksgiving my Aunt Carmen asked us if we wanted to join them in Palm Springs over Super Bowl weekend.  We already had a trip planned over the New Year for Florida and I wasn't sure we could swing both trips.  We had pretty much decided it wasn't going to happen and then almost 2 weeks before the trip we looked at tickets again and found some cheap direct flights and decided to go for it.  We are so glad we did!  Thanks Carmen for the invite!

We flew out on Thursday, February 4th at 7:15 pm which is Linnea's bedtime.  I wasn't sure how she would do flying at her bedtime but of course she did great.  We got to the airport earlier than we did when we flew with only backpacks and no baby ;) but we needed to have time to feed Linnea and ourselves before the flight.

Linnea nursed on the plane and then fell asleep for about 2 hours.  She has a hard time falling asleep in our arms since we lay her down awake but eventually Jake found the magic spot and she fell asleep.  She woke up with about an hour of the flight left and stayed awake until we got to my cousin's house.  We flew with Linnea's car seat this time but we didn't take a stroller.  The travel stroller we purchased we were iffy about so we decided to go without one.  There were several times when we wished we had one but it wasn't awful.

We rented a car through Alamo Rent A Car and they let us pick any SUV out of the row!  I thought it was awesome! It was like car shopping but without having to keep it forever and ever.  We picked a Chevy at first but when Jake was installing the car seat he realized the driver's seat would have to be scooted all the way up so while I nursed Linnea again (an extra feed to hopefully encourage her to go back to bed for the night) he shopped the other cars in the row and found a Kia that worked great!  He moved all our stuff, I finished feeding Linnea and we drove to my cousin's apartment.

Friday, February 5th, 2016 - Linnea's 7 Month Birthday!
We stayed with my cousin Holly and her husband Chris.  They live in Santa Monica, California.  The next morning we walked to breakfast with Holly and their dog Dora.  We had breakfast at a place called Flake and you can get scoops of cereal plus hot breakfast.  It was great.

Fruit loops with almonds on top makes it healthy, right?

Linnea and Dora had a fun time hanging out with each other.

When we went to Florida in January we borrowed a baby tent from a friend to use on the beach.  We ended up having Linnea sleep in it one night and for a few naps when we were at Chelsea's parents' house because they didn't have a pack n play.  It worked really well.  After that trip we looked for a tent we could buy and use on future trips so we didn't have to worry about getting pack n plays.  I ordered 3 tents from Amazon and after I mentioned my quest to find the perfect tent to our friend Christina (who we borrowed the first tent from) she said we could have theirs if they could borrow it one more time in June.  No problem!

At first we didn't zip it up but in the middle of the night I found Linnea hanging halfway out of the tent so I decided zipping her up might be safer.  We brought a self inflating camping pad to put under the tent so she isn't sleeping directly on the floor.  It seemed to work great.

After breakfast we got ready for the day and then walked to the beach.

 We walked down the boardwalk and towards Venice Beach.

Linnea looked so cute in her hat and sunglasses plus her chubby cheeks look great with any outfit.

We watched some skateboarders while Linnea napped.  One bonus of not having the stroller was that Linnea figured out how to nap in the carrier.

I missed a cool trick but you can still see some of the skaters.

 Naptime on Venice Beach

Our plan was to grab some lunch before getting in the car and driving to Palm Springs but once we checked the traffic and noticed that the 2 hour drive was going to take at least 4 hours we decided to go later that night or the next day.  (We ended up going the next morning because we were pretty tired by the end of the day.)

We borrowed this cool portable high chair, In The Pocket Baby, from our friend Liz.  When we went to Stockholm to visit before we moved there we saw this packable high chair and bought it for Liz.  I was looking for one for our trip and ordered a different brand and it was bulky and didn't work that well so we borrowed this one from Liz.  We are going to order one but they don't ship to the US so we are going to have to have a friend in Sweden mail it to us.  It was AWESOME!  I'm thinking a traveling with a baby post might be in the near future so I can talk about all our fun gadgets!

After lunch we went to a baby store to look at a travel stroller and then walked around and grabbed coffee, tea and some chocolate.

Next up was the Santa Monica Pier.  We got there just in time for the sunset.

 We stopped by the carousel to feed Linnea again using the portable high chair.  I'm telling you that thing is awesome!

 Someone was tired but I didn't mind the extra cuddles!

 On the way back to the car we walked through a neat park.

Also, I figured out how to get pictures with Linnea and me . . . wear her and go on a trip!

This was some artwork in a park.  Those are wind sensors which Jake happens to help make/design at Garmin.

We had dinner with Chris, Holly and Dora (their dog) at a Ramen noodle place in Santa Monica.  It was really good.  We walked there (about 15 minutes) while carrying Linnea in her car seat so she could fall asleep during dinner.  That was definitely one of the times we wished we had a stroller.  We didn't want to wear her because we wanted to be able to eat and since it was bedtime we knew she would fall asleep so sleeping upright in the portable high chair wasn't going to work.  She nursed and then fell asleep in her car seat under the table at the restaurant while we ate dinner.

Saturday, February 6th, 2016

The next morning we drove to Palm Springs.  Chris, Holly's husband, was sick so he didn't go which meant Holly rode with us which was super fun.  We got to spend extra time with her and she was able to tell us about the area while we were driving.

My Aunt rented a house in Palm Springs for the weekend and we had a great time just hanging out.

We went to lunch at a place called Cheeky's.  We had about an hour wait so we had some drinks and walked around an art fair.  Linnea ate lunch (using her cool high chair again) and then fell asleep in her car seat while we ate lunch.  She is really the best.

I feel like this restaurant was named after Linnea!

After lunch we went back to the house and Linnea went swimming for the first time in a pool.  It was also the first time she didn't cry.  It was probably because the pool was heated and she wasn't skinny dipping :).

Jake also dunked her.  She didn't hate it but I doubt she loved it.

 The view was awesome!

We walked around the neighborhood before dinner.  The house next to ours was Elvis Presley's Estate. 

Elvis Presley's Estate

 We ate dinner at a place called Trio.  It was really good.  Linnea nursed right before dinner and then she fell asleep in the corner of the restaurant next to our table while we ate dinner.

After dinner Jake and I decided to sit by the pool and look at the stars.  We sat down on some lounge chairs and started talking.  Jake said something about wishing we could turn off the lights from the house so we could see the stars better.  Then in his head he started thinking he could see the stars better from the roof and he glanced up at a certain part of the roof right above our heads.  That is when he saw something moving and then saw eyes . . . of a raccoon.  He told me he could see better up there but it looks like someone else already is there and that is when I turned around to see the raccoon hanging off the house about to attack us.  Okay, so maybe that is a small exaggeration but I freaked out!  I don't think I've ever seen a raccoon and for some reason I mixed it up with a possum and thought it would hiss and start attacking us after it jumped on us from the roof, of course.  So I grabbed Jake's leg while panicking asking him what we are going to do.  What was the plan?  Run inside while screaming? Or don't move a muscle and hope it forgets we are there?  I swear it lasted for minutes but probably less than a minute later the raccoon left.  Then I ran inside and told my cousins and didn't know if I'd ever fall asleep that night since my heart was racing.

Sunday, February 7th, 2016

The next morning we hung out before going to Joshua Tree National Park.

It was windy and I was feeding Linnea so the video is a little shaky but it was such a neat place!

 We did a little bit of hiking . . .

 don't worry Grandparents.  Linnea was safe.  We were going for the dramatic picture.  Did it work?

 It helps going to a gorgeous place with a professional photographer in the family.  #myauntrocks

Carmen, Holly and Jake did a little more exploring that wasn't baby friendly while I nursed Linnea.

We stopped by Pioneertown for lunch.  Pioneertown is a working city they built in the 1950s to use to shoot western movies and tv shows.  It reminded me of Cow Town in Wichita but on a smaller scale.  We had an awesome lunch.

I had steak, fries and mac and cheese.  You can see Linnea's portable high chair a little better in the picture above.

 Linnea got into a little bit of trouble . . .

 There were lots of windmills around Palm Springs.

We watched the Super Bowl and had tacos before heading back to Santa Monica.  We could have driven back on Monday morning but we didn't want to risk getting stuck in LA rush hour traffic. 

We packed up the room while Linnea fell asleep in her car seat . . .

in the bathroom.  She is a champ.

 We stayed the night with my cousin Sydney in Marina del Rey, California.

Monday, February 8th, 2016
The next morning we walked to a breakfast place and then to Venice Beach.

We found a few strollers.  HA!  Kind of reminded us of Stockholm.

Linnea took her morning nap on Jake.  I don't think either of them had a problem with it.

We decided to divide and conquer again at the airport.  This time Jake returned the rental car while I checked us in.  I had to check us in because I had Linnea on my ticket and the person flying with the infant has to check in at the counter.  Next time I think I'll put Linnea on Jake's ticket that way I can park/return the car and he can check in our bags.

We flew from LAX to KC on Spirit Airlines and got in the KC around 6:30.  Linnea slept on me in the carrier for about 2 hours on the flight which was great.

Since Linnea was still on California time she didn't go to bed until 9:15 pm and we let me her sleep in until 9:00 the next morning.  It was glorious!

We had an awesome time in California and it just reaffirmed what we already knew . . . we love to travel.  We learned a few things on this trip that should helps us travel even better on the next trip (which isn't planned yet but I'm sure we will get the itch again soon).

Things We Learned on the Trip:
*Dividing and conquering at the airport makes everything better.
*Traveling without a stroller isn't ideal but it is doable.
*The more you travel the better you will get at it.  We know more of what we needed on this trip than we did our last one and we will know even more for our next trip.  (Aka - you don't need as many burp rags as you used to.)
*The portable high chair was a life saver!
*So was the Ergo 360 carrier!
*Put sunscreen on the baby even if you think she is out of the sun.  She was a little rosy after our first day and we thought we burned her face but then the next morning she woke up with normal skin.  She could have been hot or a little windblown but we played it safe the next few days and put some sunscreen on her just in case.
*Be flexible.  I didn't worry about her nap-times at all on this trip.  She napped when she needed it and just went with the flow.  We were able to transfer her from her car seat (while sleeping) to the carrier and she stayed asleep.  We didn't think it would work but it did!
*Traveling is only going to get harder the more mobile and opinionated she gets so we are hoping to get really good at it before then so it is still something we can do and enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed reading about our trip!