Gwyneth Eden: 12 months

Gwen is 1 year old! It has been a busy month!  You can tell things are clicking in her little mind.  She makes new connections every day leaving me looking at David and saying, "Did she really just do that?"  It is hard believing we have a 1 year old now, but also hard to remember back to when she was 4 lbs.  Crazy how much will change in a year!

Gwen's "Firsts": Saying words that sound something like goalie or girly.  We have no idea what she says but it is super cute.  She FINALLY has learned some sign language.  Her favorite is signing "milk" and "all done".  We started teaching her "all done" so maybe it would cut down on her getting bored and covering our floor with food.... it doesn't work.  She also maybe understands what no means.  When she bites or starts gnawing on my phone I tell her no and then she shakes her head.  Maybe she doesn't get it but I like that she shakes her head :)

She also devoured a cupcake at her birthday party.  She licked off all the icing, flipped it over, and ate the cake. I was hoping she wouldn't eat any of it.

High of the Month: SLEEP.  I never thought the day would come that I would proclaim sleep as the high of our month.  She is a sleeping champ now.  She normally will sleep 11-12 hours overnight without waking up and then sleeps 3-4 hours during the day for naps.  Yesterday she took 2 two hour naps and it was heavenly.  Only took us a year to get here!

Low of the Month: EATING.  Someone told me awhile ago that with kids you will always be having either a sleeping or eating problem or both. Yep.  We get sleep under control and eating progressively is going down the drain.  She will eat yogurt, applesauce, cheese, eggs, and sometimes green beans or peas.  The only thing we have going for us is that I have a large supply of frozen milk still so that is the main part of her diet.  I am hoping she snaps out of her pickiness before the milk runs out!

Facts for the Month: 

Teeth: 6!
Weight: 16 lbs. 8 oz (1%)
Length: 27.5 in.
Moving: She can army crawl really well!
Favorite activity: Walking while holding our hands
Least favorite activity: Mom or Dad setting her down


And here are your monthly pictures:

At Ault Park with friends!

Learning to drive

This picture is too funny not to share.  First Reds game and looking photogenic :)

She kept on eating like it was nothing.

The cupcakes for Gwen's party since she loves cats so much

Gwyneth Eden: 11 months

11 months... DANG!  We are so close to a year.  It is amazing how different she looks and acts each month.  Her quirks and funny personality are so fun. In the pictures you will see some of them :)  

Gwen's "Firsts": Taking steps while holding our hands, sleeping through the night consistently, wearing leg warmers.  All kinds of great things!

High of the Month: Gwen's waving.  She waves to people she knows, doesn't know, dogs, cats, inanimate objects... everything!  I get her up from her nap and the first thing she does is wave.  I think she has some what made the connection to when I tell her, "Wave hi!", she normally will wave!  It is super cute.

Low of the Month: Teething.  It just keeps going on and on and on. I am looking forward to a break from it.  She gets very clingy, naps cease to exist, and I lose my mind.  The one has popped through so the end is near!  Hylands teething tablets have been the only thing that seems to make a difference.

Her favorite teething toy: the monitor

Something I Learned: Gwen has had a cough for over a month.  After 2 doctors visits, antibiotics, and allergy medicine, the doctor diagnosed her with bronchiolitis. There is nothing you can do for it and you just have to ride it out.  I am at least happy we know what it is!

Facts for the Month: 

New foods: guacamole, refried beans, greek yogurt
Teeth: 2 on the bottom and 2 more coming in on top
Weight: My dad tried to weigh her on the scale at home and it said 16.2 pounds
Crawling: no
Walking: no

And here are your monthly pictures:

I love her sleepy eyes and mo hawk in this picture

Our new game is playing with a flat ball on the porch.

"Hold on guys, I have to put on my make up first."

Holding on tight with her pinkies.

Keeping the toys contained.

More shopping cart adventures.

Gwyneth Eden: 10 months

Gwen is 10 months!  SHE IS SO BIG!  Actually, I know a 3 month old that weighs more than she does, but still, she has come a long way!  This month has been a great month.  Her personality is awesome and developing even more.

Gwen's "Firsts": Lots of talking and babbling.  She is more interested in chatting it up than moving.  Who would have thought my daughter would love socializing so much? :) She gets it from her mama!

She has started consistently sleeping through the night and by consistent I mean that I haven't fed her in the middle of the night for 3 days in a row!  I am hoping next month I can officially declare that she sleeps through the night with ease.  Last night she slept from 8:00 to 6:30!  Praise the Lord!

She went to her first music class with Stella.  It was adorable.  Jess and I probably had more fun than they did, but it was great! Gwen could hit her two sticks together when the teacher did.  I think she is a music prodigy.

High of the Month: Her nose scrunching, also known as her stinker face, had been taken to a whole new level this month.  David also calls it "the face that gives Mommy baby fever" face.  So true.  It is so cute!  When we were out shopping, she looked at someone we didn't know and gave them her mischievous grin.  The unfortunate part is that it is near impossible to catch on camera.

Low of the Month: This has been a great month overall, but maybe that Gwen has been constipated?  You know when that is the best I can come up with that it has been a good month!

Something I Learned: The whole reason why with the Ferber method you check on them.  This made all the difference!  We used to just let her wail for as long as needed without checking on her.  We thought she got more mad when we went in and did not want to make the process take longer.  Once a friend explained why the checks work, she started sleeping through the night.  It feels way more loving this way and I understand now that it reassures her that we haven't left her for forever, but it is time to sleep and all she is going to get from us is a quick check.  Cut the crying time down significantly!

Facts for the Month: 

New foods: I let her have a piece of sugar cookie :)
Words: dada, mama, lala... lots of talking!
Teeth: 2 on the bottom!  So cute!
Moving: still staying in one spot!
Weight: Our little 10 month old weighs 14 lbs. Back to the 1st percentile!


And here are your monthly pictures:

The new background on my phone

First time wearing shoes!

Feel free to judge me... I use a shopping cart cover.

Opening Day parade!

Gwyneth Eden: 9 months

Gwen is 9 months old!  This month was a little confusing for when to declare she was 9 months since her birthday is on the 31st, but February only has 28 days.  I can only imagine how those poor Leap Year people feel.  This month had lots of fun firsts and we can really see her personality developing.  Adorable!

Gwen's "Firsts": Lots of things!  She can now clap, give high-fives, and somewhat wave.  My favorite is when she is playing by herself and I see her from across the room clapping.

She also is showing some interest in being mobile. She rolls onto her belly, pushes her arms straight, and starts scrunching her whole body.  She has maybe only moved an inch.

Gwen stayed overnight with her grandma and grandpa for two nights in a row for the first time!  She did great and so did we!

Last, she has been eating finger foods!  Well, one of two things happen.  Either I feed her the finger foods or she picks them up, forgets that she picked it up, and then drops it on the floor.  Her other favorite tactic is to pick them up, squish them, and move onto the next piece.

High of the Month: My favorite moment from this whole month was our family dance party to every amazing Disney song.  It was fun for David and I to reminisce our childhood and to see Gwen giggle as we danced with her.  As she has gotten older, it is fun being able to do things all together and she her also enjoy it.  In the early months it was also David and I having fun and Gwen had no idea what was happening.  I can only imagine this gets more exciting!

Low of the Month: Gwen is officially afraid of men with beards.  She has never cried when anyone looked at her until now.  Three of our good friends have facial hair and as soon as she sees them is hysterical.  She is definitely going through some separation anxiety so maybe there is a correlation?  Dad has no beard and these men do, therefore I will not trust them.  Don't be offended, some day she will come to realize that beards aren't so bad.

Something I Learned: I think I have finally grasped the idea of phases.  In the past I constantly freaked out when Gwen started eating or sleeping differently... normally when it was for the worse.  Now, I may actually understand that sometimes babies sleep worse for a period of time and that's just part of being a baby.  There are growth spurts, teething, illness, milestones, and a thousand more things that affect how babies act.  Sometimes you just can't fix it.  Its good for my type A personality to go with the flow :)

Facts for the Month: 

New foods: strawberries, chicken, cottage cheese
Words: just saying babababa
Teeth: one is coming in... though this process is going on 2 weeks now!
Weight: we find out next Wednesday
Favorite book: ones I let her try and eat
Cloth diapering: still going strong
Breastfeeding: also still going strong!

And here are your monthly pictures:

I love putting her in animal print!

This completely defeats the purpose of a bumper.

Thursday play date with Stella!

Just like Dad :)  Playing with computer gear.

Gwyneth Eden: 8 Months

My favorite Instagram pic of the month.

8 months!  I think she gets more fun with every month.  She giggles, laughs, and understands more every day.  When someone has not seen her in a week or two, their first response is, "She has gotten so big!"  I can't wait to see at our 9 month appointment how long she is and how much she weighs.  It is surreal to me that we are very quickly approaching the 1 year mark.  I probably say this in every monthly update, but she still seems like a baby to me, so imagining her as a 1 year old is just crazy!  I remember going through all the clothes that were given to us and as I hit the 12 month box thinking, "No way will I ever have a baby that fits in these,"  This was especially true when looking at my 4 lb. baby!

Gwen's "Firsts": Co-slept for the first time!  While David was out of town for a couple days, I did not feel like getting out of bed every single time in the middle of the night.  We normally share the night time duties, so it was much easier to just have her in bed with me!  It was kind of fun, but I am also glad she is back in her own bed :)

She also played dress up for the first time.  Pirate Gwen made an appearance.  Time with cousins is always fun!

High of the Month: She is starting to mimic us (I think).  Honestly, most of the time I don't know if she is mimicking me or if I am mimicking her!  Regardless, it cracks me up and she is cute.  My favorite is when she blows raspberries or when she sounds like Darth Vader.  Who thought a baby sounding like Darth Vader would be cute?  It is adorable.

Low of the Month: Gwen got sick for the first time.  After a long day of running around, her forehead felt warm.  I took her temperature and it was at 102!  No wonder!  After a couple days she was back to normal, but the congestion and runny nose linger.

Something I Learned: If you are a mom already I am sure you know this, but I had no idea that doctors don't worry about a baby's temperature until it reaches 105 or over!  Dang!  I was all concerned about the 102 mark and started (mildly) panicking that this meant the emergency room.... I know.  I never voiced this drastic assumption, but she is little and I know I feel horrible when my temperature reaches 102.  I love that the pediatrician I talked with was able to make me laugh, explain everything thoroughly, and didn't make me feel like an idiot.  Thanks, Doc!

Facts for the Month: 

Newest friend: Naomi Haven!
Favorite way to sleep: On her belly

Things she loves:
     -Being held
     -Reading books
     -Bath time
     -"Talking"

Things she hates:
     -Getting her face cleaned
     -The Nose Frida
     -When we leave the room


And here are your monthly pictures:

Gwen tried to eat the sign for her new friend

This outfit lasted 36 hours.  New record.

Gwyneth Eden: 7 months

We are at 7 months!  That means she is closer to being a year old than when she was born.  Man...  She is so sweet and fun!  This month brought lots of great things including Gwen's first Christmas.  With 6 days of parties in a row, she was a champ.

Gwen's "Firsts": This has been a big month for her!  We have been trying out lots of new foods and she is doing much better.  It almost seems like she enjoys it now!

Gwen also can officially row from back to belly!  One day I put her on her back and walked out of the room.  When I came back, she was on her belly!  She has been rolling over consistently ever since!

Shortly after leaning how to roll over, she began sitting up unassisted.  It happened over night.  I still put pillows around her since face plants regularly happen, but she can sit up for long periods of time.

Luckily for us, she is still very immobile.  I am 100% alright with this.  One day we looked around the apartment and I had sewing needles and pins scattered on the floor... we are not ready for crawling.

High of the Month: Watching her open Christmas gifts.  She obviously had no idea what was going on, but it was so cute watching her tear apart the wrapping paper.  I was way more excited about all of this than she was.

Low of the Month: I bet you can guess... sleep!!!! Her schedule has been so off since Christmas which is a lot of our problem.  She probably sleeps better than what I make it sound, but I have way too high of expectations.  In my world, I want a solid 12 hours without having to do anything in between bedtime and wake up time.  We will start the Ferber method soon to help things along, but finding a good time with our crazy schedules has been difficult.

Something I Learned: I will keep this vague and brief.  Baby food poop.... YUCK!

Facts for the Month: 

Favorite activity: Sitting up and playing with her new giraffe toy
Favorite food: Anything sweet
Favorite objects to grab: Christmas tree, poinsettia flower, my hair

Rolling over? Yes!
Sitting up? Yes!


And here are your monthly pictures:

Standing up!

Hanging out with Uncle Dillon on NYE.

Ornaments we made for family!  

Gwyneth Eden: 6 months

Gwyneth is now 6 months!  Half a year old!  She is now so big when I see a newborn, she seems gigantic.  I remember thinking how small my baby looked compared to others.  Not any more!

Gwen's "Firsts": Eating oatmeal cereal and carrots. Also, she was able to stand by herself while holding onto the exersaucer.  It might have only been a few seconds, but it was exciting :)  I think we have also consistently had her sleep in her crib for a month straight!  This is a big accomplishment.  You would be so proud of us, she even takes all her naps in the crib!  Last, she went to to Festival of Lights.

Daddy and Gwen about to go into the Festival of Lights!

High of the Month: What a happy, smiley baby Gwen is!  Rarely do we even need to give her the pacifier.  She uses it to fall asleep for naps and bedtime, but I would say most days the pacifier stays in the crib all day long.  I only take it out with us if I really need to make sure she stays quiet.

Low of the Month: Lack of sleep during the night.  We are slowly working on improving this.  We have her down to only eating once at night, but she still wants to pacifier quite a few times.  Once again, this too shall pass.  I don't mind feeding her one time at night , but I am a little more motivated to get her sleeping better since next weekend it will be our first time leaving Gwen overnight. 

Something I Learned: The Nose Frida is awesome.  Gwen has been congested a lot so we bought a Nose Frida a.k.a. the snot sucker.  Sorry, I'm a mom now and talk about gross things.  I will stop there, but if you want to know more just look it up :)

Facts for the Month: 

Favorite toy: crinkle book
Weight: 13.5 lbs
Weight percentile: 8th (still)
Size clothes: officially 6 months!

Rolling over? Still only belly to back
Sitting up? Not without some help
Any words? Just lots of squealing

I will leave you with some pics from the month!

Constantly trying to get her socks off.

Cousin Lilly wanted to hold her at Thanksgiving. So sweet!

My favorite thing to dress her in is animal print.

Gwyneth Eden: 5 months

Gwyneth is now 5 months old!  Seriously, I can't believe she is this big now!  She is quickly approaching 6 months, which is half way to a year!  I think she gets cuter every day and I love watching her learn new things.  I think she also gets more laid back as she gets older which is never a bad thing :)

Gwen's "Firsts": Seeing snow!  She also sat in a high chair for the first time.  Can't say it didn't happen without massive amounts of spit up, but she did sit in it!  Something about sitting makes her leave puddles of sit up.  She went trick or treating for the first time and it was adorable.  Gwen is so advanced she even held her own trick or treating bucket :) This meant Mom and Dad got some candy!

High of the Month: No more 4 month regression! The 4 month mark brought quite a few challenges with sleeping and overall fussiness.  Almost as soon as she turned 5 months on November 1, she had a more calm and "go with the flow" disposition.  Non-selfishly, we love seeing her happy and enjoying everything more!  Selfishly, this means we get more sleep and are less stressed!

Low of the Month: Poor baby has her first cold.  She is congested and has a hard time breathing through her nose.  Of course right before this showed up we restarted the crib transition.  You know what happens next, right?  Yep, back to the Rock 'n Play.  She sleeps and breaths much easier in there sssssoooo in a week or so maybe we will try the crib again.

Something I Learned:Transition your baby to the crib by 3 months.  Next baby we will have learned at least a couple tricks of the trade.  Everything tells you that habits start developing around 4 months, but I thought, "Well, our baby won't have any problems being flexible and adjusting to whatever we want her to!"  Babies definitely have likes and dislikes.  Gwen likes sleeping in a cozy, inclined setting and dislikes a big, flat crib.

Facts for the Month: 

Taking a pacifier?  YES!
Spitting up? Getting better!
Solid foods? In a month!
Favorite place to sleep? The swing.
Cloth diapering? Going strong!


Since I stopped taking weekly pictures, here are some fun ones from this month!

Gwyneth Eden: 4 months

Gwen is already 4 months old! What?!?!  My little preemie 4 pound baby is getting so big.  She is a super happy girl and we love her so much!  She actually was 4 months on October 1, but this kept getting past me!

Gwen's "Firsts": Rolling over!  This has become pretty fun when I attempt to get her to do tummy time.  She will first start fussing and then just roll over.  Even in the boppy she will attempt to roll over.  She consistently will roll over from belly to back and is dangerously close to rolling over from back to belly!  She also has slept in her crib for the first time!  She does not consistently sleep in her crib, but we are trying!

High of the Month: She is able to interact with us more every day.  It is fun to make her squeal and giggle.  She loves when we sing songs to her, especially, "What Does a Fox Say?"   Probably something about us trying to make ridiculous sounds is highly entertaining for a baby!  Since she is more aware of her surroundings, it is fun watching her interact with objects and people.  If you wear glasses, Gwyneth will instantly be your BFF.  So shiny...

Low of the Month: Gwen's sleep... She has started putting up quite a fight for all naps and bedtime.  We have tried every trick in the book at this point and with no luck.  At first it was encouraging to this, "Oh, its just a phase," but this has been going on for over a month.  Eventually this will get easier!  It will probably get harder at times too.  Oh, babies and sleep :)  Luckily she is cute, so I at least get to snuggle with her in the middle of the night, right?

Something I Learned: There is something called a 4 month regression!  It is amazing to me how much I knew about pregnancy before being pregnant and how little I know about babies.  You don't really need to know much about being pregnant.  As long as you have common sense, you can't mess up being pregnant!  You know, don't get drunk, don't do drugs, etc.  Having a baby on the other hand, there are so many things to think about!  Another thing I learned about is wonder weeks.  All these crazy things I have never heard about!

Facts for the Month: 

Weight: 11 lbs 2 oz
Favorite toy: her fist
Favorite activity: playing on her activity mat
Size clothes: still 3 months

I kept up with taking weekly pictures in her crib, but then one week I changed the crib sheet since she was actually sleeping in there and it didn't match the other pictures.  This bothered me and so I stopped :)  I still have lots of others of her to make up for it.  For her 4 month, I actually do have them all, but 5 month is when they will stop!

P.S.- Blogger would not let me arrange these how I wanted.  Nevertheless, here they are!

13 weeks

14 weeks

15 weeks

16 weeks

17 weeks