15 months!

Hi hi hi!

Analisa is 15 months old, marching toward 16!

She honestly kept this on long enough for me to snap a pic then it was OVER. Devastating, right?

It recently occurred to me that writing a monthly update at this point in Ana's life might be a bit much. I mean, she just doesn't change as much from one month to the next, at least, not like she used to, from say, 3 months to 4 months. You feel?

It's not like she's not growing -- I mean, she is, and she's changing constantly. But when it comes to silly anecdotes or what she's eating or how she's sleeping or whatever, I mean, a lot has probably stayed constant(ish). So yeah, as to whether I'll continue every month, I'll mull it over! I do love documenting what Ana's been up to through the blog. And these updates are fun to look back on, even now. I re-read her birth story the other day and I was like, WHAT?

I can't imagine how great it'll all be, to read this when she's 14.

Will she turn 14 one day? (Will there still be a blogspot to read?) Goodness.

So, here's her quickie update --

Actual bear.

Ana is the cutest baby in the world (biased but sorry not sorry). She remains very happy and playful, and her days are full of joy. I swear, just now, she was running around the house, pretending to be talking on my phone, and she kept throwing her head back and doing this over-the-top fake laugh. Every time I'd watch, she'd laugh and laugh -- a genuine giggle this time -- at the sight of ME laughing at HER. She is such a little character.

We went out to breakfast a few mornings ago and she was just like, determined to get the attention of this random guy in the booth behind us. Such a little attention-seeker/ham sandwich.

James has brought her to the grocery store, just the two of them, two weeks in a row (which is a very noble and brave task, I'll add). Ana refuses to sit in the cart for longer than 10 or so minutes -- and even then, you need to be equipped with her toy remote, 15 books and a stuffed animal or two -- and then she'll just start standing up or crawling out. Girlfriend needs to be more scared, and she's definitely NOT. But she lovvvvvvves roaming the aisles, grabbing random stuff and approaching strangers (actually standing awkwardly in front of their carts, blocking their paths). So, we're those annoying people. But our baby is cute, right? We get her out of the way eventually. She has a great time, especially at the farmers market too, and it definitely wears her out before bed or naptime! The other day at CVS while I was waiting on a prescription, Ana was marching around with canned hot dogs and an Ace bandage, just bumping them together, yelling things at people down the aisles. What a tiny dictator.

Who, me?

We went to her regularly scheduled baby appointment and she is ... a block, basically. Haha seriously, she's in the 70th percentile when it comes to weight, and only the 30th percentile in height. But well, they finally told me percentiles! Remember when I never knew, and everyone used to ask, and I'd be all, "I don't knowwwww, I guess I could Google?" Well, now I know. I'll send a push alert to your phone.

So yeah, Ana's just about 23 pounds and 30 inches long. For the record, as I was making notes for this blog, I asked James, "what do they measure babies in? Inches or centimeters?" And James was like, "You're not really asking that, right?" ... "So ... centimeters?" NO, apparently.

Let's hope Ana gets James' brain.

Sweet girl.

Oh oh oh, one more cute story!

Ana and I were laughing so hard before bed maybe a week or so ago. One of her favorite things to do is, as I'm changing her for bed, I let her stay naked for a minute or two. She is the HAPPIEST. So she'll flop all over our bed, and run/crawl away from me, and curl up on the pillows, or just exist as an excited naked baby -- until I have to chase her down and put the PJs on her. This is brave of me, right? She hasn't peed on our bed yet.

Anyway, we kind of make it a game (a very calming bedtime routine, as the experts recommend),   ;)   and I don't know why, but it dawned on me the other day that I should make a very serious face at her. So I did. Then once we were making eye contact and you could tell she was trying to get a read on me, I'd raise my eyebrows at her, verrrrry slowly. OMG. We were both laughing hysterically. It was like an inside joke, only, not that elaborate because there you have it ... but I swear, I had tears from laughing so hard. She was doing that vibrate-y giggle and my heart was just like, exploding. I have such a little friend! And she understands me! I love that babe so incredibly much. Also I already have a hunch that she's weird like me. Yasssssssss.

Celebrating Sparty's big win over Miami : )

Otherwise, she's going through maybe a liiiiittle bit of regression? They say sometimes there's like, a step backward before a big leap forward. I just think it's a really transitional time for her right now (do I say that every time?) Anyway, she randomly will like, start crawling, even though she's a very solid walker. Or she'll have mornings when all she wants to do is cuddle up on my lap and be held, or she'll pitch a fit (normally she's very independent and wants to buck out of my arms). I don't know! I'm always just like, whatever you need, little girl. Mama's here. There was this mom at our library group last week who was all, "GO PLAY. GO. GO PLAY. GO." And I was mildly horrified. I mean, I always say I don't judge other moms, but this little boy was around the same age as Ana. And all he wanted to do was sit with his mom. (Which, Ana was the same way. Very shy in groups lately). And I let Anz stay, because I'm like, "whatever they wanna do in the moment is FINE." I could not imagine kicking her off my lap. So I felt very sad for that kid who was basically evicted so that he could "socialize." Nahhhhh.

Speaking of "nah" and things that suck, poop problems remain, but I think we're making steps in the right direction! I could honestly write an entire blog -- like, not just a post, an entire COMPLETE blog on everything we've gone through -- but yeah, I'm happy to report things are looking up, knock on wood!

Hi.

For some brief background, I know I've mentioned some of this in previous entries, but Ana has been backed up on and off almost since birth. When they're super little, you can't try much, outside of the old thermometer trick (horrifying). But once Ana started eating solids, our pediatrician recommended a prune pouch a day. That was effective, for a bit. Once it stopped working, we asked the other ped who works with Dr. L if she had any other recommendations. She said MiraLAX. I've had several friends with babies on ML, and they said they regretted not giving it sooner ... and that it was a total game-changer, in a good way. So we jumped on the ML train. Things were going OK, for the most part, until our NEXT visit when I still thought Ana was getting constipated from time to time, despite kind of a lot of ML.

The doctor said, no joke, "you cannot give her too much. It's not even technically a laxative, all it does is add more water to the colon, it's non-habit forming, basically just DUMP it into all her bottles and you'll be fine."

She was 9 months old at this point.

Hmmm. We did it, but we STILL experienced some back-ups; I think just because sometimes Anz would be stubborn and not drink her sippie cups at all.

But now I was starting to get suspicious. I mean, adult-sized doses for such a little person? In all her sippies? I hit up Google. And here's where I really fell head-first down a rabbit hole. I found an entire group on FB, of moms claiming prolonged ML use gave their kids tics, tremors, neurological issues; the works. Man, that was scary. Even more interesting was that some news outlets were starting to report on these moms. The FDA was even funding a huge study at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to look into the claims. I joined the FB group -- half for journalistic reasons, half for my own constipated baby, and to learn about some alternative remedies -- and I'll admit, you kind of have to take what these moms are saying with a grain of salt. It's a lot of the anti-vax crowd, scared of all "toxins" in general, or convinced their kids have autism based on that shit, or like, hmmm. Some of it is suspect, for sure. And while I'm a bit of a casual hippie, I'm never taking my kid off gluten (unless recommended), or sugar entirely, or doing anything too extreme.

But still -- nearly 20,000 parents are in the FB group raising all these concerns, so I think there are some level-headed moms involved, too. And honestly, there's power in numbers. Something might be up if this many parents are sounding off. Some major questions (that still linger), are like, why are pediatricians prescribing ML off-label when the drug company that makes ML doesn't even recommend it for anyone younger than 17? And, even though the study isn't complete, isn't like, the fact that there IS a study in the first place a bit disturbing?

Needless to say, I yanked Ana off the ML cold-turkey. And wrote this -- Is Miralax safe for children?

And then I started experimenting with natural remedies. We're not doing anything too cray at the moment, we're just cutting down on dairy (it's the proteins that can be binding, we don't think there's a lactose intolerance), replacing it with coconut milk and going OVERBOARD with fruits and vegetables. And I mean, she was eating a lot beforehand! Now it's just silly. And I make these smoothies, and I just throw shit in the blender. Ready?

--Frozen mixed berries (I just buy a big bag: raspberries, strawbs and blackberries)
--Frozen spinach or kale
--Frozen mango
--Medium dollop of baby yogurt with probiotics (or Greek)
--Small splash of coconut milk
--Big splash of prune juice
--Handful of dried prunes
--Tablespoon or two of coconut oil
--Probably 2 tbsp. of flax seeds/chia seeds (we have a mixed bag)
--Flax oil (when I can find it in Michigan; rare)
--Any other fresh stuff I'm looking to get rid of -- the other day I added two kiwis
--Then at the end, if it looks like it needs more liquid, I'll do water or more prune juice

:)

Anyway, Ana loves getting her smoothie on! And it's actually pretty effective. I mean, the smoothie, or maybe the fact that we cleaned up her diet a bit or switched her milk ... we also push water like no one's business. Hydration is such a big part of all this!

Basically, I'm not all the way convinced ML causes all those issues. I don't think doctors would recommend it to kids at all if it was THAT scary of a product. But like, I thought there were enough questions floating around where I'd just rather do things our way. We probably should have explored more natural options earlier, like after the prune packets, but you know, better now than never, right?

Ana obviously doesn't have any of those horrible-sounding symptoms. But as a mom, I thought we'd be better off safe than sorry. I mean, cigarettes were once thought to be fine, so. You never know. It's all about how ML is absorbed in your intestines, and it sounds like it's a different story if you're an adult. (So yeah, if you were prescribed ML before a colonoscopy, that's less of a concern).

But, progress!

Yes, Ana's still withholding and sometimes the poop is still a bit harder than I'd like, but now I've said too much.

Moving right along, Ana got a bunch more teeth this month! She's got a HUGE guy in the back, another up front and possibly even one more -- she doesn't like to let me poke around in there lately, so unless she's screaming with her mouth WIDE open, (probably about getting her hair washed), it's hard to be specific.

Teef.

I probably said this last time, but she's more and more toddler-like every day. Asserting herself, choosing to be difficult at times, just wandering the house like, "mama oh NO oh NO!" (which I can't help but laugh at). I try to give her options so that she feels like she has some power, even if the choices are like, pink spoon or blue, pear yogurt or peach, yellow shirt or white.

She HATES socks (and I don't blame her, she gets better traction while barefoot around the house), but our floors are a bit chilly. I swear, her feet looked purple the other day, they were so cold. Yet she doesn't even seem bothered. I can't keep her in footy pajamas all day -- any suggestions here?

It just stinks that she's not that happy of a baby.   ;)

But we did get the shoe situation taken care of! I can't remember if I blogged about it, or if I just posted on Facebook, but I was nervous about shoes. Every time we even attempted to put a shoe on her, she'd freak. Well, we did what everyone recommended and took her to Stride Rite. She was measured, she got in a pair pretty easily -- I guess they make starter shoes so that the baby can feel some ground? Like they're not so thick on the bottom? -- and we figured why hesitate, let's just buy the first pair that she tolerated. (Um, even Stride Rite Outlet is kind of spendy, if you ask me: $40 for baby shoes that'll fit her for 10 seconds? Wah).

Anyway, she did bite it pretty bad outside the store, and split her lip open, which was more painful for me than it was for her, no joke. I think because there was blood, I panicked. She was smiling again 3 minutes later. She was just so excited to run around outside in her new shoes, I couldn't say no! And then I lived with self-hate for the next week (half jk).

Final items to mention? I said I was going to make this month's entry short (lol) and look at me. Happens every time, I suppose!

We met baby Collette! Who is adorable and Katie is such a cute mom. I love my friends becoming moms! We also traveled to Rochester a few weeks ago, so that was nice to get more time with the Ganleys. Liz's baby is due in July.

And I forgot to mention how much Ana loves singing. Her little voice is just the cutest. I never wanna forget sitting around my parents' dining room table last Tuesday or the previous, Ana just telling us stories and singing little songs. She does it around our house too, and I find it to be the most precious thing. Not so much when we're out, or when she's around people she doesn't know, but like, when she's truly comfortable, she'll just babble and babble and sing, and I turn into a pile of mush.

Although, Natalie said she was talking quite a bit in Paw Paw this past weekend! Maybe we have an all-around chatty bear on our hands after all.

See you next month!

14 months!

Analisa is 14 months ... omg!

Well, we're finally starting to realize she's rolling into the toddler years. I realize she might not be official yet (the definition of "toddler" varies, depending on who you ask/where you look), but personality-wise, she's definitely showing signs! She lovvvves to say NO (even when she doesn't mean it, but she's pretty spot-on with her useage, for the most part). She wants to be held, then bucks to get down when she's up. And sometimes I think she's just here to test our limits -- with bedtime, meals, refusing to ride in the cart at the grocery store, etc.

We don't even tell HER no all that often, so I'm not sure how she became so obsessed with the word. We're all about that redirect!

But like, whatever, little girl. I will act UNFAZED by all of it. You don't scare me and I refuse to let you know when you're driving me cray! ;)

What else? We're still holding strong at five teeth! Although I sense she'll be cutting at least one more soon, if not more, based on all the drool she's been kicking up, and all the chewing on her fingers.

Lovey.

Sleep is still going well. I'd write about it, but I don't want to jinx it. So that's all I'll say for now.  : )

Even when it takes her a few minutes to wind down for the night or a nap, I'll just hear her one room over going, "oh oh oh bai dai dai dai doe doe doe ee-ee ah-ah oh no!" Just singing to herself with a cheery little voice. Whenever she's in her crib jabbering away, we figure whatever. She's happy. She'll fall asleep eventually. And she does! I don't even want to tell you how many hours she gets. We are well rested lately, I'll just say that.

It's been so nice to crutch on our baby monitor! We were barely using it before, just based on the fact that we never felt far enough away, when we were still in the apartment. But we have a real need for it at the new house, so shoutout to Candace and Natalie for getting us the awesome monitor we registered for. Lovvvvve that thing. It's pretty fun to be a fly on the wall in Anzy's room, spying on that little gal.

She looks like such a little prisoner when we get her in the mornings. Either her arms will be slung over the sides of her crib, and she's just leaning there like a straight gangsta, or she's sitting up with her legs slid through the bars. The look on her face is like, "'bout time, deadbeats."

Excuse our clutter.

Anyway, speaking of the new house ... we love the house! Not sure if I mentioned last time, but there are a FEW more projects than I had originally envisioned. The place was definitely move-in ready, but like, for example, there were no curtains or blinds or anything. Is this standard? So now, I'm having to figure out window treatments for the entire house. Which is daunting, because I suck at decorating, we don't really have any themes or colors or anything in any of the rooms, and it's kind of an expensive process. But like, champagne problems, I realize. We'll figure it out.

I went to Target with my mom last week, and I've been clicking around on Wayfair too, measuring, trying to handle shit. We'll survive! Anyone with good sites or stores for this sort of thing ... lmk! I honestly care about makeup and baby clothes and not much else. I'm in over my head on this one. I just went to Home Goods for the first time the other day, and it was so fun in there! But overwhelming at the same time. How do I commit to ANY of this? For someone who's been renting her whole life, I'm not used to the idea of like, a space to call my own. Or nesting. I don't even think we ever hung our pics on the walls in Rocklin.  :/

We did however, buy a really nice sectional for our front room. So, everyone come visit once that's in place!

What else? Back to the Anz?

I've definitely felt our relationship changing, just slightly, with the seasons. She's just so grown up lately -- do I say that every time?

I can't even explain all the ways, unless you've been around her.

I know how to make her laugh almost without fail. I feel like we have inside jokes, and our communication is more on point than ever before. I swear, she understands me. I mean, that's not even a crazy thing to say -- based on everything I'm reading, she's starting to GET more and more. Things are clicking. We can watch a show together, and she'll just chill on my lap (well, depending on her mood, of course). And then other mornings she can't sit still, she's just so busy! She loves to give herself little assignments. Like at my parents', she moves all these stacking cups near the tub from one spot to another, one by one. And then she does a big SIGH at the end of each trek. It's the funniest. Hard day at work, little one!

She does stuff like that around our house, too. Lots of repetition and learning. Like "let's take every single diaper out of the Honest Company box. Now let's load them all back in." Let's draw. Let's explore behind the couch and move all my toys back here. Let's "help" mama with the laundry. <---which is no help at all. She loves to transport my piles across the living room, strewing clothes in her wake. It's just so cute. I'm probably NOT great at discipline (not that you necessarily DISCIPLINE a 14-month-old), but like, when she's intentionally naughty or ridiculous, I can't help but giggle.

THIS FACE.

We try not to give her too much TV, but she's starting to dig a few shows. She and James watch cartoons together some mornings and it's kind of their thing. I figure she has enough variety in her life -- whatever. I won't sweat it.

I love discussing kids shows with James. From the always-irresponsible Tommy and Tallulah (you guys, seriously WHEN are you going to learn to get back promptly for Chime Time?) to Nanny Plum (of Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom) -- "did you see the one where she got her magician's license taken away? She kept turning things into frogs, and then on her final exam, she had to turn something into a frog!" ... oh and James is always like, "THIS IS DONALD TRUMP'S AMERICA NOW, I DON'T WANT ANYMORE BRITISH CRAP, CUT THE PEPPA PIG BULLSHIT, AND DEFINITELY NO MORE DORA OR DIEGO."

Ummmm he's kidding.  : )   We ain't cray.

And then the other morning, J was like, "We missed the first Nella the Princess Knight?! WTF, we've been waiting MONTHS for this shit!" <---- partially true

We also love the Wonderpets song. That gets stuck in your head too, right? I swear, I'm working in my office at 7p, writing about murders, and I'm like, "we're not too BIG and we're not too TOUGH but when we work together, we've got the right stuff!"

Ughhhhhh.

Staying busy.

Anz is just the sweetest, cutest, happiest bug. It's been kind of fun to have an empty front room in our house -- you can usually find us chasing each other around in there or playing in all that wide open space. No joke, the other day, Analisa was chasing me, and she finally caught up, and just squeezed my leg super tight, and my heart just about melted. What a baby nugget she is.

She'll just roam around the house going, "mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!"

She's also killing it with "hi!" "nigh nigh!" and a few more small words : ) She repeats after you like no one's business, and is very proud of herself. We might be experiencing SOME regression/clinginess, but it's little stuff just here and there. Those behaviors are few and far between. And I never mind. You just wanna come be my baby? I'm all yours.

But yeah, back to the front room -- once the couch arrives, we'll just need a buffet-type thing to set stuff, a big rug and we'll probably move some end tables in from the garage. Slowly but surely, we're getting there! Ana and I will have to find a new space to chase each other.

Analisa's also been into ... feeding me back (haha, like, from her high chair. I feed her and she gives me bites, too. She thinks it's hilar).

And she's been saying "woof woof woof!" when she sees a doggy. (Sounds like, "wub wub wub!")

You can ask her, "what sound does a cow make?" And she goes "MOE!" <--- not a typo

Candace came to my parents' on a Tuesday or two ago, and Ana was in rare form. Babbling and babbling, seriously NONSTOP, and like, she really had something to say. She was using her hands for emphasis, and being very expressive overall. Arching her back, shrugging her shoulders, really getting into it! She was walking back and forth and back and forth, just staying a busy little bee while explaining to us her very important story. She cracks me up. Every day is just something new. She's learning people, her body, her surroundings, what happens when she tries to stick her hair clip in an outlet, etc.

And then I was sick maybe just a week ago ... so lately, Ana really likes holding a tissue up to her face and "blowing her nose" like mommy. She holds the Kleenex up to her face and then makes a loud noise with her mouth. Even Emily noticed it the other day; we were laughing and laughing.

Look at all this hair from my serious girl! Check my IG -- vids are way easier to capture these days than pics.

I had a little scare this week: I took a tumble down my parents' staircase (top to bottom, pretty much head first) with Ana in my arms. Luckily, Ana came out of the ordeal completely untouched. Thank you GOD. I whimpered the whole car ride back home, "I could have really hurt her. I could have really hurt her!" and now I have total PTSD going down any flight of stairs. I feel SO SO SO grateful that nothing happened to her. I could have never forgiven myself if she were hurt. I got pretty banged up, I'm not gonna lie. My back took a pretty serious beating. I swear, I like, swiveled as we were going down so that I'd take the brunt of the impact and I wouldn't land on her or anything. I have no idea how I managed that. It was one of those out-of-body mama moments where I basically lifted an oven off her, so to speak. It was crazy. I think I was saying "NO NO NO" on the way down, and it was a pretty loud crash. Both my parents came running and their dog was barking ... ugh. My back looks like I was hanging out with OJ, no joke. I don't really have a great explanation for any of it, other than I wanted to drive us home after RO Tuesday, it was midnight, and I was hoping Ana didn't wake up during the transfer. So I grabbed her from the Pack n Play in her sleep, had every light in the house OFF, was wearing high heels and missed a stair. Never again.

But like, speaking of shoes and switching over to a lighter topic, Ana probably needs some. Her first pair! We've held off her whole life -- I mean, infants don't need shoes. What a waste.

But she does now! With all the walking around she wants to do, in places like Target, I feel like it's time. The socks are too slippery. She's a good enough walker where I don't think shoes will derail her, or throw off her progress. She's practically running at this point. But yeah, every time we've even TRIED to get her foot in a shoe, she's screamed bloody murder. We're taking you to Stride Rite this weekend, little one. Whether you like it or not!

You guys should have seen her at Target when my mom and I were window-treatment shopping. I'd set her down (I basically had to -- she calls the shots around here now), and she would just TAKE OFF. Happy-babbling down the aisles, following people awkwardly, grabbing things off shelves -- the whole nine. I was exhausted after an hour or so. I was like, "mom, just stick stuff in the cart. We'll keep the receipt, return the things that don't work out, whatever. I need to call it a day!"

What 99% of my camera roll looks like right now. #gimmedatphone

Girlfriend's got a slight case of FOMO -- she just wants to see what's up with everyone. Strangers, Grandma Leese, my friends ... when it's time to go down and she can hear James and me one room over, she'll basically be all, "hey, I'm over here too! Whatcha guys up to? My nap can be over if we're doing something fun!"

GAH I'm getting long-winded, babbly and jumping from topic to topic (per usual), so I should probably wrap it up now. I will just say, thank you to everyone who came out of the woodwork in the past month or so to share stories about your own constipated babies. I seriously HATE that any parent has to go through this, but it's made me feel better to know we're not the only ones. We're still actively dumping Miralax into any and all sippie cups. (Which is pretty effective, to tell you the truth!) I was getting kind of down on myself, like, whyyyy is this happening to us? And it sounds like a lot of babies have a similar problem.  :(   Which leaves me feeling relieved, and yet sad for tiny ones everywhere dealing with it.

Now that we've got our poop talk included in here somewhere, I'll say ... see you next time!

Bye friends!

13 months!

UGH, it's been hard to keep up on the blog lately! We WERE buying a house, then we weren't, and suddenly it was back on the table, and then we closed LAST FRIDAY.

I didn't feel like it was real until the keys were in our hands!

But it's finally becoming real. We've even unpacked a TON in the past week or so. It was a real whirlwind: Having to get out of the apartment and into the house on the same day. Really glad that's over! Shoutout to our friends for making it happen, seriously.

Anyway. Ana turned 13 months ... a few Sundays ago! Usually I have a bit of a mental countdown clock ticking down in my brain. Not this time! That Sunday, I was like, "what's today's date?" And James said, "maybe the 8th?" I checked my phone. It was the 8th. It was also 7 p.m. "Ana's 13-month birthday!" I said. Haha, I think the months are going to start turning into the weeks. You know what I mean? At first, I was SO aware every Tuesday. "Ana is 4 weeks old! Ana is 9 weeks old!" ... My mom even laughed at me later in the year when I'd get all, "we need to get Ana's 44-week photo!" Well, pretty soon she'll be in college and I'll have no idea what month we're on.

Hi I'm cute.

So, another thing I'll reveal: Usually throughout the month, I make little notes in my iPhone to use when it's time to assemble the monthly blog update. And then I'll write the entry over the course of maybe three days. I'm usually distracted and multi-tasking, so I'll do the copy portion one day, and add photos later. I'll read through it a few times to make sure I'm typo-free and it has decent flow. Etc.

OK, well, I was writing Ana's one-year update from like, mid-November through a few days ago. At some point I was like, "need to use some of this crap for Ana's 13-month!" And now you know way too many boring details about my process. ANYWAY. I'll jump in where I left off.

You already know Ana's walking.

And that continues to be an adventure! She loves to roam around with an item in hand (it's funny when she picks something heavy -- like, why are you making life so hard on yourself? Put the Bumbo down). And she especially loved (at the apartment) to venture to the kitchen, and go under the sink where we kept shopping bags and empty beer cans (gross). She has more toys than any baby could need. A toy kitchen that remains king, a shopping cart, plastic food, a walker, a bin of odds and ends in the living room, a castle, 50,000 stuffed animals, the list truly goes ON and on. But she just wants those beer cans, yo.

This is WAY better than my castle.

(Or the DVDs. Lately she lovvvvves tearing all our DVDs off the shelf and examining them very seriously. She's been pretty hung up on Dumb & Dumber the past month or so. James brought this up recently and cracked, "it's how I know she's mine." lololol).

So yeah, we moved in to our first HOUSE.

We still have to ... finish unpacking. Organize a bunch. Figure out if we want to do curtains or blinds or both ALL over the house (yeah, there isn't a single window treatment at the mome; we draped Ana's windows with my maxi dresses so the sun doesn't wake her up early).

Haha what else ... drill some spots for toilet paper rolls. Drill some spots for towel racks, and pick out what those should look like. Move current furniture into the front room, then add a cozy sectional to the family room. Reexamine our babyproofing efforts. Buy a gate for the kitchen and possibly the stairs. Mount our TVs. Return our appliances. Figure out the bed situation. Finish the washer-dryer sitch. The list honestly goes ON and on; those are just the first batch of issues we'll probably need to tackle.

Back to Ana bear; house stuff is boring.

Hi I'm in my new room.

You guyssssss, she is the sweetest, cutest thing of all time. She is growing up way too fast. I know I say that every time, but are you ready for all the changes she's made? As of just the past few weeks/month, she's transitioned to cow's milk (no more formula or breastmilk, although my b-milk stash has been out for quite some time anyway). Then we moved her off the bottle entirely, so she's on sippie cups 24/7. (She had some in her rotation previously, but had crutched on bottles quite a bit when waking up or falling asleep).

And maybe it was the act of weaning her off bottles but ... now she no longer gets up in the night. (!!!)  And that one makes me SO happy, because she'd been sleeping through the night for awhile. And then she started needing occasional bottles all of a sudden. The docs say past a certain point, they shouldn't NEED those calories, so maybe it's a comfort thing. We went through phases of trying to let her self-soothe, but I swear, she had nights where she would not go back down without a bottle. When I asked her pediatrician about it at our one-year checkup, she said Ana is probably accustomed to having one of her meals overnight, hence why she sometimes doesn't eat well during the day. She was used to it. I felt like I did a bad thing. #momguilt

But like, I really struggled with the idea of getting her off the fourth-meal schedule. If she's genuinely hungry, how do I teach her to NOT be? I can't just not feed her if she needs it (in that moment). So basically, we took it one thing at a time. We got her on cow's milk. We switched her off bottles. And then I had this elaborate plan I had found by Googling -- slowly I was going to offer less and less overnight, and eventually swap the bottle with water if I had to. But guess what: she just stopped needing it. Like, right around the time we were hoping for! I don't know if it was like, milk filled her up less than formula? So she ate more real food? But in our big time of transition, the problem just worked itself out. I was elated.

Anyway, she's sleeping a gajillion hours now (had to get some overnight diaps!), drinking like a big girl, walking like a big girl, learning more and more every day ... the bath remains a favorite spot!

Bath time is the freaking cutest.

She's pissed at first, when you make her sit down, but then she gets used to it and forgets. She lovvvvves to splash. Loves her squeaky bath-animal toys. Still doesn't love getting her hair washed, but adores the cup I use to rinse her hair out. All she wants to do is fill it up and drink the water. Which is so hard because I want to be proud of her! For drinking from a cup, that is. I mean, it's a little messy, but she gets it! The concept is there. But like, I have to go "acka acka acka!" (sounds like YUCKA; it's our noise that means "gross") because there's pee and soap and grime in that water.

She thinks it's SO funny. She laughs and laughs and loves watching my reaction when she drinks the bath water. Silly (gross) bear.

Then we get out of the bath, and lately, I've been slathering her in coconut oil (the cure for everything. First it was the cradle cap, now it's curing her dry skin!), and she's actually getting used to it. The other day, I laid her down on my bed, and gave her a little baby-massage as I slathered her up, post-bath. She looked at me the whole time, very calm, and just kept saying, "mama. Mama. Mama."

I just try to make the process seem either slippery and silly, or calming. Depending on the mood. But yeah, lotion was just NOT cutting it. Ana would wake up painfully dry the next morning. Safe to say, I'm in love with da coco.

PS she also says "nigh nigh!" <--- And this is why working from home is the best. The fun stuff I get to do during my dinner break!

Anyway, yeah. Back to the bath ritual: If you hand her a brush after the bath, she wants to be the one to brush her hair. She's not great at it, but she gets the idea! She uses the right motion. And her hair is longggg all of a sudden!

It's the same with pieces of clothing. If she sees socks, she'll put them near her feet, but can't quite get them on yet. If she spots a headband, she'll hold it up to her head. Etc. Smart girl!

Ever since she was born basically, we had this family tradition (family just meaning the three of us) where she'd wake up in the morning and we'd bring her into bed with us. When she was teensy, she'd sleep with us at least half the night. It was just easier to nurse her or eventually offer a bottle in there, and then she'd fall right back asleep. Then she got a little bigger and she'd play for a bit in bed with us. And even as of last month, I'd go grab her and set her on James. Well, I'm sad to report we've done less and less of that morning ritual. I don't know; I just felt like she needed to start getting up and seizing the day. Getting some real breakfast in her body now that she's not filling up on bottles, getting her play on, etc.

She's still napping once a day. Some days, if she's been playing hard, she'll go down just 2-3 hours after she wakes up. So, up at 9a or so, back down from noon to 2ish.

Other days, we can run errands with her till 1 or 2, then she'll conk out when we get home. She's definitely accustomed to giving us at LEAST an hour nap; but she'll go as long as 3-ish hours if she's extra tired or we're lucky! Bedtime is around 8:30p.

Goon.

She still loves cellphones probably a little too much.

Ughhhhh. This is probably getting worse, tbh. I try not to take mine out around her anymore; I swear I'm going to wean her. She'll forget they ever existed. Seriously, I don't want her to be this kid. It's just HARD. I can't even take a Snap or a pic without her reaching for the phone half the time! Sometimes you can distract her, sometimes you can't. But she IS turning into a toddler in the way where like, if she doesn't get what she wants, YOU WILL PAY.

Still, screentime weirds me out and that blue light is burning out all of our eyeballs. (Yes, even yours. Even mine).

UGH.

Why does she just like, know to love the stuff that's bad for her, or off limits? Cellphones. Keys (most contain lead). Remotes. Phone chargers. Glasses. Everything under the kitchen sink. James' insulin (haha, we call it "diabetes corner." As in, "she's headed straight to diabetes corner if you could get some eyes on the bear!") Obviously his stuff is zipped up and tucked away -- it's not like she could shoot herself with insulin or test her blood sugar. But we will have to revisit the babyproofing of medical stuff like that, pretty soon.

And I will say: it's pretty funny when she asks Siri questions. The other day, Siri responded back something like, "it appears you've been drinking." Ahaha, Ana just barks babble/nonsense.

Have I mentioned she's up to five teeth?

TEEF.

So much babble. So much singing. Sometimes I sing to her and she'll sing back. If that isn't the most precious thing I've ever experienced, I don't know WHAT is. She's kind of a nuzzler lately, which hadn't been her life in quite some time. I haven't even minded a few 5a wakeups (just a handful, and they've been random), because it's like, "I just want to rock you and feel your sweet breath!" She has this teeny, tiny snore, and it's so cute.

She is so crazy.

Ana will just tear up and down the upstairs hallway at the new house, making this crazed noise from her chest. She is so, so proud of herself for walking better and better each day, and so happy to be alive. I posted a video on Instagram the other day!

This is her fourth home in 13 months. I hope we stay here awhile! I would love for her to remember this one.

And finally: I'd like to think I don't give too much advice on here. As I've said, we're just kinda doing our thing. A lot of this trial-and-error stuff has really worked! I don't claim to have any secrets.

Wearing one of my old dresses!

But I will say, I get messaged some questions from time to time! And if I could do it all over again (have my first kid), I wouldn't hate me for sharing a few notes. Here's what I've chosen to share this month.

1.) Google first, call your doctor second. <--- WITHIN REASON
I'm talking about when you need to address issues like sleeping, eating, small behavioral stuff, etc. Obviously, trust your instinct, and if your baby has anything going on that seems alarming, Google probably won't cut it as your first line of defense. In those cases, run don't walk! Call your doc. But I will say, Ana has had moments where I'm like, "oh yep, gonna ask the doctor about that FOR SURE when we see her next; need to make a note in my iPhone, etc." And then I wonder why we only see the doc once every few months. And then usually that same night, just because I'm a psycho and I look up EVERYTHING, I see that 90 million babies have experienced that same phenomenon, and I stop sweating it. Or I closely monitor the sitch for a few days and it self-solves in no time. Basically, don't build shit up in your head, or think two 5a wakeups mean she's getting up at 5 from here on out. Your doctor is busy with actual problems, I imagine. You're the parent because it's your job to take the reins and say "hell no," to 5a wakeups. You rock her back to sleep and teach her 9a is gonna REMAIN wakeup time. Because that's when you and Daddy like to sleep in until, too. (Deadbeats).

2.) And then when you're trying something new, be patient.
I'll admit, I needed to take my own advice on this one. James was the real MVP on this note just recently. For example, the transition off bottles. I wanted to break down so many times and just give her one. But he stayed strong, we didn't crack, and she was off them within 48 hours. You can't be scared of her. YOU are the boss. She will adapt. Also, do you know how many times people have suggested sleep training, or giving her soy, or some other shit that I didn't want to do, just because she had like, one fussy day with milk or constipation or rejecting a nap? Also, soy is gross. I would have considered switching her life around if I ever thought it was worth it.
But I do think overall, we've been pretty good at isolating the problem for her, testing stuff, making sure we're using controlled experiments, etc.  You have to give things a real chance to work or not work. Sometimes that takes longer than you'd like. But that's life with a baby. Give it time.

3.) Don't throw all your tricks and toys at the baby at once.
Oh, she's happy playing on the floor by herself? But you haven't gone over there in 10 minutes and you need to feel more involved? WAIT till she seems bored, then go. (Plus, solo-play is good). Or, she's happy in the carseat with the play remote but you also have some toast on standby in case she's hungry? WAIT till she throws the remote at the backseat window, then feed her the toast. Your dad wants to take her on a walk through the restaurant but she's playing happily in her high chair, "drawing" on the kids menu? WAIT till the food arrives and she gets spooked by a loud sound or she's decided this high chair is bullshit. Then let your dad have at it. Tour the entire place once she needs a distraction!
We've always kind of done, or strived to do, versions of this, but timing things selectively has gotten more and more relevant lately as Anz has grown. Also, all of those scenarios have happened recently, so this is a reminder to myself. :)

4.) Here's my controversial one: We did not create our own vax schedule. Because we're not doctors. And why in the world would we do something like that?
Honestly, I pick EVERYTHING for that little bear. I choose her outfits every morning, I determine what she eats, the ebb and flow of her day, I choose who she'll be around and basically how she'll grow up. But I'm not a doctor, and neither is James. In fact, we have nothing to do with the medical profession. I've had some people ask if vaccines make us nervous, or if we'd consider spreading them out. I mean, it's not exactly fun to watch Anz get poked by all those needles. But in general, would we consider tweaking the schedule or opting out? Um, hell no.
The schedule is there for a reason. It was determined by the experts. I trust them. Do you want to know why they give babies 9 million shots before the age of 2 when they used to give them like, 10? You can actually Google and find out. (Which I did once, but I'm not smart enough to re-explain).
But I trust the science.
You know what sucks? Polio. You know what's cool? That I don't have to worry about my daughter getting measles.
Why would I f with that?
Sorry, but in my opinion, a modified/alternative schedule is crazy. Do what you want (I guess), but if we ever have a #2, get your unvaccinated kid awayyyyy from my baby.
End rant.

Robby was like, "make it look like I'm teaching her!" But this girl loves to hold a writing utensil lately.

On a completely different topic, you wanna hear something sweet?

I couldn't go to the Women's March this weekend because I had plans with a big group that had been in the works for a LONG, long time. And I was kind of bummed in hindsight -- to see all those women in ALL those cities, showing up strong, proving a point, holding signs and displaying such beautiful solidarity.

I came home and mentioned it to James, and he totally understood. He even said he considered taking Ana (he was home alone with her all weekend while I was out of town), but he wasn't sure if Midland was closer, or Lansing, and with only one parent + Ana, sometimes things can get crazy lately because we're entering toddler tendencies. ... I thought that was so cool though. I was like, "You'd consider taking Ana?" And he said of course. He was basically like, "I mean, if she were a little older, 100 percent I'd take her. But seeing as she wouldn't really know what was going on, and the fact that we were stretched this weekend, I didn't think it'd work out." I was so touched by that. James is so supportive, and the best dad. I love that he'd attend a local Women's March with our baby girl, even in theory.

Seeing guys and children in photos at the marches was really cool.

Anyway, until next time ... !

Christmas #1 vs. Christmas #2. Such a difference!

Life with a year-old baby boo.

Over the years, I've seen first birthday parties like, on TV and in the movies. It always looked so precious, bringing the cake out for the very first time, the baby's chubby cheeks in the glow of birthday cake lighting, everyone singing happy birthday to a little one who has no idea what's going on, the parents opening the gifts while the baby paws at the wrapping paper ... I just couldn't believe that was us!

I'm still the one with the newborn, right? Providing her age to strangers, in weeks? No?

It made me a little teary actually, like, she's only going to turn 1 once. And this is it. How can it be here already?

I felt weirdly powerless. Like, it's time. Whether I like it or not, time keeps moving and Ana's growing up. Right before our eyes.

It's like that line from the Six Feet Under finale (omg, best show ever/best series finale ever/best writing ever). But Nate says to Claire, "You can't take a picture of this. It's already gone."

Like, and I OBVIOUSLY can take 4,500 pictures. (And I do). And it helps with those fleeting feelings. Honestly, when I can't sleep, I just like, sit in bed and watch old videos from my phone, and I say things like, "I remember that!"  To which James responds, "Well I would hope so. That was like, six months ago." He even LOLs at the idea of "old" photos and videos. She's 1, not 91.

But the point is, no matter how many pictures I take, some things you just can't bottle. And I wish I could.

The little girl loves her stuffed animals.

I would bottle up entire days if I could, just so I could relive them when I'm 45. I'd save memories; even the most boring of days around the house. Feelings. The curve of her cheek in my hand. The sound of her squeaky, vibrate-y giggle. Or like, days when my heart might explode when James wraps his arms around the two of us and I just feel overwhelmed with love for our tiny family, and want Ana to stay small forever.

So yeah. Her birthday left me in a puddle of emotion, in case that wasn't abundantly clear. I cried a few happy tears sitting on the couch with James after everyone had gone to bed (well, Ana and Carolyn). James' mom stayed with us that birthday-party weekend.

It's just so surreal. I still feel like the one with a tiny baby, but I'm not. We've had the most transformational year, and I loved so, so much of it. OK, I won't say I loved EVERY second. There were definite challenges and moments of stress. And nights where I just longed and ached for a few more hours of sleep ... but I really wouldn't trade any of it. Cliche but true.

And now I have a 1-year-old.

I think I'll always take this memory with me: As James and I were sitting on the couch, dissecting Analisa's first year on that birthday-party Saturday, she woke up.

We gave her a few minutes to self-soothe (which she usually does just fine, and goes right back to sleep), but she was really fussing that night. So I got off the couch, lifted that teeny body from her crib and just rocked her. I held her to my chest and just CHERISHED her. You know, it's one of those things you're never supposed to do, get the baby out of her crib. But f it, you know? I sang her Landslide by Fleetwood Mac in a super hushed voice (a tradition of ours), and then James came up behind me and just held us close. I got so choked up, like, these moments are so fleeting and I'll miss them terribly. I already know that! It's truly not the nauseating childbirth or the wake-ups every three hours for the first month, or the fits in the checkout line that you remember. It's this. She's my baby. My first baby. My only baby.

I am not eloquent today.

So, the year update. Let's hop to it!

Ana's actual birthday/her birthday party

Ana turned 1 on Dec. 8, which was a Thursday. James and I both took the day off work, because we figured, why not? As much as I love Emily, who watches Ana while I work during the week, I thought it would break my heart if Emily got to spend the very first birthday with our Little Bear. So James and I made an elaborate, lofty plan to take Anz to the zoo. "Early!" we said. "Rain or shine!" we said. "No matter how cold it is! We don't care!" we said.

... And then we woke up and it was cold. The weather had called our bluff. And we were tired (all three of us, really). When Ana went down for her nap that day, James and I did, too. By the time we were all dressed and ready for the day, it was late afternoon. So we ran a few errands, headed down to Royal Oak and met my parents for dinner. We (I) had picked Bigalora previously, because I figured it was across the street-ish from the zoo. I then decided even though the zoo had been a bust, Bigalora was still delicious. So my parents met us there for a tiny celebration. We had fried brussels, pizza, chopped salad and drinks. Then we stopped at Astoria on the way back to my parents', and grabbed some carry-out desserts. Yum, yum and yum.

Reading a card from Uncle Robby.

We didn't do much with Leese and Bob ... Ana played in an Amazon box (her favorite gift of all), my parents and brother got her a few things (although the grandparents' main gift to her involved paying me back for her Minnie kitchen I found on one of my buy-trade-sell moms resale groups); and then suddenly Ana was so tired. So we dropped her in the Pack 'n Play upstairs and waited till she was asleep, then James and I headed to Ye Olde Saloon for a celebratory beverage. We kept our baby alive all year! Cheers. (Also, to my RO peeps, I have NO idea why we picked Ye Olde. I just wanted somewhere close by, no-frills, laid back, cheap, with good lighting and no band). Anddddd this is how I know I'm 30. Also, I'd never been.

ANYWAYYYYY.

We weren't out for long. Then we came back to my parents', grabbed LB in her sleep, moved her to the car seat and came back home. We like to call this Von Trapping -- when we flee in the night without telling Anz ;)  A quick hour up I-75 in our SUV with heated seats is exactly the same as the Sound of Music family bouncing over the mountains to escape the Nazis, right?

So, that was Ana's birthday. James and I both worked the next day (bummer, but that's the news business, I suppose), and thennnnn we had her party on Saturday.

Saturday morning was such a cluster.

We woke up at like, 5:30 (and don't ask what time we went to bed). We mayyyyybe got 45 minutes of sleep. Proceeded to pick up James' mom from the airport. Unpacked the car, and left Ana and Carolyn at my parents'. Ran to Costco just the two of us to grab the cake, a bunch of frozen quiche, fruit, pastries and mimosa ingredients. And my mom saved us by grabbing a few balloons and a few boxes of Biggby coffee.

I swear, I was doing my makeup 5 minutes before people were supposed to arrive. Luckily, it was a relaxed morning. No one was really on time, anyway. We had plenty of time for the quiche to finish up in the oven and to set everything out and make it pretty. My parents' house was warm and cozy and I was glad we were able to use it!

Me and my girl.

For a little context, I threw my parents a deck party/joint 60th birthday thing/anniversary soiree in October ... and man did we spend a LOT of time prepping food, and timing everything and investing in ingredients. I think I would have gone a little more Type-A crazy if it weren't for that deck party. This time around, I was just like, "still exhausted from October, we're going to Costco and throwing together the simplest brunch of all time!" But no regrets. Everything was delicious. It cost next to nothing. And we were able to drive home afterward for a long weekend with James' mom, so there wasn't any back and forth between our place and Royal Oak. And that's what stopped me from doing an evening-type thing in the first place; I wanted to be able to pick Carolyn up from the airport and be settled back in Fenton within a half-day.

But as for the party, like I said, it was truly lovely. We didn't really take into consideration that Ana goes down for a late-morning nap (and she's consistent af on this), so we did have a SLEEPY bear on our hands at one point. All her pictures started to look like this:

She had no interest in cake (too tired). And then she just got crabbers. So we took her upstairs for a nap and enjoyed the rest of the party without her.  ;)

We wrapped up and it was still fairly early, so we stopped at Great Lakes Crossing on our way back (but didn't buy anything), then just kinda laid low the rest of the evening. The weather was snowy, to say the least.

Let's hop back to little bear ... Ana's talking!

"Mama" and "dada" have been a thing for awhile. Lately, we keep thinking she added "bye!" to her repertoire.

She does this thing where she wants to launch herself off our bed (which is pretty high up). Probably a few months ago, we started grabbing her leg, so that she couldn't move. We'd sometimes go, "bye Ana! Good luck down there! See ya later!" and watch her struggle to try and break free from our grip.

Anyway, we were all in bed maybe two weeks ago, and she was dying to jump or lower herself off our bed, and I swear, she turned to us and said (very clearly), "BYE!"  James and I looked at each other like, "whoa!"

Haha, otherwise, cute baby babble continues in full force. Sometimes she sounds Japanese. Sometimes it's like a British man. Who knows; Dr. Jenn says they're sometimes saying words -- it's just that we're not listening well, and she struggles to pronounce things correctly. But she's really trying! We do a lot of back and forth, and I let her know I'm listening. I've heard, at times, what sounds like it could be "hello," "oh no," "no," "yeah" and "what."

And of course "OH!" remains KING. I swear it makes us laugh every day. Even though she's been saying it since early October (clear as day), it will never NOT be funny. She changes the tone of it based on what you're saying. If you tell her something interesting, "Ana, mama didn't walk till she was 16 months. I was a little slow because I was born early!" she'll say, "ohhhhhhh." Like she understands! Or if you tell her something curious, she'll do more of a yelpy, "oh?!"

We were at our home inspection and the guy was just cracking up. "Your furnace is good for now, but keep an eye on it over the next 10 years."  "OH?"  "You're going to want to call a plumber to revisit the issue in the second bathroom, too."  "Ohhhhhhh." She was just responding to everything!

A few new tricks

You can now ask her, "where's your ear?" or "where's your belly button?" or "where's your head?" and she'll show you. (She's already known nose and a few others for awhile).

You can also say, "will you show me open/shut them?" And she'll open and close her hands. She'll stick out her tongue, even if you don't show her first what that means, and you can ask her about characters in her favorite books and she'll sometimes get the answer right, like, "which one is Pout-Pout? Can you show me?" She points. She continues to LOVE books. I swear, if she's not trying to poke through the garbage or get into the cupboards underneath the kitchen sink, she just wants to flip through her books and point at things. Or go through the pages, "read" out loud and point. It is SO SO cute.

What a nugget you are.

She can follow instructions and loves to "stand up! Sit down!" The other day, she shot up, and yelled, "up!"  Although she prefers to stand 10 out of 10 times.

We've been making teeth-brushing a fun game -- even though the flyer from our pediatrician said you can wait till they have 10-ish teeth, I thought, it's never too early to start. I don't use toothpaste, I just say, "let's brush your teeth!" and I wet down the brush. I show her how I do mine, and then we do hers.

She thinks it's pretty funny. She has the best laugh right now. Sometimes it's real, and sometimes she'll pretend to laugh at something, which is honestly hilar. James will laugh at me and she'll join in, or pretend a book is funny, or just SQUEAL in delight, and it's just like, have you ever seen a happier baby in your whole life?

She's obviously been watching me closely during getting-ready time, or in the bathroom. Did you see the video on my Instagram where my mom handed her a makeup wipe, and she blotted her lips? And then she's been begging for my pink beauty blender (it's just this little pink sponge I use to blend my foundation and concealer) -- at first, I didn't want to let her have it. I thought she'd put it in her mouth, and it's due for a wash.

But she was REALLY going for it the other day. I couldn't distract her out of it, and she's at the age where when she wants something, she's gonna let you know. Basically until she gets it! So I groaned and handed over the silly little blender. And you guys ... she "blended" her face! She dabbed it all over just like I do, and it made me tear up a little! She's just SUCH a little person and she's absorbing everything! It's crazy.

She's also walking!

I swear, it was overnight.

For awhile she'd been comfortable standing and cruising. And we'd encourage her to "come to mama!" or "walk to dad!" and outstretch our arms like you see on the commercials, and she just ... wouldn't. She'd hit the deck, actually, and crawl over to us as fast as she could. She's SUCH a fast crawler. She tears around the house at lightning speed; James and I were always like, "what's gonna motivate her to walk when she's THIS good of a crawler?"

Then she strung together a few wobbly teeny, tiny steps. And she wouldn't do 'em when prompted. But I swear, when no one was looking, she'd go. Emily would tell me she had a couple steps before bed. James would swear they happened on his mornings (we alternate who gets to sleep in; I realize this sounds like a custody agreement). But I'd only seen like, three steps, tops. And they were honestly so small and pathetic, I didn't even know that I'd count them as real steps.

And then we saw this baby around Ana's age in front of us at church on Christmas Eve, and by the end of the mass, both babies were in the hallway, post-meltdowns. The little boy was taking these CRAZY big, ambitious lunges. Arms out, shoes on, and I was like, "doubt Ana's gonna be there any time soon."

But then the next day, or maybe two days later, she was proving me wrong!

Bear in the new house.

She's still not a lunger. Her steps are small and calculated. She doesn't fall much, but when she does, it's straight on her butt, which doesn't upset her. She doesn't put her arms out for balance, but does like to hold something in her hands (does she think she's holding onto an actual item to steady herself? We'll never know).

I think I'd list Dec. 27 as the first day that she was walking walking. So, just about three weeks past her first birthday. This was one of the few benchmarks she didn't hit early, but I'd say around the one-year mark is still about average. I read somewhere that it's not a bad thing if your baby doesn't walk early ... it just means she's content. She's not trying to push the envelope; she's secure in her current state and doesn't want to get hurt, or go too fast and feel rushed. I mean, you can obviously find almost anything online to back up what you want to hear or read -- so maybe that just made me feel better? I never felt scared that she wouldn't do it. She was just so close for so long. So when she finally started chugging along more regularly, I was just happy for her! We now have an official walker.

And for reference, when she's really excited, she'll still crawl. Whatever!

I have so many more updates, but based on how long this thing is already and how long it's taken me, I'm going to continue in the 13-month entry! See you there.

So you're going to a baby shower: What to buy

I feel like ever since having a baby, I've been asked a lot of questions about my favorite baby products, what I'd bring to a shower, what are some solid gift ideas, what are the things new moms actually NEED, etc.

So I've come to share some favorites!

Obviously, people register for showers ... so you could just go the safe route, and buy something off the registry. Easy enough! I like to do a combo gift -- maybe a little something the couple asked for, and pair it with a personal touch. At my shower, it seemed like hardly anyone picked from our registry (and that was fine!), so I figured it was acceptable to do your own thing. Also, I liked getting the tried-and-true gifts from other moms, which came with specific recommendations like, "oh yeah, just give that to her in the carseat, she'll be preoccupied for an hour!"

Or like, maybe you just want to bring a gift to a new mom, but you're not sure what. Or you don't know where she's registered. (Bring food).

Orrrrr that'll bring us to the first recco! And the rest of the list, for that matter --

Baby crack, as it's known in our house. My cousin Jenny got this for us when Ana was born and said Molly LOVED it as a baby. Then Candace came over within a few weeks, spotted it, and was like, "yeah, that thing is MAGICAL." Apparently the little boy she was nannying for at the time also was obsessed! Our batteries are just about dead (although it's been 11 months, so that's understandable), but Analisa remains pretty captivated by it. Even when she was a teeny baby, we'd hand her the toy, and she'd just like, FOCUS on it. James and I used to be all, "what in the world is this sorcery?" It's made by Baby Einstein, there's something about it with healing, attention-grabbing powers, and the song isn't even annoying. Plus, at $5.99, you could just like, attach this to your card for the shower. (Assuming you do cards. Our family does not).

Hanna Andersson PJs -- (if you're shopping online, look under Baby --> Sleeper Outfits). K, I just discovered these a few months ago! They are everything. The prints are adorable, they get softer with every wash, and they seem to sort of stretch and grow with the baby. Ana only has the Dr. Seuss pair, but I probably visit Hanna's website three times a week, scoping for sales. They're normally like, $38 a pair, which is pretty expensive in my book, but I got Ana's half-off when I finally bit the bullet and purchased. I'm dying to get her a holiday pair, but ... #savingforthehouse. Also, note that HA does NOT provide free shipping, but you can get around that by having your order shipped to a store, if you happen to live near one. (Detroit-area friends, there's a store at Twelve Oaks!)  So, gifters: these are great PJs for a newborn, also super cute outfits (and PJs) if you want to give a mom something for when her baby gets a bit bigger. Really high quality stuff, really classic and cute.

Aden and Anais bamboo swaddles -- Hey all you other swaddles, go home. You just cannot compete with these. They are SO SOFT (like, unbelievably!) and so silky. Ana's blue one is kind of "her blanket." I bought three boxes of these for baby showers this summer (they run $45 for a box of three swaddles), but you can pick your prints, and I just think these are theeeeee best present. Swaddles are NOT just for swaddling your baby (although we swore by swaddling). They can also be used as covers to breastfeed (if you're into that sort of thing), burp cloths, carseat blankets, covers for your changing table, and just like, good staples for your diaper bag. I swear we have probably 12-15 swaddles. But nothing stacks up against the A&A bamboo.

Driving home from the hospital! Ana's blue blankie has been there since day one : )

Parasol diapers or an Honest Company subscription. OK, admittedly, a diaper subscription is probably something you'd only consider if you're like, the grandparents to this baby, or insanely generous. But I thought the idea was worth mentioning! Also, at my work shower, someone made a diaper cake AND the group pitched in for a huge box of Honest diaps (the anchor/nautical kind, which matched our theme!)  We appreciated both gifts immensely. It probably goes without saying that diapers are an essential, and sure, they might seem kind of boring, but trust me when I say they'll be valued and USED! You can buy a pack of Parasols online (see the link above), and these are my favorite diaps in the world. They're a little pricy to buy regularly, but I've splurged once or twice. The prints are really pretty and they are so so so incredibly soft (do you see a theme here? I'm into soft things). But yeah, I've never felt anything like them. Also, although I'm not thrilled with The Honest Company -- really cute prints but a little scratchy -- the bundles are convenient and easy. Just a little something to consider! Nice diaps are fun, but you could always crutch on a box of Target Up&Ups too (our value-brand of choice).*

*You'll just want to make sure you know for a fact that the family is doing disposables, over cloth diapers.

Parasols!

A Bumbo seat.  LOVE! Honestly, I've been really surprised to see the Bumbo pop up on several lists online titled shit like, "stuff you really don't need for your baby." Sorry, but a Bumbo is NOT a wipe-warmer! (Yes, I'm judging you for that one). I fully credit the Bumbo for helping teach Ana how to sit independently. It just kind of props the baby into the correct position, so that she gets a feel for it. From probably five months on -- yes, even to current day -- we've used our Bumbo a ton. Some examples: need to get dinner going? Pop the baby into the Bumbo on the counter and let her bang a spoon up against the cupboard.*

*Just make sure you're able to keep a good eye on her if the Bumbo's off the floor, plz. (Ana can get out of hers, but she won't do it if she's entertained).

And when Ana was about 6-7 months, I used to put the Bumbo on the bathroom floor and take a shower while she sat just outside the curtain. We'd play peekaboo. It was a thing. Even at 11 months, we'll use it as a high chair if we're out and about, or we don't want to lug our full-sized version to a relative's for Thanksgiving. You CAN buy a tray for your Bumbo (which we never did but probably should have), but we're also known to just put the seat up on the table or on a chair, so Ana can eat like one of us. Bumbos are so small and easy to travel with. Also great for photo shoots!

Five-month baby.

Clothes for when they're older. I know, everything in the newborn size is like, ridiculously teeny and cute. So tempting, right? But I will say, we were gifted a few items in the 3-6 months size (which fit Analisa like, three weeks after birth, ha), and even an adorable outfit from a Northern California boutique in the 12-18 months size. We were just able to put Ana in that for the first time on Thanksgiving! It's fun to have clothes to look forward to. Plus, you realize every few months (if you have a ginormous baby like we do) that you need to buy (what feels like) a whole new wardrobe, so ... buying big is always appreciated! And buying for when they're older is an added bonus. My favorite brands are H&M, baby Ralph Lauren (don't scoff; there are actually REALLY good deals online and at Macy's), Old Navy, Hanna Andersson and Cat&Jack (relatively new at Target).

I remember thinking this looked HUGE!

Bigger-ticket items: Again, if you're like, a grandparent or a close friend or a sibling, and you're looking to do something really nice for the mom-to-be/expecting parents: check the registry. I'd recommend a baby carrier -- if the family wants one of course -- a stroller, or a baby monitor. Sure, you CAN find cheap-ish versions of all three, but if you're going to splurge, make sure you're getting something off the actual wish-list.

Books. Can't go wrong! No matter how old the baby is, it's safe to say the parents could use more books. I used to think we had a TON, but now that Ana is almost 1, I think it's time for us to upgrade, as well. Some of our favorites up until this point have included:

--The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen (and there are a few cute PP spinoffs, too).
--Where is Baby's Belly Button? by Karen Katz (OK, there's something about her illustrations that Ana lovvvvvves. All Karen Katz books are a win in our house, tbh).
--Pajama Time! by Sandra Boynton (again, same deal with Sandra. We love all her stuff!)
--Brown Bear/Polar Bear/Panda Bear ... (samesies on Eric Carle -- he must know what captivates babies).
--Elmer by David McKee
--Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
--More, More, More, Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams
--Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
--I'd Know You Anywhere, My Love by Nancy Tillman
--Global Babies by The Global Fund for Children (this is mostly faces, but as it turns out, babies love faces).

Reading is so important.

Or, I recently saw this on Buzzfeed -- 13 Children's Books that Encourage Kindness Toward Others   (Seems appropriate based on the current political climate).

Also, I put this together for ClickOnDetroit this summer -- some really great suggestions!

And whenever possible, buy board books! Babies are freaking animals who want to rip out the pages and destroy all literature. RIP, half the books in our collection.

#ovaries

For my final few suggestions ...

A Rock n Play. We got SO MUCH USE out of this thing. It was so valuable. Ana wasn't into it for the first month, so I got discouraged ... I thought those soothing vibrations would solve anything. But then around month two, it just started working. It clicked! She loved it. For most moms, I think we feel like, physically attached to the baby for the first 10-12 weeks (Ana wouldn't sleep without me, wouldn't get set down, wouldn't nap anywhere but my chest), but this thing helped. Sometimes you just need somewhere safe to set her while you pee. Or pump! She spent many a 25-minute pump sesh in here, swatting at the mobile or jamming out to the music. I've heard of some babies sleeping in their Rock n Plays, too (Fisher Price makes a sleeper version). Ana never did that, but I wish she would have. Regardless, we endorse this thing!

Baby boo.

V-Tech learning table or sit-to-stand learning walker. Again, something the mom won't pull out until at least six-ish months in ... but we got the table on loan from our friend Heather, and the walker from my mother-in-law. I swear by both items! Ana flocks to each one often. At some point, the baby's going to start pulling up on EVERYTHING -- your coffee table, drawers in the kitchen, etc. Having the learning table and the walker at least help grow her skills. The song on the table is a liiiiittle annoying, but not awful.

Bumkins bibs. Another inexpensive item! I've blogged about these before, but it's so helpful to just wipe 'em clean during and after meals. I don't know why anyone would use cloth bibs once the baby's eating solids. Plus, the prints are ADORBS. Dr. Seuss, Disney, DC Comics, the list goes on. I'm browsing the website now and could probably use another pack. Washing machine friendly, too!

What a little model.

OK, I think that's where I'll cap it. I could write about baby products all day!

Good luck out there : )