It is no surprise (to me anyways) that I have only had a few blog posts since my recap of months 0-3! There is little “free time” being a working mom. When I am at work, its non-stop go-go-go meeting my customer’s needs. The “free time” that I do find at work is used to pay bills and keep up with my to-do list in my planner (shout out to Erin Condren’s amazing LifePlanner that I couldn’t live without). When I am at home, from the second I pick up Lucy from daycare, I obviously want to spend as much time as possible with her. Our current routine is this: pick her up from daycare, come home and play for about 15 minutes, feed a jar of veggies while listening to music, dance to said music with Lucy around the kitchen (lately its been christmas music!), go upstairs and play with, talk to, and tickle her, read her a book or two, bath time, watch one episode of Ruff Ruff, Tweet, and Dave, feed her the last bottle of the day, and finally put her to bed by 7:30. As you can see, it’s VERY jam-packed from the second I get Lucy, and it’s my absolute favorite part of the day. Once Lucy is in bed, my “free time” quickly becomes my spend time with my husband time. We eat dinner, I beat him in jeopardy, and then we just relax after a long/hard day. One of these days, I will figure out how to incorporate more “me” time in my day – but for now, this schedule is working just fine for our family.

Over the past 4 months, Lucy has grown SO much and her personality is just so beautiful. She is a happy, energetic, and strong baby girl! She is not quite crawling yet, but she sits on her own and can scoot around to get where she wants to go. She says mama and NEW she says dada (and won’t stop saying dada), has the most wonderful laugh, and loves being silly. Here are her monthly photos from 4 months to 8 months!

About Lucy this month (4 months):

Lucy LOVES to “talk” and smile, likes to chew her thumb, giggles, likes to pretend shes bashful when people talk to her and bury her face in mommy’s shoulder while smiling, holds her bath toys, prefers to sleep on her side at night, has finally met all of her grandparents, watches Rooney at all times, can put her pacifier back in her mouth, mimics noises, makes raspberry sounds, can make consonant letter sounds, gets very cranky if she is tired, loves getting her lotion massage after her bath, likes to play while drinking her bottle and hit it out of her mouth and then spit out her milk, sleeps 6-7 hour stretches at night.

About Lucy this month (5 months):

Lucy tried her first food (sweet potatoes!), likes to suck on her bottom lip, makes grunt noises and MMM sounds, LAUGHS when mommy tickles her,  got her ears pierced (daddy picked out her pearls!), had her first road trip (PA to attend her first family reunion), smiles at Rooney and is obsessed with him, likes watching Ruff Ruff, Tweet, and Dave, gets a kick out of when her jumper speaks in French, tries SO hard to get her toes in her mouth, can roll from front to back and back to front, likes to try to hold her bottle herself, can take out her pacifier and then put it back in her mouth, loves shaking her rattles, likes licking stuffed animals, has transitioned out of her rock n’ play and into her crib (most nights!), sleeps 6-7 hour stretches at night.

About Lucy this month (6 months):

Lucy sits up on her own!, LOVES carrots, belly laughs, loves playing in her jumper, sleeps in her crib for half of the night, knows how to whine and uses this new technique on mommy and daddy, its such a happy girl, reaches when she wants you to pick her up, loves visiting all of her grandparents, loves any and all dogs, sits in restaurant high chairs, likes napping in the car, has cut out one of her naps from her day and only takes two now, loves grabbing her feet, loves eating her hands, holds her bottle by herself, tries to grab everything, loves hugging daddy’s neck!

About Lucy this month (7 months):

Lucy celebrated her first halloween and dressed up as Lucille Ball and then a polar bear when she went trick-or-treating, loves eating food (3 jars a day!), loves watching her friends play at daycare, loves peas, likes eating her stack-able ring toy, her favorite stuffed animal is her Clifford the Big Red Dog from her Grandma, jumps like a maniac in her jumper, still likes taking some of her naps in her swing, sleeps THROUGH night most nights!

About Lucy this month (8 months):

Lucy enjoyed her first thanksgivings (3 total!), was fed her first real food by her Pup (a tiny piece of spaghetti that she hated), is cutting her FIRST tooth, transitioned from her infant bathtub to her more grown up rubber ducky tub, can now say da-da, switched from wearing onesies to shirt and pant separates, started wearing 12 month clothing, likes to hit herself on the head with her hand, likes pinching faces and pulling hair, drools excessively, still loves veggies the most but is finally starting to enjoy fruits without scrunching up her face, wakes up 2 times a night again to eat (but mommy and daddy are hoping she starts sleeping through the night again soon!). 

In keeping with tradition from my last recap post, here are 12 items that made these past few months easier for us!

12 Items We Couldn’t Have Lived Without: Months 4-8

1. Munchkin Ice Heart Teether: Now that Lucy has started cutting teeth, she loves to chew on this cute heart teether that we keep in the refrigerator.
2. Fisher-Price Go Baby Go! 1-2-3 Crawl Along Snail: This toy has been one of her favorites now that she can sit on her own. When she is sitting she loves hitting it to make it laugh, play music, and roll. When she is laying on her back or doing tummy time she likes to look at herself in the mirror!
   

   
3. Large quilts made by family and friends: There are no links for these treasures! At our baby shower we were gifted several homemade quilts that we use so much. From taking them to wineries and laying them down with all of Lucy’s toys under a nice shade tree, to bringing them with us when we travel to other peoples houses for a blanket for her to play on – they have all provided a comfy, safe place for her to be placed on, plus the colors and patterns are all so beautiful! The one pictured was handmade with love from her Great-grandma Sandy!
4. Beanie Boos (small size): Even though her Clifford is her favorite stuffed animal, these little perfectly sized Beanie Boos are a close second! They are small and fuzzy for her little hands. She currently has two, her Lion from daddy after getting her ears pierced, and her giraffe from her cousin.
5. Baby Jumpers (pictured): Lucy LOVES going wild in her Baby Einstein Neighborhood Friends Activity Jumper. Her favorite part of it is the little red bird that spins. She also several other different versions (including this awesome ExerSaucer) she gets to jump on at her grandparents houses and at daycare. Since Lucy is no longer to be trusted on a lay down activity mat if mommy or daddy are trying to do some chores, the jumper is a perfect place to keep Lucy contained and happy!
6. Nuby Hot Safe Feeding Spoons: After experimenting with so many different types of baby spoons, I have found these Nuby spoons to be my favorite. The dip between the spoon and the handle makes it easier to navigate the food into her mouth past the flailing hands and squirms. I also appreciate the heat safety sensor which makes the spoon turn white if the food is too hot.
7. Nuk Learner Cup: Similarly to the spoons, we tried several different sippy cups before my sister recommended this one for Lucy. The soft spout on this cup made the transition of drinking from a bottle nipple to drinking from a sippy cup much easier unlike the hard spout on the other brands we tried. Though we only drink water at dinnertime, Lucy enjoys learning how to drink from this sippy cup.
8. Oxo No-Spill Formula Dispenser: These compartmentalized no-spill dispensers make traveling with pre-dispensed amounts of formula so simple! Whenever I am packing the diaper bag for a day trip, I measure out three servings of formula, and place this container into a bag with three bottles (that already have water in them). Another use for these is for middle of the night feedings when I am half asleep. I pre-fill them and place a bottle or two upstairs in the bathroom next to Lucy’s nursery.
   

   
9. Seventh Generation Free & Clear Dish Liquid: Finding this dish liquid was a game changer for me! Before I found this odorless, non-toxic liquid – I would find Lucy’s bottles smelling like soap from the fragrance that was in the other dish liquids I would use to clean her bottles. This in turn would make her milk have a slight taste of soap. Before I found this one, I switched to another brand that was all natural but still was “scented” with lemon which gave her milk a lemony taste – ew! This Free & Clear soap is completely scent free and does not affect her milk in any way.
10. Pampers Baby Dry Diapers: Now that Lucy is sleeping much longer stretches at night, having her wear these night-time diapers at bedtime keep her sleeping peacefully. They are 3X drier than a normal diaper and the liquid is quickly absorbed and pulled away. A quick note, these diapers run a bit smaller than Pampers Swaddlers.
11. MAM Pacifiers 6+ Months: Even though Lucy loved her Avent Soothies pacifiers, we had a scary encounter one night when she got her thumb stuck in the pacifier leaving it red and swollen. This was due to the fact that those pacifiers are only recommended for babies under 3 months. We panicked at the thought of having to try another pacifier because Lucy couldn’t live without her Soothies, but thankfully my sister came to the rescue again and recommended these MAM pacifiers that her son uses. She took to this new pacifier instantly and we haven’t had to use the Soothie since! The one linked is the glow-in-the-dark version which we use in her crib so that she is able to quickly find it in the night.
12. Munchkin Farm Bath Toys:  The thing I love the most about these fun little squirting toys is the fact that I can create a learning environment while she is taking a bath. I make the noises of the animals, sing a different song for each one, and tell her the colors. Even though she is still too young to really make animal sounds, I love trying to incorporate learning into our limited time together during the week. Her favorite? The rubber ducky!

Again, I must state that time is FLYING by. I really cannot believe that the next time I do a recap post, our sweet little girl will be ONE! Excuse me while I go cry in my pillow at the thought of that!

love & lots of whit – jen xo