It has been a LOOOONG LOOOOONG time since anything new was said about Layna's little life.
So, Layna's top front teeth have come in and it was an awful two weeks. While the bottom two came quietly, the top ones wanted everyone to know they were coming. Layna got a temperature... a fever as high as 102.3* and could barely sleep. Mommy and Daddy were up pretty much every 1-2 hours. Layna refused to eat solids and barely had any formula. Her front teeth are so much bigger than bottom ones.
Layna is finally her happy, go-lucky self again playing and getting into everything. She is starting to cruise now, getting braver and braver. She just takes a step or two at a time, but Mommy thinks she will definitely be walking before she's one-year-old ! Oh speaking of her walking, Mommy lowered the mattress the other day - in hopes of having Layna scream and cry herself to sleep - and now Layna can be in her crib safe without Mommy and Daddy worrying she will flip over the rail.
As fun as Mommy and Daddy are to play with and climb and be silly with, Layna Bayna does like playing and exploring by herself. When upstairs, Mommy puts Layna on the floor in the living and Layna will come to the kitchen looking for Mommy ... well, she will sit in the living room for a minute and when Mommy pops around the corner, saying "Here I am ! Come find me!" Layna will crawl over to the kitchen. She is SO cute when she crawls ! and she is so happy and proud when she "finds" Mommy in the kitchen.
Daddy found a new way of "tickling" Layna. He places her belly right on top of his head and moves it fast. Layna dies laughing right away.
Mommy's new way of bonding with Layna is showering with her. As you have been told before, Layna has "outgrown" the infant tub because she tries climbing out of it and showering her is difficult, especially when she wants to play and get to everything in the shower. So, Mommy figured it would be a lot easier and less dangerous showering with her little peanut. Because Layna can sit by herself like a professional and is content with a toy, she will sit quietly on a towel (so she doesn't slip and smash her head on the shower floor) while Mommy washes her. Sometimes Layna is so good Mommy can washup with Layna in there, but usually Daddy comes and gets Layna out so Mommy can finish up. Layna is so fun in the shower because she tries to grab for the water whether it is coming out of the shower head, dripping down on Mommy or the shower wall/door, or splashing when hitting the floor.
On a side note, Layna finally got a new stroller. Not a small little umbrella stroller, but a light weight one, which is a little bigger than an umbrella stroller but a lot smaller than the Travel System stroller. Now she gets to ride around in a black Chicco LiteWay stroller. Next on the must get shopping list is a new carseat. Mommy is looking at The First Years (compass) True Fit Convertible Seat... we just got to wait and see....
The family took a little trip to Easton Beach in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a good beach day. It was hot and humid but the breeze cancelled it out. The beach wasn't crowded and the water was warm but the waves were big. Layna loved the water like always, but Mommy couldn't bring her in too far because of the waves. Mommy did dip Layna's feet... legs ... and belly in the water. Layna found the sand when we were sitting on the blanket and would pick it up and let it slip between her fingers and after a minute or two... tried to put it in her mouth. When Mommy and Layna were sitting on the wet sand, Layna did get some sand in her mouth, but Mommy was quick to get it out. The sun wasn't fully out until 1ish and then it started getting really hot. Mommy wanted to walk on the Cliffwalk and show the Layna the Newport Mansions but once the sun came out the heat was unbearable for Mommy and Daddy and we didn't need Layna to become overly hot and cranky. So, we headed home.
Mommy has gotten Layna on a schedule for the passed few days - one that works and as long as Mommy wakes up with Layna early then the schedule is set for the day. No more waking up at 9 or 10. It is time to start waking up and staying up when Layna wakes around 7-8ish. Her schedule goes something like this:
morning bottle somewhere between 4-6
wake up around 8
breakfast (fruit and baby oatmeal) around 8:30
bottle around 10:30
playtime and hanging out for a few hours
nap around 11 for an hour (she needs an hour nap sometime between 11-1)
lunch (fruit and baby oatmeal) around 1
playtime/errands/outings for a few hours
bottle around 2:30
small bottle or snack around 4
an hour or two nap between 4-6
dinner around 5:30-6
shower around 7
evening walk around 7:30
bottle before bedtime
bedtime is usually sometime between 8-9
There seems to be a lot of eating but it works for Layna. There is no need for her to be overly filled from eating solids and a bottle for the same meal, so with an hour separating the two it works. One thing Mommy and Daddy can't be strong enough for, however, is getting Layna to fall asleep on her own. She is sleeping in her crib, but can't sooth herself to sleep. If she doesn't need Daddy walking around with her, she atleast needs to be patted on the butt. We don't mind doing that because we can put her down in the crib and pat her tooshy and skip the transition from us to the crib.
hopefully, there will be a new update soon ! new photos will be added within the next week! Mommy is slacking with the blog because she is enjoying her growing baby before she isn't a baby anymore !
