Our Schedules Lately

Being a working mama and having close to NO time on my hands really makes time go by fast.  A little too fast, if you ask me.  Berlyn will already be 8 months old in exactly two weeks... NOT cool!  She is crawling around, talking a LOT, and has definitely formed her own little personality.  It's crazy how much of me I see in her now, where I didn't see it before.

I figured since I will definitely look back on these blogs for reference with my next baby(ies?), I might as well take note of her daily routine  :)

Berlyn's day goes a little something like this: during the work week she is awake (either on her own or by me) by about 7:00 am.  On the weekends we both sleep in until about 7:30 am.  (Wait a minute, did I just say "SLEEP IN until 7:30 am"???  My, how my life has changed!)  Since our house stays darker now that it's almost winter, she sleeps a little later.  In the summer she was awake by about 6:30 am.  I get ready for work while she wakes up and talks and plays in her crib.  As soon as I'm done, I sneak into her room, peek at her through her crib, and pick her up for kisses.  I change her diaper, put her in her high chair, and make her breakfast.  Right now she will drink 6 oz. of formula and about 4-5 tbsp. of food.  Her favorite is mangoes, apples, pears, and peaches!  She likes to drink her formula in between bites of food, which is great because she ends up drinking the whole amount out of her sippy cup instead of playing with it.  She is now fully trained on her sippy cup, so no more bottles, yay!  Training her on the sippy cup took a LOT of patience.  After about a month and a half, she finally got the hang of it.  It's still a little messy at times and formula ends up everywhere, but that's the fun of it, right?

After she's eaten breakfast, I change her out of her pj's and try and spend time with her before I have to leave for work.  She gets 8 oz. of formula around 10:30 am and then another 8 oz. at 2:00 or 2:30 pm.  She usually takes about two naps a day, and when I get home from work around 5:30 I wake her up from her evening nap and get her ready for dinner.  I will give her a 6 oz. sippy cup of formula to drink while I make her dinner.  She loves peas, green beans, and squash. 

After dinner I put her in her bouncer and she bounces away while I workout.  She gets a kick out of watching me... I have no clue why, but it makes my workout a lot more fun looking over and seeing her toothy smile!  Around 7:45 or 8:00 I give her a bath, lotion her up, put on her pj's and give her a sippy with 8 oz. of formula.  I wipe her teeth clean (all 8 of them) with a wet washcloth, kiss her all over, and put her down with her humidifier on.  She puts herself right to sleep.

I am going to start feeding her lunch because I can tell that the 8 oz. of formula just isn't enough for her anymore during the day.  Does anyone have suggestions of when babies start requiring less formula and more food?  Or do you just go by what your baby is telling you?  I don't want to cut out too much formula, but I want her tummy to be full!  Also, when is it okay to offer her puffed cereal?  Any help would be great :)

Here's the latest pic of my muffin from our visit to the pumpkin patch last week!

Berlyn's First Halloween!

Long gone are the days when I would dress as a sexy officer, naughty pirate, or a sleazy version of a cave woman.  Now I know what Halloween is REALLY about.  Having a baby to decorate dress up is perhaps the most exciting part of my new obsession with Halloween.  Another mama I follow on Instagram used the term "decorate" to describe how she dresses her baby and I think it's a cute way to say exactly what us mommies do to our little girls!  

Not only am I making Berlyn's very first costume, but it is actually turning out to be pretty darn cute!  Now, this required me to be pretty creative... Something I am NOT good at 97% of the time.  But, being a new mama, I had to learn!  It got me thinking about every Halloween that is to come.  Will Berlyn be the type of kid who wants me to make her costume EVERY year?  Or will she be the one who demands it be store bought?  Either way, I can't wait to see her excitement each year. 

Speaking of homemade costumes, I remember a costume my mama made for me when I was in 1st (or 2nd) grade.  I was toothpaste.  Yes - toothpaste, along with an over sized toothbrush to go with it.  She made my hat (cap?) out of a lampshade, and my dress (tube?) out of felt.  Gosh, I wish I had a picture.  I wore white sneakers and thought my costume was a hit... And it was!  Thanks Mama :)

So, I am in no way bitter that Halloween is not about ME anymore.  It is not about going to parties, having drinks, or spending $50 on a costume that has about as much fabric as a bathing suit.  It is about seeing my little girl dressed up each year.  It's about taking pictures of her wearing a costume that she has fun wearing.  And it's about going trick-or-treating. 

My focus and priorities have certainly changed the minute I brought Berlyn into this world and I love every minute of it!  Bring on Halloween because I can't wait to dress up my Little B as a Little Bee!

Berlyn Said Mama!

Oh my soul! Tonight my daughter, after lots and lots of practice, called me Mama!

She is about to cut two more teeth and has been very fussy and whiny all day long. When she was crying she was saying "maaama maaama" but I thought I was hearing things. When she did it again, I almost started crying! Then, she looked right at me and said, "Mama."

I could never explain how much love I have for this little girl! My heart is bursting :)