Around the time that Luca turned 1, a lot started happening. He really shifted into a schedule, he started walking, he started drinking less breastmilk, eating lots of solids, and to my delight, started sleeping on his own! Every stage is so much fun and this stage just seems to be full of so many milestones! So, let's give an update and chat about his schedule, weaning, and just how we're doing!
Sleep
We never sleep trained Luca, primarily because we're not "schedule" people (we don't like to be on a schedule, so we didn't want to put the baby on a schedule that we'd have to follow.) The downside? He can't really sleep well on his own - he needed coaxing,...
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The Sunday before Luca turned one year old, we threw him a birthday party! The theme was "wild party animals," which meant lots of safari and jungle animal decor and themed food. We celebrated with our closest friends and family, and felt extremely proud, blessed, and loved that day.
The first birthday party is a funny thing, because, of course, the baby won't ever remember it, BUT the parents, family and friends certainly will. I mean, one year with a baby is an accomplishment! There are sleepless nights, non stop crying (at times!), early mornings, and just an overall total lifestyle shift. It takes about a year to get used to it! And it's the BEST.
I have to say, I've loved...
Continue reading Dear Luca,
Happy Birthday, honey! You're one year old today. I knew that day and I know now that I was put on this Earth to be your Mommy. Nothing in my life makes me prouder or happier than you. Waking up to your adorable little face and fluffy hair starts each day off with love and light.
Before you arrived, we were never nervous. We were ready for you to arrive and change our lives forever - and boy, did you! When you first were put on Mommy's chest the moment you were born, I felt like I was born too - my purpose in life became clear. My purpose is you! I don't remember life before you, and what I...
Continue reading I distinctly remember going over to friends' houses who had little children and thinking, "This looks like a daycare center!" The place was overflowing with multi-colored toys, big clunky soft furniture, playmats, plastic bins and stuffed animals. I also remember thinking, "Our place will never look like this! We're going to get all wooden toys and neutral colored baby gear."
Welp, that lasted about 1 day. You soon realize that babies love colorful things, especially once their eyesight develops and they see more clearly. From books to mobiles to newborn activity centers, we were (and still are) in total color mode.
However, we've still maintained our space so that all of Luca's toys are in a dedicated spot, there are some neutral...
Continue reading first off, before I say anything, let me say this: DO YOU. whatever works for you, mama. please don't let any book, online article, other mother, parent, mother-in-law, or Instagrammer influence you. do what works best for YOU and your family, always. we're all mamas just trying to survive through this motherhood journey. I'm simply sharing my thoughts and my experiences with my baby. that's it. take it for what it's worth. hopefully, some can relate.
when I became a mother, I became a mother at a time when I was ready to accept that my life would never be the same. in fact, I didn't want it to be this same. I wanted to start a family, I wanted a baby to...
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Jul
you can read about my breastfeeding journey and my first breastfeeding update here. and of course, you should consult your doctor if you have any medically related questions about breastfeeding, as I am not a doctor and this is just my personal experience.
world breastfeeding week is august 1-7, so in celebration of that, let's give a breastfeeding update!
as we approach one year of nursing, I'm having all the feels. mostly, "I can't believe it!" when I first started nursing and it was tough, I remember thinking, "just stick it out for 6 months!" and then at 4 months, we finally hit our groove and nursing became, for the most part, easy. my confidence nursing in public grew, Luca's latch was strong,...
Continue reading If you follow me on Instagram, you may notice that when I take a photo of my food, there's a lot of baby "stuff" in the background. You can see our baby playmat and lots of toys scattered around. That's because the area I take my food photos for the blog in is also the area Luca plays in, in our living room. It's where all of his toys are stored and the area that we've designated "the baby's space."
For us, we were always concerned that our apartment home would explode into one big baby's room. We're happy that we have a little nook in our living room that we could build into a safe space for Luca. Of course,...
Continue reading since Luca is almost a toddler (just two more months to go!), and I get a lot of questions on how we eat out at restaurants with an infant and actually enjoy ourselves, I figured it was time to write the post.
plus, everyone loves my #restaurantluca hashtag on the weekends when we're out and about with him! we take him out for about 3 meals a weekend.
to preface this, we are choosing to introduce food to Luca with baby led weaning (BLW). you can read all about our decisions in this post. with this, there are a couple key points to keep in mind when I'm sharing my tips:
the main idea behind BLW is that it starts table manners...
Continue reading Here are my picks for Amazon Prime Day! These are only products that I have used (and Luca, of course!) that we love and I highly recommend:
The baby wash we use: https://rstyle.me/n/c65e5vbqbvf
The drying rack we use: https://rstyle.me/n/c65e6ybqbvf
Luca's favorite bouncer: https://rstyle.me/n/c65e7nbqbvf
Life-saving gripe water - still use it: https://rstyle.me/n/c65e8hbqbvf
Baby walker style we use: https://rstyle.me/n/c65e9mbqbvf
The take along mobile we used: https://rstyle.me/n/c65facbqbvf
Our stroller arch: https://rstyle.me/n/c65fa2bqbvf
Our mobile: https://rstyle.me/n/c65fcfbqbvf
The boppy nursing bowl: https://rstyle.me/n/c65fc6bqbvf
Babyganics essentials gift set: https://rstyle.me/n/c65feebqbvf
The feeding mat we use and love (EZPZ): https://rstyle.me/n/c65ffibqbvf
The feeding mat for older babies - Happy Mat (EZPZ): https://rstyle.me/n/c65fgwbqbvf
His favorite maracas - great for diaper bag: https://rstyle.me/n/c65fsvbqbvf
Hope you snag some great deals today!...
Continue reading if you missed my first post on why we decided to finally get a nanny, you can read that here. in that post, I mention that I was torn on what to do - get a part-time nanny, wing it myself and not get a nanny, or get a full-time nanny.
ultimately (you can read more in the post), I decided to go with a full-time nanny, since I run a business and I just knew I wouldn't be able to grow and build my brand if I was doing it "part-time."
it was one of the best decisions I've made, and I couldn't be happier with our current childcare situation.
the nanny
we are absolutely blessed. she loves Luca just like we do...
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