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05.08.19

Harper’s 16th Month Update + Schedule

I swore I would be more consistent with these and I’m already a month late (and I’m doing them every other month, lol). But, it’s finally here! At this age, everything is changing so fast. Harper was still my baby last month and then all of a sudden she is a straight up toddler. I can’t even handle it. Time, please slow down. But on the other hand, every phase gets better and better. I love watching her grow, learn, and experience the world. Her little personality is so awesome and fun – she’s confident, flirty, bashful (at times), funny, and silly. She really does light up a room. She’s pure joy.

New at 16 Months

She’s babbling and talking up a storm (gibberish). She says a few words here and there  – mama, dadda, bye, ball, blocks, Riley, bagel – but nothing consistently. It seems like she’s on the verge of talking up a storm any day, though. She knows so much, it’s crazy. I’m almost like, “you know too much, girl” lol. She hears everything and will point to her ear letting everyone know she just heard something. She waves to everyone, I mean everyone. She’s a social butterfly and excels in group settings. Her latest thing is when we ask her a question, she will nod her head either yes or no – this has been so awesome for our communication. She’s a climbing machine and so daring – no fear. She rides down the biggest slides at the park and she does it by herself (walks up with our assistance). There’s been so much growth in her development in the last couple of months. When you spend everyday with a child and they start doing everything on their own and becoming their own person, you start to treat them like a regular kid (not your baby anymore). She is a straight up person now and it’s awesome and crazy at the same time. Mike and I are in awe of her everyday.  

Naps

We’re still on a 2 nap schedule, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I’ve been thinking about transitioning to 1 nap, but she enjoys her morning nap so much, I don’t think we’re quite there yet. We’ve played with 1 nap here and there and she does fine. When we travel, we’ll do 1 nap often and she does so well. I think we’ll transition soon… She’s still going down in her sleep sack, pacifiers, and bunny. She’ll nap between 1-2hrs in the morning and we’ll keep her 2nd nap to max 1.5 hours.

Bedtime

This girl is still killing her bedtime routine. We’ll do a bath every other night, although now that the weather is warming up, we may have to do one everyday. After her bath, she gets her pj’s on, we brush her hair, clean her ears, and then we’ll do a couple of books. I will nurse her and then we go around the house saying goodnight to things. She’ll have a drink of water and then she will go down in her crib with her sleepsack, bunny, and pacifiers. Every night she will wave bye to me from her crib as I shut the door. What baby does that, lol? She sleeps from 7pm-7am.

Feeding

You can read a more in-depth post about eating here. Her variety still hasn’t changed much and I’ve been really bad at setting time aside to make new things for her. She has started drinking smoothies, which has been awesome. We’ll do a combination of berries/fruit and I’ll throw in some vegetables (spinach or kale). Harper ate so well on our last trip to the Bay Area. She ate so much (I think she had a growth spurt) and tried a handful of new things. Maybe we need to travel more…? I’m still nursing twice a day – morning and night. I’m thinking about slowly weaning off both now that I feel like she’s eating a lot more. I will cut out the morning one first and then eventually the night time feeding.

Activity

Harper is so independent now, it’s awesome. We mainly play upstairs – we allow her to have some independence and we’re able to get other things done (laundry, work, etc.), while still keeping an eye on her. We got her a basketball hoop and she loves it. I think Mike bought it more for himself, but Harper has been enjoying it as well. We have basketball on the tv all the time, so she definitely puts 2 and 2 together. We try to get out of the house for her long awake time. We either go shoot photos, run errands, go out to lunch, stop by the mall, or head to the park. This really helps break up the day for all of us. We’re hoping to start swim lessons and/or gymnastics soon, which will take up some of her awake time.

We starting the process of redoing the guest room as a playroom. I’m super pumped! I haven’t done a lot of toy or craft shopping for Harper because we currently don’t have the space. Once the room is done, I think I’ll be more inclined to find her a few more things. I’m still planning on getting her a kitchen, which I know she will love. Tell me, what are you kids favorite activities?

Favorites at 16 Months

Basketball Hoop – I didn’t want to get this for several reasons, but there’s not really any alternatives, so I gave into Mike and we got it. But, Harper loves it, so it’s a win win. Keeps Mike pretty entertained as well, lol.

Any Type of Ball – All we ever have on tv is sports and I think it’s rubbed off on Harper. She loves basketballs, bouncy balls, soccer balls, and even tennis balls. Every time we go outside, she says “ball.”

Doll Pram – She didn’t play with this pram until more recently. Now she loves it… although she still doesn’t play with her “dolls.” She likes to put all kinds of random things in here, but I love that it keeps her busy. 

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – We watch the 20 minute episodes ON DEMAND.

Bagels – this girl loves a bagel, as in can eat 2 whole bagels in one setting!

Cashew Butter – She’s been eating cashew butter out of the jar. I think she takes after her dad with this. I could never just eat peanut/cashew/almond butter without something else.

SHOP THE POST

Harper’s 16th Month Schedule

We stick to the EASY schedule, but we’re more flexible and less strict with the schedule now that Harper’s older. I will say, being on the schedule from day 1 has paid off – it’s why everything runs very smoothly (for the most part). Harper knows what to expect and she’s very used to it.

7 am – Wake and Nurse

7:30 am – Breakfast and activity

9/9:30 am – 1st nap

10:30/11:00 am – Wake

11:30 am – Snack and activity

1:00 pm – Lunch

3:00/3:30 pm – 2nd Nap

4:30 pm – Wake , Snack and Activity

5:45 pm – Dinner

6:30 pm – Bath

7:00 pm – Nurse and Bedtime