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09.06.19

Harper’s 20 Month Update + Schedule

Finally a Harper update. She’s getting SO big and even more adorable, if you can believe it. It appears she may be getting her 2 yr molars soon because she’s been all over the place lately. Normally, she’s a pretty happy girl. So, when she starts to fuss and be really clingy, we know something is up. She also has her hands in her mouth constantly… although maybe this is just an age thing. More meltdowns, only wants mama, and is only really happy out of the house, lol. So, while things have been challenging lately, we are loving this age so much.

New at 20 Months

She understands EVERYTHING! Mike and I will be having a conversation and she’ll interject and say/motion to something we’re talking about. I’m like, “girl, can you not know everything we’re saying.” She’s not doing a ton of talking still, but to be honest, I’m not worried. She understands everything and will do everything we ask of her. The last couple of weeks she has been more willing to say things on her own, so I think we’re making progress. She’s been saying mama non-stop. And not just the way a baby says it, there’s meaning behind it and it’s the cutest thing! She’s in a mama phase and she wants me to do everything, so she tells Mike, “no, mama.” Or she’ll come up to me and say “mama” and do her happy smile and dance. Our relationship right now is so special and I’m here for it. We love to love on each other and it’s seriously the best thing in the world. 

She basically rules the playground these days. Fearless, I would say. She goes down the slide and climbs by herself, she’s even climbing a very tall ladder/monkey bar thing (with Mike’s help). She’s more interested in her stuffed dolls/animals. We got her one stuffed animal and we named her Goldie (she’s a puppy golden retriever). She’s the perfect size for Harper. We also had 3 other Hazel Village dolls (which I couldn’t recommend more. They’re organic and safe for kids) and she’s been playing and loving on all of them. She wasn’t ever really into dolls until maybe the last couple of months and it’s so adorable to watch. 

Since we’re home with Harper, we like to spend a lot of time with her. But, she started needing to have one of us with her all the time to play. We started to encourage self-play a lot more and she’s been doing such a great job. She will go into her playroom and do her own thing (while we peek in to see if she’s okay). We have to make a conscious effort to not talk to her or get involved because she’s doing such an awesome job playing by herself. 

She’s very obsessed with the toilet and going “potty.” Since she’s had such a big interested, we’ve put her on the toilet several times. She’s even asked to sit on it because she had to go pee. She hasn’t actually gone to the bathroom yet on the toilet, but since she’s very interested, I think we’ll get her a small potty for kids. It’s never too early to start the potting training process, right?

Naps

We’ve been on a 1-nap-a-day schedule for a while now, maybe since June. The transition was a bit rough, but she now goes down between 2.5-3hr at noon. Some days we have to wake her up. We’re enjoying the 1 nap schedule (1 and done), but the fact that it’s right in the middle of lunch is hard on the parents. We’ll be out and getting hungry, but we know we have to get her home for her nap. But, it’s forced us to eat at home a lot more and I’m actually enjoying it. Harper has been really great at putting herself to sleep since she was around 7 months. She has her pacifiers (still) and her bunny (lovie) and she’s very comfortable in her crib. But the last 2 weeks she’s been crying before she falls asleep (we don’t go in to help her unless we see something out of the norm on the monitor). It really does feel like she’s going through something, because again, this is very out of the norm. We’re just going to wait it out and see what happens.

Bedtime

We still do the exact same bedtime routine as always, some things have adapted, but for the most part it’s the same. We’ll start her routine around 6:30pm (non bath days), 6:15pm (bath days) and get into bed around 7pm or just before. She’ll have a bath every other night, we put her in her pj’s, read books, brush her teeth, and say goodnight to a few special things around the house. She’s still sleeping in a sleeping bag/ sleep sack, and with her pacifiers, and Bunny.

Feeding

We stopped nursing at 18 months. At the time, Harper was only nursing at night before bed and it was more of a routine thing than her actually eating and it was only for 1 minute or so. I knew I was ready and I knew she was ready. My body was hanging on and storing some extra fat and I could tell because of the way I fitting into my clothes. It started to affect me mentally. Breastfeeding is such a weird thing. When you’re doing it regularly, your body loses weight (burning calories, etc.), but when you’re only doing it once a day for a minute, your body is holding on to those extra pounds/fat to help feed your baby. So, my body was in feeding mode, but Harper wasn’t really eating anything. I was really ready to feel like myself again. Since, I knew we were both ready, I went cold turkey and tried to give her some homemade almond milk. She didn’t like the almond milk and kept asking to nurse. After about 2 days I had a genius idea of distracting her with her water. And just like that, she never asked to nurse again. While, I don’t think weaning happens this easy for everyone, I do think you have to take signs from your baby. I just knew we were both ready. 

Harper is still not eating a ton of variety. For everyone asking for snack and meal ideas, I’m probably not the best person to ask, ha. Thankfully, she eats a very healthy breakfast of oatmeal, with almond milk, cashew butter, cinnamon, strawberries, coconut oil, and then I’ll shred carrots and zucchini and add them in. This is her healthiest, most nutritious meal of the day and luckily she loves it. She’s been living on healthy, dense, and nutritious smoothies, Mexican food, bagels, cashew butter, and homemade fritters. She’ll eat a few other things and her favorites snacks, but for the most part, she doesn’t like to try anything new. Although, she just ate a smoothie bowl with granola in it yesterday… we’re making progress… maybe?

Activity

Her days are officially mostly awake! Back in those early days, you never thought you’d see the days (when they napped what felt like all day). In her morning/early afternoon awake time, we always try to get out of the house. Mike spends most of the time with her during this time during the week, so I can work. They’ll run errands, go to the park, library, mall, swim lessons – they’re living their best life. With the post-nap awake time we’re most likely home and she’ll play in her new playroom (photos and sources coming soon), or we’ll go outside and play with the kids in the neighborhood. We just go her a scooter and we’re all obsessed with it. It’s one of the best baby purchases we’ve made and I love that the scooter grows with her. We started the LovEvery toy subscription a couple of months ago and we love it! It’s one of the best decisions we ever made and I even wish I knew about the company when Harper was younger. It’s a subscription based toy company that sends you a box of toys based on age. They’re all educational and serve a purpose. Harper has been loving everything and it takes the hassle out of buying toys for the parents. We’ve had 6 months worth of toys and I highly recommend it.

Favorites at 20 Months

Micro Mini 3in1 Deluxe Plus Scooter – As mentioned above, we love this scooter. We got it last week and Harper has rode it everyday since. She loves it and we love it. The scooter will grow with her – the seat comes off, the handle to push her comes off, and the handlebars get taller. 

Costzon Kids Ride On Car – Every kid in the neighborhood has one of these cars and Harper is obsessed! I’ve seen these here and there, but didn’t realize how popular they were or how much kids really love them. Since Harper is too small to reach the pedal, I didn’t really think to get her one. But, we saw this one and it’s a one seater and a lot smaller than some of the jeeps, plus it has a remote control, so parents can do the controlling. We ordered her the black one and it arrives next week. 

LovEvery Play Kits – As mentioned above, we love this subscription toy box. The toys are educational and awesome, nothing like I’ve seen on Amazon or anything like that. Harper has been loving them and it’s really taken the guessing game and researching toys thing out of it. I highly recommend checking this out. I wish I got ordered it when Harper was younger. 

Milton & Goose Kitchen – We were gifted a play kitchen and Harper has loved playing with it. Opening and closing the doors and storing all her toys in each compartment. It definitely keeps her busy. Read more about the kitchen here. 

Ikea Doll House with Blocks – I picked up this Ikea dollhouse more for decor for Harper’s playroom, but she’s actually playing with it quite a bit. She loves stacking her blocks in the rooms and even putting Goldie in one of the rooms. 

Table & Chairs – Harper loves her little table and chairs. Sometimes she’ll play with toys while sitting and other times she likes to climb up and down out of the chairs. The chairs aren’t very stable, so we do supervise when she’s using them. 

Douglas Stuffed Dog aka: Goldie – I found this dog at a local grocery store and as we do with anything Harper finds in-store, we put the toy back before we left. She loves stuffed animals, but we’ve made a conscious decision to keep them to a minimum. Stuffed animals cause clutter, don’t really serve a purpose, collect dust, and aren’t made from the best materials. But, this dog was Harper’s perfect size and it was adorable. She loved it so much. Once Harper and Mike were back in the car, I decided to go buy it. I put the dog in my purse and waited until we got home and to give it to her. She’s loved it ever since. It’s her person, lol. Now, Harper plays with Goldie and her other Hazel Village dolls, Gracie, Louise, and Bunny. I call them the gang. 

Splash Pad – I don’t know if splash pads are a thing in other states (I know the Bay Area doesn’t have them), but we LOVE them. You can’t beat free fun for the kids. Ever since Harper’s swim lessons (which we started at the beginning of summer), she loves the water. She loves splashing and all the people watching, lol. 

Salt Water Sandals – We’ve lived in our Salt Water sandals all summer. As with all leather shoes, they’ve softened over time and they’ve molded to her feet. These du run a full size large, so size down. 

Pets the Movie – We do our best to limit the tv, but there’s definitely times when she watches. She’s really only been into the Mickey Mouse ClubHouse all this time, but we recently turned on Pet’s and she’s obsessed.

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Harper’s 20 Month Schedule

7am – Wake up and get dressed

7:30 – Eats breakfast 

8:00am – Activity

10am – Snack

10:30am – Activity

12pm – Nap

3pm – Late lunch

3:30pm – Activity

5:30pm – Dinner

6:30pm – Start bedtime routine