Outfit details here

 

Good morning! 

Well, I can not believe I am writing this update about my baby girl but time seems to be flying by. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t seen a lot of people that it feels like she’s still a baby but she’s almost 9 months old and I feel like her 1 year birthday will be here before I know it.

She turned eight months a couple weeks ago and we have had quite a few changes around here. If I missed anything you are curious about  just leave me a note!

 

 

What is she eating? 

 

We started Zahra on solids slowly after her 4 month checkup after her doctor told us we could. We weren’t given the go ahead with Zain till 6 months so I was a bit surprised but decided to start slow. She was showing a lot of interest in our food during meals and was excited to eat like her brother.

We tried Yumi initially and loved it the product but it was just too much food for us! Since the purees are fresh they can only be kept for a short period of time and she just wasn’t eating enough for us to really use it all. I now just buy the organic pouches from Whole Foods and she has loves them. Most recently, we have tried peanut butter and yogurt and those have both been great too.

I will also say, we don’t feed her at every meal or even close to that. I remember with Zain we did Baby Led Weaning and every time he ate it was such a big deal! I now have to remind myself to feed her food everyday, second child problems 

I aim to always do food in the evening when she wakes up from her cat nap and we are all eating as well. She loves to sit at the table with us and it’s super sweet! We purchased the same high chair Zain has and can not recommend it enough. It is a bit pricey but it transitions with kids (Zain still uses it), is so easy to clean and wipe down and is low profile. The most important part for us is that it can be used at the dining table with us. Zain always wanted to be a part of our meals and having him at a high chair off to the side would have not made him happy. She also uses this bib and these spoons and has seemed to like both! 

I also recently purchased this Lalo High Chair for my parent’s house. Starting in August, Zain will be in Junior Kindergarten and Zahra will be going to my parent’s house to be with my mom a few days a week while I’m at work. Their table is not conducive to the chairs that just clip on so I went with this! It has great reviews and transitions into a little chair that she can always use over there at the table in the basement. I will keep you updated on how we like it! 

 

What is her sleep schedule and Zain’s? 

 

First off, Zahra’s sleep patterns are amazing and I’m not sure we had anything to do with it. I’ve said it before but she is just naturally an easy baby. We sleep trained Zain and would with Zahra should she need it but so far it’s been smooth sailing. I shared more of what we did the first few months to get her on a schedule here and I do think our day to night changes helped a lot!

 

Zahra’s Schedule:

7: Wake time

9am: Nap – this is her longest and best nap of the day, usually 2 hours.

11ish: Wake, Play, Eat

1pm: Nap 

2:30pm: Wake, Play, Eat

4:30: Nap – this is just a short cat nap and sometimes she just lays around and talks.

5:15: Wake, Play, Eat

6:00: Bath, Books, Bottle

7:00: Bedtime

 

There is obviously variation in this during the day but her bedtime and wake time are almost always the same. She started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and despite a few off nights she has since been pretty consistent. I think she will be on this kind of schedule until we can knock it to 2 naps but she doesn’t seem ready for that yet! 

 

Zain’s Schedule: 

7:15 – His Hatch light goes off signaling he can come out of his room. You can read more about how we implemented that here! He usually wakes up between 630 and 7am and will just talk to himself and lay in bed. We got him this nightlight for Christmas and it makes it easier for him to see and play around in his room in the morning!

Noon: Lunch

1-3pm: Nap – I would say he actually takes a nap maybe 1 out of every 3 days now but he knows ‘Quiet Time’ is a must. He can play in his room, read books or whatever else interests him but it’s crucial for us both. When he comes out usually depends on Zahra. Their bedrooms are right across from each other so whenever she wakes up and I go to get her is when he come down too!

6pm: Dinnertime 

6:30pm: Bathtime, Books

7:00pm: Bedtime

 

I try to time their wake/nap/sleep times together and it’s worked fairly well so far! 

 

 

What is she sleeping in? 

She has been in a sleep sack since she grew out of the Ollie Swaddle (which we LOVED) essentially. We attempted a few things in between but figured we would just get the transition over with and she’s done fine. 

 

Favorite products?

 

• Dr.Brown’s bottles: we are solely using these now and haven’t had any issues at all!

 

• Drying Rack: since we use so many bottles and have my pumping gear I ordered this drying rack and have been liking it much more than the grass one we had previously. 

 

• Sleep Sack: What she uses every night!

 

• Organic Bibs: I ordered these on Prime Day since she has been drooling so much and LOVE them. Some of the bibs I had from Zain were too thin and these actually soak up the moisture so her clothes don’t get wet. 

 

• Burp cloths: these snap in the back and are thick enough to actually soak up spit up!

 

• Zutano Booties: These are amazing and life changing! Never come off, look so cute and cozy and are really all I have her put her in. I already have the next size up and they come in tons of colors, sherpa texture and fleece. 

 

• Sit Up Bath Seat: We love this thing! Ever since she started sitting up this has been crucial. We attached it to the back part of our tub and now her and Zain can take a bath together and they love it! It’s fairly easy to wash her while she’s sitting in it and then I always do a once over when it’s time to get out and rinse her off!

 

• Baby Jogger City GO Car Seat: This is the new super lightweight car seat we got for Zahra! It is compatible with our entire stroller system so made sense and safety features and low profile made it perfect for us. 

• Maty’s Multipurpose Ointment: We are huge fans of the brand and have been using the chest rub and syrup’s with Zain forever. This was a new find for me and has replaced out other petroleum based ointments!

 

• Owlet and Owlet Camera: We have the combo and love that it’s all connected so we can see her readings on our phones from anywhere. We used the Owlet with Zain and it was a total must for us. 

 

• Frida Baby Humidifier with Diffuser & Nightlight: We have already started using this and love how it’s multipurpose. These drops were great when she was congested!

 

• Bibs Pacifiers: I bought a 4 pack of these before she was born and it’s all she has used. 

 

• Hape Walker: We have this from when Zain was little and she is just starting to experiment with it. I love the design and she loves the colors.

 

• Indoor/Outdoor Play Yard: We bought this as soon as she was on the move and I can’t recommend it enough. I love that it can be used open or closed and folds up so easily. We stash it while they are napping and in the evening so we can have our space back. It’s also been nice to take outside on these warm days!

 

I also try to save most of our frequently used items to my Amazon storefront. There is a tab labeled ‘Zahra’s Things’ that has everything!

 

Recent buys for her? 

 

I just recently stocked up on some stuff for Spring for her and most of the new pieces I found were from Baby Gap, H&M, Old Navy the new Gerber line at Walmart and Janie and Jack! Although Target is one of my favorite places to shop for Zain I don’t find a ton of girl’s clothes there. Rounded up my recent purchases below:

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you all are having a great start to your week!