Woah this post is long over due, since Kyri turned 1 over a week ago already. I have been thinking about this post everyday and now I am finally here. I am putting my cookbook aside for the evening and am excited to talk about our sweet babes Kyri Dugas. Before reading this post you can read my first post about Kyri 0-6 months old if you like, here.
We have seen her change so much over the past 6 months. She has grown so fast and has filled our home with this amazing energy and love... everyday is wonderful! Kyri is now saying words like "Dadada", "nigh nigh" (night night), "hi', "ya" and "oh". At one point her only word was "Mamama" but now she never says it! Hi and Mama were her first words. She has been copying our words, well trying, and she is getting all the syllables right but not the correct letters. It's so fun watching her learn.
PLAY TIME: Kyri's favourite toy was her little Sophie la Giraffe for so long. Now she loves blocks, books, Tupperware and all of the stuff we have in our house. She started crawling at 11 months and is into everything. She is so careful getting down from standing, it's adorable. No interest in walking whats so ever. She loves dancing, with us or on her own. She stands, shakes her hips and head bobs to the music. She loves having all of her toys all over the floor and then moving them all behind her. It looks like she is saying 'get out of my way toys! I'm coming through!'
Her other favourite toy is the phone. She picks it up and says "Dadadada"...I guess she is copying me!
BONDING: Tod loves getting Kyri every morning. As soon as the alarm goes off at 7 Tod wakes up and gives her big kisses and brings her into our bed. We all lay there while she eats and try to get another half an hour of rest, before our monkey starts crawling all over us.
Kyri and I bond the most in the bath. We still have baths together, probably 5 days a week. I feed her and then I sing her songs and she tries to hum along. Then she plays and kicks water everywhere and it gets in my eyes and in my mouth...but it's all good because her joy is contagious.
We bond really good during her feeding before bed too. When it's dark and she is calm. She still loves poking me in the mouth with her finger when she eats. I sing Sunshine you are my Sunshine to her, just like my mom sang to me.
SLEEPING: At 6 months Kyri went into her new bedroom. We got her a crib, second hand, that is a nice dark wood. It is large and beautifully crafted. Kyri was waking up once through the night and I would feed her back to sleep. This happened until she was 8 months old. We went to Edmonton for a family vacation around that time and Kyri was in our room. The hotel was loud and she woke up every half an hour so that really messed up her sleeping pattern. I was a grumpy gus but tried to keep it cool so our family would have a great trip. We napped often and had trouble sleeping for 3 nights. When we got home it was hard getting her back to her routine. After two weeks I said enough is enough and I let her cry it out. She went back to sleep after 10 minutes of whining and then after that mommy got to sleep through the whole night.
Kyri had learnt to go back to sleep after she woke up and she was happy in the morning. She went from 3 naps a day to one long one, over the 6 month period.
She started to stand in her crib at 10 months so I started putting her in a sleepy sack and it definitely helped. We bought her a new one for her 1st birthday but she is able to stand in it. It keeps her warm through the night as well so I don't have to worry about two many blankets on her in the winter months.
BATHING: Kyri is still a water baby. She laughs, kicks, rolls over, lays back, swims, floats, and love every minute of her bath time. She likes having baths with mommy or alone. She used to love sucking on the cloth but now she is over it. She would love when I would ring the cloth out so the water would fall on her tummy. She just thought it was the greatest thing! Kyri and I relax in the bath for around half an hour. It's our favourite bonding place.
I switched from Seven Generation products to Clayborn Comforts baby shampoo. I found that although the Seven Generation shampoo said Tear Free, it wasn't. The Clayburn Comfort shampoo smells like lavender and chamomile and lathers so soft. It is perfect for baby skin and gets her clean, tear free.
POTTY TRAINING: Kyri has been practising potty training since 3 months old. It is called elimination communication. Your baby doesn't necessarily have to pee or poo, it's just to help them get used to the idea of being on the toilet. She now poos and pees on the toilet often. Not everyday but some. We clap after she goes and she gets very excited. I bring her on the toilet with me whenever I need to go and also when I notice her pushing.
The other day she crawl towards the stairs. I said "Kyri, do you need to poop?" She said "Ya!" So I laughed and I brought her to the toilet and she actually pooped and peed! I was amazed. It's totally working.
PLAY DATES: Kyri has two great friends who she plays with. Finley and Emma. Finley was born a day before Kyri and Emma was a month before Kyri. They are so fun to watch. They mostly just take toys from each other and suck on them. I hope she is friends with them when she is older. We are so blessed to have good friends.
CLOTHING AND LAUNDRY: Cloth diapers only require a 1/4 of the normal amount of natural detergent to be used. Natural detergent must be used with cloth diapers. No fabric softeners, dryer sheets or bleaches are ever used. It is the safest way to do laundry.
Kyri goes through 6 pairs of pants, 3 shirts and 3 bibs per day, on average. We do the laundry almost everyday just to keep up with it all. She stopped having baby barf around 6 months so that was nice. Mom gets to stay in the same clothes all day.
FOOD: I read Pregnancy, Childbirth and Children's Diets by Dr. Joel Robbins and have been following it very closely with Kyri. It is a quick read by a nutritionist who has great advice on what you should be eating during pregnancy, what your babies first solids food should be and when, and how to incorporate more fruits and veggies into your children's diets.
Now she eats cut banana, cucumber and zucchini, apple sauce, squished pieces of sprouted buckwheat, popcorn, avocado, and blended fruits. I always make sure that breast milk her number 1 food. It has the most nutrients and living enzymes which are very important for her immune system.
GAS AND CRAMPS: If I have gas, Kyri will have gas, two hours later. It is quite crazy how fast it all happens. She doesn't ever have gas pain or cramps. She is and has been really good with her tummy, ever since her infant cramps went away. If your baby cries two hours after you feed them it might be because something you have eaten is now giving them bad cramps. Moms must watch what they eat when they breast feed.
BABY CARE: Finding natural/organic brands online is easiest. Your local health food store should carry some good brands of baby shampoos and washes.
Her baby bum Jelly by Cayborn Comforts is our favourite to prevent diaper rashes. It works great.
(We never had to use baby powder)
Eco-friendly toys are best. Toys made out of cloth, untreated wood and 100% silicone are said to be the safest.
Always wash new clothes before using. Same with baby blankets, bedding and fabric toys.
BABY SITTERS: Mommy gets to work out twice a week so Kyri is with Dada or Grandma during those times. We all know how important it is for Kyri to get some time away from me so she feels comfortable being around other people. Babies need to learn to be comfortable around other people. They need love and comfort from everyone. We let Chloe baby sit from time to time and sometimes Kyri spends the night at my parents as well.
BREAST FEEDING: Breast feeding is so important. At this point, the one year mark, a lot of moms give up breast feeding, due to babies biting, or the mom just wants her freedom (to drink it seems like mostly). I do not drink any alcohol what so ever so I am looking forward to breast feeding Kyri for as long as I can. And I will pump and put my breast milk in her baby food after 2 years.
Kyri has had 1 cold during her first year and she got over it in 2-3 days. She has been a healthy happy baby and I believe it has everything to do with my diet and the fact that I am still breastfeeding.
I will never put Kyri on formula (dead food) of any kind. (I had to share that.)
ACCESSORIES: Kyri has a B.O.B. stroller that we bought used online. She got used to it at 3 months and now loves it. She is so quiet when she goes for walks.
Her high chair is a easy clean chair with no fabric. It was the cheapest high chair we saw at Target and it was on sale, half off, so we got it. It's blue and super great.
We sometimes eat dinner in the living room, we sit on the couch and watch movies so we put Kyri in her bumbo that has an attachable tray and she loves using that.
Kyri uses her baby bouncy chair once a day, while I am in the shower. I strap her in and she just plays with any toys I give her before I jump in the shower. She has been in that chair since she was born so she is used to it.
PARENTS: Make sure you always get time to yourself! This is so important. Even if you feel like you don't want to burden other people with your responsibilities, do it! Get out of the house. Ask friends, family or daddy to watch the baby so you can get out of the house. Have tea with a friend. Go to a movie with your other kids. Go shopping. Do arts and crafts at your local craft store. Read at a cafe. Just make sure you take some time to yourself. Get off your phone and do something for YOU! Listen to your own thoughts and reconnect with yourself. It's so important, I can't stress this topic enough.
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