Sharing today Rianna’s monthly updates from month 1 to 16. It’s a long summary of her monthly updates. Everything about the developments she has.

 

16 MONTHS

April 9, 2013

Today this little girl turns sixteen months old. Yes, she is one year old and four months. But sometimes when I look at her, I feel like she is two already. She is adorable and lovable on her on way and I love her so much! She has grown so much! One thing I am so proud of her is her being sociable. When we were out she loves to smile and wave to random people she met. She is not shy. Well, it is hard to tell now as she still too young, but as I can see and noticed she seem not shy at all. Before, she was really scared of people and starts crying when someone tried to talk to her. But now, she is the one who smiles first and waves hei hei” in Finnish means hello. Do you think she is sociable or I just said it because I am her mom?

She sleeps better now, now that her skin is better. No more dry and itchy skin. And no more crying at night. I am so thankful for the effective ointment and medicine the doctor prescribed. She’s back sleeping on her own bed. Hubby and I finally have alone time together each night. We had argued several times about the baby sleeping in our bed. He thinks that it is better to sleep independently on her own bed. I was upset before every time we came to this topic. I just cannot let my baby sleep alone crying for help because of itchy skin that makes her so uncomfortable especially at night time. So now that everything is fine, we couldn’t be happier.

She eats the same food as we eat. I let her as much as she could. I always make sure she doesn’t eat food that can cause allergies. I stopped giving her chicken and eggs. I noticed that it was the reason she had the worst allergies. I do not want her to suffer again. She also drinks more water now and eats more fruits. Just a little picky sometimes. She also speaks a few words.
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15 MONTHS OLD

March 9, 2013

She is now fifteen months old. Yes, 15! It has been fifteen amazing months since we have this baby girl. Everything is wonderful since we have her. She is growing up every day, of course, every day is a challenge. She learned to walk at ten months and since then she cannot behave and stay in one place for minutes. You know, running and walking around. It was nice to look at her happy, playing with her toys. It is also annoying sometimes especially if she starts to open the drawers and scattered the things on the floor. I understand she is just very curious about all the things around here. We just need to keep our eye on her all the time.

I am happy to say that her skin is perfectly fine now. No more allergies. I am so relieved. We stopped giving her the cream and medicine since yesterday and I am hoping that her skin problems won’t come back because it was very hard and she was so pity. Now that her skin is better, she can sleep well at night on her own bed. No more scratching and crying. Everything is fine and perfect. I finally have time for myself to relax and sleep well. She still wakes once or twice at night though, but other than that everything is fine.

Weight: 11, 760 grams
Height: 80.5
Head: 46.7

Walking and running
Words: Dada, mama, äiti, go go go, papa
Sleep: 8pm- 7am
Eat: Any food
Milk: Still drink milk, and drink more water now
Nap Time: Sometimes 11 am, but mostly from 1 pm to 3 pm.
Teeth: Didn’t count but it is almost complete.

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14 MONTHS OLD

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

She is now 14 months old. Anyone tell me where the time goes? She actually turns 14 months on February 9. She’s a toddler and keeps on walking and running around. Recently, she knows how to climb on the bed. I do not know how she learned that but I just saw her one night sitting on the bed. How did she go there? I do not know! She eats the same food as we eat. And finally eats oranges now. She hates real fruit but she eats when it’s in the jar. Maybe processed food tastes better?

Poor baby still struggling with her skin. Pity baby especially during the night, a scratch here, a scratch there. We already tried different kinds of cream but it seems nothing is effective. We have visited the doctor many times as well. But according to them, her skin type is different. Maybe it gets better when she’s older or when the weather gets warmer. I hope so!

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13 MONTHS OLD

JANUARY 9, 2013

She is now 13 months old. Thirteen months of amazing days with her. As you can see from the photos she is so mobile and keeps on moving. So hard to take photos of her because she cannot behave the way I want her to be. I want her to sit on the big chair to take photos but she stood up and starts playing. I’m happy though because I know she is so smart and healthy.

We let her explore pen and board to write. And I noticed that every time she holds a pen she used her left hand. Do you think she is left-handed? Well, ever since I gave her that writing board toy she has already been using her left hand and that was months ago. Now she is 13 months. She also used the left hand when she eats and holds a spoon. Uhhhh I really think she’s left-handed. Anyhow, it doesn’t matter to me.

She’s getting big and getting naughty. Play here plays there. I tried not to let her play on the iPad but sometimes she really insists and grabbed it. She loves “old Mac Donalds” nursery rhymes and ABC’s. It’s educational so sometimes I let her play. I know it’s not good that’s why I don’t allow her all the time. I like it when she flipbook pages because she really looks s serious. We do it before she sleeps.

She’s getting big and her sleeping problem is getting worse. She does not like to sleep on her own bed. We call it a problem because how can she sleep in her own room when she doesn’t even want to sleep on her crib which is now in our room? She wants to sleep with us on our bed. She still has stomach issues and skin problems and she still wakes a few times at night. It’s hard but we all used to it already. I hope and wait the time when she sleeps through the night from 7 to 7. Right now that seems so impossible. But I’m looking forward to it to happen one da

She’s getting big and I love how she smiles, laugh and cry. I love her and I pray she is healthy all the time. That she will grow healthy, happy and normal.

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12 MONTHS OLD

DECEMBER 9, 2012

So this girl turned one year old on December 9. It’s kind of unbelievable how time flies so fast. Its been a year since I became a mother. Really I am in mixed emotions, happy and sad. Sad because I’m gonna miss this little girl’s newborn face. But I managed to write her daily updates on this blog, took daily photos so I have everything I needed in case I want to recall what had happened in the last 12 months. It was a long journey and I’m happy and proud that I was able to take care of her alone. No nanny whatsoever.

I will call her now a toddler. She’s walking at ten months, starts eating solids at four months. Smile at six weeks and starts talking and cooing at two months. I stopped breastfeeding her at eight months. What else I can say? She’s growing healthy and normal. I’m so thankful to God that she’s healthy. Now that she’s one year old, we trained her to eat by herself, drink water and milk in a cup. And sleep without a pacifier. We also changed her milk. No more formula. She drinks normal nonfat milk.

She wants to play a lot. And lately, I noticed that she already knows how to use a pen and write. You know just some lines. She loves to dance and sometimes she already has tantrums. Or maybe not tantrums just cranky when tired and sleepy. Because of so much curiosity, she wants to explore everything. Touch tv screen, play with remotes, explore cat’s food, went to shower room and sauna. It’s so dangerous. We always have to run and catch her.

I am excited about the summer so we can play outside and hang out. It’s not difficult to bring her out because she can walk already. And she can eat the same food as we eat.

If you’re asking about having a new baby, the answer is no! Although hubby and I joke sometimes that it’s better to have a baby soon so they don’t have a long age gap. But I decided not to. I am so behind already. I need to study the Finnish language first and find a job. I miss working every day and earn money. So maybe in 5-10 years, il have a baby again. We will see!

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11 MONTHS OLD

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

A week before she turned eleven months she learned how to walk by herself. It was so cute. She has been walking for a while but by holding things like furniture or walls. This time it’s different, she can walk alone and straight just by herself. I’m so glad that she did before she turns one. She is so active now. Always walking everywhere.  And we always have to run to catch her before she goes to the shower room and sauna room to play with cats. She also likes to touch the tv screen so we always have to hurry to stop her.

Taking photos is very hard too. She cannot sit and behave. She keeps on moving and it’s so hard to snap a picture. Like this morning, I struggle to take these snaps. Very naughty! She always tries to remove her headband and then she would give me that naughty smile.

Since she will one year old so soon, we already give her normal food the same as what we eat. She eats them and likes them. She loves rice so much. Also, we planned that we will change her milk when she turns one. She will now drink normal milk also. No more baby/infant formula. I also train her to drink in a sippy cup. Still, she likes the normal bottle. But I am hoping that she will learn to drink in a cup.

Her nap time changed now that she loves playing more. Sometimes her morning nap is so late like 11 or 11:30. Usually, it should be at 10:30 am. Also, the afternoon nap is late and so as the bedtime. She wants to play and play and play. You can’t blame her if she likes walking than sleeping hehe.

Anyway, I think that’s all for now. I’m excited for her first birthday. It’s happening very soon!

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10 MONTHS OLD

OCTOBER 9, 2012

My baby girl turns ten months old today. It seems surreal. I cannot believe it been ten months since I became a mother. I made it and I am so proud of myself. Being a mother is not easy. So many ups and downs, failures, and successes. It’s also been ten months since I do not have straight sleep at night. I think it’s normal. Are you a mother of a child who wakes up a few times at night, because I am! At first, it was very hard. I did not even know I can do it. But here I am, ten months of not sleeping well. But I do not regret anything because I love my baby girl so much. And I will do anything to take care of her and give her all that she needs. I have sleep deprivation but it’s okay. It’s part of motherhood and parenthood. I just have to get used to it.

She is now ten months old, two months more to go before her first birthday. I am so excited about it, very much! Already thinking of what cake I should bake, who will be invited, what to cook, where to hold. It seems so stressful because her birthday is in wintertime. Hard to do things during cold days. I do not know what to do, how I’m gonna prepare it all. I hope my sister is here so she can help me organize the party. It seems that I will do the preparation alone. Well, I want all to be DIY by me. I am excited and hoping that my friends will come to help me. Let’s hope for that.

Now that Rianna is ten months I have to prepare myself for so many changes and developments. This stage baby can start walking, climbing, etc. She cannot walk yet so maybe soon? We will see! I have to prepare myself for more running and catching her do dangerous things like pushing the TV screen, play with electric wires and laptop chargers and eating papers. It makes me go crazy. I have to keep my eye on her all the time. We have to be more careful and more caring. I do not complain about running around to catch her because it helps me circulate my blood and lost calories. I have not done work out for so many months now. I have no time and I am so lazy since my body is always tired. You know a mother 24/7.

I’m hoping everything will be fine here. So far its been good and amazing ten months with my little angel. I cannot wait for her new developments. So amazing to witness it all. She touches our hearts and her smile makes me smile too. I am thankful to God for these great blessings. I cannot ask for more.

For my baby girl, “HAPPY 10th-month BIRTHDAY Rianna. Dada and mama love you very much!

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9 MONTHS OLD

SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

Baby Rianna turned nine months old on September 9. She’s growing fast. And she has her own personality already. She’s no longer a newborn. There are emotional times here sometimes when I’m thinking how little she was when she was born. When she has a feeding problem and jaundice. Now she is a very healthy and normal baby. Although I miss her being so little as a newborn, I am also glad that now she seems to understand her surroundings. She can speak “mama”, “dada”, “aiti”, “hei hei” and any babies’ own words. She cannot walk yet, but she can crawl, stand and sit by herself. She is so active and we have to watch her all the time. Unlike before that, we can just leave her anywhere while we’re doing household chores or something. Now she crawls and climbs everywhere. Very dangerous!

Now that she is nine months, I’m thinking that maybe I should start giving her food that we usually eat. I honestly confused and doubt about the food that she should or not to eat. I still give her the same kind of food that she eats since she was four months old. If you have a baby of the same age as my baby, can you please tell me what kind of food your baby is eating? I think I need to rely on some advice about it since I am a new mom. I think I don’t feed her well, because she still wakes in the middle of the night asking for milk. I’m sad that maybe I didn’t take care of her the right way. Or I don’t know, every baby is different. So maybe she is just like that. I’m trying my best to take care of her and provide her all the things that she needs… as long as I can.

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8 MONTHS OLD

AUGUST 9, 2012

It is so nice to watch and witnessed your child grow. I’m excited about her coming achievements. She’s 8 months now, do you think she will now learn how to walk? We will see.

Rianna learned to sit without support at 6 months. At seven months she crawls a lot and sits by herself. She’s so active and mobile. And I can’t even imagine how things happened that fast. Even on her crib she always practices to sit down and always hit her head and face to the crib sidings. It worries me a lot.

Something that hasn’t change at all is her sleeping routine. She still wakes 1-3 times per night. Particularly around 12mn and then around 2 or 3 am. I breastfeed her. But sometimes she doesn’t want my milk so I have to give her formula. Also, I changed her diaper before putting back to sleep. Lately, she wakes up at 6 am. So early for me. But she cries hungry so I have to get up and give her milk. Well, after she ate she goes back to sleep until 9 am. So it was fine for me. I can wake up late too.

Rianna is a happy child. She laughed and smile a lot. Especially when you talk to her and play peek a boo. And she always says “dada”… “tatahhh”… And sometimes “mama” and äiti. It’s cute when those words came out accidentally from her mouth. he now drinks non-microwave heating milk. I’m so glad she did. Now it’s easier if we go out. We don’t have to find a microwave to heat her milk anymore.

Some of her clothes are so tight now. Soon in going to separate those tiny clothes and keep them. This girl is growing fast, thank God! Her check-up is next week. We will see how much she weighed now. I’m a happy and proud mom. All my effort are being paid of. My baby isn’t thin. She’s so healthy and active. And very jolly. I love her very much.

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7 MONTHS OLD

JULY 9, 2012

How wonderful is it to know that your newborn baby is now 7 months old? How great it is to know that I’ve been a mother for 7 months now. Sometimes it’s unbelievable and yet so amazing that I’ve been so blessed with a healthy baby. A normal and healthy baby is growing so fast. Thank you so much, God! I couldn’t as for more. She is the best thing that ever happened to me, in my whole life.

As a recap of Rianna’s developmental milestones, she starts staring faces and things at 6 weeks. At 2 months she starts making sounds and giggles a lot. At 3 months her stomach problem/colic was gone little by little. At 4 months she starts laughing so loud and giggle hard. And we start giving her solid food which she happily eats. At 5 months she starts crawling backward and rollover. And at 6 months her constipation had gone totally. She starts sitting on her own, laughs out loud, crawls and rollovers. Also since she was five months old she sleeps on her tummy until now. It’s weird I know but that’s she comfortable with.

Now at seven months, she understands everything. She knows her environment well. And knows the people that surround her. I remember when we travel to Stockholm she cried so much when we were in the station. There were lots of people with different faces and I think she was scared or confused about what was happening. It was her first travel to another country. She was funny and pity.

At home, she loves walking around with her walker. And she sleeps longer now, from 9 am to 9 pm. I miss her being so little now that she’s more became an individual. My baby is growing day by day.

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6 MONTHS OLD

JUNE 9, 2012

Wow! can you believe my Rianna is now half a year old? Yes, today our baby girl turned 6 months old. I sing her happy birthday this morning and she looked at me and smiled. I’m so thankful to God for everything especially for giving me my little girl. I love her very much.

Since Rianna turned 4 months we started giving her solid food. We don’t make her food. We bought it in the store, all of them. It’s not that I’m lazy it’s just that i don’t know what kind of food she should eat. Hubby said that ready-made food is fine for the baby. So we gave her different flavors of baby food. And she liked them all.

At five months we started giving her morning formula and evening formula. Aside from normal formula and breastmilk. I know it’s so OA but that’s how we treated her. And feeding schedule starts a few weeks ago. She wakes up at 9 am. I wash her bottom and give her formula. Then at 12nn, she eats solid food. Usually carrots and potatoes with meat. Then another solid food, fruit flavor at 3 pm with formula. And then solid food and bedtime formula at 6 pm. She’s breastfed sometimes during the daytime too. I breastfeed her for the rest of the night whenever she wakes up hungry.

It’s good that we have a feeding schedule so she will learn the proper time to eat. And she will get used to eat. Although I changed something this month. I tried to breastfeed her as much as I could. Instead of formula, I gave her breastmilk. Until this time I still wish she’s pure breastfeeding.

Her sleeping position is now sideways and tummy down. She’s doing this a few weeks ago. I think she’s 4 or 5 when she started this. She’s so cute sleeping like that coz it is really the same position as I sleep.

This month I hope she knows how to sit and crawl. Last month we let her use the walker already. And I hope it will help her learn to walk easily.

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5 MONTHS OLD

MAY 9, 2012

Baby is now in her week 3 at five months rank. Days and weeks and even months are passing by so quickly and so fast. We are almost in the middle of the year. And I don’t think I accomplish something in the past months. Anyway, so much about that let me share to you what my baby was doing this week.

First I would like to say how grateful I am that the weather finally gets warmer here. We did so many things this week and that includes enjoying the sun outside and walking. On the other day, I took a lot of photos of Rianna in our backyard. She just wore normal clothes because that day was so warm. You can check the photos on this Baby loves it and enjoyed it while I took several photos of her. We were like having a picnic in our yard and it was so fun playing with her.

Yesterday, I was surprised when I saw the baby sit down on the stroller. It was the first time she did it. She cannot sit alone yet that’s why I was so amazed when she did. I don’t really think she can sit until now because I tried earlier, she can’t sit yet. Maybe she did yesterday because she had some supports on her legs and she managed to sit for a few minutes. I know she’s getting there. And before we know it she can sit already. We will see.

This week, she is still sick. Only today that I can say she is totally fine although she still has a cough and colds. But at least her voice is now back to normal. She has no more fever and she is so jolly again. She loves walking around the house with her walker. Our house now is so empty. We moved the sofas in the corner to make a big space in the living room. She is so happy walking around playing music on her toys attached to the walker. Soon enough she will know how to walk by herself. But I am not in a hurry. She has enough time for that. She is only 5 months now. I even think its too early to put her on a walker. But she liked it and she knows how to use it, so it’s fine I guess. Better early than late. Soon she will learn how to walk.

About feeding solids, I noticed that she doesn’t like pork flavored food. We gave her ready to eat food. That food in the bottle you can buy in the supermarket. We don’t make her food and I’m sure the food we bought is healthy. I tried twice to give her potato with pork flavor but she doesn’t like it. I am afraid she might be a food choosy like me. But she tasted so many flavors already like banana, apple, mango, strawberries, potato, carrots flavored foods. And so far she liked it. Maybe she doesn’t like pork because it has no taste at all, unlike the other flavors which are sweet.

This week also she has 5 months check-up appointment. She now weighs 8010g and 65cm in height. She had 3 vaccinations on the same day. She is healthy according to the nurses and doctors who checked her. We also asked the doctor to check her ears and gladly she doesn’t have any ear infections. Her flu is just because of the weather. Most kids here have flu so it’s kind of normal here.

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4 MONTHS OLD

APRIL 9, 2012

Hola! Baby Rianna is now four months old. Can you believe that? Our house is now so fun having a little girl here. She loves to talk all the time. Well, not really a “talk”, what I mean is her own language. And she is like six months already acting like that. So nice to watch her trying to talk and act like a big kid already.

So last week, we already gave her solid food. Surprisingly, she liked it and accepted it as if she’s used to it already. The problem is she has a sleeping problem at night. And I think it’s because of a stomach ache caused by solid food. I must have given her so much food that she cannot digest enough making her stomach ache. I’m not sure though, but I guess that’s the reason.

She is so noisy all the time talking to herself and talking to us. And she always smiles too. It’s so cute to see her toothless smile. Sometimes she laughs also. Oh my gosh! this baby girl is growing so fast. Sooner or later there’s someone walking and running around here. Oh, I am so excited about that. Now that she is four months old, she wants to sit down, but she can’t do it by herself yet. But we always let her sit by holding her and supporting her back. She loves it. And she smiles when she’s sitting. I can tell that she loves to sit and would like to do so because she always tried to pull herself up. Like she wants to get up, sit or stand. She is not that strong yet to do all of it. But I hope soon.

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3 MONTHS OLD

MARCH 9, 2012

Baby Rianna turned three months old today. Wow! cannot believe this. It seems that I just gave birth yesterday. And now she is already 3 months old. Days have gone by so fast. I am glad that I was able to write her daily journal which means I didn’t miss anything about her daily development milestone. I was able to record all. Daily, weekly, monthly. When she is older she will realize how much I love her. And how special she is. She is our angel, our little princess, our living doll.

Now that she is three months old I am excited what’s her new achievement. When she turned three months old she started staring at faces, showing her smile, she coos and she shouts. She grew big fast. We just noticed one day how fat she is already. She stares on our faces and focuses on things. Everything has changed. Except for her eating habits and sleeping routine. She still drinks breastmilk and formula every three hours. And still, wake up every 3 hours at night. The only thing change is that she is now a good sucker. She sucks on my boobs so well. We don’t have any problem with breastfeeding anymore. Feeding only takes at least 15 minutes. -and she burps well too. Right after she drinks milk I help her upright and she burps right away. So loud! Unlike before that, it takes time to make her burp. Sometimes she doesn’t even burp at all. That was the reason why she always has a stomach ache. Before she never burps after breastfeed, only after the bottle-fed. But lately, she burps after breastfed and bottle-fed. She really has grown a lot.

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2 MONTHS OLD

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Baby Rianna turns two months old today. She is already two months in this world. How great is that? It seems so good to be true. I felt so blessed to have her in my life. All the efforts I had made for her are being paid off. Especially now that she starts smiling. And staring at my face while listening to me when I was trying to talk to her. She is really such an angel and a doll for me. I know she isn’t that beautiful as everyone expects her to be but for me, she is a princess and a cutie. I love to look at her face when she sleeps. I love cuddling her. This little girl makes my tiredness go away. Despite the sleepless nights or shall, I say the interrupted sleep at night I still not regret anything. I love to take care of her and do my job as a mom no matter how stressful it is. It is really not easy to take care of babies but it worth it. So no pressure at all.

In the past two months, she was suffering from gas pain. I wrote this many times and even every day in her journal. It was not good to see her suffer a stomach ache all the time. It breaks my heart. If only I can take the pain go away and transfer it to mine I would surely do it. But I have nothing to do. I don’t even know how to cure it. All I can do is trying to make her comfortable by massaging her stomach. It was really hard to watch her cry and scream because of the pain.  It is normal for babies especially the newborn because their digestive is not mature yet. Last week she was not suffering gas pain so much. Maybe her digestive system is working properly now. Or maybe because I stopped drinking milk and juice for a while now. I was thinking it may be the reason for gas pain so I stopped drinking it. I am hoping that the gas pain will totally go forever.

So much about baby, I am sharing with you how I am doing now after two months of giving birth. Well, I am fine actually. But I still hate my postpartum body. I mentioned in my six weeks postpartum update how insecure I was with my body. That time my tummy was still huge. But now it’s getting smaller or firm. But not the flat tummy I used to have before I got pregnant. One thing I hate now is my hips and thighs. They are still big. I am so fat now. I am really frustrated about it. And I realized now that I should start doing exercise to make my slim body back. Also, I will change my diet now. I will now forget noodles, rice, pizza, and other full carbo foods. Instead, I will just eat fruits and veggies more. I have to do my best to have my shape back at least before summer. I want my confidence back. I don’t want to be insecure with my body anymore.

Moreover, I am still enjoying breastfeeding my child. I am loving it. I will try my best to nurse her as long as I can. As long as I could until the time, she will refuse it. My milk is the best thing I can give to her.

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ONE MONTH OLD

JANUARY 9, 2012

Tomorrow January 7 is my due date but since the baby arrived early she is now 4 weeks old. Time runs too fast. Baby is her one month already. When she was still in my womb I was very excited to see and hug her. But now she is already 4 weeks old. It seems so unreal. This week is harder than week 2 and 3.

Baby is now heavier makes me tired so easily. She has air in her stomach all the time, almost every day makes me suffer from stomach ache. It is very hard to see her suffer and sick. We tried our best to help her ease the pain and make her fart. But sometimes it didn’t work. She just cries and cries trying herself to be fine. I know its normal for babies to have gas pain. I felt so sorry and sad for her to see her suffer that much. I wish I can do something to make the pain go away. But sadly I couldn’t.

She eats every two hours this week. Because of her stomach, she wanted to suck something all the time. She is breastfed every hour too. She grew little now although she is still tiny. I can see her legs having fats already. I am happy that she gained weight and that we don’t have to worry about her jaundice anymore.

I notice that she like white color. She stares at my white shirt always. I think she can see a little now. I hope and I cannot wait for her to see her environment in full view. She also shows her smile now although we are not sure if it is a real smile or not. She likes to listen to music in her bed and she stares at the toys hanging in her bed.

She is growing and I am so thankful to God for giving me a pretty and healthy baby.