Lily Mae: 10 Months

June was another busy month for Lily! Her two top teeth came in, so now she has a total of four teeth. She’s also added many more words to her vocabulary:

• Hi/bye. She’ll wave while saying these too, and it’s so cute!
• Wow
• Why. I always try to give her an explanation when she says this as to prep myself for when she seriously means it, haha!
• Whoaaaa
• Yaaaaay!
• Yeah
• Ohhhh
• Good job
• Mama/Dada

She’s starting to repeat back words and phrases we say quite often. When she tried to say “good job” it caught me off guard, but it’s something we say to her all the time. 😆 She’s also recognizing tones we use with the animals, so she knows when they’re coming in the room and when they’re in trouble.

It’s kind of crazy how one day it just happens and she does a certain thing. Like the day she rolled over and then did it again, it was like wow this is really happening. Or how one day I noticed her scooting across the room. Oh, and she holds her bottle on her own too.

She’s figured out how to push herself up to a seated position. It was wild to watch it happen because she was supposed to be taking a nap, and at first I thought she finally fell asleep since she rolled to her tummy. Then next thing I know she gets in a tabletop position and pushes herself up.

She’s officially a tummy sleeper, just like Mama. 😊 We always put her down on her back, but by the time we leave the room she’s rolled onto her tummy. Lately, she’s been completely turning herself around in the crib, but she eventually falls asleep so that’s all that matters.

We’re no longer using a sleep sack or the Nanit breathing band. She’s too big for both, and I’m letting her explore movement as much as possible. She gets a lot of practice in her crib, so I don’t want her to feel restricted.

I’ve been having some live-in help with Lily for over a month now thanks to my amazing sister! She’s currently living with us until she moves into her new place in Sacramento next month!

She came to stay with us shortly after graduating in May from her master’s program in San Diego. During her stay, she determined she wanted to find a place in Sacramento, so a little over a week ago we made a quick turnaround trip to San Diego to move up all of her things. It was the first road trip we’d been on since March.

We celebrated Father’s Day by having a social distancing dinner with my parents. I gave Joshua the gift of being able to game all day plus a gift certificate to his favorite place for a haircut. 😂 We had a yummy dinner that consisted of ribs, baked beans, and coleslaw followed by pie for dessert. All things considered, we made it a special day for both Joshua and my dad.

Lily had her nine-month checkup, and it’s the first time we’ve been to the doctors since COVID hit. Only one of us was allowed to take her to the appointment, and I had to wear a mask the entire time.

It was a great appointment, not only because Lily is growing perfectly, but I was able to talk to an actual medical professional about my concerns surrounding COVID. It was nice to have someone validating my decisions because lately, I’ve felt so gaslit over the choices I’ve made when it comes to social distancing.

In fact, I had a breakdown about a week ago because I am SO EXHAUSTED of being challenged on this. I’m trying to do the right thing and protect both my family and others, but then I have people close to me acting like this isn’t a thing. It’s so frustrating and hurtful. However, I’ve talked to plenty of people, and it’s helpful knowing not only am I not alone, but I have people that DO support me, like our pediatrician. It’s tough, though!

Favorites

Amber Necklace from Inspired By Finn – Since Lily’s had FOUR TEETH come in, she’s been struggling with teething pain. I got her a baltic amber necklace to help with the pain so I don’t have to give her ibuprofen all the time. She wears it all the time except when sleeping, and it’s small enough to where she doesn’t even notice it on her.

Baby Buddy Toy Straps – I got a pack of these to use on Lily’s stroller so when we’re out for walks her toys don’t fall on the ground. I also used these in the car to tie around the seatbelt so her toys don’t drop out of reach. They’ve been great so far!