{alligator: Jelly Cat // lovie: Angel Dear (via Amazon) // tee: Old Navy (old; similar) // jeans: babyGap}
{month fourteen} I was just re-reading Eloise’s fourteen month update (which is linked at the bottom) where I mentioned that she seemed more like a toddler than an infant, and that is totally true with Daphne girl!
Daphne is such a steady and confident walker that she seems much older than 14 months. And because she is on the bigger side, people are often surprised that she isn’t older! Daphne walks backwards a lot as well which is impressive. She is also working on climbing things which is positively terrifying. She can’t get up on the couch or dining chairs yet, but she can get up on Eloise’s step stools in both the kitchen and the bathroom, as well as up onto the step of her highchair when the tray is off. She is also climbing stairs pretty well, though still hasn’t gotten the hang of going down the stairs just yet.
We are still enjoying music class and I am always surprised how much Daphne participates in class. If we are marching or walking around in a circle, Daphne will stand up and join, or bang on the instruments or wave the scarves around. The only thing she doesn’t like is the big parachute and wants me to hold her during the entire thing which is EXACTLY like Eloise! And we see the same little friends pretty much every week so she is making some new friends of her own. Just last week we were singing a slower song towards the end of class and she went right over to a Grandpa in the class and laid down on his belly. She cuddled with him for about 5 minutes, sucking her thumb, and it was SO sweet!
Daphne very much dislikes being in trouble. Much like Eloise (and me as a kid) she will cry if you say “no” too firmly or she doesn’t get what she wants. This often happens when she is done with her meal and starts to wipe her tray with her hands (and all the remaining food goes on the floor); Aaron will usually say “No thank you Daphne!” and she turns into a puddle of tears.
More and more Daphne is a thumb sucker. She prefers her paci, but sucks her thumb quite a bit for comfort if she’s sad or tired.
For the past few months we have noticed that Daphne will back into things (like the couch) or a person (anyone who is around) and then sit down. She is a little cuddle bug most of the time and it is so funny to watch her turn around and just back right in and make herself comfortable!
A few weeks ago, we changed Daphne from her bottle to a sippy cup at bedtime (still with warmed-up milk) and she did that for one night. The next night we offered her a sippy cup of milk and she refused it. And after that, we have been milk-free before bedtime! It was such an easy transition which is awesome because I was dreading it a bit.
And now that we aren’t doing bottles, we decided just this weekend to stop using the ThinkBaby sippy cups (both with the nipple and the straw) since they are starting to leak, and just use the (cheap) Take & Toss plastic cup with lid. These ones are nice because you can clean them without a tiny bottle brush and if something happens to them – like they are getting old or chewed on, or left somewhere – they are super cheap to replace. Plus they are recyclable! We will probably get Daphne a water bottle this summer, like a Hydroflask, but for now, just these cups until we transition to tempered glass ones like we use with Eloise.
All of the sudden Daphne is into communicating and doing signs so well! She signs: more, milk, water, eat, thank you, please, all done, more, and (occasionally) Papa. And milk is her most used sign. I notice that she uses it as sort of a catch-all for telling us that she wants something. But eat is my favorite by far. If you ask her whether she’s hungry, she will point to her mouth over and over. Or she will come up to you and keep pointing to her mouth. It is so cute! And she does more exactly like Eloise did and points with one finger into the palm of her other hand. Daphne also shakes her head “no” (also adorably cute) and has become more vocal. She calls the Roomba “oomba” and says “ba ba ba” sounds all day long while pointing.
If Daphne wants to be picked up, she will come up to you and raise her hands up over her head. And every time I pick her up, I say “up” so hopefully she will learn the word too.
Daphne, as you have seen in our recent pictures, can wear a tiny ponytail. It is helpful to keep her bangs out of her face since she has a side-sweep just like Eloise (only her part is on the opposite side). She does pretty well with me doing her hair and likes to brush it with Eloise’s brush or comb. The back of her hair is getting long and is slightly curled under at the bottom. We are getting into that dreaded mullet phase where you just have to let it grow!
Daphne understands so much of what we talk to her about, it astounds me sometimes. If she hears hello or good-bye she will wave (a big arm wave). She knows there are specific towels to wipe of Sadie’s paws if they are wet and she brings them over to Sadie wherever she is in the house. She knows to go to the kitchen if she’s hungry or if I ask her if she wants breakfast/lunch/snack/dinner. She walks to the entryway and sits down if I tell her it is time to leave and we need to put on our shoes. And she will grab the keys and head out the door! She also is learning belly and will pull up her shirt if you ask to see her belly, and knows where her head, hands, and feet are.
Daphne is officially down to one nap which she takes between 1(ish) pm and 3:30 pm (most days) which seems to be working pretty well. It means that our mornings are free to go and run errands or play with friends which is helpful going into the summer (since last year I felt stuck at home all day because of naps!). If we are out and about in the car between 9:30 and 11:30 am, Daphne will almost always take a cat nap though. As long as she doesn’t sleep very long, she will still sleep in the afternoon. Ideally she would go down around noon, but we don’t pick up Eloise until 1 pm for school. I may be able to get her down earlier once school is over if it seems like she is super tired after lunch.
In the food and eating department, there are zero concerns. Daphne is such a good little eater. She tries everything and eats an astonishing amount of food! She is definitely food motivated and wants to eat everything that everyone else is eating. She’s not much of a milk drinker though, just like her sister (though now Eloise is a big milk drinker). We started using these Grabease utensils (a spoon and fork) and they are awesome! The handles are short and very bulbous so it is super easy to grip and use. In about 3 seconds Daphne was holding one, feeding herself, and spearing food on her tray. I hesitate to buy or use “baby” things that have such a short life, but I highly recommend these for babies, especially those who learned with BLW. Daphne needs a bit of help sometimes spearing some food (or getting yogurt onto the spoon since I don’t trust her with an entire bowl on her tray yet) which she sometimes resists because she is already a toddler and wants to do everything herself, but generally speaking she can feed herself completely with this fork.
And finally this month, Daphne is getting more teeth. Nothing has cut completely, but I can feel some teeth under the surface of her gums and she constantly has something in her mouth. It feels like we’ve got bottom and top teeth coming in, including some molars. Daphne doesn’t wake much during the night and self-soothes so well, but I always blame teething on unexplained or random nighttime wake-ups.
{weight} 25 pounds.
{hair} blackish brown.
{teeth} four bottom teeth, top four teeth.
{eyes} dark grey/brown.
{clothes} some 12 months, 12 to 18 months, 18 months (Carter’s), some 2T.
{diapers} size 4 {from the honest company}.
{feeding} 2 to 4 oz sippy cups of milk at breakfast, lunchtime, after nap time, and at dinner.
{likes} watching and chasing the Roomba, picking her nose, eating, bath time with Eloise, watching big kids or babies, crawling, pulling up to her knees or feet, spinning on her back and belly, teething rings, chewing on anything, sitting in her highchair, banging on her tray, staring at her quilt (from Amanda), rattles, nursing, riding in the car (usually), her big sister Eloise, Sadie, singing, lights, paci, being bounced, being tickled, talking, her Lovie.
{dislikes} having a hat on in the car seat, seeing some type of food on a plate that she doesn’t have on her tray, having gas, lying down flat, being hungry or tired, not having a bottle immediately after seeing it, having her face or nose wiped off.
{nicknames} Daph, Daph Daph, Daphers, Bug, Snorty, Baby D, Daphne Doo, Daph-a-doo, Love, Lovebug.
And here is Eloise’s fourteen month update.
Happy Fourteen Months Daphne!
M
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