Category Archives: Lark

Baby / Lark / Motherhood

Motherhood Update: Lark at 9 months

November 16, 2017

^^ even cute with a cold ^^ 

Sleeping: Lark is still sleeping through the night most nights. She just got her first tooth and the second is due to come through any day now, plus she unfortunately got my cold, so there have been some nights that are far from perfect lately, but that’s kind of par for the course at this age.

Eating: Lark is currently loving Winter Minestrone (the amount she ate is sort of insane, given her size) and is also very into Thai green curry. I introduced Prim to spicy food really early and have done the same thing with Lark. I cut the spice in the curry with some plain Greek yogurt, but it’s definitely still got a kick and the kids eat it and love it. My philosophy is that the kids should be introduced to and eat pretty much what we eat, so long as it’s not prohibited or dangerous, we just try to dial back the heat a bit if we’re eating something really spicy. That said, if Prim asks to try something we know is spicy (for example, bitterballen is served with a spicy mustard here), we let her — we just tell her it’s spicy beforehand and make sure we have something close by to offset the spice after.

Saying: Lark is on the verge of saying her first words. She babbles nonstop and might actually be saying “all done” (which she already signs) and “Dada,” but I’m not totally sure enough yet to really call either her first word.

Latest trick: Lark is very quick with her army crawling these days and is getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. She hasn’t mastered full-on crawling yet, but she’s so fast at creeping around on her belly that I wonder if she will actually crawl at all before she starts pulling up and cruising.

Sweetest things: Lark is still obsessed with her “Lamby” (evidenced by the photos in this post). She now holds onto it when we take her out of her crib and she sleeps with her face right on top of it at night. It is so sweet to sneak a peek at her while she’s sleeping and seeing that little stuffed lamb head peeking out from underneath her cheek.

Favorite thing about this age: Lark has so much personality now. She squeals, laughs, smiles and screeches. KC has been traveling a lot for work lately, and when he gets home from one of his trips and she sees him for the first time — well, basically her reaction just makes my heart explode and I’m like, “Let’s have another baby RIGHT NOW.”

Baby / Lark / Motherhood

Motherhood Update: Lark at 8 months

October 21, 2017

Lark hit 8 months on the 16th, but we were traveling in Copenhagen at the time so this update is a little late. Here’s a picture of her tearing into some pizza during our trip.

Sleeping: Lark is now sleeping through the night for 12 hour stretches pretty consistently. I would say she slept through the night about 75-80% of last month, which is so amazing. Prim didn’t sleep through the night like this until she was 11 months, so I’m super pumped about this development. I’m sure we will have random nights where travel or teething get in the way, but just the fact that she’s managing to sleep this long so much earlier than Prim did is a freaking godsend.

Eating: Lark is now diving into eating solids with gusto. She was pretty lukewarm about the whole experience when we started, but she’s now eating about as much as Prim did at this age (ahem, which was A LOT). She still prefers to feed herself, but will allow me to spoonfeed her occasionally, especially if it’s yogurt (both she and Prim from the beginning have been head-over-heels for plain yogurt).

Lifesavers: We recently purchased a new baby carrier, which so far has been awesome. We have had the Beco Gemini for awhile now, but one of the snaps keeps popping, which was driving me CRAZY. We have also randomly been toting Prim around in the carrier when we’re on vacation and she’s ready to pass out and take a nap, and the Gemini’s narrower seat isn’t ideal for carrying a 28lb toddler. I happened to connect with a woman here in Amsterdam who was selling some carriers for wholesale (she had started a babywearing website that she was shutting down) so we were able to purchase the organic version of the Beco Soleil for a steal. So far the carrier has been awesome — it’s not as bulky as the Gemini and has a much wider seat; plus I’m totally into the detachable pocket, which makes accessing necessities like my wallet and keys way easier while babywearing.

Latest trick: Lark is fulling creeping her way around the floor now and can control where she goes. This is especially fun since her favorite things at the moment are the antique fireplace, DVD player, printer, and Prim’s potty.

Sweetest things: Lark is now waving, which is so so sweet. KC has been traveling a lot for work lately, and when we facetime him she gets so excited to see his face and will start waving and babbling (KC is convinced she’s saying “Dada,” but it’s completely wishful thinking on his part.)

Favorite thing about this age: Lark has reached the separation anxiety/stranger danger phase, and while I don’t love either of those milestones, it’s really sweet to see how attached she is to her “people” and will calm down immediately when one of us picks her up.

Baby / Lark / Motherhood

Motherhood Update: Lark at 7 months

September 16, 2017

Sleeping: I finally managed to get Prim’s nap to coincide with Lark’s second nap of that day AND managed to get them down together in the same room. They had actually been napping roughly at the same time most days, but I had Lark sleeping in the guest room because Prim takes a while to wind down for naptime, generally. (My rule for Prim right now is that she doesn’t have to sleep, but she does need to relax and be quiet.) Prim still falls asleep most days, so I actually get 1-2 hours of time by myself, which as any mom will tell you — feels like a freaking VACATION. Of course, because they’re in the same room and on the same nap schedule, the days when naptime falls apart, it’s reallllly falls apart. Motherhood sure does have a way of making sure you don’t pat yourself on the back too quickly!

The world’s largest high chair in Budapest.

Eating: Lark started solids at 6 months, and so far is a totally different eater than Prim was at this age. Prim was pretty interested in eating right off the bat and loved just about anything I gave her. Lark is proving to be a bit more discerning in her tastes and so far is not very fond of being spoonfed. She prefers to feed herself, which, while somewhat convenient, is not really super effective at this age. I started Prim on finger foods pretty early on to build her dexterity, but also spoonfed her for most meals as well. Brainstorming foods that I can turn into finger foods for Lark that are easy for a 6/7 month old to grab and eat without choking herself is a bit tricky, but we’re muddling through together. And as for her pickiness, I am approaching her meals the same way I approach Prim’s — she eats what we eat (to the extent possible) and there are no alternatives.

Lifesavers: It’s gotten pretty chilly in Amsterdam over the past couple of weeks (summer is officially over here, I’m afraid) and nights in particular get cold upstairs. The Puckababy sleep sack has been a lifesaver in this old, Dutch house (because no matter how much we crank the heat, the bedrooms seem to perpetually stay at 65 degrees or lower). We purchased this one for Prim last winter, which Lark will start using once she grows out of the newborn size. I love that it’s good for year-round use, even in the crazy climate of Amsterdam.

Latest trick: Lark has entered the phase where she’s on the move, but has very little control over where she’s going. She often ends up stuck underneath the couch and alerts us to her predicament by screaming like she’s falling into a sinkhole.

Sweetest things: Lark is readily babbling and seems to be trying to keep up with the speech of her very chatty older sister. She’s making more and more sounds these days, and I’ll often find Prim laying on a blanket with her with the two of them babbling back and forth. Prim is already trying to involve Lark into her imaginative play and Lark readily joins in to the extent she can, happily squealing and babbling. I love that these two chatterboxes are already entertaining each other.

Just having a little Lion King moment at one of the churches we visited on vacation.

Favorite thing about this age: Lark is learning how to get herself back to sleep more and more each week. Now on the random nights when Prim has trouble winding down and going to sleep and we have to re-enter the room, she will often open her eyes to peer at us dealing with her big sister and then just roll over and go back to sleep. That milestone is all the praise hands emojis, guys.

Baby / Lark / Motherhood

Motherhood Update: Lark at 6 months

August 16, 2017

Sleeping: Lark is still sharing a room with Prim and is sleeping really well for the most part. She’s generally only up once at night, around 5 or 6am, which I’m hopeful means she’ll be sleeping through the night within the next month or two, since that feeding is so close to when she wakes up for the day at 7am. And in case you’re wondering about how the room sharing works with these girls being so young — they do generally just sleep through each other’s noises (even crazy crying!) Prim will sleep through just about anything and Lark sleeps through Prim’s antics probably 50% of the time. I’m sure that as she gets older and better at getting herself back to sleep, she will sleep through a lot more.

How we’re adjusting: We just got back from Madrid, and Lark, ever the easy-going child that she is, did wonderfully. She would nap on the go all day and then go to bed in a new environment with hardly a whimper. KC and I at multiple points during the vacation would turn to each other and be like, “Who is this baby??” because she is sooo chill, you guys, it’s nuts. 

Lifesavers: I know I’m a broken record talking about my Solly wrap on here, but seriously, it is maybe the best baby purchase ever, especially for traveling. Anytime Lark would get a little fussy I would pop her into the wrap (after feeding her, obviously) and she would just conk out or hang out quietly. It was also amazing because it was so sunny and hot in Madrid and Lark is still too little for sunscreen, so I would pull the front of the wrap down to cover her legs and throw her hat on and she would be completely covered.

Latest trick: Lark is getting really close to scooting/crawling now. I watch her on the floor on her belly as she hitches her leg up trying to wiggle closer to a toy and I know it’s just a matter of time before this girl will be all over the place!

Sweetest things: Lark is obsessed with Prim (and vice versa). It’s an all-day lovefest between these sisters, my heart can hardly take it.

Favorite thing about this age: Lark makes these hilarious screeching pterodactyl noises when she’s just happily hanging out. I love listening to her little voice, especially because Prim is so crazy that I sometimes forget that Lark is a chatty little extrovert too.

Baby / Lark / Motherhood

Motherhood Update: Lark at 5 months

July 16, 2017

Sleeping: Lark is now sharing a room with Prim and has been sleeping really well. She’s up once or twice at night to nurse and naps like a freaking champion. She is regularly woken up by Prim in the evening when she goes to bed (let me tell you, it is HARD for a 2 year old to do anything quietly) and 90% of the time Lark can get herself back to sleep. As much as I would like Prim and Lark to go to bed at the same time, it’s proving not to be feasible right now as Prim goes to bed at 7:30pm but Lark can’t seem to make it past 7pm. Oh well. We’re still in the adjustment phase of room-sharing, so I am trying to remember that things will settle eventually and we will get to a point where it will be a little bit easier.

How we’re adjusting: You may already know that we just got back from a week in Barcelona, and I have to say that I am super impressed by how well the kids did. The flights were successful (no meltdowns!) and both Prim and Lark adjusted to their new surroundings seamlessly. We played fast and loose with their schedules while we were away and they handled it like a couple of pros. I’ll try to write up a post about our trip and what worked for us travel-wise soon!

Lifesavers: Lark was gifted this little stuffed lamb lovey (I guess the Dutch word translates to “cuddle cloth” which is, um, ADORABLE) before she was born. When I started sleep training, I started giving it to her when she went to bed so she would have something familiar nearby when she woke up (since she refused to take a pacifier). She is obsessed with her “lamby” now, and nuzzles it when she wakes up and is trying to get herself back to sleep.

Latest trick: Lark is continuing to wiggle her way across the floor and is actively grabbing every toy in sight. She has some amazing stamina when it comes to tummy time — she can hold her head up forever without having to take a break.

Sweetest things: Lark now reaches out to grab my face when I come close to talk to her or kiss her. She no doubt gets it from her older sister (who I have to admit, gets it from me!)

Favorite thing about this age: Lark is so interested in everything that’s going on around her. She watches Prim intently, and it’s so sweet to see her readily recognizing people now (like when KC comes home and she breaks out into a big grin). The best thing is coming to get her up from her crib in the morning or after a nap — she gets the biggest smile on her face and starts cooing wildly like she’s filling me in on all the things she’s planning on doing during the day.