Zahra Turns ONE!

Jun 18, 2021

 

HOW IS MY BABY ONE?! 

Happy Friday party people! Zahra and I are picking up Zain from his morning summer camp today and surprising him with a trip to Chicago!!! Trevor is still in California so sadly won’t be joining us but I am ecstatic to visit my brother and his family and celebrate Father’s Day with them, my mom, and dad. Please say a small prayer for me and the 5 hour drive with two kids 😉

Today is Zahra’s actual 1st birthday but we celebrated a little early last weekend when Trevor’s parents were in town. I thought I would share a few snippets from the weekend and plan on celebrating my baby girl all weekend long. 

I know it’s been a little while since I shared an update on her so I tried to answer most questions below:

 

What is she eating? 

 

We started Zahra on solids slowly after her 4 month checkup since she was showing a lot of interest in our food during meals and was excited to eat much like her brother. I began buying the organic pouches from Whole Foods and still do since she loves them. We then added in peanut butter, fruit, veggies and yogurt and those were great. After her 8 month appointment we started eggs, meat and other proteins. 

In the first few weeks I was just feeding her solids in the mornings and evenings when I could remember but she essentially transitioned herself. She always wants what Zain is having and I now feed her a bottle in the morning and evening and sometimes one in the afternoon if I think she needs it. Besides those, she is totally on solids.

We will transition off the bottle and formula here shortly and I haven’t totally decided my plan on cow’s milk and how much/when to give it to her and am just waiting to chat with her doctor at her appointment next week. 

I will say she loves to sit at the table with us and I think it’s a big part of her enjoyment and excitement around food! We always made it a point to sit and have meals with Zain at the table and all eat the same thing. We are doing much of the same with Zahra and so far, so good. 

We purchased the same high chair Zain has and can not recommend it enough. It is a bit pricey but it transitions with kids (Zain still uses it), is so easy to clean and wipe down and is low profile. The most important part for us is that it can be used at the dining table with us. Zain always wanted to be a part of our meals and having him at a high chair off to the side would have not made him happy. She also uses this bib and these spoons and has seemed to like both! 

I also recently purchased this Lalo High Chair for my parent’s house. Starting in August, Zain will be in Junior Kindergarten and Zahra will be going to my parent’s house to be with my mom a few days a week while I’m at work. Their table is not conducive to the chairs that just clip on so I went with this! It has great reviews and transitions into a little chair that she can always use over there at the table in the basement. I am happy to report after several months of use, we love this high chair too! It’s a more cost effective option and truthfully I don’t think you could go wrong with either one. 

 

 

What is her sleep schedule and Zain’s? 

 

First off, Zahra’s sleep patterns are amazing and I’m not sure we had anything to do with it. I’ve said it before but she is just naturally an easy baby. We sleep trained Zain and thankfully didn’t need to with Zahra. I shared more of what we did the first few months to get her on a schedule here and I do think our day to night changes helped a lot!

 

Zahra’s Schedule: 

7: Wake time

9am: Nap – this is her longest and best nap of the day, usually 2 hours.

11ish: Wake, Play, Eat

1pm: Nap 

2:30pm: Wake, Play, Eat

3:30 Wake, Play, Eat

6:00: Bath, Books, Bottle

7:00: Bedtime

 

There is obviously variation in this during the day but her bedtime and wake time are almost always the same. She started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and despite a few off nights she has since been pretty consistent. I think she will be on this kind of schedule until we can knock it to 2 naps but she doesn’t seem ready for that yet! 

 

Zain’s Schedule: 

7:15 – His Hatch light goes off signaling he can come out of his room. You can read more about how we implemented that here! He usually wakes up between 630 and 7am and will just talk to himself and lay in bed. We got him this nightlight for Christmas and it makes it easier for him to see and play around in his room in the morning!

Noon: Lunch

1-3pm: Nap – I would say he actually takes a nap maybe 1 out of every 3 days now but he knows ‘Quiet Time’ is a must. He can play in his room, read books or whatever else interests him but it’s crucial for us both. When he comes out usually depends on Zahra. Their bedrooms are right across from each other so whenever she wakes up and I go to get her is when he come down too!

6pm: Dinnertime 

6:30pm: Bathtime, Books

7:00pm: Bedtime

 

I try to time their wake/nap/sleep times together and it’s worked fairly well so far! 

 

 

What is she sleeping in? 

She has been in a sleep sack since she grew out of the Ollie Swaddle (which we LOVED) essentially. We attempted a few things in between but figured we would just get the transition over with and she’s done fine. 

 

 

Favorite products?

 

 

  • Drying Rack: since we use so many bottles and have my pumping gear I ordered this drying rack and have been liking it much more than the grass one we had previously. 

 

 

  • Organic Bibs: I ordered these on Prime Day since she has been drooling so much and LOVE them. Some of the bibs I had from Zain were too thin and these actually soak up the moisture so her clothes don’t get wet. 

 

  • Hair Ties: I searched long and hard for good hair ties for Zahra since she has had a ponytail since birth 😉 The tiny clear plastic ones scare me when it comes to choking and I was scared they would pull her hair out so I tried these and have loved them since. I am still using this one pack and she never seems to be bothered by them. 

 

  • Stride Rite Sneakers: Since Zahra has been walking for a few months I wanted to invest in a good supportive shoe for her. After trying a few brands we went with Stride Rite and have been really happy with them. If you can’t find your size online, Nordstrom Rack always has a ton of great options!

 

  • Blue Lizard Sunscreen: We are still using this and it’s been great! Easy to rub in for a mineral sunscreen and I don’t feel like I have to reapply every 5 minutes. 

 

  • Sit Up Bath Seat: We love this thing! Ever since she started sitting up this has been crucial. We attached it to the back part of our tub and now her and Zain can take a bath together and they love it! It’s fairly easy to wash her while she’s sitting in it and then I always do a once over when it’s time to get out and rinse her off!

 

  • Baby Jogger City GO Car Seat: This is the new super lightweight car seat we got for Zahra! It is compatible with our entire stroller system so made sense and safety features and low profile made it perfect for us. 
 
 
 
  • Maty’s Multipurpose Ointment: We are huge fans of the brand and have been using the chest rub and syrup’s with Zain forever. This was a new find for me and has replaced out other petroleum based ointments!

 

  • Owlet Camera: We have the combo but no longer use the Owlet Sock with her. The monitor has been great though and I love being able to see her from anywhere on my phone!

 

 

  • Bibs Pacifiers: She has used these since she was born but we will transition off the pacifier soon also! 

 

  • 3 in 1 Scooter: I bought this for her for her birthday and she loves it!!! It transitions as they grow and has been great so far!

 

  • Indoor/Outdoor Play Yard: We bought this as soon as she was on the move and I can’t recommend it enough. I love that it can be used open or closed and folds up so easily. We stash it while they are napping and in the evening so we can have our space back. It’s also been nice to take outside on these warm days!

 

I also try to save most of our frequently used items to my Amazon storefront. There is a tab labeled ‘Zahra’s Things’ that has everything!

 

 

 

 

Outdoor furniture linked here! | Mermaid Ballon | Seahorse Balloon | One Ballon | Streamer Banner

Dress: Target | Sandals: Old Navy

Her cake was made by Sweet Surrender and we loved it!

 

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