Acceptance // Raising Wild Discount

I have been wanting to post this for a while, but I've been having a hard time with expressing what I really want to say. I've written and deleted with post over and over. I don't want this post to be an "asking for attention" post, because it's not. It's simply my thoughts on how I want to be a healthy example while raising my daughter in a world that has put extreme pressure on women to be "perfect."

I have struggled with body image for a very long time.  I have tried out my fair share of unhealthy diets, cutting calories, obsessing over exercising and every flaw... and it's exhausting. Ever since I found out we were having a girl, I started thinking about how I can be the best role model for her. A role model that will have a stronger presence in her life than anything she sees in the media or in public. An example of a strong, healthy, happy woman who embraces her body, genuinely thinks she's beautiful and accepts her insecurities.

10 M o n t h s O l d

We have been really busy this last month! We've been having a lot of indoor play dates, and a good friend of mine agreed to take turns watching each other's babies so we could each attend a work out class every week. Eloise loves playing with the bigger kids so it really works out perfectly. I've been doing HITT classes, which are very similar to crossfit and I love it! So thankful for good friends to keep us busy during these long summer months.

Nick has been training on the weekends for Search and Rescue so it's just been us girls. But the weekends that he's home we have been taking little day trips to escape this heat. It has been over 100 everyday, and this heat wave it's been in the 110's (it doesnt make for a very fun half marathon training schedule). It's nice to get away to cooler weather, and Eloise is obsessed with watching trees, plants, and everything outside. We are also starting to plan her first birthday... I can't even believe it! I'm hoping the next 2 months go by slowly! 

At 10 months, Eloise:
↠ Is wearing 9 month clothes, size 3 diapers
↠ Is about 21 pounds
↠ Sleeps through the night with 2 naps a day
↠ is crawling everywhere
↠ Has SIX teeth 
↠ Pulls herself up to kneeling, almost standing 
↠ Is eating everything and is mostly feeding herself. She's starting to not love purees... so I've been on the hunt for finger foods that she likes. Her fav right now is pita bread with hummus 
↠ "Open mouth" kisses us all the time, she initiates the kisses and it's so sweet
↠ Loves sesame street, especially "the letter of the day" song
↠ Loves story time at the library, swinging, and the pool
↠ Babbles mama, baba, dada, yaya, luc. Copies sounds like "woof woof". She is making so many new sounds, and having full conversations with herself that I wish I could understand
↠ Is little miss independent. She doesnt like to be held as much (and I'm emotional about it), and she loves to play on her own

6 months - 10 months 

Newborn - 8 Months

Summer Trip to WA

After spending 10 days in Washington with a 9 month old without Nick, traveling all over the state to see family, Eloise getting four teeth and starting crawling, sleeping terrible at night and waking up every 1-2 hours... I could sleep for a month straight. We did have a wonderful time, but it's definitely not easy traveling with a baby. For those who think "oh it's just a 2-3 hour flight, no big deal...". It's 2-3 hours to the airport, shuttle from the parking area, waiting at the airport, 2.5 hour flight, and then going to our house, it ends up being a 8-10 hour day. I need at least 2 weeks to recover before I think of our next adventure, but I'm sure we will take more trips!

For anybody traveling soon with a baby, I have a few tips that helped me. I feel like every age is different in what you need, but this is what helped for 9 months old. Also a lot of our mistakes were silly and could have been avoided, oops!

• Invest in a umbrella stroller. I still wore Eloise for naps at the airport, but the stroller was super helpful for eating lunch, the parking shuttle, and gives us a place to strap her in when she's not in the ring sling or Tula. 
• Bring snacks, like puffs and the baby squeeze packs. One of my friends suggested to bring those to go squeeze foods for Eloise to eliminate bringing a bowl, bib, spoon and baby food. 
• One of our bottles exploded everywhere because of the airplane cabin being pressurized. Um...common sense right?! These are the days that I wish I could still breastfeed, so much less to pack for the airplane. 
• If you have time, sit and eat lunch. I filled Eloise up before the flight and she stayed really happy. Also, I stayed happy because those little airplane snacks don't really help when you're hangry. :)
• Separate all liquids/ baby food/ formula/ and baby wipes in a big ziplock bag so it's easy to take it all out when you're going through security.
• Eloise loved playing with a cup of ice that the flight attendants gave her, it kept her busy for a good 15 minutes.

if you have any really good tips, please please please let me know! 

// 

Here are some pictures from our trip! Eloise had the best time, spent a lot of time with all of her family and went on a lot of little adventures.

Papa calls Eloise "petal" for her middle name "rose"

4 generations

Bow from ZoZu Baby