Sat 17 Feb 2007
It is so hard to believe that our little baby is already over a year and a half old. She is growing up so fast and well on her way to the big 2! It was right at a year ago that I made my first contribution to our family website by writing, Kaiya at 6 Months. A lot has changed since then, but one thing remains the same, I have so much I want to document about Kaiya. In fact, this Kaiya update will need to be split into three separate posts because I can’t stop thinking of things I want to share. This post is a general update of Kaiya at 18 months and the following post is about the language explosion that happened just over the last month. The third post is found here, as I thought it would be best to backdate it to December when one of our scariest moments with Kaiya so far actually occurred; our little girl obtained a snaggle tooth.
Since my last update post at 15 months, Kaiya gained 2 pounds. She now weighs 28 lbs and 8 oz, which puts her in the 95th percentile for weight among girls her age. She measured 32 ½ inches tall, which is about where she was at 15 months. This was because Wednesday, at her 18 month well baby check-up, Kaiya's was measured standing up for the first time. The nurse had her back up to the same device they use to measure adults. Kaiya was very cooperative and stood still long enough for the nurse to gather the measurement. The nurse explained that she probably did grow taller over the last three months, but because of the way they measure babies laying down it isn’t as accurate as when they are able to stand. Nevertheless, our Kaiya is still considered pretty tall as she is in the 75th percentile for height. Overall, her 18-month well baby check up went great.
One ironic thing our doctor shared with us during the appointment was that the night before around 11:00 pm, she delivered a baby girl and the parents were debating on how to spell her name. The dad wanted Kaya and the mom wanted Kaia. Our doctor told them how we spell our Kaiya. She wasn’t sure what their final decision was, but she was delighted to have another Kaiya under her care.
Over the last few months we’ve seen Kaiya’s precious personality continue to bud. She is so sweet and caring. She nurtures her stuffed animals and baby dolls as if they are real; giving out many hugs and kisses throughout the day. She has become quite the snuggle-bunny lately and loves to curl up in our laps or hold our hands. She is extremely helpful and enjoys completing tasks for us. I’m sure because of her sweet nurturing personality, Kaiya has also grown to really love Baby Braylen, my friend’s daughter that I keep two days a week. At first it was really hard for Kaiya to share me (read more about that here), but now she really enjoys helping me care for the baby and looks forward to Braylen waking up from her naps. I really believe that Kaiya is going to make an incredible big sister in a few months.
At 18 months, Kaiya continues to be a great sleeper, so much so that recently we had to start waking her up in the mornings as she was clocking in thirteen to fourteen hours of sleep each night. I loved it as we were both sleeping in until 9 or 9:30 am and Kaiya was still turning in each night around 7:15 to 7:30 pm. However, a toddler her age really only needs approximately 14 hours of sleep total each day, so it began to work against us as she started skipping naps because she wasn’t tired in the afternoon. If there is anything I love just as much as sleeping in until 9:30, it's my two-hour quiet break in the afternoon as Kaiya naps.
We tried several options, including moving nap time to late afternoon and bedtime much later in the evening, but nothing worked. Kaiya would just sleep in later, continue to play through her nap and go to bed around 7:00 pm. Finally, we made the decision to bring bedtime back up a little and start waking her twelve hours later. Now, Kaiya turns in each night between 7:30 and 8:00 pm, and I try really hard to wake her each morning around 8:00 am. I still get to sleep in a bit, and the two hour afternoon nap returned. The downside is that I have to wake a sleeping baby and that is no fun.
Kaiya is a lot like me in the morning and doesn’t like having someone open the blinds and bring her out of blissful sleep. She usually crawls to the far corner of the crib and curls up in a ball hoping for a few more minutes of shut eye. After having her back rubbed for a little while, she will gather her bear and blanket and finally stand up. We usually cuddle in the rocking chair for a bit after that until she’s fully awake and ready for the day.
As far as eating goes, Kaiya continues to shovel pretty much anything we give her in, with a few exceptions. She knows how to use a spoon and fork pretty well, but still prefers using her hands as they are much faster. Kaiya did have a few picky eating months as she battled through cold after cold, but once she finally got over the sicknesses her appetite returned. The only thing that has yet to return is her taste for meat. She won’t eat it at all! I try so hard to disguise it by cutting it up really fine and mixing it in with something she does like, but every time she will eat everything around the meat and then spit the meat out. I told the doctor about it at her 18 month checkup, and she said not to worry as long as she is getting protein from other sources. Hopefully this vegetarian phase will pass and our daughter will join other toddlers in their love of chicken fingers!
Kaiya has also added a few new “loves†to her list of favorite things. Her beloved bear and blanket followed closely by books are still at the very top of the list. She will sit with her bear and blanket and “read†books alone for really long stretches of time. If she’s quiet, that is usually how I find her. Over the last few months, she’s added playing dress-up to her list of favorites. She absolutely MUST have a bow in hair at all times and asks for it first thing each morning. Her bear and blanket must also wear a bow as well. My mom sent Kaiya her first true “dress-up†accessory recently, a little pink tutu. Kaiya asks to wear the tutu every single day. Once the bow and tutu are in place she adds several purses or bags to her arm and she’s all set to prance around the room. She also loves to wear shoes and hats, her own as well as ours. I look forward to watching this pastime grow over the years.
Kaiya really is a sweet little girl, well-behaved, and a ton of fun to be around. As each month passes, she bring us more joy than we could have ever thought possible. Now that her language has taken off (read more about that here), she has become quite the entertainment in our household, and we look forward to each day and what Miss Kaiya will come up with next. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives.