A is 18 Months!
My firecracker, sweet, sensitive, and curious girl is 18 months today. This milestone is for some reason hitting me harder than the one year mark – maybe because we’re at the stage now where I truly see she’s no longer a baby, but growing into a little girl.
Eighteen months marks a year and a half of parenting with my husband, keeping this little life alive and doing all we can to make sure everything we do is in her best interest.
It marks a year and a half of learning healthy baby sleep habits (that are ever-changing!), hard moments, exciting moments, helping her meet developmental milestones, worrying about the ‘what ifs’, and nourishing a little body.
Her vocabulary is exploding, her laugh is contagious, and the quick pitter patter of her running on our hardwoods is a lovely sound I’ll forever have ingrained in my brain.
A’s half birthday is on my Grandma Jane’s birthday, which is another special thing to me this time of year. My grandma would have been 95 today, but we lost her last year. While she saw Ainsley through a window she never got to hold her, which breaks my heart if I think about it too long, but I’m so thankful they share this half birthday/birthday bond.
Eighteen months also marks almost a year of A eating food, since we started solids a little after the 6 month mark. Which means that almost a year ago, we started our baby-led weaning journey.
A year ago, I had the idea to create an Instagram account so friends and family could follow along and watch A eat her new foods and understand BLW.
A year ago, I was terrified to start BLW, dragging my feet because I was afraid of actually implementing it with my own child, and look where we are now!
I went from 0 followers a year ago to over 2500 of you now! I went from nervously feeding my own child to mastering it, giving A over 100 foods before her first birthday, and now helping lots of other moms to do the same.
We’re still learning the ins and outs of toddler eating and how that is different from infant mealtimes. No, I know I’m not perfect and neither are mealtimes. She might not like quite as many foods as she did when she first tried them in the ‘honeymoon phase’ but she still eats very well, and I’m so proud of how well we did with introducing everything.
It’s amazing how one little life can not only grow and thrive, but help us to grow too. If you would’ve asked me one year ago if this is what life would be now, I would’ve laughed.
I knew I wanted to leave my last job by this point, but I had no idea what the path would look like. And running my own business seemed so far-fetched.
This little girl has taught me to take leaps. To believe in myself and invest (both in time and finances) in what I want to achieve, so that I can create what’s best for her.
She has taught me that I can’t do everything or be perfect, but with help and relying on support, I can be better than I am without it.
She has taught me that it’s okay to fall down sometimes. To make mistakes or to fail. But rather than dwell on the hard and the negative, to get back up and keep pushing. To find those who support you and cheer you on.
Maybe she didn’t use words to teach me those things, but watching her determination as she figures out life certainly inspires that. She also teaches me because without her, I would probably want something totally different for our lives. But she changed that. I want what’s best for her. For our family.
And I’m willing to put in the work to get there.
Happy 18 months, sweet A. Thank you for being you, and for all the lives you inspire. One day when you can read this, I hope you know the impact you have made on both your Daddy and on me.
You’re our world. ❤️
