January 2, 2013
You’ve slept entirely through the past 2 nights – THANK YOU!! I’m not expecting this to last permanently yet, but I would sure love it if it does. And thank you for choosing New Year’s Eve as your first full night of sleeping. Mama and Dada were up late!
***
January 7, 2013
Well no more full nights of sleep so far, but that’s ok. At least you know you can do it now. Your daily smiles and coos are the cutest. You’re making so many sounds now, it’s great. I say you’re telling everyone your stories because your voice always goes up in this high little pitch and you open your mouth real wide. Mornings are the best – when I un-velcro your swaddle you immediately reach your arms up above your head, curl up in a ball, and give me the biggest smiles.
***
January 8, 2013
2 wake ups last night. Boo. Hopefully tonight will be better.
***
January 10, 2013
You must be making up for your day of crying and little sleep that was yesterday, because so far today you’ve been asleep more than you’ve been awake and it’s 2pm. I’ve been able to put you in your swing awake lately and you do a good job of putting yourself to sleep. Thank you! You’re in there now and have been for about 2 hours, which is one of your longest stretches in there yet. And you were also in there for another hour-long nap earlier this morning. I’m not sure if it’s dumb luck or if you actually know what you’re doing, but I’ve been watching you lose the pacifier out of your mouth and get it back in either with some seriously strong sucking, or getting your little hand up there to push it back in. Either way, I’m loving it. I’ve gotten so much done today while you’re sleeping!
***
January 14, 2013
You discovered yourself in the mirror the other day and now you’re hooked. I hold you up in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom and I swear you could stare into it for hours. Unfortunately you could also stare at the tv for hours from your giraffe mat on the floor, but hopefully you’re just watching moving colors and faces and not actually getting hooked on the stupid box.
***
January 15, 2013
You slept through the night again last night!! And a long one too – I put you in bed at 9, had to go in to calm you back to sleep around 9:30, you let out a couple little sleep cries between 9:30-10, but then I had to wake you up at 8:30 this morning because we had to go get some pictures taken. You were still totally out this morning too, so I bet you would have slept for at least a solid 12 hours or more. Let’s see if you can do that again for good now, please.
***
January 16, 2013
All right, kid. Make up your mind here. Sleep or don’t sleep, but do it with some consistency. You were up another almost 2 hours last night. I even took you out onto the couch to sleep for the last hour and a half until Daddy’s alarm at 6:30, and you slept fitfully on my chest when you did sleep at all. You pooped in the middle of the night again, which probably had something to do with it, but still. How about another full night’s sleep to make up for it tonight? Fortunately Della is at daycare today so I can focus just on you, but man am I tired. I got the house cleaned this morning though, and now you’re napping on the couch so I was able to eat lunch.
You’re also getting very chatty and distracted when you eat. It’s super adorable, but I hate how long it’s starting to take to nurse you. Maybe this won’t last as long as it did for Della, which was 8.5 months.
***
January 17, 2013
Up for an hour and a half again last night. Not nice.
***
January 21, 2013
Happy 3 month birthday, little one! It actually seems like a long time since 2 months. Unfortunately you haven’t followed in your sister’s footsteps and started sleeping through the night yet. In fact, the past couple nights have been rather awful. Up multiple times, taking a very long time to go back to sleep. No thanks. Daddy also read today that the “running” and kicking you do can be another sign off colic. So based on that and the screaming fit you had today, we think there might be a little colic in you after all. Ah well. Guess you just want to make sure no one forgets you’re here, eh?
***
January 22, 2013
I put you in the jumper for the first time this morning, since you’re so active and don’t really like to be put down on your mat on the floor for very long. You can neither sit nor stand, but I put a big throw pillow under your feet so they touched something and folded up a blanket behind your head to prop you upright, and I think you liked it. You were mesmerized by the collection of little safari animals that light up and make music that were in front of the seat, and you even bounced it a little when you kicked your legs around. I thought you would like the baby mirror the best, but you didn’t really see it yet. I feel like you need to start interacting with stuff more – feeling, touching, seeing what reactions your actions cause, so maybe this will help.
***
January 23, 2013
What the hell, child? Up for over an hour and a half again last night. You’d better figure this sleeping thing out before your mama loses her damn mind. On a brighter note, however, you actually grasped your frog rattle toy and brought it into your mouth today, so there’s showing some coordination.
***
January 24, 2013
Fell asleep without using the pacifier for your morning nap today. I like that. Played in the jumperoo for almost 45 minutes before said nap. I like that too.
***
January 25, 2013
I think you’re getting close to rolling. Yesterday I had you on the dining room table, your favorite spot in the house, and you got almost all the way onto your side from your back. You pull your little legs up and tuck your arms in, so you’re in a little ball, then you just start tipping. You did it this morning, too, in your crib when I unswaddled you. We never did see Della roll, so if we see you it’ll be great!
***
January 27, 2013
You slept through the night again last night, and I got 7 hours of sleep in a row! Thank you. Now let’s try doing this on a regular basis, please. We did take almost a 3 hour nap together this afternoon, too, which was nice.
***
January 28, 2013
No sleep through last night, as I fully expected, but I was able to postpone your wake up by giving you the pacifier the first time I heard you waking at 2am. We hadn’t gone to bed until 11, so I thought that was too early. Sure enough, you went back to sleep for almost 2 hours, finally waking to eat at 4. I really want to wean you off needing the pacifier to go back to sleep in the middle of the night, though. Wonder how terrible that’s going to be?
***
January 29, 2013
You spun yourself all the way around in your crib this morning between your 1:30 feeding and your 6:30 wake up. Hmm, is it almost time to ditch the swaddle? I’m kind of afraid to until you can consistently put yourself back to sleep at night without using a pacifier.
***
January 30, 2013
Your first session of daycare went better than I could have ever dreamed. Today was the first day of my new job at the gym, and you and Della go in the Kids’ Clubhouse there while I work. I warned them when I dropped you guys off this morning that it was the first time you’d been away from the care of family and may need a little extra attention, but you did great! They said you were so calm and smiling at them the whole time. No crying at all. Whew!
***
January 31, 2013
You are SO close to rolling over. After getting to your side on the dining room table, you’ve now started spinning yourself around in your crib at night. 2 mornings ago your head was at the opposite end of your crib from where I laid you down hours before. Now each night since you’ve spun yourself in that same direction until you reach the side of the crib and can’t go any further. This is all done still in your swaddle, too. Last night I put you on your stomach on a blanket on the floor, and you almost instantly tried to roll to your back. You got very, very close, so I think it could be any day now. Right now you’re manhandling your frog rattle that I attached to the lowest hook on your playmat arch so it’s right by your face, and you’re shoving him in your mouth.
***
February 1, 2013
A new nighttime pattern has emerged recently. You wake sometime in the midnight hour, which is way too early for you to be eating again, so I give you your pacifier. You then sleep roughly another hour, to wake for a meal around 1:30-2. I still think that’s too early to feed you, but you then tend to sleep until the 6-7 hour. And fortunately (knock on wood!) the past couple nights you haven’t need the pacifier to fall back asleep after your night feeding, which I much prefer. You have awoken before 6 a couple times and won’t keep the pacifier in your mouth, so I bring you into our bed so I can hold it there until you fall back asleep. We usually get at least another hour of sleep that way.
***
February 4, 2013
Operation no-more-pacifier begins today. You have become so dependent on it for sleep that I’m now up WAY too many times during the night while you try to fall back to sleep after your feeding. It’s become really annoying and I need sleep. Right now we’re on round 2 of your morning nap without using the pacifier, and I actually got you put down in your crib without you waking. The first time I tried the swing, you started crying, I let you cry about 10 minutes, then I arm bounced you and eventually stood in the bathroom with the fan running, and you were out within a minute of hearing that. So I downloaded a white noise app to my phone and put it in your crib, but as soon as I put you down you woke up completely. So half an hour later of you not going back to sleep I started over. Tried the swing with no success, tried the arm bounce with no success, thought maybe you were hungry again by then so I fed you, arm bounced you back to sleep, then put you back in your crib leaving my hand under your head for a minute once you were down so you could still feel it there. You startle so much still that maybe just having that touch next to your skin for a bit longer helped. I turned the white noise app to “womb” and put it by your head. You’ve now been asleep for 20 minutes, which is better than the first attempt. I hope you take your full morning nap now, so I can go out and shovel snow.
***
February 5, 2013
I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think day 1 of Operation N-M-P went pretty well yesterday. The first attempt at your morning nap was definitely your hardest. Round 2 lasted about half an hour, then you were up for a couple hours mid-day, then you took about another half hour nap in the boppy pillow on the couch next to me around 2, then up for another couple hours, fell asleep totally on your own down on your giraffe playmat for about 45-50 minutes around 5, then another shorter nap in my arms at 8, then fully asleep and to bed at a normal 9:30ish. Except for the one nap on your giraffe mat, you did fall asleep in my arms each time, but for the first day of no pacifier I think that’s fine. And last night was one of your best nights yet. You slept until 4:30 (i did hear a couple rustlings, but you never woke before then or even squeaked), were back down slightly awake at 5, squawked a couple times, but had put yourself back to sleep by the time the music cycle on your crib mobile was finished, which I think is 18 minutes long. Great job!! I also left 1 arm out of your swaddle last night in case you needed to suck on your hand. I still don’t think you’re fully ready for no swaddle yet. Let’s hope this success continues!
***
February 7, 2013
You slept through last night!! You fell restlessly asleep in my arms after eating between 8:30-9, so I bounced you for awhile until your squirms seemed to stop. I put you in your crib at 9:52, again with the 1 arm swaddle. You slept until about 7:15, and I got 8 hours of straight sleep in there. Thank you! Yesterday’s naps were fewer than the day before, but I’m not expecting any sort of schedule for awhile still until you’re totally used to not having a pacifier. But right now you’ve been asleep in the swing for 2 hours after eating twice so far this morning, so I’ll take it. I just hope my milk supply can keep up with your increased eating now.
***
February 8, 2013
2 in a row now for sleeping through. I won’t get my hopes up for 3, since 2 is the most in a row you’ve done yet, but I think this is a good start for being 5 days into our pacifier-free life. Last night was ~10:30-6:10. It would have, and should have been about an hour earlier on the bedtime end, but Della had a solid hour of bedtime issues last night and Daddy still hasn’t figured out how to calm you down yet, so I had to interrupt your falling asleep a couple times. I think you like the 1 arm swaddle, too, because I can sometimes hear a little hand sucking coming from your crib. This morning you put yourself back to sleep for a nap in your crib around 7:30, before we had to go to the gym, and you took a nap there too. 2 more naps this afternoon and night before bed, so hopefully tonight is another good one.
***
February 9, 2013
Bad night last night. You were up from 1-3, ate twice, and were exhausting. Sleep better tonight, please.
***
February 10, 2013
Slept through again last night. Too bad I was up for half an hour with your sister. I can’t win here.
***
February 12, 2013
Night before last you woke at 1, ate, went right back to sleep (thankfully!), then slept until about 8, which was perfect since that was when I needed to wake you anyway to get ready for work. Then last night you slept through again. But Della was up again in the middle of the night and early at 6:10. You guys need to agree that you’re both going to sleep through the night constantly.
I saw you suck your thumb for the first real time yesterday too. I’ve seen you get it in your mouth before, but yesterday you were actually really sucking on it. You did it again today too, so I think you might be starting to get the hang of that since you no longer get a pacifier. You’ve been “talking” up a storm lately also. Tons of gurgles now.
But the really big news is you rolled over today!! Della and I had gone into the basement to switch the laundry, and I left you on your tummy on the floor in Della’s bedroom on your little blanket. While we were down there I heard a little thunk and even thought I bet that was Lana rolling over, and sure enough, when we got back upstairs you were on your back. You little stinker! Fortunately I got the video camera going on my phone right away, put you back on your stomach, and you rolled over to your back again almost right away. So we missed your first roll but caught the second. Good job, little girl! We never did see Della roll, so this must be earlier than she did it since her first one was obviously at daycare. You can’t go from your back to your stomach quite yet, but you’re very close. I guess your days of hanging out on the dining room table are over. Boo.
***
February 13, 2013
Another night of sleeping through last night. Great job, little one! Bedtime was a little rough, and I didn’t get to bed until 11, but you slept until 7am. Which actually worked out perfectly, because I got you up in plenty of time to get the 3 of us ready to go to the gym this morning. I can’t wait until we can consider this a permanent occurrence.
***
February 19, 2013
4 month stats from your checkup last night:
- Height: 25.5″ (50-75%)
- Weight: 13 lbs. 8.25 oz. (50-75%)
- Head: 50-75%
You were a champ through your shots too – cried as they happened, but had stopped by the time the nurse put the bandages on and pulled your pants back up. Great job! You also slept through for a long night last night, and I got 9 straight hours of sleep. Thank you!! I don’t know when the last time was that happened, but it was perfect timing since we’re getting ready to go on a big trip today. It’s down to Grandma’s house again in a few minutes, then on your first airplane ride tomorrow. I hope you do well!
***
February 21, 2013
Happy 4 month birthday! You are so active and alert now, always charming everyone with those big blue eyes. Your doctor even said you were a perfect child at your appointment the other day. Your first airplane ride yesterday went fantastically!! You got a little squawky once we were seated on the plane so I gave you a bottle, but you drank that down before we even took off so needed something else. I hated to do it, but I pulled a pacifier back out, and it did the trick. You were asleep within minutes and slept the entire 4 hour flight on Grandma’s lap. We even got diverted so had to fly twice, but you didn’t care at all. I nursed you on our short second flight, then you were awake and just looking around the whole rest of the time. Excellent job, little one!!
***
February 23, 2013
3 nights in a row of sleeping through! I am thanking you and knocking on all the wood I can find!! Maybe you are finally mellowing in your old age of 4 months.
***
February 24, 2013
I heard you do an actual, full laugh yesterday. I’ve been waiting for that, instead of just your single little chuckle. So cute!
***
March 2, 2013
You were such a great traveler again on the flight home, little one. We were even complimented on how wonderfully you and Della behaved! Unfortunately, I think you caught a little bug around then. Yesterday and the night before last you were very hoarse when you cried and congested, so I’ve slept on the futon with you the past 2 nights. Fortunately today you sound better, so hopefully it is a short-lived thing.
***
March 3, 2013
I forgot to mention, but the other night (Feb. 28) I gave you your first taste of rice cereal. You have become so interested in our food when we’re eating, I thought maybe you were ready for some of your own. You didn’t really take to it. You were more enamored with just chewing on the spoon instead of actually getting anything into your mouth. Maybe your little cold you had those couple nights didn’t help either, but I’ll wait a little while before trying again.
***
March 5, 2013
I think you are definitely getting closer to teeth. You had a little diaper rash the past couple days when you’ve never had that before, the drool is still pretty constant, and your cheeks have been rosy too, which I’ve heard is also a sign of chompers. We’ll see how long it takes for these things to poke through.
***
March 7, 2013
All right, bugaboo. You have not slept through the night once since coming home from Tucson, where you slept through 5 of our 7 nights there. What gives? Mama and Dada would love to get some sleep.
***
March 10, 2013
20 weeks old today! But still not sleeping through the night. Boo.
***
March 11, 2013
You do not need to wake up and eat every 3 hours overnight anymore. Repeat after me – you do not need to wake up and eat every 3 hours during the night anymore. Start sleeping again!
***
March 12, 2013
You had, quite possibly, your worst night ever last night. I put you to bed around 9:30, you woke at 10:30, you woke at 11:30, then screamed when I put you back in your crib that time so I let you cry for about 15 minutes before finally feeding you. Then you stared crying again when I put you back down but I said screw it and just let you wail that time until you fell asleep. So I was up until after 1, you woke up again at 5:05 to eat, then Della got up at 7:30. At least you didn’t wake her up at all, miraculously. You’d better do better tonight or you will be at serious risk of being flushed down the toilet.
***
March 13, 2013
You slept last night. HALLELUJAH!!! I put you in bed after eating around 8:30 so I could get Della to bed. By the time I went in there to go to bed myself around 9-9:30 you were quieting and sucking your thumb with your head faced away from your mobile, eyes closed. But you woke shortly after crying so I just fed you, more to shut you up than anything, because I didn’t really think you were hungry. This was right after I’d put Della back down after as crying spell, so I was ready for the worst. But you fell asleep, I put you to bed right before 10, you cried for a minute or two at some point within about half an hour of that so I just let you, you got yourself back to sleep and slept all the way until 7:30 this morning! Unfortunately Della slept in with me last night and kicked me all night long so I didn’t get the best sleep, but at least I never had to get out of bed. Let’s do that again tonight, shall we?
Today you started blowing actual tongue-out raspberries. So cute!
***
March 15, 2013
You have now slept through the night 3 nights in a row! THANK YOU!!! Maybe you’re making up for Monday night, when you were a holy living terror. I’m not going to get my hopes up for this to continue permanently, but I’m so glad you decided to chill out this week so I could get some sleep. I now have a cold, and being a single parent to you and your sister while Daddy was gone wasn’t going too well on no sleep. I feel much better now, thanks. I have put you back in the one-armed swaddle, though, after trying both arms out a few nights ago, so maybe you do still need that. Who knows. I just like the zzz’s.
***
March 18, 2013
Well, your sleeping through the night streak ended at 5 nights. Which I’ll take, don’t get me wrong, but I was really hoping it was for good this time. We got home from Grandma’s last night and you almost slept through. You went to bed at 9, fortunately did not do your hour-after-bed crying jag, but then woke at 4:30 to eat. You then slept until a little after 8 when I had to wake you up to eat before work. Not bad I guess.
***
March 21, 2013
Happy 5 month birthday! You just get cuter and cuter by the day.
***
March 26, 2013
You can now roll in both directions! At 5 months and 5 days, I saw you roll from your back to front today. I think you actually did it last night, because I laid you on your blanket on your back, left the room, and came back to find you on your stomach, but neither Daddy nor I witnessed it. But today I had visual proof. I was reading Della her naptime stories, and you were on your blanket on her floor on your back. I wanted to see if you really had rolled over last night. Sure enough, after a few minutes you rolled into your little bowling ball shape and quickly flipped right onto your stomach! You got so excited you started wiggling all around and “swimming” on your stomach. The funniest part, though, came a few minutes later, when you did a barrel roll – you rolled back to front to back again, then almost back onto your stomach. You were quite the roly-poly this afternoon! I think you were thrilled with your new found talent, because you did at least a handful of rolls in those few minutes of story time.
***
March 31, 2013
Happy Easter, my second little bunny! You got a little basket today, even though you have no idea what this holiday is all about. Don’t worry, I’ll eat your candy for you. You’re much more interested in your toes anyway, your new favorite toy. Between those, your hands, and your tongue, you are never at a loss for amusement. I noticed the other day that the area near the bottom knuckle of your left thumb was all red and chapped from your sucking, so I’ll put lanolin on it when it gets like that. I don’t think lotion would go too well in your mouth.
***
April 2, 2013
I put you to bed with both arms out of the swaddle tonight, because it hit me like a lightning bolt when I put you in bed last night that now that you can roll over both ways, it’d probably be pretty awful if you rolled over in your sleep and only had one arm available. I guess the likelihood of you rolling over with the use of only one arm is pretty slim, though, but still. I’ve tried both arms out before and I think you still preferred having one swaddled, so we’ll see how this attempt goes. 5+ months is pretty close to the end of swaddling time I think, but you’ve always liked it so far. You’ve also been very congested for the past week, so maybe having both arms free will make you a little more comfortable overall. I’m mostly looking forward to the weather warming up for good so we can finally ditch the space heater in our room at night; I’m sick of worrying that your little hands will be popsicles each time you wake up.
***
April 4, 2013
You never cease to amaze me, you little squirm. Tonight you were on your giraffe playmat, and you rolled almost completely from your back to your stomach. You paused mid-way through the roll, though, to look up at your hanging toys and give them the biggest gummy grin you could. Such a little goofball. The past couple nights with no arms in the swaddle have gone pretty well, so I think that stage may be over. You also love to chew on your toes all the time now, something I thought you weren’t going to be able to do a few weeks ago.
***
April 5, 2013
You love to reach for our faces now and try to eat them. I like to return the favor, because you are seriously so cute I could eat you up. I especially like to nibble on your cheeks and those adorable little legs when you stick them out so stiff. Baby thighs are the best things ever. And your sweet little baby breath is my favorite. However, your waking up THREE times last night after crying an hour after being put to bed again is less than desirable. So please let’s not repeat that anymore.
***
April 8, 2013
I’m not sure what the issue was this weekend, but 2 nights in a row you woke up 3 times each. Grrr. Fortunately you slept through the past 2 nights, because Della has been sick and up often again. I’ve said it before, but I swear you two conspire to not let Daddy and me sleep. Good thing you’re both so adorable.
***
April 14, 2013
You are the most mobile non-crawling baby I’ve ever seen. You can manage to roll, push, and spin your way to get to anything you want. We put you down on your play mat and you are able to get all the way across the toy corner to Della’s toys. This morning I was out in the kitchen getting Della some food, and we heard her Cookie Monster toy talking, which meant you had gotten all the way over to it and pulled his arm to make him go. You crazy little bean. You also have a new hand thing – you rub your little thumb and forefinger together over and over, watching them the entire time. It almost looks like you’re trying to snap. Your activity level simply amazes me sometimes.
***
April 19, 2013
The baby jail is back out, since you are too mobile to be left on a simple playmat anymore. Every time we put you down on your giraffe, you end up all the way across the room. So playpen it is so you don’t get into something that shouldn’t find its way into your mouth. It’s not your favorite place to play, but it keeps you safe for the time you tolerate it. You do much prefer the jumperoo.
***
April 21, 2013
Happy 6 month birthday, baby doll! I can’t believe you’ve been out here for half a year already. You had a fun weekend playing with Grandma, but I’m afraid you may have come down with a case of croup as your birthday present. You started a really harsh, hoarse cough this morning. Fortunately we have your 6 month checkup tomorrow so we’ll see what the doctor says.
***
April 23, 2013
I was right – it’s croup. Poor little thing. You have slept terribly the past 2 nights, spending the majority of both nights sleeping on my chest in my bed. I had to bow out of my shift at work yesterday because I couldn’t take you into the kids care room there unfortunately. You haven’t had a fever, but you did feel a little warmer this morning. Since you’re 6 months old now, you can take infants’ ibuprofen, so I gave you a dose last night after we got home from the doctor and one again this morning. You’re napping now, so hopefully you’ll get some good rest today amid all your coughs and congestion. You got your 6 month shots yesterday too, so I’m sure that isn’t helping you feel any better. I was just glad the doctor didn’t say hand, foot, and mouth, because you do have one red sore on the top of your mouth near the back. Maybe it’s just a little raw spot from coughing. Ouch!
6 month checkup stats:
- Height: 27″ (90%)
- Weight: 15 lbs. 1.5 oz. (25-50%)
- Head: 43 cm (50-75%)
***
April 29, 2013
Yesterday you had your first meal that was fully solid foods, no nursing. And apparently you were famished, because you had 3 full servings. I put a little rice cereal, breastmilk, and baby food bananas in a bowl, stirred it all up, and heated it for just a few seconds. You gobbled it all up. I ran out of breastmilk for the third serving and had to use water in that one, but you didn’t seem to mind at all. You actually got much better at keeping the food in your mouth by the end too, instead of letting it all fall out while trying to suck on the spoon. I made it a little thicker by the end too, so maybe that helped you out. I think we’ll start giving you one meal of solids a day now. Keep it there for a few weeks before bumping up to more. I’m trying to get you to stop eating at night when you wake, too, so we’ll see how quickly that takes. The night before last you went back to sleep with just your thumb, but last night you needed some milk. You went to bed early, though, so I had a feeling that was going to happen.
Today you seemed to learn how to talk. When we got home from work you were “nah, nah, nah”-ing constantly until you fell asleep for your afternoon nap. So adorable. And you were absolutely enamored with Grandpa Frank this weekend. You stared at him pretty much the entire time he was here, and you loved playing with and slobbering all over him.
***
May 1, 2013
Why aren’t you napping? Why aren’t you napping? Why aren’t you napping?
***
May 6, 2013
You are so close to crawling. You now push up on your arms and rock back and forth, and today I saw you planting one foot and one knee. Too bad you then put your face down instead of getting up on your hands too, but I think it’ll be any time now. I think I also saw the tippy-top of a point of a tooth today, which we’ve been waiting for for months now. It’s the lower front right, if that is actually what I’m seeing. Your talking and spit bubbles still crack me up too. The shapes your little mouth makes are hysterical.
***
May 16, 2013
So I guess that tooth I thought I saw was a liar. However, yesterday, as you were screaming at one point, I’m pretty sure I saw the very beginnings of a couple breakthroughs. Not teeth poking up yet, but the little kind of ridge indentations that signal a tooth is on its way. I’ve heard that teeth can come up and recede as they’re coming in, so maybe that’s what’s happening in there. We shall see.
Yesterday I almost saw you crawl too. I keep saying it, but you really are the most mobile non-crawler I’ve ever seen. You got your one foot and knee planted like you have been for awhile, but instead of just keeping your head down like you’ve done so far, you started to push up on your hands like you were about to take a crawling step. But you ended up just going right back to head down, no forward movement. So close! I also saw you pull yourself along with your hands for the first time yesterday too. It now takes you honestly the blink of an eye to get from one place to another. I caught you with one leg dangling off our bed the other day as I came back from the bathroom – yikes! No more leaving you on top of stuff, that’s for sure. You always rock back and forth when you’re on your stomach and propped up on your arms too. Another way you’re getting ready to take off?
Yesterday was a big day – you had your first taste of sweet potatoes too. I baked 4 yesterday morning, then blended them up with a little breastmilk and put them in the same little single serving tupperware dishes we used when Della was a baby. I think you loved them. You ate one whole container at supper, which was about the equivalent of 1/4 of a sweet potato. I think next week we’ll start doing solids at lunch and dinner. I might try to find a homemade baby cereal recipe using oatmeal, since we have so much and your rice cereal tub is getting low.
Your talking is still so funny. The high-pitched “dis-dis”es, “ba-ba”s, and “da-da”s are the cutest things ever. I honestly don’t remember Della being so vocal. But you don’t let us forget you’re around, that’s for sure. Now let’s work on sleeping through the night again, eh? You have awoken at least once, if not twice or 3 times, per night for weeks now. I have no idea why you suddenly forgot what the night is for, you little squirt.
ETA: It’s official – your first tooth is coming in! I felt your gum with my finger tonight, and sure enough, there were the little ridges. It’s your front lower left, and it’s definitely there this time. I have a feeling its neighbors will not be close behind. And I’m afraid these suckers are going to cause you more discomfort than they ever did for your sister, which was never. Lucky girl.
***
May 21, 2013
Happy 7 month birthday, squirty pie! You are currently celebrating by sleeping next to me on the couch. So far no neighbors for your tooth, but he is definitely growing in there. Fortunately, though, I don’t think it’s causing you as much discomfort as I had originally thought it was. Yesterday I started you on 2 meals of solids a day, trying to wean down the number of times you nurse each day. Sorry, Mama’s getting sick of it this time around. You now have cereal for lunch and sweet potatoes and maybe some cereal if you’re hungry enough at supper. You tried some mashed banana last night and were not a fan. I might bake some apples and mash those up for you though, since you loved the baby food pears and apples. You still need to work on your sleep, though, kiddo. Why you have forgotten how to sleep through the night, I have no idea. I’m going to call the doctor too to see if she wants to check you out – you’ve been congested and had this little cough for well over a month now. I just want to make sure there are no ear infections running around in there, especially since you did have croup at your 6 month checkup.
***
May 23, 2013
Last night you had your first sick visit to the doctor, primarily to check your ears. Those looked perfect, she said, but she did put you on a 5-day antibiotic for this congestion/cough you’ve had forever now. She said it sounds like there’s something going on in your upper respiratory area, so hopefully this will knock it out. Especially since we’ll be going to see your brand new little cousin in a few weeks, I don’t want to take any germs out to him. The doctor said that you might even have a small respiratory tract, which would cause any irritation in there to manifest in a greater way than in other babies. You did sleep for an 8 hour stretch last night after your first dose of the medicine, but I have no idea if it was actually due to that or not. Too bad it lasted from 8:30-4:30 and I went to bed at 11, but I’ll take it. That’s your longest sleep stretch in a long time.
Today was kind of a rough day for you though. The doctor also said it’s time to start weaning you off breast milk, but you did not like the formula at all. I was afraid of that. I even made the bottle 4 oz. of breast milk to 2 oz. of formula, but you still didn’t like it. Della did the same thing when she stopped nursing shortly before 9 months, but with her I just pumped for another month or so so she started right on whole milk around 10 months. You’re way too young for cow’s milk, though, and I’m not going to pump until September, so we need to get you to take the formula. You kept turning into my chest as I was attempting to give you the bottle and trying to nurse through my shirt, so maybe the key is to have someone else give you these first formula bottles until you’re used to it. I may make the bottles I send to work with you combo bottles from now on, in the hopes that you’ll be hungry enough to drink them there.
To go with the first attempt at formula, I also made you oatmeal instead of baby rice cereal. You hated it. I ground up all our oatmeal into a fine powder in the food processor, then cooked it like you’re supposed to on the stove, but I think it was still too much texture for you. You kind of gagged on it. So then I put the entire cooked batch back in the food processor and pureed it even more, which you took a little better. Still a little gaggy, but not quite as bad. I put a little cinnamon in it too, but I don’t think that made much difference. So I think we’ll have to mix this with stuff you do enjoy instead of giving you straight cereal like we did with the store bought rice kind. I put a little of it in your sweet potatoes at supper, and you didn’t seem to mind it much. I hope it’s simply a matter of you getting used to this new texture, because I really don’t want to waste a whole batch of oatmeal. The point of doing this is to try and save money, not throw it down the drain. Literally.
***
May 24, 2013
Attempt 2 at formula was a little better. I made your afternoon bottle 6 oz. again, this time combining just 1 oz. of formula with 5 oz. of breast milk. You drank it no sweat. Hopefully I can simply up the ratio now a little at a time and you’ll take it more easily.
***
May 28, 2013
Tooth #2 is in! I just saw it a few minutes ago when drying you off after your bath. It’s your lower front right, right next to the first one that came in. I’d say this is good timing to stop nursing – I hate getting bitten! Speaking of stopping nursing, your weaning process is going much better than I feared after the first day. Last night at bedtime you got up to a 7 oz. bottle that was 4 oz. formula and 3 oz. breast milk, so I’ve now gotten the ratio to be over half formula. I didn’t nurse you when you woke up this morning, either, I gave you a bottle that was 3 oz. formula and 2 oz. breast milk. I’m going to try a bottle that’s 4 oz. formula and only 1 oz. breast milk this afternoon, see how that goes. So I’m basically down to nursing you only if you wake up in the night and pumping once or twice a day just for my comfort. I think the trick is to get your bottles nice and warm. That very first one containing formula wasn’t completely warmed up so I think that kind of turned you off, but when they’re fully heated you gobble them right up. Fingers crossed that this transition is complete soon, and I don’t have to take a pump to Colorado! We’ll have to use the frozen stock to mix in your food or something.
Now sleeping is another issue still. I’m going to start putting you to bed while you’re still awake, instead of holding you after your bottle until you’re out. Last night was ridiculous – I held you for a good hour after your bottle, because I could tell you were restless and would wake if I tried to put you down. Then you started crying in my arms for no reason and wouldn’t stop, so I just put you in your crib, turned on your music and light thing, and closed the door to let you cry. It lasted at least an hour until you were asleep. Daddy turned your machine back on when he went in to bed shortly before I did, and fortunately by the time I came in you had put yourself to sleep. I’m not sure if he picked you up at all or not, but I’m going to try this new method starting tonight. We can’t play this game anymore. You did it in the hotel this weekend at Ethan’s wedding too – woke up when we got back from the reception, then stayed up for an hour and a half. No thank you. You can remember how to do this, I’m confident. And the medicine you were on last week seemed to do nothing. It didn’t help you sleep, and I can still hear the congestion. That was a nice $40 wasted. I’m also going to try making your bedtime bottle 8 oz. because you woke up again last night just before 4:30 to eat. Hmm.
***
May 29, 2013
YOU SLEPT!!!! Let me repeat: YOU SLEPT!!!!! Last night you slept from between 9:30-10 until 7:30 this morning. Praise Jesus and everything else!! Daddy and I were both amazed that we actually got a full night’s sleep. Unfortunately I am so prone to waking at every noise you make and bracing for the wailing that I didn’t sleep solidly that whole time, but still. I will get used to that if you continue sleeping! Here’s what worked last night – 8 oz. bottle at bedtime (6 oz. formula, 2 oz. breast milk), burped and snuggled you for a minute or so, good-night kiss from me and Daddy, then I put you in your crib awake with your music on and a little tiny lamp on next to your crib. We think maybe you’re afraid of the dark, so I left that little lamp on all night long. It usually sits on my nightstand and was what I used all those months when I had to change your diaper before feeding you in the middle of the night, so it’s not super bright. But it must have been enough to do the trick for you. I’m going to try the exact same pattern tonight, see if we can duplicate our success. You did cry a little after I put you down, left the room, and closed the bedroom door, but it was short-lived. Then you cried off and on for about 30-40 minutes before we heard nothing but silence. And it wasn’t your usual solid crying either, just little bursts here and there. Maybe you’ll get the hang of this again after all.
But how did I express my gratitude for all that sleep this morning? I let you fall right off the changing dresser. Yep, that’s right, smack onto the floor. I about vomited I was so sick with myself. I knew this was going to happen, too, but I still turned to open the shades anyway. And back around I turned to see you in mid-fall, right before hitting the hardwood floor. I think you must’ve landed kind of on your side, since I saw you falling stomach first but you were on your back when you hit the floor. Thankfully, though, you started crying right away, there was no vomiting, you weren’t bleeding from anywhere, and you barely even had a bump on your head. I talked to the doctor’s office and they said those were all signs of a possible concussion, of which you had none. And you’ve been fine since – you ate your full 8 oz. bottle for breakfast, took a good nap this morning (nurse said that was fine too), took another little nap in the stroller with Della while I ran after that, ate a great lunch, and are now playing in your playpen. So I think all is well. I’m so so sorry, little one. I will never let that happen again! I promise.
One more thing for today – you just took your first bottle that was all formula. Great job! Your mid-afternoon bottle was 6 oz. of Enfamil. Now we just need to get Mama’s milk to shut down and we’ll be all set.
***
June 1, 2013
I think the doctor was right and this weaning may be doing the trick. You slept through again last night, from 9:30-6:30. That makes about 3 times in the past couple days, which is more than you’ve done in the past 2 months. You are now on day 3 of all formula. I’ve also stuck with putting you to bed awake each night, which is going really well. You do cry when we put you down and then sometimes it continues off and on for half an hour or so, but you do eventually get to sleep. And I think you’re actually learning how to go back to sleep when you rustle around in the night again too. Last night I heard you moving around in your crib and bristled, thinking you were going to cry out at any moment, but you never did. Thank heavens!
***
June 2, 2013
2 nights in a row of sleeping!! If this is, in fact, due to the weaning and you staying full longer on formula than on breast milk, why didn’t we think of this sooner? Either way, let’s keep it up please!
***
June 5, 2013
You slept all the way through again last night. Thank you! You took an 8 oz. bottle before bed around 9:30 and slept until after 6:30 this morning.
***
June 7, 2013
Well the past 2 nights have had wake-ups, and last night at 3 I just put you in bed with me because I knew you were still very tired and didn’t really need to eat. Sure enough, you fell asleep sucking your thumb in the crook of my arm. So why even bother waking, you little goofball?
Also, I think we can officially call you a sitter. You don’t get to a sitting position on your own yet, but when I sit you down somewhere, you’re very good at staying there now instead of tipping right over. The past couple days I’ve sat you in your playpen, and you’ve happily played around in there for long stretches, sitting the whole time. Good job!
***
June 21, 2013
Happy 8 month birthday, little one! (sorry, i’m actually posting this a few days late since we were on the road on the way home from our vacation that day, but we won’t tell anyone) SO much has happened with you in the past month, but the big one – you sleep now!! I’m convinced it’s stemmed from switching you to formula, too. Each night at bedtime now you take about an 8 oz. bottle, I put you to bed still awake with your big green monkey after a good burp, and you almost always (knock on wood!!) sleep until at least 6:30. All the details are in your 8 month stats post, but I can’t thank you enough! Also, you were the world’s best traveler on our big road trip last week. Talk about a 180 degree turnaround from that crabby little newborn who came home last October. 😉
***
June 30, 2013
Yep, it was a tooth I saw in there on your 8 month birthday. And unfortunately, it has been causing you some trouble the past couple days. Wednesday night (today’s Sunday) you started getting some wicked diaper rash; Thursday night you were really congested and slept terribly; Friday you woke up very snotty and still congested, like a bad cold, but no fever; yesterday and today your congestion seemed to subside and your diaper rash is pretty much gone, but you haven’t wanted to eat much, I’m assuming because your mouth hurts. Last night before bed I did put a little Baby Orajel on your top gum and gave you some infants’ ibuprofen, then you drank a full 7 oz. in your bottle, and that all seemed to help. Today Daddy said you wanted nothing to do with food at lunch so he gave you a big 8 oz. bottle instead, but you napped well all day, ate dinner fine, and drank another big 8 oz. bottle before bed, so hopefully you sleep well again tonight. We can see that little point coming through some more, though, so I hope that as it progresses you get a little relief. It’s your top right tooth. But if a small tooth is causing you this much pain, I’m not looking forward to what molars have in store. Eesh.
***
July 2, 2013
I saw the very tip of your front left upper tooth tonight before giving you your bath, and I think I can see little white shadows of some more bottom ones getting ready to come up as well. No wonder these things have been seeming to drive you crazy! You have a whole field of them coming in in that little mouth. You have a new favorite phrase too – “do-do”. As in Dodo bird, not like doo-doo. You make a tiny little Cheerio mouth, your voice gets real low, and you say “do-do” over and over. I love it! The high-pitched squealing can stop any time now though, thank you very much.
***
July 8, 2013
You’ve been sitting great for a long time now, but in the past week or so you have finally become able to get into a sitting position on your own from either a crawl, roll, belly flop, etc. Great job, little one!
***
July 9, 2013
I’m calling it right now – you are going to be an opera singer. The notes you can hit with your screams are glass-shattering. And ear drum-shattering, unfortunately. Either that, or you’re just going to be ragingly unbearable once you hit your teenage years. Please let it be the former.
***
July 10, 2013
First time in a swing at the park (Estabrook). You loved it!
***
July 11, 2013
Today is the day I’m officially saying your top front teeth are coming in. Both of them. At lunch we saw a full white line for each one, not just a little tip. And I noticed that the tips we saw the other week receded a little, because they weren’t nearly as noticeable a few days ago as they had been when I first saw them. But now they’re back for good. And you were pretty cranky this afternoon and evening, so maybe they had something to do with it. The left one is a little farther through than the right one, but they are both now easily visible.
***
July 13, 2013
You’re standing! Daddy saw you do it in your crib the other day, and today I witnessed it myself. You, Della, and I were all in our bedroom trying to nap this afternoon, except you and Della had other plans. I heard you moving around in your crib, looked over, and there you were, standing straight up holding onto the side. You were chewing on it too, just like Della used to do. The poor railings now have plenty of tiny gopher teeth marks. You get up on your feet on the floor too, with your hands down, like a little tripod. You haven’t pulled yourself up on furniture yet, but now that this is occurring I’m sure it’s only a matter of days. We lowered your crib mattress to the lowest spot tonight because I could definitely picture you toppling over the side, but I totally forgot to take a picture of you standing in there like I did the day Della first stood in the crib when she was a baby. Oops, sorry, little one.
***
July 19, 2013
Not only are you now pulling up to stand on anything and everything, but you’re really crawling! Within the past day or 2 here at Grandma’s house, you’ve begun pulling yourself up to stand on all sorts of furniture – coffee table, chair legs, the toy Dora car, ottomans, you name it. You don’t fully understand the law of gravity yet, though, so I’m just waiting for that first chin clip when you let go of something too soon. But so far, you’re doing a great job. You also are loving the carpet here, and you crawl all around the basement instead of doing your belly-flop army crawl down there. And yesterday, you crawled up the 2 steps from Grandma’s living room into the kitchen. Not once, but twice! Look out, you are fully on the move. You also loved sitting in the giraffe pool and splashing around with Della yesterday, just like in our little pool at home.
***
July 21, 2013
Happy 9 month birthday, Lana Marie! This has certainly been the month of movement – you crawl, you stand, you go up steps… I’m just waiting for you to stand up and run around the house!
***
July 22, 2013
Your 9 month checkup today went splendidly. You’re back down to 25% for weight, though, so we’ve been instructed to start giving you a little more food and bigger bottles. Can do. You had Cheerios for the first time today too, and loved them. I saw your 5th tooth poking through as well – bottom left, right next to the front one.
***
July 24, 2013
I’m afraid your incoming teeth are bothering you again, little one. The bottom left one right next to the center one is through, and I think its partner on the right side will be next. You’ve had little tolerance for food for the past 2 days, and your meals have consisted mainly of Cheerios and puffs. Tonight I gave you a whole banana all chunked up into little pieces, since you definitely like trying to feed yourself now. It went pretty well. You ended up covered in banana, but that was to be expected. I think you did ingest most of it though. Then I tried some yogurt, thinking its coolness and lack of chunks would be appealing, and you ate a little. You also only napped for about half an hour all day today, so after dinner you slept from 6-8. We had to wake you up, for I think you could have slept all night from there. Daddy got you changed, gave you your bottle, and then it was right back to bed. Hopefully you sleep well tonight, as you have been despite the teeth and lack of solid foods, thankfully.
***
July 25, 2013
You started clapping today! And you barely stopped long enough to eat supper. You also only took 1 nap. Odd. At least you went to bed on time without a hitch.
***
July 27, 2013
You just stepped from the table to the couch and back, holding on to each. I can only imagine how soon you will be walking. And your favorite motion right now is the one-arm wave. You put your hand up in the air like a high 5, then shake it up and down. I would call that waving. You also enjoy putting your mouth on your reflection in toys. Learning to kiss already?
***
July 30, 2013
Your naps have been all screwy lately. Yesterday you fell asleep in the car on the way home from from the gym and slept for roughly an hour, woke up to eat some lunch and were still super crabby, so I just put you down in your crib after you ate a little and you ended up sleeping for 4 hours! Then today you fell asleep in the car seat again and slept for 2 hours, then slept another hour and a half right before dinner. Tonight you were crabby pretty early and had a really red little bottom, so you got your bottle, a heavy slathering of Triple Paste, and went to bed at 7:30. As long as you keep sleeping through the night, I don’t mind.
***
July 31, 2013
That diaper rash was something fierce today. I loaded on the Triple Paste a number of times, and even let you crawl around naked for a while this afternoon to air everything out. I really hope this goes away soon, because you literally screamed in pain from it this afternoon.
***
August 1, 2013
Thankfully your diaper rash is getting a little better. Hopefully it gets even better by tomorrow morning, when we have to sit in the car for 3.5 hours to go down to Peoria. I forgot to mention, too, but 2 days ago you stood up all on your own. Della and I were sitting on her bedroom floor, and you crawled over to us, planted your hands and feet, then just let go and stood up. Woah.
***
August 8, 2013
I saw the next tooth tonight – top right, next to the front one. That makes 6 now.
***
August 13, 2013
Tooth #7 is in – bottom right, next to the center one. And Auntie Mer-Mer calls you SpongeBob with your 2 big front teeth hanging out. 🙂
***
August 20, 2013
And now tooth #8 has arrived. Top left, next to the center one. That makes 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top now. I can clearly see the big white protrusions where your top incisors are getting ready to come down too. No wonder you stick your tongue out now as you’re running it along your top teeth.
***
August 21, 2013
Happy 10 month birthday! Unfortunately you had to spend it sitting in the car for just over 13 hours, as we had to come home from Canada today. Boo. But you did have an absolutely wonderful stay up there for your first visit. You loved playing with Grandma, Mama, Della, Auntie Mer-Mer, Unkie Cha-Cha, Baby Roan, and Bella. You crawled all over the place, and tried to put as much island stuff in your mouth as we would allow! Maybe next year you’ll be ready to try a Banquet Burger at Jake’s. 😉
***
August 28, 2013
I keep forgetting to write this one down, but you have started drinking from a cup pretty well. I now give you water from a cup instead of from a bottle after each meal, and you love it. I give it to you in a sippy cup with handles so you can tip it up yourself, since you still don’t quite grasp the concept of tilting a bottle up in the air to get the liquid to come out. So right around 10 months you started this. That’s about the same time you started eating most all of your meals by yourself. Giving you finger foods is so much easier than having to spoon feed you everything at each meal. I think I’m also going to call your first actual word “Hi”. I know many sounds babies make sound like “hi”, but you actually say it while waving at people, so I think you really are saying “hi”.
***
September 9, 2013
You took the last few bites of pureed sweet potatoes today, so no more baby food! Hooray!
***
September 10, 2013
You now know how to give kisses, and I adore it! You don’t pucker your lips, but you more push them together and lean in for a smooch. It’s so funny. Tonight you gave all of us kisses before bed. You can also do high fives on demand. So cute.
***
September 13, 2013
You are such a monkey. I had you in the highchair this morning as I was getting Della’s breakfast and your bottle ready, and I turned around to find you standing up facing the back of the highchair to see what I was doing. What?! I almost pooped my pants thinking you were going to tip the thing over backwards and land on your face. Jesus. I never once saw Della do that; just one more instance of how different you 2 little beans are. Guess I might have to bust out the straps in there, too.
***
September 15, 2013
I got you a baby toothbrush and paste on Friday, and so far you love having your teeth brushed. It’s one of those little rubber things that goes on the end of my finger, and you let me brush your little teeth and gums with no problems. Thanks!
***
September 19, 2013
I think we are mere moments away from you walking. 2 days ago I saw you take a full step on your own between the highchair and the dining room chair that Della sits in, and then yesterday you took another tentative half step too. I’ve said it for awhile, but now it really has to be close. Today I heard you say “bye-bye” for the first time too, or a version thereof, when you were waving as we left work. So now you can say hi and bye-bye when you wave.
***
September 20, 2013
You walked today!! Not a full across-the-room walk, but taking a couple steps toward us from a standing position. Great job!
***
September 21, 2013
Happy 11 month birthday! I can’t believe we’re only 1 month away from your 1st birthday. Crazy. You are getting so good at your sign language. I’ve been trying to teach you “more”, “all done”, “milk”, “eat”, and “please”, and your signs for “milk” and “more” are excellent. Those are the 2 main ones you’ll do unprompted, too.
***
September 25, 2013
It’s a big day around here, little one. No more formula for you!! This morning I mixed your last bottle of formula to take to work, and tonight we became an all-cow’s-milk household. Hooray! I thawed the last 8 bags of breastmilk I had stashed in the basement freezer (from May and June, wow!) earlier in the week to help supplement until I went to the store for your whole milk, and you drank the last of that this afternoon. So today you had your last drops of breastmilk and formula, followed by your first drops of whole cow’s milk. Congratulations!
***
October 8, 2013
Since last Thursday, so for the past 5 days, walking has taken over as your main mode of transportation. It really has been amazing to see how you completely switched over to it all on your own. You now even get back up to walk around when you stumble down, and sometimes even catch yourself mid-sit to get back to a standing position. You think nothing of walking all over the house now, room to room all by yourself, carrying your little toys with you. It’s crazy! Great job, little one!
***
October 15, 2013
I can’t believe you’re going to be 1 a week from yesterday! As with Della’s, I don’t feel like this year has flown by with you, which is fantastic. It has gone at just regular speed, and I have tried to cherish every second of it. You are definitely a “walker” now, rarely crawling at all anymore. And you are such a joy – all your noises and talking, dancing with me and Della to music at meal times, snorty faces, good night kisses and “nigh-night” waves… This morning you were toddling around outside the bathroom holding your washcloth. You would drop it, pick it up, smell it, walk a few steps with it, then start the process over. It was so funny. The 180 degree change in you since your newborn days is incredible. You’ve grown from a fussy little crabapple into an amazingly fun baby. I love it!
***
October 20, 2013
It seems so surreal that you’re going to be 1 tomorrow, you little stinker. And how did you celebrate your impending birthday tonight? By peeing and pooping on the floor when I had you running around naked before your bath for Grandma Rau and Terri, all over your play mats and new puzzle. Awesome. At least you didn’t poop in the bathtub, eh?
***
October 21, 2013
Happy 1st birthday, Lana Marie!! What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time I was waiting for Grandma to arrive to watch Della for the day, since we had no idea when you were going to make your appearance. Then by tonight we would have another beautiful baby girl. Today we are blessed with a happy, healthy, even more beautiful baby girl who walks around this house like she owns the place. Good thing you and your sister kind of do. 🙂 We love you so very, very much, baby doll!
***
October 27, 2013
Big night last night, little one. I finally moved your crib into Della’s room. You weren’t too sure about going to bed in there at first and cried a little when I put you down, but fortunately that didn’t last long. A few cries came out this morning when I put you down for your nap, too, but those were even shorter-lived. Naps this afternoon, however, were a disaster. You and Della both went in awake, and a small circus ensued. So we finally brought Della out and let her nap in our bed while you slept in your guys’ room in your crib. We’ll work on those.
***
October 30, 2013
You just jumped! I saw you doing this the other day as you had your hands on a box, but this is the first time I’ve seen you do it free-standing. Talk about ca-ute!! You only got about half an inch off the ground, but it was definitely a jump. You also said “baby” today when I pointed to a picture of one and said the word, and just now you repeated “hi-yah” after Della. What big, exciting things this one-year-old world holds for you.
***
October 31, 2013
Happy Halloween, little one! You were, by far, the cutest chick coming out of an egg I have ever seen. 🙂
***
November 3, 2013
You’re so sick today, little one. It started last night when I put Della to bed and heard you sounding very congested in your sleep, snorty and sniffly. I came out and said I had a feeling you weren’t going to sleep well and must be getting a cold, and sure enough, I was right. You were up off and on all night, crying and having to be held for a little bit. You finally woke up a little before 7 this morning and I gave you some milk, then put you in bed with me to try and get some more sleep. I think you dozed fitfully for a little while, then I put you in your crib around 9 to see if you’d sleep longer. You didn’t, so I kept you up for about an hour and a half before giving you some more infants’ ibuprofen and putting you back down. Your temperature was 100.9 when I got you out of your crib, so fortunately not incredibly high. You ate some cheese and played for a while, but by the end of that little session you could barely keep your eyes open in your highchair. Hopefully you get some rest in there, baby girl. You need it. So much for keeping you up an hour later last night so you would sleep in an hour later this morning with the time change.
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November 4, 2013
Last night you said “bubbles” when Dada turned on the bubbling nightlight in the kitchen. Then you said it again this morning when you looked out through your bedroom door and saw it. So cute. Know what isn’t cute, though? The gallons of drool that have been literally pouring out of your mouth recently. I think it’s a combination of this cold you have and some teeth getting ready to come in, but man oh man. I’ve never seen slobber fall out of your mouth like this before. I can follow your trail of slime on the floor through the whole house.
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November 6, 2013
Additions to your “vocabulary”: knock-knock (complete with knocking on a door), map (especially when seeing the decal of Dora’s map on della’s bedroom wall), oh no (with palms upturned), pop (usually when a tube of something is being opened or closed, or when taking the cap off your bottle of milk), clap-clap (while clapping your hands).
We had your 12 month well check tonight, and unfortunately it turned into a sick check. The doctor thinks this ridiculously terrible cold you have is ear-related, so you started on a 10 day dose of amoxicillin tonight. Your left ear had lots of fluid and just a little pus starting in it, but your right ear had so much wax in it she couldn’t get it all out to see all the way in. Disgusting. But you are so miserable. I just put you back down after being up for an hour after sleeping for about 2.5, so hopefully that is not sign of how this night is going to go. None of us (except della, thankfully) has had a full night’s sleep since this demon started.
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November 11, 2013
A few days ago you started holding up one of the little toy trains and saying “choo choo”. You also now say purple when I hand you the tube of baby oil gel that we use on your cheeks when they get chapped. Ever since Della was little I’ve called it “the purple”, simply since the color of the tube is easier to explain to a baby than what’s actually in it. Your words are increasing daily!
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November 13, 2013
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I think you’re a lot smarter than I’ve given you credit for so far. You now actually take direction quite well, proving that little brain in there really does understand things. For example, you’re great at taking something to someone (like oh, go give that pen to daddy so you don’t stab yourself), helping put the toys away (this makes me so happy!), and just this afternoon I was filling a snack cup with Cheerios for Della and you started squawking because you wanted some too. So I said, “Go get your purple snack cup,” and you did! You went out into the living room, got it from wherever you had just left it, and brought it back to me in the kitchen for a refill. Honestly, I was amazed. Great job!
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November 13, 2013
You become more fascinating by the day, little one. Today you tried to snap the snaps on my shirt, which amazed me. I had no idea you knew what those even were. Granted you didn’t actually snap any of them, but you grabbed both sides and pushed them together, like you knew exactly what to do. Then tonight as I was bathing Della you turned the bathroom doorknob and opened it yourself. Great.
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November 22, 2013
Happy belated 13 month birthday, little bean! Yesterday we had to go to the doctor to make up your 12 month shots, since you were sick on your checkup day. Fortunately you had no adverse reaction to the 4 you got. Your words get better every day, too. This morning I was cutting up an apple for you and Della, and you said “apple” clear as day. Good job!
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November 29, 2013
Happy belated Thanksgiving, my littlest turkey! You loved our celebration at home yesterday, and you inhaled every morsel of Thanksgiving dinner that Daddy put on your high chair tray. We are so very thankful for you and your big sister!
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December 1, 2013
You poor little thing. You’ve unfortunately been bitten by another bug of some sort. It started Friday with a fever in the 100s, which fortunately never got higher than the 101s as long as I took readings. You’ve been mainly your cheery little self, just running hot, with some lethargic spells thrown in. Like today, you slept almost 5 hours from late morning through the afternoon, then went to bed over half an hour earlier than your usual time. But thankfully nothing else seems too out of order. You did barf up a bunch of milk this morning in your high chair, but otherwise you’ve been eating and drinking fine, diapers are fine, no rashes or anything, no more runny nose than usual this time (thank god!), so I’m not sure why the fever. I’ll just keep letting you sleep as much as you want to hopefully get this thing gone.
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December 4, 2013
I think this cold or whatever it’s been is leaving you, little one, but not without leaving its mark first. Yesterday you woke up with a rash all over your trunk – little, slightly raised red bumps. You had no fever, but the doctor wanted to see you anyway, so in we went. She said it was something viral – caused by the autovirus, or something that sounded like that – so there was no medicine to give. She said as long as you didn’t become extremely lethargic or seeming totally unlike yourself, there was nothing to worry about. You didn’t, and today the rash is basically gone. So who knows what that was, but at least it’s about over. I hope!
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December 8. 2013
Finally! You currently have 3 teeth coming in at the same time. I knew those things were close, and they are probably part of what was causing your little illness last week. Both of your top bicuspids are coming down, and your bottom left first molar. I couldn’t believe I saw that big molar in there, because your bottom bicuspids haven’t even poked through yet. So you have a big space on the bottom where we’re still waiting for the left one between your front 4 and that molar.
Your words are getting great now, too. Some recent additions are “up,” “more” (said while doing the sign too), “book” (which you end with a p instead of a k sound, but you know what they’re called), “down,” “diaper,” “cup” (usually said with a b instead of a c), “snack” (said when both hungry and thirsty), and a version of slipper. You don’t say “slipper” exactly, but you do say a 2-syllable word while pointing at them. You love sitting and reading all your little books. You are also able to go get your water cup when you’re thirsty or point to it on the counter when you need it. Your communication skills impress me more and more each day. I don’t remember Della being nearly this good with her words/needs at this age.
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December 9, 2013
You love walking around on your tiptoes now. It’s so cute!
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December 21, 2013
Happy 14 month birthday, little one! You have 3 more teeth coming in – your upper right first molar, your lower right first molar, and your lower right bicuspid. I can’t wait to see your big eyes and excited stomping feet on Christmas morning this year!
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December 29, 2013
I saw your next tooth today – upper left first molar. So let’s see, how many does that make now? 15 I think. And your bottom left bicuspid is about ready to poke through too, giving you a full 8 on top and 8 on the bottom. You also did the Cookie Monster crumbly fingers by your mouth today, just like Della used to do before she actually called him Cookie Monster.