6 Months

Dear MJ/Lil Peanut,

Well, it would appear that the last month has disappeared without a whole lot going on. How can that be? You've had little changes here and there, but you've always been such an even keeled baby that you seem to just roll right from one phase to the next with little fuss.

Little changes:

You're eating "solids" once a day. As of this writing, we've tried sweet potato, banana, apple, pear (YUM!), peaches (YUCK!), and mango, with several other goodies waiting in the wings. (I was a Good Mother and bought a bunch of organic produce to make your baby food. Because I'm trying to win an award over here.) You seem to prefer rice cereal to oatmeal. Go figure.

Your movements are much more intentional than they were a month ago. Now when you grasp for something, you're almost always successful. And nine times out of ten it finds it's way to your mouth. Your very favorite thing to suck on is your big toe on your left foot; it's as though you count the seconds until someone will take off your pants and socks so you can get to work on that project. You love any toy with fringe or tags (finally, that Taggie Dog will get some love!), and spend more time examining the tag on your bouncy chair than the actual toys attached to it. Your current favorite use for your mouth is to blow raspberries. Which you do CONSTANTLY. Which is why the front of your shirt is always soaked. (Well, from that and the never ending stream of spit up. Yum.)

You've rolled from back to front exactly twice, and the first time I helped you heft your chunky thigh over. Since Tummy Time is your nemesis, it makes sense that you prefer to be on your back. More than five seconds on your stomach triggers a MAJOR spit up reaction. So gross. Really, though, you now prefer to sit up whenever possible. When you're in the bouncy chair, you try to pull yourself up a bunch. You are getting the hang of the Jumperoo, and bounce unintentionally, but I think you're going to start jumping very soon.

Your favorite comfort object is...well, anyone near you. You love to burrow into shoulders and chests (trying to nurse anything with skin); you love to touch our faces and grab our noses; you love to cuddle with your owl lovey and are often discovered asleep with it draped across your face--don't tell the Parenting Police. We're a heartbeat away from buying you a sleep mask. :) The comfort object we have eliminated is your pacifier. After too many sleepless nights where you lose it and aren't old enough to put it back in your mouth, we decided it would be better for you to learn to soothe yourself in other ways. And you are! Mostly, you stuff your owl-y in your mouth, which is endlessly amusing to me.

And speaking of sleep (boy, it seems like I spend an lot of time talking about sleep), we are currently sleep training. Again. We got a little soft there for a few weeks, so now we're using a modified Ferber method, which means we put you down drowsy but awake, and check on you after five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, but never removing you from the crib. It's working, so far. You sleep completely through the night very sporadically, but I'm not pushing it yet because...you're almost fully weaned. [sob--more on that later] You're napping 2-3 times per day, depending on whether or not we are home in the morning. And bed time is between 6-7pm.

The formula thing (yellow Enfamil, for my records) is going well. You seem to have the same amount of spit up with bottles as you did with breast milk, and we've discontinued your reflux medication. It just didn't seem to make a difference. You take between 24-28 oz of formula per day.

You are still the smiley-est baby I've ever known, and you're not stingy with smiles for strangers, either. It's so fun to watch you grow and learn and observe. The only member of our family that causes you to burst into giggles, without tickling, is your big brother, for whom your little world turns. It's the picture of precious.

Much love,
Mom


[A Note to my Future Self re: weaning--should it ever be relevant again.

Weaning is HARD. It's hard to let go of the intimacy you share with the baby; it's more inconvenient to go make a bottle and wait for it to heat (that's why you still nurse in the middle of the night, when necessary). But the hardest part are the darned wacky hormones that make it feel like there's an elephant of depression sitting on your chest. It's different from the fog that accompanies childbirth because the elation of having a brand new life isn't there anymore. The evenings seem to be harder, so try to get things done during the day so you can give yourself permission to wallow (or hide) in the evening. Go easy on yourself, Self. ]

Photos: http://gallery.me.com/hannahrae#100858




From Mimi

Mastitis, Round 2

Remember when I used to write posts on this blog to document every move I (and my children) made? You know, before Facebook was cool?

In honor of that distant memory, I give you this documentation of mastitis. You're welcome. I whimpered through one round with SIR, early in the stages of breastfeeding. This lovely round is compliments of the weaning process, which MJ and I started about a month ago. Dude. This sh*t is painful. For the ladies out here who haven't experience the pleasure (and for the one man that reads this--hi, Dad), imagine someone socking you in the boob and leaving a giant, swollen bruise. Now multiply that by ten and add flu-like chills and fever, body aches and pains, headache...and that's mastitis. Oh, and the best remedy, along with antibiotics and "rest" (insert guffaw here) is to nurse that swollen bruise as much as possible, but who wants to do that because Ol' Righty doesn't even want anyone to LOOK in her direction, much less touch her.

Anyway, I had a little help the last two days and am finally starting to feel better. It's a bummer to suffer through all the side effects of the flu without the only GOOD one: weight loss. *wink*

5 Months

Dear Rosebud/Lovey Loo/Little Bug/Bugaboo,

This may sound strange, but you've definitely become a person this month. You're completely aware of your surroundings, and it's thrilling to watch you learn about the world.

You've accomplished much this last month, including your first airplane trip to Arizona (angelic on the way down, not so on the way back), celebrating your first Christmas/Hanukkah, adeptly rolling from front to back, and attempting your first "solid" food. We learned from your brother to try oatmeal instead of rice cereal, since babies often prefer the taste. You didn't cry about it, but you mostly spit it right back out--more from a lack of coordination rather than distaste. Three weeks later, we're having more success, and you certainly seem hungry for it. Time to try another cereal and next month we'll add fruits and veggies. You're starting to say actual syllables when you cry. It almost sounds like "mama," but with a large dose of angsty protest.

My favorite part of the day with you is any time you're just waking up, be it in the morning or from a nap. You usually squeal with delight to see me, and I swear you hug me when I pick you up. You love being tickled on your changing pad, and there is still nothing that brings you more joy than a diaper change--except, of course, if your brother is there DURING your diaper change. Then your little world is complete.

SIR is still your favorite person on the planet. The rest of us are just decoration. He is willing to sit and play with you endlessly, and you track his every move and breath, and express your displeasure when he disappears from sight. When he isn't around, you still enjoy your play mats and bouncy chairs. You've recently been introduced to the Jumperoo, and while you can't actually jump in it, it is nice to have more than one toy at your fingertips. It's also nice that they're attached and you can't toss them out of reach.

Sleeping: Having completed a round of sleep training, you do well getting to bed at night. You usually wake each night between 2-4 and are generally up for the day around 7. (Although on exactly three occasions, you've slept completely through the night.) You continue to nap two hours after that last time you woke, which usually translates to two substantial naps and one catnap each day--provided we're HOME, which only happens 2-3 days per week. Sorry about that.

Eating: You're eating six times per day. Because of our "Vampire Baby" issues, we're currently alternating nursing and giving you a half and half bottle. You're getting a tablespoon or two of cereal every day, but I'm probably going to wait until you're six months old to start other foods.

It's no secret I'm having a hard time facing the fact that you're growing up. The truth is that being a parent to a newborn is decidedly simple. If the baby cries, feed it/hold it/change it/put it to sleep. There is no discipline involved, and you're incapable of manipulating or disobeying me. Being a parent to a toddler and beyond requires a much more nuanced approach, and I'm just a little prematurely saddened by the first time you will sass me or throw a temper tantrum--it's so hard to imagine your sweet nature becoming anything else. But who knows? Maybe you'll be perfect forever. (Insert naive smile here.)

Love,
Mom




http://gallery.me.com/hannahrae#100850

Holiday Wrap Up

Well, the holidays didn't kill me this year...but they came close. With two Hanukkah celebrations, four birthday celebrations, Christmas out of town and a New Year's Eve party at home, this mama is t-i-r-e-d. I'm thrilled January is here.

Here is a photo story of our holiday journeys this year.

Hanukkah/Christmas/AZ: http://gallery.me.com/hannahrae#100816
New Year's Eve:http://gallery.me.com/hannahrae/100822

For Crying Out Loud--The Second Installment

(Find the first installment here.)

Under the loose guidance of Dr. Weissbluth, we spent most of month 4 sleep training. Remarkably, it has gone well, although the nights are still unpredictable, from a feeding standpoint. (It's probably time to encourage the little bug to cut out the 2am feeding.) "Sleep training," as we do it, is just a fancy way of saying we basically let the baby cry herself to sleep, although this time I've used a technique closer to Dr. Ferber's, which incorporates checking and consoling the baby without taking her out of the crib.

What we have learned from our last baby: It's not necessary to listen to the crying on the monitor. The baby is fine. The baby is not hungry. The baby does not need to be "re-paci'ed"--in fact, it interrupts sleep instead of encouraging it.

The rest of this post is going to be VERY boring, but I'm publishing it for documentation purposes. You wouldn't believe how many people like to discuss sleep training experiences! Read at your own risk.

Night One (1/2/12):

-To bed at 7:40, asleep
- Woke moments later. Cried 11 minutes
- Self-soothed for 20 minutes.
- Cried for 25 minutes. Fell asleep. Woke at 3 and 5:30.

Night Two:

- To bed at 7:45. Cried 3 minutes.
- Awake 10 minutes. Cried 3 minutes. Fell asleep.

Night Three:

- To bed at 6:30. No crying. Woke at 1 and 5.
- day time naps start shrinking to 30-45 minutes.

Night 4:

- To bed at 7pm. Cried 30 minutes. Woke at 3:30 and 7:15

Night 5, 6:

-bed at 7pm. No crying. Woke at 3:30 and 5
- day time naps return. Short morning nap (30-60) and longer afternoon nap. Usually a cat nap around noon.

Night 7:
- bed at 7:30. No crying. Slept until 6:15!!! And again until 7:30.
- napped 60 minutes in morning, 30 at grocery store around noon, 2.5 hrs at 2pm

Night 8:
-bed (with daddy) at 7:00. Lots of crying. Went in 30 minutes later and rocked to sleep.

Subsequent nights: Mostly asleep to almost asleep with very minimal crying. In general, still waking between 2-3 and 5-6. Day time naps exist but are still VERY unpredictable (as of 1/23). Often a long (2+ hours) morning nap translates to a short (30-60 minute) afternoon nap. The third nap rarely happens unless she will go down around 4pm. Otherwise, it's too late to nap. Bedtime is generally between 6:30-7:00pm.

Naturally, tonight (1/23), she went down at 6 and woke up at 10:30, completely unconsolable. Headed in to feed her. Sigh.
This happened again on 1/25 and I'm chalking it up to some serious teething pain, for which there seems to be no solution. Poor baby.

4 Months

14 lbs 9 oz (75th)
24.5 in (55th)
40 1/2 HC (45th)

Dear MJ,

What a charmer, you are! Your days are spent sucking your fingers/hands/fists/wrists, gazing at me, constantly enthralled by your brother, and soaking up the sights of the world. As with your brother before you, I long to squish you back to your scrunchy newborn self, while concurrently loving each new stage of your development. I'm far less focused on milestones, and far more focused on just enjoying you--taking an extra five minutes at the end of your nap to play with you in your crib; letting you nurse longer than necessary if you need the comfort; watching you work SO HARD to get that toy in your mouth.

Your Favorite Things: You love your new bee dangly toy, the lights above the jungle playmat, being tickled, ANYTHING where your bro is involved, splashing like crazy in the tub. But your two ultimate thrills are 1) when we take off your pants, and 2) when we do leg stretches--specifically, the spread-eagle. Yep, we're definitely going to have to find other ways to make you giggle, or we're going to be in serious trouble when you hit your teen years. (Sorry, Internets...TMI?)

Notes:

You nap. If I stick to Dr. Weissbluth's rule of putting you down by the third yawn and within two hours of last waking, you rarely fuss. We stopped swaddling you only last week, even though you've been breaking out of it for months. It just seemed to help calm you. Now that you're in the sleep-sack, I definitely think it contributes to when you wake soon after being put down. You just need to learn how to soothe yourself after you get startled awake again. Anyway....you often nap for 1.5-2 hours, but also sometimes for 45 minutes. Your night patterns, however, while not especially awful, are still completely sporadic. Sometimes you wake twice a night, sometimes once a night, a few times you've actually slept "through the night" (6 hours), and one time you slept ALL the way through the night (11 hours). It's all well and good but consistency would be just lovely. You're not terribly into your pacifier anymore. Sometimes we can use it to help calm you down, but if you've decided you're going to cry, no amount of pacifying will change your mind. (It's for this reason that we've decided to start the "excinction" (aka Crying it Out) method this week.)

You've become a champ at rolling from your tummy to back, and you protest tummy time a lot less, as a result. You love to make this "ah-ah-ah" sound that reminds me of a vocal exercise one of my roommates used to do in college. You also "hoo" just like an owl, and squeal when something is particularly hilarious.

You are easily startled by unexpected noises. It's especially amusing when I blow my nose. Your eyes get as big as saucers, your arms flail out to the side, and you wriggle your little body like jello. This also happens when someone sneezes, when the dog barks, and, um, on New Year's Eve, when the big kids were blowing their horns. Too loud!!!

I'm glad you're at a healthy weight, are a happy nurser (minus our few Vampire Baby encounters...too gross even for the Internets), and have lovely "Thunder Thighs" to squeeze. Dr. E suggested we start cereal, as you (evidently) no longer get iron from breast milk. We'll see how it goes....In the meantime, I'm glad your daily nursing schedule has decreased from 8 to 6 feedings per day--minus the week we were in Arizona, when you decided to nurse every two hours. Must be really dry there. :)

I love you, my darling daughter.
Mom

(How you prefer your hands. See also, "Thunder Thighs.")

3 Months

Dear Rosebud,

This month was all about learning to use your hands. You, like your brother before you, can now hit the monkey, although you're much more partial to the giraffe that dangles from your play mat. Just last night I saw you grab his foot and direct it into your mouth. And this morning you found your thumb for the first time--uh oh! You're enthralled by any toy someone puts before you, but not as enthralled as you are by ANYTHING your brother does. When you nurse, you use your free hand to grasp at the nearest object--my hair, my shirt, my fingers. It's almost as though you need an anchor.

We were able to capture some of your first giggles on video. Your dad and I found it hilarious that you mostly laughed without opening the back of your throat, so it sounds like you're laughing under water--complete with your Snorty McSnorterton noises that you seem to be (slowly) growing out of. In the last few weeks, though, your underwater giggles have morphed into full on belly laughs and squealing. I can't, for the life of me, capture it on video yet but I'll keep trying. You laugh when someone tickles your belly (particularly if you're undressed), and when someone says "boo," and pretty much whenever you're on your changing table (something about the butterflies on your mirror is HILARIOUS), or whenever someone takes off your pants. Let's hope that changes before you go to high school. (wink)

Bath time remains a favorite activity, especially if your brother joins you. He's great at helping to wash your hair and your feet. You also love when he reads and sings to you, and when he chooses a new toy (or perhaps ALL your toys at once!) for you.

Developmentally, you're working on strengthening your neck muscles. You prefer to sit up all the way, and are sitting in your Bumbo seat for the first time. You still loathe tummy time, but you did roll over from front to back for the first time. I'm not convinced it wasn't an accident, though. And, as I mentioned, you can easily guide your hand and fingers to your mouth.

Your eating schedule has spaced out considerably, as your naps get longer and more predictable. (For my records, your sleep cycles are usually 45-60 minutes, after which I often need to soothe you back to sleep.) You're ready to sleep two hours after you last awoke, which means you often go 3.5-5 hours between feedings during the day. Nights....are still unpredictable. You slept through the night (once), and followed that by waking every three hours the next night. I'm hoping this month will bring a more predictable nighttime schedule. Ha.

You are such a pleasant, easy-going baby. Thanks for that gift, my love.

Love,
Mom

http://gallery.me.com/hannahrae#100806 (P.S. You may have heard that the Mobile Gallery feature offered by Apple will be discontinued soon. I will be moving the photos to another host site. Stay tuned.)