Nine Months

Our little one is huge!  She went to the doctor for her 9 month exam and is in the 90th percentile for height and weight and 80th percentile for head size.  She measured in at 29 inches long and 22 pounds. She is pulling up on everything and anything (loves Rio's long ears....).  She would like to walk...I know it's coming any day.  She loves to crawl around the house but never strays too far from this mama.  Her dad and her play hide and seek around the house which is hilarious because she gets so excited that she can hardly contain herself.  She loves to smile and laugh and claps her hands together.  If you say "yay!" she will clap for herself.

At the very end of the month she got a bad sickness.  I could hear her attempting to breath from the other room and she spiked a temperature of 103.  We had to take her to the doctor several times and they put her on steroids and gave us a nebulizer (in the shape of a penguin with a carrying case that looks like an igloo.....bizarre).  That was not fun times.  She would have to sit still for 15 minutes every few hours to do the nebulizer and getting an active little lady to comply required cartoons (which she greatly enjoys but we never let her watch).

She still LOVES her food.  LOVES.  She baby signs the word "more" and has said it several times.  We are going with this as her first "word" because while she says DADADADA ALL of the time she has no idea what it means.  But when she wants more food she definitely knows how to get it--baby signs more and says MORE!  And more food we give her.  Do you know this girl ate 3 pieces of pizza in one sitting?  I only had 2.  Yes, my 9-month-old out-pizza-ed me.  OH, and if you know of any cheerio eating contests please let me know.  Because I already know she would be a winner.  This girl can eat her weight in cheerios.  That being said she has gotten a little more picky.....not too fond of peas and green beans anymore.  And if you give her several foods at a feeding she will let you know which one she prefers and refuse the other items.  And she eats whatever we eat now.  Which is awesome.  Even though I did love making her baby food....

Nursing continues to be a struggle but we are still going.  Still hoping I can make it until 12 months.  That is the only reason why I don't mind that the days are flying by.  Baby girl, hurry up and stop nursing, but slow down growing?!

Happy 9 months Chunky Monkey!

Eight Months

Right when I thought Miss Adara Rose would never learn to create forward momentum she just. took. off.  And she really hasn't looked back.  This past month went by so quickly with so many changes it's unreal.  From crawling forward to pulling up and cruising on furniture, and waving hello and goodbye....usually 5 minutes after the person has left.  Hhhmmm. Yes. We need to work on that timing.   She certainly didn't inherit her bravery from me though. And she has been scaring this mama left and right.  She will be standing up and holding onto something and then just let go, like, "I got this!"  And she totally doesn't because the next thing we know she will have bumped her head and be on the ground.  Lots of scrapes and bruises.....no matter how much we baby-proof too because there is always a toy to fall on if nothing else!  She even tried to climb the bookshelf at daycare!  Ahhhh child.

She also is talking more than ever.  She is signing for "more." She says Hhhiiiiiiiiiiiii! dadadadadada, and her favorite Babababababa.  And the one that cracks me up the most: Ay Bebe.  EXACTLY Like the song: Ay Bay Bay Song!  But the one that melted my heart completely occurred towards the end of the month when she got oh so sick.  She was super cuddly and sad.  With tears in her eyes and her head on my pillow she looked right into my eyes and said a big "Mama!" And then smiled!  And then has never repeated it again.  Go figure.

Ryan and Rio went away rafting for memorial weekend.  So it was just us girls.  Adara is so easy going and likable.  Skip your afternoon nap?  No big deal.  Don't have time to feed you lunch?  How about a few cheerios instead?  Need to adjust your bedtime by a few hours?  Works just fine!  I know this is probably just a stage.  But we are loving the heck out of it.

The few hard things we are dealing with include her mama obsession and her strong-willed personality.  She doesn't want to be put down when I'm around at all.  She will literally crawl around the house behind me crying until she is picked up.  Because if she can be in her Mama's arms why would she want to be on the floor?  I get it.  But I'm a little over it because, child, there is housework to get done!  She has also become a tad bit aggressive.  For example, at daycare she will steal other kids pacifiers out of their mouths and take their bottles away from them mid-slurp!  And she will put up quite the fight until she gets her way.  She has been known to knock kids down twice her age, jump on top of them, pin them down and bite or claw their face......we are trying to work on "gentle touch."  But when this girl wants somethings she is 110% determined.

We love this little person!

Happy 8 months!

Seven Months

Well...she still couldn't go forward this past month.  But backwards and sideways she went!  And she is getting more and more steady sitting up and moving around.  Now.if.only.she.could.figure.out.this.forward.momentum.thing.a.mig.giggity.

For the first time ever her daycare said that she has been "fussy."  (Prior to this month she has been the easiest baby in the history of daycare babies).  And they believe it's out of frustration  with her lack of forward mobility.  Poor girl.  She even loves to walk with us holding her hands.  So maybe she will just skip this whole crawling nonsense.

Her daycare had to lower her crib because they found that she pulled up.  Thus, we lowered her crib at home.   She continues to sleep well.  We love that about her.

She is also eating all types of food these days.  Still haven't found anything that she doesn't like.  She went on a chicken strike for one night and I was convinced she would never eat it again.  But then she had a chicken pig out at lunch the next day.  The amount of food she eats truly amazes me!

Happy 7 months to my Chunky Monk!

Six Months

Adara is half a year old.  Every parent says it: I can't believe how fast it's going.  Too fast, but also too slow.  As a parent I'm so impatient for the next thing.  For her to start crawling, and then walking, and then talking, and on and on.  I need to stop and enjoy what I have now.  BUT I am so excited to see what she will be like tomorrow and the next day....aaahhh.

One thing I am taking day by day is nursing.  I have shared before that nursing has been a huge struggle for me.  I miss sleep because of it, I eat lunch in my car because of it, I have pain because of it, I have scars that I am pretty sure will never go away because of it.  So many moms say they really enjoy it.  That it's so wonderful.  Such a great time to connect with their little one.  I think I am just starting to get to that point because it has been such a rocky road. I never thought I would be able to nurse this long, especially working full-time and having to pump so much milk.  But one day at a time makes it easier.  I hope that I can nurse tomorrow.

A big change for Adara (and for my nursing) happened one morning at the very beginning of the month.  I could hear Adara talking her usual baby babble from her crib.  I went to wish her a happy morning and she smiled her usual "good morning" smile and guess what!!!  There was a flash of something shiny and white in her mouth!  Her first tooth erupted over night! Font bottom right. Just the hint of the top of it.  It's a sharp and jagged little sucker.  A few days later another one came in.

She not only looks more grown up with two little teeth, she is acting grown up.  Little girl has been moving around for a while, military crawling, but now she has just started getting up on her knees!  She is going to start really REALLY crawling any day.  And then her personality will really shine because we can see what she wants to do, and play with, and go!  We are so excited for that.  Yes.  Ask me again in another few months how I like chasing her around ...yes, I know.

Adara continues to explore the world of solid foods.  She still much prefers breastmilk (thank goodness, because that is what she needs the most!) but she is turning into quite the adventuresome eater.  She even has developed a liking for avocado.  Peas still seem to remain her absolute favorite.  And mangos, and bananas, and sweet potato, and, well, almost everything (she takes after her parents).  I love preparing her food for her!

Happy half-a-year-old Baby Girl!  I am so incredibly in love with you!

My Top 10!

As I am starting to have more friends expecting AND before I forget what I will absolutely need for baby #2 (which will NOT be coming anytime soon btw!) here is my can't-live-without mommy essentials (in no particular order).

1. Medela Pump In-Style:

It hurt so much to nurse at first that pumping sounded more appealing.....six months later I cannot wait to kick this pump to the curb.  BUT, this pump has saved me so many times.  I recommend starting to pump extra breast milk as soon as you can (at about 1 month in I started pumping extra milk after almost every nursing).  That way you can build your milk supply and start a stash that will allow you to go on date nights, have other people do feedings so you can get extra sleep, and in case you accidentally miss a pumping session when you return back to work....ugh.  

2. Yoga Ball:

Baby doesn't understand that it's nighttime.  Baby won't stop crying.  Baby needs soothed!  Bouncing on the yoga ball in the wee hours of the earlier morn was routine.  For some reason our rocking chair, bouncing up and down, or the swing was just not the same.  It really had to be the yoga ball!  Not to mention a great little work out. 

3. Lanolin Cream:

I was first applying tiny little drops.  But what you really need is to be as liberal as possible.  So buy extra bottles so you don't feel guilty!  This cream helped me to continue nursing even when I thought it was a lost cause.  

4. Comfy Clothes for Post Delivery:

Your body just doesn't feel right after dumping out a watermelon sized object.  You are sore.  And achy.  And just want to be covered in soft, warm, goodness.  I loved Gap Body clothing.  Especially things that had drawstrings or spandex.  

5. Fisher Price Rock n' Play Sleeper:

I didn't register for this item because I thought that a co-sleeper (pack n' play) would be sufficient.  But I was so so so very wrong.  Newborn babies sleep so well in this thing.  Also, you can put it next to your bed and when baby gets fussy you can just rock it a little and, like magic, baby is back to sleep and you are still half-asleep.  

6. Aden & Anais Swaddles:

They are soft, surprisingly warm, cute, and breathable. They are also the best for doing tight swaddles--which turns out to be pretty key for lengthy sleep stretches.  This was really the only swaddle we really used.  You have enough to worry about when the baby is asleep and you don't need to add suffocation to that list--so it was reassuring to know that if the baby did wiggle out of the swaddle and it covered the face there wouldn't be a problem....because that did happen more than once....

7. Summer Baby Monitor: 

Watching baby sleep is fun and reassuring.  This camera also becomes essential if you start sleep training because you need to know when baby is crying because she is about to go to sleep and when she is crying because she is pissed.  Being able to check on baby without going in the room (and waking her up) is such a life saver!

8. Chicco Snap and Go Stroller:

Talk about easy.  I wish they made one of these for non-newborns because now when baby falls asleep in the car I have to take her out of her seat to put her in the big kid stroller.....missing the snap and go.  

9. Frozen meals:

We made about 20 frozen meals before baby was born.  Nights that we were too tried to cook and after the rush of friends bringing you meals is over (those friends bringing you meals are essential too) these meals were SO crucial.  Planning ahead paid off! 

10.  Bravado Nursing Bra:

Initially I went with some cheap Target nursing bras (and I hear these are great for some people...!) but when you have as much trouble nursing as I did you need the good stuff.  As soon as I made the investment my life changed for the better.  Comfort is key when you are already tired and in pain.  

***The thing this list is missing would be family.  Thank goodness for my family because without them I don't know how I would have survived that first stretch.  Cooks, cleaners, entertainment, and baby holders while you shower and sleep are the best!  xoxo

5 months

Well, calling this last month "rough" would be an understatement.  We were sick sick sick.  Everything from diarrhea, throwing up, double ear infections, runny nose, stuffy nose, strep throat, headaches, fevers, body aches, chills, etc. etc. etc.  Do you know what parents do when they are sick?  They sleep!  Do you know what babies do when they are sick? Cry!  The two really just don't mesh all that well.  And so we stayed up with Adara at 10pm, 11pm, midnight, 1am, 2am, 3am, 4am, 5am, and then went to work.  Night after night.  We tried the humidifier, we tried propping her up, sucking out snot, giving her antibiotics.  She would get better and then get sick again.  I am hoping month number 5 will be super healthy.

But you know what?  Our babe is one happy little peanut!  Throughout it all there were plenty of smiles.  AND giggles.  She is laughing more than ever.  Especially at her puppy who she just can't seem to get over.  It almost made getting up at the terrible hours worth it when she would be screaming in pain and then see your face and be grinning ear to ear like, "You came to make me feel better! Thank you!"....or that's at least what I think she was saying...........

Towards the very end of the month Adara seemed to be getting back to normal and our pediatrician suggested starting solids due to her size (large) and the amount of breast milk she was guzzling down.   Every single day that I breast feed I pat myself on the back because producing this much milk is super tiring.  I read on kellymom.com (the site our lactation consultants told us to trust) that most babies eat anywhere from 19-30 oz of milk per day.  Well, Adara is close to 40 oz and I'm sure she would be quite thrilled to get more than that.  I wanted to wait until 6 months to start solids but given that she has doubled her birth weight (16 pounds!) and seems very interested in food we started up a baby food making factory in our kitchen.  We have large quantities of frozen pureed bags of all sorts of goodness. Pears, butternut squash, peas, avocado, oh my.

Here is the video of A eating her first bite of pureed pears (I love how she keeps looking up at me like I'm crazy and making some mistake by offering her big kid food).

Here's to your health my big 5-monther!

4 Months

We had such a big month!  Adara started "school" because I went back to work.  I couldn't be more happy with the setup.  I have been able to go nurse and play with Adara every day at lunch for an hour.  Thank goodness for this because she has so much fun with all of her friends that she is exhausted when she gets home.  She goes right to bed and I wouldn't get to see her at all during the week if the special lunch time hour did not exist.

Well, let me correct that, I do get to see her several times throughout the night because after bragging last month that Adara started sleeping through the night she decided to regress.  Some nights she would  wake EVERY single hour.  Going to work like a zombie mama was no fun.  We finally decided to let Adara sleep in her crib in her own bedroom because she seems to sleep better there (she learned about sleeping in a crib at daycare because we have always had her sleep in a bassinet next to our bed).  When we finally discovered this Adara's sleep improved (I hope I am not jinxing it by typing this...).  I guess she just needed a little more personal space now that she is a big four month-er.

In other news Adara has forgotten how to roll over.  I was so excited last month when she would spend countless hours rolling all around.  Now, she lays contently on her back and puts whatever is in reach straight into her mouth.  If something is not in reach she makes a little noise to alert us that she would like it to be in her mouth.  She can almost sit up as well.  But we have to be careful because she tends to topple over whenever her little ab muscles give out.  She weighed 14Ibs 9oz at her 4-month doctor visit and was 25.5 inches long.  Still a long and lean little thing.

Happy 4 months baby girl!