7 Months

Dear Mia,

Phew, what a month!  You're still relatively immobile but not for long!  I think this time next month I'll be writing about how unprepared we were for a crawling baby!

There are a few things I've been forgetting to document, so here's a round-up of your current behaviors:  You can move easily from sitting to laying, and rolling all over the place!  You can maneuver yourself around on the floor (mostly sideways and in circles) but you're still working on forward movements.  You can pull your knees up, put your butt in the air, forehead on the carpet and rock back and forth.  Then when you get frustrated that the rocking isn't working, you flatten yourself on your belly, stick your arms and legs out to the side, wiggle them like crazy and squeal!  You can still stand like a pro but you're not moving your feet to walk or grabbing onto tables or the couch to keep yourself vertical.  You just like one of us to keep you standing!

You take 6 ounce bottles six times each day, and you eat a container or two of veggies for lunch and dinner.  It took a few tries to get you to eat your veggies but now you seem to love them- especially sweet potatoes!  You've also eaten carrots, green beans, peas and bananas.  I need to go to the store and re-stock; I think you need a little more variety.  We've also started you on cereal puffs and a sippy cup of water.

You sit up on your own- on the floor, in your stroller, in high-chairs and everywhere else!  You love to be able to watch everyone around you and be right in the middle of the action.  You're also very loud!  You laugh, squeal, giggle, jabber and yell!  I'm trying to get you to say "Mama" and you will, but I don't think you have any idea what it means yet.

You're ticklish!  We can tickle your armpits and you will scrunch up and give us a big grin.  It's like you know it tickles but you're not sure how to respond.  You love to be hung upside down and roughhouse with Daddy.

You love going for walks in your stroller, swinging on the playground, and petting the dogs.  You are still such a happy baby, and people comment all the time on how easy going you are.  Your great temperament makes it so easy to go places.  You nap when you're tired and eat when you're hungry; you don't get fussy if you're sleeping in a new place or eating outside of your highchair.  You go with the flow, and it's awesome!

You still LOVE your baths!  You can sit up in your tub now so you spend your time playing with your bath toys while we wash your hair and little body.  I'm sure you don't like getting out of the tub, but you never cry.

It's so hard to remember all of the little changes in you even from month to month because you change so much every day!  It's just so unbelievable to think how much you've grown in just seven months!  You are such a big girl!

Love,
Momma

6 Months

Dear Mia,

It's so hard for me to believe you're already six months old!  Where does the time go?  These past two months have been the most exciting months in your development because you're little personality is really starting to show, and you are such a goofball!

You make all kinds of noises now, little grunts, screams of delight and belly laughs.  You've started sticking your tongue out, and pursing your lips to blow spit bubbles.  You put EVERYTHING in your mouth including your toes, and we've caught you sucking your thumb a few times.

You love your pacifier, but you only really need it when you go down for a nap, at bedtime and if you're getting bored in the car.  You still like the toys that light up and play sounds, and like to hold your taggie blanket.

You started sitting up on your own when we were on vacation in Wisconsin.  Your Dad and I were bringing in the luggage from the car and I just sat you down in the middle of the living room... and you just stayed there!  You really developed a lot that week, I think because we were able to devote so much time to you.  We took you back to your Aunt Courtney's when we got back and said "watch out!  She's a totally different kid!"  Now that you can sit up, you enjoy larger toys like the giraffe ball popper and pretend car steering wheel.  The other day you were playing with the steering wheel toy, picked it up onto your lap and then fell right over.  I think the weight of the toy threw off your balance!

You are also getting much better at being on your tummy.  You've started to scoot around (mostly backwards or to the side) and you're starting to try and crawl.  You'll put your head down onto the carpet, your butt in the air and try to push with your legs.  You're almost there!

You still love to stand up (although you're not showing any interest in walking yet) and JUMP!  You've gone through a growth spurt these past two months and when you're in your jumperoo you can reach the floor with no problem.  You LOVE to jump, scream and jump some more!  You are hilarious to watch and we've taken some pretty funny videos of you going to town in that jumperoo.

You're way too big to sit on the counter while I get ready in the morning, so I've moved you to a stationary activity station.  I stock pile it with toys and we have little chats while I put on my makeup and do my hair.  Although the activity stand is not for jumping, you still get excited sometimes and try anyway.  You're hilarious in the mornings sometimes.

Your interest in the dogs is increasing, and their kisses make you giggle and laugh.  You LOVE swimming, walks in the stroller and just being outside.  These past two months we took trips to Michigan and Wisconsin to meet your extended family, Turkey Run State Park, Peoria, and other places.  You sleep great in the car, but we have to make sure to plan the drives for your nap times.

You sit with us in your high chair during dinner time, although you're still on a formula-only diet.  (You can hold your own bottle now!)  At your six month appointment your pediatrician said you're a very lean baby, but nothing to worry about.  She recommended we start adding cereal and then veggies to your diet, but that you still might not chunk up.  You're just meant to be long and lean!  You weigh 15 pounds, 1 ounce (26%) and are 26.22 inches long (61%).

Everyone loves you, Mia.  Every single person that has the pleasure of interacting with you thinks you are a doll, and no one loves you more than me and your Daddy.  You are the most perfect little girl and we are so in love with you, Mia.  Thanks for being you.

Love,
Momma

4 Months

Dear Mia,

You are such a joy.  This month has been by far our most enjoyable with you and your Dad and I have agreed that if you stayed exactly this age for the rest of your life we’d be ok with that.  You are just the happiest little girl, and we are loving everything about this four month stage.  You laugh and jabber all day long, play with your toys, bounce in your jumperoo and love to go on day trips.  You are back to eating and sleeping normally, you don’t freak out at 6:00 pm anymore (thank God) and you’re always smiling.  You are taking much more interest in the dogs and will pet Oscar when he’s within reach.  You also love your rattles and toys that light up and play sounds.

You’ve developed some pretty funny quirks this month: your eyebrows turn red when you’re about to get upset (we call it your “tell”), you scratch your head when you’re eating your bottle, rub your eyes when you’re tired and wave your left arm around like a lunatic when we’re trying to rock you to sleep against your chest.  Waving your arm is like your last stitch effort at staying awake.  If you could just keep that arm moving maybe the rest of you would wake up…

You sleep for 11 hours on the weekends.  11.  That’s 1 more than 10, 2 more than 9 and a TON more than the average baby.  Your Dad and I don’t dare discuss your sleeping habits around other parents because we’re afraid of the jealous daggers they shoot at us with their eyes.  You’re a rock star when it comes to sleeping, and we love you for it.  Let’s keep that trend going, ok?

You are a drooling fool.  Your pediatrician doesn’t think this is a sign that you’re teething quite yet, just a gross side effect of being four months old and putting EVERYTHING in your mouth.  You always have a hand (or two) jammed in there, along with a toy, blanket and sometimes a part of pacifier.  You’re still yanking your pacifier out of your mouth but you’ve started figuring out how to put it back in on your own.  I say “started to” because sometimes you try to jam it back in sideways and just start munching on the plastic part. 

This month you’ve become very uninterested in laying on your back.  You’ll still occasionally lay on your play mat and kick at your piano, but you much prefer to be standing, sitting in your activity chair, or jumping in your Jumperoo.  You’re not quite tall enough for the Jumperoo yet, so we have to put a pillow under your feet.  You also can’t figure out how to get the toys that are attached to the Jumperoo in your mouth.  You fall short of getting the actual toy in your mouth and instead start gumming at the seat itself.  I’ve tried to help by giving you more toys within your reach but you’ve got your heart seat on the ones you can’t really reach yet, and that frustrates you pretty quickly.

This month your Dad went on a business trip to Oklahoma and while he was gone we used Skype to video chat with him.  It was pretty incredible to watch you interact with your Dad through a computer screen.  He would talk to you and make silly faces and you would smile and coo back at him.  700 miles apart and you’re still a Daddy’s girl!

Now that you’ve recovered from your 6 o’clock meltdowns, our evenings together are much more enjoyable.  You are all smiles by the time I get home, and have started sitting in your highchair you’re your while your Dad and I eat dinner.

You had your four month appointment with your pediatrician on July 6th and you weighed 13 pounds, 1 ounce (40%) and are 24 inches long.  Your doctor is very happy with your growth and said that you are developing just as you should be.

This month we took you on your first overnight trip to Indianapolis (which was a huge hit) and we’ve spent a TON of time in Grandpa and Grandma Snipes’ pool because it’s been so hot!  Your Grandma Young came to visit again and we had a great girls day out!  Also this month you had your first haircut (GASP!)  Yes, your Dad and I cut your hair because you had lost so much already, and what was left was looking awful.  HAHA, sorry.  But you really did need a trim.  Your head is now covered with wisps of new, blonde hair and it’s so adorable.  You’re a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, baby.

Love,
Momma

3 Months

Dear Mia,

You are three months old today!  And to celebrate this milestone you have decided to stop eating.  Yep, you've just decided that you're not all that interested in taking your bottle anymore, thankyouverymuch.  I'm sure you've convinced yourself that bottles are SO last month, but unfortunately that's your only method of nutrition at this point... so we're going to have to come to some sort of compromise.  Ok?

This month you really fell into a routine and started letting us know your likes and dislikes.  Likes: kicking, standing, your morning bottle, Daddy's funny faces and silly noises, anything you can stick in your mouth, your hands, bath time, and having your cheek rubbed.  Dislikes: long car rides and 6:00 pm.

Mia, you have a serious problem with 6:00 pm.  We're not really sure what exactly triggers it, but every day at 6:00 pm you are a non-eating, inconsolable, screaming baby.  It takes a good hour to finally calm you down- a routine which includes gas medicine, 2 ounces of milk (if we're lucky), a diaper change, rocking, butt patting, and me (or your Dad) eating dinner with one hand as we balance you on our lap with the other.  I really wish we could just draw up a new clock and leave the 6 off.  It would make our days SO much more enjoyable.

You're much more vocal with coos and laughs (and cries) but sometimes you'll break into a full conversation with yourself and just go on and on, babbling so much that your Dad and I just stare at you, thinking that at any moment we're actually going to be able to understand you!  Just the other day we were all in the car on the way to dinner and you chatted the entire way there.  You've also started to mimic the noises and faces your Dad makes, which is adorable... and frightening to think that one day you two are totally going to gang up on me.

You hate tummy time, and I'm probably the world's worst Mom for not making you do it more (so sue me), but you LOVE to stand up, shake your booty, and do a great bobble-head impression.  I like to stand you on my leg and as you rock back and forth, trying to stay balanced, I say "shake what I gave ya!" and you give me a big grin.  You're so darn cute.

I may complain about your little quirks sometimes, but in general you are a very happy baby, Mia.  You like to be included in the conversation, lay on your playmat, kick your piano, and get sloppy kisses from the dogs.  You smile at everyone you meet, love to be held, and just recently belly-laughed at Grandma Snipes for the first time.  We haven't been able to get you to laugh like that since, but we're trying!  You are still a great shopper, sleeper, and don't mind being in your car seat.  You are a joy!

This past month your Aunt Kirsten came for a visit and I took you to Naperville to meet your Aunt Sue and Emily and spend some more time with your Grandma Young.  You had a great time in Naperville and got all kinds of presents.  You are so spoiled!  Your Dad and I are planning a trip to Michigan soon so you can meet all of your Michigan relatives, and we're also planning a quick getaway to Indianapolis which will be your first overnight away from home.  We hope we can add "great traveler" to your list of attributes.  What do you think?

Love you baby,
Momma

2 Months

Dear Mia,

Today you are two months old!

You still have a love/hate relationship with your pacifier, and are starting to substitute it for your right hand when necessary.  You'll spit the pacifier out and give your hand a tongue bath which is both adorable and gross.

You suffered through your first cold this month, complete with a runny nose, ear drainage and wicked sneezes. The cold didn't slow you down much during the day, but at night it turned you into cranky pants.  You would cry and cry and refuse to be soothed.  I took you back to the doctor and they couldn't prescribe anything for you other than fluids and a humidifier for your nursery.  We heeded his advice and your cold subsided a few days later.  As a result of the cold, you've become much more tolerant of the booger sucker (which is nice) and you let me clean your ears without a complaint.

You love to be swaddled in a thick, fleece blanket and held tightly to my chest.  I rock you to sleep like this for your naps and then carry you up to your nursery.  At night when you get cranky, we swaddle you the same way but instead of a smooth rock, you prefer to be jostled and have your butt patted.  I use the word "patted" because I think if I admitted just how hard you like to be smacked we might get concerned phone calls.

You still love your bouncy seat and your swing, but only if you're visually stimulated at the same time.  You are fascinated by the little elephants that hang down on the bouncy and swing, and the owls on your pack-n-play.  The other day as you sat in your bouncy you stared intently at the elephants and than started swinging your right hand wildly in their direction.  You would hit the elephant and then watch bug-eyed as it twirled around.  You did this a few times and then in classic Mia form, passed out.  You also love to look out the window, stare at lights, and even watch TV.

You've started smiling!  We can talk to you and you give us this big, tooth-free grin and we just melt.  Melt, I tell you!  You are the most adorable baby, Mia!  Your Dad makes you smile more than anyone else.  I think you're on your way to becoming quite the Daddy's girl.

This month you also started spending your days with Aunt Courtney and your cousins and sported your first ponytail.  Dropping you off in the morning is the absolute worst part of my day, but seeing you when I get home is the best part.  My world revolves around you now, Mia, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

I love you, nugget!
Momma

1 Month

Dear Mia,

You've arrived!  You're here!  And you've turned our lives completely upside down!  It's incredible to me that one little swaddled human can be so destructive to such and organized set of parents.  I mean, where does the time go?  You probably sleep 20 hours a day and yet, it seems like I'm always at your beck and call.  It's embarrassing, really, that I've been home with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since you were born (5 weeks ago) and yet I haven't even had the time to start writing in your baby book!  Or write a blog post!  Or order your birth announcements!  Or even simply print a picture of you!  And let's just say a little prayer for automatic bill pay because I'm positive I wouldn't have found the time to pay any of those... and we'd hate to lose our house at a time like this!

So needless to say, I'm a little behind.  Please forgive me.

You turned 5 weeks old today and are already a totally different person than you were on the day you were born.  You look us in the eyes, coo, burp like a 50 year old man, and when you smile (albeit unintentionally) our hearts stop.  You hate being cold and in order to give you a successful bath we subject ourselves to heat stroke and turn the bathroom into a sauna.  You love your car seat and will shop with me for hours.  You love to be swaddled and snuggled, listen to music with Daddy, and have a love/hate relationship with your pacifier.  You love it in your mouth... you hate it in your mouth... you hate that it's not in your mouth... you love that I've put it back in your mouth.  We do this all day long.

At night when we put you to bed you will fuss about the status of your pacifier (see above) but to calm you down all we have to do is stroke your hair and rub your cheek.  Sometimes we'll also swaddle you and turn on a little heater because you like to be nice and toasty.  It can take some time to get you to fall asleep but it's worth it because you sleep through the night!  You sleep from 11pm to 6am each night.  You'll never understand how incredibly amazing that is until you have a child of your own.  You think you'll be able to handle living on 3 hours of sleep until you're actually required to do so... and then it's a whole different ballgame.

You will launch your pacifier across the couch when you're done with it.  You love your right arm and always manage to break it free of your blanket constraints.  You also love to lay on your right side- a position you assume on your own at naptime and bedtime.  You started rolling over on your side at only a few weeks old and it scared the hell out of me!  I watched you do it one time.  You swung your left leg over your right with such force that it brought the rest of your left side with you.  You are such a troublemaker!  Don't you know that you're supposed to be sleeping on your back?

You hate to wait for your bottle in the morning, have the boogers sucked from your nose and are still startled when the dogs all bark in unison.  You poop when you eat- complete with grimacing, grunting and leg thrusting.  It's both the most adorable and disgusting thing I've ever witnessed.  Sometimes you poop with such force we can hear (and feel!) it.  Gross.

Over the past 5 weeks you've met most of your immediate family members including your cousins: Aaliyah; Lily, Bella and Corbin.  They all think you're pretty fantastic- along with your Grandpa Snipes, Grandma Snipes, Grandma Young and your Aunts and Uncles.  Everyone you meet comments on your full head of long, brown hair, including Lily, who insisted she brush it upon meeting you for the first time.

You had your one month check-up with your pediatrician on April 5th.  You were 21.75 inches long (77th percentile); weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces (62nd percentile); and your head circumference was 37.6 cm (66th percentile).  I didn't have any major concerns to discuss with her, other than your recovery from jaundice, and she said you were looking great.  Yay!  I also checked with her that you are eating and sleeping within the normal range (3oz of breast milk every 3 hours) and she said that since you're at a healthy weight, we're doing all the right things.  Let's keep it up!

You change ever day, Mia, and I'm so blessed to be your Mom.

Love,
Momma