Your Tenth Month - In Review

Hi Nugget,

Your tenth month was full of Fall fun! Pumpkins and leaves and colds, oh my! Oh yes, you had your very first cold this month. You had the worst stuffy nose for a few days, but we toughed it out. I learned too just how hard it is to be a mama to a sick little boy. Especially one who hasn't learned to talk! I just kept thinking the whole time what if your throat hurts, how could you tell me? What if you have a head ache? Such a nerve wracking thing that makes a mama feel helpless. After a few days of crabbiness and stuffy noses, you got better. But not before a very cute photo op occurred.

You also had some pretty awesome photo ops with your daddy. You love your books and anyone willing to read to you is A-ok on your list. At one point, this month, I put your favorite book "How Big is Baby Elmo?" on the piano bench. I think I was bringing it from your bedroom into the living room and got interpreted, leaving it on the piano bench instead. A while later, I noticed you working very hard at something over by the piano bench. You had gotten yourself into a standing position and were pushing the book off the bench. I watched you as you struggled to crawl and simultaneously push the book across the room towards me. Finally I said "Nugget, did you want me to read that book to you?" and you know what happened next? You said, "Yeah!". The whole thing was just so cute, I got down on the floor right then and we read that book together. You were one happy boy. Now, did you say "yeah" intentionally or was it just a happy coincidence that your baby-babble worked out. I don't know. I don't care either. Because with or without language, you and I were most definitely communicating.

Then we came to... PUMPKIN TIME! You had a lot of fun exploring the MASSIVE pumpkins we found. They were probably GMO pumpkins, LOL. You thought the pumpkin made a pretty good drum. Your brother Zippo thought it made a good... victim. I don't know, but he was pretty serious about his pumpkin carving! Then once your dad had his pumpkin scooped out, you got to explore the inside too! And who wouldn't have fun doing that! We made some pretty neat pumpkins. A pumpkin Fairy house, a Portal pumpkin and a very scary pumpkin with bad teeth!

Gosh, now that I write this I am realizing this month was just full of photo ops. I wanted to make sure you had the chance to play in the leaves but you had your cold during some of the nice last days of Fall. Luckily we found another day that wasn't too cold so you could play in the leaves.

Then just a few days later, it was Halloween. You were a very cute dragon and your brother Zippo was a strange mystery man that was surprisingly creepy. We went and trick-or-treated at your Grandpa's house. He said we were probably about the 12th trick-or-treaters of the ni... ever since he bought the house! He doesn't get many trick-or-treaters where he is. Then we went to trick-or-treat at Nana's. She gave you a treat! You got banana puffs since you aren't quite ready for candy yet. And you got to see your Nana, Papa and Auntie.

Then a few days near the end of your tenth month, it was time to vote! We got you a new car seat; you are growing so fast you hardly fit in the newborn one. We had made an appointment to have the public health nurse check that it was installed right because it seemed like it was wiggling too much. And boy, she worked a miracle. I still don't know how she got it in there tight enough to not move. And after that, we went to vote so you got to come with us. We vote in a fire station so you saw your very first fire trucks. And they gave you your very own 'I Voted' sticker, not for voting but just for being so darn cute.

And my last favorite memory of this month? You learning how to SLURP your spaghetti. So stinkin' cute.

Don't grow up too fast, my lil' nugget.
Love,
Mama

Your Ninth Month - In Review

Hi Nugget,

As usual, I am in a bit of shock that your ninth month has come and gone, that you are officially a full 9 months old. Baby and Me classes have started, which you LOVE by the way, but all the tiny babies in the class just remind me how incredibly much you have grown in such a short time. I think this state of shock might be a permanent fixture of parenthood. It goes so fast.

Your ninth month started out with a bang! Your first day into your ninth month we went to the Cities for a family reunion. You were passed from aunt to cousin to aunt to grandma and grandpa over and over. You had a good time, smiling at all the new people. You were quite over-stimulated but your cousin Katie managed to rock you to sleep. You liked her quite a bit! After the reunion, we went to our friend Leah's house and played with her girls and visited with one of her friends that was over. Her friend had a baby that you enjoyed hanging out with. Then the next day we visited with more friends throughout the day before we headed home.

Ok, so this next part you might find to be overshare when you are older, but I'll try to be as vague as possible. (LOL) You got an owie/scratch in your diaper area and it got a little infected this month. Why am I even mentioning this? Well, because it caused some very FUN afternoons for you. Why? Because you got NAKEY time. We spread a sheet down in our living room, put away toys that weren't very easy to clean and just let you be nakey for as much of the afternoon as possible so you could get some fresh air and heal. And lets just say, you thought nakey time was quite a bit of fun. We were lucky it was still nice and warm. It was warm enough even for you to fall asleep on a towel during nakey time. Sorry, but as a mama, I can never get enough of your cute little baby rolls so of course pictures were taken.

There were two other developments this month. The first is DUCKIE LOVE. You officially have a favorite toy. Your bath duckie that is meant to tell you if the water is too hot. Well, that duckie is around pretty much all the time now. In your crib, during diaper changes, out in the living room. It is the sure fire way to get and keep your attention. You love your duckie. I always envisioned a favorite toy being something plush that you could cuddle with, but nope - not for you. You want something bright that you can chew and slam on the ground.

Sometimes you even share your Duckie!

The second development this month is your love of the piano. Your dad will sit with you almost every day and let you bang on the keys. You even love to pull yourself up next to the piano, stretch real high and play the few keys you can reach. If this trend continues, we'll have to get you into some piano lessons when you are young. Your dad took piano lessons for 12 years. Maybe you'll enjoy continuing that tradition.

This month you also moved out of your 9 month clothes and into your 12 month clothes! We are very lucky that Auntie Alicia provided lots of lovely hand-me-downs for you. It took what felt like a week to get everything sorted, washed and put away but I think we are finally done with the great Clothes Transition of Sept. 2012.

This month also saw a transition that is a little more sad, at least for me. We've started to introduce you to formula in a bottle so we can start weaning. I love breastfeeding. I love being able to provide that for you and I am so grateful I have lasted NINE whole months! But it's time. My arthritis and psoriasis are getting worse and I need to go back on medicine soon. So although I am proud at how well you are learning to take a bottle, I'm also a little sad to see our breastfeeding days come to a close. This picture represents all the beauty of breastfeeding. All the joys of the last 9 months. The colors, the comfort, the closeness. I loved it all, Nugget.

Don't grow up too fast, my lil' nugget.
Love,
Mama

Rocking some awesome flower PJs and bunny slippers. Always stylin'...

Saying CHEESE while eating... CHEESE!

Your Eighth Month - In Review

Hi Nugget,

Summer flew by. I cannot believe we are into September already. Your eighth month was a very low-key month and I think that is exactly what it needed to be. June and July were so jam-packed with new people, new places, new bed time routines (!) that you needed this month of low-key awesomeness to get settled back into life and to really work out and master some skills (like toe-eating).

This month was full of play time, story time, cuddle time and silly time. You loved playing with all your toys this month and now that you are a professional sitter, you got to experience your toys in new ways. You have a new favorite book called "So Big." It's a baby Elmo book and at the end is a pop up of Baby Elmo going "SOOOO BIG!". We read it almost every day and you help me turn the pages like a big boy.

You love your cuddles too, especially in the morning and evening. My favorite thing in the world is to feel you lay your head on my shoulder for some cuddles. And of course, cuddle time is often followed by silly time. We will lay on the bed together and just be silly. Blowing raspberries, making faces, crawling all over the place just to tumble back onto mommy. It fills my heart, nugget. :)

 
This month you perfected your Salamander Shuffle. It has been so cute watching you learn how to explore your world. The only thing I didn't like is the few blisters (and later callouses) you would get on your feet from doing the Salamander Shuffle. You've also figured out you can pull yourself up on things! It is quite a nerve-wrecking skill and has unfortunately caused quite a few bruises, but you are fearless. Your favorite thing to climb up on are the ottomans in the living room. You'll also try and climb up on the couch. The crazy thing is sometimes you actually use your TEETH to get yourself to standing position. Luckily I've noticed you do that less and less now that you are getting the hang of it, but talk about mama-heart-attacks!

You went to another parade this month that your brother Zippo was marching in. You had a lot of fun and crashed out by the end of it. Your Auntie Mo came back from her summer job and you were very excited to get re-introduced to her. You two are already good friends again. But of course, your favorite friend remains your loving brother Zippo. He loves to play with you and make you laugh, which isn't hard. No one can get you to laugh like your brother. All he has to do is make one face or flap one arm around and you are all giggles. When you hear his voice, your head will turn in every direction until you find him. It has been so beautiful watching your relationship with him grow. I think there are many precious moments to come between the two of you.

This entry is pretty short, because like I said, we had a lovely low-key month. Your 9th month promises to hold lots of new adventures. I still cannot believe how much my heart expands every month to make more room to love every centimeter of the person you are growing into.

 

Don't grow up too fast, my lil' nugget.
Love,
Mama

You and your daddy love to nap together. :)

< rant >

I have to say... I am SO tired of being asked "So... how is he sleeping? Is he sleeping through the night?" Anyone with me on this? It bothers me that seemingly all of society wants to judge how good of a mother you are and how well-behaved of a baby you have based on this ONE criterion. And the kicker is ... there is NO GOOD WAY TO ANSWER. The way I see it, there are only four ways to answer this question.

Here's how this scenario works itself out:

You say "Yes" and are LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH and therefore contributing to the grossly inaccurate assumption that ALL babies should be sleeping through the night by 6 months of age.

You say "Yes" and mean it and are hence BRAGGING about your special/advantaged child and therefore contributing to the make-another-mama-feel-inadequate movement we see all the time these days.

You say "No" and wait for the other person to look at you like you grew a third eye (which they always do) and then suffer through some of these awesome comments "He should be sleeping through the night by NOW! Right?" (The "Right?" part kills me. Like you know the answer to that question. Yes, please put me in a position where I feel obligated to confirm I'm doing "it" wrong.) Or even worse, you'll get something like "Pssh! I TAUGHT MY kids how to sleep through the night by 2 months. I wasn't having ANY of that!" Well, I guess I forgot to buy my super-mom cape at Target. Damn it.

Or... you say "I don't know. We bed share, so I hardly wake up when he wakes up. I just stick a boob in his face and we both go back to sleep." This is usually followed by blank stares. Sometimes a nod, like I've heard that before and ok. But mostly blank stares and then the conversation moves on because they don't know how to even address that. Or you'll get a really opinionated person who will say something like "Oh, THAT'S not a good habit to get in to!" Like you haven't really thought this decision through? Sorry but if I'm throwing around terms like bed-sharing or co-sleeping, this was not a fly by the seat of my pants decision.

Anyway, here's my point. The next time you see a baby and mama and you feel the words "Is he sleeping through the night?" start to fall out of your mouth like rabbit poop. Please stop yourself. Keep that poop in your mouth and instead say something like "Wow, he looks healthy and happy. You must be doing an excellent job." Because really, what do you *really* care if my baby wakes up every hour on the dot. How does that impact you? Does it validate your experiences as a mother? No, it doesn't. And you know what, new mamas are somewhat fragile things! I know. I am one. We are fierce in a lot of ways, but c'mon, we just don't need MORE guilt when we already feel like we don't know what we are doing.

So keep those rabbit poops to yourself. New mamas deal with enough poop as it is.
</rant>

Your Seventh Month - In Review

Hi Nugget,

All the fun of your 6th month melded right into the fun of your 7th month! We were still visiting your Grandma and Grandpa for a good portion of your 7th month. On the very first day of your 7th month, we were traveling to your Grandparent's second house. The houses are a few hours away from each other plus we were dropping Zippo and Burst off at their mom's house on the way. So we made a little side trip to visit our friends L and G and their girls. You had quite a bit of fun there and who won't. They are a fun family. You even got to eat a banana on her front porch and look at all her wind chimes.

Then we finished our drive up to your Grandparent's second house and you had quite a bit of fun on the family room carpet. Their other house didn't have carpet, so you were always on a red blanket. But in this house, you could roll and play on carpet. You seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.

Grandma and Grandpa's second house has quite a bit of land, including an old apple orchard. Your dad and I took you for a walk around the land. You enjoyed looking at all the trees and tall grasses, things you don't normally get to see. Your dad, on the other hand, enjoyed putting you on top of posts. Don't worry, he never let go.

After spending a week out in the country / mountains, it was time to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's other house. My work headquarters are near there and I was going into the office for three days to meet with colleagues I don't normally get to see. That meant you and I were apart from each other for at least 8 hours for three days straight! It was not easy, at least for me, but your dad and Grandma said you had done well drinking from a bottle and eating food for them. As much as I enjoyed being in the office, I was so happy to be home each evening.

There were a few more days when Zippo and Burst were visiting. So we decided to do something as a family and go to a zoo in the area. There was a petting zoo which you enjoyed immensely. Also, the park had some rides for younger kids. You weren't that interested in the rides, but maybe in a year or so you will be. We had fun on them anyway. There was also an actual zoo, but by the time we got to that part of the park you were completely asleep. Catching your Zs comfortably in the stroller.

Before we left California, your cousins came over once more for a short visit. We were able to get some great photos of all the cousins together. And of course, we needed one more photo session with your grandparents!

3 Generations of Love

Then it was back to Minnesota where you could visit with your Nana and Papa and Grandma and Grandpa H. So many grandparents! A few days after we got back, we went out on the river again with Grandma and Grandpa H. This was a very different experience for you compared to your first trip to the river because now you could sit up on your own! Much easier to get sand in your mouth when you can sit and reach down for it. LOL!

There were a lot of little moments of fun through out this month too. And like usually, you rocked some pretty awesome outfits.

Don't grow up too fast, my lil' nugget.
Love,
Mama

All that fun just knocks you out...

... no matter where you  may find yourself.