Newsletter: Month Eight

Dear Ian, Last week you turned eight months old and you wowed us by honest to goodness crawling!

You've been experimenting with locomotion for weeks now, but haven't really taken more than one stretched out lunge. Despite that limitation you've managed to cover a lot of ground and now that you've figured out how to crawl multiple steps (are they steps if you're on your knees?) the world is at your command!

We haven't baby-proofed a thing and I'm not really sure what our top priorities are. Now that you're beyond that "dog with no legs" stage (as your Grandaddy would say) everything seems like a hazard.

This past month we had to say goodbye to our elder stateshound Sarah. I knew you would never remember her but it's still sad that you both couldn't have played together more. But I admit that a small part of me is grateful to not having a crawling baby and unstable incontinent dog in the same house.

I had a whole list of things to talk about for this newsletter, but it seems to have disappeared off my phone. It's probably for the best since this recounting of the last month will do more justice as it's all seemed like a blur.

You are at a stage now when no one is as good a Mama. I wouldn't say that you're actually talking, but it certainly sounds like it when you stretch your arms out to me with tears in your eyes saying "mamamamamamamama!" I know you'll survive without me, but it's hard to not pick you up when you do that. One say you'll want me to drop you off a block from school so no one sees me, so I should cherish the mamamamama days while I have them.

So I've learned to load the dishwasher with one hand and put diapers in the dryer with one hand and read my email on the iPhone after you've gone to sleep. You're still in the bed with us each night but you've gotten more squirmy and I've petitioned your Grandaddy to make us a trapeze wire for over the bed like your Uncle Perry had as a baby.

Everyone is waiting for that first tooth to come, but nothing has shown up yet. I've stopped looking for it myself, figuring you'll let us know when it's really there.

Despite having no teeth, you're doing a fine job of trying out new foods. You've mastered dill pickle spears and mushrooms and most soft fruits. And while you'll tolerate avocado, your favorite food by far is quacamole. I can't blame you for thinking it's better with the lime and onions and cilantro and tomatoes and garlic. Needless to say, we eat at a lot of Mexican restaurants (much to your father's delight).

Every month a new aspect of your personality shows up. You are ticklish and you love to play tug of war and peekaboo. You weigh a good 22 pounds now which feels more like a million when we're carrying you around. We're still having our lunch dates every weekday at day care. Every afternoon your father asks how you're doing. Today I told him that you were asleep when I got there, a little fussy until you had some boob and then you were too busy playing with the other babies to worry about me. But then again, you still cried out for me when I started to leave. Thus is the paradox of life with you.

But we are still loving every minute of it.

Love, Mama

Newsletter: Month Seven

Dear Ian, Today you turn seven months old and you celebrated the occasion by rolling off the sofa and getting a big bruise on the side of your face. It was our first incident of being a horrible parent so far and I'm at least pleased we managed to get seven months into this without accidentally killing you.

This has been a big month for you developmentally. From the day we showed back up at day care after your six month check up the ladies were asking if we would start you on solid foods. It's been a slow start so far, with a piece of broccoli here and a nibble of bagel there. You've had pineapple, peas in the pod, guacamole, apple, green beans, chicken, edamame and strawberries so far. No significant amount is making it to your belly but you're gaining enthusiasm for it all. The strawberry adventure was probably my favorite in that I thought I was being so clever putting you in just a disposable diaper and setting you on the ping pong table but after the massacre, I wasn't sure how I was going to get you back in the house. Thankfully you still fit in the kitchen sink (barely!).

The day care ladies told me that you've started holding the bottle yourself when they feed you. I told them you must have been practicing at home because you keep holding my boob when you're nursing. Just this last week when I had to go to Harvard, your Daddy was able to see it in action, though, as he could just give you a bottle and you'd be ready to go on your own. Such a big boy!

Sitting up has been getting easier for you and rarely do you fall over. Day care did note that last week you toppled over and hit your cheek which left a tiny mark. They promised me an incident report about it but I didn't worry about it. Then again, I told your Daddy that I may need to fill out an incident report myself after today's accident.

You didn't want to sit on the floor by yourself but were happy up on the sofa with me in front of you. I was working on collecting all the tumbleweeds of dog hair from under the sofa but when I moved over to the love seat and turned my back for just a second I heard a thud and my heart sank (much like you sank off the end of the sofa). You managed to sport an impressive shiner just in time for all the families from our birth class to come over and visit. It was nice for us to compare notes on all the mistakes we've made like that, though.

When your mother isn't putting you in harm's way, you're doing a great job of working on getting your feet under you. You've just started tucking your knees under and rocking back and forth. You don't make much forward progress at all and only a little backwards progress, but it's all the groundwork for actual crawling and we're pleased as punch! Now to figure out how to baby-proof the house without fencing the dogs in too.

This also marks the month of the minivan! We took the plunge and got you a new car shortly after last month's birthday because you were quickly outgrowing the car seat bucket. It's been a life saver for us all! I love watching you just hang out in the back seat and look out the window like a real big kid. You sing along to the radio and mimic the noises we make while singing. There's definitely a lot more spit involved in your versions of the lyrics.

This month has been a lot of fun for us. Some of the previous months were significant and rewarding but this month has just been straight up enjoyable. You can sit up but can't crawl away. You know enough to interact with us but not so much that you want to disagree with us. You are toying with solid foods but we can still pack light with just my boobs to sate your hunger. It's been awesome all around. I look forward to seeing what you show us next!

Love, Mama

Newsletter: Month Six

Dear Ian, Two days ago you turned six months old and this is my favorite age! I'm sure I may say that next month and for many more months in the future, but so far these last few weeks have been awesome.

We've been struggling with your eyes not draining very well since you were just a few weeks old. The pediatrician explained that your drainage ducts just had to grow bigger to not get clogged so easily. Seems simple enough, but he didn't have to deal with the zombie eyes every morning or you waking up in distress because your eyelashes were sealed shut. The ladies at day care were very concerned that you had an infection or allergies and asked about it over and over. So I'm happy to say that all it took was one business trip away from you and I came home to a clear-eyed handsome boy!

Speaking of that business trip, this month brought our first night apart. You have literally slept tangled up with me for every night of your life so far except for April 14th. But due to some work schedules we couldn't avoid, your Daddy had to be in Texas while your Mommy was in Connecticut and you had to hold down the fort in Virginia. Your Nana and Granddad stepped up to have a sleep over with you and it worked out really well. While I missed you dearly and hoped you weren't wearing out your grandparents, I never had to worry if you were safe. I count myself so lucky to have so many people I can trust to take good care of you. Everyone survived the night of us being apart and we went right back to sleeping in one giant nest of arms and legs and diaper (and kitties). It's something I cherish every night that no matter what kind of day we've all had, we're all together as a family for bedtime. Including the world's busiest kitties.

This month heralded the beginning of horseplay. You are not so fragile like you once were. It's hard to even remember the care we used to give for keeping your head attached to your body as we now spend our time hanging you upside down and shaking you and generally doing our damnedest to separate your body parts from your torso. Sometimes I'm convinced we may succeed when we pull you up by the armpits and I hear every vertebra crack in a row. I'll gasp in alarm, expecting a yelp from you but you just look at me like, "what? you can't do that?" Babies are made of rubber.

We went to the doctor for your check up yesterday. You are 2 ounces shy of 20 pounds and 28 1/8" long, putting you squarely in the 95th percentile for height and 85th for weight. This again is no real surprise to us given our height, but it's nice to have some stats to back that up. The doctor said you are right on schedule for all your development and then asked, "and he's doing well with solid foods?" I looked at her blankly and told her we hadn't given you any food yet (well, that one piece of toast you mushed around doesn't really count since nothing made it to your belly versus the floor). So she gave us all these guidelines on what to feed you and when. I nodded my head politely for all of it but we still plan on just following your cues. You'll let us know when you're ready for food.

That's the fascinating thing is you're doing your best to communicate with us. We have babbling little conversations (that involve a lot of drool) and you are so much more involved in what we're doing.

So many things are like a switch was flipped. You were sorta sitting up for a while but "lacked yaw control" as your father says. Then all of a sudden I walked into day care last week and you were just hanging out on the carpet like a real live big kid, playing with toys and giggling. This sitting up milestone is huge! You just look like a totally different kid. I came downstairs this morning and Daddy had set you in the crib while he went to put the dogs out. I came around the corner and you were just chilling out, playing with a little mirror like you were quality control at the toy factory. It took my breath away. So I scooped you up and you giggled and chewed on your foot while I attempted to put a fresh diaper on you around that foot and we all headed out for breakfast.

It's so fun just to hang out with you!

Love, Mama