A little over seven months have passed since you came and turned our lives upside down. And, I want you to know just what are lives are like at this point in your life...
Lately, our days start at 5:30 a.m. with you crying out for nourishment. I stumble into your room, scoop you up, and you frantically latch on and go to town. Sometimes you eat for 10 minutes and sometimes for 30. But no matter what - you always fall right back to sleep. I then, kiss your warm little cheek, tell you I love you and lay you back in your crib. Before leaving your room I check the temperature to make sure it's just perfect for you, adjust it if necessary, and head back to my own bed where Daddy is sleeping soundly. He's always so warm and that makes me jealous.
You wake again around 7:30 or 8:00 a.m., hungry again, but ready to start your day. This time it's Daddy's turn to answer your call, which is sometimes a cry, but more and more often it's the sound of you talking and trying out new sounds with your cute, little voice. We love the sound of your voice! Daddy goes in and, although I'm not entirely sure of what your routine is in there, I overhear the two of you having a nice little chat about how your night was while Daddy changes your diaper. He then brings you in to our room and as soon as you see me your grin spreads clear from ear to ear and you nearly leap from Daddy's arms out of excitement. And at the same time, my heart leaps with excitement - that you are mine and I am yours.
Daddy then lays you down next to me and you anxiously snuggle up to me as tight as a suction cup. And so your second meal of the day begins. It's this meal that you often end of spitting up a bit. I'm guessing you are still a bit full from the earlier feeding. I better figure this one out. Some mornings Daddy climbs back in bed and waits for you to finish eating so the two of you can wrestle and snuggle while I attempt to get a few more Zzzzz's.
By 8:30 a.m. we're all in the kitchen. Me feeding you cereal and Daddy cooking up some oatmeal or breakfast burritos for me and him. Lately you are pretty content to sit in your high chair for a while with Cheerios on your tray. About half of them actually make it into your mouth. In fact, just today, I told Daddy that Cheerios at this point aren't so much for your consumption as they are for your entertainment and learning.
After playing for a while in the living room with Dad, you are ready for a nap. You've been pretty good at two naps a day lately. The first from 9:30 until about 11 or 11:30 a.m. and the second one from 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. You used to go down for the night about 8 or 8:30 p.m., but this week you've started rubbing your eyes and giving all of your "I'm tired" signs around 6:30 p.m. So, a bath for you (usually with one of us, but sometimes by yourself), story time ("What Do You Love?"), prayers and then I nurse you to sleep. You've been in bed for the night lately by 7:30 p.m.
For the most part, I work while you sleep and our little routine seems to compliment us just perfectly! Since Daddy works from home too, he can usually be found shopping for bikes, building bikes in the garage or working on his website. You love to hang out in my office with me while I work or crawl around on the floor while Daddy does stuff on his computer. You are content to entertain yourself, but when either of us get down on the floor with you your eyes light up with excitement. Sometimes you hang out on my lap and do a little Pinterest perusing or quickly catch up on local news online...and of course, a quick video on YouTube here and there usually brightens your day.
You are pretty good in the car, but a sure fire way to calm you, on the occasion that you protest your car seat, is to pull out the phone and show you pictures and videos of yourself. We hope this doesn't make you self-absorbed. It's so fun to watch you intently stare at the screen. Man, do we love technology! How did they calm a restless baby in years past?
You've now advanced from rolling to and fro your choice of destinations, to doing the army crawl. You get more and more skilled with your mobility every day. You love to turn up the volume on the stereo and I'm pretty sure you think we put cords in various places for the mere purpose of enticing you. You seem to be drawn to any location that is going to end up trapping you - under the living room table, under the bed, on top of the base of your exersaucer, between the wall and the chair, under my desk...you name it...if it's a place that you can barely squeeze yourself into, you'll end up there in seconds. Oh, and we love BabyLegs. They are definitely keeping your knees protected while you scoot yourself from place to place. And, the amazing thing is, with your new-found mobility, you have not (yet) tried to pull any ornaments off the Christmas Tree. Thank you, baby!
Your teeth. We think your teeth are so cute. They made their debut right at your 6-month mark and are just now looking like they are fully in. They aren't seen all that well, as they are the two bottom teeth, but they are definitely felt. Yep. While learning to use them on Cheerios and toys, you have recently tried them out a few times while nursing. Although you do not have upper teeth, do not let this fool you. It still HURTS! And, yes, my natural instinct is to toss you across the room. But don't worry - I refrain. Say ouch. Give you a look and hesitantly offer you my breast again. I'm getting gun shy though. My goal is to nurse you for 12 months, but my Baby Bliss, you and I just might not make it that far if this nibbling continues.
Besides nursing, Cheerios and your morning cereal, you've tried several foods. Your favorite, it seems, is sweet potatoes. But you down, almost as easily, peas, beans, squash, carrots, and apple sauce. Yesterday I fed you rice and tonight I fed you hash browns. I don't want you to eat "food" too much though. I really do still want to be your main source of nutrition. Just remember - keep those teeth in check, will ya?
Since it's gotten so cold outside, your daily walks with Daddy have taken a hiatus. I think sometimes you miss them. We should really move somewhere warmer. Somewhere near a beach - for sure. Without your daily walks, we spend a lot of time inside. You love your Johnny-Jump-Up, your exersaucer, Baby Signing Time (video and CD), reading books (or pounding on them while I or Daddy read them to you), chewing on pacifiers and organizing CDs and Books on any shelf you can reach.
You've recently developed a little crush on me. I don't mind. In fact, I kind of love it. Some people call it separation anxiety. You can be perfectly fine in someone else's arms, but the second you see me and realize those arms are not mine, the lip comes out and you protest until you are enveloped in my arms. The arms that rock you to sleep at night. The arms that can't possibly stretch far enough to show you just how much I love you. The arms that never, ever want to let you go. Thank goodness you also like Daddy's arms...'cause he loves you BIG TIME too!
We love your laugh and we love it even more when we are the reason you are laughing. And that little lip, the one you stick out when you are about to cry, we love that lip just as much as we love your laugh. We find it quite amusing, in fact. And that little lip makes us laugh, and then our laugh makes you laugh. Ah...the circle of life.
You, my baby, are the joy that I never knew I was missing. Even after spending just a minute with you, everyone comments on what a happy and beautiful baby you are. Imagine what my life is like, being in your presence always? Bliss, I tell you, absolute bliss.
