[We've been dealing with a lot lately, so please excuse the very late monthly post. And Happy Thanksgiving to all! -Lauren]
This was a month of firsts - both good and bad, my baby. Your stranger anxiety seemed to have completely disappeared and for one of the first times, you let your aunts, uncles, and grandparents really hold you and play with you at your cousin's birthday party. It felt strangely wonderful to be able to be in a completely different room for more than two minutes and not hear distressed little cries, but instead happy-go-lucky giggles and coos.
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This month was the first time you really sat up on your own. You still are very wobbly and we've had a few face plants, but those were mainly because you decided to suddenly lunge at a toy/cat/book and caught your mama off guard. You had your first real boo-boo - a little bruise on the corner of your eye (from one of those aforementioned face plants - you planted one of your pretty blue eyes right into a board book!) Although you gave your mama some seriously concerned looks, you were a big girl and let her hold a frozen teething ring on your eye for a little.
You also attended your first large wedding reception complete with loud thumping music and hundreds of people. Not only were you our charming little social butterfly the entire time we were there, but you nursed like a champ and even fell asleep in your mama's arms despite the din!
You had some fashion firsts as well - your first party dress and headband. You've gotten so many compliments on your new outfits and accessories (although your daddy would rather keep you in easy things like pants and onesies - silly daddy!)
You're still pushing yourself up onto your hands and kicking your legs, but now you can also rotate yourself from side to side. And that issue of getting stuck on your belly? Kaput. You can now roll from back to tummy AND tummy to back. You get stronger and stronger every day.
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Not-so-fun firsts included your first CAT scan (which luckily came back with a harmless hematoma - yay!) It actually wasn't too terrible - the nurses were so nice and wrapped you up like a little burrito in a thick blanket to prevent you from getting any more radiation than was necessary (and to keep your busy little body still), sang you your favorite song - The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and distracted you with toys while your mama fed you a bottle. It was all over in less than a minute and you held nice and still like such a big girl! The technicians and nurses were all so impressed and your mama wondered why she had stressed so much. Our good fortune ran out on the way home, however, when less than a mile from home we hit a telephone pole head-on, all because of a silly cat. Your mama was sore and your Grammy had a contusion from her seat belt, but thank God you were alright my sweetheart! And four weeks and nearly $20,000 in damages later, the Rav is good-as-new as well. Who knew you could do so much damage at 15 miles per hour?! Thank goodness for insurance.
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Another first that wasn't so great was your first time being sick. You had your first little cold - mainly the sniffles and sneezing. It was so hard to listen to you struggle to breathe while you slept, although you had the cutest baby snores I ever did hear. You weren't a fan of the dreaded snot sucker, and let me tell you - neither is your mama. I thought that clipping your teensy weensy fingernails was a task requiring ninja-esque skills...well trying to get a snot sucker up your teensy weensy nostril proved to require even more stealth. But we survived and you still love me (I think, I hope!) We've also been dealing with something more serious. You've been having some major issues when it comes to solid foods, formula - basically anything other than breast milk. Your daddy and I have (much to our dismay) become quite the pros in the area of projectile vomit, Pedialyte, and baby hydration. But to write about that now would take up quite a bit of space, and we're still trying to figure it all out, so we'll set aside that story for another post.
Luckily your sniffles eventually cleared up and the rest of your symptoms seemed to have subsided just in time for Halloween. We had a great day and you loved being a witch. Your daddy and I are so looking forward to sharing the holiday season with you - everything seems so fresh and exciting as we see it through your beautiful baby eyes.
Your new favorite sound this month was, "Heeeeeeeey!" One of our favorite things in the world is to hear your precious baby babble. And your giggles - well, they melt our heart. Nothing makes us happier than to see you happy. We hope that next month brings you many happy firsts and fewer of the not-so-happy ones. Thank you for being patient with us as we try to navigate the guessing game that is parenting, my precious baby.
Happy (belated) half birthday,
Love,
Mommy & Daddy