The Life of L
Della has her own page on here, so I wanted to start one for Lana, too. This one won’t be quite as daily journal-ish as D’s is, though. I’ll use this space mainly to keep track of milestones, stats, things of that nature. Basically whatever I’d want to keep track of in a pen-to-paper journal and/or stuff that doesn’t really go in a baby book. So here we go…
October 26, 2012
First walk with Mama, Dada, and Della – early polling place, pumpkin park, Sendik’s (Della’s first walk destination too).
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October 31, 2012
Happy 1st Halloween! You wore a little “Baby’s 1st Halloween” onesie and a kitty-cat hat. 1 week-ish dr appt – already up to 8 lbs. 5 oz., 13 oz. more than you weighed at your 2 day post-hospital checkup the week before!
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November 2, 2012
First major outing – visit to Daddy’s office then lunch out at Honeypie with Mama, Dada, Grandma, and Della. Took your first bottle at lunch. Belly button scab fell off that night, looked just a little raw and sore, but a bandage helped it heal nicely by the following morning.
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November 4, 2012
First time skipping one of your nightly wake ups. Slept from just before 10 pm until 3 am. Usually you’re up to eat around 11 before the first early morning wake up.
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November 11, 2012
You slept for a 5 hour stretch last night! About 9:30-2:45. Too bad I didn’t go to bed until 11:30 to take full advantage of it. For the better part of this past week you’ve dropped your first night feeding, which had been around 11. Now you usually eat sometime between 8-9 then sleep until 1-2, with your next wake up around 4-5. I can’t wait until you start stringing a couple of those 5 hour stretches together.
For all your good sleeping, man do you wake up mad sometimes! You also still do a lot of really fast breathing, which doesn’t help you calm down at all. Your congestion seems better, but you still grunt, snort, and generally sound like an 80 year old man when you sleep. And your right eye is still goopy/watery from the clogged tear duct. Hopefully those will all subside on their own. Happy 3 week birthday!
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November 13, 2012
You just really like to wake up mad. I’m not sure why. It’s nice here. You still tend to have what I call tsunami barfs – seemingly everything you’ve ever eaten comes pouring out your mouth and nose. Fortunately when it happened today I had you near the kitchen sink, getting ready to give you a bath anyway. You have some baby acne happening on your face, too, that I’m hoping to discover how to make go away.
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November 14, 2012
The last little piece of your belly button scab came off today, and you have a very nice belly button too, just like Della. You slept another 5 hour stretch last night, too. Fortunately I took better advantage, went to bed about 45 minutes into it, and got 4.5 hours of sleep at once. Ahh… Now let’s get that up to about 8 hours in a row and Mama will be very happy. 
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November 21, 2012
Happy 1 month birthday, little one! For posterity, you are waking up twice a night right now – eating and going to bed roughly around 9 pm, waking around 2-3 to eat, and then again around 5-6 before your morning wake up around 8ish. Then you usually take a morning nap for 2-3 hours, but the rest of your day is kind of hit or miss. We haven’t quite gotten into a schedule after that first nap – sometimes you’re up for long stretches, sometimes you sleep most of the day. But one thing has become fairly constant – you do not like to be put down for long. You usually start fussing within a few minutes of leaving our arms, which tends to make for fussy days. You do enjoy being in the sling and carrier though, so I use those frequently when I need to get stuff done around the house. Hopefully it all evens out soon and you get a little happier. I’m pretty sure you don’t have colic though, thankfully. Della had dropped one of her night feedings by two months, so my fingers are crossed that you do the same. I love you dearly, but I can’t wait for longer stretches of sleep!
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November 22, 2012
Happy 1st Thanksgiving, dear little Lana! Our little turkey #2! You also slept in the crib for the first time tonight. Nighttime changes in the bassinet were just becoming too much of a pain. You did great – usual wake up schedule, and even a little longer morning sleep in for me. Thank you!
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November 24, 2012
You slept for your first 6 hour stretch last night, from ~10-4. Of course I was only in bed for 4 of those hours, but if you start stringing those together that would be great. You also took your first bath in the bathtub that Della uses today. The sink was just getting a little too cramped for you already.
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November 27, 2012
You only woke up once last night! You slept from 9:30-3, then ~3:20-8ish. I thought you were waking up around 5:30, but I just let you grunt and snort around a bit since your eyes weren’t open, and I guess it worked. Unfortunately Della woke up crying at 1 so I was still up twice last night, but hopefully we’re getting closer to dropping one of your nightly wake ups. Della had dropped one of her two nightly ones by 2 months.
We had your 1 month checkup yesterday too. The doctor said it was a perfect checkup, stats as follows:
- Weight: 10 lbs., 3.5 oz. (75%)
- Height: 21.5″ (50%)
- Head: 38 cm (75%)
No more stomach sleeping she said, though, and we need to start your vitamins. The drops are so gross though, and I’m sure you’ll hate them as much as Della did, so I’m going to start giving you 1 bottle a day to put them in it. I’ll just pump more to keep the stock up.
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November 29, 2012
You slept 7 straight hours last night! And I finally did too!!
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November 30, 2012
6 hours last night, but 2 wake ups. That’s getting better, though, so I’ll take it. You’ve been unusually non-nappy today, however, so I’m hoping that by falling asleep after eating at 7:30 you may just be out for a while. We’ll see.
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December 2, 2012
You did not end up sleeping for a while the other night. In fact, you slept terribly and woke up for your first feeding much earlier than usual. However, last night you gave us another 7 hour stretch at first, from 9:30-4:30. I was very happy with that since we were up late watching the Badgers win the Big Ten championship game to go to the Rose Bowl!! And today you smiled for the first time! A big huge gummy grin. And it wasn’t just a fluke – I’ve seen a couple more. So cute!
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December 3, 2012
You turned 6 weeks old yesterday. And you slept a 6 hour stretch then almost a 4 hour stretch. I love the 1 wake up nights.
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December 4, 2012
Another almost 6.5 hour stretch last night – bed at 9:30, up just after 3:30, up again just before 8. And your first trip to see Santa today. You slept through the whole thing.
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December 9, 2012
Happy 7 week birthday! To celebrate, you slept through almost the whole night last night. Thank you!! You slept for 8 hours, from just before 9:30 until just before 5:30. It was great timing, too, because I have my first cold of the season and needed some good sleep.
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December 10, 2012
Another 8 hour night. Excellent! Just after 9 until just after 5. Keep it up, little one!
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December 13, 2012
After two 8 hour nights in a row, you decided to go back to waking up twice. Hmpf. Actually, maybe it counts as waking up once, except I don’t get out of bed at 6:30 right now if I don’t have to. You’ve woken up around 2 and 6-7 the past two nights. Maybe the cold we’re all sharing right now is throwing your sleeping pattern off, but hopefully you’ll even back out soon.
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December 15, 2012
Back to 1 wake up. I just wish I could push your bedtime up a little. I’d prefer you went to bed around 8 instead of 10, then woke up once whenever, then woke up again around 8. Right now on nights you wake up once it’s usually bedtime around 10, wake up around 3-4, wake up again around 7-8, then take your morning nap until anywhere from 10-noon. But if you keep up that long morning nap, I’ll keep the 10:00 bedtime.
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December 16, 2012
Happy 8 week birthday! You have loved meeting Grandpa Frank this weekend and spending lots of time in his arms. We borrowed a swing from one of the neighbors today, since you don’t like to be put down or be sedentary very much, and so far you like it. You cried a little shortly after we put you in it for the first time, but once you had a few sucks on your blue you fell asleep and have seemed to be content since.
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December 21, 2012
Happy 2 month birthday, little one! We had your 2 month checkup the other day, and you’re growing so fast! 23.25″ long and weighing in at 11 lbs. 2.75 oz. Almost 2″ longer than your 1 month checkup! And I think you’ve finally dropped that second early morning wake up. So that was around 8 weeks consistently. Now you’re to bed around 9, waking around 3-4, then up around 7-8. If the wake ups happen toward the earlier end of those ranges you’ll usually go down again for a good morning nap; if the wake ups are toward the later end of the ranges you tend to stay up in the morning for awhile before your mid-day nap.
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December 23, 2012
Happy 9 week birthday! You’re starting to stay awake longer during the days, but fortunately your nights are staying really good. You had an 8 hour stretch last night, followed by 4 more hours, which was great!
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December 24, 2012
Merry Christmas Eve! I’m thrilled to be celebrating your first Christmas tomorrow!! We love you so much, little Lana.
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December 28, 2012
Its getting easier and easier to make you smile, which is so fantastic. I don’t think I’ve heard an actual non-sleeping laugh yet, but I think it’s getting close. We had a great first Christmas with you. You spent the morning in Grandma’s arms while everyone opened presents. You and she were very content and happy.
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December 31, 2012
I doubt I’ll be on here tomorrow, so Happy New Year, little Lana! Your morning smiles brighten my days, and I love you so much.
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January 2, 2013
You’ve slept entirely through the past 2 nights – THANK YOU!! I’m not expecting this to last permanently yet, but I would sure love it if it does. And thank you for choosing New Year’s Eve as your first full night of sleeping. Mama and Dada were up late!
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January 7, 2013
Well no more full nights of sleep so far, but that’s ok. At least you know you can do it now. Your daily smiles and coos are the cutest. You’re making so many sounds now, it’s great. I say you’re telling everyone your stories because your voice always goes up in this high little pitch and you open your mouth real wide. Mornings are the best – when I un-velcro your swaddle you immediately reach your arms up above your head, curl up in a ball, and give me the biggest smiles.
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January 8, 2013
2 wake ups last night. Boo. Hopefully tonight will be better.
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January 10, 2013
You must be making up for your day of crying and little sleep that was yesterday, because so far today you’ve been asleep more than you’ve been awake and it’s 2pm. I’ve been able to put you in your swing awake lately and you do a good job of putting yourself to sleep. Thank you! You’re in there now and have been for about 2 hours, which is one of your longest stretches in there yet. And you were also in there for another hour-long nap earlier this morning. I’m not sure if it’s dumb luck or if you actually know what you’re doing, but I’ve been watching you lose the pacifier out of your mouth and get it back in either with some seriously strong sucking, or getting your little hand up there to push it back in. Either way, I’m loving it. I’ve gotten so much done today while you’re sleeping!
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January 14, 2013
You discovered yourself in the mirror the other day and now you’re hooked. I hold you up in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom and I swear you could stare into it for hours. Unfortunately you could also stare at the tv for hours from your giraffe mat on the floor, but hopefully you’re just watching moving colors and faces and not actually getting hooked on the stupid box.
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January 15, 2013
You slept through the night again last night!! And a long one too – I put you in bed at 9, had to go in to calm you back to sleep around 9:30, you let out a couple little sleep cries between 9:30-10, but then I had to wake you up at 8:30 this morning because we had to go get some pictures taken. You were still totally out this morning too, so I bet you would have slept for at least a solid 12 hours or more. Let’s see if you can do that again for good now, please.
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January 16, 2013
All right, kid. Make up your mind here. Sleep or don’t sleep, but do it with some consistency. You were up another almost 2 hours last night. I even took you out onto the couch to sleep for the last hour and a half until Daddy’s alarm at 6:30, and you slept fitfully on my chest when you did sleep at all. You pooped in the middle of the night again, which probably had something to do with it, but still. How about another full night’s sleep to make up for it tonight? Fortunately Della is at daycare today so I can focus just on you, but man am I tired. I got the house cleaned this morning though, and now you’re napping on the couch so I was able to eat lunch.
You’re also getting very chatty and distracted when you eat. It’s super adorable, but I hate how long it’s starting to take to nurse you. Maybe this won’t last as long as it did for Della, which was 8.5 months.
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January 17, 2013
Up for an hour and a half again last night. Not nice.
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January 21, 2013
Happy 3 month birthday, little one! It actually seems like a long time since 2 months. Unfortunately you haven’t followed in your sister’s footsteps and started sleeping through the night yet. In fact, the past couple nights have been rather awful. Up multiple times, taking a very long time to go back to sleep. No thanks. Daddy also read today that the “running” and kicking you do can be another sign off colic. So based on that and the screaming fit you had today, we think there might be a little colic in you after all. Ah well. Guess you just want to make sure no one forgets you’re here, eh?
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January 22, 2013
I put you in the jumper for the first time this morning, since you’re so active and don’t really like to be put down on your mat on the floor for very long. You can neither sit nor stand, but I put a big throw pillow under your feet so they touched something and folded up a blanket behind your head to prop you upright, and I think you liked it. You were mesmerized by the collection of little safari animals that light up and make music that were in front of the seat, and you even bounced it a little when you kicked your legs around. I thought you would like the baby mirror the best, but you didn’t really see it yet. I feel like you need to start interacting with stuff more – feeling, touching, seeing what reactions your actions cause, so maybe this will help.
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January 23, 2013
What the hell, child? Up for over an hour and a half again last night. You’d better figure this sleeping thing out before your mama loses her damn mind. On a brighter note, however, you actually grasped your frog rattle toy and brought it into your mouth today, so there’s showing some coordination.
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January 24, 2013
Fell asleep without using the pacifier for your morning nap today. I like that. Played in the jumperoo for almost 45 minutes before said nap. I like that too.
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January 25, 2013
I think you’re getting close to rolling. Yesterday I had you on the dining room table, your favorite spot in the house, and you got almost all the way onto your side from your back. You pull your little legs up and tuck your arms in, so you’re in a little ball, then you just start tipping. You did it this morning, too, in your crib when I unswaddled you. We never did see Della roll, so if we see you it’ll be great!
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January 27, 2013
You slept through the night again last night, and I got 7 hours of sleep in a row! Thank you. Now let’s try doing this on a regular basis, please. We did take almost a 3 hour nap together this afternoon, too, which was nice.
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January 28, 2013
No sleep through last night, as I fully expected, but I was able to postpone your wake up by giving you the pacifier the first time I heard you waking at 2am. We hadn’t gone to bed until 11, so I thought that was too early. Sure enough, you went back to sleep for almost 2 hours, finally waking to eat at 4. I really want to wean you off needing the pacifier to go back to sleep in the middle of the night, though. Wonder how terrible that’s going to be?
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January 29, 2013
You spun yourself all the way around in your crib this morning between your 1:30 feeding and your 6:30 wake up. Hmm, is it almost time to ditch the swaddle? I’m kind of afraid to until you can consistently put yourself back to sleep at night without using a pacifier.
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January 30, 2013
Your first session of daycare went better than I could have ever dreamed. Today was the first day of my new job at the gym, and you and Della go in the Kids’ Clubhouse there while I work. I warned them when I dropped you guys off this morning that it was the first time you’d been away from the care of family and may need a little extra attention, but you did great! They said you were so calm and smiling at them the whole time. No crying at all. Whew!
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January 31, 2013
You are SO close to rolling over. After getting to your side on the dining room table, you’ve now started spinning yourself around in your crib at night. 2 mornings ago your head was at the opposite end of your crib from where I laid you down hours before. Now each night since you’ve spun yourself in that same direction until you reach the side of the crib and can’t go any further. This is all done still in your swaddle, too. Last night I put you on your stomach on a blanket on the floor, and you almost instantly tried to roll to your back. You got very, very close, so I think it could be any day now. Right now you’re manhandling your frog rattle that I attached to the lowest hook on your playmat arch so it’s right by your face, and you’re shoving him in your mouth.
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February 1, 2013
A new nighttime pattern has emerged recently. You wake sometime in the midnight hour, which is way too early for you to be eating again, so I give you your pacifier. You then sleep roughly another hour, to wake for a meal around 1:30-2. I still think that’s too early to feed you, but you then tend to sleep until the 6-7 hour. And fortunately (knock on wood!) the past couple nights you haven’t need the pacifier to fall back asleep after your night feeding, which I much prefer. You have awoken before 6 a couple times and won’t keep the pacifier in your mouth, so I bring you into our bed so I can hold it there until you fall back asleep. We usually get at least another hour of sleep that way.
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February 4, 2013
Operation no-more-pacifier begins today. You have become so dependent on it for sleep that I’m now up WAY too many times during the night while you try to fall back to sleep after your feeding. It’s become really annoying and I need sleep. Right now we’re on round 2 of your morning nap without using the pacifier, and I actually got you put down in your crib without you waking. The first time I tried the swing, you started crying, I let you cry about 10 minutes, then I arm bounced you and eventually stood in the bathroom with the fan running, and you were out within a minute of hearing that. So I downloaded a white noise app to my phone and put it in your crib, but as soon as I put you down you woke up completely. So half an hour later of you not going back to sleep I started over. Tried the swing with no success, tried the arm bounce with no success, thought maybe you were hungry again by then so I fed you, arm bounced you back to sleep, then put you back in your crib leaving my hand under your head for a minute once you were down so you could still feel it there. You startle so much still that maybe just having that touch next to your skin for a bit longer helped. I turned the white noise app to “womb” and put it by your head. You’ve now been asleep for 20 minutes, which is better than the first attempt. I hope you take your full morning nap now, so I can go out and shovel snow.
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February 5, 2013
I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think day 1 of Operation N-M-P went pretty well yesterday. The first attempt at your morning nap was definitely your hardest. Round 2 lasted about half an hour, then you were up for a couple hours mid-day, then you took about another half hour nap in the boppy pillow on the couch next to me around 2, then up for another couple hours, fell asleep totally on your own down on your giraffe playmat for about 45-50 minutes around 5, then another shorter nap in my arms at 8, then fully asleep and to bed at a normal 9:30ish. Except for the one nap on your giraffe mat, you did fall asleep in my arms each time, but for the first day of no pacifier I think that’s fine. And last night was one of your best nights yet. You slept until 4:30 (i did hear a couple rustlings, but you never woke before then or even squeaked), were back down slightly awake at 5, squawked a couple times, but had put yourself back to sleep by the time the music cycle on your crib mobile was finished, which I think is 18 minutes long. Great job!! I also left 1 arm out of your swaddle last night in case you needed to suck on your hand. I still don’t think you’re fully ready for no swaddle yet. Let’s hope this success continues!
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February 7, 2013
You slept through last night!! You fell restlessly asleep in my arms after eating between 8:30-9, so I bounced you for awhile until your squirms seemed to stop. I put you in your crib at 9:52, again with the 1 arm swaddle. You slept until about 7:15, and I got 8 hours of straight sleep in there. Thank you! Yesterday’s naps were fewer than the day before, but I’m not expecting any sort of schedule for awhile still until you’re totally used to not having a pacifier. But right now you’ve been asleep in the swing for 2 hours after eating twice so far this morning, so I’ll take it. I just hope my milk supply can keep up with your increased eating now.
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February 8, 2013
2 in a row now for sleeping through. I won’t get my hopes up for 3, since 2 is the most in a row you’ve done yet, but I think this is a good start for being 5 days into our pacifier-free life. Last night was ~10:30-6:10. It would have, and should have been about an hour earlier on the bedtime end, but Della had a solid hour of bedtime issues last night and Daddy still hasn’t figured out how to calm you down yet, so I had to interrupt your falling asleep a couple times. I think you like the 1 arm swaddle, too, because I can sometimes hear a little hand sucking coming from your crib. This morning you put yourself back to sleep for a nap in your crib around 7:30, before we had to go to the gym, and you took a nap there too. 2 more naps this afternoon and night before bed, so hopefully tonight is another good one.
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February 9, 2013
Bad night last night. You were up from 1-3, ate twice, and were exhausting. Sleep better tonight, please.
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February 10, 2013
Slept through again last night. Too bad I was up for half an hour with your sister. I can’t win here.
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February 12, 2013
Night before last you woke at 1, ate, went right back to sleep (thankfully!), then slept until about 8, which was perfect since that was when I needed to wake you anyway to get ready for work. Then last night you slept through again. But Della was up again in the middle of the night and early at 6:10. You guys need to agree that you’re both going to sleep through the night constantly.
I saw you suck your thumb for the first real time yesterday too. I’ve seen you get it in your mouth before, but yesterday you were actually really sucking on it. You did it again today too, so I think you might be starting to get the hang of that since you no longer get a pacifier. You’ve been “talking” up a storm lately also. Tons of gurgles now.
But the really big news is you rolled over today!! Della and I had gone into the basement to switch the laundry, and I left you on your tummy on the floor in Della’s bedroom on your little blanket. While we were down there I heard a little thunk and even thought I bet that was Lana rolling over, and sure enough, when we got back upstairs you were on your back. You little stinker! Fortunately I got the video camera going on my phone right away, put you back on your stomach, and you rolled over to your back again almost right away. So we missed your first roll but caught the second. Good job, little girl! We never did see Della roll, so this must be earlier than she did it since her first one was obviously at daycare. You can’t go from your back to your stomach quite yet, but you’re very close. I guess your days of hanging out on the dining room table are over. Boo.
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February 13, 2013
Another night of sleeping through last night. Great job, little one! Bedtime was a little rough, and I didn’t get to bed until 11, but you slept until 7am. Which actually worked out perfectly, because I got you up in plenty of time to get the 3 of us ready to go to the gym this morning. I can’t wait until we can consider this a permanent occurrence.
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February 19, 2013
4 month stats from your checkup last night:
- Height: 25.5″ (50-75%)
- Weight: 13 lbs. 8.25 oz. (50-75%)
- Head: 50-75%
You were a champ through your shots too – cried as they happened, but had stopped by the time the nurse put the bandages on and pulled your pants back up. Great job! You also slept through for a long night last night, and I got 9 straight hours of sleep. Thank you!! I don’t know when the last time was that happened, but it was perfect timing since we’re getting ready to go on a big trip today. It’s down to Grandma’s house again in a few minutes, then on your first airplane ride tomorrow. I hope you do well!
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February 21, 2013
Happy 4 month birthday! You are so active and alert now, always charming everyone with those big blue eyes. Your doctor even said you were a perfect child at your appointment the other day. Your first airplane ride yesterday went fantastically!! You got a little squawky once we were seated on the plane so I gave you a bottle, but you drank that down before we even took off so needed something else. I hated to do it, but I pulled a pacifier back out, and it did the trick. You were asleep within minutes and slept the entire 4 hour flight on Grandma’s lap. We even got diverted so had to fly twice, but you didn’t care at all. I nursed you on our short second flight, then you were awake and just looking around the whole rest of the time. Excellent job, little one!!
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February 23, 2013
3 nights in a row of sleeping through! I am thanking you and knocking on all the wood I can find!! Maybe you are finally mellowing in your old age of 4 months.
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February 24, 2013
I heard you do an actual, full laugh yesterday. I’ve been waiting for that, instead of just your single little chuckle. So cute!
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March 2, 2013
You were such a great traveler again on the flight home, little one. We were even complimented on how wonderfully you and Della behaved! Unfortunately, I think you caught a little bug around then. Yesterday and the night before last you were very hoarse when you cried and congested, so I’ve slept on the futon with you the past 2 nights. Fortunately today you sound better, so hopefully it is a short-lived thing.
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March 3, 2013
I forgot to mention, but the other night (Feb. 28) I gave you your first taste of rice cereal. You have become so interested in our food when we’re eating, I thought maybe you were ready for some of your own. You didn’t really take to it. You were more enamored with just chewing on the spoon instead of actually getting anything into your mouth. Maybe your little cold you had those couple nights didn’t help either, but I’ll wait a little while before trying again.
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March 5, 2013
I think you are definitely getting closer to teeth. You had a little diaper rash the past couple days when you’ve never had that before, the drool is still pretty constant, and your cheeks have been rosy too, which I’ve heard is also a sign of chompers. We’ll see how long it takes for these things to poke through.
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March 7, 2013
All right, bugaboo. You have not slept through the night once since coming home from Tucson, where you slept through 5 of our 7 nights there. What gives? Mama and Dada would love to get some sleep.
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March 10, 2013
20 weeks old today! But still not sleeping through the night. Boo.
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March 11, 2013
You do not need to wake up and eat every 3 hours overnight anymore. Repeat after me – you do not need to wake up and eat every 3 hours during the night anymore. Start sleeping again!
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March 12, 2013
You had, quite possibly, your worst night ever last night. I put you to bed around 9:30, you woke at 10:30, you woke at 11:30, then screamed when I put you back in your crib that time so I let you cry for about 15 minutes before finally feeding you. Then you stared crying again when I put you back down but I said screw it and just let you wail that time until you fell asleep. So I was up until after 1, you woke up again at 5:05 to eat, then Della got up at 7:30. At least you didn’t wake her up at all, miraculously. You’d better do better tonight or you will be at serious risk of being flushed down the toilet.
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March 13, 2013
You slept last night. HALLELUJAH!!! I put you in bed after eating around 8:30 so I could get Della to bed. By the time I went in there to go to bed myself around 9-9:30 you were quieting and sucking your thumb with your head faced away from your mobile, eyes closed. But you woke shortly after crying so I just fed you, more to shut you up than anything, because I didn’t really think you were hungry. This was right after I’d put Della back down after as crying spell, so I was ready for the worst. But you fell asleep, I put you to bed right before 10, you cried for a minute or two at some point within about half an hour of that so I just let you, you got yourself back to sleep and slept all the way until 7:30 this morning! Unfortunately Della slept in with me last night and kicked me all night long so I didn’t get the best sleep, but at least I never had to get out of bed. Let’s do that again tonight, shall we?
Today you started blowing actual tongue-out raspberries. So cute!
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March 15, 2013
You have now slept through the night 3 nights in a row! THANK YOU!!! Maybe you’re making up for Monday night, when you were a holy living terror. I’m not going to get my hopes up for this to continue permanently, but I’m so glad you decided to chill out this week so I could get some sleep. I now have a cold, and being a single parent to you and your sister while Daddy was gone wasn’t going too well on no sleep. I feel much better now, thanks. I have put you back in the one-armed swaddle, though, after trying both arms out a few nights ago, so maybe you do still need that. Who knows. I just like the zzz’s.
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March 18, 2013
Well, your sleeping through the night streak ended at 5 nights. Which I’ll take, don’t get me wrong, but I was really hoping it was for good this time. We got home from Grandma’s last night and you almost slept through. You went to bed at 9, fortunately did not do your hour-after-bed crying jag, but then woke at 4:30 to eat. You then slept until a little after 8 when I had to wake you up to eat before work. Not bad I guess.
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March 21, 2013
Happy 5 month birthday! You just get cuter and cuter by the day.
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March 26, 2013
You can now roll in both directions! At 5 months and 5 days, I saw you roll from your back to front today. I think you actually did it last night, because I laid you on your blanket on your back, left the room, and came back to find you on your stomach, but neither Daddy nor I witnessed it. But today I had visual proof. I was reading Della her naptime stories, and you were on your blanket on her floor on your back. I wanted to see if you really had rolled over last night. Sure enough, after a few minutes you rolled into your little bowling ball shape and quickly flipped right onto your stomach! You got so excited you started wiggling all around and “swimming” on your stomach. The funniest part, though, came a few minutes later, when you did a barrel roll – you rolled back to front to back again, then almost back onto your stomach. You were quite the roly-poly this afternoon! I think you were thrilled with your new found talent, because you did at least a handful of rolls in those few minutes of story time.
***
March 31, 2013
Happy Easter, my second little bunny! You got a little basket today, even though you have no idea what this holiday is all about. Don’t worry, I’ll eat your candy for you. You’re much more interested in your toes anyway, your new favorite toy. Between those, your hands, and your tongue, you are never at a loss for amusement. I noticed the other day that the area near the bottom knuckle of your left thumb was all red and chapped from your sucking, so I’ll put lanolin on it when it gets like that. I don’t think lotion would go too well in your mouth.
***
April 2, 2013
I put you to bed with both arms out of the swaddle tonight, because it hit me like a lightning bolt when I put you in bed last night that now that you can roll over both ways, it’d probably be pretty awful if you rolled over in your sleep and only had one arm available. I guess the likelihood of you rolling over with the use of only one arm is pretty slim, though, but still. I’ve tried both arms out before and I think you still preferred having one swaddled, so we’ll see how this attempt goes. 5+ months is pretty close to the end of swaddling time I think, but you’ve always liked it so far. You’ve also been very congested for the past week, so maybe having both arms free will make you a little more comfortable overall. I’m mostly looking forward to the weather warming up for good so we can finally ditch the space heater in our room at night; I’m sick of worrying that your little hands will be popsicles each time you wake up.
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April 4, 2013
You never cease to amaze me, you little squirm. Tonight you were on your giraffe playmat, and you rolled almost completely from your back to your stomach. You paused mid-way through the roll, though, to look up at your hanging toys and give them the biggest gummy grin you could. Such a little goofball. The past couple nights with no arms in the swaddle have gone pretty well, so I think that stage may be over. You also love to chew on your toes all the time now, something I thought you weren’t going to be able to do a few weeks ago.
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April 5, 2013
You love to reach for our faces now and try to eat them. I like to return the favor, because you are seriously so cute I could eat you up. I especially like to nibble on your cheeks and those adorable little legs when you stick them out so stiff. Baby thighs are the best things ever. And your sweet little baby breath is my favorite. However, your waking up THREE times last night after crying an hour after being put to bed again is less than desirable. So please let’s not repeat that anymore.
***
April 8, 2013
I’m not sure what the issue was this weekend, but 2 nights in a row you woke up 3 times each. Grrr. Fortunately you slept through the past 2 nights, because Della has been sick and up often again. I’ve said it before, but I swear you two conspire to not let Daddy and me sleep. Good thing you’re both so adorable.
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April 14, 2013
You are the most mobile non-crawling baby I’ve ever seen. You can manage to roll, push, and spin your way to get to anything you want. We put you down on your play mat and you are able to get all the way across the toy corner to Della’s toys. This morning I was out in the kitchen getting Della some food, and we heard her Cookie Monster toy talking, which meant you had gotten all the way over to it and pulled his arm to make him go. You crazy little bean. You also have a new hand thing – you rub your little thumb and forefinger together over and over, watching them the entire time. It almost looks like you’re trying to snap. Your activity level simply amazes me sometimes.
***
April 19, 2013
The baby jail is back out, since you are too mobile to be left on a simple playmat anymore. Every time we put you down on your giraffe, you end up all the way across the room. So playpen it is so you don’t get into something that shouldn’t find its way into your mouth. It’s not your favorite place to play, but it keeps you safe for the time you tolerate it. You do much prefer the jumperoo.
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April 21, 2013
Happy 6 month birthday, baby doll! I can’t believe you’ve been out here for half a year already. You had a fun weekend playing with Grandma, but I’m afraid you may have come down with a case of croup as your birthday present. You started a really harsh, hoarse cough this morning. Fortunately we have your 6 month checkup tomorrow so we’ll see what the doctor says.
***
April 23, 2013
I was right – it’s croup. Poor little thing. You have slept terribly the past 2 nights, spending the majority of both nights sleeping on my chest in my bed. I had to bow out of my shift at work yesterday because I couldn’t take you into the kids care room there unfortunately. You haven’t had a fever, but you did feel a little warmer this morning. Since you’re 6 months old now, you can take infants’ ibuprofen, so I gave you a dose last night after we got home from the doctor and one again this morning. You’re napping now, so hopefully you’ll get some good rest today amid all your coughs and congestion. You got your 6 month shots yesterday too, so I’m sure that isn’t helping you feel any better. I was just glad the doctor didn’t say hand, foot, and mouth, because you do have one red sore on the top of your mouth near the back. Maybe it’s just a little raw spot from coughing. Ouch!
6 month checkup stats:
- Height: 27″ (90%)
- Weight: 15 lbs. 1.5 oz. (25-50%)
- Head: 43 cm (50-75%)
***
April 29, 2013
Yesterday you had your first meal that was fully solid foods, no nursing. And apparently you were famished, because you had 3 full servings. I put a little rice cereal, breastmilk, and baby food bananas in a bowl, stirred it all up, and heated it for just a few seconds. You gobbled it all up. I ran out of breastmilk for the third serving and had to use water in that one, but you didn’t seem to mind at all. You actually got much better at keeping the food in your mouth by the end too, instead of letting it all fall out while trying to suck on the spoon. I made it a little thicker by the end too, so maybe that helped you out. I think we’ll start giving you one meal of solids a day now. Keep it there for a few weeks before bumping up to more. I’m trying to get you to stop eating at night when you wake, too, so we’ll see how quickly that takes. The night before last you went back to sleep with just your thumb, but last night you needed some milk. You went to bed early, though, so I had a feeling that was going to happen.
Today you seemed to learn how to talk. When we got home from work you were “nah, nah, nah”-ing constantly until you fell asleep for your afternoon nap. So adorable. And you were absolutely enamored with Grandpa Frank this weekend. You stared at him pretty much the entire time he was here, and you loved playing with and slobbering all over him.
***
May 1, 2013
Why aren’t you napping? Why aren’t you napping? Why aren’t you napping?
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May 6, 2013
You are so close to crawling. You now push up on your arms and rock back and forth, and today I saw you planting one foot and one knee. Too bad you then put your face down instead of getting up on your hands too, but I think it’ll be any time now. I think I also saw the tippy-top of a point of a tooth today, which we’ve been waiting for for months now. It’s the lower front right, if that is actually what I’m seeing. Your talking and spit bubbles still crack me up too. The shapes your little mouth makes are hysterical.
***
May 16, 2013
So I guess that tooth I thought I saw was a liar. However, yesterday, as you were screaming at one point, I’m pretty sure I saw the very beginnings of a couple breakthroughs. Not teeth poking up yet, but the little kind of ridge indentations that signal a tooth is on its way. I’ve heard that teeth can come up and recede as they’re coming in, so maybe that’s what’s happening in there. We shall see.
Yesterday I almost saw you crawl too. I keep saying it, but you really are the most mobile non-crawler I’ve ever seen. You got your one foot and knee planted like you have been for awhile, but instead of just keeping your head down like you’ve done so far, you started to push up on your hands like you were about to take a crawling step. But you ended up just going right back to head down, no forward movement. So close! I also saw you pull yourself along with your hands for the first time yesterday too. It now takes you honestly the blink of an eye to get from one place to another. I caught you with one leg dangling off our bed the other day as I came back from the bathroom – yikes! No more leaving you on top of stuff, that’s for sure. You always rock back and forth when you’re on your stomach and propped up on your arms too. Another way you’re getting ready to take off?
Yesterday was a big day – you had your first taste of sweet potatoes too. I baked 4 yesterday morning, then blended them up with a little breastmilk and put them in the same little single serving tupperware dishes we used when Della was a baby. I think you loved them. You ate one whole container at supper, which was about the equivalent of 1/4 of a sweet potato. I think next week we’ll start doing solids at lunch and dinner. I might try to find a homemade baby cereal recipe using oatmeal, since we have so much and your rice cereal tub is getting low.
Your talking is still so funny. The high-pitched “dis-dis”es, “ba-ba”s, and “da-da”s are the cutest things ever. I honestly don’t remember Della being so vocal. But you don’t let us forget you’re around, that’s for sure. Now let’s work on sleeping through the night again, eh? You have awoken at least once, if not twice or 3 times, per night for weeks now. I have no idea why you suddenly forgot what the night is for, you little squirt.
ETA: It’s official – your first tooth is coming in! I felt your gum with my finger tonight, and sure enough, there were the little ridges. It’s your front lower left, and it’s definitely there this time. I have a feeling its neighbors will not be close behind. And I’m afraid these suckers are going to cause you more discomfort than they ever did for your sister, which was never. Lucky girl.
***
May 21, 2013
Happy 7 month birthday, squirty pie! You are currently celebrating by sleeping next to me on the couch. So far no neighbors for your tooth, but he is definitely growing in there. Fortunately, though, I don’t think it’s causing you as much discomfort as I had originally thought it was. Yesterday I started you on 2 meals of solids a day, trying to wean down the number of times you nurse each day. Sorry, Mama’s getting sick of it this time around. You now have cereal for lunch and sweet potatoes and maybe some cereal if you’re hungry enough at supper. You tried some mashed banana last night and were not a fan. I might bake some apples and mash those up for you though, since you loved the baby food pears and apples. You still need to work on your sleep, though, kiddo. Why you have forgotten how to sleep through the night, I have no idea. I’m going to call the doctor too to see if she wants to check you out – you’ve been congested and had this little cough for well over a month now. I just want to make sure there are no ear infections running around in there, especially since you did have croup at your 6 month checkup.
