My baby (17 months) is starting to really talk. She’s stringing words together and her first sentence was a question: “Where’s Papa?” She asked this every morning while we were in Florida two weeks ago and her Papa was still sleeping.
Now, she uses the same phrase for her sister, brother, Daddy and me. She’s also started saying the word “go” with a question emphasis. If she drops something, she holds her hands out and says “Go?” She also says:
“side” when she wants to go outside
“Duicy” when she wants juice
“Paba” for peanut butter (a favorite food)
Cheese
“Mo” for Elmo
“Bop” for Baby Bop
“Dude” to greet her brother in the morning
No
“Shym” for Gym
Mine
Toes
Eye
Nose
“Beddie” for belly
One of the many joys of having this baby is getting to relive and reminisce these fun times with my older children. Hearing her say “mine” reminds me of my son’s first use of the word. He was completely MY baby until he was about 3-years-old and he was very possessive of his Mommy. My DH used to tease him by putting his arms around me and saying, “My wife.” So, my son responded by hugging my legs and saying “Mine ife.”
Similarly, the baby’s desire to go outside constantly reminds me of my teen’s toddler days. She often used what my husband refers to as “Jedi mind tricks.” She’d repeatedly ask us questions that she wanted us to ask her. “Want to go to the park? Want to go to the park? Want to go to the park?” Finally, we’d say, “Do you want to go to the park?” And she’d say, “Okay,” as if it was our idea and we were twisting her arm.
Just before falling asleep last night, my husband and I were talking about what an adorable child this baby is, which led us to discussing favorite memories about the other two kids. I remembered bringing my oldest to our bed in the early morning hours to nurse, and then waking up several hours later with her sound asleep between us, her blond curls sticking to her head and her fat little fists tucked up under her chin. I remembered my husband carefully, excruciatingly slowly lifting my sleeping son from our bed and trying to transfer him to his own crib. The instant he felt the emptiness of his crib, he’d begin wailing and I’d eventually give in and bring him back to the curve of my body.
I’ve said it before and I’ll write it again — it’s all going way too fast. It went too fast the first two times, and even though we’re more careful to live in and relish the moments this time around, those moments seem to move at warp speed.
PLEASE NOTE: This blog has moved to www.fromthemom.com. Please leave comments on the new site.
My baby is 17 months old, and I promised myself (and my husband and my teen) that I would begin weaning her when I returned from spring break in Florida.
My teen wants me to wean the baby because she finds the whole breastfeeding thing a little embarassing now that DB can walk. My husband wants me to wean her because “if not now, then when?” He keeps referring to some ridiculous story about a kid from Kentucky who was breastfeeding and smoking at the same time. Whatever! Then again . . . . well, I shouldn’t insult my husband’s Kentucky roots.
Only my 10-year-old son seems to understand why this is hard. It’s almost like he remembers how special that time was when he was a baby. I weaned him at 14 months and I know he doesn’t remember. I know it’s only his kind-heartedness and empathetic nature that makes him melancholoy about his baby sister being weaned. But it’s still nice to have someone on my team.
I tried to keep my promise. I cut out daytime feedings starting last Friday and was trying to nurse DB only in the morning and at bedtime. My plan was to do that for a week, then cut out the bedtime nursing and then the morning one. But yesterday, she had a bona fide “drop and flop” tantrum in the middle of the day. First, she gave the nursing sign. Then she fussed loudly. Then she cried and pointed to our green recliner where I usually nurse her. Then she combined all of the above, but added some screaming into the mix and real alligator tears. I offered her sippy cup. I offered to hold her while she drank from her sippy cup. When I tried to hold her, she just threw herself backward, trying to get into the “nursing position” in my arms. It was just too sad. I caved. Actually, I caved with my husband’s encouragement. He said, “Nurse her if it will give her some relief.”
So, I’m back to square one. I’m not sure how I’m going to accomplish this. I’m not the La Leche type. I love nursing my babies, and I’m sorry that season in my life is about to be over for the last time, but I’m not militant about it and I know it’s time. I mean, I don’t want her smoking and nursing at the same time.
For new Moms in the St. Louis area who want to exercise but aren’t ready to leave baby in the gym nursery, why not try a Mommy & Me Pilates class?
The Scoop- A Pilates Studio in Webster Groves — is hosting a Mommy and Me Pilates class on from 2 – 2:45 p.m. March 15 and March 29. The cost is $10/class. The studio address is 8136 Big Bend Blvd., Webster, 63119. Or go to www.TheScoop-APilatesStudio.com.
My baby’s not a baby anymore. She’s a full-fledged 16-month-old toddler who is always on the go. That made these pictures all the more difficult, because she was pretty much running at the lady behind the camera or bolting off to explore the outlets and electrical cords.
Yes, her toe nails are painted pink. Her nails, too, but you can’t really see that. Yes, it was very difficult.
In addition to running all over the place, she’s saying lots of words now — Mama (my fav), Dada, Sissy, BaBa (Bradley) Gigi (Ginger), Bye, Hi, Out (outside) Shoe, Keys, Bow, Hot, Oops, Shym (Gym) Nana, Papa, Gaga, Dog, Bird, Caca (cracker), sch (school), No (only a few times and not my fav).
I’ll say it again (and again and again). It’s going WAY TOO FAST!
My DB is 15 months old and she’s only been sick twice. That’s a great track record — much better than either of my older children and much better than most of the babies I know. So I’m really not complaining. But she woke up with a fever on Wednesday and she pretty much cried anytime I wasn’t holding her. Then she woke up and cried about every 90 minutes last night. Again, she’s a 12-hour-a-night sleeper and has been since 3 months, so I’m not complaining (don’t hate me because my baby’s a good sleeper). But it made for a long night and a tired Mommy.
This morning, when the fever was just as bad, I took her to the doctor. Of course, she’s contracted a virus and there’s nothing that can be done for her. Doc says she’s got a sore throat. “Give her Tylenol. Make her comfortable. Call if she develops a rash, gets dehydrated, grows a new limb. Yada yada yada.”
So, I got to spend a lot of time holding her today, too. She felt pretty lousy, didn’t want to eat, didn’t feel like playing, and cried like I’d cut her leg off when I put her down long enough to go to the bathroom or fix something to eat. Thankfully, she napped for a few hours this afternoon and I got to run on my treadmill and get some work done. And my DH even let me take a nap when he got home.
I don’t enjoy her being sick, and I don’t enjoy being tired and not getting anything done. But I did enjoy holding her today. Our cuddle time has been pretty limited since she learned to crawl and even more rare since she started walking. And I know it’s just a matter of time until she completely weans herself (or my family pressures me into weaning her). I hope she sleeps better tonight and I certainly hope she’s back to her pleasant, smiling, active self tomorrow. But if she’s not, I’ve got a lap that will be empty soon enough.
My baby was impressed with the white stuff on the grass outside the window today, and in short order, was demanding (by banging on the window by the front door) to go outside.
We had a few snows last winter, but she was too little to experience them. So, this was her first real snow. She did great until I was busy taking video of my son sledding and I neglected to see that she’d done a face-plant into the snow (something I DIDN’T get on video). That pretty much ended her fun, but here’s a video/picture documentary of her first snow experience.
Her snowsuit is one of the items I saved from my older daughter. I absolutely loved it and couldn’t part with it once DD had outgrown it, so it was placed into the box labeled “clothes I can’t part with.” Now I’m so glad I held onto it.
Congratulations to Danielle, winner of the Wee Baby Hat Giveaway. Danielle told us in Comment #16 that she will be giving the hat set to her sister-in-law who is due next month. If you didn’t win and would still like a Wee Hat for yourself (or a friend), be sure to visit Wee Baby.
Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. Keep checking back, as I’ve got an exciting new contest coming up that involves winning something that will help you personalize your car, minivan or SUV.
I’ve decided to participate in a “365 Days of Grace in Small Things” project because I think it’s really healthy and helpful to remind ourselves of the things for which we should be thankful. So, I’m going to start posting a list of two or three (or more) things that have graced my life, either on that day or at any time in my life. Feel free to join me. You can get the cool badge you see above here.
I suspect it may take me more than a year to complete 365 posts of thanks, because sometimes life just gets in the way of blogging. So, when the 365 Days of Grace category in my sidebar shows 365 posts, I’ll consider it a success.
Grace List (these things aren’t such small things, but they’re a great place to start):
A wonderful husband who rises at a dreadful hour each day to support his family.
A cool teen who is growing into an amazing young lady.
A kind-hearted son who is a lot like Dad.
An amazing baby who is keeping me young and makes me smile.
These hats were inspired by Paige Brown when she could not find stylish hats ot fit her newborn baby’s head. The Wee Hat is the perfect size for a tiny newborn and it fits a baby up to about two months old. Plus, it’s much more stylish than those pink and blue striped hats everybody gets at the hospital.
The Wee Hat is made from a cashmere-like cotton sweater yarn that is very soft, and it doesn’t have any scratchy seams or tags.
The hats come in pink, green and blue box sets that sell for $35.
The Blue Box Set that I'm giving away
You can also buy the hats individually for $12, but you have to go to the product index on the site to find that option.
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below as to why you’d like to win and whose head you would be keeping warm and stylish with the Wee Hat. You can get an extra entry by subscribing to my feed. Be sure to leave an extra comment when you do that. And also make sure you leave a valid email address so I can notify you if you win.
This contest is open to continental U.S. residents only and it ends at 11:59 p.m. Jan. 22. The winner will have two days to respond to the email notification with an address where I can send the hats or a new winner will be chosen.
This is a mantra that I need to repeat in my head often. Enjoy her. Enjoy her. Enjoy her. A clean house never made it onto anyone’s most-cherished-memories list.
You’d think that this time around, I wouldn’t need to remind myself of this. I’m older and wiser and I KNOW how fast her babyhood/toddlerhood is going to pass. It’s already whizzing by before my very eyes. But there I was today, whining to some friends on Facebook about what a mess my house is. And then a friend reminded me to “find the joy in it” and remember that I’m sending my first “baby” off to high school next year. It almost made me cry.
So, I banish thoughts of:
Dirty dishes
Stacks of laundry waiting to be folded
Dusty furniture
Floors caked with yogurt and cracker-crumbs and mashed bananas
Packages of diapers emptied and strewn all over
Drawers emptied of all contents
Clothes pulled off hangars
Wastebaskets full
Toilets that need scrubbing
Shower stalls that need de-molding
Windows the need washing
Instead, I’ll focus on this:
Do you mind if I play with this?
And this:
And this:
Would you read this to me again?
There. I feel better. She is a gift. She’s an amazing blessing. Now, I’ll go listen to the lyrics of my favorite Pooh song:
