Fail

Late afternoon cappuccino + nursing  = Sleeping through the night FAIL!

4 Month Letter

Dear Mungee,

You are four months old today.  Yesterday you had your 4 month checkup and a round of booster shots. 

Weight: 15 lb, 3 oz - 95th %ile

Height - 26 3/4" - off the charts (I think they measured you a little long though).

I am washing your 6 month clothes soon.  You wore the cute 3-6 month clothes for a few weeks.  You can still wear some of them, but I think we're kidding ourselves.

We got the all clear to start introducing you to solid foods soon, although your doctor said she would recommend waiting until you're 5 months old since I'm still nursing you.  You also have a few rashes right now that need to clear up before you start eating rice cereal so we can make sure you're not allergic to it.

Your doctor thinks the rash on your chest is contact dermatitis and we're to wash you with Aquaphor Baby and lather you with Eucerin Calming Cream and hydrocortisone (2x day for 3 days).  On your head, the culprit is suspected to be seborrheic dermatitis, so we're to continue treating that with lots of moisture, ie Vaseline, and make sure we comb your hair often to remove the flakes.  It's sad to see you rake your chest with your little fingers because you're itchy.  I hope we can make you more comfortable as soon as possible.

You are laughing pretty much every day now.  You're working on rolling from your back to your front (you can roll onto your side). 

You don't like tummy time much so we don't have any rolling from front to back.  Your doctor says we do need to encourage tummy time more because you've got a bit of a flat spot on the side of your head you favor.

You raise your arms straight up at a 90 degree angle to your body.  We like to say "Gimmie a hug" when you do that and pretend that you're hugging us.

You can take toys from us and bring them straight to your mouth.  Your most favorite toys are your grab apple and bunny lovey.  Pretty much anything in your hands goes into your mouth these days.  You grab our arms when we're changing your diaper and pull them to your mouth.   You do the same thing when I attempt to clip your nails.  You even suck on my cheek if it's close enough to your mouth when I'm holding you.  You've started to notice your feet, so I am sure they will be making their way into your mouth soon too.

We are especially proud of your trick on the changing table: when we are ready to put a new diaper on you, we say "New diaper!" and you bend your legs, put your feet together and lift up your butt.

You celebrated your first Hanukkah this month. You got an adorable pink Exersaucer and we can't wait until you're sturdy enough to play in it.

You are sleeping about 8 hours a night.  Sometimes we have setbacks when you decide to wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning, but after I nurse you, you will usually fall back to sleep.  You go to sleep anywhere between 10-11:30 pm and wake up around 6 or 7 am.  You're not napping in your crib yet.  Most naps occur when we're out shopping or if we're at home, you fall asleep on me sometimes, but if I try to put you down, you'll wake up.

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving at Aunt B and Uncle D's house.  We're so lucky to have all our immediate family in town to enjoy the holidays with.

You took your first trip to the Zoo in November.  We went with your friends Z, I, H and J and their parents. We think you enjoyed it.  You fell asleep a few times.  The sun was bright overhead and was getting in your eyes.  You saw the jaguar, some giant fish (relatives of the piranha), bats, flamingos, elephants, kangaroos, the Komodo Dragon, gorillas, spider monkeys, bonobos, giraffes and a few other creatures.

Our friend Jenhappy came over at the beginning of the month to take your 3 month pictures.  (You were actually closer to 4 months when we took them though).  You're so photogenic.

You have become quite vocal.  You "yell" at us and have "conversations".  You also like to grunt a lot when you're playing with your grab apple.  We think you get frustrated because you can't fit the whole thing in your mouth.

You just keep getting more and more fun everyday.  We know you're going to be all over the place soon and we better enjoy the time we have left before you start getting into everything! 

Does anyone have a number for a babyproofer ... ?

Thanksgiving 2009

This is a bit belated but I wanted to stop to take a moment to recall all the blessings I am thankful for this year.  I often forget to reflect on these things, instead focusing on the Thanksgiving meal, but I know that is not what it is all about.

I am thankful for:

-our precious Mungee, who is growing and changing before our eyes everyday

-the ability to breastfeed Mungee and not giving up when it was too painful

-being able to stay home to raise Mungee

-my strong immune system

-having our immediate family close by so they can share in watching Mungee accomplish exciting milestones

-the love our family and friends show for Mungee

-my midwives and the nurses and staff at the hospital who helped Mungee come into this world and made sure she was healthy and strong

-DH for many reasons:

*giving us a beautiful daughter who he loves more than anything

*working hard to support and provide for us while I stay home with Mungee

*putting up with my "occasional" mental and emotional breakdowns

*the love that he has for our daughter

*never balking at a diaper change

*his humor, imagination and creativity

-being a homeowner, regardless of the fact that our house is bursting at the seams

-coupons that help us save money

-another year with Grammy and Nanny & Grampa

-my brother and new sister-in-law who were married this year

-never going hungry or without basic needs being met

-recognizing that I need to learn to let go of the small things so I don't get overwhelmed

-the Gators' winning season

-the DVR

-finally getting into the habit of flossing (because of it, my dentist says my gums look the best they have in years!)

-the crockpot

-being only a couple inches from buttoning pre-pregnancy jeans

-Chonkers cat (Luna) and the short time we got to spend with The Liger