All Decked Out

We trimmed our tree. And then we trimmed you.  

 

Happy holidays!

And thanks Aunt Lara for the new duds!

The Ninja Feed

As quietly as it came, so it leaves. The Dream Feed. I liked to think of it as the Ninja Feed, because of all the sneaking about it entailed. Sometime between 10 and 11, armed with a Maglite, one of us would creep into your room and ply you full of milk. A midair refueling, basically. It happened to me often in college, but the ninjas tanked me up with beer and left Dorito crumbs in the bed. Anyway, I always felt I was violating you somehow, so I’m not going to miss it. I much prefer rubbing your little head when you eat. But should you ever be afraid of something in your room at night, I’ll be lurking around the corner ready to kick some ass.

Strange Growth Patterns

You were born with a full head of hair. Then it started falling out and rubbing off in patches. And now, it’s started to grow in again… which has left you looking like a little ragamuffin. Long strands sticking out here and there with bald patches and little stubbies. Here’s a few photos to illustrate my point:

From Mommy and Daddy

Last Friday, you turned five months old. Happy Birthday, tyke!

During a conversation mommy had with a friend whose daughter is a couple of months younger than you, she realized how much has been forgotten about the past 4 months of your life – what you learned and when. We couldn’t remember when some milestones had occurred and many of the neat little things you had learned each month. So, we’ve decided to write a summary of sorts each month to help us relive all of your wonderful moments.

This month’s theme: sleep. At the beginning of the month, you were having problems making it through your naps. After 45 minutes, you would wake up and wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. We spent hours next to your crib, calming you and helping you through this transition. And then finally, your little thumb stepped up to the plate and took over. You are now sleeping through your naps and for about 10 hours each night. And you’re also back to being our happy, well-rested, bundle of joy. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely times that our patience was put to the test, but it’s also been an amazing experience to watch this evolution.

A Letter from Mommy:

There are a couple of things that really stand out. This month marked one of the best when it came to breastfeeding. From about the time you were 4 weeks old, nursing has been a struggle. We were constantly trying to find the right position and timing. But, all of a sudden this month, the struggles were gone. These moments we spent together nursing will be ones that I always treasure. I absolutely love welcoming a new day with you in my arms and scooping you up after each nap to nurse; it’s such a wonderful break in my day. I love how you pause, look into my eyes and shoot me the biggest little grin. I never would have thought that this would be such an important part of my life and my relationship with you, but it truly is. I know that this will likely change again and it won’t last forever; one day, I will have to wean you. Until then, I feel like I was given a true gift this month and I thank you.

The other is this wonderful familiarity you have with me. It’s hard to explain exactly what it is, but it’s the moments that you instinctively reach for my fingers while I’m changing your diaper. Or how every time I burp you, you rub your forehead onto my cheek and then I kiss you behind your ear. And how you investigate my fingers so thoroughly when you sit on my lap; you are entranced with my wedding ring. It seems we have such a rhythm and there is a predictability in our interaction. And maybe that’s all that it is – we are now interacting with each other.

You have become a little human. It’s hard to imagine that just a few months ago you couldn’t even hold your head up without our help. Now you can sit in our laps and you absolutely love to stand up and explore the world around you, however unbalanced you are. You love to be sung to, which is unfortunate since your mother was not gifted with the ability to carry a tune. You have started to voluntarily reach out for objects, not just toys that we hand to you. You spend a lot of time squealing and talking to yourself and it progressively has gotten louder during the month; you will carry on full “conversations” with us. And I predict that Santa will bring you toes to suck on, as you are starting to hold your legs straight up instead of straight out and have explored those little piggies a few times. It won’t be long before they end up in your mouth, much like everything else.

This morning I was thinking how amazing it will be to witness your transformation into childhood and then adulthood. What kind of person will you be? What traits will you inherit from your father? From me? It is with much anticipation that I await your first words and first steps. Until then, I take much pleasure in watching you light up when you see “puppy!”

Love, Mommy

A Letter from Daddy:

Here’s the metaphor for Month 5. You are a dance. Up until November, you were the Foxtrot, marked fluidity, continuity, and a steady glide. Then you went all freestyle on us, sending your mom and I scrambling to the dance books. We poured over the footprint patterns looking for your moves, so we’d stop getting tangled. We saw a little Rumba here, a bit of the Lindy there, and some really awful modern jazz, but clearly none of these were entirely you. The closest we found was the Merengue. So we studied the steps, posted cut-outs of numbered feet on the walls. We were committed. A few weeks of practice, some tweaks to our footwork, and we’d all master the Merengue. We are not Latin dancers, The Olivets. We danced a horribly contorted Meringue that left us sore and humbled. You, however, were not noticeably bothered. You continued on with your shimmy-shimmy here and shake-shake there. So we got up and followed your lead. And now we’re dancing again, baby.

p.s. I wish I could wrestle more big giggles from you. I’ll keep working on it. In the meantime, I can live with those wide grins you flash me when I’m talking to your mom about nothing in particular.

Visions of what I had longed for…

Blizzard Baby Buggy Bumpers

After bundling up in the last winter’s heavy snows, it seems many stripped down and got busy; nine months later, they’re busy bundling up their newborns: Denver’s Blizzard Babies. First they were clogging the hospitals, now they have infiltrated the daycare centers. Rates are up and waiting lists are growing.

Upon hearing this, Mommy and Daddy faced the inevitable. We would have to pay our $75 registration fee and reserve a  crib for you. I called early last week and was told they still had room and would be happy to take you and our money, though they couldn’t guarantee a view. By Thursday, they called back to say there was only one spot left. Mommy didn’t want to hear that. Damn it, that meant she actually would have to go down there and sign you up.

So, off we went. You were oblivious… I believe still star struck from seeing Santa earlier in the day. Me? I couldn’t get out of the car I was crying so hard. But, I finally went in and told them we were looking at starting sometime in January. The nice lady asked me if I meant January 2?

No.

January 7?

No.

When were you thinking?

January Never, actually.

So… we’ve committed to nothing except some time in January. I know that I need to just set a date and move on, but I can’t. I’m not sure what I’m waiting for… what I think will happen to change the inevitable…

Until then, I’m going to cherish every single moment that I have with you here, because I know they are numbered. And I’m going to always be thankful for the fact that I got to spend an entire 6 months with you before we had to do this.

I know a lot of mommies aren’t as lucky.

I mean, look at that. If that ain’t luck, I don’t know what is.

No, really, any finger will do

A Vee Bit of Geiger in Ya

See that? You’ve started to sprout some golden hair.

Rules of Engagement

Ahhh, the hand. The fingers. The thumb.

It’s the moment we have been waiting for a long time - they finally soothe you when you sleep. I can’t tell you what a big event this is. When you wake, you can now settle yourself (more times than not) by sucking your thumb or fingers. This means we don’t have to swaddle you so tight. Which means you don’t have to wake up and try to figure out the fastest way to break loose of your fabric prison.

This new phase comes with some new issues, though. Therefore, I’ve decided to put together the Top 3 Rules of the Hand:

1) Use to Soothe, Not to Purge
You gag yourself every single day and you have purged at least three full meals. This is not good usage of the hands… don’t shove it down your throat, son.

2) Boob, Bottle or Thumb
There is no combination of the above that works while your eating. You must select one at a time. If not, your tummy is just going to fill up with air and then you’re going to throw up on me. Again.

3) No Need to Share, Really
Under no circumstance is it cool to take the spitty mit from your mouth and put it directly in Mommy’s mouth. No. It is disgusting. I know you find my teeth fascinating, but you can’t just switch back and forth from mouth to mouth as you please.

All in all, the first time you put yourself back to sleep with your thumb was such a big moment in our lives. For months, those hands and arms have flailed around either waking you up or giving you shiners. So the other morning at 4:30 when you took hold of that thumb, closed your eyes and fell asleep, your daddy and I went back to our room to catch a few more hours, too. We left you knowing that you had just taken a giant step down your long road of independence. Way to go, little one.

Star Struck

This last week we took you to go meet The Big Guy: Santa Claus. We’re unsure whether you had a great time or if you were just so overcome with joy and excitement that all your circuits shut down, because this is pretty much your expression in every picture. Either way, we’re pretty sure if you could talk you would say:

 ”Why are Mommy and Daddy waaay over there jumping up and down making faces at me? I don’t get it.”

When we were leaving, I told Creepy Mall Santa that all you want for Christmas is a million dollars. We’ll see if the big guy can deliver…