Newsletter: April & May 2008 (E)

My Beautiful E,

April and May have been big months for our big, strong girl. In April, you turned 3 months old and we went to have our pictures taken at a local, big box store. After a long wait (despite appointment) and other assorted mishaps, we left with a minimal order which is still sitting on my desk, doomed to never see the light of day. The pictures were so disappointing of all of us, that we tried our local photographer. Her photos of you, your sister, and our family are so beautiful to me. I've uploaded them to Flickr (see sidebar) for everyone to see.

At three months old, you began sucking your thumb. You have a way of working it into your mouth using your whole hand. One day, I'll have to try and get pictures of it. I'm not sure if you'll be a thumb or finger(s) sucker, but I'm going to guess that you will as you (like your sister before you) developed a sucking blister on the center of your upper lip. This is due to your ability to do a great job nursing (Score: Mooma 1; Formula 0). It took us until late March for us to forgo the supplemental bottle and at your 4 month appointment, you were 12 lb 12 oz (85th percentile). M asked me a couple weeks ago why your knees had cracks in them. I had to explain that they weren't cracks, but dimples. You don't have quite the girth that M did, but you've since doubled your birth weight and are so beautifully healthy looking.

In April, you attended your first Ned E. Baker Lecture in Public Health with me. This is a lecture from the organization for which I used to work and it was lovely showing you off. I was particularly proud when some of the nurses looked at you and knew from your wonderfully muscled cheeks (it's not fat) that you were breastfed. It was hard work, but these last two months have been great for both of us in terms of the nursing. I'm so glad that we stuck with it.

Other funny things that I forgot about nursing (you may want to skip ahead if this is TMI) are that you like to try and wrestle with me to get to the boob. I have had to say to you (more than once) that I'm in charge of the boob and things would go much quicker if you'd let me do the job of getting it into your mouth. It would seem, however, that you have a pretty big dose of do-it-my-wayitis, so struggle we do. The other funny thing is when we're nursing while lying down (my favorite position right now), you'll throw your top arm up around my boob like you're a kid guarding the test you're taking. Either that our you'll grab my shirt and pull it down so that you're hidden. I remember M doing this as well and thinking about the odd need for stealth. The other thing that I have to try and remember to record you doing is the little maniacal laugh you do when you're really hungry and ready to eat. As I get ready and position us together, you do this little heh heh which is really funny (maybe only to me, but still....).

In May, you had two big milestones - rolling from your back to your tummy and laughing. You have (on occasion) rolled from your tummy to your back, but you usually go one way, then get stuck. The time on your tummy, though, helps you gain strength in your neck, shoulders and arms in the pursuit of sitting and moving. The other thing you'll do (back or front, it doesn't matter) is pivot yourself around and/or move yourself off the blanket. I fear that you will become frustrated at the effects of the low muscle tone, but also see you working so hard to still get to where/what you want to do.

Oh, I forgot wrestling with Chelsea and other larger toys. Oma and Opa gave you a little doll who we've named Chelsea (all people/animal toys are named in our house). Chelsea is a favorite of yours, we think because she is bright and colorful with crinkle noise in her dress. Her dress also has different textures, and a couple rattles. When we lay her next to you, you like to bring your legs up, flop them over so you get on your side, grab Chelsea and give her the what for. You will also use your legs to kick at toys and entertain yourself. You're quite the equal opportunity limb user in pursuit of your goals.

Rolling and laughing happened on the same day. Daddy had taken you in to get washed up and pjs on. As he was wiping under your chin, you giggled. It's not an all out belly laugh, but a little laugh that pops out at unpredictable times despite Daddy and I trying everything short of bringing in trained seals to perform for you. Of course, some may say that we are the trained seals, but that's for another day. In the meanwhile, we try all sorts of funny things to hear the little laugh again and I know that I feel like a hero when I hear it.

Finally, I have to say that I've come to love our Tuesdays and Thursdays together. Although I miss having M with us, I also like the uninterrupted time with you. We lie on the bed and play, play on the floor, have little adventures (fun way of saying grocery shopping), and just have time together. I only hope that you're having as much fun being my girl as I am being your mom.

Love,
Mama