Week 37

Hello all and Welcome to Post-Natal Week 37

It has been a very fine and exciting week in Estella's world. If you recall, last week I mentioned that she had begun "crawling". Well this week she is CRAWLING. Both knees on the ground. Both legs moving with the arms to scoot across the floor. It's so cute to watch and very scary to think about. She's not moving with much speed yet but give her a week. And when she gets to her destination she immediately pulls up to a standing position holding onto whatever her little hands can find. Thank goodness she is easy to follow now. We don't allow her to pull up on much. She is also getting used to hearing the word "No" when I have to tell her that she can not use the cat, laundry basket, glass table or Daddy's computer to get to a standing position. Estella has also begun testing her strength when she tries to stand (all by herself) from a crawling position. And when she does STAND she becomes a bit of a daredevil and tries to let go and balance on her own. I'm glad that Estella didn't go from rolling over and sitting straight to walking but I have a funny feeling we are go to have a very short stay in the world of crawling.

This week Estella also managed to sit up by herself. Development is kind of funny. I would think that if a baby has learned to crawl (or at the very least to get into a crawling position) that said baby would be able to sit up on its own. Well Estella has been sitting on her own for nearly 3 months. She was able to hold a sitting position at 5 months and 3 weeks however, she has not been able to get into the sitting position by herself until this week. And she did it in Harry Houdini style.

Eric and I were getting ready for work on Tuesday. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and I think Eric was getting dressed. Estella was on her belly, on the floor, playing with some toys. I look at her from the bathroom and smile at her. She smiles back. I brush my teeth for 10-15 seconds more. I look back at her and she is sitting up with her back against the wall. I was shocked and excited all at the same time. Eric didn't see her little quick move either. And as far as I can tell she hasn't done it since, but we know she can. It's all very new and exciting for her and us.

So this past week my company has offered cash incentive for us all to get into shape. I have lost all the weight from my pregnancy but my body is now a completely different shape. I can no longer fit into pants that last year I had no problem shimmying into. It's not that my hips are wider or that my butt is bigger. It's the belly. The skin around the belly just isn't the same. Now Estella is almost 9 months old and I want to fit into my clothes this fall and winter. I think I will need to lose about 10 pounds and tighten that abdomen just to fit nicely into my old jeans. I'm still wearing a size larger then I want to and that has to change. So I have jumped on board with my company's fitness program and I plan to be bikini ready by November, Ha!

That's all for this week. We'll talk soon.

Love to you all,

Desiree