Week 46

Hello all and Welcome to Post-Natal Week 46,

So Estella walked by herself for the first time on October 6th! I had just finished feeding her at the daycare and she was playing with me and Marta, one on the lovely ladies that watches her. We were trying to get her to walk between us. At first she had no interest at all. But once we held up an ice tea bottle (I don't know why this worked, we tried toys first) she started walking. She took 5-6 steps between me and Marta a few times. It was great and so much fun. I was very proud. Later that evening Eric and I were able to do it again, but this time we used water in her cup as a motivator. It is very exciting and scary all at the same time. She doesn't want to do it all the time, it is still faster for her to crawl everywhere. Plus, I don't think she has much confidence walking on her own without holding on to anything. Estella does love it when I hold her hands and she can walk. And walk may not even be the right word for those moments because she really is trying to run when she holds my hands. She laughs and has her mouth open as if she is trying to catch the wind. It's very funny.

I admire her fearlessness. I'm slightly envious of her youth in that manner. There is something very beautiful in not knowing and just going, doing and being. All of the first, second and third times before you realize the effects of your actions. No awareness of the future a few seconds from now, just truly being in the moment. I know we all still have some moments like that in life, but really the not knowing as an adult isn't usually a positive experience. It's completely different for a baby and young children, and that is wonderful. It's why words like impossible don't make sense to children, and why should it?

`I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. `When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.' -Lewis Carroll, Alice Through the Looking Glass

I know she won't be like this forever, but I am truly enjoying her right now.

Not much to report this week. Walking is a big moment all by itself. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! The photo this week was taken by my mother's phone.

Love,
Desiree

Week 45

Hello all and Welcome to Post-Natal Week 45.

Well, she'll be 45 weeks old this Sunday. She is 313 days old today. 10 1/2 months. It's a wonderful thing.

It's been a little while since my last update. I'm sorry about that but it has been very busy the last month. So she went for her 9 month visit 9/4/09. At that time she was 17 lbs 10 ozs and 27 inches long. This keeps her in the 25th% for both height and weight. Her head is another matter. I don't remember the measurement but it is in the 90th%. She has a big noggin. Perfectly fine with me. Head size has nothing to do with brain power, but for some reason it makes me feel good.

However, the problem with a big head on a tiny body becomes clear as you watch your baby try to walk. Estella has been cruising (walking while holding onto stationary objects) for 2 months now. She does this very well and is at times shockingly fast. She also balances herself extremely well and can stand without holding onto anything for long periods of time. Estella has also taken a number of independent steps in the last 2 months, although nothing that anyone would describe as walking. Just a few steps. Recently she has become a bit of a daredevil. Three weeks ago she was cruising along a table in the daycare and moved onto a tiny kindergartener sized chair. She then decided to try to walk away, but didn't realize that she would need to let go of the chair to get to where she wanted to go. So she lost her balance, fell backwards, hit her head on the floor, and because she never let go of the chair even when falling, pulled the chair onto her face giving her a big bruise going across the bridge of her nose in between her eyes. I thought she was going to have 2 black eyes later that day. A few days later she was playing with some stackable cups. She stood next to them, pushed them over, and then toppled along with them and landed face first on the round cup, giving her a nice bruise on the cheek. Eric was sitting right next to her and couldn't stop it from happening. It was just too fast. And then yesterday she was walking along the baby bookcase at the daycare. Apparently she stumbled and fell into the bookcase hitting her cheek which then bruised very quickly. This was 5 minutes before I walked in to feed her. I could tell that she had finished crying when I came in. However, she wanted to go through the whole story with me. I sat down to hug and feed her. She looked up at me and started telling me her story, very angrily to boot. She would look at the me, say some things, look at the bookcase, say something else and then look at me again. When she was finished her story she looked up at me and started to cry. I felt so bad for her, but this was the first time that I was aware of the exact story she was trying to tell. It was very cute. The ladies that watch her were laughing because she was so vocal and focused on what she was telling me.

Estella is a little chatterbox. A lot of babies her age babble and say a few words. Estella talks. I may not understand all of what she says but she makes it very clear that she is trying to get her feelings across and that she is very serious about what she is saying. She points at things, says yes when we understand her and then continues to tell her story. She is just a lively, warm, purely happy baby. I'm sure all mothers feel this way, but I am very lucky and blessed to have her in my life.

This weekend Eric and I are leaving Estella overnight with my parents for the first time. We are going to visit 2 friends that are working together on a show. I am very excited to see them and the show but I am very nervous about leaving Estella. I know she will be fine and my parents are so excited for some extra Estella time, but I fear that I may not enjoy this time away as much as I should. We will be away for less than 24 hours and yet I dread not being there with her. And there is a part of me that feels guilty about having her stay with someone else because she is away at daycare all week while I work. I should be there for her full time during the weekend. I will get over this feeling I am sure, but right now my emotions are definitely split between the excitement of seeing friends that I miss and missing my daughter while I see these friends. Vicious little circle.

So that's about all. I will try to send another update next week. Until then, enjoy the lovely fall weather and have a wonderful week.

Love to you all,

Desiree

P.S. If you look at the photo you will be able to see the bruise between her eyes from where the chair hit her. And also, what it on the TV?!