Hello All and Welcome to Post-Natal Week... She's 21 Months Today

Hello all.

It has been quite a long time since I have posted here. Turns out that babies take up a lot of your extra time. Who knew! All kidding aside, life has been very busy. Growing child, new job, new commute, and just a desire to send most of my time with the special people in my life and not writing about it. But I have missed these recaps more and more as the months have gone on, so I've decided to start again. And maybe you'll be kind enough to read along.

Well, she's 21 months today and it's absolutely scary how fast it has gone. I'll soon be planning her 2nd birthday party. I'm still absolutely amazed at everything she does and all the milestones she hits. I can tell you that she knew all of her colors and would identify them for me by 14 months, she could point out animals (dog, cat, duck, bear, horse, cow, rooster, sheep) and tell me their sounds by 16 months, she knew her basic shapes by 18 months and started counting to 10 on her own at 20 months. Her vocabulary is shockingly vast and sometimes a little scary. She can put together sentences and phrases and thoughts. Now I wish I could claim responsibility for all of this. However, I believe the daycare she is in is where she learns all of this. I try to help in my way, but really, it has to be the daycare. This all leaves me proud and frustrated at the same time. I'm so excited to watch her grow and I love how fearless and inquisitive she is however, because she spends so much more time with the ladies and children at the daycare then with her parents I feel I can't label her achievements as an influence of mine or Eric's for that matter. Yes, I know she learns things from us as well, but let's face it, I have her for 3 hours a day. Pitiful. By the time I pick her up at 5:30 or 6pm, we have to get home, make and eat dinner, play, and go to bed. Eric gets her ready in the morning because I have to leave the house by 6:45 every morning. So the quantity of hours is by no means close to that of the hours the lovely women of the daycare have her. That doesn't mean that I don't recognize the advantages I have over the other women that have her. When she's with me she gets me all to herself. We have special songs that we sing together. I know her tickle spots like no one else and I know what soothes her when she is sad. We play games and dance and swing. She's a little daredevil, to my delight and chagrin. I've seen scaredy-cat toddlers and she is not one. She's brazen, proud and full of life. This I know she gets from her parents. These are characteristics I can see in both me and Eric, and I'm pretty sure that this is spice that rubs off on her on a daily basis. For that I am proud, and I claim it as mine. She may have learned most of her ABC's in the daycare, but she sings it boldly, calmly, shyly, loudly and shamelessly because I am her mom and Eric is her Dad.

I didn't want to deluge you all with an incredibily long post. So we'll leave it at that. But I will be adding to this with more consistancy going forward. The photo is a few months old, but it's one of my favorites. Love to you all.

Desiree

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?!

Week 40

Hello all and Welcome to Post-Natal Week 40

Well everyone, the past few weeks have been extremely busy. Estella is a moving machine! I thoroughly enjoy playing with her when she is crawling and walking all over the floor. She prefers to be standing and walking around the couch and ottomans that we have, but crawling is just fine in a pinch. We've been playing a game where she crawls away from me and I crawl up behind her and give her a tickle. It's one of our favorites! She laughs and laughs, it's just great. Eric and Estella have started going to the playground without me the last few weeks. It gives them some much needed Daddy/Daughter time. Estella becomes so attached to me after we get home during the week that it is difficult to easily get her to go to Eric. Going to the playground has definitely helped that issue. And she loves the swing! Eric says she laughs and smiles the entire time.

So an interesting (to me, probably not so interesting to you all) moment passed this week. On Tuesday, August 25, Estella was 39 weeks and 2 days old. That is the exact length of time that she was in the womb when she was born, 39 weeks and 2 days. This was special to me and I wanted to make a note of it. A total of 550 days. I think that's pretty cool.

Something else that struck me the last few weeks was how someone's birth story (whether their own or one they've experienced) stays with them at all times. Now I have written at length about my own personal thoughts and feelings concerning my pregnancy, labor and motherhood. These topics are "of the moment" and important to me and I am sure to other people as well. (Probably not MY personal experiences, their experiences, but you know what I'm getting to) However, I was caught off guard last week when another woman in passing mentioned her son being born 2 months early. We weren't speaking about premature babies, birth stories or anything of the sort. She had just introduced me to her 13 year old daughter. I asked if she had any other children. She said, "I have a 12 year old son, he was 2 months early, but he is fine now". Amazing. Because when she made that statement it was clear to me that although he is now 12 she was transported to his birth and all of those emotions and thoughts. It was quick and if I wasn't paying attention I may not have noticed, but there was this very raw look that flashed over her face for just a moment and then it was gone. She could have easily just said to me that she has a son, but she added the part where he was born premature. It is an integral part of her story and had to be mentioned with just the fact of him.

I have recently begun taking yoga classes. I love them and I am very excited to go again tomorrow morning. For those of you that have never done a yoga, at the end of the class there is a period of time that is used for meditation and relaxation/reflection. It's funny the things that run through your head when you are trying to clear it of everything. Estella's birth has been floating through my head. My water breaking, contractions, going through transisition. I never get to the moment of her birth. The goal is to keep the mind clear so I keep trying to push these images away but they continue to pop up. Even though I am just about 40 weeks past her birth it is the first thing that my mind goes to during meditation. All the milestones she, we, have made in the past 9 months are important, but her birth is the singular game changer. And like the woman that told me about her premature son, Estella's birth stays with me and it is just the fact of her that I come back to in my relaxed, (supposedly) clear of thought state.

Estella is teething again. She is fine during the day but when it's bedtime it is quite obvious she is in pain. I feel so bad. I do everything I can think of to help her through this, but the teeth just have to come through. Once that happens she will be able to sleep again, her nose will stop running and Mommy might get to sleep through the night too. Hopefully we will see the teeth in a few days.

I hope all of you are doing well. Happy Birthday Aunt Alice and Tiffanie! Have a wonderful weekend!

Love to you all,
Desiree

Week 38

Hello all and Welcome to Port-Natal Week 38

In the course of a weekend Estella went from crawling to standing to wanting the walk on her own. Three days later she took her first step. Thank goodness she hasn't been able to master the walking yet. However we all know it is only a matter of time. My once spacious house now feels like a gauntlet of hurt and destruction when I think of Estella navigating herself through the obstacles. My glass coffee table (with the curved edges and is protected in some IKEA plastimetal) is now a danger to which Estella in inextricably drawn. I just envision her banging her hands and toys on the table and it just shatters into hundreds of glass shards. Obviously the glass table is no longer in my living room.

I crawl on the floor with Estella and I am constantly finding things that have fallen to the floor that can be picked up and easily swallowed by a curious 8 month old. It is amazing to me how often I am taking small objects off the floor. Just last night I noticed the small bell from my cat’s collar had come off and would be keenly lying in her eyesight had she just turned around a little bit. I was so glad that I saw it first. And Eric always has coins falling out of his pocket. I find them on the couch and floor on a nearly daily basis. I think I am going to put a jug by the front door so that he has to empty his pockets of all coins before he gets to comfortable on the couch. We’ll see it that actually works out.

This weekend we are taking Estella to the beach for the first time. It’s only for the day and I have no idea how well it is going to go. I’m slightly nervous about driving all the way there to find out that Estella is very unhappy in the sun, sand and ocean. Maybe we should hedge our bets and go to a beach that has a boardwalk with rides. We can find some baby rides for her. She’ll probably have a great time and I’m worrying for nothing. She’s a very happy baby 95% of the time so the odds are on my side that it’ll be a good day. And Eric is just itching to get to the beach so he’ll be happy as a clam.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and I hope to see all of you soon. Thank you for indulging my need to gush about my daughter in these updates!

Love to you all,

Desiree

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

Week 36

Hello all and Welcome to Post-Natal Week 36,

Estella is now 8 months old. She will officially be 36 weeks on Sunday, 252 days old. Time flies! I started doing these updates a year ago when I was 20+ weeks pregnant. She is now just a wonderful little girl that makes my day, every day. 250 days young today.

So, there are some new developments in my lovely little girl. First, she has two new bottom teeth. I would say they first cut through about 3 weeks ago. I am so happy that they finally broke through so that she can sleep better now. Also, she has begun to "crawl". Well first she started twirling to get to where she needed to go. This is still her preferred mode of travel. She sits on her duff and just spins around to move across the floor. When you can get her to go on her belly in a crawling position she eventually just ends up on the floor pulling forward with her arms and using her feet as flippers. I think it's very cute and funny. Eric and I bought a very large area rug for our living and dining rooms so that when Estella is practicing her crawling she isn't doing it on the hardwood floors. It's also easier on mom's knees too, as I often find myself on the floor with her. Last weekend she mastered the Mamamamamama syllables and the next day she said Dadadadadada. Very cool. This past Tuesday when I picked her up from daycare she looked at me put her arms up and said "Mama!". I was so excited. It wasn't a continued babbling like she normally does with her syllables, but a pointed "Mama". How fabulous is that?! Then on Wednesday while she was in the daycare she pulled herself up into a standing position from a sitting one all by herself. The wonderful women that take care of her said they found her standing next to the other babies. She was very proud of herself for a few minutes and then started to fret because she couldn't figure out what she was supposed to do next and didn't think about just sitting down. Now she has pulled herself up on me for a long time and I usually give her a slight assist by moving my hands as she is trying to stand. This was the first time she did it all be herself. I am so proud!

Everything is going well on the family end too. I am still breastfeeding, although she is eating baby food as well. Between pumping and feeding it is still 6+ times a day. It's a commitment, and I hate pumping, but it is something that I will continue to do for a while longer. I would like to get to a year with the breastfeeding. It's still the best thing for her and I believe that it is one of the reasons she's been a healthy baby. This is not saying that she hasn't caught a cold from the daycare, but she hasn't been bothered by ear infections or anything too long term. Eric is working on some beautiful projects this summer. You should be able to check them out soon on his website http://www.ericokdeh.com .

Updates on Estella Likes and Dislikes: Top 5

Likes: 5. Taking walks in the stroller, 4. Being thrown in the air by Daddy (to Mommy's dismay), 3. Petting (hitting really) the cats, 2. Her toys. This week Glo-Worm is her favorite 1. Tickles and Laughs with Mommy and Daddy
Dislikes: 5. Getting her clothing changed, 4. Any delay in feeding, 3. Being put down for a nap when she isn't ready, 2.Teething, 1. Not being next to Mommy once we get home from work/daycare. She screams when I pass her along to her Daddy. We are dealing with a little bit of separation anxiety.


This is about all for now. I don't have much to report in terms of weight and height. I would guess she is around 16 pounds. I won't know for certain until her next dr appointment on September 4 when she goes for her 9 month checkup. However I do want to say "Hello!" to all the lovely little babies that have been born since I last wrote to you all. It's been a very active 7 weeks or so in my family and social circle! 4 new Mommies and Daddies with 5 Brand new babies! So wonderful. So congratulations to Sarah and Jorge, Jill and Danny, Julie and Mike for their little girls Mia, Julia, Mackenzie and Jocelyn (twins!), respectively, and to Michele and Jay for their strong little boy Jude. I am so excited for you all, and I am also very pleased that Estella is going to have such wonderful friends as she grows up!

Attached you will find a picture of her at 8 months.

Love to you all,
Desiree