Category: monthly meredith

She:

>Weighs 18 pounds even and is 26.5 inches long, which is 75th percentile for both. She wears all 6-12 month clothes now. Nice and chubby!

>Is so grabby and purposeful with her movements now! She can pick things up, pull things toward her, and manipulate them in her hands much better. I especially love when she’s nursing, her free hand reaches up and plays with my hair, twirling it, caressing it, and eventually yanking it. However, she has also tumped an entire glass of water over at restaurants twice now. I am learning my lesson!

>Can basically sit up on her own now, although we still have to watch her because she’ll get distracted and topple.

>Makes all kinds of new sounds, and enjoys being extremely vocal when she wakes up in the morning.

>Sometimes starts crying around certain people, like David’s father and grandfather. I don’t know why she’s scared of them! But she warms up to them again very soon so it’s not too bad. It’s also unbearably cute to see her lower lip jut out when she’s afraid.

>Enjoys playing with toys (especially her new Jumparoo) and throwing them down on the ground too. She cracks up when we play Patty Cake!

>No longer sucks her two fingers. I can’t believe that phase was so short; it was the cutest thing and I miss it.

>Sits in the high chair for meals with us sometimes. We’ve tried giving her some food, and once she swallowed a bit of banana, but she’s mostly uninterested.

>Has a new baby cousin as of January 18 named Lily! I’m so excited that they’re going to grow up together and I hope they become good friends. Lily is tiny and perfect, and I absolutely cannot believe that Meredith was ever that small, and so recently.

I:

>Am dreading the start of solid foods. I keep postponing it. I want to do Babyled weaning, but even that low-stress approach is overwhelming to me. Breastfeeding (even with pumping at work!) has just been so easy for us, and even though I plan to continue for a good while I’d rather not have another thing to think about.

>Made up a little game where I say, “All aboard the Mermaid Express!” then I bounce her up and down on my knee making train sounds. She smiles every single time we start to say all aboard! She also for some reason really loves it when David sings “Mama said knock you out” by LL Cool J.

>Still love cloth diapers. We use mostly Fuzzibunz but I was surprised at how much I love the Flip system and want to get more of them.

>Have gotten serious about losing all the weight I gained, mostly because I want to fit in my old clothes again. I started counting calories a couple weeks ago using My Fitness Pal, and it’s definitely working. The first few days were SO hard, but my body has already adjusted a lot. I feel much better, am less bloated, and no longer need as much food to feel full. So far I haven’t noticed a change in my milk supply, either.

>Exercised for the first time since before I was pregnant (shameful) over the weekend by doing the 30-day Shred. I nearly passed out and am soooo sore now.

>Am still looking for a new church. We’ve tried out two different places fairly thoroughly, and neither feels quite right to us, although they both have great things about them. It’s hard because I’m ready to settle into a new place and get connected, but I want it to be right.

>Haven’t been as emotional or anxious this month as last. I think a lot of it is because I’m learning how to take care of myself better now; how to avoid my triggers and how to train my thoughts.

>Am planning on starting Project Life on my next birthday in two weeks. I’ve become kind of obsessed with it. I wish I had known about it before the new year, but I’m not going to stress. I’m just excited to get into a nontraditional, consistent way of scrapbooking that won’t take TOO much effort. The Smash Book is fun to carry around and collect scraps, and I’ll still use that for random things, but Project Life will be more of a reflection of the day to day.

>Can’t get enough of holding Meredith. Even if I just put her down for a minute, I’m always so excited to pick her back up again.

>Want to have more babies, but I kind of wish I could just have Meredith all over again.

For reference:

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Five months

She:

>Has this adorable habit of sucking on her first two fingers of her right hand and draping her left arm over her face. I think it’s our favorite thing, and it usually means she’s sleepy.

>Will suck anything in the vicinity of her face with vigor! Has no teeth yet, and seems to actually be drooling less than a month ago.

>Has become so much more interactive in the last couple of weeks, moving more, babbling more, moving purposefully more…it’s so fun. She recognizes my husband now too and looks straight into our eyes.

>Is wearing all 6-month clothes and medium cloth diapers.

>Has these nicknames: Mermaid, The Maid, Sweetie, Rooster, Baby, That Rat (my husband…I don’t know).

>Discovered her feet, and likes to grab them both at the same time during diaper changes. She also likes to violently kick both of her legs, which makes changing her difficult and bath time extremely splashy.

>Went on her first road trip, to Austin and back in the same day, and slept through all but 45 minutes of it.

>Still loves strangers and shows no anxiety about being away from her parents.

>Got sick AGAIN which is one of the worst things ever. Double ear infection this time. Took antibiotics without much of a problem once we got the hang of it.

>Is kiiind of starting a bedtime routine. After her bath I nurse her and rock her to sleep, put her in the crib, stick her fingers in her mouth, and she’s good! Then I totally bring her back to my bed when it’s time for me to go to sleep.

Crying…to smiling:

I:

>Haven’t done ANY of my Christmas shopping yet. (It’s in five days!) This is an indicator of the state of my life right now.

>Feel so accomplished when I am able to lay Meredith in her crib to sleep at night, and I still have time to myself before I go to bed. But I miss her then, too.

>Am finally to the point where I am starting to be able to think about maybe possibly cooking dinners again. But only if they’re recipes where I can just throw things in the Crock Pot and turn it on.

>Can distinguish between all her different cries now, and have named them. There is The Whine, The Attention-Getter, The Quack (this one means she’s really serious and is commonly accompanied by tears), The Hiccup (if The Quack is not promptly attended to), The Gurgle (things have gotten really out of hand), and all sorts of combinations.

>Am STILL so emotional because of her. No one should let me read or watch anything having to do with babies or children. Even if it’s happy! I WILL cry. (Example: The end of Breaking Dawn Part 1. That’s just embarrassing.)

>Am so happy I finally figured out how to give Meredith her medicine! I squirt a little in her mouth with the syringe and then stick her fingers in her mouth and she sucks. Repeat the process until it’s done.

>Feel like I’m in a constant state of unimaginable joy, but sometimes sorrow deeper than I ever expected springs up out of nowhere, as if I’m losing Meredith already. It’s probably part fear and part excessive nostalgia, but whatever it is, I don’t like it.

>Know that becoming a mom has changed and influenced me profoundly, I hope for the better.

Growing too fast!

For reference:

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Two months
Three months
Four months

She:

>Weighs 15 pounds, 3 ounces and is 25 inches long (near the 75th percentile for both)!

>Could fill a lake with all her drool (this is my least favorite part of babies I think).

>Looooves her hands, especially when they’re in her mouth.

>Also loves being naked, and is starting to actively resist a new diaper.

>Is interested in toys now! She reaches for them and stuffs them in her mouth and hugs them. So cute.

>Smiles unfailingly when we hold her up to the mirror next to our faces.

>Had her first real sickness requiring a doctor visit and time home from daycare. It was bronchiolitis and it was not fun for any of us.

>Will actually take a pacifier now, sometimes, which was a big help while she was sick.

>Does this whine/grunt hybrid thing when she’s feeling particularly needy, and it’s pretty annoying except that she’s still super cute while doing it.

>Has hair like a horse’s mane or a rooster.

>Wakes up earlier than she used to, around 5-6 a.m. She squirms, blinks her eyes, stares, and then smiles hugely when she sees me.

I:

>Have been feeling weirdly disconnected from Meredith lately and I don’t like it! Thankfully we have the long weekend coming up for Thanksgiving to spend time together.

>Heard her laugh a few times (best thing EVER), and saw her roll over once, front to back!

>Really need to go clothes shopping because it doesn’t look like I’ll be fitting into my old wardrobe anytime soon.

>Got all excited to start running with Meredith in the jogging stroller, but then realized that by the time I get home from work now, it’s already dark outside.

>Have been in the mood to finally decorate our bedroom, but don’t have the time or money.

>Love mornings with Meredith most of all, even on work days.

>Am really looking forward to the holidays with her around.

For reference:

No months
One month
Two months
Three months

She:

>Has been wearing 0-3 month clothing for awhile now, and is only just now fitting into some 3-6 month.

>Went to her first wedding! (My brother’s – can’t wait to share photos.)

>Sort of rolled over once! I wasn’t there, but my mom put her on the bed and she got from her back to her stomach by herself, with her arm caught underneath. Hasn’t happened since.

>Still hasn’t had anything other than breast milk, despite some recent challenges.

>Has really discovered her hands! She likes to suck on them, stuff them in her mouth, examine them, and grab grab grab.

>Will pretty much smile at anyone if they look her in the eyes and smile at her, but I think she recognizes David and me.

>Had her first belly laugh today, while my mom was watching her. I wish I had been the one to witness it! Can’t wait to hear it, though.

>Got her picture hung on the wall at daycare with her other baby friends, which made me really happy.

>Still has all her hair, and it’s almost long enough to pull into a hilarious short ponytail on top of her head.

>Hates being put in the car seat now, just like she hates getting dressed. Two things David makes me do so that she doesn’t associate him with them. (Not fair.)

>Still sleeps through the night, and would probably be fine in her crib now, except that I’m not ready to part with her and I don’t know when I will be and that’s just fine.

>Is a Bumbo-sitting champ, which is awesome for me when I need to get things done.

I: 

>Was proud to celebrate my three-year anniversary with David on October 3rd. We went to see my favorite band, Over the Rhine, in concert. They were opening for Lucinda Williams but we left before the main act because it was getting late, and I had to work the next day, and…we’re old and lame, apparently.

>Have been back at work for almost a month now, and have finally settled into a manageable routine. It doesn’t include as much reading, TV watching, magazine browsing, or Internet as I’d like, but I’m rested most of the time and surviving so I can’t complain too much!

>Experienced mastitis for the first time, which was AWFUL. More on this to come.

>Don’t really hate pumping as much as I thought I would, but it irritates my skin, is annoying (all the set-up and cleaning), and is hard to find time to do at work.

>Am looking forward to (and counting on) the sweet spot when breastfeeding will actually help me lose weight.

>Have finally discovered the joys of dressing Meredith up in actual outfits rather than just onesies.

>Looked at pictures of her when she was one month old, and realized how different she already looks. I love her so much now, but I do miss that tiny baby!

>Find myself getting strangely envious at times when I hear about friends becoming pregnant or seeing my sister-in-law’s expanding belly. I didn’t really enjoy the physical part of pregnancy, but the anticipation was wonderful.

>Miss Meredith SO MUCH during the day, and even when she’s sleeping! Although I don’t cry anymore when I drop her off at daycare, I still linger there a little longer than I need to every morning.

My aunt took all these pictures except the first two. I’m so grateful to her!

For reference:

No months
One month
Two months

She:

>Weighs 12 pounds 5 ounces (83rd percentile), is 23 inches long, & is quite solid.

>Cried for a solid five minutes after her 2-month vaccines and then promptly fell asleep

>Can wear some of her 3-6 month clothes already

>Gets mostly comments like, “Those cheeks!” or “Look at all that hair!”

>Has started snorting when she’s crying or when she’s excited and it’s the cutest thing ever

>Is babbling and “talking” more and more, but hasn’t really laughed yet

>Chews and sucks on her hand a lot now, which I’m trying to encourage since she still won’t take a pacifier

>Exclusively wears cloth diapers (mostly small Fuzzibunz)

>Has a constant diaper rash even though we’ve now switched to cloth wipes as well (argh – I think it might be the PUL lining & we need to change her more?)

>Will finally go to sleep by 10 p.m. if I start her bedtime routine at 7 p.m. and lay down with her (at least she’s done this three times, hoping it continues)

>Sleeps for 12 hours not including nursing

>Is starting to show interest in things dangling in front of her, and will follow us with her head and eyes

>Hates getting dressed and cries pretty much every time

>Smiles at me every morning like she’s so glad to see me again, making me melt

I:

>Go back to work in TWO DAYS OMG

>Am trying SO hard not to be too anxious or emotional about the upcoming transition, but I still am

>Have worked really hard on preparing the house, our home routines, and supplies for my return to work and Meredith’s start at daycare

>Love it SO MUCH when David plays with her and sings to her

>Am still a little bit obsessed with cloth diapers and spend way too much time researching them

>Finally broke down and bought some fat pants (a pair of jeans and capris) that are two sizes up from my norm, so I’ll at least have something to wear until I lose weight

>Really want to exercise but I don’t know how until Meredith is big enough for the jogging stroller (6 months)

>Am attempting to recap and review this season of Dancing With the Stars

>Think we’ve found a new church that I love so far

>Can’t wait for cooler weather and family walks in the evening (I hope we can fit them in)

>Absolutely love being Meredith’s mother and can’t imagine life without her