Seven Months

Dearest Leah,

This past month has brought mammoth change and acceleration to your abilities, and obviously a lot of firsts. You’re sort of eating food and drinking like a champ from a sippy cup, which is remarkably exciting to see but it makes me sad and feeling like you’re two shakes from telling me about the great apartment you found and the tattoo you’ve been hiding for the last few weeks. It’s hard not to feel like time is running away with you already.

Let’s start with your hands. You have suddenly discovered your hands and will spend several minutes flipping them palm up, palm down, palm up, palm down, while staring intently. Your thumb has become an integral role in self-soothing and an aide in your falling asleep. But the cutest part is that you HAVE TO have some piece of fabric in your little hand to hold up close to your face while you suck your thumb. So when I swaddle you I pull a portion of the blanket up to your face before I wrap the rest around your body. Man, I love that.

You, my love, are also a ROCK STAR when it comes to sleep. It’s easy to tell when you are getting tired, you start to whine just a smidge and I immediately scoop you up, wrap you in your swaddle – both arms out now that you are rolling over in your sleep – and then set you in the bed with your sound machine. You cry for half a second then grab your blankey and your thumb and roll right over. I feel like a jerk telling people about this, because I know plenty of moms who are pleading with the universe to get their babies to just sleep for a six hour stretch. And you sleep about an average of 12 hours STRAIGHT each night. I think it helps also that I got you some darker curtains, and a blackout shade for the side that faces East. And also, they’re purple; which serves as the first gender specific item I have bought for your room.  (Everything was neutral since we didn’t know if you were a boy or a girl before you were born)

Swimming. You went swimming for the first time this month and you did so great. You seemed a little suspicious of the water at first, but then again you seem suspicious of a lot of things. New people, your reflection, sweet potatoes... As we waded along together in the pool, you just seem mostly content. And I couldn't help but smile ear to ear about it. Your dad and I decided to splurge a bit and enroll in weekly Parent & Me swim classes. They start next month and I am SO excited!

Food stuff is not going as well as I'd hoped and warrants a post of it's own in the coming future. But I know you'll get better about it. Eventually. 

I think you're starting to figure out that crying gets you stuff. And whining will at the very least get my attention. That feels like a one way street to attachment parenting, whether I like it or not. Good thing I do. When you're tired or teething or not just feeling well you turn into my very own little barnacle and go with me EVERYWHERE in the house. And you hate it when I sit down. I have to be walking around  holding you. It's like you already know how lazy I am, and your dad has bribed you into keeping me busy all the time. I wish my back wasn't so lame, because I would do it much more willingly. But the stabby pains unfortunately overrule even you. 

So my love, things are pretty much fantastic with you. And I am loving every single second of parenthood. Every day with you is more amazing than I ever could have imagined. Thank you for that. 

Can't wait to see what the next month brings.

Love,

Momma