38 In, 38 Out

    

38 weeks pregnant - late July 2011

When I look at this picture, I'm still stunned with disbelief at what was going on inside my very own body. What a miracle it is!! I always told Ben that I felt like I knew Charlotte way before she was born.  I could sense little details about her personality, recognize patterns in her behavior (the way she'd get all riled up at night & then I'd fall asleep to her hiccups), an overall feeling of connection. 

You can read all about what was going on with me at 38 weeks pregnant here.

38 weeks old - late April 2012

It's crazy how familiar she is - from the inside out! The first time she had hiccups after she was born I couldn't believe it - it felt exactly the same as when I was pregnant! The way she stretches on her changing table after a really good nap, the way she nuzzles her head into my side when we're cuddling or playing on the floor, the way she gets all excited & shakes all around... they all feel so familiar. I could tell early on that she had a sense of humor - and BOY WAS I RIGHT. The girl is funny! If you haven't met her yet, I hope you get to soon! She loves to play hide & seek. Ben & I take turns crawling around behind furniture & she comes crawling after us, squealing with delight when she finds us. "Oh, you found me!!" Ben shouts as she giggles & moves in closer for a kiss. LOVE THEM BOTH. 

She's been out for almost as long as she was in... does anyone know how to slow down time???? 

Toys That Aren't Toys

Anyone who has kids can tell you that they love to play with anything & everything that's not meant to be played with. Some of my favorite childhood Christmas memories are of the good times we had playing with the boxes our presents came in. Nothing beats filling a giant box with pillows, climbing in, and then having your brothers take turns pushing you down the stairs in said box.

I thought it'd be fun to show you all some of the "toys that aren't toys" that Charlotte loves to play with. Of course her favorites are remote controls and cell phones, but we try to keep them safe from destruction. Ben found an old remote, took the batteries out, and now it's hers. When I get a new phone next month, my old one will become hers.

This week, her favorite items from around the house have been this take-out bowl...

Using a baby spoon to mix up some cake batter, I presume...

And accessorizing! 

and Ben's iPod case. He took the iPod out of its case to charge & play music in our iPod radio & left the case sitting on the end table. She's been dragging it around ever since. 

Anything within her reach on the furniture is fair game these days. We had to put our nice ceramic coasters away & pull these cheap-o safari guys out so that she wouldn't hurt the tabletop (or her little fingers) banging them around. 

Can't wait to see what else will show up as a toy that's not a toy! 

Quick!!

Charlotte's in this amazing stage where she is interested in EVERYTHING and is able to satisfy her own curiosities due to an increase in gross and fine motor skills. It's amazing watching her learn these new skills, but a little scary, too! We have to keep such a close eye on her since she's all over the place. 

She's learning how to "throw" things. You'll see her in the first couple of seconds throw her bird toy on the kitchen floor. She also likes to "throw" balls and socks and other toys back and forth and then chase after them. The most impressive part of this first video is her crawling. The girl has come a long way in a week! 

Charlotte's also learned how to pull herself to kneel or stand along the sides of her crib. More impressive is her ability to snatch things off of her nightstand (okay, okay, it's a TV tray... ) and bring them into her crib. You'll see her swipe a pacifier off the table, but I'm not kidding when I say I watched her pull a book into her crib today. She grabbed it, couldn't get it through the slats, so she TURNED IT SIDEWAYS and got it through!! Is it just me, or is she a genius!?!? I know babies do this stuff, I'm just shocked she's doing it at 8 months old! Not to worry, nothing harmful is kept within reach. The books will be moved, too, after receiving a warning from my friend Jessyca about babies eating board books(?!).

One giant nuisance about her newfound mobility? Diaper changes. The girl will. not. sit still for a complete diaper change. And forget about wardrobe changes! Charlotte had a little mid-diaper-change accident on her changing table this afternoon, so I laid a blanket down on her floor, set her down there, and tried to re-diaper & clothe her there. Well she scurried away from me while I was cleaning up the changing table cover & putting her soiled clothes in the hamper. Clearly, Ben doing laundry was much more fun than getting dressed! 

You're funny, Charlotte. And that's just one of the many, many, many reasons we love you!! 

8 Months!

This post is several days late, but Charlotte is 8 MONTHS OLD somehow!!! 

              

 

Charlotte has had a BUSY month. Ben was out of town for a few weeks in March, which meant visits from grandparents! Grandma Val was able to get away & stay with us for almost a full week, Grandpa Jim & Uncle Joey stopped by on their way to Bristol for a night, and then Grandma Linda & Mr. Ron stayed for 3 days on their way to visit friends in South Carolina. We're so lucky to have family willing to pitch in & care for Charlotte while Ben works. I also was able to take a couple days off to spend with her & I LOVED IT. 

Charlotte has learned SO MUCH. She is in constant exploration mode & learns something new each day. Some of what she's learned during the last month include include:

*sitting up from laying down 

*waving

*clapping

*playing peek-a-boo

*high fives

*pulling into kneel position

*pulling up to stand

*standing

*using fingers on lips to make b-b-b-b-b sound

We're currently working on blowing kisses. She can make the hand motion, but hasn't got the lip smack down yet. :o)  She's also just starting to crawl with her belly off the floor. She'll take a few crawl "steps," but sticks to army crawling for longer distances.

Also, she sprouted 2 bottom teeth!! 

We were able to make it up to IL to spend a few days around Easter with family. Wow Charlotte has come a loooooooong way in her tolerance for car rides - especially the 400 miles to IL! She did great! Everyone was thrilled to see her! Straying from her regular routine - including sleeping in her pack n' play instead of her crib - put a tiny dent in her usual sunny attitude, but overall she was AMAZING. She just loves to play, explore, giggle, and wiggle!  

Things My Mom Never Told Me: Hair

I had read about postpartum hair loss, but was surprised when my hair started to come out in clumps around 4 months after Charlotte was born. I guess I just thought I was going to shed a little bit in the weeks after having her. People don't tell you that it comes out in crazy amounts! I had hair tumbleweeds in the house, had to unwind fist fulls of hair from around the vacuum cleaner, and let's not even talk about the shower drain. No, it's not glamorous and it has nothing to do with the cute & cuddly baby, but why don't moms tell other moms that this will happen?

My second hair-related surprise is that all of that lost hair is now coming back! I figured it was extra hair that grew because of an increase in vitamins and hormones and now that those have settled down, the extra hair came out. Nope. I guess not. Because I'm walking around looking like this:

This is what my hairline looks like with bangs pulled back!! It looks ridiculous - like a 3-year-old gave me a haircut!! And what's worse is that these little 1.5 inch hairs are growing all around my head! So I can't pull it back b/c all those little forehead hairs show, but the shorties stick up through my part, too - no matter where I part it!! Uff.

(yeah, yeah - I know my terrible roots look just as dumb as the baby hairs. I'll get it taken care of over the break - lay off me!!)

Rise & Shine!

For the first 6 months of her life, it seemed that every time Charlotte woke up - from a nap, during the night, or in the morning - she'd start crying immediately if she didn't see someone near her. Lately, though, she wakes up much happier! Maybe it's because she's finally starting to sleep better (not great, but MUCH better) so she's more rested, or maybe her memory & trust are maturing and she understands that even if we're not with her, we're in another room & will come if she needs us.

This morning, I woke up at 7:30 to the sounds of her babbling to her stuffed animals. I laid there, smiling at the baby monitor, and listened to her playing quietly for about 20 minutes. She'd even activated the kick piano (which she plays with her hands now). Of course I wanted to jump out of bed to see her smiling face, get those first "Good morning!" cuddles, and start our day of play and exploration. But I think this new routine is a good one. If we can build this habit of letting her wake up slowly with a period of independent play, she may just keep it up through the toddler years??? I don't know, since we're pretty much flying blindly through this whole parenthood thing. But I know enough stories of "my toddler wails and/or trashes the room if we don't get him/her after a nap" to know that what she's doing now is a MUCH BETTER alternative. I totally understand she's not old enough to "trash" anything, and I still have a while until she can get out of her crib, but a mom can dream, right??

This is how I found Charlotte this morning!

Yesterday morning, Ben and I laid awake listening to her play in her crib. She was babbling, cooing, sometimes squealing at her stuffed animals, we could hear her clapping & moving about her crib. Her favorite thing to do, though, is "read." In the last week, I'd say I've caught her "reading" after a nap or in the morning about 10 times! She LOVES books and will usually sit through a couple at a time. She looks at the pictures, knows to turn the pages, and Ben thinks she's starting to understand that the writing on each page tells something about the pictures. I don't want to claim "genius baby" just yet - but she is! :o) 

Okay, okay... let's get it out in the open. I know she's less than a year old and there's stuff in her crib. I put 3 small stuffed animals in there, plus her penguin (you can see him under the book - it's a squirt toy...), and a touch-and-feel book in there. She also has a mobile (which is coming down soon) and the kick piano. And yes, that is a blanket (gasp!) you see. Right. We're not following the rules. And it's working out just fine. Thank you. 

PS - lowering the crib mattress is on Ben's to-do list for tomorrow. 

PPS - For all you baby mommas out there - get yourself a fleece or flannel crib sheet - especially for the cold months. I'm pretty much convinced that that one modification has improved Charlotte's sleep immensely in the last 3 or 4 months.