The True Story of What Was

Right around 8 months, M got two more teeth!  It seems like the real pain is right before they break through.  She doesn’t seem to be bothered by them right now, even though they are only about one quarter in.

The beginning of last week rocked.  After Tuesday (my birthday!) it was all downhill.  I started feeling iffy on Tuesday night/Wednesday with a sore throat.  On Wednesday, Miss M had a pretty bad cough so R took her to the doctor, and I canceled plans to hang with Nolan and his mom.  By Thursday, I was starting to feel weird and nauseous and canceled plans to meet baby Finley.  Friday, I still felt off, so I decided to stay home and rest.  Resting is not so easy when you have an 8 month old in the house.  R did his best to make sure I got to nap, but he was starting to feel bad too.  Friday night I had plans to go to yoga and out for a drink with a bunch of friends from maternity leave, and I had to cancel that.  By Friday night, it was clear I was not going to be well enough on Saturday to get the house together for a playdate I was hosting with the same group of Moms on Sunday, so I canceled that.  On Saturday, I was still feeling off but had to suck it up to take care of M, since Ryan had to work (after we missed music class).  On Sunday, I felt better by the afternoon and managed to go out to get groceries and was excited to have somewhat of an appetite again.  The whole long weekend was a bad flashback to the first trimester of pregnancy and left me wondering if we weren’t about to start this whole adventure all over again!  So, last week was a bummer (after my birthday), with plans canceled from Wednesday – Sunday.  I hope this week is better!

This is pretty much how we spent our weekend.

Today Miss M is 8 months old!  I wish we had some stats to share, but her next appointment is at 9 months (3 months from her last!).  Gone are the days of weekly or even monthly appointments.  That’s not to say we haven’t been every couple of weeks or so for ear infections and other sickness.  At 8 months old, she still isn’t showing any interest in rolling over.  She goes to bed at night on her back, and she’s still there in the morning when she wakes up, although most mornings her head is at the other end of the crib.  We’re thinking she’s not being adventurous because she’s still wearing the sleep sack at night, so while she’s not swaddled, her legs aren’t really free.  Hopefully the weather will trend warmer soon and we can get rid of the sleep sack.  She babbles like crazy, and ba-ba-ba is her favorite.  She’s been sleeping all night, and sleeps until about 7am these days – thank you daylight savings!  She’s starting to “crawl” backwards, so we’re sure real crawling probably isn’t too far off, and we’re bracing ourselves for big change around here as our baby becomes mobile.  As of a few days ago, she now has two teeth on the top, an addition to her two teeth on the bottom.  She’s developing that demand cry more and more, and we’re doing our best to tell her she’ll be just fine sitting on her mat or bouncing in her bouncer while we attend to something else :)

On a side note, getting the monthly picture is getting more difficult now that she’s almost on the move.  She’s reaching out for everything.  If she sees the phone or the remote – watch out!  So we’re including an outtake of this month’s photoshoot for your enjoyment.

Now that M sits up, it’s even more fun to dress her!

Sometimes I feel bad for myself, having a musician husband who is always out and about at gigs, leaving me to handle dinner time and bedtime alone.  But when I really think about it, we’ve got a pretty good thing going on.  We spent a lot of family time together this summer when I was on maternity leave.  I am not sure we would have survived the sleep deprivation if he had to get up and go to work everyday this summer after us both having been up nights, him feeding her and me making the food :)  Now that she’s older, we have a great routine going on during the evenings he’s home – we bath her together, he usually puts her to bed, and I get everything cleaned up and prepped for the next day.  It really works well for us.

I am thankful that’s he’s able to stay home with her for almost half of the week while I am at work.  I am thankful he gives her the gift of music, playing her tunes on the bass and piano and making up songs non-stop.  I have a great relationship with my dad, and I like to think it’s because he was home with me when I was little.  I hope that this time they are getting together will further strengthen the father/daughter bond they will always have.  You can tell how much she loves him, she just lights up when he walks in the room!

Even though it’s officially spring, it’s still cold around these parts.  We’re so ready for spring, so we’re going out for mini-walks anyway! M has graduated to the umbrella stroller!  Thanks, Andrea!

M’s first St. Patrick’s Day was filled with lots of good Grandma time and a trip to the outdoor mall (since it was 60 degrees and sunny today!)