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Week 43 update

I don't even know where to begin. It seems like it's been ages since I've posted, but I'm not sure what's news and what I've said before. I'll just throw it out there and hopefully I'll cover everything.

• Mia was back at the doctor again last week for another ear infection. We counted it up and that makes six trips to the doctor for her ears. The doc said we would discuss tubes at her nine month appointment, which was this week.
• At the appointment, she still had fluid on her ears, even after a week on an antibiotic. That makes four ear infections and three times when she had fluid on her ears. According to medical guidelines, it's enough to warrant tubes. The doctor suggested we try Zyrtec daily first though, to see if that dries up the fluid, thus preventing infection. We started that immediately. 
• Yesterday Mia's ear was hurting again and she had a fever. We aren't sure if it's her new teeth or her ears. We'll wait until the teeth are in and evaluate what's going on with the ear. If it's not better, I'm going ahead and getting an appointment with an ENT.
• At Mia's nine month appointment she weighed in at 20 pounds 6 ounces, 75th percentile. She was 29 inches long, 90th percentile. They were very pleased, as she's continued on the same projectile since her 6 week check-up. They said it is good when babies stay around the same percentile rankings because their growth patterns are consistent.
• Mia is a crawling machine. She also pulls up and walks around while holding onto furniture, although somewhat tentatively. She has tried to "walk up" our end table though, because it has three levels, like stairs. Had to grab her very quickly on that one!
• She loves to clap and wave and does so any time she hears "hi" or "bye".
• Mia has a book with pictures in it of me, Mike, Cara and the dogs. I've been asking her to point to the doggie, Mommy, Daddy, babies and more often than not she does so correctly.
• Mia is eating a lot of new solids. Tonight she tried ravioli for the first time (cheese with no sauce) and loved it.
• Tooth number four broke through today and number five is right behind it. 
• Mia and her cousin Cara went to see Santa Claus over the weekend. They both seemed to experience a little stranger anxiety and did not smile for the photo. I couldn't quite hear what they asked for, but I'm sure Santa will bring them exactly what they want.
• Speaking of stranger anxiety, that has started to kick in a little. Mia isn't as eager to go to strangers as before and needs to size up new people for a bit before warming up to them.
• Right now the word "no" will stop Mia in her tracks. Not sure how long that will last, but it's prevented her from mouthing firewood, grabbing cleaning supplies, playing in the dogs' food bowls, pulling the laptop onto her head, etc.
• Mia loves to talk and is making some new sounds: f, sh, and th. She also LOVES to click her tongue and hear herself laugh and yell in varying pitches.
• I've noticed when Mia is happy she says "dada dada" and when she's sad or scared she says "mama mama". 
• Mia crawls with her head held down. Dad and Sue said she crawled right into a wall today!
• She's been pushing up onto her head a lot from a crawling position, almost like she's trying to do a headstand. I think we're going to contact Bela Karolyi if she keeps it up. ;-)

Mia's First Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving post is a little late, but my sentiments are the same. Never before have I felt as thankful as I did this year. Regardless of what is happening with the economy, we are so rich with blessings. All I have to do is sit in my warm, beautiful home with a full belly and look at my loving husband, happy daughter and devoted dogs to know how wonderful my life truly is. On top of all that we have an incredibly loving and supportive family, jobs, a large network of friends...the list goes on. I thank God each day for the blessings He's bestowed upon me.

Miss Mia had a wonderful day as well. She woke up chipper as usual, crawling all over the place, trying to chase the dogs and looking out the windows. We first headed over to the Robbins' and Mia had her first taste of stuffing, along with mashed potatoes, green beans and turkey. After that we went to the Halls' and she got to play with cousin Cara. It was our first Thanksgiving without Grandma Sarah, and Aunt Catsy suffered a mild stroke and was unable to make it. Mia and Cara were good distractions for everyone. The girls wore matching dresses and spent as much time munching on their shoes as anything. After we left there, we went back to the Robbins'. Mia fell asleep over there and stayed the night with her Mamaw.

I took off work Friday, since we weren't sure what to expect with it being our first Black Friday at MODA. It turned out Mike didn't need me though, and since Carol had Mia, I stayed in bed and read Twilight all day. I actually finished that huge book in less than 24 hours! We had a new sofa delivered that afternoon, a necessity since the dogs have broken nearly all the springs in the other sofa. Mia loves the new sofa. It's a leather sectional and is stiff enough that she can crawl all over it. For some reason she has a ball on it and just laughs as she works her way from end to end.

On Saturday Mike and I worked an event at Churchill Downs for MODA. We picked up Mia afterward and went to Aunt Pat's 60th birthday party. Cara was there so she and Mia got to hang out again. Mia didn't sleep so well that night. She's cutting another tooth - her fourth, the upper left - but she'd also been leaning her head over on her ear, so I didn't know which was the cause. On Sunday she really started feeling badly, so I knew once again it was her ear. 

I stayed home from work with Mia on Monday and took her to the doctor. They confirmed another double ear infection - her sixth in her nine months of life. They gave her a stronger antibiotic than they've given her previously and recommended the usual Tylenol/Motrin combo. Her nine month check-up is next Monday, so we will discuss tubes at that time. They are usually recommended if a child gets more than three or four ear infections in one year. They also weighed Mia and she came in at 20 lbs, 11 oz. 

Since Mia hasn't been feeling well, she's spent a lot of time in bed with us. She is one crazy sleeper! I've never been hit and kicked so much in my life! She's constantly rolling over, sitting up, pulling my hair, talking, laughing, clapping, crawling around, and - my personal favorite - waking me up by razzing (i.e. spitting) all over my face. I can't help but laugh because she's so darn cute. She's just happy as can be when she's in bed with us! Of course we don't sleep a bit, but when she's sick, it's whatever works for her.

Mia's gotten much more "particular" when it comes to eating. She likes to feed herself and sometimes gets mad and turns her head if I don't let her. If she likes something, she claps her hands together when the spoon gets close to her mouth, usually hitting the spoon and flinging half of it across the room. Conversely, if she doesn't like something, she swats at the spoon when it gets close to her mouth, usually hitting it and flinging half of it across the room. Either way, the dogs are happy. Tonight she insisted on feeding herself so I went so far as to put some baby food in a bowl for her. She was so thrilled about that she decided to flip her bowl over and put it on her head. I think that's a sign of praise in some countries (she's very cultured). 

Mia loves to laugh. She is the happiest child I've ever known. She erupts in hearty belly laughs over the most surprising things, like a voice I'll use, or Mike blowing his nose, or the dogs playing together. She thinks she's the funniest of all, and will laugh at herself over and over. She'll splash herself in the bathtub and laugh so hard she'll cough. That will make her splash again and she'll laugh even harder. The girl's a nut. Thank God...she fits right in!

Nine Months Old

• I was in Texas last week for a conference. While I had a wonderful time, it was nice to get home to Mike and Mia. Mike picked me up at the airport. Brent and Carol had Mia, and I nearly ran into their house when we arrived to get her. I missed seeing her pretty little smile and feeling her arms wrapped around my neck. 
  
• Last Thursday night I went to a meeting at St. Aloysius parish. Mike and I decided to go ahead and join the church and will have Mia baptized Catholic. We aren't certain that's the path we will eventually take with her religious upbringing or education, but we want her to have the option just in case. The next baptismal meeting is in January, so we will probably have her baptized sometime shortly after the first of the year.
• I spent a lot of time just hanging out with Mia over the weekend. It was wonderful!!! I've blocked off the kitchen and living room so she's free to crawl around with minimal supervision. I got on the floor with her and we played for hours. We celebrate all her accomplishments by clapping and saying "yay", so Mia now claps and says "aaaaayyy" at just about everything!
• She now waves anytime we say "hi" and she often waves when people come in and out of the room. While I was feeding her lunch, she was watching the dogs out on the deck. Each time Grace came up to the door Mia waved to her. Of course Mia waves as she sees us wave, with the fingers pointing at her face. So she really waves to herself!
• Mia pulled up a lot more over the weekend. She's most confident when she pulls up on me so several times she pulled up on my pants legs, or my arms if I was on the floor. 
• Cara was in town over the weekend so Mia and I went to visit her at Mom's. Dad and Sue stopped by to drop her off and Mia lit up when she saw her. Mia absolutely loves Cara and is beside herself with happiness when she's around her cousin. Mom and Bruce had a "baby party" and the girls got lots of attention from their great aunts, great grandma and Granny's friends. 
• I had two moments this week where my heart lumped in my throat. The first happened when we were at Mom's. Mia is such a social little baby and she has many people who love her and give her attention. She's happy with just about anyone and isn't very discriminating with her affection. But at Mom's, in a room full of people, when she started getting sleepy and was ready to settle down, she crawled over to me and buried her face in my legs. For the first time I truly realized I'm someone special to her. I'm who she goes to for comfort. In the midst of all those people, I experienced a life-changing moment, where I truly felt like Mia's Mommy. It was such an amazing affirmation. I know that sounds weird, since I've been her mommy for nine months now. But that look on her face as she sought me out, needing the one person who can truly comfort her - well, that's the same need I have for my mom, the one person who can truly comfort me when I need her. I know how deep and true that bond is. It was such an incredible moment to realize I am able to provide that love and comfort to my own baby, as my mom has always been able to provide to me. 
• Mia is eating like a little piggy these days. We've continued to introduce more and more solids into her diet, but she just can't get enough. The other morning she ate a 12 oz bottle for breakfast! So we're now doing breakfast selections at daycare, her regular bottle, baby food and cereal for lunch, adding a small snack following her afternoon nap, and continuing with a veggie/meat combo and a fruit for dinner. Plus her regular bottles every four hours. We'll see if that satisfies her!
• Ever since the time change, Mia has been waking up an hour early, at 6 instead of 7. We've tried just about every technique I've heard of to get her back to 7, but 6:30 is as far as we've gotten. We've tried putting her to bed earlier at night, to get her into longer sleep rhythms, we've tried feeding her more in the evening, we've tried keeping her up later at night, eliminating her evening catnap, but nothing has worked so far. We're still working on it. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We NEED that extra half hour!!!
• We had Mia's 9 month photos taken tonight. The place was a friggin zoo! When we arrived Mia was asleep in the car. They told Mike they were running a half hour behind so we let her sleep for about 15 minutes and went in. I had only put on minimal makeup this morning because I knew I'd need to freshen it up before the pictures. It has been raining all day so I brought stuff to redo my hair. Well, the moment we walked in the door they were ready for us. With about 10 families crammed in the place, there was no opportunity to even look at a mirror. So off we went to get our pictures made, with a baby who just woke up and a mommy with flat, wet hair and no makeup! They did not turn out great, needless to say. They took very few pictures because Mia really just wouldn't smile. I'll attach the few good ones, and also a couple "out takes"!
• While we were getting Mia's pictures made I had my other heartwarming moment of the week. The photographer kept wanting Mia to stand while holding onto things (chairs, boxes, etc.), but those things kept sliding. Mia doesn't yet have the balance to stabilize herself, so when those things moved she got scared. She kept looking to me with fear in her eyes, so I'd go over to her and hold onto her to try to reassure her. Well, after several tries of the standing poses, we gave up and the photographer put her on a stool. She positioned me on a stool behind her, to hold onto her waist as she sat there. At that point Mia was just worn out. She didn't feel secure on the stool and she finally turned to me and threw her arms around my neck. When the photographer came over to her Mia buried her face in my neck and clung to me. Once again, I was her comfort and once again, I was reminded that I am actually Mia's Mommy. It was wonderful and I just grabbed her and held her to me. I'm so honored to be blessed with this child and I can't believe God deemed me worthy of such an incredible gift. I'm so overwhelmed with love.

Our week

Mia and I were very sick last weekend and the first of this week. We both went to the urgent care center on Friday night and Granny Judy met us there. Granny took Mia home with her and kept her the whole weekend. Mia had a double ear infection. I stayed in bed the entire weekend with a sinus infection. Mia started feeling better almost immediately but I’m still battling congestion and a cough. I’m heading to Texas for a conference on Sunday and the thing I’m most looking forward to is sleeping through the night three nights in a row!

While at Granny and Grampy’s, Mia continued to make progress with her waving. Granny and Grampy worked with her and she now repeats “Hi Dada” while waving. Not consistently, but occasionally. She’s crawling all over the place and now pays attention when I point to objects while reading her stories. She’s also gotten another tooth, her upper right front tooth, so that’s been bothering her this week.

Mia is really thriving in her new room at daycare. I’m so happy we made the switch. Her new teachers love her as much as her first teachers did, and it’s so reassuring to know she’s in such loving care. Mike and I continue to be completely enamored with her as well. The other night I looked at him with tears in my eyes and told him I just can’t believe she’s ours. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, happy baby. She’s pure joy and entertainment for us. When that child is awake, we’re playing games, on the floor rolling around, singing, clapping, waving…anything we can to get a response from her. What did we ever do before she came along?

Crawling...forward!

Miss Mia is finally crawling! She started last night. She was on the living room floor playing with her toys and I went into the kitchen to make her veggies and cereal. When I came back out she was on the other side of the room, on her back. I stood there watching her and the next thing I knew, she rolled over, got onto all fours, stuck her right foot out to the side, and used that to propel her forward! So she’s kind of hobbling along, “walking” with the right foot, but crawling with her left foot and hands. It’s funny to see! Her little arms are very shaky from holding herself up so long, but I know she’ll be tearing into things in no time. Of course she went right for the cabinet holding the cleaning supplies so I need to do a thorough examination of the house from floor-level.

Mia's Eighth Month