"Please" is a request, not a demand, right?

When Abby was learning her first words, we always made sure to say "Please" and "Thank you" when giving and receiving so she would learn politeness and manners early on. Once she grasped the concept, it was great - she would say "Please" when she wanted something and eventually "Thank You" became "Thank you, Mommy" and "lelcome" (you're welcome).

As parents, we were pleased as punch that our daughter was learning manners early on and couldn't resist giving her what she was asking for because those "magic words" are some mystical key to getting what we want. This is also where we went wrong.

Cute little words with seemingly innocent connotations soon because desperate "PLEASE! PLE-ASE! Have it?" and soon after the water works of a spoiled child followed. Without realizing it, we had taught her manners but not limitations and that sometimes, as the song goes, you can't always get what you want. Since she is now able to throw a pretty good tantrum when this happens, we have to come up with a new strategy. What that isn I'm really not sure yet. At this point we've recognized that we need to remove her from the situation, calm her down and explain why she couldn't have the cookie, or touch Nana's expensive figurine and then get her engaged in something else, like playing with a favourite toy, singing a song or even watching a much-loved tv show (why IS Dora so memorizing, anyways?).

I suppose the next logical step is to teach her that "Please" is a request, not a demand; but how? Though my heart warms every time she uses a new word in context or, gasp, a sentence - "Daddy, you so funny" is amazingly cute - somehow I will have to figure out how to teach the rules of the English language and etiquette to a toddler. When someone figures that out, let me know!

Oh, and if you know how to explain that orange is a fruit, colour AND flavour, I know people who want that information.

-Laura Bee
http://themommybee.blogspot.com

Don't Mess With My Schedule, it has Consequences

Today I am running late coming home. In my single or newly married life this wasn't much of a problem, but now that I have my daughter, it changes everything.

Our days are highly scheduled so that I am at work on time and that I am home with time for dinner and to spend quality time with my family. When something messes with this, the domino effect is strongly felt by the three of us.

To begin with, I left the office 45 minutes later than normal. This means arriving home 45 minutes late and steals away 45 minutes I could have had preparing and eating dinner or playing with my daughter. When my husband picks me up from the subway, I am going to hope and pray that my daughter isn't asleep, because her falling asleep this late means she will be up until 10 and that just doesn't fly. I need a shower, people!

It means that instead of having breakfast for dinner, as we had planned, it will be take-out, which is a bad habit we are trying to stay away from. It means...oh, what's that? The subway isn't running? Just GREAT.

It means a lot to me to get home on time for myself and for my family. I don't want to miss my little girl growing up because of 10 hour work days, or time spent with my husband, who works nights because I can't get time away from my desk.

It's times like these that I really question the hour and a half commute and the demands of the industry I'm in. I am sue I'm not alone in my way of thinking here. Someone forgot to give the working world the memo from Mom's requesting a realistic 9-5 work day when work as a mom (and wife) never really stops. Is it really too much to ask for in this busy life?
-Laura Bee
http://themommybee.blogspot.com

Making mealtime work

For me, the hardest part of the day comes twice: once when getting everything ready in the morning, and again when arriving home at the end of the work day.

In the evening, it's a rush to commute home so that those few precious hours before bedtime last as long as possible. However, on arrival, the next sprint in the race begins: what to make for dinner.

If you are

like me, you have grown up with mystery surrounding mealtime. It either decided by someone who is not me (thanks, Mom!) or it isn't until you get home and dstare at the fridge until you are inspired or your tummy grumbles (substitute this for your hungry child grumbling) that dinner finally happens.

I have learned that the best approach to mealtime can't involve any surprises and involves a little bit of prep work and decision-making.

Enter the family calendar.

My calendar sits prominently on the fridge door, adorned with labeled stickers and hand-written events. Mine was actually gifted to me and is from www.moretimemoms.com. Wouldn't you know it, but this is the best place for meal planning to begin.

Start wi

th either writing down a specific meal (i.e. Shepherd's pie) or a generic type (i.e. Pasta) which takes a lot of guesswork out of your precious cooking time. Tip: take into consideration the events for the day when selecting a meal. Pasta is great if your child has a soccer game that night, and a crock pot roast is perfect for a busy evening or late arrival home.

The next step is to take your grocery list (mine is next to the calendar) and write out all the ingredients you need to shop for to make your week of meals. Now you aren't wasting time shopping, either! Tip: organize your grocery list according to the flow of your grocery store; that way you are less likely to miss an ingredient along the way.

At a loss for meal ideas? I started my journey using this method after receiving an amazing cooking/meal planning book called "More Time Moms". They have a companion iphone app and printable lists from their website and do

all the work for you! How helpful that?

Try it out and let me know what works or doesn't work for you. Right now I have to get myself home and make toasted deli sandwiches on onion buns with fresh veggies and dip. Who knew planning would be so helpful and fun!

-Laura Bee
http://themommybee.blogspot.com

What's that, you say?

My little girl is growing up and this past weekend was a huge indicator for me.

Just before the weekend, I got curious about just how many words Abby actually knows. She can communicate with us pretty well by now and most words she says can be interpreted by most people who hear her.

With that in mind I did the project manager thing and nade a categorized list. I then sent it to DH and asked him if I was missing anything. He admitted that he was useless in this department (aka he doesn't read his email) but without his input, I had managed to find over 100 word that Abby can currently say. That doesn't even count the words she understands.

Then, spending time with her this weekend blew me away.

Saturday we went to visit my parents. My mom had just gotten back from a month-long trip in Thailand, so it was important for me to see her and have her see how much Abby has grown in that time. (Did I mention that she has shot up almost 5cm in the last two months?).

While Abby played and interacted with Nana, Poppy, Uncles, Aunts and her cousins, I learned that Abby knows way more than I give her credit for. I couldn't tell you how many times I stopped and said "I didn't know she could say that".

Part of me had the guilty working parent feeling, because I have to learn these things far after the fact. However, it is just as exciting for me to hear her speak to me as if it was the first time she ever spoke.

Now my little girl, what will you say next?
-Laura Bee
http://themommybee.blogspot.com

Mom Confessions

Every mom has their little secrets; the things they don't share about their parenting style lest they be judged. In my 18 months as a mom, I've learned that a lot of mom's have the same secrets. What does this mean? That our "confessions" are actually a fact of life and shouldn't be buried away with the little white lie you told about not having that deli sandwich during your pregnancy.

And so, I open the closet to my parenting skeletons and confess to the world wide web (with no excuses!):
- I have been co-sleeping since Abby was 5 months old
- I have let my daughter eat more on more than one occasion: fast food french fries, chocolate, popcorn, popcicles, orange juice, apple juice, cake, chicken nuggets
- I still nurse Abby at least one time a night
- my daughter doesn't sleep through the night. In fact, she usually wakes up 2 or 3 times at night to cuddle up closer to me or nurse
- we turned Abby to forward facing at 13 months
- Abby watches TV. Mostly cartoons, when they're on but she can't help but dance to the theme song for Hanna Montana and Sonny with a Chance

Ok, you can judge me now for these few things, but before you do, remember that it is impossible to be the perfect parent. I do what is best for my child. Sometimes I am not proud of the decisions I have to make (especially when Abby recognizes when we've just pulled away from the drive through), but it's what we have to do to get by. The day I win a million dollars (ok, maybe 5 million), I will quit my job and devote my life to being the perfect parent.

Right now, I will enjoy my wins and learn from my losses and most of all, be honest about everything. Maybe someone else will learn from me or not be afraid to talk about something considered "taboo" in the parenting world.

Go ahead, you can tell me - what's hiding in your closet?

-Laura Bee
http://themommybee.blogspot.com

Sleep deprivation sucks

I have an overdue apology for the gap in time from one post to another. I have been so sleep deprived the past 4 weeks that I don't know how I am still alive, let alone awake.

After dealing with Abby's croup, which turned into a nasty cold, we each took our turn in the sick-bed. I got her cold, which was a doozy. Shortly after getting on the mend, Abby decided to teeth, or go through a growth spurt, or have night time anxiety. I'm still not sure what quite happened there.

It started with her whining in her sleep. I would pop back in her pacifier and she'd roll over and go back to la-la land. When that turned into her waking up every hour I knew I had to do something. Broken sleep was not doing any favours to my daily duties at work. I was becoming unfocused and tired by 2pm, yet I didn't give in to starting a coffee habit.

I turned to online resources and my own know-how on how to deal with this situation. I began different things: offering her water when she woke, changing what she wore at night (since the weather is starting to get warmer here), giving her advil, changing our night time routine, baths, location, you name it. The only real thing that seemed to help was a combination of a bath using night time body wash by Johnson & Johnson and a bottle of water for her to drink at night.

Then, one magical night, she woke up every 3 hours. To a working mom who needs sleep and doesn't have the opportunity to take a nap on lunch, this was incredible.

I am happy to report that whatever it was that bothered her has passed and she is now only getting up 2 times at night. A HUGE improvement over once every 1-2 hours. It seriously felt like having a newborn again, without the 20 minute feeding sessions, that is.

I am a much happier mommy and she is a much happier baby. Now we are having trouble getting her up in the morning! I sense shades of what it will be like when she's a teenager.

The lesson I learned here is to never give up and that nothing, as far as a toddler is concerned, will last forever. And most importantly...I love sleep!

A taste of a work-at-home mom's life

Today, I stayed home with my sick little girl. It started suddenly on Saturday night with the symptoms of an oncoming cold. Sunday morning I was on the phone with my mother and Telehealth Ontario to see what was wrong with my little girl. She had had a horrible barking coughing fit when she woke up and ended up upset and in tears; as was I. Telehealth, after a thorough investigation, informed me it was a case of croup that could be treated at home. However, she was not to go back to daycare until her fever was gone.

Monday morning came and though she was feeling better, another coughing fit and an ill look to me meant I was going to stay home and do whatever I could to take care of my daughter in her weakened state.

I had already given my managers at the office a heads up that this might happen. My follow up email rung true of the rest of my day: I would try my best to follow up with my emails (which conveniently come to my blackberry, by the way).

We spent our morning curled on the couch while my little one dozed in and out of consciousness and I tried to type one-handed over her shoulder. As the day went on and my demand increased (by work and a sick little girl) I wondered how on earth work-at-home moms get any actual business done without help! Well, by the end of my evening I think I figured out how - they never stop working. Instead of a solid 8 hours at the office, an hour commute home and then another, oh, 3 with the family, it's a day with interwoven streams of child care, conference calls, document writing, meal planning sprinkled with play time and timesheets.

What I've learned from this is though I love the comforts of being home with Abby and DH more when I work from home, I undoubtedly either get less done in a regular work day or am working on all things right until bed time. And while I miss them while I am away, there is a certain je ne said quois about my shared office which not only makes getting work done more efficient, it means I love coming home to my family even more.

Bliss at Home '11 introduction

Today I discovered a group of blogging women that I am sure to love. Via Erica Ehm at www.yummymummyclub.com, I found Bliss at Home. For all those fellow bloggers who can't go to Blissdom, but don't mind attending from a far, and in their PJ's, no less!

As an introductory post for all the ladies who find themselves wanting to learn a little bit more about me and my blog, here I go.

This blog was founded in 2009 after DH and I learned we were expecting our first baby. Initially a journal and online baby book, my intentions were small - chronicle the growth and development of my child. The name "the mommy bee" comes from the nick name "baby bee" that we gave our active little child growing inside me (with the B also coming from the first letter of out last name). In 2010, when the end of my maternity leave loomed near, I began changing my approach. I could never find a blog of a new mom who worked full-time out of the home. I guess none of them have the spare time! At that point I knew I needed to change directions and be that blog.

Now, while I still take the time to talk about my family and the new learnings of a first-time mom and the growth of my child, I also want to speak about balance. I am a project manager, so organization is essential to my life.

I hope readers who find themselves here can learn with me and even lend a helping hand. After all, I am a busy mommy bee!

Making Milestones

We've hit a few new milestones recently, so I need to share!

Abby is now fully a walker. From the time she was able to hold her head up, everyone thought that she would be an early walker. She stood early and loved to stand. She loved to have someone hold her hands and walk, no gallop, around the room. But, in true Abigail fashion, she is doing it in her own time. So, a week after turning 16 months old, Abby decided to start walking on her own. It started with a few steps before Christmas and a crash on her bum that probably didn't make walking too appealing. Then, one day, we were playing with an exercise ball, and she started to chase it; no strings attached. Since then, she has progressive gotten better and less Frankenstein-like in her steps. I'm sure soon she'll be off running. She already loves to say "one, two, three...GO" and skitter off as we pretend to race.

Our second milestone has to do with teeth. Abby's teeth are popping out very quickly now. She has her two upper molars to go along with the first set of 4 teeth up top. In the past week she also managed to push through her bottom right molar as well. Then, last night as we were playing, I noticed that Abby also had her upper left incisor. Her left side needs to catch up, but at this rate, it will happen sooner than later.

Lastly, DH and I finally went out on our first "real" date night since Abby was born. We left her with my mother and took in a Leafs game. While the date night was great, and Abby had a great time with "Nana", but again, we had sleep problems. Abby fell asleep easily as was expected, but after an hour, woke up looking for me. The rest of the night she cuddled with Nana until we got home. While not a total inconvenience, it's shown us that we have some more work on sleep training to do before we leave her at home with someone else.

In the end, we're making great progress in growth as a family. I am thrilled to discover what's next!

Reflecting on 2010

A new year is upon us and it's generally the time that we all sit back and reflect on the past year. I have to admit, that I'm trying hard to remember all the highs and lows of the past 12 months, but such a blur that it was, it's hard to focus.

I started 2010 waking up at midnight to my husband saying "Happy New Year" and my 4 month-old daughter staring up at me on our bed with a smile. Such were the days where she was waking up every two to three hours, demanding to be fed only to pass out once her tummy was full. Not much about that has changed now that's it's 2011, however she's graciously letting me sleep in much longer stretches (when she's not teething, that is).

In the beginning of the new year right through to June, I juggled getting some sort of order in my life as a new mom and managing the redesign, rebuild and launch of a new website for my father's company.

After coming home from a long-weekend trip in May, I began my search for a job, knowing that maternity leave would have to end some time. At the same time, I began to mentally prepare myself for leaving my baby, who I had been with 24/7, with a stranger. In July, while on a family vacation, I finally got the call and on August 16th, 2010, I began my new job. On September 7th, her first birthday, Abigail started daycare.

Between then and now, Abigail has gone from a chatter box of nonsensical sounds (I can prove it here) to a chatter box who can actually communicate with real words.

Ok, maybe not ALL the time, but she's a great story-teller.

I have seen a little life blossom in front of my eyes. I had no idea what to expect beyond what I read in articles and books, but to experience it has been the most incredible experience and most life-changing year of my young life.

2010 was a time of learning, changing, growing, stretching, adapting and loving. I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring!

Our daily routine

Email blogging again. I find it's a great way to compose a post and pass time on the subway trip home.

I have found after going back to work that the most precious thing after God and family is time. I didn't have much of it before I became a mom, so I surely have less of it now.

Our "day" really begins the night before. DH works nights, so he leaves at 10:35pm every night. Thereabouts, I also go to sleep. If I'm lucky, I've fallen asleep as he is getting ready and wake just enough for him to kiss me goodbye.

7:15am rolls around and he is back home. I get up and get ready for work, and DH gets Abby ready for daycare. I pack her lunch bag (something I want to start doing the night before) and by 7:50am, we are out the door and on our way.

I usually get into the office just after 9am and DH is home after dropping us off at our various locations by 8:30am. He wakes up, unfortunately, at 2:30 (a mere 6 hours of sleep if he's lucky) and picks Abby up at 3. We do this for several reasons. The first is to save a little bit of money because we pay an hourly rate. The other is so that DH has more time with Abby.

I try to leave the office as close to 5 as possible and we are usually home no later than 6:15pm. From there it's dinner for all of us and playtime before bed. Abby usually falls asleep when DH comes to pick me up, so she doesn't go to bed at 7pm like a lot of parenting resources say toddlers should.

Abby is usually asleep around 8:30, which leaves me two hours to shower, tackle a to-do item or just relax. Then it starts all over again.

This does leave little room for essentials like cleaning, cooking, laundry, groceries and others, but I'm still learning and expect to be for a long time.

I have had to learn to relax when it comes to our daily routine, but not to be so lax that nothing gets done. On the flip side, I wish I had more energy to prep the night before so our mornings are less chaotic. That all being said, I think that for 3.5 months of figuring the balance out, we're doing pretty well.

Do you have a daily routine that you follow? How does that work for your family? What do you wish you could improve on?

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Making it through the day

I can't lie, even the best plans don't always go according to your best intentions. When I started back at work, I had a rough idea of how we wanted to do things. Abby was still taking two naps a day and I was still nursing her. The first several weeks, in fact, meant that my body went through some major adjustments as well.

Gone were the days of mommy-baby nap times, nursing on demand and having to sit for nearly 8 hours in the same spot. So how did I do it? I made an idea of a plan and filled in the gaps as we went through each experience.

My body learned to sit in an office chair, though the back pain on the first day made it nearly impossible to sit still. I also got Abby used to nursing only once a day, and eventually my body slowed down the milk-making. I also re-learned what it meant to stay awake longer. I was no longer tiring myself out holding and chasing a baby and instead did a mental workout. Just as tiring, but without the muscle aches.

Here I am, 3.5 months after and I am claiming that reclaiming my work life while adapting to being a first-time parent can be done. We just need to talk about how to do it more.

I have to have the people I work with understand that I really can only be in the office 9-5. My husband also understands that because of this, I sometimes have to take my work home with me. But most importantly, everyone needs to know that being a Mom comes first. Abby misses me so much, that when I finally get home, she doesn't want to let me go. So even though I am away, making a living and reclaiming my career, she doesn't care. I am mom and among all other things, I always will be.


Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

What it's like

I have been back to work now since August 16th of this year. To prepare myself from being with Abigail 24/7 to only a few waking hours in the day, I did what any internet-savvy person would do: I googled it.

My goal was simple - find a blog where I could learn from another woman's experience about going back to work after having their first child. So far, every woman I spoke with in person had told me horror stories about bawling their eyes out the first day or having a rough transition. And these were predominantly women who were going back to a job they had before - I was starting a brand new one. So, needless to say, I was also searching for some encouragement.

No such luck.

So here I was, the weekend before beginning my job and adding the title of Project Manager at a large ad firm to my list of other names (mother, wife, sister, aunt, nieces, daughter...can I put these on my business card?) And I didn't know how to handle it. We had gotten a private in-home daycare spot through a woman in our church, but that was still a few weeks away. I had packed and planned and gotten myself and Abigail as prepared as I could for day 1.

Then day 1 came. There was no crying. DH's brother came to take care of Abby and I went off to work. Abby happily and blissfully unaware watched cartoons while I slipped out. That wasn't so hard! Of course I missed her terribly and called as frequently as possible to see how she was and by the end of the day I ached to see her, but it wasn't as tragic as expected.

A few weeks later, when she started daycare, it was a bit harder. This time a stranger would be looking after my little girl. I felt like I was letting someone raise my child. Getting into the car some days after dropping her off were really hard and I had to fight back tears. Those would turn into moments of joy when I would see the look on her face at the end of the day. She still loves her Mommy.

So as hard as it was in concept, the transition wasn't the sob-fest I had anticipated. I can actually do this! And it makes the time I do have with my family all the more precious and important to me.
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

The Mommy Worker Bee

Ever since I got the call that I had been offered a new job, I have been on the search for a mommy blogger like me. Someone who is heading back to work after a year of blissful maternity leave (because once I went back to work, I began to yearn for the simpler days of mat leave) and were doing it for the first time.

These mommy worker bees are not difficult to find. Any google search will come up with tons if results. My issue is that they all seem to have older kids.

I didn't grow up with the example of a mother who worked outside of the home. My own mother, bless her heart, raised all 4 of us and that was all she needed. I don't blame her. However I also don't have the same example from my mother-in-law. She stayed at home raising 4 boys and didn't go back into the workforce until my husband was 12.

So, now - am back to my search. I almost feel like I should be taking out a personals as or posting in the "missed connections" section of craigslist.

Where are the new mommies of the internet world and where are their blogs?

Perhaps they are like me, and as a friend so poignantly put it: maybe they are all too busy to blog?

My baby speaks!

Abby, at 14 months old, has so many words in her vocabulary that I am amazed. She has evidently decided that talking is more important to her than walking, and I have to say that I am ok with this.

The best part of her talking so much, aside from the obvious decrease in communication issues, is how excited other people get when they hear her and actually understand what she's saying.

So far she has mastered:

Ma ma

Da Da

Na Na

Me

Hi/Hello/Hey

Up

Down

Uh-oh

Yeah/Yay

All done

Please (said "plees")

Thank You

More (comes out as "mo")

Two, Three, Six, Ten

Woof

D

Tree (said "sree")

Fishies (said "pishie")

Baby

Bye-bye

peek-a-boo

There are always words that she is working on but I am amazed by it all.

A letter to Abigail after her 1st year

Dear Abigail,

I hope to make a habit out of writing letters to you; hopefully around the time of your birthday. This is the first.

My darling daughter - you have turned our life upside down and changed everything that Daddy and I knew to be "our life". We went from a carefree lifestyle of coming and going as we pleased; taking long car rides; and eating whenever and whatever we wanted. That all changed the day you were born and I wouldn't change that for the world.

In the past year we have learned how to be parents...your parents. We have learned who you are becoming and have laughed at every funny face and sound, reveled in every new skill and move you make. Sure there were nights where we were ready to pull our hair out as we bounced you because you wouldn't sleep and we were way past due for our own "nap".

But then there are the moments that I will never forget: The first time you smiled was when I lay you down in your crib so that I could fold laundry and I turned on your mobile. I was so excited to see that smiley face at just 3 weeks and you haven't stopped smiling since. The day you started babbling in your exersaucer and I heard the word "Mum". The discovery of your first tooth. When we realized you could put your own pacifier in your mouth. And the moment we captured on video where you stood on your own two feet, unsupported, for the very first time. It was a year of firsts; for you and us.

I am utterly in love with who you are, that you are mine and that you love me back. You are such a happy child who is big about everything. Big laughs, big cries. You crawl on your bum, putting one leg out to propel yourself forward. You sometimes even do this while towing some favourite object in one hand.

Now you are a one-year old and no longer considered a baby; you're a toddler now. You are still MY baby, though. I am so excited to continue to see your next firsts and to hear your voice as you learn more words. I can't wait until you finally sleep through the night (it's going to happen, right?) and I am terribly excited for Christmas this year. You are going to love the decorations and most assuredly, the presents.

What will you do next, my baby? I can't wait to find out.

I am the mother of a 1 year-old

Today is preparation for the magical transformation that is going from being the mother of a baby to the mother of a toddler. Who let me be in charge of this little life? Obviously I'm not doing that bad of a job, because she's made it to 1 without any life-threatening illnesses, no calls to child services and she is overall very happy. When I say happy, I really mean it. Abigail, upon learning how to smile at 3 weeks old, has always been friendly. Her favourite thing to now is to smile big and say "Hi" to anyone who makes eye contact with her. Surely I didn't teach her that and neither did hubby, because though we are casually cordial, we certainly aren't friendly to strangers. But I digress.

This time last year I was in labour. DH was video chatting with his cousin while I sat on an exercise ball trying to cope with contractions, because that is what my pre-natal classes told me to do. It didn't work. In fact, none of the coping techniques didn't work. Unfortunately for me, my contractions never really ever evened out, though the pain didn't seem to care about that. I laboured all night and gave in to the epidural at 5:30 in the morning. Thank the Lord almighty for this sweet invention. Though I still have occasional bouts of lower back pain which I swear is at the spot where the catheter was; in the moment it was totally worth it.

At 8:55am, we welcomed our little Abigail into the world. Life has never been the same and hasn't been any sweeter since.

I am in love with this little girl - who is no longer my baby girl, and love seeing who she is becoming. Somehow, DH and I are responsible for who this little girl is and I wouldn't change a bit. She is friendly, outgoing, inquisitive, bold, energetic, happy, bright and alert. She is the joy of my heart and I am so blessed to have her in my life. I hate that she is growing so fast, because it means scrambling to cherish those important moments when she is young, but at the same rate, I can't wait for her to show me what she can do next.

My resolve for the next year is to blog regularly. I want to chronicle my life now that I am back to work and Abby is in daycare. I want to record and cherish the moments that my family makes as we grow. Somewhere in there I hope I get to entertain or educate you...perhaps just for you to nod your head in agreement or lend a helping hand.

So here's to a new year of adventures and picture-perfect moments along the way.

Abigail at 9 months!

Today we had Abby's 9 month wellness check. Turns out our doctor is going on vacation starting tomorrow, so we rushed in to see him this afternoon.
For those of you who knew, Abby had a fever over Friday and Saturday. Well today I noticed a rash on her torso, which turns out to be either a heat rash from the fever or the after-effects of a virus (which would also cause the fever). The two swollen tooth buds where her front teeth will soon be says otherwise, but the end result is that she is just fine.

Abby now weighs approximately 7250 grams which is about 16 pounds. She is 28 inches long and has a head circumference of 17 inches. According to the WHO, that puts her in the 15th percentile for weight, just above the 50th percentile for height, and about the 50th percentile for head circumference. The Doctor says she's gaining well and is great for her age.

With a little lesson taught by Auntie Ramona and Isabella, Abigail is now eating finger foods like a champ. She particularly enjoys mango, avocado and bananas. She's still trying to figure out sweet potatoes. Interestingly, she also enjoys her Stage 2 baby foods, though makes an awful mess by blowing raspberries with a mouth full of food. She eats pretty much anything put in front of her, but loves peas and is a little hesitant about fruit; especially if it is sour.

Her doctor has given the go-ahead to let her eat anything but egg whites, saying that studies are suggesting starting foods earlier than later could prevent allergies. We will still take our time, but I am excited at introducing new things to her.

She has started to scoot around in circles while sitting, push herself backwards while laying down, and when on the bed or couch, wiggles and flips all over the place. She has a particular fondness for standing right now, so I imagine that once she gets a solid footing (she still loves to bounce) she'll be running around in no time!

I think I have gone on long enough for one post (how can you stop a proud mama from talking about their baby?). Hopefully I won't go as long between updates next time.

Abby at 7 months

My, how time flies! It took so long to get through 7 months of pregnancy, but the last 7 months with a baby have gone in the blink of an eye! I must say, however, that waiting for something is totally different than the new and exciting things I get to see everyday with Abigail.

Abigail is now 7.5 months old and as exciting as ever! She is getting more mobile each day, which makes me realize that I really need to baby-proof our house. Matthew got her up in crawling position the other day and even though she doesn't know what to do with herself, she loves her new achievement. She also has taken to standing with me holding her hands and taking steps; one in front of the other. Soon enough she'll be zooming around the house!

There are two things right now that are posing as challenges among the every entertaining moment that Abigail is awake: separation and sleep.

Abby is a very happy baby that plays hard and sleeps hard...or is that hardly? She typically takes 3 naps during the day and is awake between 2-3 hours in between. Bedtime has been around 7:30-9pm, depending on the day. However, she is still waking up 2-3 times at night. Since transferring her to our bed, it's been a lot easier on me, but we definitely want to transition her into her own room soon. Naps last 45 minutes to 2 hours, but the longer naps are usually when I'm napping with her. It's going to be a challenge to get her into a "typical" schedule, but I'm a baby-led parent and doubt I could force her to learn anything she isn't ready to do.

On the other note, Abby has learned to exercise her voice to let me and anyone else know when she's too far away from Mommy. She actually would prefer to play if she could sit in my lap, I'm sure. I hear that this is a phase, and I agree, but it can be very difficult to do anything but stare at her when she thinks I'm not paying attention or am too far away (which makes going to the bathroom a sprint!).

I am not a complainer and want to enjoy these moments with Abigail because she is such a sweet and happy baby. We love going for walks and she loves playing with anything any everything.

Oh, I must go now, Abby is crying for me in her exersaucer even though I am only 2 feet away. Such a ham. Gotta love her.

Abby is 4 months old!

My little girl turned 4 months old on the 7th! I know I've been a very bad blogger - but my defense is as a new mom, it's hard to write down one fluid sentence and it make total sense.

On that note, I was planning on a series of posts called "Secrets from your Sister". Boy did I drop the ball on that one. I began a post but it ended up so disjointed from all the information that I wanted to share that I had to take a step back. I am going to try something else instead involving the alphabet. Stay tuned.

Onto Abigail.

At her 4 month appointment she was 13lbs 6oz and 25.75 inches long. She is the light of my life. From the beginning of the morning where she smiles at me to start the day and even middle of the night feedings, my heart melts.

She is babbling and yelling like nothing I have ever heard before. She takes after her father this way. She loves to kick and stand and look at absolutely everything. She isn't rolling over yet, but is strong in so many other ways. We began solids last week and she's slowly getting into how great sucking my finger and getting food can be.

The last month or so we've hit a problem with sleeping, but from what I have researched, 4 month olds tend to have a wakeful period. This means Abby is up to eat every 2.5 hours and is sometimes awake in between. It's hard on me, but somehow I am surviving.

I can't wait to see what she learns next!