11mths - Becoming Less Dependant

Dear Samantha

In the last few months time certainly did get away and before I knew it you were 11mths and then 12mths and now getting closer to 13mths and I’ve only just sat down to write about your 11mths.

I have to apologise that this journal of your first year isn’t as full or as detailed as the one I wrote for William. Not because you are any less special but just because life is fuller with 2 children; my time is divided over you both as well as everything else in life.  One day if you chose to have your own children (and I hope you do) you will understand. On top of life being fuller I’m not a natural writer and never really kept a journal, but I thought it was important to keep one of your early years for you both to look back on. I’ve tried and while it would never receive outstanding result if handed in as homework at school I’m hopeful that one day you will feel blessed, loved and happy that you have something documenting your early years and something of importance that I wrote for you.  

This month started off like most and the days rolled into the next but come the middle of the month our day to day life changed when I was offered  4-6 weeks of work at ‘Review’ (fun, feminine and flirty day, office, event wear). Luckily I had started weaning you in anticipation of an upcoming wedding and I was able to find a centre that you and I both loved. The carers there were lovely and were so happy to have you stay with them and continued to tell me how happy and relaxed you were and how much they had looking after you. They were sad to say good bye (always telling me that they would be happy to take you home with them) at the end of the year, but with my line of work you never know what lies around the corner and we could find ourselves using their service again.

You started to climb the stairs as well know so I can no longer leave you down stairs while I duck up and check on William or grab something. As the one time I did William kept me upstairs for longer than I intended and by time I was able to get back to you, you had climbed half way up the stairs in search of me. Clever but or so scary.

You certainly do things in and on your own terms. We had been showing you how to clap for a while but only at the end of the month did you grasp the idea. We noticed that while we may show you things and you watch intently, most times you watch take it in and then out of know where you can achieve it, like you have been doing it for ages.

At the end of the month your Dad and I had a wedding in Lorne so had to leave you and your bother overnight with Auntie Muffy and Uncle Stewart. Months leading up to the event I was worried about the weekend but I think going back to work defiantly helped ease us both into being away from each other so by the time the wedding was upon us it was only over night that I was concerned about. Lucky for Auntie Muffy you were on your best behaviour.

Below are some things we got up to this month.
• 45.5 weeks – Climbed your 1^st step and started day care. Started to say Mum Mum Mum
• 46 weeks – Standing unaided (but unaware of it). Climbed ½ way up the stairs
• 47 weeks – Started to give and take things with the word 'Ta'
• 48 weeks – Started Clapping and first time left for 24hrs

Healsville Sanctuary

Just loving being side by side

 

Bother William never fails to make you laugh

Happy 11mth Birthday Bam Bam

10mths And Full of Life

With crawling mastered you quickly turn your attention the next gross motor skill of standing, building your leg strength and furniture walking. You tried crawling on your hands and feet once or twice but you mustn’t have found it practical or elegant enough to continue with. Instead you practised pulling yourself up although it was a few before you mastered letting yourself down. I would often find you crying in frustration as you found yourself stuck standing looking down at a toy that you couldn’t get down to. And within a few weeks you were ready for furniture walking and with a lack of suitable furniture for you to walk around with you found that pushing the bean bag around was the perfect height and speed.

 

 

Other 2 teeth this month which has lead to issues with you biting me. 3 times at the morning feed was enough for me to be thankful that I was glad that I had started weening you and for the rest of the day you had the bottle. And when you bit me again that night I was close to closing up shop however I just wasn’t ready to let go. With you being my last I keep holding on to you just a little longer than I did with your brother. I’m sorry but I think this might be an ongoing problem for now and forever.

Your adding more sounds to your vocabulary and no longer do you only shriek. You start to add gooing sounds and softer sounding noises. With that you also found your tong and love to poke it out, move it from side to side and try to grab and hold it. We have yet to notice any sound that you say consistently that could mean something but we can defiantly tell when you have seen something that your excited about as you shriek in delight and start crawling toward what has excited you or if you’re in your highchair you move around excitingly and stare.  We turned your car seat around this month and with that there are times were you don’t stop babbling away, clearly you love being able to see everything.

You haven’t been one to sit still while we change/dress you let alone any other time. Unlike your brother you don’t even lie still when I sing to you (okay maybe a few seconds while you give me a smile). The song that you smile the most at and lay still longest for is

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Sammy brought a motor car.

Push the button pull the choke.

Off she goes in a cloud of smoke.

Like most babies you love music; you will stop, turn your attention to music you hear and start to bounce away. Sometimes you even raise the arms at the same time which almost looks like you could be in a mosh pit or at a rave. 

Below are some things we got up to this month.

• 39 weeks – started to goo rather than shriek all the time, starting eating small pieces of food including roast chicken. You also started tugging at my skirts/pants when you want hugs or/and milk

• 40 weeks – Pulling up onto legs but cant’ get down. Found your tong

• 42 weeks – Adding more sounds to voice, using bean bag to walk around, turned car set around

• 42.5 weeks – Started weaning and 5^th tooth cut through.

• 43 weeks – 6^th tooth cut through

Happy 10mth Noisy Girl

9mths And it's full steam ahead

Dear Sammy

So much for sleeping through the night!!!! It lasted all of 1-2 weeks before you got a cold and I had to get up to you one night as you were struggling to breath. I only had to pick you up one time and your back to your old ways and back to the drawing board for us.

With commando crawling mastered you have now turned your attention to trying to get yourself up on to all fours and within about a week your persistence pays off and you’re up and going, with a big smile of satisfaction on your face. And then within a week of you mastering that, you learn how to self sit. And then within a week of that you started to pull yourself up onto your knees followed closely by pulling yourself up onto your feet (however you have only been able to master that once). From day one you have been a mover and shaker and as I watch you persist in achieving each and every one of your milestones I know that we will never be able to hold you back; mmmmmmm a good thing I know but I can also see how that is going to cause tension at different points in our lives.

Crawling off to play with a toy so I thought.

As they say 'Priceless'

Now that your crawling better and faster you tend to follow me around the house more and also starting to become more investigative. Your always up for a play in your room with your teddies and when your brother isn’t watching you quickly take off for his room and your into his teddies, shoes or what every you can get your hands on. It’s rather cute and while William has said ‘no stay out’ he doesn’t really mind and loves to welcome you in and play with you.

Sprang

It’s very clear that you love your brother very much; greeting him with a smile and putting up with all the affection he bestows upon you. It’s even very clear to me that some days when it’s just the two of us that you miss him, and it’s on these days that when we arrive at day care to pick him up that you get excited as we pull up or as we walk in the gate. 

We enjoyed our first family get away with friends this month. It was nice to take some time out from our busy life and slow down for a few days and spend some quality time with friends. Phillip Island was our destination and while the first day was a little wet the rest of the weekend was dry even if it was a little windy. And as we had a slower pace to the weekend you actually were able to have a morning sleep each day which was lovely and you topped it off with sleeping for 1-1.5hrs which is unheard of at home. 

Enjoying investigating 'home' for the next few days

As tall as an African Penguin

As your become a better little eater I’ve found that you are settling into a routine of some sort; even if your sleep isn’t a part of that routine. While I haven’t managed to wean any of your milk feeds out I do know if I’m not around you don’t really miss them, your just a happier girl. I have a feeling you’re going to breast feed longer than what William did.

Below are some things we got up to this month.
• 35.5 weeks – started to understand hand in food to month and by the end of the month this will sometimes give me a little more until meal time. You also take your first few all-four steps
• 36.5 weeks – You begin to sit yourself up from crawling.
• 37.5 weeks – Pulled yourself up onto your knees. You also appeared to have cut your 3^rd tooth but by the next day it disappeared.
• 38 weeks – Using the Bumbo you pull yourself up onto your feet, oh you were rather proud of yourself

1st Time in the high chair

I can stand on my fee now

Dead tired

1st Mini train ride with big brother making sure your safe

I can stand on my feet

1st Time in the high chair

Happy 9mth Birthday Cheeky

8mths Sitting and Sleeping

Dear Samantha

After 7mths I finally leave you with your God Mother (while your brother was with his) while your Dad and I go out to dinner, just a shame it was with his work colleagues. However we enjoyed a night out and you were a star; entertaining the her boys and also taking the bottle of milk that we left. And you were even missed in the morning by the boys when you weren’t in your bed. 

While I never allowed you to sit up by yourself last month I was pretty confident that you could. So early in the month I admitted to myself that you were clearly growing and I couldn’t keep you my baby anymore and starting sitting you up. First the shopping trolley, then the bath ring and then finally sitting on the floor by yourself. You were so ready to sit that within a week or two you had even worked out how to get down, and by the end of the month trying to get yourself back up. And now that you have started sitting we now pop you in the little trike set of to the park and you just love your trike ride, swing your legs all the way.

Your still not saying anything that could be related to objects or people but you do have one reaction that is generally the same every time. And that is a little squeal of delight every time you see Eddie (our cat) which is especially loud when your Dad holds Eddie up and you both check each other out and your faces are millimetres from each other. Or he comes up the stairs and you to start chasing him.

While you’re getting up on all fours and start to rock you just can’t get the arms to move and the legs to hold up all at the same time. But you don’t let this stop you as your commando crawling gets you to where you want to go. Weather that is too a favourite toy, one of William’s that takes your fancy or to and follow me. A few times you have crawled your way over (it does take you a little while) from the toy area to under the table were I’m working; it’s very cute.

Compared to your brother you were fast to cut your first and second tooth. And because I wasn’t expecting it I didn’t realise it was happening until you decided to bite down on my finger one day. While you may look a female version of your brother you certainly are very much two different little people who clearly develop in very different ways (even taking into account male v’s female), have two very different personalities and not to mention already showing different interests (apart from Eddie who you are both besotted in).

Your still taking things slowly on the eating front but by the end of the month your eating 3 meals a day and most times happy to eat from a spoon. However when you get a cold you only want to eat from a sucking pack but at least your still eating! So far your pretty happy eating anything I give you, whether it’s purée or a little chunky. However sometimes I do find that you prefer creamy textures or taste, so I often add yogurt or a cream cheese.

The highlight of this month by far was your Christening. You were perfectly well behaved and looked just divine in your little dress. Your dress was altered by a lovely friend of mine Charlene from a dress that once was mine.  My dress was in a casual fabric and was rather short so Charlene replaced the skirt, sleeves and buttons and added a pink ribbon to match the embroidery in the yoke turning it into the sweetest little dress that wasn’t over the top. I then finished off the look by making a little flower headband from the left over fabric.

 

 

By the end of the month getting up to you 2-3 times a night I had enough and invoiced self settling. About a week before I enforced the overnight self settling I enforced the self settling yourself to sleep through the day. It was hard but I had to do it as you no longer allowed me to partially get you to sleep in my arms and transfer. The first night I enforced the self settle overnight was after your Christening and your father was shocked that I chose that night to start it after you were such a dream through the day considering you were so tired. But I had to chose a day to start and some would say it might have worked in my favour as you would have been excused after such a big day. Either way you did wake 1 or 2 times and it didn’t take long for you to cry yourself back to sleep. And by the end of the month you no longer woke in the middle of the night and most times you slept through to 6-6:30. Ahhh I’m loving my sleep.

Below are some things we got up to this month.
• 31 weeks – Sitting up unaided. Also starting waving but not on queue but by 32 weeks we sometimes could get you to wave back. However you stopped waving after a few weeks
• 31.5 weeks – Cut first tooth
• 32.5 weeks – Meet and had a hug of your first TV show character; no tears just wasn’t 100% sure what to make of  Iggle Piggle
• 33 weeks – Cut your 2^nd tooth
• 33.5 weeks – Christening
• 34.5 weeks  / 8mths – Sleeping through the night

HAPPY 8mth BIRTHDAY GORGEOUS GIRL