Time keeps on slippin'

It has been over a month since my last post! We have had a really busy month. I started a Tupperware business. I would like it to make it so I can stay home with Libby, but I am apprehensive about this possibility. I am going to give it a shot over the summer and see what I think.

Libby is so much fun right now. I can't imagine there are happier babies in the world. She smiles all the time, and she has FINALLY started giggling more. She first giggled a long time ago, maybe in December, but it took a lot of work and they were few and far between. But she is now ticklish and also giggles at fun games (peekaboo) and noises.

She is getting to be a strong girl. She loves to stand up (holding on to our hands), and started crawling two weeks ago and is now getting quite good. She still keeps her belly on the floor, but she will follow us around the house and will follow the big kids at daycare. Libby is also just starting to get to a sitting position on her own, and she partially pulled up to standing in her crib today. We moved her crib mattress down two notches lower.

Libby's first tooth showed up about 1.5 weeks ago, but she won't let us see it! When we open her mouth, she sticks her tongue out. When we try to push it aside, she cries. It's so funny. But it's there and quite sharp. I'm glad I'm not still breastfeeding, but wow, we would have made it at least 2 more months before teeth!

It's been fun giving her "real" solid food, not just purees. She's tried all kinds of crackers, and also pizza crust and dill pickles! She loves it all, she hasn't refused to eat anything in a really long time.

Time just flies. Of course people tell you that, and my sister was just teasing me about all of the "cherish these moments" comments I get on Facebook, but I have to say I really didn't realize how fast it would go. Babyhood comes with so much preparation and Stuff, it seems beforehand like something that will last for a long time. And when you're praying your underweight baby will finally gain, or crying because she won't let you put her down, it seems like a year is so far away.

But it's unbelievable how it has flown, and surprising now that I didn't get how fast it would go. I don't regret a thing about Libby's first eight months, and I'm excited about the ways she's growing and developing, but I'm working hard to be sure I enjoy the time we have.

PRAISE THE LORD, Libby is over this dreaded "4 month sleep regression" if there is such a thing. I think. I hope. I pray. She slept 9 pm - 6 am last night, unswaddled! She is "supposed" to sleep till 7, and I got her to go back to sleep till about 6:45, which is good enough! I hope we have a repeat performance tonight!

Then this afternoon I fed her prunes for the first time. I did not have high hopes, because up to this point, she has tried a few bites of a new food and then fussed. Today I had to go back for more two times, and she ate the WHOLE jar! She has never eaten that much at a time before. Prunes leave nasty brown drool everywhere, but she needs the fiber, especially now that she's on formula full-time (its iron is constipating).

Catching up

Well, working full time has moved the ol' blog down on the to-do list. But there is so much going on!

Libby is a solids-eating champ. At least, she loves cereal. She has also tried carrots, pears, and sweet potatoes. The carrots were a hit, the pears a no-go, and the sweet potatoes received mixed reviews. I'm going to buy some more baby food this weekend (we've been working through what she got from Nana for Christmas), and maybe make some of our own. I would like to point out that Nana did not buy any green vegetables. That is her right as a grandma. I'm also somewhat apprehensive about apples and bananas, since Todd used to be allergic to them, and you're supposed to wait to introduce foods your family is allergic to in order to try to prevent allergy in the baby.

Libby weighed in at 17 pounds yesterday, which I think means she's gained 1-1.5 pounds in two weeks, which is right on target. It is getting very hard for me to heft up into her car seat base in the van because the seat is so high, so I think we're going to buy her a "big girl" car seat next weekend. The car seat we're planning on buying is actually for 8-50 pounds, so she could have been in it already, but I'm glad we started with an infant seat that we could carry her around in. I know I'm going to miss being able to put her down anywhere, but I decided I'm ready to make that sacrifice.

Libby is sitting up on her own, or nearly, just not for very long. She will either fall sideways or face first. The other day, I had her sitting on the changing table, and she fell forward and clunked her head on the window! She was totally unfazed, but I felt pretty bad. Libby spends a lot of time at daycare in the Bumbo seat and the Exersaucer (stationary walker), and I think this is building up her core muscles and helping her get ready to sit.

She's also becoming more mobile as she's wiggling around to get toys, and rolling back to front (new this week). It's fun to see what position she'll arrive in next, and we talk about her "escaping the jungle" since that's what we call her baby play gym.

Starting 3-4 weeks ago, just after I started back at work, Libby stopped sleeping 6-7 hours, which she had been doing for over a month. She was up every two to three hours, and I was going crazy. So I decided the swaddle had to go, and we started putting her down without it last week. She is getting the hang of it, and slept 6.5 hours Tuesday, 6.5 Wednesday, and 7.5 last night. Starting Wednesday, I started trying not to feed her in the night, and was successful, so I'm hoping knowing she's not getting fed will stop her waking up at 4-5 am and she'll start sleeping all the way till 7, when I get her up and feed her.

Last night when she woke up at 5, I went in to check on her, and she had grabbed her swaddle blanket off of the crib rail and had it snuggled up next to her. It was so cute! It makes me nervous having her sleep with a blanket that big just loose, so I cut a receiving blanket down for her to sleep with tonight. I'm going to make her a blanket that is furry fleece on one side and satin on the other for her blankie.

Cereal, Take Two

We tried cereal again yesterday, and Libby was much more enthusiastic! I couldn't believe the change. She got impatient and whiny between bites. I don't think she's figured out how to swallow it yet, because a lot got on her bib, but since she was so excited, I'm willing to try again every day or every few days. We'll try this afternoon and see what she thinks.

Next weekend, Libby will be baptized. I'm really excited for this special day, excited for what it means for her, and for Todd and I. And I'm looking forward to having all of the family visiting!

Cereal, Day One

Today, Libby tried rice cereal for the first time. She was not really impressed. I don't know if any actually got swallowed. Oh well, she's pretty young for starting solids. We'll try again next week. I was surprised that our pediatrician was so gung-ho about starting right at four months, but I figured we'd give it a shot. From what I've read, I've decided that starting this early doesn't necessarily get you ahead, it mostly just gets you two months of buying/making well-strained food. Or just feeding rice cereal.

Better luck next time, Libbs.