Month 3
Dear Reagan,
This one really snuck up on me. I can't believe you've been with us for 3 months. Did I say that last month? I probably will say it every month. This is all still insane to me. That I'm a mommy, that Joe's a daddy, that you exist. We're slowing figuring this all out and settling into a routine...which you prompty change every 2.5 minutes.
You're more alert and interactive every day. Lately you've taken to grabbing things, your bib, the "leash" your pacifier hangs from, your Grandmother's hair, your ears. You also seem to be playing with your hair somethings, grasping at it with your fat little fingers. You're more easily occupied these days with toys and such, too. You'll bat at things, though still with little precision and questionable intent. Your smiles come quickly and often. I'm finally convinced you know who the heck your dad and I are.
Now that I've been back at work for a month I've learned how utterly impossible it is to work full time and be a mom. Pretty much it's a garantee that I will not be satisfied with the job I'm doing at either. It started out easy enough and has gotten progressively harder. Our evenings are spent in a blur of cleaning bottles, pumps, you, and the occaisional load of laundry. That's really what makes it so hard, the mad rushes in the AM and PM. You're staying with Joanne Halm during the days and I feel so good about that. She really loves you and she take you and her little Lola Belle for walks and plays games with you. You two hang out on the floor and grin at each other. I also like that you're getting exposure to their cats because I can't wait for you to get big enough to tell your Daddy that you want a kitten.
You really enjoy your baths, even though we've struggled a little to find a baby wash that doesn't give you a rash. I think we've found a good one, although the associated lotion doesn't agree with you. That's OK, it's wonderful and since you can't use it I don't feel bad about hogging it all. You poop in the baths with a fair amount of regularity still, and we've gotten really good and wisking you out the second we hear the tell-tall bubbles. You hate this quick departure and usually tell us about it loudly. In the bath you love looking at the bold colored letters and numbers "Aunt" Lisa got as decoration for the diaper cake she made for my Charlotte baby shower. You also kick, kick, kick your legs like there's no tomorrow. Maybe you'll be an olympic swimmer. You did watch a lot of Olympics this past month. I think your favorite was the hockey.
You cried your very first tear this month. It was patheticly sad. You're generally a very good baby, fussying only when you're tired or hungry. Sometimes you put up a little bit of a fight on the changing table, but really you love being there. It's one of your favorite places to smile and talk to us. Sometimes you still have an upset tummy. Luckily I think we've figured out the gassiness issues for the most part. I sure would like a milk shake, but the consequences are so immediate and so palpable, and so so sad to hear that it makes it easy to resist. You're eating like a little piggy, taking 6 ounce bottles every 3 hours or so.
You also rolled from your back to your belly for the first time. I was so thrilled that you did that in front of your daddy because I know it has been hard for him to be away from you as much as he has been. You rolled over for him once, and then another time when you were crying in bed you flipped yourself over and promptly fell asleep.
Your dad's travel schedule has been nutty. He traveled for 3 of the past 4 weeks. It's been tough on him, but he's taking it like a champ. I think he's thrilled that things have worked out at his job in such a way that he's able not only to provide for us, but to provide some really great opportunities for us. We're in the middle of making some really big decisions about next school year, and I'm thrilled that you and I might get to spend a lot more time together.
When I wrote your two month letter you had just slept through the night for the first time ever. You never did that again...until Saturday the 6th. You slept through the night that night, Sunday night, and Tuesday night. It may be a real trend this time. The funniest part is that Daddy and I had just been discussing your sleeping habits that night while Daddy was feeding you a bottle. It's like you heard us and decided to take things into your own hands.
Your tiny man hands. They are huge, baby. I'm sorry to say. Apparently your Aunt Susan has big hands too. There's no question that you're a Filanowicz. You look just like your dad to me. Especially when you first wake up in the morning and your hair is sticking in all directions just like his when he rolls out of bed.
It's been so fun watching you grin more, learn new sounds (you have G, A, K, and sometimes B, but you can't say Mama yet), interact with us, and start grabbing things more and more. We love you so much.
Love,
Mommy
Showing posts with label monthly letter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monthly letter. Show all posts
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Open Letter - Month 2
Month 2
Dear Reagan,
I would have thought that after spending two months together nearly 24/7 this whole being a "mommy" thing would be less surreal. Turns out it's not. Perhaps now that I'm back at work and my life has returned to normal the massive difference that is having a child will become more of a reality.
These last two months have been like a little pause from life during which I've gotten to just focus on figuring out how to keep us both alive. You're starting to turn into a person sometimes. More often though you're still just a really loud puzzle I have to figure out. Are you hungry? In pain? Tired? Bored? It's that last question that really shows how much you've grown this past month. You actually play now; you love looking at yourself in the mirror. You smile and coo; you "talk" to everything, yourself, the owls over your swing, the fan, even me and Daddy sometimes. Every day it seems you "discover" a new noise. At first you seem surprised, and then you test it out a little before adding it to your repertoire. You bat at the sun hanging from the play mat GrandPam (or whatever we're calling her) got you. It was funny watching you begin to test the muscles in your face, making the goofiest faces as you learned how to control your muscles. Sometimes it seemed you were watching our faces and trying to imitate our expressions. The best time of day for you is the morning. After your 5-8am feeding and changing we hang out in the big bed for a while if we don't have anywhere to go. You smile and coo. It's even better when Daddy can hang out with us, too. It's been neat watching him grow with you this past month. He was afraid to hold you at all in the beginning, and was unsure and slow when changing your diaper. Now he holds you high in the air, talks with you, and changes diapers as well as anyone else in the house. You two are going to have so much fun together.
You rolled over for the first time ever on January 27th. I don't think it was on purpose, you rolled from your belly onto your back twice. I think it surprised you more than anything, and you haven't done it again since. I still bragged about it though.
I thought it would be harder to leave you to go back to work than it has been. Luckily we have your grandmothers coming down to take care of you this month, and that makes leaving you in the morning so much easier. I miss you during the day, because we have a routine that I've gotten used to, but I don't worry about you. The surprising thing is that I'm actually enjoying being at work. It certainly will make my decision regarding working next year more complicated. I just hope I get to make that decision. The bottom line I think is a pretty obvious one, and that is that you are the most important aspect of my life, and so the choice will be easy in the end.
You've had a whole host of visitors this month. Jim and Jessica Mullen visited, as did Brooke Abbitt and her soon to be husband Ryan Scutt. Your aunts, Uncle Chris, and your grandparents have all visited Charlotte as well. We also took a week long trip to Virginia. You did so well in the car. I'm not sure I can even list all the people we saw there. The Crosbys, Mirs, MacArthurs, Metzgers, Gradys...and of course all of the family including your Great Aunt Sharon. Even though we slept in 3 different places in 6 days, you were super, in my opinion anyway. My girlfriends all seem to have these perfect babies, while you cry, have taken time to get on a sleeping schedule, get gassy, have cradle cap and dry skin and a little rash, and poop your way out of diapers nearly daily. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I think you're a great baby. You're just using your limited communication capabilities to make sure we all know you're here. Plus you kick the other babies' butts when it comes to hair. We hung out with some of those hair-deprived babies this month, and some not so hair-deprived. You had a bunch of "play dates" in which we mommies shared war stories and you babies mostly slept and ate. You met Will Crosby and Blakeley Hogan. You also hung out with Lola Halm again. We also hung out with some neighbors, Holly and Leslie, and Leslie's daughter Hollis. With Leslie staying home with little Hollis I'm sure we'll see more of them.
Speaking of sleeping issues...YOU SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT! You crazy kid. It was almost exactly on your one month birthday that you finally got your days and nights properly adjusted, and now on your 2 month you go ahead and sleep through the night. Silly. You ate at 8:15 last night, and then not again until 4:15 this morning. You groused a little here and there, but you didn't wake up. I never thought it'd happen. You still fight us when you go down at night. We have about 30-60 minutes of you tiredly yelling at us about how you don't want to (yawn) sleep, that you're really not (long blink) tired. It'd be funny if it weren't so annoying. You will be asleep in my arms, but the second any part of your body touches the mattress you're yelling again. I guess we shouldn't have bought the mattress made of hot molten lava huh?
I've had to pack up nearly all of your newborn clothes. I keep asking you to stop growing, but you won't listen. Your father's child, I guess. Your official 2 month appointment isn't for another week and a half, but my unscientific estimates on the bedroom scale have you at like 12-13 pounds. I guess all of my insecurities about nursing are unfounded. Now that I'm back at work I'm really hoping I can keep up my supply so that we can pick up where we left off with nursing this summer.
I've made a lot of mistakes this month. Remember that cradle cap? Well I wanted to get rid of the flakes, and I read that petroleum jelly can do the trick...so I rubbed a big glob in your hair...turns out Vaseline doesn't really wash out of hair, everyone else in the world already seemed to know this, but not me. I thought I'd ruined you. After 2 washes, some baby oil in your hair, and a few more washes we did finally get it out. Your head was flakier than ever; must have been punishment for not leaving well enough alone. Luckily you really enjoy your baths. I've also made mistakes with those, though. The sprayer in the sink takes a second to empty whatever temperature you last had in it before spraying the temperature of the water currently coming out of the faucet. Luckily the water I sprayed your belly with was freezing cold instead of scalding hot, but certainly you were not a happy baby at that moment. I also gave you an unwelcome surprise when I dropped some books on the floor while you were nursing. You were startled and looked at me with the saddest little face. Luckily we were in the middle of a feeding and nothing quiets you right down like nursing. We also have the stupidest diaper changes known to man. No sooner will we strap a diaper on you that we hear you fill it up again. Or, worse, you'll pee or pooh before we get the next diaper on. Sometimes it just ruins the new diaper, but just as often you get us, the changing table, your clothes...everything. I think the record is 4 diapers in one changing. You are a champion diaper ruiner. If nothing else you kick other babies' butts at hair growth and perfectly inappropriately timed waste elimination.
While we were visiting Virginia Aunt Jenny, GrandPam (or whatever we're calling her), Aunt Theo, Margaret, you and I went to get pictures taken of you and your cousin. It was hilarious. You cried some, but not a terrible amount. Of course I was also nursing you every 25 minutes to keep you calm. Margaret, who is 2 right now, was a wild child and hardly held still for a minute. Once she got away from your Aunt (who is pregnant with "Scrapper") and she ran out into the mall in just her diaper. It was worth the craziness though, we got some great pictures of you. I can't wait to do it again when we're in Richmond in April.
I've had so much fun getting to know you in these last two months. I will always treasure this time we've had to bond with one another. I love you and I can't wait to continue to get to know you as you continue to grow.
Love,
Mommy
Dear Reagan,
I would have thought that after spending two months together nearly 24/7 this whole being a "mommy" thing would be less surreal. Turns out it's not. Perhaps now that I'm back at work and my life has returned to normal the massive difference that is having a child will become more of a reality.
These last two months have been like a little pause from life during which I've gotten to just focus on figuring out how to keep us both alive. You're starting to turn into a person sometimes. More often though you're still just a really loud puzzle I have to figure out. Are you hungry? In pain? Tired? Bored? It's that last question that really shows how much you've grown this past month. You actually play now; you love looking at yourself in the mirror. You smile and coo; you "talk" to everything, yourself, the owls over your swing, the fan, even me and Daddy sometimes. Every day it seems you "discover" a new noise. At first you seem surprised, and then you test it out a little before adding it to your repertoire. You bat at the sun hanging from the play mat GrandPam (or whatever we're calling her) got you. It was funny watching you begin to test the muscles in your face, making the goofiest faces as you learned how to control your muscles. Sometimes it seemed you were watching our faces and trying to imitate our expressions. The best time of day for you is the morning. After your 5-8am feeding and changing we hang out in the big bed for a while if we don't have anywhere to go. You smile and coo. It's even better when Daddy can hang out with us, too. It's been neat watching him grow with you this past month. He was afraid to hold you at all in the beginning, and was unsure and slow when changing your diaper. Now he holds you high in the air, talks with you, and changes diapers as well as anyone else in the house. You two are going to have so much fun together.
You rolled over for the first time ever on January 27th. I don't think it was on purpose, you rolled from your belly onto your back twice. I think it surprised you more than anything, and you haven't done it again since. I still bragged about it though.
I thought it would be harder to leave you to go back to work than it has been. Luckily we have your grandmothers coming down to take care of you this month, and that makes leaving you in the morning so much easier. I miss you during the day, because we have a routine that I've gotten used to, but I don't worry about you. The surprising thing is that I'm actually enjoying being at work. It certainly will make my decision regarding working next year more complicated. I just hope I get to make that decision. The bottom line I think is a pretty obvious one, and that is that you are the most important aspect of my life, and so the choice will be easy in the end.
You've had a whole host of visitors this month. Jim and Jessica Mullen visited, as did Brooke Abbitt and her soon to be husband Ryan Scutt. Your aunts, Uncle Chris, and your grandparents have all visited Charlotte as well. We also took a week long trip to Virginia. You did so well in the car. I'm not sure I can even list all the people we saw there. The Crosbys, Mirs, MacArthurs, Metzgers, Gradys...and of course all of the family including your Great Aunt Sharon. Even though we slept in 3 different places in 6 days, you were super, in my opinion anyway. My girlfriends all seem to have these perfect babies, while you cry, have taken time to get on a sleeping schedule, get gassy, have cradle cap and dry skin and a little rash, and poop your way out of diapers nearly daily. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I think you're a great baby. You're just using your limited communication capabilities to make sure we all know you're here. Plus you kick the other babies' butts when it comes to hair. We hung out with some of those hair-deprived babies this month, and some not so hair-deprived. You had a bunch of "play dates" in which we mommies shared war stories and you babies mostly slept and ate. You met Will Crosby and Blakeley Hogan. You also hung out with Lola Halm again. We also hung out with some neighbors, Holly and Leslie, and Leslie's daughter Hollis. With Leslie staying home with little Hollis I'm sure we'll see more of them.
Speaking of sleeping issues...YOU SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT! You crazy kid. It was almost exactly on your one month birthday that you finally got your days and nights properly adjusted, and now on your 2 month you go ahead and sleep through the night. Silly. You ate at 8:15 last night, and then not again until 4:15 this morning. You groused a little here and there, but you didn't wake up. I never thought it'd happen. You still fight us when you go down at night. We have about 30-60 minutes of you tiredly yelling at us about how you don't want to (yawn) sleep, that you're really not (long blink) tired. It'd be funny if it weren't so annoying. You will be asleep in my arms, but the second any part of your body touches the mattress you're yelling again. I guess we shouldn't have bought the mattress made of hot molten lava huh?
I've had to pack up nearly all of your newborn clothes. I keep asking you to stop growing, but you won't listen. Your father's child, I guess. Your official 2 month appointment isn't for another week and a half, but my unscientific estimates on the bedroom scale have you at like 12-13 pounds. I guess all of my insecurities about nursing are unfounded. Now that I'm back at work I'm really hoping I can keep up my supply so that we can pick up where we left off with nursing this summer.
I've made a lot of mistakes this month. Remember that cradle cap? Well I wanted to get rid of the flakes, and I read that petroleum jelly can do the trick...so I rubbed a big glob in your hair...turns out Vaseline doesn't really wash out of hair, everyone else in the world already seemed to know this, but not me. I thought I'd ruined you. After 2 washes, some baby oil in your hair, and a few more washes we did finally get it out. Your head was flakier than ever; must have been punishment for not leaving well enough alone. Luckily you really enjoy your baths. I've also made mistakes with those, though. The sprayer in the sink takes a second to empty whatever temperature you last had in it before spraying the temperature of the water currently coming out of the faucet. Luckily the water I sprayed your belly with was freezing cold instead of scalding hot, but certainly you were not a happy baby at that moment. I also gave you an unwelcome surprise when I dropped some books on the floor while you were nursing. You were startled and looked at me with the saddest little face. Luckily we were in the middle of a feeding and nothing quiets you right down like nursing. We also have the stupidest diaper changes known to man. No sooner will we strap a diaper on you that we hear you fill it up again. Or, worse, you'll pee or pooh before we get the next diaper on. Sometimes it just ruins the new diaper, but just as often you get us, the changing table, your clothes...everything. I think the record is 4 diapers in one changing. You are a champion diaper ruiner. If nothing else you kick other babies' butts at hair growth and perfectly inappropriately timed waste elimination.
While we were visiting Virginia Aunt Jenny, GrandPam (or whatever we're calling her), Aunt Theo, Margaret, you and I went to get pictures taken of you and your cousin. It was hilarious. You cried some, but not a terrible amount. Of course I was also nursing you every 25 minutes to keep you calm. Margaret, who is 2 right now, was a wild child and hardly held still for a minute. Once she got away from your Aunt (who is pregnant with "Scrapper") and she ran out into the mall in just her diaper. It was worth the craziness though, we got some great pictures of you. I can't wait to do it again when we're in Richmond in April.
I've had so much fun getting to know you in these last two months. I will always treasure this time we've had to bond with one another. I love you and I can't wait to continue to get to know you as you continue to grow.
Love,
Mommy
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