The months are starting to feel like weeks. It seriously does not feel like a month sine I was writing about Tula being 4 months old, but on the other hand, 4 months old seems so little and it feels like a million years ago since she was that small.....weird.
Some big milestones this month:
We tried solids last week: her first thing I made was rice cereal. Since then, she has tried avocado and sweet potato and didn't really seem to enjoy either. I mean, she doesn't seem to mind but she certainly doesn't get excited about the whole thing. I was sure I would be one of those people who waited the full 6 months to even try solids but I think with the whole "not taking a bottle situation" I would king of like to make sure that she can get food somehow if I am not around. At this point, I feel like we are just playing with it more than anything. Some days I will give her solids twice and some days none at all. Breastfeeding is so simple and mess free so sometimes when i know she wants to eat I just find it easier to feed her that way, but sometimes we go all out and I slap a bib on her and we make a mess. It's been fun watching her try these things and experience all these firsts. She gagged and gagged on the avocado (poor girl) and didn't love sweet potato either. This week I will try and give her some different fruits and see if the sweet stuff goes down a little easier or gets more of a reaction out of her.
The sippy cup thing is getting better. Its hit and miss. Sometimes I think she gets it, other times I realize that EVERYTHING goes in er mouth right now and this is just another one of those things. I ended up taking one of the plastic valves off the inside of the cup so when we tipped it into her mouth water just poured out and she didn't need to suck at all. That seemed to help a little, though it was coming out too fast for her I think she now realizes that there is something in there and seems to be sucking on the spout a little more than just chewing on it now. We still just use cold water in there. She loves when she gets a taste of it and seems royally ticked if she tastes breastmilk from anywhere but my boob so we are done trying to do that for now as well. Also, I made the mistake one day of letting her drink from my water bottle. She loved it, but now whines for my water bottles whenever she sees it and opens her mouth in an attempt to score a drink (even if she is 3 feet away from me).
She seems to be reaching really well for anything that she is interested in, water bottle and sippy cup included. She can stick both arms out and grasp her intended object with both hands, and immediately bring it to her mouth after that.
Tula loves to laugh. I feel like she is really developing her own little personality and becoming a character that I know and understand. But more than she loves to laugh, she loves to make other people laugh. She thinks she is SOOO funny sometimes and if I so much as giggle at her she will crack up. I have gotten lost in so many giggly moments with her in the last month. She makes my day. We really have fun together.
She loves to copy me. If I talk, she talks. I laugh, she laughs. I sing....she tries. The other night she was having a hard time falling asleep so as I was feeding her in her chair I began to hum a song to her. I don't normally do this and she usually prefers I keep very quiet while she is eating. She listened for a minuted and then tried to chime right in. It was so cute. She was trying to do this gentle hum and she was being so quiet. It was so sweet.
Breastfeeding has changed a lot this month, as she has become so active. She loves to pat at my chest or place with my necklace while she is eating. She is also staring to like to eat a little, have a look around, eat some more, tell me a story, then eat a little more. She lets me know she is really done with a dramatic sigh and thrashing her head back.
Tula is also quite the social butterfly. She has enjoyed our Mommy group meeting all the other babies. She tries to chat with everybody and loves "baby watching". The other day I had a few (5) of the moms from our group and their babies over to the house for lunch. Tula LOVED having them all over. I put her in her Jolly Jumper and the babies were all on their bellies on front of her and she loved looking down at them all and watching them play. Today, we met up with Jaclyn and her daughter Tatum for lunch and then they came over to the house for awhile. Tatum was born 4 weeks before Tula and they are so cute together. They stare at eachother and reach for eachother and make eachother giggle. I even caught a picture of them holding hands. It's on the babysite. Anyways, Tula is making new friends and so am I and we are both really excited about it.
Sleep was going really well and has been a little tougher since Tula is now rolling from front to back. That started two or three weeks ago and I used to be able to put her down in her crib and she may fuss for awhile but eventually would fall asleep. Now, she rolls herself onto her back, kicks and plays for awhile. Then she realizes that she can't roll back to her bally and really freaks. I have a video monitor so I watch everynight and its the same thing. I think she is learning that if she rolls over I will come in the room and put her back on her belly. Shes a smart cookie. Then, when I come in and put her on her belly and leave she is soooo mad. She never used to be like that so I dont know if its a stage or my good sleeper is a gonner. I will keep you all posted.
She is at an age where it could be teething but that doesn't seem to be it. She has not teeth yet, and her gums don't seem to bother her enough to make me think that they are close to being on their way. Yes, she drools and chews on her hands (and everything else) all the time, but she has been doing that for 6 weeks now. She doesn't seem fussy or uncomfortable at all throughout the day so unless they are just bugging her at night I think she is just looking for a little extra TLC before bed.
Sometimes I wish she was sleeping through the night and dread my two or three nighttime wakeups. But this week during one of them I realized that the whole sleeping through the night thing is inevitable, and to just enjoy these precious moments where all she wants to to be held a little longer. She cuddled right into my neck and was breathing so sweetly. For the first time I sat there holding her and rocking her because I wanted to, not because she needed me too. I understand all those moms who told me when I was pregnant or when she was first born to "Enjoy it, they grow so fast." There have never been truer words spoken, and it takes having your own to understand that.
That's all I can think of in Tula's life this month. Our family has been quite busy, my Mom and Dad have been in town for the last two weeks so we have seen them quite a bit. We like to go down and stay there on the weekends. Tula LOVES the neighbors swimming pool there and goes for a morning dip with Grandpa. She loves the water, but it has to be warm. She is an Arizona girl already! Our Christmas lights are up on the outside of the house and we have set up the tree so we can decorate it this weekend. My Mom and Dad leave on Monday and they are coming to help with that on Sunday. I am starting to get really excited for Tula's first Christmas. More than anything, for all our family to get here and share the holiday's with them. We are looking forward to our first Christmas as a family and in our new home. It will be such a special one this year!
The month of December will fly by I am sure. We have block parties an work parties and still more to do to prepare for everyone's arrival. I had to go to the mall last weekend to pick something up and promised myself at that point that the rest of my Christmas shopping will be done online. I refuse to battle those crowds, and especially not with Tula in tow. But that's another job that is not finished yet so I need to get with it. And yes, I do plan on taking Tula to see Santa. I will try and do that in the next week or so before it gets too busy and post the pic for you all to see. That should be interesting!
Well one thing I learned this month.....it's a lot easier to write tiny posts throughout the month than one long one at the end! Phew.....my shoulder hurts! December will be a busy month for all of us but I will try and check back a few times with you all, or at least update pictures! Hope you all are enjoying and anticipating "The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year" as much as we are!
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