Dear Lilah: Nine Months

Dear Lilah,
Oh Pumpkin, this month has been a crazy month of firsts! You started crawling, standing by yourself, cruising all over, and taking solo steps!! You are going to be walking any day! You also started giving BIG, open mouth, slobbery kisses; they are the best!!! You have been pushing the boundaries when it comes to nap-time. Many times this past month you have only been taking one nap in the afternoon. That makes our day long and rough. You also had a stretch of days were you wouldn't sleep night or day. That was very hard. We took you to a pediatric allergist and she did a skin test that showed us you are allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, and dogs. So far, Zoey doesn't seem to be a problem, so we are just keeping the house clean and her out of your room. I had to go back on a breastfeeding diet to accommodate your allergies which hasn't been too bad! They put you on an allergy medicine for nighttime but I haven't noticed a huge difference so we are in the process of weaning you off of it now. They also gave us an epi pen and told us to keep that and Benedryl with us at all times. We will get a blood test done next summer to find out the severity of your allergies- for now, we are just going to avoid those things!
When we went to the doctor, you were 26.5in tall (12%) and 15lb (5%)! You met all your development markers and are advanced for most of them! You are in 6mo clothing, and I'm thinking you will need to move to 9mo pjs soon bc you are getting "long"!
You are an absolute joy to be around! You love to laugh and be tickled! You LOVE to dance to any music!! You are such an amazing sweetheart and I am so glad I get to be your mama!

Love you always,
Mommy

Dear Lilah: Eight Months

Dear Lilah,
You are a little firecracker! You are so full of energy, love, and happiness! It's such a joy and blessing to be home with you everyday! I wouldn't have it any other way!! This past month, we went to the apple orchard/ pumpkin patch and Auntie Lauren tagged along! You loved the tractor ride and being outside! We went to Champaign and you went to your first tailgate! You were such a trooper and SO happy for everyone! You are either SO happy or miserable. I don't know if you have figured out a happy medium yet. It's definitely an adventure with you everyday. You love to watch other kids! You get so excited- red face, ear to ear grin, and laughter! its amazing :) You are starting to try and "crawl" but its more like an army crawl or a little inch worm. You have also started trying to stand by yourself! you pull yourself up to standing and then let go! I bet you will be walking soon! You use me as a jungle gym and you flop all over me and the couch! little daredevil you are!
We have started giving you whole foods instead of purees because you really like to be in control! You love fruits! You babble to yourself all the time and you get pretty loud! You just wanna be heard! Daddy and I just watch you for hours! You are so entertaining!
You are still in 6/3-6 month clothing. I'm guessing you are around 14.5-15lbs.
You are such an amazing little girl and I cant believe you are going to be a year old soon!
Time has flown by!!

I love you with all my heart!

XOXO,
Mommy

Dear Lilah: Seven Months

Dear Lilah,
Sweet baby girl, this month was a rough one. You had a fever the majority of the month. Right before you turned 7 months, you got a flu bug which turned into an ear infection and we had to put you on an antibiotic. every since then, you have been such an incredibly happy baby girl! You started trying to clap :)
You are trying to move! You are pulling up to stand on everything you can get a hold of! You are chatting up a storm with strings of constants! da, pa, ga, ba, la ... an occasional ma and squeals!! You have been napping much better since we started sleep training! You are still waking up at night around midnight and 4-5a.
You weigh 14lbs but you are a happy healthy baby girl :) just petite! You got your first 2 teeth! the bottom middle ones popped through this month :)

I'm loving all your baby giggles and toothy smiles :) I just can't get enough of you!
Love you, pumpkin!
XOXO,
Mommy

Dear Lilah: Six Months

Dear Lilah,
Oh, sweet girl!! You are a firecracker. You are always 110%, whether you are mad/sad or happy! You never hold back! Sometimes this can be challenging and I am trying to learn what makes you tick still. I try what the books say but
you are far from textbook. We are trying little bits of everything and sadly I think we are going to have to resort to letting you cry it out (in moderation) to help you sleep. You have gotten to the point where you don't sleep enough so you are overtired which leads to more not sleeping. Its a vicious cycle. We have started solids! You LOVE sweet potatoes! You have tried carrots, squash, and bananas as well. You are sitting up all by yourself! You love to bounce and chatter away! We are still breastfeeding and that is going well! You do get distracted very easily... but otherwise we aren't having any issues in that department! Pitch Perfect is your favorite movie, always puts a smile on your face :) Just more evidence that you love music! Goodnight Moon is your favorite bedtime storybook right now!
Mommy passed her Respiratory Therapy boards this month!!! So I am officially an RRT and have started applying for jobs! I am torn about going back to work, but I know it will be good! We will just have to play it by ear and make it work!
You are 13lbs 13.8oz (12%) and 25.5in long. You still fit in 0-3mo clothing but we are mostly in 3-6mo clothes now! Doctor wants us to start solids 2x a day and she wants us to get rid of nighttime feedings (after 12a). You still wake up around 11p and 4a. You begin everyday around 7:30a! You have only been napping 2-3x a day and about 30mins each (most always under 2hrs of naps total).

I love you so much! I cannot believe you are 6mo already! You are such an amazing little girl :)

XOXO
Love, Mommy

Dear Lilah: Five Months

Dear Lilah,
This month has been a crazy one! I feel like you are changing and developing everyday! Each day I'm shocked by the new things you do! This morning you rolled from your back to tummy ALL BY YOURSELF! I was just like, WHAT? It was only last week that you rolled from your belly to back. You are growing up so fast! You are getting better at sitting up on your own, too! If we stand you up and hold your little hands, you try and walk. You definitely have the marching in place down! You LOVE LOVE LOVE music! You will stop whatever you are doing to "dance" and bounce and you get a big smile on your face! Maybe you'll be a dancer or musician? We are still working on a schedule and trying to get you sleeping through the night. You still wake up 1-2x a night to eat. We are also trying to start introducing solids. You are really good at opening your mouth for the spoon and I think you are consuming more than you are spitting out! We've done rice cereal and carrots so far.

Earlier this month, someone brought to my attention a possibility of a tongue or lip tie b/c of your symptoms (arching and screaming while nursing, unable to drink a bottle... it took you 20mins to drink 2 oz from a bottle, unable to stay latched, slow weight gain...). I did some research and it appeared to me that you had an upper lip tie. So I called pediatrician and they told me to make an appt with an ENT. She "examined" you and told me that you looked normal, although your lip did attach pretty low...::eye roll from me:: and if you did have a lip tie, it would in no way effect nursing. So I talked to your dad and we agreed to get a second opinion. I made an appt with Dr. Margolis who specializes in tongue and lip ties. I was so thankful someone listened to me! You had a class 4 upper lip tie (which is the worst) and a class 2 posterior tongue tie. He only recommends revisions for class 3 and 4 so we left your tongue tie, but had your lip tie lasered. The effects were immediate! I nursed you right after the procedure and could tell that your latch was different and deeper! You didn't pull off or scream either! The recovery was a little rough the first couple of days but you were still a different kid! So much happier! You were and still are eating SOO much better! I don't have anxiety anymore about taking you out in public. I would say 90% of the day you are happy which was not happening before the revision. I was sick of the nurses and drs telling me to switch you to formula or that you still had colic! I knew something wasn't right and I am so glad someone informed me of this issue and I followed my gut and got this fixed for you! I think you are up around 14lbs now! We are transitioning into 3-6mo clothing but you still fit into most of your 0-3mo outfits. We also just moved to size 2 diapers! You are getting rolls on your legs, finally! You have the cutest little chubby hands and feet! (Speaking of feet, you started sucking on your toes recently!) You also have crazy hair that has a mind of its own; a natural mohawk! It just wants to stick straight up :)

I just love you so much! You are a true joy to be around!

Love you forever, 

Mommy