Melita's Big Adventure

Melita went to her first parade on Friday. She was, as expected, unamused. On Saturday, she went to her first birthday party in the park which included what will sure be the first of many times to ride the train. This she liked so much better than the parade. Mom and dad had fun too.

4 Months Going On 13

I cannot believe how big Melita is getting. Where did my baby girl go? Seriously. As evidenced in the photo below, she wants to do everything herself. She won't let me hold her like a baby, she wants to always be perched over my should taking everything in or she wants to sit up. I am excited she is developing and learning but also sad that the time is going by so quickly.

We had a follow-up with the hip doctor this week. It was uneventful but, she has an ultrasound scheduled at the 6 month mark to make sure everything is growing correctly. Other than that, things around here have been pretty calm. We did successfully transition her from sleeping in her swing to sleeping in her crib. I was prepared for many sleepless nights while we consoled her in her new environment. But we were successful on the very first night! She went to bed around 7pm, woke up at 11pm for a feed and a diaper change, and was back asleep until 6am. The next night was even better because she slept 830pm - 630am straight! This kid is amazing. Even this morning, I heard her stir around 4am. She was talking and squealing. I knew she couldn't be hungry because Reagan fed her a whole bottle at 11pm. Sure enough, after about 30 minutes of playing she was back asleep until 630am. We are lucky.

Bethany, this one is for you. Bats in the cave in NBTX.

Playing with her sock dolly Miss Lauren Barclay.

Christmas In September

Melita got a couple of new toys last week. We had a sneaky suspicion that her being bored of looking at the world from on her back was adding to her teething fussiness. She got a Baby Einstein stationary activity center and a Johnny Jump Up. I think she likes them.

Also, I suspect this won't be the last time Melita invades Bungy's space:

Feeling Rough without the Hangover

We had a rough weekend. It was mainly confined to just Sunday, but as I recall Saturday wasn't all roses either. Melita was fussy. There was actually crying with actual tears which is a rarity in this house. Even Bungy was stressed out about it.

*I think that Melita was going through a growth spurt as she outgrew her 3 month clothes over night and she has increased her calorie intake by almost a full bottle a day.
*She is pre-teething with all of its drool, vomit, copious amounts of liquidy poo, and super sore gums.
*We, also, discovered yesterday morning she had a diaper rash.

All of this is going on, and on Friday:
she rolled off the chair onto her head (Reagan was on duty. I was still at work.); I upgraded her bottle nipples to a faster flow; AND we hosted a refugee from Corpus Christi and his dog. It might have actually been chaotic over here.

At any rate, it all came to a head yesterday starting with no naps and constant fussiness (nothing made her happy yesterday) and ended with Melita actually putting herself to sleep at 6:45pm. I think she has my coping mechanism--when your stressed just sleep until it all passes!
I woke her at 5am this morning for breakfast and a much needed diaper change and all seems to be well. Her diaper rash has cleared up (We LOVE Boudreaux's Butt Paste!), her gums seem to be feeling better as she was/is all smiles, and now that I have upgraded the size of her clothes, she can stretch out in her PJs which is her favorite morning exercise. We are still working on getting used to the new bottle nipples, but that is small potatoes compared to everything else.

Last week also saw a few milestones. She rolled over twice. Actually she went from back to front and front to back on two separate occasions. She hasn't repeated it since, so it may have been an accident, but we are still so excited. She also hung out in her highchair in an almost perfect sitting up position! She loves her new view of the world. We ordered a stationary activity center and a door frame jumping chair from Amazon to help with her new development, but it appears that both arrived in the Houston facility on Thursday to obviously remain stuck there until UPS re-opens their Houston facilities after Ike. We'll manage. Trapped packages cannot compare to what Houstonians are going through.

The Frog Series

When I found this plush frog in the dollar bin at Target, I thought it was just something cute and cheesy to pay tribute to our little froggy girl. Little did I know that it would come in handy once Melita started needed something to suck/chew/hold.

Still, some times she can't resist the power of the hand!

Month Three

Happy Three Months, Melita!

PS This picture was taken a before you turned 3 months but the pictures we took last night just show a tired baby. I guess we shouldn't wait until your bedtime to mark the occasion next month!