I had a hunch- and I was right

Tonight I climbed on the scale with you because you seemed heavier these past few days.

I was right.

28.2 lbs

I am so very thankful for that number. You lost a whole ton of weight this past fall when you were walloped on by multiple ear infections in a row. You never really seemed to catch up from that. You'd been hanging out around 24 lbs for ever. Pants that used to fit you were falling down and taking your diapers with them. The only thing that has me feeling even remotely hesitant is the thought that this may be your next growth spurt.

Which I am in no way ok with. I don't have a 3T stock pile! I'm also glad that you managed to stay in 24,/2T clothes for over 6mos. My wallet thanks you for that.

I'm curious to see how tall you are at your check up on Friday. I'm pretty sure you're closing in on 36" by now. But I could be wrong.

Eight Months

I'm more than amazed at how much you've grown and everything you can do. When I think about how little and helpless you seemed, that all seems so silly now. You're hell bent on doing whatever you can, as often as you want. That may not go over so well shortly- but for now, we'll ride it out.

We have no stats this month other than weight, 23lb 14oz. You're not climbing the scale as steadily these days. A lot of that has to do with your insane desire to wiggle. Once you figured out how to crawl, self propelled motions became the name of your game

Margaret can:

• crawl
• pull to a stand
• stand!
• cruise!

Margaret likes:

• standing and watching Sesame Street
• standing in the front yard
• yelling at cars as they drive by

We don't yell at all of the cars though. We sit outside and wait for daddy to come home most mornings. You get soooo stinking excited when you see him pull in the driveway. It's more than a little adorable.

Seven Months!

You've got a serious set of pipes my friend. You've learned how to squeal and scream like a professional in the last month- I'm not sure which one of your friends at Day Care taught you that- but I think it might have been Ava. Ohwell. This wasn't really a big month for milestones, you've gotten very comfotable rolling around, you haven't quite figured out that crawling business yet. We don't have any official stats on you since there was no doctor's visit this month and there won't be until June. But I am absolutly certain you are over 22lbs.


Margaret CAN:

• roll front/back and back/front to the left AND right
• get up on all 4's

Margaret likes:

• waffles
• toast with jelly/jam
• MANGOES!
• riding in carts
• baths in the big girl tub
• bubbles!

Margaret does not like:

• peas
• little girl car seats

There aren't too many dislikes because most of them have stayed the same. You still don't like having your nose wiped although we make silly noises and faces at you now while we clean your face- that seems to make it more amusing for you.

Six Months

You've made it to another milestone: Your very first Half Birthday, congratulations.

Somewhere in the last month you became very, VERY demonstrative of your feelings. I shouldn't find your irritated grunts and moans as funny as I do. But someday, god willing, when you have children of your own you will understand. It's been a very busy month for you. You seem to be convinced that the big kid's stuff is way better than yours, and god dammit, you want it.

You're still in the 95^th%ile for head height and weight! You just won't quit. You're 20lbs 9oz and 30in tall.


Margaret CAN:

• pass things from hand to hand
• pick up small objects
•  sit completely unassisted
•  roll [back to front AND front to back, but only when she feels like it]
• feed herself!

Margaret likes:

• grown up food and still wants you to share
• her sippee cup, especially if it has apple juice
• Puffs!
• fresh peaches and cherries
• the sounds: oink, quack and woof
• Sid the Science Kid
• Sesame Street

Margaret does not like:

• people who won't share grown up food, yes sometimes that includes me
• reclining, she will sit herself up or use toy bars to pull herself to a seated position if put in a bouncer or infant rocker- this is most distressing
• the sounds: neigh, moo and cluck

You've come a long way baby and I super, duper, ouper, schmooper love you.

Four months

Hello my supremely large child! You are a beast it's true, you are a lovable beast. While you're becoming more aware of the world around you, you don't seem to enjoy being made aware of the cold. For now you hate the breezes and the cold air that sneaks in at your hands and face when we go out. You seemed to be super duper into ripping wrapping paper, but I'm thinking that was just because you seemed to think it was deeee-licious and promptly tried to eat everything you ripped off. You were 17lbs 15oz and 28in at your check-up. Instead of continuing to grow at a rate that is perpendicular to the growth curve. You've now decided that parallel is more fun. You're still in the 95+%ile for head, height and weight. I will continue to blame your father for this since your projected height is now 5'10"-6'1". Now on to the lists!

Margaret can:

• stick out her tongue
• sit by herself
• grab her toes

Margaret likes:

• bouncing
• flying!
• Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes
• Christmas Lights
• cereal!
• the cats!

Margaret does not like:

• tissues
• having her nose cleaned

All in all it's been a fabulous time with you. You laugh at all of my jokes and you like it when I get silly- so I think it's safe to say we've got quite a ways to go until I actually scar you.

Two Months

You madam are a trooper. You didn't even really fuss about your shots, you cried until I picked you up and then you stopped. You're still in the 95^th%ile for Head, Height and Weight. But I've been told once again that you're being fed too much and that they'd like to see your weight come down on the curve by your next visit. Between you, me and the internets- I doubt it'll happen. You're now 15lbs 7oz and 26in, and I'm ok with that. Now lets get on to the list of Margaret cans!

She can:

• belly laugh!
• 1/2 roll
• sit with help
• reach for objects

You didn't do too many new things this month, but that's ok. You're still figuring this whole place out- it's a lot to take in.

One Month

Today was your 4 week check up. You're in the 95^th%ile for Head, Height and Weight. There was a HUGE jump on the Weight Curve. Which didn't really surprise me, since you'd been taking 3-6oz every 2-3 hours. Eat that much food with a lazy life style and you're bound to see some poundage. You went from 7lb 11oz at birth, to 8lb 8oz at 1 week and then 11lb 7oz at 4 weeks.

Margaret can:

• hold up her head
• smile!
• do push-ups
• support weight on her legs
• follow objects
• grasp and hold
  
• coo

We had a bit of a scare yesterday, Similac issued a voluntary recall of 5 million cans of powdered formula. The formula may or may not have been contaminated- I'll leave it at that. The formula that was contaminated was said to cause infants GI distress/discomfort and potentially result in a refusal to eat. Well, you had tummy troubles starting your second and third day home- they never seemed to let up. As I sat entering the lot numbers off of our cans I found out that every one of the SIX! that we had was in the recall. I started to wonder if that was the cause of all our problems. While I know that it's common for babies to be gassy and spit up- I was a heck of a lot calmer knowing that I could eliminate the formula as a potential cause just by switching formula... again. Since we'd changed it three time within your 4 short weeks here I decided to just stick with the kind you were on now but get the liquid instead of the powder.

Twelve hours after the first bottle of the liquid formula it was like I had a different baby. There was no inexplicable screaming, no burps stuck in your tiny belly, and something I'm sure everyone was worried about- normal diapers.

It's been an interesting and exciting month, who knows what next month will bring.

So far, so good

Today was your 1w Well Child Check Up. I was hoping you'd be above your birth weight so I'd know we were headed in the right direction- boy oh boy were you ever.

8lb 8oz 21 3/4in

I'm thinking at this rate you'll end up taller than me.

Hello Miss Margaret

How did you get here? Well, it was easier than we thought, but harder than I expected.

They all thought that I would have a hard time getting pregnant- but I proved them wrong. They all thought that I would have a hard time with labor and delivery- but you proved them wrong.

You were late. Just like me. Just like I am damn near everywhere I go, but that's ok. We went to Sister's Hospital on Tuesday night. I got checked in and changed. Then we waited for the Doctors and Nurses. They took some blood, checked my blood pressure and your heart rate. I had to have an ultrasound to make sure that there was enough fluid and that you had enough room. Thankfully the answer to both questions was yes and they started the induction. If the answers had been no I would have been prepped for surgery- and I wasn't really looking forward to that.

They gave me Cervidil to help get things moving and an Ambien to help me sleep. The Ambien didn't work but boy oh boy the Cervidil did. The Cervidil started contractions and eventually they got painful, so that meant Nubain for the pain... which did not work. Your Dad sat in the room reading and occasionally napping while I watched a Law and Order marathon. I was supposed to relax and sleep for the next 12 hours but it just wasn't happening. I couldn't get comfortable.

Every time I had to go to the bathroom I had to call a nurse to come unhook me. I had to have my IV and the monitors unplugged so I could get out of bed. The combination of Ambien and Nubain made me feel like I was drunk- which wasn't so great. I almost fell over a few times which gave me a good scare so I decided to try to stay in bed from there on out.

Some where around 2:30-3:00AM I sent your Dad home. He needed more books to read as well as coffee and snacks. It didn't make much sense for me to have both of us there when nothing was happening. After he left things started to pick up, I got more uncomfortable and I started to feel... funny. I asked to go to the bathroom again, that's when my water broke. So there was a very panicked call to your Dad telling him he needed to stop whatever the hell he was doing and come back.

I kept getting more and more uncomfortable so I eventually asked for an epidural. I surprised myself, I thought I'd be crying asking for pain medication early on- but I managed to keep it together for quite sometime.

I will freely admit that there were a few times where I lost it. Once in my head and once out loud. I lost it out loud when they told me to stop pushing. My doctor wasn't there yet and they couldn't get a hold of him. No one knew where he was. That was unbelievably uncomfortable. I cried. I grabbed the sides of the bed and squeezed. And then I cried some more. At one point during this whole ordeal I heard my nurse Jen say "meconium." Then she called the nurses station and asked them to page someone from Neonatology. It was at that point that I lost it in my head. I was so worried that something was going to go wrong.

I closed my eyes- and I waited. I kept trying to tell myself that there was nothing I could do to fix it, I would just have to wait it out and hope for the best. I opened my eyes when they told me that a doctor was there- because I wanted to see who it was. I quickly closed them again and went back to trying to calm myself down.

I didn't open my eyes again until I heard the Neonatologist say that everything was fine and the nurses asked your Dad if he'd brought a camera. I kept my eyes closed hoping that I wouldn't see something that would make me panic more.

You were born Wednesday, August 25 2010 at 10:18 in the morning- after what felt like the longest hour and a half of my life. You weighed 7lbs 11oz and you were 21in long.

Welcome to the world baby girl, it's going to be a long trip.