Anyway, her black eye is cleared up (no longer present)…although people keep saying “it looks like her black eye is ALMOST gone.” What they don’t realize is Charlotte simply has permanent (so it seems) bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Sometimes I explain this to people, sometimes not. Due to Charlotte’s lack of sleep, Ben and I have had much discussion around the dreaded SLEEP TRAINING. This is where you let your baby cry herself to sleep. I believe I have said it before…but I can’t stand crying. Especially Charlotte’s. It breaks my heart and I HAVE to answer her cries. I can’t not go to her when she cries. If that makes me weak, then so be it. I am weak. I am VERY weak! That said, I want to linger on this topic of “sleep training” a little while longer.
Even though I don’t want to sleep train, I know it is necessary. And we have devised a plan on more than one occasion to go forth with sleep training. However, every time we have put the sleep training plan into action, something happens and we have to stop. Let me explain. We first decided to try back in February (I think it was February?). Charlotte got her first cold and so we answered her cries because she was so congested…we wanted to make sure she was breathing okay, etc. Once her cold went away, she seemed to be doing alright, only waking about 1 time a night. So it didn’t seem necessary to sleep train anymore. Then we went to Seattle. This vacation ravaged our little lady’s sleep pattern and her only waking once a night was lost. At that point, Ben and I were ready to start sleep training, but we had house guests for the month of June. We didn’t want to involve them in our sleep training (because I am sure Charlotte would have screamed for hours)…so we held off. Unfortunately, she started waking MORE FREQUENTLY throughout the night this past month. Every 2-3 hours, sometimes LESS…Charlotte would wake up, cry and not be able to fall back asleep unless I nursed her. Often, one of us would be in the room with her trying to get her to sleep for 30-45 minutes at a time. At midnight. 3am. 4am. 5am. It was miserable. The day our house guests departed, Ben and I decided to implement The Plan. Just so happens, Charlotte decided to start on cold number two that night. We could hear the heavy congestion in her nasal passage and so we aborted the plan…thinking (as we did before) we needed to keep a close eye on her just in case the cold morphed into something worse. And now here we are. She is still a bit congested and she has hives (from an allergic reaction to SOMETHING…what we don’t know. We took her to the Doctor and he just said she is allergic to something and to give her Benadryl. Awesome). So I ask you…HOW CAN I, being a Mom who can’t stand crying, especially Charlotte’s…..allow my baby to cry herself to sleep during a time like this? Hived up and congested? My reply? I can’t! Although I will say, she did sleep amazingly last night after giving her the Doctor’s prescribed dose of Benadryl. And it was goooooooooooooood.
Moving on.
Charlotte is very active these days. She is grabbing, pulling, pinching, scooting, waving, crawling, singing, yelling, bouncing, ripping, tearing…and the list goes on. The kid doesn’t sit still! Last month Charlotte began the army crawl. This past month she perfected that army crawl to a T. And let me tell you, she is FAST! Baby gates are in place, bathroom doors are closed, shoes must be put away at all times. Why? Charlotte LOVES shoes. She loves to grab them and turn them round and round in her hand, then taste them. Can I get a collective “ewe!?” Charlotte continues to LOVE walking. With assistance of course. During the days, Charlotte will use me as a jungle gym if I am sitting. She climbs all over me, grunting and grabbing my hands as she tries to get me up so she can be up and moving all about. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is walking within the next two months. Just gotta work on her balance. Sadly we don’t have a lot of furniture for her to “cruise” around. (cruise=moving around on her own while holding on to coffee tables, couches, chairs, etc). In our house of short people, our furniture is actually quite tall. Or has sharp edges.
Charlotte’s activity doesn’t just involve moving from one place to another. It involves remaining in one place while she satisfies her curiosity. These are the quiet moments. Where she taste tests whatever it is she has stumbled upon. One time this month I thought I saw a stick in her mouth…I tried to find it in her mouth, couldn’t and gave up. Later I nursed her…and when she finished nursing she spit the stick out. Wow. That girl must have hidden that stick pretty good! Very glad she didn’t swallow it… And while I have moved basically all paper from her reach, I believe I still remove paper from her mouth daily. I don’t know where she finds it. Maybe Molly gives it to her.
Speaking of Molly, Charlotte and Molly are still friends. They continue to enjoy playing with one another. Although I think Molly gets the short end of the stick…especially as Charlotte picks up speed. Poor kitty gets mauled on occasion. I’m working with Charlotte to understand “gentle touches” with Molly. (Funny story about Molly. When we first put up the baby gates, she didn’t know how to scale them. Poor kitty just sat there looking through the mesh of the gate…unknowing how to hurdle the thing. No worries, she has now mastered it…and I think she understands she can use the “other side” as a getaway from her new best friend, Charlotte).
Charlotte is getting to be a pro at self-feeding. She loves puffs and mum-mums. We’ve also given her some bread, strawberries, bananas and mashed potatoes. I am very cautious about what I give Charlotte because I don’t want to give her too much too fast. And I want to make sure she is ready for it! However, she does have a certain Uncle who likes to slip her sugary sweets….(uh-um…Christopher!).
We are working on the “wave.” She usually waves when we are out and about. She loves to look at new people and get their attention. And she understands the best way to get their attention is by smiling, waving and yelling. She is so stinking hilarious! Whenever we enter a store, church, large room, etc., Charlotte announces her presence with a loud “HEY!” Then she yells and babbles throughout the entire visit. Too fun. I’m definitely loving this! I try to get us out of the house daily…though there are days it is difficult to think of a place to go and not spend money…
With summer officially here, Charlotte and I try to get outside as often as possible. We usually visit the pool, play in the yard or go for a walk each day (not all of them in one day, one or the other!). She loves kicking her legs in the water...but her favorite part of visiting the pool is seeing all of the kids. As I've said before, Charlotte knows she is cute. And she eats up the attention like none other. We've made many new friends at our local pool as a result!
Besides shoes and ripping paper, Charlotte is also fascinated by her ears. She loves to dig inside them, scratch and pull them. Multiple mornings this past month I go in to retrieve Charlotte from her crib and find her ears all scratched and bloody. (I trim her nails twice a week!! They are just sharp no matter what I do!) I keep hoping this fascination will phase out…but we shall see. Doctor told us it is “normal.”
Speaking of the Doctor. Charlotte’s stats: She is rocking a small body and big head. They measured her at 26.5 inches (25 % ile for her age)…although I think they could have straightened her legs out better….I think she is taller than they measured. She currently weighs 17 lbs 10 oz (40 %ile for her age). And her head circumference is a whopping 45 ½ cm (90 %ile for her age!). Our Doctor said that if she continues to run on the “small” side, we may need to talk at our next visit. I said, “well, I am pretty sure she will be on the small side. She comes from a couple of small-size families!” So we will see. I think her size is just right if you ask me.
Anyway, I am loving being a stay at home mom. In spite of my sleepiness, I love spending my days with Charlotte. I feel so blessed to be the mommy God chose to disciple His daughter, Charlotte. I continue to pray for her heart to be turned to Him…that she will always be aware of her sinfulness as well as God’s grace and forgiveness and amazing sovereignty. Thank You Jesus for Charlotte!
Father's Day:
Waiting for Daddy to come home from work:
Charlotte loves to play outside!
But sometimes she gets distracted by the neighbor kids at play...
Gotta stay hydrated!
9 Month photos:
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