End of the swaddle

Last update for today. ;o) This is a picture I took of Mia the other day doing something totally new: sleeping w/o a swaddle. Many of you have seen Jeff or me swaddle her up and it's been like an off switch. I'd read that most babies who like to be swaddled give it up around 3-4 months and that some occasionally hang out w/ the swaddle until about 6-7 months. Mia was definitely in the latter camp. The problem is that she still likes being swaddled, but at just over 18lbs it's no easy task to keep her in one. And whenever she broke free, she flipped over to her hands and knees and cried like the world was ending. So Jeff and I decided that we probably just needed to move on. So on Sunday night after our long drive home from Easter dinner, she was already sleepy so we just put her down in the crib and prepared to endure the crying. And then...nothing. She just went to sleep. And then she did it again for all of her naps yesterday and at bedtime last night. So...seems Mia was ready to move on before her parents were, eh? ;o) I'm just glad that she can sleep more easily now!

Plastic bibs are the way to go...

Here is a picture from lunch today of Mia in her new frog bib. It's made out of soft plastic & has a little pocket to catch spills so they don't end up in her lap (and from there to her hands/hair/me/etc....).

Mia's first Easter!

We celebrated Mia's first Easter over the weekend, and there are several new pictures up in her photo album. She was a little ham all day in her dress. We attended an Easter breakfast at church before the service, and Mia kept herself entertained w/ a spoon while I managed to eat. I missed most of the service itself hanging out w/ Mia who was upset b/c she'd missed her mid-morning nap... But we got hang out w/ a couple of other moms who were doing the same thing. (Yet another one of these secret mom worlds I've discovered!)

After church we drove out to my mom's place for Easter dinner w/ the whole family. (Check out how much Mia how grown since we took a similar photo at Thanksgiving!!) In the picture here are (from left to rightish): Pam & Chuck, Melissa, my mom, Justin & Heather, Pat, Jeff, Mia, me, and my grandma.

A Day at the Races

Today we took Mia out to the Santa Anita Race Track for the Santa Anita Derby and 5k. Heather, Jeff, and I ran the 5k race, which ran through the beautiful LA County Arboretum and then finished around the race track at Santa Anita. After the 5k, we met up w/ Melissa, my mom, and my grandma and explored the infield before heading to the stands to watch the first six horse races. The highlight of the day for me was that we held the program open in front of Mia, and when we asked her to pick the Derby winner, she pointed to a horse named Tiago (a long-shot at 20-1 odds) and he won in an upset. Unfortunately, her parents didn't put any money on her horse...

Cute as a button! :o)

Here's Mia playing w/ her little gym and showing off her tamed hair. ;o) I finally found clips that will stay in her hair, so hopefull the Flock of Seagulls era is now over...

New Photos!

Hey, all. I finally got Mia's photo album updated again. :o) Enjoy!

Six-month update

Mia had her six-month doctor visit yesterday, and it went really well. Our waffle weighed in at 18lbs 0.5oz and measured 26.5". She had been in about the 95th percentile in both measurements at her last appointment, but now she's in about the 85th percentile for both measurements at her age, which is good. They say that breastfed babies tend to be bigger than formula-fed babies for the first six months, and then they tend to be a little slimmer than formula-fed babies for the next six months as they start rolling around and crawling. So it's good that she's developing well.

Mia received her third round of shots yesterday, which actually went fairly well. She didn't even cry at the first shot...she just looked really irritated. Then she cried pretty hard for about 30s after the second, and that was it. I think the nurse that we've had the last two times is just really good at giving them. And now we get a three-month break before our next round! :o)

Our pediatrician is pretty eager to get Mia eating a lot more solid food ASAP, which sort of surprised me. I guess she's been studying for her board re-certification, and there is a lot of new research that kids often don't get enough iron in the second six months of life. So, she wants us getting Mia up to 2-3tbs of iron-fortified cereal three times per day...and then moving right along into veggies, fruits, and even meat. She also wants us to feed her solid food first three times a day and then to finish those feedings off with breast milk "if she's interested". Alas, my first disagreement with the doctor. I agree with most of what she's said, and we will definitely offer Mia more cereal and start making progress towards veggies and fruits, but I still plan on breastfeeding first at all meals and I don't plan on offering Mia any meat for a few more months. Everything I've read says that a feeding schedule like that can lead to a baby weening herself way early, and everyone agrees that "breast milk is best" for the first 12 months. And in fact, I was reading yesterday that if she does stop nursing before 12 months, then I'd have to supplement with formula anyhow!

The other interesting note is that Mia still doesn't shed tears... And my doctor has never heard of a baby her age not shedding tears, at least unless the baby's sweat glands were also not working. But Mia doesn't have that problem. (Hence the wonderful hairdo she's always got when we take her out of the car seat...) But Jeff found a message board where some parents said that their kids didn't start w/ the tears until 7-9 months. So I'm prepared to be heart broken when that starts... ;o)

Road Trip!

We just got back from Mia's first road trip, and we all had a great time. It was a whirlwind, but we were thrilled to see all of you we were able to get to. For those of you who have never road tripped w/ an infant, it is amazing how much longer a pit stop takes when you have to factor in a diaper change, possibly a change of clothes, a feeding, and just time out of the car seat.

See how happy she looks? It's like she knows that she's on the Cal campus. Go Bears!

Connor was super nice to share all of his toys with Mia for the afternoon! :o)

Mom & Dad were even able to take a break from the driving for a while! (Just kidding!)

It's only been a couple of weeks since I started sitting, and I'm already digging the high chair when we eat out. The view is so much better up here!

Developmental Milestones II

It is amazing how much Mia has already changed in the last three months!! When I posted this chart previously, she'd only hit about half of the milestones and I couldn't picture her being able to do the rest of them yet. Now we're there! She's hit every single one of them

Sadly, Friday has made no progress whatsoever. However, as our friend Ari mentioned, Friday should at least get an honorable mention for being potty trained. In fact, he came that way and has never (to my knowledge) needed a diaper. So, hats off to you, Friday!

	Mia	"Friday"
	(3 m/o human)	(5 y/o house cat)
Follows objects briefly with eyes	x	x
Vocalizes: oohs and aahs	x
Can see black-and-white patterns	x	x
Smiles, laughs	x
Holds head at 45-degree angle	x	x
Makes smoother movements	x	x
Squeals, gurgles, coos	x
Blows bubbles	x
Recognizes your voice	x	x
Does mini push-up	x	x
Can grasp a toy	x
Rolls over, from tummy to back	x	x
Recognizes own name	x	x
Turns toward new sounds	x	x
Rolls over in both directions	x	x
Is ready for solid foods	x	x
Sits without support	x	x
Mouths objects	x	x
Passes objects from hand to hand	x

Mia's first playgroup :o)

Mia and I attended our first parent-tot group, and it seems to have gone over really well. The tot classes are divided into two "age" groups: non-walking infants and walking infants. We are obviously in the non-walking group. The class ran about 45 minutes, which seems to have been the perfect length b/c at minute 46 a few of the babies (including Mia) starting crying. It was pretty funny. Anyhow, before we got to that point we let the babies roll and/or crawl around on the floor and look at each other and play together. Some of the kids can crawl already and came charging over to Mia who was like, "Oh, hello..." Then we sang some songs for them, blew bubbles, played with a parachute, and rolled some balls around in a circle. I think the parachute was the best part. If you've ever seen those giant parachutes that kids play with in P.E., this was the same sort of thing. We all set our little ones on the parachute near us and fluttered the 'chute a bit. Then we put them on the floor and fluttered it above them. Mia was amazed by the moving rainbow of colors...and of course she tried to eat it. ;o)

Site Feed

Quick note... If you're into site feeds (like RSS, Atom, etc.), I've added one for Stork Notes. You can use the following URL or click the button at the very bottom of the site. http://babysketeris.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Toes in the mouth!

Mia finally figured out to get her toes in her mouth, and she seemed pretty pleased with herself! :o)

Jumping bean!

Until today, Mia has only really liked her jumperoo as a place to stand and play w/ the toys on its tray. Today she suddenly figured out what the springs were for. It was a pretty fun afternoon! :o)

First solid food

Mia tried her first solid food on Sunday, and it went over pretty well. :o) Jeff fed her a small bowl of rice cereal, and Mia ate all of it. We made a couple of rookie mistakes (like forgetting a bib...), but otherwise, it was a success!

Growing fast :o)

Had to share this adorable picture of Mia:

It's been an interesting week with the baby. I think she must be going through another growth spurt b/c she's been waking up for a late dinner (btw/ 10pm and midnght) and then up for an early breakfast (btw/ 3am and 5am) when she used to sleep all the way through from around 7pm to 6-7am. Plus, she's been really fussy lately, too, which is totally not normal for her. But if I'd grown over 5 or 6 inches in the last 5 months, I probably be grumpy, too. :o)

She's already up to 18lbs, and it looks like she really, really wants to crawl soon. She can hold herself up really well on her arms, and she's got the motion down in her legs, but she can't quite pull her legs under herself yet. She made a couple of serious attemps at it yesterday, though, so it probably won't be long now!

Look what I can do!

So today was a big day! Yesterday, Mia started putting her arm down when she started losing her balance when put into a seated position. Today, I put her in the middle of my bed (lots of safe room to tip over…) and tried to see if she might try to hold herself up on her own…and she did! After sitting while leaning on her hand for about a minute before tipping over, I decided to grab the camera to get a picture. But when I propped her back up, she sat for another minute, but without leaning! So I guess Mia can officially sit up! At least for a minute. :o)

Mia figures out beverage containers...

I decided to let Mia start playing w/ an empty sippy cup this week when she demonstrated that she's figured out how grown-ups use beverage containers... Here are a couple of highlights (lowlights?) of her trying to get at my coffee and Pat's beer:

Weekend long run w/ Mom & Dad

I took this picture of Mia and Jeff about a week ago while the three of us were on a six-mile run on a local trail that followed a stream. It was a beautiful day and it was also the first time we had to stop for a diaper change during a run... :o\

Mia's trip to Seattle

So here I am catching up on news from earlier in the month! Ask & you shall receive! ;o) The big news of the month is that Mia and I flew to Seattle on the 1st of the month so that my paternal grandparents could meet their new great-granddaughter. We had a blast on the trip, but it went so, so fast! We flew out on a Thursday morning and had to fly back the following Monday. Mia was the best baby on the whole trip, and my secret is now out about how good of a sleep Mia is. ;o)There were only about five hours in the day that my grandparents really got to see her b/c she was asleep the rest of the time, including all the way through each night. Mom was very happy about that! Here are some highlights from the trip: This is Mia sound asleep on the flight to Seattle. I was really hoping I wouldn't be that woman on the flight with the crying baby...and luckily I wasn't. :o)

This is Mia and her great-granddad. So cute!!

Mia and I got out for one long run during our trip. We ran about 5.7 miles to and along part of Puget Sound. They are apparently building a golf course on the beach along the sound behind us.

Mia was snug as a bug in a rug on the drive w/ Gram & Granddad to check out the new shopping center that opened in their area.

Mia with her great-grandparents! And, if you look closely, you can see one of their cats sneaking into the photo. ;o)

Mia entertaining herself at the gate before our flight back. Unfortunately for the lady sitting next to us on this flight, Mia discovered her ability to "squawk" during our stay in Seattle...and she practiced all the way home. :o( Oh well, at least she wasn't crying!

Mia at 5 months!

Mia is five months old today! I really can't believe it's been that long already. :o) This is a video Jeff shot today after I gave Mia a bath. She's been an absolute doll this week. She's learned how to blow raspberries and picked up a few new ways to play with her voice. And I promise: more cuteness is on the way!

Finding Fingers & Toes

She's finally found them! About three days ago, Mia began absolutely staring at her fingers. She would hold her hands a few inches in front of her face and just stare. Then something would distract her, but shortly after that she'd turn back to those every curious fingers. Then today I watched her discover her toes. For a while she looked at them like she was trying to figure out when they got there, and then she managed to get her fingers hook around a big toe for a while. So cute!!

Back to School

As many of you know, I started class again on Jan 3rd. It's been a pretty interesting experience to try getting reading done while I'm at home with Mia during the day. Sometimes I try to hold her in my lap while I read over or around her, but she figures out pretty quickly that she doesn't really have my attention and demands something different. :o) My first paper of the quarter was due today, and I finally figured out the most productive way for me to get my work done. I grabbed my coffee and my laptop and hit the floor next to Mia and her toys. That way she's free to roll around and do her thing, but she's able to keep an eye on me the whole time. Jeff and I figured out the other day that she's pretty content sometimes when she can just hear or see that we're around. And luckily it worked out for me today so that I was able to finish my first paper.

Rock and Roll!

Mia's grandma got to witness a major milestone yesterday: Mia rolled over in the other direction yesterday (back to tummy). Then she proceeded to repeat the feat over and over. At one point, Mia rolled herself to her tummy and stayed there a while...so tummy time apparently isn't so bad as long as it's Mia's idea and not her mom's!

Fingers?? Toys?? Fingers?? Toys??

It's so hard to decide! I watched Mia trying to chew on both hands and a couple of linked rings for about twenty minutes today. Here are some highlights, including amazing bed-head, a shot of her flipping the bird, and a brief attempt to fit her whole fist in her mouth. Jeff and I are trying to decide which of these to show her prom date when the time comes. ;o)



And just 'cause, here's another cute picture of Mia from the other day. We can't believe how big she is already!!

Mia rolling over

Even though Mia seems to be enjoying tummy time more and more, she's definitely happy that she can escape to her back at will! ;o)



Note: What the heck is w/ the crazy stripes in this video?? *sigh* Gotta love technology! ;o)

More of the orange ring

Mia rolled over!!

Today was a big milestone! During tummy time this morning, Mia rested her head to the side as she started getting tired. Then, instead of trying to pick her head back up, she just let the rest of her body follow her head until she was laying on her back. She looked surprised for a moment, and then she went back to protesting that she was still tired. ;o)

Mia & Daddy

Aren't they cute??

Mia does things on purpose!

It's my favorite thing in the world that Mia can do things with her hands now! I think I posted a picture of her a month or so ago where she was waving one of these little rings around, but she had no idea she was doing it. Mostly, I'd stick it in her hand, her fingers would close around it, and then it'd be there until she unknowingly relaxed her hand. Now I hold these in front of her and the look on her face says, "In the mouth!" Then she starts reaching for it, and as soon as she's got it...in the mouth it goes! So this makes for some pretty cute pictures.

Now, it would have been terribly inappropriate to have taken (much less posted!) pictures of what happened next. She sat there contentedly playing for several minutes until she absolutely gagged herself and threw up her entire breakfast. What is with that?? It is called a gag reflex, right?? What the heck? And she looked at me afterwords as if saying, "Mom, that sucks!" And I'm thinking, "Yeah, I would think so..." Yet, she keeps doing it!! She's going to be the first kid with a teething sofa, b/c I'm so about to take away all of her toys that are smaller than furniture...

Mia's Baptism

Mia's baptism was yesterday, and she was a perfect angel the whole time. :o) The cutest part of the ceremony took place when Pastor Tony was holding Mia at the very front of the church, and she practically leaned into the mic to say "ehhrrr" in a very serious-sounding sort of way that sounded like she was responding to his final blessing. He laughed and said, "I think she just said Amen!" It was so sweet! Mia's family was there to watch her big day. Jeff's Aunt Melody, who is now Mia's godmother, drove down from Fresno to be with us. Mia's grandparents Karen & Pat, her great-grandmother Marie, and her auntie Heather were also there. We're so glad everyone was able to share in this special day with us!

Finally, a reason to use those hands

Mia has been impressively apathetic about figuring out how to use her hands and fingers...until I put this dragonfly teether near her mouth. She is very interested in figuring out how to keep it near her mouth when Mommy isn't there to hold it. You can watch her efforts here. You can also watch her explore that gag reflex... Still not understanding that one very well! :o)

I'm officially a mom now

Remember when you were little and your mom would lick her finger to clean off your face? Remember how that was the grossest thing in the world? Maybe you'd had jelly or something on your chin, but now you had spit there instead... And remember how we all wondered how exactly that was a better situation?

Well, it's apparently an unconscious maneuver. Mia had some dried milk on her cheek the other day, and I totally licked my thumb and wiped it off. Then I froze and thought, "Oh no, I just did that..."

Now that I've apparently become a turncoat, I thought I'd speak out on behalf of moms everywhere and explain why this is actually okay. Three reasons:

1. Spit is invisible, and whatever was there before wasn't. If your kid can't actually be clean at the moment, at least she can look it!
2. I have been covered in Mia's slobber for months, so it's fair, even if it isn't sanitary.
3. A mom's spit has magical disinfecting properties. Just like slaying monsters under the bed and undoing really big knots, it's one of the super powers they give you before you leave the hospital.

Mia's Baptism - Next Weekend!

Hey, everyone! Just wanted to let you know that Mia's baptism will be next weekend. If you'd like to attend, just drop me an email so I can let you know where & when. Dress is pretty casual, and we'll grab brunch at our favorite diner afterward.

Laughing in the New Year

Happy New Year! Mia got us off to the right start this year w/ a real laugh on New Year's Day. :o) Jeff & I spent New Year's Eve at my mom's house on a (mostly inflated) camping mattress. The next morning, we laid Mia on it and Heather started pressing down & releasing part of the (mostly inflated) mattress, causing Mia to rise and sink. It was pretty funny to watch, and Mia apparently thought it was the funniest thing ever, b/c it caused her to really laugh out loud for the first time!

This is a picture of Mia in her very own chair! No, she can't sit up on her own yet, but this chair is designed to prop up babies 3 - 18 months. I love it b/c she likes to sit in it and look around, and I get a few minutes to eat breakfast and drink my coffee w/ two hands!! (Thanks, Chris!!) And you'll notice that she is wearing the most adorable pink Converse. ;o) Every time she's worn these outside, we get stopped by someone telling me how flippin' adorable Mia is in her little shoes. (Thanks, Dolly!)

Mia's First Christmas

About six months ago, Jeff and I were marveling at my ever-growing belly and could hardly believe that we would have a three-month-old at Christmas this year. Well, here we are! I am so grateful for our little girl, and I'm excited to share this first Christmas with her. After church this morning, Mia is spending her first Christmas Eve at her grandparents' house, and she'll spend Christmas day with her aunt and cousins a few hours north of here.

We love you all & wish you a very merry Christmas!

~Kristy, Jeff, & Mia

Tummy Time!

Mia is finally getting over the "trauma" of being placed on her tummy, and she seems to be able to lift her head and chest a little higher and a lot longer each day! Here is a video from today:

Peek-a-boo

Robin snapped this photo of Mia while we were at the Huntington Library gardens this week. I love her eyes here. This picture also reminds me of the neighbor on Home Improvement. :o)

New pictures in Mia's photo album!

Mia's connected!

Mia got her first cell phone for Christmas, so she's now plugged in & connected! For those of you gasping, you'll be glad to know it's a plush phone w/ cute frogs embroidered on the keypad. ;o) But it does look like she's taken to the idea pretty well!

Christmas portraits

Here are Mia's portraits for Christmas this year!

Developmental Milestones

	Mia	"Friday"
	(3 m/o human)	(5 y/o house cat)
Follows objects briefly with eyes	x	x
Vocalizes: oohs and aahs	x
Can see black-and-white patterns	x	x
Smiles, laughs	x
Holds head at 45-degree angle	x	x
Makes smoother movements	x	x
Squeals, gurgles, coos	x
Blows bubbles	x
Recognizes your voice	x	x
Does mini push-up		x
Can grasp a toy
Rolls over, from tummy to back		x
Recognizes own name		x
Turns toward new sounds	x	x
Rolls over in both directions		x
Is ready for solid foods		x
Sits without support		x
Mouths objects	x	x
Passes objects from hand to hand

A conversation with Mia

Here is a video of a conversation that Mia and I had this morning after her bath. :o)

Mia at 11 1/2 weeks

Here is another cute video of Mia with her mobile. She's very interested in it now, and she protests loudly when it stops playing. :o) She weighs in at 15lbs even now, which would put her above the 90th percentile even if she were already 3 months old... So Jeff and I have decided to stop contributing to her college fund and pursue wrestling scholarships instead. Mia's major hobby right now is sucking on her fingers. She's very good at it and actually managed to put my hand in her mouth yesterday. The funny thing is that what she is not good at is putting her fingers in her mouth w/o also putting them in her throat. Several times yesterday I heard her gagging and looked over to see a very surprised Mia. I'm hoping it's not too long before she learns that, even though the uvula looks funny, it is not a toy. ;o)

Had to share!

This was too funny to pass up... Pat and I were joking the other week that I needed some sort of device that would let me just hang Mia from the wall when she gets tired. She'd be out of the way and I'd know exactly where she was. The thing is that we were joking. Someone out there, however, had that same thought and wasn't... This is a Babykeeper...which allows you to hang your child from a wall!! And this one goes a step further in that it is designed to hang your child inside the stall of a public toilet while you pee, thereby scarring your child for life and ensuring that you spend the college fund on years of adolecent therapy. If you visit their website, you can see additional photos, including some of the hanging children serving as toilet paper dispensers. Very disturbing... Thanks to Erika for this one! :o)

Mia's photo album updated.