One year!

On the twelfth of June, Libby turned ONE!  Such a very bittersweet day…my little lady is quickly shedding the “baby” title and shifting into toddler-hood.  Transition comes in the form of independence, a sassy new attitude, expanding her form of communication (pointing and trying to verbalize objects), and mobility...lots of discovering, this little gal does!  Contagious smiles are shared with everyone willing to give a glance Libby's way, and even to those who aren't.  She is seriously one of the sweetest babies I know...I know, I'm biased! :-)

Libby had a very busy month this month.  Month twelve brought with it:

A second tooth on June 1 (bottom left)
Letting go of Momma’s hand and discovering the world on her own at a week over 11 months
A new Daycare
Her first dip in the swimming pool
Her First Pedi
Meeting Aunt Shelbey and cousins Weston and Jacob for the first time
A First Birthday Party (I'll do a separate post for this once I get all of the pictures put together.)
Vocabulary expansion.  She's added kitty, thank you (dee doo), uh-oh (her favorite...so precious!), and baby to her list of Mama, Dadda, doggy, hi, and bye-bye.

Libby loves:  climbing, climbing, and climbing some more...playing with tractors, and cars, and balls, and babies, and swinging.

{Libby's favorite chair}

 

Eating is going okay.  Libby is still getting a feel for different textures of table foods.  She absolutely hates sippy cups of all varieties, and I’ve been trying to find something that will work.  There’s a fine line between guiding her towards the cup and flat ticking her off, so I’m trying not to be too pushy.  I have heard from a lot of folks, “if she’s hungry, she’ll drink out of the cup”.  Said folks clearly do not know my daughter well!!  She has a stubborn streak in her that stretches a mile wide, and I have no clue where she got that from.  ;-)  In all honesty, I discussed this with her Pedi and GI, and we all agree that calories are more important than cups right now.  I still offer one at each feeding, and I know that in her own time she will take right to it.  She may or may not have a Brother that was the same way (and guess what?  He now drinks out of a cup.). :-) 

This month, Libby finally jumped up onto the 3% weight curve at a whopping 17lbs 3oz.  She stretches 29 inches in length, and her head measures 17" around.  We started the transition to Pediasure, switched to Bright Beginnings Soy the next day after discovering a rash covering her entire body, and then figured out that the nasty rash was actually a reaction to her MMR/Varicella vaccine.  *major facepalm*

The rash has since cleared up, but I'm still trying to decide on whether or not I want to try out the Pediasure.  She's completely switched over to Bright Beginnings, it's $1 cheaper a case, and if she does have a dairy allergy (or allergy to something in the Pediasure)...well, I'm just not sure that switching her again is worth it.  (I'm open to thoughts/suggestions!  Any down-fall to postponing dairy?)  In addition to all of that, a few days after the rash Libby developed a very low-grade fever and lost her appetite.  She's just now getting back into the swing of eating, and one thing I've learned with her...don't mess with Little Lady's food!

The GI Doc put Libby back on meds...Prilosec this time versus Zantac.  She is tossing around the idea of a swallow study, but I'm still mulling that one over, too.  Speech would be performing the study, and she does spit a lot of food out versus swallowing it (and she also spits up occasionally and double-swallows frequently), but she is also teething...lots of extra saliva to contend with.  I want to give her a little time on the Prilosec first to see if that helps ease some pain from swallowing.  My hope is that she will be more inclined to swallow foods once the pain from reflux is managed, but I won't let things get to a point where she develops aversions that cause long-term problems, either.  Again, fine-line...tough call.

So, I guess that's pretty much it...one big, ginormous 12 month update.  I've really enjoyed putting words and pictures to each month of Libby's first year.  For the boys, I did a year book that friends and family can enjoy when they visit, so putting everything out there for others to read was a different spin on capturing milestones for my sweet girl.  I hope friends and family have enjoyed reading about Libby's first months...I hope her monthly updates have been able to bridge the distance gap that makes it difficult to get to know her. :-)  They say that pictures speak a thousand words.  I think that's so true.  And personality...that comes out in those pictures, too.

 

One year.  I have to say that the first year is definitely one of my favorites.  Despite the lack of sleep (which really wasn't an issue with this little gal), trying to figure out cries, and struggling with feedings (did I mention the dreaded pump, ugh!) I just love soft baby skin, snuggles into the crook of my neck, little baby sounds and first smiles, and coos, and tight finger grips...little signs that I'm needed and loved by this itty bitty person just because I'm "Momma".  So, with the conclusion of Lib's first year, I'm also closing a chapter in my Momma book...moving on to become a Mother to a toddler, a nearly 4-year-old, and a soon-to-be Kindergartner.  Exciting times have been in the past, exciting times are to come.

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future.  I live now.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

...But live now, I will do.

Thank you for such an amazing first year, Baby Girl.  Thank you, God, for choosing me to be her Momma.

{Photo Credit:  Harmon Photography}