One step became two which became four which was soon followed by eight. Now you take enough steps to carry you half-way across the room, soon you will take steps that could carry you half-way around the globe.
As these sweet, wobbly baby steps often end with a tumble, I pray that your steps become sure and purposeful. As you take hold of my hand now for security and balance, I pray that one day you will take hold of Christ. As you begin to stretch your legs and wings, I pray that I will have the strength and courage to let you fly when the time comes.
As you grow from an infant to a toddler I hold you close when I can knowing that just as this first year has flown by so will the ones that follow.
In the midst of the job drama this week I posted my 100th post! It wasn’t exactly the type of post I would choose for number 100, but well, it was a bloggy milestone none the less.
And in Little news, her impetigo is clearing up nicely since we started the antibiotics. In fact, her face is looking so good that last night Matt said to her, “Your nose is almost normal looking again!”
She has also started to make the first tentative moves toward walking. A few times over the last couple of days she has let go of one piece of furniture and taken a real step toward another stable object. I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s running around the house.
So, that is all the excitement in our house today, and, boy, are we glad for a reprieve!
A few weeks ago I posted about beginning to move Little from nursing to a sippy cup. I thought some of you might be interested to know how it is going.
I was afraid we would have a hard time because she could not seem to figure out how to drink from a regular, spouted, spill-proof sippy cup. We were using Nuby sippy cups because she could bite on the silicone spout to get the liquid to start flowing; once she realized what was in the cup she would begin to suck the spout normally. However, once she started using the cup regularly, she noticed that it was fun to stick her finger through the vent in the spout, and it was even more fun because now the liquid would flow freely out of the cup and onto the floor and furniture! A delimma for sure.
A couple of days later I was talking to my friend Lindsey and she told me about Nuby spill-proof straw sippers. She had used these for her youngest son who also had trouble figuring out the regular sippy cup. We bought a couple for Little, and they have been great. Right from the beginning she was able to get liquid through the straw with no problem.
As of yesterday morning, we have stopped the last of her nursing sessions. Because her bedtime session seemed to be the least important to her, we cut that one first and then moved backward through the day. She took to the cup right away and didn’t even act like she wanted to nurse except at the times I offered. We waited at least 3 days after cutting one session before we eliminated the next. The first few sessions we eliminated I gave her a week to get used to it before I introduced the cup at a new time. She never seemed to hesitate about drinking from the cup and doesn’t seem to miss nursing at all.
All in all, it was a much smoother process than I anticipated, I guess she really was ready to move on.
Posted on May 25th, 2007 in
Little,
Little's Development
Little finally has teeth! Last week her front-top-left tooth broke through, and yesterday her front-bottom-right tooth broke through. I hope the other two aren’t far behind, or it will look kind of funny when these two are all the way in.
In other news, yesterday was her first day with pigtails. She looked adorable, but having her hair pulled back sure does make her look like a big girl.
It seems that the time has come to move Little from the breast to the cup. I don’t necessarily think she is self-weaning, but she has begun to be more interested in other things than in nursing. She is constantly in motion these days and there are so many new and exciting things to explore – even if it’s just exploring, again, the same pillow she’s been in love with since she was itty bitty.
Before Little was born I was planning to nurse until six months. Those first few days and weeks I thought we would be lucky to make it to six weeks. Once we reached the six week goal I pressed on to three months. By three months things were going very smoothly and I decided we could do at least a year. As we’ve drawn closer to the year mark I’ve wavered as to whether we would be ready to give it up at one year or if we might continue on for a while. Now, at ten months, I think I’m ready to move on and she seems to be at a point where she is receptive to the idea.
It is getting more and more difficult to get her to lie still for a complete feeding; most nursing sessions leave me feeling frustrated and as if I’ve wrestled an alligator to get a few ounces of food in it’s mouth. So, on Tuesday evening we took the first steps of the weaning dance. This will probably be a slow dance, one that doesn’t end until she transitions to whole milk around her first birthday.
Mixed feelings rule the day with me right now. On one hand, it will be nice not to be “tied” to her schedule. On the other hand, I will miss those few minutes of snuggling every few hours. On one hand, I won’t have to nurse every hour because she won’t be still long enough to fill up her belly in one sitting. On the other hand, I won’t be a nursing mommy anymore. On one hand, she will get to experience the fun of being in control of her own cup. On the other hand, I will have to pump milk until she is a year old. On one hand, I recognize that it is part of her moving from “baby-hood” to “toddler-dom”. On the other hand, I don’t want her to grow up so fast. On one hand, I’m sure it will be a tough transition for her. On the other hand, I’m not entirely convinced that it won’t be an even tougher transition for me.
As my friend Diane said the other day, “I guess this means it is time to have another one.”
