month four

Dear Chicken,

You turned 4 months old yesterday. Can you believe it? A third of a year? I'm a day late writing this because Daddy and I have been sick sick. We're not sure if you started this tummy bug or if your vomiting on Saturday morning was just a fluke. It's hard to tell with babies. Regardless, you've been in fine spirits (unlike Daddy and me). Daddy got sick first and was feeling better by last night. I was just kind of hanging in there so this month's pictures were taken by Daddy and edited by me (gotta give Daddy props). I like how in this picture you're giving the zebra the "mom arm."

It's been a very interesting month around here. I finally had surgery to remove my gallbladder. The pain I was having here and there since you were 3 weeks old should stop now. Recovery was a bit harder than I expected but was fairly short-lived. One of the worst parts for me, though, was not being able to take care of you properly. I wasn't supposed to lift you up for 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS?! Can you imagine? Well, that lasted maybe 3 or 4 days. Daddy took good care of you (actually, of both of us). But it was hard for me to hear the two of you upstairs, getting ready for bed, chatting while I was stuck sleeping downstairs. I really enjoy bedtime.

The surgery and my subsequent limited nutrition and hydration really impacted my milk supply. It took some effort but we got it going again. I really wanted to quit breastfeeding multiple times so far but we've kept going. It's not that I dislike it; I just don't LOVE it. I love that it's best for you, though. I guess my point there is sometimes you just need to stick it out even if it's hard or not particularly thrilling as long as the benefits outweigh those things. You'll likely be in situations like that more than once in your life.

This month we did a 5 mile walk for the March of Dimes. You rode in the stroller this time and were a champ, napping off and on. Now that you're here, it's harder for me to think of all the people who lost their babies or had to struggle with them being born too early. We're so lucky you came out perfect and fully-cooked. We're so lucky to have you.

We decided to baptize you the weekend before my surgery. It just happened to be Mother's Day. I think that was a perfect time. I made First Communion on Mother's Day 1985 so it seemed like a fun little tradition to start. I was so proud of you for being so good that day. Everyone loved you. It was fun to see strangers after church come up and talk to you, telling you how cute you looked, and calling you by name. We had brunch at home afterwards and it was great to see so many people hold you and talk to you. These people are some of the folks I love most in the world and it makes me happy to see that they love you already.

Even though we baptized you, I want you to know that when it comes to religion I want you to make your own choices. I don't want you to go into it blindly. We'll try to expose you to a lot of different things and then you can decide for yourself. As long as you're a good person, I don't care what religion you are (if any). If you're not a good person? Well, we'll have to have a come-to-Jesus meetin'.

This past weekend you got to meet your new little friend who happens to be the son of one of my friends (and one of Auntie N's best friends). You and he were so cute together. You just stared at each other and smiled. He reached out and touched your foot and then y'all briefly held hands. It was very cute and we, of course, didn't have a camera. It's so fun to think of getting to watch all you babies grow up.

Because I was sick yesterday, your grandmother was nice enough to take you to your doctor's appointment. You're about 14 1/2 pounds and 24 3/4 inches. That's so long! You're still doing great. You sleep and eat well. You're so happy and chatty. You only really cry if you're hungry. You make it so easy for me to tell what's going on with you.

The month started out kind of boring regarding your milestones but you kicked it into high gear over the last week. First, you finally laughed. It was just a "ha ha" and then a short pause to allow me to realize what just happened and then another "ha ha." Daddy missed it--he was downstairs. You've done it again a few times but never while he's here. Although I love being there for these things, you can give Daddy the privilege of witnessing a "first" first sometime. I won't hold it against you. You've also found your feet. You love hanging on to them and sometimes pulling off your socks. Ms. Doris at daycare worries about your cold toes so we had to get some better socks that are harder for you to remove. And, finally, you rolled over! Just once, from back to front (which is allegedly the harder way). I shockingly had the camcorder rolling so we captured both your milestone and my crazily excited reaction.

This month definitely had its ups and downs for me. Hopefully I'm on the road to recovery regarding all these health issues. I just want to be able to enjoy you without random physical pain. The "ups?" Yeah, they're mostly you. Thanks for bringing so much joy into our lives even if it means it makes Mommy's abs hurt.