New Milestones & Mother's Day

So the day I published my last blog post, Cora hit a big milestone - she sat on her own by leaning on her arms! I was so tickled and proud of her of course that I cried. I was in the kitchen cleaning up while Adam was on the floor with Cora in the living room. We were talking about her working on sitting up and I mentioned that we needed to try to get her to sit up by leaning on her arms. Then Adam said that she was doing it at that very moment! I ran into the living room and had to snap some pictures. I was so proud of my baby girl!


I ended up having to take her to the doctor last week for some tummy issues. They weighed her and she is 14 pounds 12 ounces, only in the 40th percentile! I might have a skinny little lady on my hands. The doctor prescribed her some probiotics to help her tummy. Since she's exclusively breast feeding, we had to get the probiotics I would administer directly into her mouth with a dropper instead of the probiotics to mix into formula. I was a little apprehensive to give it to her because I was afraid she would hate it. She freaked out at her 2 month and 4 month check ups when the nurse gave her an oral liquid for her rotovirus immunizations, so I was afraid I would get the same reaction. She was actually very eager to take it! Even though she clearly wasn't sure if she liked the taste or not, she was so excited for me to give her the next drop. Today she became very excited as soon as she saw me bring the dropper out! This makes me think she may be ready for solids now. She has been very interested in our food for a little while now, always looking intently at it and trying to grab it. Adam and I are thinking about giving her some rice cereal before her 6 month mark but I'm not sure. I am sure it's no big deal, but I want to get it cleared with her doctor first. Plus with her tummy issues right now it may be best to wait anyway. I am excited though to sit down with her and watch her try her first solid when the time comes!

Even though she just started sucking her thumb, she has temporarily forgotten about it already. She has figured out that she's pretty flexible and now her preferred form of pacifying is her foot! It's pretty cute and funny. I'm not sure how long this phase will last, but I am getting a kick out of it. The biggest drawback right now though is that she won't put herself to sleep anymore by sucking her thumb. She really only tries to suck on her toes when she's awake and in a good mood. Now when she's sleepy she's back to wanting to nurse to sleep. I actually caught her sucking her thumb again this morning while she was still asleep, but when she woke up it was back to her foot. I feel like things will probably change again in a week!




Lately I have been working with Cora on discovering how to crawl. Of course this has been a tough task since she still hates tummy time. When she is on her stomach, I place my hands behind her feet so she can push off them and do a kind of fake crawl. She has been very pleased with herself when she realizes that she's moving on her stomach. However she quickly gets upset as soon as she stops moving since she knows she's on her tummy! It's fun watching her move her little legs though and seeing the happiness on her face as she inches towards her toys. It will be no time at all until she's crawling herself.

My first Mother's Day weekend was pretty great. On Saturday we had our lunch with our friends in the Bishop Arts District and got more pie from Emporium Pies. After that we went to Adam's parents' house and spent time with them. Before we left for the day a package came for me from Shari's Berries. Adam had bought me some expensive chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate covered cherries for Mother's Day from him and Cora! He knows me well. Although I think flowers are pretty and definitely a very nice gesture, Adam knows that I appreciate food, and especially chocolate, as a gift more than flowers! I have a terrible green thumb so any flowers I do receive as gifts end up dying quickly because I can't keep them alive. I wish I would have taken a picture of these strawberries. They were HUGE, and so tasty! But every time I got them out I couldn't wait to eat them, so I quickly forgot to take a picture. On Sunday for actual Mother's Day, we tried to take advantage of the nice weather and headed out to the lake. Cora was cranky and in need of a nap though, so we literally just parked, walked to the lake, and walked back to the car so we could go back home! It was poor planning on our part really. I tried to snap a picture of Adam and Cora, but she was not having it!


So in honor of Mother's Day I thought I'd do a short blurb on what I love about being a new mother. In short - I love everything! It's amazing how excited I can get about a poopy diaper, especially with Cora's tummy issues. I love how emotional and passionate Cora makes me feel, and the newfound love I feel for Adam now that we are parents. It really makes me appreciate him in a different light and makes me love him even more. I love being able to be home with Cora so I can witness all her milestones first hand. I love the new and real sense of accomplishment I feel when I see that she is happy and secure. I love finally feeling like a real grown up! I love that I can finally understand what my own mom meant when she told me the love you feel for your children is so different, strong, and unique. It really is true! I also love how quickly my days go by. I remember in college when 2 weeks seemed like such a long time. Now my days go by so quickly that 2 weeks seem like no time at all! It is always surprising to me when I check Cora's baby app and see that it's already been an hour since her last feeding or diaper change or nap. Nowadays the only time that time goes by slowly is when I'm working out :) I just feel so lucky and happy to be where I'm at and to be with such a great husband and have such a great little baby. Everything is just going so well, I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop! I am definitely thanking God for giving me such a blissful little life!