11 Months!

Late post again! Maddie turned 11 months old a couple weeks ago and I feel like time is in fast-forward!! I cannot believe that she is almost one already and I really just want time to stop right here. We've been pretty busy lately - Kevin graduated from his masters program and we are SO excited and proud of him!! It's been awesome to have more time with him everyday! Other than that, we've just been busy with the usual schedule. Maddie is starting to wean from one of her seizure medications so we are happy and nervous for that but hopefully it all will go well :) 

 

 

 

Stats: *measurements taken by me so not 'official'*  21lbs 2oz. (84th percentile), 29.5 inches (82nd percentile). Still growing like a weed! Chubby as ever :)

Clothes:  12 month size now! 

Sleep: We were doing the whole crib at night thing and getting up at least twice a night with her. But then she got a little stomach bug so we had her in our room for a few nights and we remembered why co-sleeping is so awesome! haha I know I go back and forth on this, but honestly, at this point I think it's better that we all get a better night's sleep, right?? ;)

Milestones in the works: Same as always - just working on getting stronger! All of her therapists and doctors are pleased with her progress and so we are just continuing on with the same routine. She's doing really well. 

Favorite Activities: 

     - Banging on anything around her. It's her absolute favorite thing to do. This includes faces, arms, dogs, etc. She especially loves when we go out to a restaurant and she can bang on the menu.

     -Car seat dancing. Whenever we're in the car and one of us says, 'dance! dance!' she does this crazy little leg jig and gets a huge smile on her face! It's really funny!

     - Saying "woohoo!". We like to joke that she is totally a 'woo girl' from How I Met Your Mother. If you say it, she just busts out laughing with a big smile! If you're excited, she's excited! 

     -Chewing. She is teething like crazy right now! She currently has 7 little teeth and more coming in soon I think! We've been so lucky so far that she hasn't been extra fussy or sick because of it...she just puts everything in her mouth and slobbers all over the place lol.

       - Toys. I know I've said this one before, but she just really has so much more interest in her toys than before! It's so fun to watch her try to figure out a new toy and it's really a great testament to how much her fine motor skills are improving! :)      

      - Fake laughing. She has learned that if she laughs, she gets extra attention. So now, instead of fussing or crying when she wants all eyes on her, she does this funny little fake 'heh heh heh' laugh. It is CLEARLY not her normal laugh so it's so funny to hear! She just always keeps us laughing :)

Least Favorite Activities:

     - She has not been loving her stroller lately...I think probably because she is so far away from the 'action' and she can't reach out and grab everything she sees like she can when we carry her. She is getting pretty heavy these days though, so I hope this one doesn't last for too long!

     -Having to hold still. She has always been a very mellow baby and was pretty content to always sit and watch. But now, she always wants to touch everything and explore more, so she does not like it when she has to lay still to be changed or anything like that. She's a total wiggle worm!

I know I say it all the time, but we really feel so lucky to have this little girl! She just completely lights up my days and I can't even imagine loving her more than I do now. She makes everything easy even though her journey has been a bit complicated. Seeing her huge smile and hearing her little giggles are really all that matters <3

10 Months

Late again! We've been pretty busy over here lately with Kevin finishing up his last month of grad school (yay!!) and adding OT to Maddie's schedule of therapies. We had her eval about a month and a half ago and at her first appointment, the therapist said she looked like a completely different baby than what was in her chart - she's definitely made some awesome progress so we're really happy with that! She's been doing really well lately and will not stop growing!! She's just melting my heart at every turn <3 

Stats: *measurements taken by me so not 'official'*

20lbs 10oz. (84th percentile), 29 inches (82nd percentile). This girl is not little anymore! She is getting SO big I can't even believe it! I love how chubby she is :)

Clothes: She had just moved up to the 9 month size a few weeks ago and now they're already getting snug. Lol we're moving on to the 12 month size now! 

Sleep: Still not great. We've stopped bringing her into bed with us so early now and she's definitely punishing us for it. We used to bring her in around 1-2ish whenever she woke up because she always sleeps better with us and I'm always tired of getting up in the middle of the night lol. But now we've been trying not to bring her in until daddy gets up for work around 4-5. So we basically have to get up to settle her back down anywhere from 2-7 times/night. 😕

Milestones in the works: Pretty much the same stuff as always. She's continually making good progress on everything so that's what we want! Her PT is happy because she's going through all the normal progressions just at her own pace. So she's not skipping any milestones or anything. We have started her OT now and she's really doing great with that...we're just working on strengthening her grip and a bit of coordination.  She gets stronger everyday :) 

Favorite Activities: 

     - Throwing anything she can get her hands on. As soon as she touches/grabs anything these days, it's gone before you know it. She's getting really good at it! Her therapist says this is right on track developmentally for her age so that's a good thing (just annoying for those of us who have to pick everything up!) 

     - Chatting. She gets more and more vocal all the time and I just love watching her try to figure out new sounds! She has 'dada' mastered now, but the problem is that she thinks our dog is dada! Haha she will say it to Kevin also, but mostly it's to the dog. So funny! :)

     - Eating! She's been doing so well with her solids lately! As seen in her weight haha. She is still just having the purées, but she has upped her intake and has eaten everything we've given her so far! There hasn't been anything she really hates yet so that's a good thing. 

     - Swimming! Well more like splashing. She loooooves the water and when she's splashing with her legs it is just about the happiest she gets. She could spend all day in the tub if I'd let her :) 

       - Any interaction. She is most definitely a people person. She just lights up whenever someone talks to and plays with her. She loves to be with people and will always pick a face over a toy :) 

Least Favorite Activities:

     - Being ignored. Or I guess I should say - not being the center of attention for more than 5 seconds. Ha! She's such a diva and demands all eyes on her...otherwise she will let you have it! 

     - Falling. I guess this is obvious...who likes falling?? But she has been so much more active lately that she's actually had a few spills! I know it's not a good thing, but it kind of is for us. The fact that she's up and moving so much is great! I just need to tape pillows to her so she doesn't get hurt 😜 

Madeline continues to amaze us each and every day.  Her feisty spirit and incredible happiness just take away all the bad things and we could not possibly be more in love with this girl. She is absolutely everything. ❤️

9 Months!

Soo I took Maddie's 9 month pictures and then totally forgot that I hadn't updated the blog! Ugh sorry guys, I'm failing at this! :P 

We've had a great month! Maddie is just amazing us everyday. We see soo much improvement in all areas and she has the funniest little personality! I don't think I could enjoy her any more than I do now - she is just a crack up :) she now has 3 teeth that have come through! She's going to look so funny with teeth! Haha Luckily we've had a very easy time with teething so far! 

We are all set to start her wean from one of her seizure medications this next month so we are excited/anxious about that! Her development is coming along well - she makes progress every week so that is really all we could hope for :). I honestly can't believe she is already so old - I need to start planning her birthday party! I'm sure I'll cry the entire time ;)

Stats: *we actually had a doctors appt this month so we have official measurements!*

19lbs 7oz. (71st percentile), 28.5 inches (82nd percentile). !!!!!!!!! What?!? Our tiny little girl is now HUGE! How did this happen?? Haha she's come a long way from that little 6 pounder we had 9 months ago <3 

Clothes: Even though she's now well above average in length and weight, she still is a bit small in clothes...I'll never figure out how they do these sizes! She's just getting into 9 month size now :) 

Sleep: Ugh. She is having a definite sleep regression right now which is apparently normal for this age, but man it sucks! She is basically waking up every 2 hours or so. And since she's not able to put her pacifier in by herself at this point, she starts screaming and we have to get up everytime. :/ We're hoping this phase doesn't last much longer!!

Milestones in the works: Funny story: Maddie's PT had another senior PT come to one of our appts a few weeks ago to try to get some new input on how to get Maddie's sitting more sturdy. Well Maddie walked (figuratively) into that appt and kicked some ass! She plopped down, sat up perfectly straight and looked at them like 'what?!'  Haha that's my feisty girl! She shocks her PT every week with her improvement. We're so thrilled! She's still just working on her trunk & arm strength and balance but she's doing great! We're set to start Occupational therapy in the next week or so also which will help a lot with her hands and grasping. :) 

Favorite Activities: 

     - TALKING!! Sort of...lol. She has started saying 'dada' when she sees Kevin and it just seriously melts my heart! She is babbling nonstop these days and it's so much fun to see her try to figure out new sounds. Also, yesterday when Kevin got home, I said, 'Hi Dad!' and she totally said it too!! She's amazing <3 

     - Hudson. She has renewed her love for our dog. She's always loved him, but lately she just gets soo excited when she sees him. They are going to have so much fun playing together as she grows up! We call him Bubba and she tries so hard to say it :) 

     - Her hairbrush. Haha we have this baby brush and it is now her favorite new toy. She loves the bristles on it and just can't get enough. Picture below :) 

     - Toys! Up until recently, she never really cared about her toys that much. She would rather just look at people than play. But now she has gotten so curious about her toys and loves playing! This is so great since it will be a huge motivator to get her moving! 

       - New faces. She loves just staring down new people! She definitely doesn't have any stranger danger at this point! She also loves to claw faces too...that part's not as cute :P 

Least Favorite Activities:

     - Sleeping through the night :/ see above. 

     - Electric toothbrushes. Haha Kevin was brushing his teeth and I was holding her and she got the most terrified look on her face and started crying. I've never seen her be afraid of something like that before! So weird. 

Bottom line: she's awesome. ;) We are convinced she's the greatest thing that ever was and she just proves it more and more everyday. <3