Kate - 12 months

1 year! We made it! I've had fun looking back at pictures and reading old blog posts this week. The other day I happened to find a bag of Kate's preemie clothes. I held up a onesie that was a little big on her when she was born, and it looked like doll clothes. It's so hard to believe that my crazy, fun, chunky monkey was ever so little.

Length: 28 inches

Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz - I really thought she'd make it to 20! :(  

Clothes: 12 months

Sleep: Not much change here. She sleeps great at night, but naps are a struggle almost every day.  

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: I've switched Kate to whole milk, and she loves it. The transition was pretty easy once we found the right sippy cup (Thanks Maggie!). Kate loves to eat...most of the time. She eats pretty much all table foods. She's not a fan of most vegetables unless I hide them in rice or soup. I guess I have a typical toddler on my hands. She LOVES Cheerios! She'd probably eat a whole box in one day if I let her.

• Toys/Games: Kate got a sandbox for her birthday, and I think that's her favorite right now. She loves being outside, so it's perfect. She also got a little pool, so I'm excited to get that out and let her splash. Kate is still so amused by her daddy. Her favorite game right now is for Brian to hide behind the corner and then jump out. She knows what's coming, but she squeals and jumps into my lap every time!

• Other: We went down to Valdosta to meet Kate's new cousin last month. She was a little curious about baby Bo, but she was so entertained by her older cousin, Jack. She climbed on him and kept her eyes on him anytime he was in the room. We also went to their neighborhood pool. They have a little kiddie water park, and Kate loved it! I'm excited to take her to the beach this summer. 
  
  

Developmental Milestones: Kate has 6 teeth (2 bottom, 4 top). She knows how to use them! I've been bitten a few times, and it hurts! Kate is crawling and walking now. She didn't start crawling until after she walked. Now that she's figured out how to crawl I think her walking has regressed. I guess it's easier to crawl. No more sitting her on the living room floor with toys while I fix dinner. She's right behind me as soon as I start walking.
 

Kate - 9 Months

Kate had her 9 month appointment today, and I've just been so excited to share her growth! I know it's not a huge deal to many people, but we've had some serious growth! When Kate was born she was under the 2nd percentile for both length and weight. Well, as of today she's at 10th for length and 45th for weight! Yay!

Length: 26.5 inches

Weight: around 17 lbs 10 oz  

Clothes: 9 months-Pants are a little long, but overall she's fitting pretty well into 9 month clothes.

Sleep: Naps are still hit or miss. Nighttime sleep is usually pretty good, but I think she's getting to the stage where she realizes she's alone at night. Occasionally she rolls over to her tummy and won't roll herself back over. She'll just lay there and scream until we go roll her back over. It's pretty awful, but I know it'll get better! :(

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: We're down to 3 meals (bottle & solids) a day, with an occasional bedtime snack if she does poorly with one meal. There's not much Kate doesn't like when it comes to food. She loves her fruit though! She also really likes chicken mixed with spinach. I make pretty much all of her food, so I've been able to play with different combinations. We're working on finger foods, but Kate doesn't have the pincer grasp yet.

• Toys/Games: Daddy is Kate's favorite toy/game! He can make her laugh all day long. She might be fussy and whining with me, but when he walks in the room she brightens up. She also loves stacking toys. That is, she loves to unstack/knock them over. She has a snail that has nested pieces on top. We can't get all the pieces stacked before she knocks them over. We finally has some nice weather this weekend. Kate got a car from her Aunt Maggie and Uncle Maggie, and we pulled it out and let her ride in it for the first time. She absolutely loved it! I can't wait to have more warm days.

• Other: Kate experienced her first snow day. I really didn't think she'd like it, because she does not like wind at all. We took her out though, and she actually liked it. She kept trying to get out of my arms and get down in the snow. Whether it's snowing or warm, Kate loves being outside. Music is another thing Kate really enjoys. She loves to "dance" to any music she hears.
   
  
  

Developmental Milestones: Kate has 2 teeth (both bottom), and today her doctor said her top 2 are moving down, so it won't be too much longer until we're cutting more teeth. We're still working on crawling. She's making very slow progress. I mentioned her growth earlier in my post; her head is 95th percentile, so it's hard work to keep that thing up and hold her body up too! Kate loves to talk/sing. She says "dada" all day long. Every now and then she'll throw in some different sounds. She talks and bounces pretty much all the time though. She's one busy little girl!

Kate - 8 Months

 A lot has happened since my last post two months ago. We visited the urologist-for the last time! He told us we don't ever have to go back unless something unforeseen comes up. That was great news because we have to go to Atlanta for that. We also had Kate's first Thanksgiving and Christmas. We decided to have Thanksgiving at our house for both the Frenches and the Fergusons-2 days in a row. Everything actually went very smoothly, and Kate slept through both meals. She was pretty good and played with everybody before we ate. It's not very common that Brian and I both get to sit down and enjoy a meal without rushing, so we almost didn't know what to do!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas was exciting. We went to see Santa, and Kate did great. On Christmas Kate had fun ripping all the paper, and she tried to put every new toy in her mouth as we opened them. She got some good stuff! Kate got to see her great grandfather (my grandfather) again for the first time since early August. Last time she was only 12 weeks old and not a very happy baby.

Checking out the goodies from Santa

  

Mmmm...new toys

I enjoyed my two weeks at home with Kate so much! I'm so thankful to have a job that allows these breaks throughout the year.

Length: Last time we checked she was still around 2-3%, so she's short! 

Weight: around 16.5 lbs

Clothes: Mostly 6 months. Some of her 6 month outfits are a little small, but 9 month clothes are huge on her.

Sleep: Kate is typically a pretty good night sleeper, but she got her first tooth right after Christmas, so we've had a few rough nights lately. We're finally getting into more of a schedule with naps. She's down to two naps a day, about an hour in the morning and 2-3 hours in the afternoon (on a good day).

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: We've gone down to 4 bottles a day, which is good because Kate prefers solids over her bottle.We're starting to get into finger foods and make her baby food a little chunkier. She loves green beans and avocado! She hasn't rejected anything we've given her so far, so hopefully I've got a good eater on my hands. She also really likes Mum Mums. (I like them because she can feed herself.)

• Toys/Games: Kate got so many toys at Christmas that we haven't even introduced them all. She has a music table and loves it. She's gotten pretty good at standing on her own while holding onto the table. She likes pretty much any toy/book we give her. The first thing she does with any new toy is turn it over to look at the bottom. The next step is to taste everything! I guess she's just a curious little girl. :) Kate also likes to play peek-a-boo. She's learned how to cover/uncover her own face, so it's become much more fun.

• Other: We've transitioned to a bigger bathtub, and Kate really enjoys sitting on her own playing with her bath toys. It's so fun for me to watch her. She seems like such a big girl! Daddy is definitely Kate's favorite. Anything he does makes her laugh. She just lights up when he gets home everyday. Another thing Kate loves is mirrors. She could stare at herself all day. One of the flowers on her excersaucer has a mirror and she likes to bend it over and put her face right on it. It's so funny!

Developmental Milestones: We have a tooth! I didn't even realize it was coming, because Kate has been drooling and chewing like crazy for months now. In my last post I mentioned that I didn't think she would ever sit, because she preferred to stand. Well, about 2 weeks later she proved me wrong. Now she can sit all day long. She still can't get herself to sitting on her own, but I'm sure that's not too far off. Now we're working on crawling. Kate still hates tummy time, and I hate forcing it. Brian is better at getting her to try and move her arms and legs than I am, so I let him work on that every evening. :) Once Kate does crawl I don't think walking will be too far behind. She's gotten really good at standing while holding on, and is getting better at pulling herself up. One of these days I guess we need to start baby proofing.

Kate - 6 months

Wow, 6 months! I don't know where the time has gone, but it's sure been fun! I have learned a few things over the past 6 months:

• I know it's cheesy and cliche, but what they say is true. I never knew it was possible to love another human being so much!
• Brian is the absolute best husband/father I could have ever imagined. He has always been a wonderful husband, and I knew he was going to be a great dad. I just didn't realize how great.
• I can function on less sleep than I thought possible. We've gotten a little spoiled now that Kate sleeps so well at night, but there was a time that I felt like a new woman on just 5 hours!
• The smallest things are so exciting when a baby is involved! When Kate put her foot in her mouth for the first time I talked about it for days. :)

Length: We go to the doctor on the 14th, so we'll find out then

Weight: Around 14 lbs

Clothes: We're making the transition to 3-6 month and 6 month clothes now. She's at an awkward size; her 3 month outfits are getting too small, but most of her 3-6 month stuff is too big.

Sleep: We've got a pretty good nighttime sleep routine down. Kate is asleep by 7:15 and wakes up around 6 or 6:15.

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: Formula is still Kate's main source of food, but we have had fun introducing solids. So far she seems to really like green beans, carrots, apples, and avocado. We have learned that Kate will not stop eating just because she's full. She's not so enthusiastic about her formula, but when we give her something she likes she'll eat until she makes herself sick. We learned this the hard way. :/

• Toys/Games: Kate has started to interact with her toys much more. She loves to shake her rattle, but her favorite activity is her exersaucer. Peek-a-boo has become very entertaining for Kate as well. Anytime we make faces or funny noises she giggles and squeals; it's adorable!

• Other: Bath time is still one of Kate's favorite times of the day. I have just noticed her getting excited after her bath though, when I get ready to put her lotion on. As soon as I rub my hands together she knows what's coming and gives me the biggest grin. Kate also loves to stand and bounce. I don't know that she'll ever learn to sit or crawl, but she'll be walking before we know it! Another favorite of Kate's: her fingers! I feel like she's been acting like she's teething for weeks now. Constantly sucking her fingers, never-ending amounts of drool...but no teeth.

Developmental Milestones: Kate finally rolled from her back to her tummy about a week ago. Of course she chose 4:30 in the morning to do this, and then got really mad when she couldn't get herself rolled back over. I was still excited though! She has also made tremendous progress with her leg and core strength. She loves to stand up. When we try get her to sit she pushes herself up to standing. She is doing great with standing, but I worry about sitting. I don't think she'll ever learn to sit if we can't keep her down on her bottom.
      We have seen a lot of language development in the past two months. For the longest time it seemed like we heard the same one or two sounds over and over. Just recently Kate has started to experiment with "r," "b," and "d". She loves to talk!

Kate - 4 Months

Length: 22 1/4 inches

Weight: 11 lbs 9 oz

Clothes: Around 3 or 3 1/2 months we had to stop putting newborn clothes on Kate. They were still fitting her body, but her supersize head was too big! :) We're in 0-3 month and 3 month clothes, and they're fitting pretty good now.

Sleep: 10 hours! Kate is sleeping from 8 to 6 now, which I am thrilled about! She does occasionally wake up to talk at night, but she's always happy and falls back asleep within a few minutes. Napping is another story though. Kate is not a good napper. We are lucky to get one good nap a day. She's more of a catnapper. I guess I'd rather be getting a full night's sleep though, so I can't complain too much.

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: Still using Alimentum (The worst smelling formula you will ever encounter!). We've been putting rice cereal in her bottles for a while now to help with her reflux. In the next few weeks we'll start trying to feed her with a spoon once or twice a day. I just ordered her highchair last night, so I'm excited to start this fun new phase!

• Toys/Games:Tummy time isn't so bad anymore! Kate still likes playing in her play gym, both on her back and her tummy. She also really likes sitting in her chair and playing with a butterfly toy that I hang from the toy bar. Just recently she's started to enjoy her bumbo. I attached the tray and put a couple toys on it. She'll grab her little rattles and pull them off the tray so they fall on the floor. 

• Other: Kate likes to sit on our laps and look out. She loves watching bigger kids play. She also stares at the TV whenever it's on-which I hate! She still LOVES bath time. She kicks her legs like a little frog. It's the cutest thing!

Developmental Milestones:The last post I wrote was the day Kate rolled over for the first time. She's gotten pretty good at it now! She gets close to rolling from her back to tummy, so I don't think it'll be too much longer. Her head control is pretty good. She can sit (with us holding her back and belly) and hold her head up for a pretty long time. We have also seen a lot of language development in the last two months. Kate babbles and coos like crazy! She even wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes just to talk to herself. When I should be sleeping I end up laying in bed listening to her cute sounds. :)

The last two months have been pretty eventful for little Kate. My cousin got married, so Kate got to meet all of the French family, including her only great-grandfather. I went back to work, so Kate is staying with Grann (Brian's mother) every day. We also met Kate's endocrinologist. For those who don't know, Kate has Turner Syndrome. TS is a chromosomal disorder that can affect various organs, growth, thyroids, and other things, so we have lots of doctors! :) The endocrinologist will be the doctor we see the most, so we were looking forward to meeting him. Meeting the doctor was good, but we were there for almost 3 hours, and Kate was done with the whole thing after about 30 minutes of waiting. It was a long day!

Kate - 2 Months

How do I already have a 2 month old!? Time has really flown by since May 2. I just can't believe Kate is already 2 months. We're really starting to have a lot of fun with her as she develops more of a personality and becomes more active.

Length: 20 1/8 inches

Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz

Clothes: We're completely out of preemie clothes and into newborn. She still has some room to grow in most of her newborn clothes, so I think we'll be here for awhile. That's ok, because she has some really cute newborn outfits! :)

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: After dealing with some tummy issues, we have temporarily switched to formula. She likes what we're using now- Alimentum. She does not like soy formula!

Tummy time in her Braves shirt. I wonder who dressed her?

• Toys/Games: Kate loves to lay in her play gym and look up at her toys and in the mirror. She smiles at her reflection and the toys, and she is beginning to swat at the toys hanging above her. She still does not like tummy time. I think she gets frustrated because she wants to crawl so badly! She doesn't have the upper body strength to hold herself up yet, so she scoots herself around the mat with her feet.  

• Other: She loves to be outside. In the evenings during her "witching hour" if we take her outside she usually calms right down. Bath time has become one of her favorite times of the day too. She gets so relaxed, and most nights really enjoys having lotion rubbed on her belly.

Bath time!

Developmental Milestones: Kate definitely knows her mommy and daddy's faces and voices. When Brian holds her she just stares and stares at him. She is definitely a daddy's girl already! She has begun "talking" and trying out her voice with little coos. It's so adorable! She is smiling more and more everyday, and is getting to the point where I can usually make her smile. Her little hands grasp anything within reach; she likes to hold her bottle when we feed her. She rolled over this morning! We had her on her tummy, and she got mad (of course) and started really swinging her legs and head around. The next thing I knew she was on her back! Luckily she chose today to do this, because Brian was home with us to see it.

Father's Day

Our first trip to church

This month has been so much fun! It is amazing how much she grows and changes each day. Getting her feeding issues figured out has really helped with her sleep and crying. She's still eating every 3 hours during the day and most nights, but she is beginning to try and stretch out her nighttime feedings. She had her first set of shots at her 2 month appointment yesterday. I think it was harder on me than it was on her!

Happy just before shots

Kate - 1 Month

I'm a little behind in posting this, Kate just turned 2 months old 2 days ago. Better late than never though!

Length: 19 inches

Weight: 6 lbs 10 oz

Clothes: We're still mostly in preemie clothes, but they're starting to get a little snug.

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: Breastmilk

• Toys/Games: Kate likes to sit in her vibrating chair and look at the toys that hang above. She doesn't get too upset during tummy time, but it's not her favorite.

Developmental Milestones: Kate is able to focus on our faces much better. Her head control is also getting a lot better.

This first month has been difficult at times, but so wonderful. Kate is still eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours around the clock. We're staring to get on somewhat of a schedule though, so I know that will make things easier. She is also a little colicky. It just breaks my heart when she cries and cries and there's nothing I can do to help. I know that this is only temporary though, and every day gets a little easier. Even with the struggles, I wouldn't change a thing about my life right now. It is amazing to me that such a small person can already have a little personality. I have had so much fun just getting to know her and helping her get to know me. I know every month is going to be more fun than the last!