When reflecting about the last month, honestly what jumps out the most is how sick this poor girl has been! It’s been a rough time for babies in daycare thanks to outbreaks of RSV, COVID, and all the other minor viruses.
While Nadia still is COVID-free (thanks be to God), she has cut all four top teeth over the last month and a half and easily picked up another 2-3 colds. Last week we got a call from daycare saying there two children in her classroom tested positive for the RSV virus; by the end of the week Nadia and one little girl were the only two who tested negative for RSV. I am trying to stay positive, but I’m afraid it’s going to be a long fall and winter if she’s managed to stay this sick in the summer, which historically has relatively low viral transmission rates. I am certainly thankful that Nadia usually is a good sport when she is under the weather, I honestly was a bit surprised when the pediatrician told us she had a double ear infection earlier this week.
When she’s not busy being sick, Nadia is finally giving crawling the good “college try.” She has a funny way of army crawling that sort of looks like an octopus gliding across the floor sporadically when she spots her unassuming prey. It seems like the things she is most inclined to crawl to are her basket of books in her bedroom, her musical instruments, and oddly enough toes (especially with nail polish). She also is starting to crawl to Daniel or me when we walk into another room.
Nadia is definitely a feisty girl; twice during daycare pickup I heard stories of her “fights” at school with the other babies (although one of the times she seemed to be innocently defending herself when an older boy took her toy). At home, she definitely lets Daniel and I know when we take something away that she wants. Diaper changes are also becoming a power struggle. It’s like a wresting match to keep her pinned long enough to manage to wipe her butt and get the new diaper on before she tries to flip off the changing mat. Oh man, I miss the newborn days.
She still loves mealtimes. I am amazed by the many foods she enjoys: Thai curry, sardines, enchilada casserole, and just about any piece of produce we put in front of her. I really enjoy our family dinners and splashes in the tub to clean up.
Sleep continues to be an ongoing struggle. She usually takes her two daytime naps without pomp and circumstance, but sometimes the bedtime routine drags on forever. Many nights she will go to sleep around 7:30, but will start waking again by 9:30. On the bad nights, she is truly up every hour. I really don’t know how Daniel and I manage to be functional human beings. Co-sleeping is our only saving grace, that and my eternal hope that she will resume longer stretches of sleep any day now.
All this is to say, I absolutely love being Nadia’s mom, even if it’s an exhausting business.
This month’s favorites:
-Mommy– the separation anxiety is REAL. It’s hard to leave the room without tears sometimes!
-Water play– She really enjoys playing in the bathtub or baby pool. I’m so glad she outgrew the phase of hating bathtime.
-Big Girl Car seat– This month we moved Nadia out of her infant seat and she really enjoys sitting up higher so that she can look out the window.
-Pulling out books & toys and dropping them on the ground– Nadia just loves dumping out her basket of books and picking her own toys to play with. It’s very satisfying dropping toys off her highchair while she waits for dinner
-“Wa-wa-wa-wa” — Nadia loves putting the back of her fist against her mouth so she can make funny sounds. I don’t know how to better describe this without being culturally inappropriate, so I will leave it there.
There you have it, another month in the books. I can’t believe she’s almost a year!