A Few Celebrations

First we have a certainly little person who is FOUR MONTHS OLD, today! Four short months ago I was in the hospital giving birth to a very special little boy who would turn my life around. He's been the very best thing that has ever happened to me. Period. Sorry to my husband because my son takes the cake.

Dear My Giggly Gorilla,

You cease to amaze me. You are four months old, today. How that happened, I have yet to figure out. Some how so much life has passed in such a short amount of time that I often wonder what day it is, or month, for that matter. You are the best baby, ever! Period.

This month has been a little testy, for the both of us, but I am excited to say that we've made it through, alive, no less! You've been teething since you were two and a half months old and a few weeks ago, you decided that nursing wasn't your thing anymore. Your gums hurt and nursing wasn't helping. You refused to nurse and I didn't know what to do. I tried everything I could think of and was denied. I hurt for you, my love. I couldn't watch you in pain, anymore, so I gave you a bottle of expressed milk. You took it like a champ and off you went. You loved it. Problem was, I couldn't get you to nurse anymore. Mommy's heart was broken. I didn't want to stop nursing you. I wanted to continue for a long time. I didn't feel rejected, I just knew you were in pain. A pain that Mommy couldn't stop. I had to give you a few bottles of formula due to running out of frozen milk and it broke my heart. It made you stink. I hated it. I loved nursing you. I love the bond we had. I loved how you were so happy when you nursed. You would play with my shirt. I would sing to you or tell you stories and every so often you would unlatch to look up and smile at me. I couldn't have been happier. I loved the way it made you smell sweet and your dirty diapers didn't smell. They smelled sweet, if anything. I hated the way formula changed that. I felt like such a failure because I didn't know how to fix the problem. That is, until I talked to a Lactation Consultant online. She talked about teething pain, bottle preference, and pumping issues. She suggested that I just stop giving you the bottle and just nurse you.

That day, I did just that. You've been nursing exclusively ever since and I couldn't be happier, I really couldn't. It may seem hard or challenging for some, but for you, it's what you were born to do and I love it. I plan to continue for a very long time. At least until you are a year old.

At four months old, you have accomplished holding your head up, like a champ, I might ad! You've also started to giggle. Oh what a wonderful sound it is. You giggle at your dad the most and it just cracks us up. It is, by far, the funniest thing we've ever heard. You're still trying to pop your first 2 teeth in and you rock at sucking your thumb. You love to sing and read books. You love to smile and your favorite past time is sitting in my lap and watching TV or watching me on the computer. You love it.

You've also moved to your crib this month! You've made the transition pretty well, so far! We've had a rough night but out of 5 or so, so far, that's not bad! Your bed is right up next to mine and I love looking in on you while you're sleeping and listening to your sleepy noises. You're an amazing baby.

You're growing up so much and I can't wait to see what the next four months have to offer!

With all of my all, my love!
Love,
Your Mommy

In other news, or I guess in other celebrations... one year ago, this is what happened to us:

Can you believe that it's been a whole year since we found out the results of our first IVF attempt? So much has happened in the last year. It's amazing that in one year, I've gone from being a wife to a mommy and now have so much more responsibility.

Isn't it amazing what one year can bring?

What's the biggest thing that has happened to you in the last year?