Onward and upward!

Onward - Abigail began crawling in early April (~7.5 months old). Almost simultaneously she mastered the ability to go from lying down to sitting up on her own! She'd been sitting for quite some time but this opened up a whole new world. At first she wouldn't crawl very far -- but now, a little over a month later, you can't blink! Blink and she's gone.

Here she is when it first began:

Now that she's moving, she can finally get up close and personal with the camera -- one of her favorite things that she's not allowed to touch...don't blink!

Upward: About a month later she started pulling up and standing! Now she does it with ease! She loves to show off for the camera.

No more bedside cups of water for mama.

All of the cords were long-ago tied way up high in preparation for this moment.

"I can use anything to pull myself up, mommy!"

I'm not sure why Abigail is pants-less in two of the four pictures. I'm sure she usually has pants/shorts/skirts on...

I guess it's a good opportunity to see her adorable cloth diapers! We love sized Blueberry Simplex diapers!

We took a trip to the new central library last night to hear author Anna Dewdney read the books that she wrote and illustrated "Llama Llama Red Pajama" and the new "Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too." Abigail even got a signed copy if the new book. And Anna was asking me all about our Tula!

The new library is incredible. The Children's Library is just perfectly set up for little ones. It's going to be a wonderful place for Abigail to go soon! Child-Corinne is super jealous. Right now she just wants to crawl around and eat tables and railings...but soon!

 

Speaking of daddy, here is is with Abigail (terrifying mama in the first picture):

That's all for now! 

Miles and miles and miles

Q: What has two arms, an adorable smile, and soars through the air?
A: Ms. Abigail Elizabeth!

Our little darling has flown a lot. A lot lot. Her first flight was undertaken at the tender age of 4.5 weeks. (That's not counting the many many flights she took in utero, of course.) I keep saying that I'll add up all the miles she's flown in her first year. Well - I'm off sick today so that seems like a great way to pass the time while this cold has its way with me.

Date: September 18, 2013
Age: 4.5 weeks
Route: San Diego to Chicago to Rochester
Flights: 2
Cumulative Flights: 2
Mileage: 2240
Cumulative Mileage: 2,240
Notes: We (Abigail, Abigail's grandma, and I) were supposed to leave the previous day. After boarding that flight and taxiing to the end of the runway, however, we were told that we had only one operable engine. Oy. Then, when we got on a plane the next day with two operable engines, there were CRAZY storms in the midwest, delaying our flight by a long long time. We made it to Rochester, though. It was probably the easiest we had it with Abigail - she slept most of the time. I was obsessed with making sure she was nursing on takeoff and landing so her ears wouldn't be bothered. It didn't take us long to figure out that she isn't really bothered by pressure changes, though. Little Abigail Toughy Tough.

Date: October 6, 2013
Age: 7.5 weeks
Route: Rochester to Baltimore
Flights: 1
Cumulative Flights: 3
Mileage: 280
Cumulative Mileage: 2,520 Notes: After my sister's wedding, which Jesse had joined us for, we flew to Baltimore so I could present some work at a conference. It was a quick trip - and Abigail's second stay in a hotel.
 
Date: October 7, 2013
Age: 7.5 weeks
Route: Baltimore to San Diego
Flights: 1
Cumulative Flights: 4
Mileage: 2290
Cumulative Mileage: 4,810 Notes: Headed home to what was supposed to be a finished house (after the ceiling cave-in). Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way but we made do.

Date: November 23, 2013
Age: 3 months
Route: San Diego to Sacramento to Seattle
Flights: 2
Cumulative Flights: 6
Mileage: 1090
Cumulative Mileage: 5,900 Notes: Thanksgiving with the family! Again, Abigail was a model flyer.

Date:November 30, 2013
Age: 3.5 months
Route: Seattle to Oakland to San Diego
Flights: 2
Cumulative Flights: 8
Mileage: 1120
Cumulative Mileage: 7,020 Notes: This was a tough one. Abigail got her first cold while we were in Washington so she was a bit fussy on the plane.


Date: December 4, 2013
Age: 3.5 months
Route: San Diego to Sacramento
Flights: 1
Cumulative Flights: 9
Mileage: 480
Cumulative Mileage: 7,500 Notes: I had to travel to Sacramento for business so Jesse took a few days off so Abigail could come. I wasn't ready to be without her for two nights and the pumping/bottle feeding would have been a logistical nightmare. Also, she hadn't yet been left with anyone other than Jesse or I.

Date: December 6, 2013
Age: 3.5 months
Route: Sacramento to San Diego
Flights: 1
Cumulative Flights: 10
Mileage: 480
Cumulative Mileage: 7,980 Notes: Lots of delays after a busy work trip. Abigail was a champion, though!

Date: December 21, 2013
Age: 4 months
Route: San Diego to Baltimore (was supposed to continue to Rochester)
Flights: 1
Cumulative Flights: 11
Mileage: 2290
Cumulative Mileage: 10,270 Notes: HA! We were on our way to New York for Christmas. We were going to make it in the nick of time for our annual extended family celebration the following day. Then. Then. Then. Fate slapped us in the face. We got to Baltimore only to find out the remainder of our trip had been cancelled. CANCELLED. Not rescheduled. Cancelled. I asked when we might be able to catch a flight to Rochester and was told in three days if we were lucky. Oh goodness.
We ended up teaming up with a retired couple from Rochester, renting a minivan, and driving home through the night. We hopped out at my parents' house and they continued on and returned the rental the following day. Tired though we were, we made it to our Christmas celebration.

Date: December 31, 2013
Age: 4.5 months
Route: Rochester to Chicago to Phoenix (was supposed to land in San Diego)
Flights: 2
Cumulative Flights: 13
Mileage: 1960
Cumulative Mileage: 12,230 Notes: HA! We thought we had our share of travel troubles and that we wouldn't be bothered by them anymore. HA! There we were, we made it to Chicago. It was snowing...heavily. We actually had an aborted landing on our way into Chicago due to plows on the runway that were unable to get off in time. They did what they call a last-minute "go-around" that I call a "near heart attack". There were significant delays due to the snow but we got on our plane. Once we were airborne Jesse mentioned that our travel troubles were over as, surely, we would now land in San Diego. We got pretty close to San Diego when we were told that fog had set in and that we didn't have enough fuel to attempt a landing, and, if it didn't work, get to another airport. So they re-routed us to Phoenix. Happy New Years! Once again the remainder of the flight was cancelled and we had to book a flight back to San Diego. We spent the night in an interesting Econo Lodge in an interesting part of Phoenix. Though when I say night I mean about four hours. It was better than the airport, though.

Date: January 1, 2014
Age: 4.5 months
Route: Phoenix to San Diego
Flights: 1
Cumulative Flights: 14
Mileage: 300
Cumulative Mileage: 12,530 Notes: Hurray! We made it back. So tired.


Date: January 31, 2014
Age: 5.5 months
Route: San Diego to Houston to Tampa
Flights: 2
Cumulative Flights: 16
Mileage: 2090
Cumulative Mileage: 14,620 Notes: This was my first time flying on my own with Abigail. We went to Florida to surprise my Aunt Connie and to celebrate her upcoming wedding with her. It was magical to be around family and to pull off the surprise with the help of my cousin, Jenn.

Date: February 3, 2014
Age: 5.5 months
Route: Tampa to Phoenix to San Diego
Flights: 2
Cumulative Flights: 18
Mileage: 2080
Cumulative Mileage: 16,700 Notes: We made it back with little incident, thank goodness! However, Abigail isn't as easily wrangled while flying.

March was the first month, since her birth in August, that Abigail stayed grounded.

Date: April 9, 2014
Age: 8 months
Route: San Diego to Sacramento to Seattle
Flights: 2
Cumulative Flights: 20
Mileage: 1090
Cumulative Mileage: 17,790 Notes: An uneventful flight, hurray!


Date: April 13, 2014
Age: 8 months
Route: Seattle to San Jose to Seattle
Flights: 2
Cumulative Flights: 22
Mileage: 1110
Cumulative Mileage: 18,900 Notes: A slight delay, but again, an uneventful flight.

Coming up before Abigail's first birthday, if everything goes according to plan:
April: San Diego to Chicago to Rochester (+2=24), Rochester to Chicago to San Diego (+2=26) [+4480 miles]
June: San Diego to Chicago to Rochester (+2=28), Rochester to Chicago to San Diego (+2=30) [+4480 miles]
August: San Diego to Chicago to Rochester (+2=32), Rochester to Chicago to San Diego (+2=34) [+4480 miles]

34 flights  or 32,340 flight miles in one year! Oh my.
That is the equivalent of 1.3 trips around the earth.


If you've bothered to read all of this you deserve an adorable picture of Abigail:

Seven months - overload of cute

Seven months has always been a favorite baby age of mine. Seven-month-olds tend to be aware, interested, playful, and, most of all, totally adorable.

Abigail's grandma and grandpa were recently in town for a week. I'll post those photos soon; but for now, check out how cute our baby is!

Did you make it through without exclaiming? I still can't and I've looked at the photos countless times. And I have the real thing in front of me!

First Swim and First Swing

Abigail has loved water ever since her very first bath. She loves splashing and scooting around the tub on her back - and we love watching her in the water! There's a well-respected swim school in San Diego that offers "Splash Babies" swim lessons for infants over six months. We've been on a wait list with them for a coveted weekend slot for over a month! The waiting paid off this week as we were able to start Abigail in a Saturday class this week! The class was wonderful - they focus on teaching parents how to teach their children.

To get the babies used to moving around in the water, we play a ball release and retrieve game.
Here she is about to capture her first ball:

And bring it back to the teacher:

About to go underwater for her first time:

Abigail was the master of the back float:

Later on, we had another first -- her first swing at the park! We went down to Mission Bay to watch the sunset and couldn't pass the swings by without giving them a try.

Abigail was unsure at first:

But once we started her swinging she was THRILLED! She smiled and giggled more and more the higher she went. Can you imagine what it would feel like to swing for the first time?

Then we continued our walk to watch the sunset over the bay:

The introduction of solid foods is going well. We give Abigail whole foods at dinner time each night. (For more information about why we're skipping purees, see the baby-led weaning post from last month.) So far Abigail has had: avocado, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, eggs [no-go], pears, spinach, and tomatoes. We love watching her eat tomatoes -- she makes a terrible face every time she tastes them, but can't seem to get enough of them!

Tomato face:

But I must have more:

EAT ALL THE TOMATOES!

And here's a parting shot of Abigail off to the zoo on a chilly morning during our week of "winter" earlier this month:

Pears!

More comparisons!

5 weeks / 28 weeks:

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Abigail's laugh is one of my favorite sounds.

Then and Now

Two photos of mini Abigail at six weeks:

And two photos of Abigail at six months:

The onesie is the same, just a bigger size.
The leg warmers are the same.
The socks didn't even come close to fitting her again.

6 Month Well Baby Visit

Abigail is in love with her pediatrician's office. It has her very favorite crinkly paper.

Abigail weighed in at just over 16.5 pounds (58th percentile), was 2 feet 2.75 inches tall (84th percentile), and was in the 96th percentile for head circumference. The staff were all very impressed at the rolls Abigail has developed on mama's milk.

She received four bitty stabs today, which weren't her favorite part of the visit. It's amazing, though, how quickly she calms down at the breast. I've heard of nursing being used as an analgesic, but it really works for Abigail. Her epidemiologist mama is very proud of her immunization record.

First Food

Abigail is officially six months old! We celebrated on Sunday with her first taste of avocado. Here's the story:

"Hey - you promised! Now you won't even let me touch it?!?"

"Oy you! Bring that back!!"

"Woah - why is it on fire?"

"Wait - it's cool - I can handle the fire. Don't take it away again!"

"Oh thank goodness. Now how does this work?"

 ...a while later...

"Oh, I did it!"

You may be wondering why we give Abigail carrot and celery sticks and why she is given a whole slice of avocado. If you are curious, read on!

A bit about "baby-led weaning" or "baby-led solids"

The principle of baby-led weaning is based on the way babies develop and the skills that appear naturally in their first year. If parents give their baby the opportunity to handle foods at about the right time, she will instinctively start to feed herself when she is ready. 

Most people take it for granted that spoon-feeding is the normal way to give babies their first solid foods. But spoon feeding is left over from the days when parents were advised to start solids at 3-4 months of age - when their babies were too young to feed themselves.

This is what typically happens:

• The baby is included in family mealtimes, where she watches what others are doing and is offered the chance to join in
• Nobody "feeds" the baby; when she is ready she starts handling food and taking it to her mouth first (at first with her fingers and later with silverware)
• To start with, food is offered in pieces that are easy to pick up (babies soon learn how to handle a range of sizes, shapes, and textures)
• It's up to the baby how much she eats and how fast she eats it. It's also up to her how quickly she moves on to a wider range of foods
• The baby continues to have milk feedings whenever she wants them, and she decides when she is ready to begin reducing them

Key benefits

• Allows each baby to move on to solid foods at the right time and pace for her developing body, and ensures that her important milk feedings are not cut out too early 
• Helps to develop babies' hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and chewing skills
• Allows each baby to eat as much as she needs, in her own time, so establishing good eating habits that may last a lifetime
• Makes picky eating and mealtime battles less likely
• Allows babies to explore the taste, texture, color, and smell of individual foods
• Encourages confidence at mealtimes and enjoyment of a wide range of foods
• Means babies can be a part of family mealtimes from the beginning

Is it safe?
Yes - check out http://www.babyledweaning.com/ for more information.

Six months old - preview

Abigail is shouting for her avocado!

Almost Six Months!

Abigail is getting bigger! In three more days she'll be six months old!!

23 Weeks and Getting So Big!