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Happy First Birthday, Micah

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It is hard to imagine that a full year has passed. One year ago today, I became a mommy. That was perhaps the happiest moment of my life. Each day since then, my love for my little man has grown bigger and stronger. I’ve loved getting to know him and watching him grow, and I’m so filled with hope and excitement for the years to come. It is hard to imagine that my tiny little baby has grown so big. He has two teeth already through, and 2 others that have been sitting on the edge of his gums waiting to pop through. Micah has gone from being unable to take a bottle to downing regular grownup food. He stands and cruises and is on the verge of walking. He has an amazing sense of humor, and he loves to laugh and play. I love watching him learn, and I even enjoy dealing with his growing opinions, pickiness, and even occasional temper tantrum.

He has been such a good baby, and I hope I don’t ever forget a second of this time. I love how he still loves to suck his thumb and cuddle with me. When I hold him and give him a bottle, he plays with my fingers. He laughs a big giant laugh when I tickle his belly. When he is sad, he still cries out “mama!” I remember my heart stopping the first time he fell and cut himself – I think I physically felt pain at the sight of blood dripping from his mouth. I love how he adores the dog, and screeches with joy when he sees her. He loves it even more when she kisses him or touches him. I love watching him push to a stand on his own, and pick up his toys while he is standing. I love holding my breath in anticipation of that moment when I finally see him take off walking. I love watching him hug his stuffed animals and figure out how to work his toys.

Everyday, I’m just so amazed by my little boy, and so thankful he has forever changed my life. So, happy first birthday, baby boy!!

Stories….

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Sometimes, when Micah is relaxing and cuddling, or just playing, he makes these cooing….pigeon noises. It just makes me laugh. He has also become an expert at “so big!” – we just have to say it, and his hands go up in the air.

Recently, he has started to play peek-a-boo on his own – he grabs a towel or a blanket, and he covers up his eyes and then yanks it back down. It is just so cute to watch HIM decide to play with US.

Micah loves his bath. For quite some time, he has loved to climb the stairs and go straight to the bathroom, but the other morning, while I was getting ready, Micah went into the bathroom and climbed into his bath tub that was sitting on the floor.

We are also starting to have issues with Micah and opening all of the kitchen cabinets. It is time to baby proof the house!

Yes, baby, I’m here!

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There are some moments I wish I could freeze in time – or somehow take a snapshot to forever hold on to the memory. Do you ever have those moments – ones that just tug at your heart strings, but yet are so simple and impossible to truly capture with a picture. There are times when I wish I was an artist – perhaps I would sketch the images when they are fresh in my head. Bedtime tonight was one of those moments – well, three of those moments.
The evening was a typical night – we gave him his bath, he played with his ducky and only attempted to climb out of the bath tub two times. We really do need to start bathing him in the upstairs bath tub! Elliot took Micah upstairs after bath time. He put on Micah’s pajamas, read him a story and gave him his bottle. Micah was sleepy, so Elliot put Micah in his crib…and the crying began. Usually, Micah either rolls right over and falls asleep, or he rolls around the crib a bit restless (but trying to sleep), or he is happy and chats with his toys until he falls asleep. We waited a minute to see what would happen, but it was obvious that Micah needed a bit more cuddling before bed time.
I walked in, picked him up and sat with him on the glider. As we rocked together, Micah sucked his thumb and nestled in close to my chest. I held him with one hand on his head, gently stroking his hair, and the other arm wrapped around his body with my hand fanned out rubbing his back and tush. This was moment number one. I just love those moments when Micah snuggles. Within minutes, Micah was sound asleep, gently snoring.
I carefully stood up, slowly moved to the crib and gently lay Micah on the mattress. I slowly inched my way towards the door…and the wailing began again! I walked back to the crib and reached in to touch Micah. He immediately quieted down, took my hand and started smiling. Micah just wanted me to be close – moment number two. I rubbed his back and he slowly relaxed and put his head down. I gently worked my way back to the chair and sat down again, hoping that just having my presence in the room would be sufficient. Micah fussed for a moment until he realized he could play peak-a-boo with me through the crib.
After several rounds of peek-a-boo, I decided that it was time to try and sing Micah to sleep. I started with You Are My Sunshine and then I moved on to The Rose. Within moments, Micah was quiet, lying still and sucking his thumb. (As an aside – is anyone else picky about grammar? It drives me crazy when people misuse the words “lay” and “lie” or “then” and “than” or “accept” and “except.” Not to mention when people misspell definitely – there is no “a” people! I admit it – if you blog and I’m reading it, I am noticing your grammatical and spelling errors. When I review my OWN blog posts, typos, missing words and failure to use parallel grammatical structure drive me bonkers. I even try to avoid ending sentences in prepositions, and it drives me crazy that I have allowed contractions to sneak into my blog posts. And yes, Dad, you did actually catch a typo once before I had a chance to correct it! But I digress.)
This time, once Micah was quietly nestled in, I decided to be smart – I thought I would wait a bit longer to ensure he was fast asleep. Micah’s room is quite small – the glider is in the back corner of Micah’s room and runs perpendicular to his crib (forming an “L” shape). The ottoman sits in front of the glider just next to his crib. While I waited for Micah to fall asleep, I sat back in the glider, closed my eyes and slowly started to drift off myself. And then, it happened – moment number three. I noticed this very faint whisper of a tickle by my feet, and when I opened my eyes, there was Micah’s little arm sticking out through the slats of his crib reaching out to touch my toe. He just needed to know that I was still there. I pointed my toes towards him so that his hand could brush up against my foot, as if to say “yes, baby, I’m here.” He slowly started to fall asleep, intermittently checking for me. It took another fifteen minutes, but he finally fell into that deep sleep that allowed me to quietly creep out of his room.
What I want to remember tonight is that there is a little boy upstairs who is just comforted by my mere presence – reaching out of a crib to brush my toe brings him a world of comfort. How incredible is that? I hope he knows how full my heart is with love for him, and that I am filled with joy just knowing he is there, too.

8 months

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I have to say, time just flies. I cannot believe that Micah is 8 months old today!! We were originally planning to go get his pictures done today, but I decided to postpone it until Monday. Usually, I post a general update about Micah for my monthly post. Today, however, I’m feeling a touch sentimental, so I think I will focus this post more on the things I do not want to forget about this precious time with Micah.

I love how Micah squeals with delight each time he sees the dog, and especially when she gets close enough to touch or comes over to nuzzle him, plant one on him, or just burrow into him. I also think he is adorable when he taps on the floor to call for the dog to come over. She looks at him with this wary expression . . . kind of saying “yeah, right, so you can yank my hair out? I’ll think about it – you are cute, you taste yummy, but we’ll do this when I say so!”

I love how he lights up with a big smile and starts furiously waving hello when he sees me, and as I get close enough to him, he reaches up to touch my face. Micah puts both hands on my face and just spreads love and joy as he smiles at me, announcing how happy he is to see me and have me so close to him.

I love that every once in a while, Micah still likes to nap on me. I stretch out on the couch and he just nuzzles on top of me with his thumb in his mouth and crashes. Even when he won’t take a real nap on me, I love that he gets especially cuddly when he is tired. He rests his head on my chest and sucks his thumb while sighing quietly, and I get the opportunity to wrap my arms around him, snuggle him close to me, and rub his back. I think that might just be heaven.

It makes me chuckle every time he poops – he now grunts and scrunches up his face, so I always know when he is pooping. If it is during a mealtime, you cannot put a spoon anywhere near him – he needs his full concentration while pooping, and he will not let food disturb him.

Speaking of food, I love how he works so hard to feed himself. He very carefully picks up the puffs or pasta, and does his best to aim for his mouth and get the food in there. He is able to connect properly about 80-90% of the time now, and I’m so proud of him! He does much better with big items, like the Baby Mum Mums. He also loves to grab the spoon while I’m feeding him. Unfortunately, he usually grabs the spoon at the feeding end, sending sweet potatoes and other wonderful things squirting everywhere. And don’t get me started about the raspberries! He has a thing about blowing raspberries when his mouth is full – especially once you put something colorful (like cherries, or blueberries) in there. The greater the potential for staining, the bigger the raspberries! He just loves to do that.

I love how he chats right now – he talks to his animals, he talks to us. Sometimes, I think he is saying “mama,” “hi” and “dada” but I’m just not sure yet. He does seem to recognize words now – I love that when you ask him where Daddy is he turns to Elliot, and he’ll do the same for me and for Nugget.

I love watching him think. He surveys the situation – deciding where his toys are, what things he wants to grab, locating Nugget – and then he devises a plan. He decides to lean forward and grab, or try to stand up, or attempt to crawl. He is going to be one devious little boy! He finds things amusing and just laughs sometimes. He interacts with toys and people. He has this joyous smile, and I love to watch how happy he is.

I love that he is in love with Elmo. After the tempertantrum this weekend, last night Elliot & I went to Target and picked up the Chatters Elmo Micah loves. We gave it to him this morning, and he lit up. He has been hugging it, talking to it, and smiling all morning! I’m amazed how something so simple can bring such joy. If this keeps up, we may have to pick Elmo as the theme for his first birthday party.

I love his crazy hair. It seems like Micah’s hair is part of his identity now – and perhaps why I’ve been leery about cutting it. He is the baby with the hair, and people stop and recognize him and notice him because of the crazy hair do and the winning smile. Somehow, it feels like chopping off that lovely mop into a controlled cut will stifle part of his identity and his freedom.

I love how he grabs everything and pulls it out to shred it or eat it – the papers and baskets under the new coffee table or on his nightstand, his toys, and labels. I love how he rolls all over creating a path of destruction, and how he tries to push up to all fours and gets a stubborn expression on his face when he insists on trying to stand.

Happy 8 months, baby boy! I love you with all of my heart. I never knew what joy you would bring into my life, and I am thankful for every second I have with you.

5 months

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Micah is 5 months old today!! I cannot believe how fast my little man is growing up. In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I would do a rundown of his “stats.”

Micah is approximately 14 lbs. and wearing size 3-6 months. He can briefly hold a sit. He has found his feet (loves to grab them and play with them) and his thumb (he loves to suck it). He smiles and laughs all the time. He gives wonderful hugs, and loves to cuddle. He rolls from tummy to back, but doesn’t fully roll from back to tummy. He can push buttons, and flip switches on toys, and he grabs and reaches and plays all the time. He loves to chat – he talks to his mobile every morning when he wakes up! We think he is teething . . . he has a white spot on his bottom gums, and he has been fussing and chewing and gnawing all the time. I think it will probably be a bit longer before an actual tooth cuts through. He can pick up and put in his own pacifier . . . although he is more efficient at taking it out. He has discovered the dog . . . he loves to pet her . . . or should I say grab chunks of fur. He is eating 2 tbs of rice cereal a day, and likes to help feed himself. His hair is LONG – it touches his back. He definitely recognizes me (and his Daddy), and he is starting to assert himself – he knows what he wants and he isn’t afraid to try and communicate it.

I love listening to Micah laugh and talk. His laugh is adorable . . . it kind of bubbles up. His face just lights up when he is happy. I love when he smiles and reaches for me, and the joy that goes across his face when I rub noses with him. I love the look on his face when he sees me after a day at daycare. I love that he is happy when he wakes up in the morning. I love napping with him cuddled close to me in the bed. I love watching him study things and figure out how to press buttons and make his toys work. I love watching him twist and move and turn.

The past five months have been amazing, and I am looking forward to watching my little man continue to grow by leaps and bounds over the months and years to come. Today we will go take his 5 month pictures – I’ll post them as soon as I can!

It all passes so quickly

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I am sitting here amazed at how quickly this is all going. Micah is now 8 weeks old, and he is about 9 lbs. He does a really good job of holding up his head, and this week he sort of “woke up” – he is really alert a lot of the day, and he seems to be developing more personality. I am so excited to watch him grow into his own person and really get to know him, yet I’m already missing some of the little things about him and I do not want to see those things disappear completely. So, I thought I’d make a list of all the things I adore about him now (and over the past 8 weeks).

  • Micah makes these cute squeaky noises when he is sleeping or curled up on me. I melt each time I hear the sounds.
  • He has this way of turning his head almost at a right angle to his body and looking up at me while I’m holding him on my chest. He then totally scrunches up his entire face (sometimes turning bright red in the process) and stretches. I just want to kiss him to death when he does that! The whole thing is so adorable that I just want to eat him up.
  • He kicks his feet when he is restless in the secure sleeper, and it makes him slide down. The whole swaddle sort of moves. He does it when he is frustrated, too, if he is hungry and he is in a hurry to latch.
  • When I was first breastfeeding him, he liked me to play with his feet. He would actually lift his foot towards my hand so I would play with it. Now, he likes to reach up and pull on my hair.
  • Micah snorts . . . in his sleep, while he is eating, and sometimes just from the acid reflux. The snort is cute – almost sounds like he is clearing his throat.
  • He was about 5 lbs (just under) when we brought him home . . . and I was amazed by how tiny he was. I could fit him from head to bottom from just above my ribs to just below my navel. My hands and arms dwarfed him! He had no extra fat on his body – you could see his ribs and he had these chicken legs. I could hold him on my chest and barely feel him there. I could easily hold him with one arm/hand. He would burrow so tightly into me, and I loved having him that close and so small. The preemie outfits were huge on him, and we had to fold the preemie diapers over to keep him from having a plumber’s crack showing. Now, he is still small, but he is a typical newborn – his face is getting big and round, his thighs have filled out, and today we tried on size 1 diapers for the first time, and I’m thinking of seeing if the size 0-3 clothing is still huge.
  • I love how he hugs me . . . when I hold him on my chest, he stretches his arms out wide and grabs on to my upper arms. It feels like he is giving me a big giant hug, and it gets me all teary.
  • He just loves to curl his legs under him and lay on my chest in the fetal position – he looks like such a munchkin all scrunched up like that, and yet he is oh-so-comfy!
  • I love when he gets startled for no reason (especially when he is asleep) – his whole body jumps and he throws his arms out wide and opens all of his fingers up while kicking out his legs.
  • I love how he reaches out and grabs a handful of my hair or my locket neclace and hangs on tight. I also love how he puts his hands in his own hair and grips a handful of that while he is nursing or sleeping.
  • I love how he holds his hands up by his face like he is saying “Oh my Gawd”(insert thick New York Jewish grandmother accent here).
  • Sometimes, he gets this very worried expression on his face . . . usually when he is hungry. It almost looks like he is concerned someone will forget to feed him!
  • I love how he sucks his pacifier – he looks a lot like Maggie on the Simpsons . . . making loud noises as the pacifier bounces up and down in his mouth.
  • Sometimes, he fights to latch – pushes me away, hits the breast, arches away because he is SOO hungry and anxious to get on that he just makes it all take longer!
  • I also love the chicken head bob when he is trying to latch or is hungry. I keep expecting him to start clucking.
  • I love watching him rub his face when he is tired.
  • When he is about to get upset, his whole face turns purple and he sticks his lower lip out . . . and then the wailing begins. I sometimes want to laugh because he looks so cute as he is about to explode.
  • He snores! He makes this adorable snoring noise . . . much cuter than both his Daddy and the dog.
  • He smiles in his sleep – it just makes me laugh! I hope he is having wonderful dreams.
  • He sometimes smiles after farting or pooping . . . cute when he does it, not so cute when his Daddy does the same thing.
  • He gets hiccups all the time. His whole body shakes and they are so loud and scare him!
  • He has such crazy hair that stands on end – the crazier it is, the more I love it. Sometimes, he looks like either an old man or a doll with all the hair.
  • Sometimes, I swear he listens to me. He looks at me, he seems to calm down when he hears my horrible singing voice, and he knows it is me. He’ll follow me with his eyes, and I love that he focuses on me.
  • His tongue is always sticking out. This has been a huge challenge for breastfeeding, but it is cute when he is sitting and sleeping to see his tongue hanging out just a bit.
  • I don’t understand how he manages to pee OUT the top of his diaper.
  • I’m amazed that such a little boy can make such big poopy messes – how does one boy manage to explode that much poop out of his diaper EVERY day?

I’m sure there are so many more . . . but I just didn’t want to forget these things.