Mia Faith - 5 to 6 months

12/10/2010 - 1/10/2011

Happy New Year!!!

This year is THE year for me!  Lots of exciting stuff will happen, I just know it!

I've been having so much fun! I love my big sister so much...now that I'm taking a bath with her, she is the one who actually washes my hands, my feet and she loves it when I splash water all over her!  I try to hold her feet, which she says it "tickles" her but she lets me do it anyway.  She shares her toys with me.  She's so sweet that, even though she will occasionally want to play with something I'm already playing with, she'll give me something else to play with so I'll get distracted. That's how she makes "the switch".

This month I had my first plane ride!  We went to Florida for the holidays and I had tons of fun with my cousins.  Sure I gave mommy and daddy a hard time by waking up way too many times during the night but I made up for it with smiles.  I learned to sit without support and now I really go places when I roll around on the floor.

So, that's what I have to report this month.  See you soon!

STATS:
weight: 14.6 lbs
height:  26 inches

MILESTONES:
sitting without support:  12/30/2010

Mia Faith - 4 to 5 months

11/10/2010  -  12/10/2010

Hi there!

Time is going by fast!  I'm such a happy little girl and my sister is one of the biggest reasons for that!  I love watching her twirl around, play, sing, dance and I especially love it when she plays with me.  She is such an awesome big sister.  She shares her toys with me, likes to tell me I'm beautiful and cute, comes to my bedroom when I cry and fills my crib with her toys so I'll stop crying, and even likes to hold me sometimes.  I love her lots and I can't wait to get grown-up enough to play with her.  I think we'll have a lot of fun together. :)

This month I've been suffering a little bit.  Apparently I have had big issues with digesting the new food I'm trying and now I can't poop! That's right... so I'm back to 90% breastmilk and that's still not helping much.  I learned how to suck my thumb so now I sleep through the night!  That's right, I sleep through the night MOST NIGHTS and my mommy is so happy!

On another note, I am insanely cute.  In fact, every day I get cuter and cuter.  I'm also so in love with my mommy.  Just looking at her makes me smile and that makes daddy a little jealous!  I'm almost sitting without support and I will grab anything and everything that is within reach.

Here are some pics:

STATS:
weight:  15lbs
height:  24.75 inches

MILESTONES:
sleeps through the night!: 11/10/2010
makes herself fall asleep: 11/14/2010
rolled from back to tummy: 11/15/2010

Mia Faith - 3 to 4 months

10/10/2010 - 11/10/2010

Hello world!  I'm officially a quarter of a year old! :)  I'm very independent now and I sleep all by myself in my room... no need to have mommy beside me anymore now that I'm a big girl!  I also got earrings this month and now I look even prettier than before, if that's at all possible!

I also learned to roll over and I'm very aware of my surroundings.  The highlight of this month was that I started eating some real food for a change...well, not really EAT since it's such a tiny amount.  I'm not a big fan of it yet but as I watch my big sister I noticed I have to eat veggies and fruits in order to move on to candy and chocolate.   Although, I did have my very first taste of chocolate a couple of weeks ago.  My mommy was having a tough day with me not wanting to nap and all so she grabbed a handful of chocolate chips and one fell in her shirt so when it was time for me to have some milk I got chocolate milk instead of the plain kind.  It was yummy ... I had a little bit of a tummy-ache but it was SO WORTH IT!  :-)

I'm getting really big and really smart.  I have yet to learn how to sleep through the night even though I sometimes tease my mommy with about 6-7 hours of sleep (one time I did a 10-hour night!) and I don't like to sleep during the day.  I'm a happy girl though... I can make my mommy and daddy forget about how tired they are when I smile. 

Everything is so exciting right now but I'm hoping I can get moving soon.  Sitting in a bumbo seat or in a jumperoo is starting to get a little boring.

See ya next month! :)

STATS: 
weight: 14.3 lbs
height:  24 inches

MILESTONES:
sleeping in her room: 10/11/2010
earrings: 10/16/2010
rolled from tummy to back: 10/17/2010
grabbing feet: 10/20/2010
slept through the night (10 straight hours): 10/25/2010
started eating solids: 10/31/2010

Mia Faith - 2 to 3 months

9/10/2010  -  10/10/2010

Hi there!  Mia here!  I thought I'd write this since mommy's version of what's going on with me is growing a little boring.  I can say that about my mom, right?  :)

"Anywho", I am growing up fast and I'm learning lots of new things.  For starters, I now giggle!  Mommy loves it, although she does seem guilty that she can't make me laugh a lot all day because of all the work she has to do around the house.  I'm a very happy little girl and I love to smile!  I can also reach out and grab stuff.  Luckily, I have a very messy big sister who spreads her toys all around, so I have easy access to some very interesting things!  I also love grabbing mommy's hair, earrings, necklace and my all time favorite, her glasses!  Did I mention I have some pretty amazing things attached to the end of my arm?  Yes, that's right, I discovered my hands earlier this month and it's pretty fun!  I have yet to learn how to suck my thumb so for now I'm content with sucking any and as many fingers I can!

Sleeping is still an issue for me.  I surprise my mommy every once in a while and sleep for 6 hours but the next day I'll go back to my 3 hour stretch.  I can tell that drives my mommy crazy but I think she's kinda used to having to wake up.  I absolutely must need to start liking the bottle... I eventually take it after much stress but I don't like it and I make sure I state that!

I don't cry as much anymore, but then again, I'll have my bad days.  As my mom says, at least it's not every day. :)  I'm very chubby and have very cute, fat cheeks!  Mom wants to bite them so badly!  My doctor's visits have slowed down, thankfully!  I was poked twice more this month for blood tests and I have a feeling some doctors think that, just because I'm white, I'm a lab mouse.  My mom says we've had enough tough.  She's a really great mommy!

Overall, we're having a lot of fun. I'm more aware of my big sister and she's so sweet that I often smile for her and that makes her SOOOO happy!  She's a really great big sister.  I can't wait 'til I'm ready to sit and play with her.  I think we'll have a lot of fun playing together.

I'll pop in next month to let you all know what I'm up to.  I have a feeling I'll have lots of news!  See ya!

xoxo

Mia Faith

STATS:
weight:  12.6 lbs
height:  22.75 inches

MILESTONES:
First giggle: 9/22/2010
Reaching out to grab toys: 10/1/2010

Mia Faith - 1 to 2 months

8/10/2010 - 9/10/2010

Hectic but joyful is probably the best description for this month.  Joyful because it always is.  Mia is sweet.  She's a calm baby, smiles a lot and brings us more love than we could ever imagine.  Hectic because, only this month, we had one x-ray, one ultrasound and two blood tests done, not to mention her shots which I know are routine but the poor thing suffered a lot! 

Mia's belly has been very bloated and hard and she has been very fussy because of it.  Her pediatrician thinks the more she cries, the more air she swallows and that makes her belly even harder but to be sure she requested an x-ray of her abdomen.  So we did that and the results were that there was a lot of air in her belly. They also found some fluid in her intestinal tract but they don't know what that means and told me she could have had a virus.  I'm not surprised by them telling me this because, as you may know, a virus is the answer to almost anything doctors can't figure out.

The blood test is another story.  Mia's umbilical cord stump has yet to fall off!!!  Her pediatrician explained that she may have an immune system deficiency and that's what's causing the detachment delay so she requested the blood test.  I was so nervous about doing that on Mia because she's so little but we went and they did it.  On my way home the doctor calls me to tell me her blood clotted and we had to repeat the test.  Awesome. :-/  They managed to use some of the blood that hadn't clotted and ran the tests hoping they had enough blood.  One test came back normal (the one that shows she has a normal immune system...no deficiencies, so, YAY!) but the cell study they did showed that she had high potassium and her cells that fight off infections came back a little low.  Her doctor was going to consult a hematologist to find out more about that and let me know if they wanted a second test.  That's exactly what sent us in for a second blood test and this time the cells came back normal but her potassium is still high so we'll have to see a hematologist for that.  I was told it could be nothing but it could also be a problem with her adrenal gland.  My heart is filled with peace and I doubt anything will be wrong but I think they'll want to poke Mia again and do another blood test to confirm.  Meanwhile, she also needs to be seen by the hematologist because of the amount of time it has taken for her cord stump to detach.  The ultrasound was to make sure her umbilical cord had developed correctly from within her body and to check her organs.  I'm still unsure what they were looking for but they couldn't really see much.  Mia had so much gas that the ultrasound image was pretty blurry but they didn't seem worried.  She's a very healthy baby overall.  I guess they just want to cross everything off the list before calling this umbilical cord issue a "freak of nature".  Everyone, including doctors, I talk to say they have NEVER seen this happen.  It's the worse thing you can hear when it's health related. 

Her fussiness seems to be decreasing and she has been growing well.  She brings so much joy to our family and brings out the best in us.  I've learned to be calmer, to let go of wanting to be the one in control.  God uses the weirdest things to work with us and change what needs to be changed.  I'm thankful for that.  I know this will make me a better daughter, a better wife, a better mom, a better sister, a better friend...

STATS:
weight: 11.6 lbs
height:  22 inches

MILESTONES:
Cooing: 8/12/2010
Rolling to sides: 8/24/2010

BIG sister Lila Grace

I am so proud of Lila!  She has truly amazed me. I never thought having a sister would bring out so much love in her.  I knew she'd be loving but I wasn't expecting her to be helpful at such a young age. 

Whenever Mia cries she lets me know and goes to her immediately.  ("Mamae, Mia choando." ou "Mamae, Mia ardou."... the first one means Mia is crying and the second means Mia woke up.)
She leans over and says "oh Mia, it's okay".  Sometimes she'll get a book and read to her while she's crying.  One time she took her Bible and "read" the story of Noah and sang the Noah song she knows.  It was the sweetest thing!  Other times Lila has taken her dolls and showed them to her..."Look Mia, balleina (ballerina...)" .  Whenever she draws pictures or colors a page she runs to Mia and shows it to her.  She says: "Look Mia, I did it!"  Smart!  It helps a lot that Lila isn't the type to want to touch Mia all the time.  She doesn't try to change her diaper or feed her or even hold her.  It has been easy to trust her around Mia without fear of Mia accidentally getting hurt.

We told her that Mia has a tummy boo-boo and if she cries Lila runs and gets the pacifier and Gripe Water so we can help the "boo-boo" and she'll actually say "Mia dodoi barriga" (Mia has boo-boo belly)...then she prays so Jesus will kiss her baby sister's boo-boo away. ("Papai Ceu, bejinhu dodoi barriga Mia, ome Jesus, Amen!") So sweet!

Lila hasn't been giving me an ounce of trouble...really.  The only thing she requests is to be held which is so okay with me.  She is sweet, and loves helping me out.  It has been a very pleasant surprise to say the least!

I am so blessed.  I can't thank God enough for these wonderful presents He is trusting me to care for.  To close, here's a picture that shows a ton of sisterly love.  Notice Lila's pout? :)

Mia Faith - 0 to 1 month

7/10/2010  -  8/10/2010

Time flew by... 

Mia is such a good baby.... very alert and likes to smile all the time!  She nurses a lot... on average, she'll nurse every 2 hours if not every hour and a half.  She's so chubby now!  At 3 weeks she weighed near 9 pounds!  Yes, it's exhausting feeding her so often, but so worth it and I'm really enjoying it.  It's amazing how much more confidence a mother has with the second child compared with the first.  Of course, with Lila it was hectic since the very beginning and the experience we had with her gave me a certain sense of insecurity which took a while for me to let go of.  However, I wouldn't change a thing about it because I learned a lot from it and how to relinquish control of some things.

Sadly, Mia also has a lot of colic and cries a lot.  I feel helpless because there's really NOTHING a mom can do to help alleviate the pain except wait until she's about 3 months old when it naturally stops. I've done my share of researching and changed my diet but I guess waiting is the best medicine right now.  I never wished for time to go by fast until now.

Her umbilical cord stump hasn't fallen off yet... yes...that's right.  I was worried at first but, since there's no infection, I guess there's really nothing to worry about.  It's actually weird that I think it's sort of neat that her umbilical cord stump is still intact because I feel it's the little symbol of both of us being connected and when I look at it I smile...  :)

So, not much to report this month.  We'll be back next month!

STATS:
weight:  8.6 lbs
height:  21 inches

MILESTONES:
First smile: 7/31/2010