Dear Norah, Month Three

(I wrote these letters some time ago but it's taken me forever to post them here.)

Dear Norah,

Being born in October sure does have its privileges… it meant you got to celebrate your first Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in the first three months of your life.

Although Christmas may have been the biggest milestone of the month, your frequently occurring smiles were pretty special too. You evolved from doing the infant half smile to a full on gummy grin, which in turn brings smiles to those around you.

 
Your first Christmas season passed much like any other days do for you, but for us it was a time of celebration and love. Well, except for your first trip to see Santa. In what was a role reversal from what I expected, your brother was the excited one and you were the screaming one. We managed to eventually get you calmed down enough to snap a quick picture of you both on Santa’s lap. You experienced a few other Christmas festivities as well, including a trip to the zoo for their Winter Wonderland (in which we were all wearing shorts), a Christmas parade and a tree lighting ceremony in Safety Harbor.

You got to meet your Grand-dad and Grand-Gale, who came down and visited us for the holidays. You were especially cute in your first Christmas dress, even if you slept through the entire church service on Christmas Eve. And while you received your fair share of presents, your brother was more than happy to open them for you.

In not as joyful news, early in the month you began to have prolonged fussy periods and spells where you appeared to be in pain. Having experienced the symptoms of acid reflux with your brother, I took you into the pediatrician. It turned out your weight gain had slowed a bit and he discovered there was blood in your stool. It pointed to a likely food intolerance, and so your mommy gave up dairy, soy, peanuts and tree nuts in an attempt to free you from these painful bouts. While it has been a bit challenging for your mommy to be so limited in the foods I can eat, it made a big difference in your temperament. Although you continue to have some tummy issues, your weight gain and general disposition are much improved. 

Oh,  how I wish I could say that this also made a big impact on your sleep patterns, but you are destined to not want to sleep much, either during the day or at night. For one of your naps I attempted laying you down on your stomach in hopes that it might help you sleep a bit better. Imagine my surprise when I came in to get you when you woke up and instead of being on your tummy, you rolled over on your back, at only 10 weeks old. I guess that's what I get for trying to put you down on your stomach.

You continue to love to snuggle and be held. One of your favorite places remains in the ergo carrier, and you typically take at least one nap in it each day. Your daddy calls it your “happy place” and I don’t mind that one bit.

Love,

Mommy