A New Year

Greetings remaining faithful blog fans!

Seems like just a post ago we were talking about holiday traditions. Well...the holidays have come and gone, and believe it or not, we are in the midst of planning a little gathering for a certain almost three-year-old!

We have a huge backlog of pictures and updates to make. Over the holidays Terri transitioned to a new camera and hasn't had the time yet to figure out some of the logistics of uploading from the new fancy thing.

Thanks for your patience, and just know that life in Radha's world is pretty darn great these days, and there is never a dull moment between: daycare (3 days/week), music class with her favorite teacher Tyleena "The Fairy Funkmother" (1 day/week), swim lessons (past 8 weeks and wrapping up soon), and all sorts of play dates with playgroup and other friends.

Dancing (especially bhangra), singing, reading, counting (up to 20 in English, and up to 10 in Hindi and Spanish), Play-Do, and making muffins are some of her favorite activities lately.

Current favorite songs:

"You Can Call Me Al" (Paul Simon)

"Shake, Rattle & Roll" or "All Shook Up" (Elvis)

"Paw Paw Patch" (Sharon Jones)

The biggest milestone which we are THRILLED about is that over Christmas break Radha made the transition to being fully potty-trained. No more diapers, not even at night! We didn't expect it to go as quickly and smoothly as it did, but just like that it happened. Sheer luck, definitely! She has a lot of pride in this new level of independence, and we are thrilled to be done with that whole mess.

Word Explosion

Our household has encountered a verbal explosion of words and sentences lately.

Ro and I have been waiting for these moments for a while, for when we could carry an actual, real conversation with Radha. And now it's happening! It's so much fun to hear Radha put words together, and sometimes the results are pretty hilarious. We have no idea where she heard some of the things, or where she got the concepts from, and others are fairly obvious.

Here is a sampling of sentences and phrases that Radha has been repeating a lot lately:

• Have a good day, Momma.

• Radha Simone Wiley-Sood is eating strawberrries.


• Mommy come too? Daddy come too?


• Let's eat the chocolate (pronounced CHALK-OH-LOT) Momma.


• This is the best book ever.


• It happens.


• Hop on the Dana! Hop on the Max! (reference to our neighbor's kids)


• I like broccoli trees.


• Baby Mook crying.


• Daddy driving to work. *makes sound of car driving*


• Ladybugs sleeping. (said during daycare when her class was exploring soil and looking at bugs and plants in the soil)


• Go away Momma! Go away Daddy! (usually said in fun when she wants one of us to hide and play hide-and-seek with her)

• You said it a long time ago.

• You said it, boys and girls!

• No problem! (said when pretending to talk on the phone with a real phone or her play "cell phone")

Of course, this list will only be growing, but we wanted to share a sampling of the word fun before we forget to document this fun stage.

We Have Lift Off

(from Terri)

It's official...Radha started walking last month and has been enjoying her new sense of mobility and independence since. Granted, she is still walking with a bit of a drunken sailor swagger but she can move from Point A to Point B if she is determined enough.

We just had her year and a half check-up this week. She has grown an average of one inch a month in the past three months! No wonder the 18-month pants seem to be fitting like capri pants on her.

Radha was also very happy to be reunited with her Dadima last weekend too, as Dadima had finally returned from a several weeks long trip to India. In this video Radha has fun with a wooden flute that Dadima brought from India, and she has been having fun showing her teddy bears how to "play" it. We have recently started a music class and maybe she's getting some new ideas from class.

Bittersweet Thoughts This Mother's Day

(from Terri)

It's official.  My daughter is growing up much too quickly than I would like.

The past few weeks have included several milestones (including the three birthday celebrations for Radha turning the big 1.0...the small, private family affair, the joint birthday party with Radha's playgroup friends, and then a big party with friends and family), news that space opened up for Radha to attend a new daycare that we've been hoping for, a visit from her Bhua Vandana, her one year check-up (including a traumatic bloodraw for her and I both!) and the second Mother's Day (I honestly cannot remember last year's Mother's Day since I was still in a post-partum blur).  Thanks to Ro, for Mother's Day I had a lovely weekend of lunch outing and shopping with a friend, gardening time with Radha and Ro playing on a picnic blanket nearby, and a tasty pesto pasta dinner that required no help from me.

(Btw, more pictures from Radha's birthday party here and pictures from her playgroup friends' joint birthday party here)

All these activities have been fun (well, minus the pediatrician check-up!) but lately I've been reflecting on more emotional milestones.   Last weekend we gave her a bottle of just cow's milk as an experiment.  I didn't expect her to drink it so eagerly (!).  But she did.  And then a wave of bittersweet emotions came over me along with a few silent tears.  Just like that, the weaning process has begun.  "Wait...she doesn't need me anymore??"

I know it's part of the natural weaning process, this is what is "supposed to happen" yada, yada, yada.   I feel incredibly lucky that I reached (and exceeded) my goal to breast feed Radha for a year.  It certainly hasn't been easy at times (Ro knows all too well about my many late evening frustrations with pumping) but I felt the benefits were with it to make it work.  And while I haven't completely stopped breast feeding and pumping altogether, it's become much less a part of the day for Radha and myself both.

Now that my little girl is beginning to show some signs of independence (and so much more on the way, I know) I look back at the old pictures of her and I am blown away how fast the past year has gone by.  Are they all going to go by so quickly?  

Reflections on Radha's First Year

(from Ro)

I can't believe our little one has been with us for a year!  One of the first things I've discovered about being a parent is how time moves differently. Sometimes it seems like it has sped by, but other times the individual moments and the amount of changes we have been through make it seem like a lifetime.  For Radha, it has been a lifetime! There have been lots of good times and some challenging times. The good thing is that Terri and I have learned a lot about being parents, and about ourselves in the process.  No child or parent is the same, so all three of us are figuring out how we operate in our new family.

We've had so many great memories of the last year: all of our visitors, our trip to the coast, visiting the pumpkin patch, Halloween and Christmas. One big moment was the first night we put her in the crib to sleep on her own. It was one of the first of many bittersweet moments we're going to have as Radha starts gaining independence.  

Of course, the biggest joy has been watching her change and develop into her own person. Another lesson I am still learning is letting her develop at her own pace, and not to worry too much about what books say or what other kids are doing.  I'll post some stats after her one year appointment next week, but in the meantime, here's a rundown of some of her latest and greatest accomplishments:

- standing on her own while leaning on something

- rolling around the living room

- feeding herself finger foods and bottles

- saying "mama" and "dada", but not always to the right person

- patting herself on the stomach when we ask "Where's your tum-tum?"

- imitating us when we raise our hands above our head, or "dance"

- doing her "big girl laugh" like in the video posted earlier

- being generally hilarious at dinner time, so that Mom and Dad have to try and keep straight faces to try and get some food in her

Coming up next week - birthday posts!

Things Just Got a Whole Lot Messier

(from Terri)

Earlier this month 

we decided it was time to give Radha something totally new:  solid food. Well, not actually solid, more like slightly thicker liquid food, but something other than mom's milk.  

Can you imagine eating nothing but the same thing for six months, and then, BAM, a whole new flavor profile and explosion in your mouth?  No wonder the reactions are really weird.  Here's what we've tried thus far.

First food:  organic brown rice cereal

Second food: pureed pears

Third food: pureed sweet potatoes

Radha was pretty weirded out by the rice cereal since it was a whole new thing but she wasn't exactly thrilled.  We thought maybe it was too warm, or too cold, and wondered why she didn't take to it immediately.  After hearing some experiences of other moms at the moms group, I realized it's pretty bland on it's own and why not just move onto something different, although we plan to try it again because it's got some important vitamins in it that she needs. 

Radha liked the pears much better, but seemed to give us mixed signals.  She occasionally would lick the spoon fine, but then turn her head, yet stick out her tongue as if she wanted more.  What did it mean?  A few more servings of pear and then we were done with that and time to move on.   Sweet potatoes?  Instant hit!  

Radha was learning forward, lurching towards the spoon, mouth open, and grabbing for the spoon.   Who knows what makes babies like one thing more than another, but I predict much more sweet potato in our future (luckily we eat them pretty often anyways).  Next on her menu will be avocado and banana, two of my personal favorites.

Our other big realization from the foray into solid foods?   We should probably get some of those rubber bibs that wipe off easily!

The Graduate

(from Terri)

Last week Radha turned a whopping six months.  Ro and I sang "Happy Birthday" to her twice that day, but otherwise kept the celebration mellow.  (We're saving up for the big 1.0 next year!).  For those keeping an eye on the stats, here is an update from Radha's six month check-up:

Weight: 16 pounds (50th percentile)

Height: 27 inches (90th percentile)

Head circumfrence: 43.9 centimeters (85th percentile)

She's more than doubled her weight since she was born, making our arms all the more stronger these days.  Basically Radha is healthy and doing well.  Some of the things she's been up to lately:

• Obsessively following Mookie with her eyes and getting very animated when Mookie comes by or makes a move; we are trying to gradually teach Radha how to softly and gently pet Mookie.  Mookie seems to have taken on the "big sister" role well as she'll often sit right by us when I'm nursing Radha, or sit nearby when Radha and I are playing.
• Grabbing anything and everything in site; liquids are bound to be spilled around her and if you have long hair, I'm sorry if my daughter might make you bald sooner than expected.
• Sitting up on her own.  Well, for a few seconds and then she starts to lean.  Very close now.
• Various attempts at crawling, but mostly uncoordinated butt-in-air, legs-and-knees-move, and flailing arm movements, but not at the same time.  She gets frustrated and prefers being upright for now.
• Eating her toes.  She doesn't care if they're clean or have schmutz in them, and sometimes she doesn't mind a leather flavor if she's wearing shoes.
• "Graduating" from our moms group at the hospital (here's her serious graduate pose):

Since the support group is geared for new moms and babies, you get to "graduate" after six months.  On the last day it definitely felt strange to be considered a "veteran" mom at this stage and asked to share my words of wisdom with others.  I hardly felt qualified to offer any advice...I'm figuring this stuff out like everyone else. I just happen to be a few months further into it! 

Transition

(from Ro)  Well, it's been almost 12 weeks since I took my leave of absence, so it's time to get back to work.  That also means that Radha is going to start child care next week.  Luckily, with Terri's schedule and some help from my Mom, she will be going for only two days a week.  Still, it's definitely going to be a tough transition for all of us.  I'm going to miss my morning walks with Radha, and all of the unstructured time we've had together.  But on the other hand, now she's almost 5 months old, and I feel really good about where she's at developmentally.  Since I can't stay home until she's ready for preschool, now's a good a time as any to start her in child care.  We went to our child care facility yesterday, and had a nice time visiting with the director and Radha's "teacher".  And, we got to see one of Radha's friends (son of good friends of Terri and I), who will be in the same room as her.

This week, we also went to a slightly delayed 4 month check up.  She's doing great, and handled the vaccinations as well as can be expected.  For you statisticians out there, she's now 15lbs and 2 oz, and 26 inches tall.  She's ready for the next car seat already!

5 + 10 = 1

(from Terri)

It's hard to believe that Ro and I have been married for five years now and altogether as a couple for ten.  When we first met we had no idea our meeting would turn into anything serious, let alone marriage and this incredible baby down the road.

 

Lately Radha has just been hanging out enjoying the dry (and very hot lately!) Portland summer.  We've been exploring our backyard (where the above picture was taken), local parks (picture below), and downtown.  

I realize this may not sound like a big deal to some, but when you have a baby every outing requires a bit of planning and preparedness.  When we arrive to a fun destination without a diaper blow-out or crying meltdown in one piece, it becomes a big accomplishment.

Self Soothing

(from Ro) Now that Radha has passed the three month mark, she's showing more signs of independence. She's not objecting to the crib as much for daytime naps, which hopefully means our crib training for nighttime won't be too hard.  She's been able to stay on her own for two hours in the crib, even when she's not fully asleep the entire time.  One of the big reasons for this is that she's discovered her thumb!  It's amazing what a difference it has made in her fussing and sleeping habits.  Sometimes we have to even remind her that there's no milk in her thumb during feeding times!  And interestingly, she keeps going for the left thumb, so we may have a southpaw on our hands.  Her classic soothing position when she's lying on her back is to roll on to her left side, insert thumb into mouth, and put her right hand on her head. Though as the picture shows, having a toy in the other hand works too! 

In one corner, weighing in at...

Hard to believe Radha had a (light) weight issue when we left the hospital last month.  We took her into the pediatrician yesterday to get an official weight. 

As you can see, she was not too pleased with getting stripped down for this weigh-in.  But we were pleased to see how healthy and big she has grown, now at 10 lbs 2 oz.  Nearly a two pound gain since her last appointment a month ago!