10 (almost 11) month update

Dapbim asked for an update, so here we go!

Baby is 10 and a half months old, and she’s getting big. She’s got two teeth, she’s FINALLY crawling up on all fours, and she’s pulling herself up on furniture. Mom says she thinks Baby will be walking by the end of August, but we’ll see.

Right now her left foot is all eaten up by some kind of bug. It looks awful but she doesn’t seem to be bothered, so I’m figuring it’s nothing to worry about. I’m just keeping some Benadryl on it and a sock so she can’t scratch (just in case), and it’s starting to clear up.

She had to have her first haircut about a month, maybe a month and a half ago. I just did it at home and figured I’d save her first “real” haircut for a hairdresser. So her hair looks kinda silly but it looked even worse before I cut it.

She just had her picture done to put on her birthday invitations, so just as soon as I get those back I’ll post them. But, for now, here’s a few I took. Her professional pictures are in the same outfit, minus the sock and with a different frog.

Ricky’s got a sleep apnea machine now. Hopefully he’ll eventually get used to the thing, but until then it’s not doing him a lot of good. He can’t fall asleep with it on. The noise of it doesn’t bother me but I don’t want to be within ten feet of it–it creeps me out. So I can’t sleep either.

Umm, let me see, what else to update on…

Baby began sleeping really well through the night after we started doing the “crying-it-out” thing. She kept it up for two months or so. Then she got sick, and it messed her up as far as her sleep pattern was concerned. Now we’re starting all over again, and even though it’s going slowly we’ll make it happen. She’s capable of sleeping through the night now but as a result of the teething process and the occasional ailment, more often than not we have to get up with her at some point during the night.

As for me… I figured out that my birth control pills were making my IBS worse so now I’m off the Pill. We both want another baby but know that for the moment it would be irresponsible, so we’re waiting and just being careful. I have to admit, though, that it’s nice not to have a perpetually upset stomach anymore. Once in a while it still gives me problems but overall, I feel pretty good.

I guess that’s it for now. I hope everyone’s doing ok.

Blogiversary

I first started my blog a year ago under rather frustrating circumstances. Some of them have been resolved; some of them have not. We have a beautiful little girl that we didn’t have this time a year ago. Well, we had her, just not where we could hold her in our arms.

Many things have changed, and yet at the same time our lives are the same as they were. Baby changed everything in the way that babies tend to do, and yet the world just keeps on rolling by. Probably the biggest change is that she’s grown from this:

To this:

To this:

My life is significantly busier now than it was last year, but only in the sense that instead of laying around all day I have a little someone to fill my life with. I have a little more routine, forced though it may be, and a little more liveliness in my day.

The trouble is that somewhere along the way I’ve lost a piece of myself. I gave up a friend and with her a piece of the identity I thought I had. Now I’ve got to find something to fill that spot, be it motherhood or some hobby or just maybe a little bit of self-realization.

So meantime I think I’m going to follow Mal’s example. I think I’m going to take some time off, but for different reasons. Ricky has been encouraging me to write. He thinks it’s good for me, and it probably is since it’s an outlet for my imagination and my frustrations. The blog isn’t fulfilling that need for me right now, so I’m going to direct my energies elsewhere. When I was young I wrote stories based largely on the concerns and experiences I had in my own life. I think maybe it’s time I started doing that again.

I think I might be something of a ghost on here. I’ll read, and I’ll comment, but as for writing myself… I might still do a little of that, but if I go a couple months don’t be concerned (that is, if you’re concerned at all to begin with). I might occasionally post a picture or two for those interested in following Baby’s development, but other than that…

If you want updates and it’s been a while, leave a comment. I check my email all the time so I’ll get it. I might start another to post some of my creative writing so if I do I’ll post a link in my blogroll. I’m not sure if I’ll own up to it being mine or not, but feel free to ask if you have questions.

I can’t think of anything else to say, so I guess thanks to everyone who has read my blog, and commented, and been so nice.

So, umm… I guess that’s it.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.