Ramblings of a Stay-at-Home Mom

Dear Dominique: Today is the day you turn 1 year old. And my how the time has flown. I’d like to say that you remained my little baby, but let’s be honest, you were never little to begin with. You’ve taken up so much space in my heart from day 1 and continue to take up more. It’s a good thing Mommy has lots of room in her heart for all the love out there. These days, you are not stationary very long, preferring to be as mobile as you can, crawling over things, starting to grasp whatever you can to stand up, starting to take uncertain wobbly steps that will one day lead to you running around the house. And the noise. Oh girl. You make enough noise to cover you and your big sister some days. But it’s awesome. And I love it. Especially around 6:30 in the morning when you wake up and Mommy and Daddy are just waking up. You sit there in your crib and just babble away to your blanket and teddy bear. And I lay in bed, listening to you talk, smiling. By the way, I won’t even mention the fo...

Thank you Dominique for the night snuggles the other evening. Mommy and Daddy were going to bed around 11pm and you were making some noises from your room. I went to check on you, and you were sitting in your crib, just looking for me. I picked you up to comfort you a bit and you quietly cooed at me and put your head on my shoulder. We stood there for a bit, swaying back and forth for a bit before I sat down in the rocking chair to enjoy some snuggles with you. You just sat in my lap, you head on my shoulder while we enjoyed some quiet time together. And I thanked God for the moment with you. Love you so much Baby Girl. Love Mommy.

Dear Dominique: You’re 10 months old today and here’s 10 things about you currently. 1) You have a HUGE appetite. Yes, it’s the first thing I thought of. You have no problem polishing off anything I give to you to eat and always ask for more. You eat anything that is in front of you and have no problem trying new foods. Current favourite foods are chicken, sweet potatoes, and any fruit that’s available. 2) I’m overjoyed to report that you are fully weaned from boob juice AND sleeping through the night! It makes everything go much smoother know that you’re not dependent on Mommy for nursing and we both get some good solid sleep as well. You normally go down around 8pm after a nice hot bath and I don’t hear a peep out of you until you wake up in the morning. 3) You are curious about everything. Is this food on the floor edible? What about this toy? Those cords? What happens if I play with the door? It’s fun to see you explore your world with your eyes wide open to everything around you a...

Dear Dominique: Happy 9 months Baby Girl! Time is flying fast and so are you! You figured out your mode of transportation and that is army crawling around the house, sometimes at breakneck speed, trying to get at whatever you can get your chubby little hands on. You did awesome at your first Christmas gatherings and impressed quite a few people with how well behaved you were. You found that wrapping paper is THE BEST, and you got pretty enthusiastic about unwrapping some gifts with Daddy’s help. You’re also “talking” a lot and making as much as noise as you can. It’s hilarious to hear you make so much noise and try to keep up with Violet.  Your smile and giggles are so infectious to everyone around you, especially Violet. I love when she makes you laugh at anything and you two just giggle away. Love it. Right now, your favourite food is…..EVERYTHING! Seriously. You eat everything and anything I give you and constantly wanting more. I’m getting really scared for my future grocery bi...

Dear Dominique: I swear this has been the fastest 8 months ever! You are growing like a weed every single day and it just amazes me. Right now you’re fitting into 12 month clothing with a bit of room to spare, but not much. I lovingly call you my little tank as you’re 22lbs already and have a good build on you and you’re pretty strong as well. Right now you are rolling all over the house like a mad baby. I put you down and 30 seconds later you’re half way across the kitchen/living room/bedroom and so proud of how fast you can manoeuvre. You’re also rotating around on your tummy to get where you want to go. Right now you love laying in your bed when you’re awake and just talking up a storm. It’s hilarious to hear you in the early morning chatting to yourself. Right now you are all smiles and just so happy. Especially when you’re in the Jolly Jumper and jumping to your hearts content. Right now I love you so much and that will only increase every day. Love, Mommy.

Dear Dominique: It’s been 7 months since you were born and it’s been an amazing journey to see you grow! Lately you have figured out how to roll seamlessly from stomach to back and back again and starting to gain speed! You’re also figuring out how to rotate on your tummy so that you can get places when you get stuck or need to get something.  You’re appetite is the same as always - BIG! You’re eating everything I’m giving you and then some. And still nursing as well. And slowly figuring out that sippy cup. Although it would help if Mommy had it for you at every meal.  You’re also “talking” a lot, which is hilarious when I’m laying in bed, listening to you in the morning. Your squeals of joy are the best. Also, hands are tasty. And so are feet. Oh my girl, you’re growing up way too fast. Love, Mommy.

Dear Dominique: 6 months Bay Girl! And you’ve grown so much! Right now you love everyone. Seriously. As long as you are fed and changed, you’ll go to anyone who will hold you. Which helps a lot at church as I rarely get called out for you. The volunteers at church always comment that you love to be held and are such an easy baby. Awesome.  Right now, you love solid food. And lots of it. You are definitely my baby who eats everything by the truckload. I have no problems giving you new foods to try and you just sit there, with your mouth wide open, waiting for me to put more in. You still do like your nursing time with Mommy, as it’s quality time, just the two of us. Right now, you want to see everything around you and are always curious about stuff going on. You take the whole world in with eyes wide open and I pray that you continue that. Right now, I think you’re starting to teeth. You’re drooling a bit more and are chewing on anything you can get your mouth on, especially if it’s...

 Dear Dominique: Oh my girl, 5 months old already?! You still amaze me with how much you’ve grown in the past month and continue to grow and learn. You’ve mastered the rolling around everywhere routine and just love it when I leave you in one spot in the living room and when I come back a couple minutes later, you’re a couple feet away from where I left you. Luckily your big sister Violet is very watchful over you and makes sure that you’re OK when you’re rolling around.  You also like taking naps with Mommy in the big bed when we’re having a rough day and enjoy the cuddles that you get from everyone. We also just started you on pureed foods (so far avocado and banana), and you love it! You gobbled it down in no time and I’m starting to get scared for the future grocery bills. Love you to the Moon and back Baby Girl. Love, Mommy

 Dear Dominique: Has it really been four months already? My oh my dear little girl, you have grown tremendously, in every way possible. You’ve really found your voice this month and it brings smiles to Mommy & Daddy’s faces while we lay in bed in the morning, just listening to you talk to yourself. We love hearing you coo and babble your way through any noise that you can make and it is totally heart warming to hear that coming from you. Someday my girl, you’ll be talking in full sentences and telling me what your life is like and asking me a gazillion questions. Right now though, I’ll settle for the baby babble.   You’re also trying very hard to catch up to Violet as fast as you can. You figured out how to roll over early in the month with little to no issues. And when I praised you, you just looked at me with “meh” on your face and went back to chewing on your fists, acting like it was no big deal. We thought it was a fluke, but when you continued to keep rolling over...

Dear Dominique: Happy 3 months Gobber! Yes, you know have joined the ranks of having a nickname in this household. Originally it was Gobbler as you eat so much, but it turned into Gobber from Mommy & Violet watching How to Train Your Dragon on repeat lately. Never mind that you’re 14 lbs already, so Gobber it is. I'm so amazed at how fast you are growing these days. You are completely out of your 0-3 month clothes and already trying to stretch out some of the new 3-6 month sleepers! Your grins and smiles come way more these days, you’re starting to make more noises and you’re a pretty happy baby overall. And you’re still an awesome sleeper, as we put you to bed between 8-9pm and you don’t wake up until 4-5am, unless it’s been a bad night. I think one of the favourite parts of your day is when Violet comes into your room in the morning to see if you’re awake and the huge smile you give to her. You are so adored by her and she tries to help you whenever possible, whether it’s ...

Dear Dominique: Two months old today Baby Girl! And you still melt my heart everyday. You are a complete joy to be around and so content with everything. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, be it vacuuming, have music on loud and dancing with Violet, watching movies with Daddy or your cousins being really loud, you are pretty content with it all and sleep through everything. Speaking of sleeping, you are my sleeping baby. We've gotten your routine down and we’re all loving it. Most nights, you’re in bed between 8-9 pm and sometimes I’ll have to come in to give you the soother back and make sure that you’re swaddled tightly (those darn arms keep coming lose!). But then you’ll sleep until 3-4 am and wake up for a full feeding and diaper change and then back to sleep until 8 am when Violet wakes up and our day starts. You are full of smiles, grins and sticking out the tongue and starting to make your own noises during the day. We've also found out that music is the way to ca...

Dear Dominique: Today marks your 1-month birthday! When they say time flies with babies, they’re not kidding! It still amazes me that you are here and I’m very blessed by that. Right now you’re on a pretty regular sleep/eat schedule. You’re up 1-2 times a night (usually around 1:30am and 5am) for full feedings and diaper changes. Then you usually don’t wake up until 8:30 for another full feeding and sometimes awake time for about an hour or so. During your awake time, you like to be held a lot, or if you’re on the floor, swaddled very tightly, with the arms in. You do not like being lose at all, and gets very mad if your blanket gets undone (so very different from Violet as she hated being wrapped all the time). You’re very alert for only a month old and likes to try to view everything when you can, especially Violet. And is also very content when there’s music on or we’re watching a movie with Violet. You’re also not a big fan of the pacifier, unless you’re in the car seat and tr...