Time Warp

I've neglected this blog bigtime. The last time I posted, Gwyn was just born and now she's coming up on 11 months. I'm at a complete loss on how to capture the last 11 months with words and pictures at this point, but I'm going to make an attempt because I will NOT let her life go undocumented, dangit!

Gwynnie is a doll. Her "baby" personality matches pretty closely with Jude and Ada's, which means she's sweet, predictable, and fairly relaxed. It also means it took her over 4 months to start sleeping full nights consistently. Which is okay. I've caught up on sleep since then:)

I had planned on breastfeeding her for 6 months, but she had other ideas. She refused to drink bottles. We gave her every shape and size from the time she was 1 month old, and she refused every single one. Which was tricky, since I started working part-time again and had meetings that kept me away from her for several hours. She finally broke at almost 8 months (10 days shy of 8 months, but who was counting?? Uh, me) and she finally switched over to formula in February. Some would call that stubborn. I call it fiercely loyal to mama.

What else? Her first road trip was to Nashville to get in touch with her half-Southern side, her first plane ride was to Cape Cod for Gramp's wedding, and we just got back from her first trip to the beach, which she loved. I can't remember what her first food was (see? I hate myself for not blogging more often) but it was mostly likely butternut squash or sweet potatoes. She loves all food and has eaten a huge variety of it. We're loosely doing something called "Baby Led Weaning" which is a glorified way of saying we give her table scraps rather than a lot of pureed baby food, which seems easier and she seems to dig most of the stuff we eat. She started crawling at 8 months and we've discovered our house contains an obscene amount of "chokers," as Jude and Ada like to call them--tiny toys she likes to put in her mouth and freak us out. So since she became mobile, she spends a lot of time in the Pack-n-Play, which lives in the middle of the house, unfortunately.

She is happiest when the older kids are home and literally rocks back and forth, reaching her arms out and itching to join in their fun. (Not long til you can, little mama!) The kids know inherently how to cheer her up when she fusses in the car, how to do distracting renditions of Itsy Bitsy Spider when I need another minute in the kitchen, and how to make her laugh uncontrollably when everyone else can't get her to do it. I see that and so often marvel at how lucky she is to have them. Jude and Ada have such a tight bond and declare themselves "best friends" and I think about how Gwyn will fit into that mix, but I know she will. They adore her.

Having 3 kids has taught me a lot. Like I can wash my hair every third day instead of every second. And like I'm married to someone who seemingly never runs out of energy or tickles or patience. And like we will never be anywhere on time, and if we are, I'll make us late by stopping for coffee. And that people help when you ask and nothing deepens relationships like giving and taking help. And mostly, that life goes really fast. I spent a lot of time worrying and waiting and analyzing with Jude. Less so with Ada. I can honestly say, I am enjoying Gwyn's babyhood so much. Yes, its tiring and the physical work of a baby is hard. But this time--finally!--I get how fast time flies and I've been able to sit in it longer with her, which is great for both of us. All of us, really.

Ted and I have caught ourselves talking about the next chapter, and its exciting. For the past 6 years we've been in "childbearing" mode, and creating our family has been the most awesome ride imaginable. We feel like we're all here now, and I'm so looking forward to watching these 3 crazy-beautiful kids grow up.

I'll try to blog about it every now and then :)