1 year check-up

I had my 1-year checkup last week at the doctor's and I'm still tall and skinny!

I weighed in at 18 pounds, 15 ounces (25th percentile) and was 29.5 inches tall (70th percentile). My head circumference was 17.25 inches (20th percentile).

At the beginning of the month, Mom and Dad were concerned because I only had my two bottom teeth at that point. But then I got in three more teeth in the past two weeks (though still no top middle ones)!!! See, don't worry...I get things done by their deadline, even if I do have a tendency to put them off until the last minute. Three teeth in two weeks is painful, but at least the doctor didn't call me dentally retarded.

My last taste of breastmilk...

We had trouble with breastfeeding from the very beginning. First there was the fact that because I was a premie (which remember, stands for "premium"), I wasn't strong enough to latch on for long enough to get any food. While in the hospital, I had a feeding tube for 24 hours and then learned to drink formula through a bottle to gain precious weight those first few days. By the time we left the hospital, I was on only breastmilk, some of which I got from nursing and the rest that I got through a bottle with breastmilk that Mom had pumped for me.

During September and October, we continued to work toward getting more milk from nursing and less from the bottle and by mid November, we had mastered it!! We didn't need the breast shield anymore and didn't need to wash pump parts and bottles everyday! But then a couple weeks later, I got thrush (from all of the antibiotics I was on) and shared it with Mom. So, back to the pumped breastmilk we went until everyone was cured. Unfortunately, it took us until the end of December to find a medicine that would make my thrush go away, and by that time I had no interest in relearning how to nurse and Mom had to go back to work soon anyway. So, we just kept on with the pumped breastmilk.

Mom kept pumping breastmilk for me until August 6th (so she could go to England pump-free!), but she had stored up enough milk for me in the freezer to last me until today. Here is a picture of my last 5 oz bottle of breastmilk.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I did some quick math and figured out that over this past year, Mom spent approximately 500 hours doing nothing but pumping. That's 21 entire days - 3 whole weeks!! And that doesn't even count all of the time it took Mom and Dad to wash and sterilize all of the bottles and pump parts every day and all of the time spent FEEDING ME!! I also calculated that Mom pumped about 50 gallons of breastmilk for me - WOW! Not only was it healthier for me than formula (and tastier, too), it saved us almost $1000.

If Medela needs a spokesperson, my Mommy's the one! From a breastpump and a breast shield to bottles and nipples to freezer storage bags and microwave steamer bags, our family is QUITE the fan! Although some might say that our method wasn't the "ideal" or "most natural" way to feed a baby, the pump-and-feed method actually worked really well for our family. Mom had a lot of flexibility in when she pumped each day and I got lots of wonderful bonding time with Dad who helped feed me. Thanks Medela!!

Happy Birthday!!

Can you believe it? I'm 1 year old!!!

Mom started my day off great by coming in my bedroom and singing happy birthday to me to wake me up. Then when I got downstairs, she let me open one of my presents. What a fun toy...and what a great way to start the morning!!

Mom couldn't decide whether to make a cake or cupcakes to celebrate, so she made BOTH!! And then she couldn't decide whether the make vanilla or chocolate icing, so she made BOTH!! Yay for indecision!That evening, I had a wonderful birthday dinner with three of my favorite foods - hamburger, cheese, and black beans. Hooray for birthday tacos!!!! Then after some delightful singing and candle blowing, I was on to the cupcake.

Then I opened up the rest of my presents (all of which said they were for children ages 2 and up...um, did I miss a birthday or something?). I got these 2 adorable baby dolls. That's right - TWINS! I love them so much!!

I also got this great set of colorful wooden blocks!

I was so busy playing with my blocks that I didn't notice that one of my babies needed a diaper change. Zoli noticed, though...

Grammie got me this wooden puzzle to help me learn my shapes.
It's always helpful to have a math teacher nearby to help out (especially since the baby dolls weren't helping much)!

But my favorite gift of all was the beautiful flower that my daddy got for me. A single rose for a 1-year old Rose.

What a wonderful day!! (And infinitely less traumatic than last year's birthday...)

At last! A Third Tooth!

But you'll never guess where...


It's on the top, but it's not one of the middle two. And it looks like the fourth one is coming in on the opposite side. So, basically in a month or so, I'm gonna look very vampirish...I guess I know what I'll be "dressing up" as for Halloween this year.


That reminds me of something I wrote almost 3 months ago:
"It turns out that my pasty white skin is due to the fact that I'm the world's cutest vampire." (6/16/09)


And you thought I was joking...

Kaira Walking!!! (almost)

Socks and What?

Shoes! What a concept!

What'll they think of next?

Welcome Home, Mommy!

After being in Kentucky for 2-and-a-half weeks and away from Mommy for 10 whole days, we are all finally reunited back at our home in New York. I missed Mommy an awful lot while she was in England!!! I heard that she missed me, too - she even sent me a postcard!!

While Mommy was in England, she spent some time with our good friend, Alana, who lives in Guildford. Did you know that Lewis Carroll (author of "Alice in Wonderland") wrote the sequel "Through the Looking Glass" while staying in Guildford? Mom bought me a copy of both of these books from a bookstore in Guildford for me to read when I get older. Mom tells me that Guildford was mostly beautiful although a bit brillig from the slithy toves that were gyring and gimbling in the wabe.One day, Mommy and Alana took the train in to London and saw the sites. Mind the gap!Mommy took advantage of being "baby-free" and climbed the 600 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral! Here's the view from the top. Wow - London sure is beautiful. Will you take me there someday, Mommy?Daddy and I had some great bonding time together in Kentucky. He took me to the Brownsboro Festival with Gram and Grandpa. I liked listening to the bluegrass band!

Have you driven a Ford lately?

I couldn't wait to get home to show Mom my new trick! I learned how to drink through a straw!

Excuse me...may I have a little more to drink?

And maybe a bit more bread?

And finally, I discovered that they have McDonalds down in Kentucky, too!

Happy meals can be very addicting...