Breck Reid,
Today... You, my precious baby boy, are nine months old! Do you know what that means? That means that from the moment you left my body, entered this world, and marked our hearts with your birth-day until this very day; that from January 24, 2010 until October 24, 2010 is the same amount of time from the moment you were conceived until the day you were born. Nine months.
You have now blessed us with your presence the same exact amount of time I carried you in my womb.
Nine months of developing inside of Mommy + nine months of developing and taking in your world = You have been growing and developing for eighteen months total! Never knew how much magic could happen in nine months time, until you. Talk about magic... I loved the magic and miracle of every kick, bounce, hiccup, wave, swim, and flip I felt while you were growing inside of me.
You and I had a special nine months together and I enjoyed the fact that it was something only I could experience. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share you with the world. But once I did... I wouldn't change anything! Having you here to hold, kiss, and play with is so much better. And what an amazing little boy you are! Your Daddy and I love you SO very much. My Mommy and Daddy used to tell me that I would never understand the love they had for me until I became a parent myself and experienced that same powerful love you have for your offspring. They were right! And I will tell you the same thing... you won't fully understand how much your Daddy and I love you until you, Breck Reid, become a Daddy yourself. And OH! How I can't wait to be around to watch you love your little one, and one day you'll come to me say "Momma, I understand now... the love you have for me. I get it!"
Here's a few facts about you in honor of your nine month milestone:
Schedule: You wake up around 6:00-6:30am to nurse and you go right back down to sleep. You will wake up around 8:30-9:00am. We usually stay jammied and play or have some fruit for Breakfast. You are like clockwork lately... right at about an hour after you wake up... you are ready for your morning nap at around 9:30-10:00am. You nap again around 1:00-2:00pm, and cat nap in the late afternoon for about a half hour to forty-five minutes. We bathe around 7:00pm or 7:30pm and you are ready for bed as soon as you are done with your bath! We nurse and you are in bed asleep around 8:00pm.
Temperament: Sweet, sweet, and sweet! :) Gentle. Observant. Cautious. Tender-hearted (It just crushes you... when you bite Mommy I'll first jump because it hurt, then say, "NO BITING!" You instantly and silently cringe, squint your face, and just ball great big crocodile tears. It breaks Mommy's heart!) Oh! And did I mention you are sweet?!
Development: You have such amazing fine motor skills... you can pick up tiny things with just your pointer finger and thumb. You are crawling now (just as of a few days ago)! Everything goes right to your sweet mouth. You have two teeth on the bottom and your top ones are right there ready to break through, and making you pretty miserable tonight. You are a good baby, even when you aren't feeling well.) And! We've discovered you are ticklish on your sides right under your ribs! Gets you every time! :)
Diet: Breastmilk, Acorn, Butternut, and Buttercup Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Pears, Bananas, rice puffs, raisins, rice krispies. You aren't a picky eater at all! You pretty much always respond to food in the same way. Rarely do we get a "face" from any new foods you try. Although, I will say... you do not like the texture of broccoli... and I can understand that. :)
Top 2 Compliments From Strangers: The number one thing people say as soon as they see you (since the day you were born), "Oh! Look at that beautiful red hair!" and "He is soooooo cute!" Nearly every time we go to church someone comments on how good and quiet you are! You are a very, very good baby!
Social Skills: I think you have a "thang" for girls. :) You are in LOVE with your Momma (of course!)! And you just adore your Daddy! You're kind of obsessed with him and could just stare and watch him for hours! You love his smooth, shiny head! You love your Gramma and Mamaw and Papaw and Poppa. But, I notice a difference in the way you respond to the women in your life as opposed to the way you respond to your favorite men. You respond very positive to all four of your grandparents, but there's just an extra little something, a little spark when you interact with your Grandmas. Even the way you respond to strangers... you've never cried at the sight of a strange man, but there have been a few instances lately if you are tired you will cry if a strange lady comes up and tries to talk to you, who you do not know. Kind of cute... just will be interesting to see if this stays with you as you get older.
Interests: Nursing! Legos, Bearpo, Sterling, Grandparents, cell phones, computer keys, taste of tylenol, books, textures to feel.
It's pretty amazing that in just nine short months we went from this:
To this:
And in another nine short months, we've gone from this:
To this:
We a few hours after this was taken we realized he had a fever. :(
His first fever ever. :( What a way to celebrate a "birthday," but we'll make up for it in three months when we celebrate the birthday.
Really? Is his first birthday just three months away? Surely not. I feel like I was just dismissed from the hospital and trying to take in the fact that my body just naturally birthed an 8 lb. 14.5 oz. baby, that I just became a Mommy and BrettRyan just became a Daddy, and thinking that I needed my milk to come in as soon as possible because we had a hungry boy on our hands, that if another nurse asked if we attempted to nurse again and have skin to skin contact... I might have had to slug her, that as we exited the hospital I couldn't believe I was just wheeled in back of a running car that had exhaust seeming to envelop me and my new baby that had been perfectly protected in my womb and wanting to push him back up in there, that I hoped I could be a good mom, that ...that was just a few weeks ago I thought?
Ps. While my little punkin'buggie is upstairs sleeping his fever off and dreaming sweet dreams, my honey is watching Angels and Demons, and I am editing photos while I sip on a little of this:
Nummy.
