Maddie’s 15 month letter
May 24th, 2009We celebrated Maddie’s 15-month mark in the middle of the Atlantic. This installment of Letters to Maddie is a few days late due to our trip!
Dear Madeline,
Wow, you have had another eventful month! This month was probably your biggest yet in terms of your life experiences. You took your first major family trip. We went on a cruise to Bermuda! I know you won’t remember it, but we will have tons of photos and memories of the vacation. You’ll have to trust us when we say that you had a wonderful time. This was Mommy and Daddy’s second cruise, and we have to admit that cruising with a toddler is quite a different experience. We loved it and look forward to taking you on a ship again in the fall with your grandparents and aunt and uncle.
The crew as well as the other passengers seemed to enjoy seeing you on the ship. Waiters would go out of their way to come by to say hello to you or bring you something special. Proud grandparents would ask your age and tell us about their grandchildren. You seemed to brighten the day for many crew members who were missing their own families. Everyone knew your name by the end of the trip, and you received so many compliments. Of course, it didn’t hurt that you wore a different fancy dress every night for dinner! We even had some nice photos made by the ship’s photographers.
Your favorite thing to do on the ship was to run around on the decks. I’m not sure why this was so exciting to you, but you would run and shriek in delight. These moments were my most treasured from the cruise. It’s amazing to see you so full of joy. You were truly having the time of your life. You also had a lot of fun in your stroller. We bought a new stroller for traveling, and you beg for us to put you into it so you can ride around in it. You will try to climb into it, and you love pushing it. You took your naps in the stroller daily (and napped in the sling in the evenings as well).
The beach was a different story. On our second day in port, we took you to Horseshoe Bay Beach. You were excited when you put your feet into the sand at first, before we got onto the actual beach. Once we were on the beach, you seemed to be apprehensive of the waves. I guess that they were too loud and moving too much for you. I suppose it’s a scary amount of powerful, loud water. You really wanted us to carry you or put you in the stroller. You seemed most content when in your stroller.
The ship had a few other babies, so you made a few friends on the ship. We attended the baby and toddler playgroups. On the first day, you mostly sat in Mommy’s lap. The second time we attended, you came out of your shell a bit more and played with the toys. We also went to two art sessions, and you seemed to like coloring with crayons and markers (though Mommy kept taking the markers away from you). I have to say that you didn’t care all that much about the other babies (though seemed fascinated, as usual, by the bigger kids). Mostly, you just wanted to stroll or run on the decks.
Dinnertime was long, as we predicted. You never made it through an entire meal. Daddy and I had to take turns eating our meal and playing with you outside of the dining room. I don’t blame you. A 2-hour dinner is a bit long for anyone, much less an active todder. One more thing that you didn’t love was bathing. We didn’t have a bathtub, so we had to improvise with the showerhead. You were not a fan. Overall, you did very well on the vacation and had no major meltdowns…until the ride home. You threw a huge tantrum when we were 45 minutes from home and never really calmed down until you were at home and out of the carseat. You screamed louder than I think I’ve ever heard you scream! I think maybe you were wondering why you weren’t strolling the decks of the ship in your fancy stroller?
I’m looking forward to when you’ll be able to express yourself better verbally. I kept wondering if someone had somehow put tacks in your carseat or if we had pinched your delicate skin in one of the straps. Every time we checked, everything was just fine. You just did not want to be confined in that carseat. Speaking of verbal communication, you have continued to add a few words to your vocabulary. You don’t use too many words all that often, but you have said all of the following in context without prompting: mama, dada, daddy, uh oh, tiger, done, milk, dog, balloon, bottle, diaper, hey, hi, book, hat, shoe, no, outside, huh?, here, all done, all gone, hi dada, hey dada, more. You probably say, “uh oh,” more often than anything else. “Dada” plays a close second, but “no” is quickly becoming more and more common. You’ve even added shaking your head to the equation. Now you have many ways to express displeasure and will use all of them (saying “no,” shaking your head, batting away offending objects, pushing your hand away, wagging your finger, etc). You’ve also picked up a bad habit from your parents and often respond with “huh?” after we ask you a question. You have repeated many more words, but these are the ones that I can remember you using by yourself. Despite your limited vocabulary, you still like to babble and “talk” constantly. If adults are trying to have a conversation, you often babble louder and louder until it is impossible for the conversation to continue. You have quite a lot to say, and you want to be heard.
Your understanding is much greater. You still love the “That’s Not My…” Touchy Feely books, and each page has a mouse. You’ve been helping us find the mouse on each page. You can identify many things and are listening and comprehending our conversations, even when we don’t think that you are. The other day, Daddy mentioned a schoolbus in conversation to Mommy and you went across the room to retrieve your toy schoolbus. You are also able to identify parts of your body. My favorite question is “where’s your belly?” You will lift up your shirt to show us your belly. You have also correctly identified your ears, hair, teeth, and feet. You have taken a liking to your “I Spy” books and will point to things when asked like ducks, dogs, and other animals. You’re a smart girl! You are able to follow simple commands and requests. My favorite of these is, “lay on Mommy.” In response to this one, you will lay your sweet little head on your mommy. I love it.
We are very careful about using certain words, like “outside.” Daddy was singing along to a song with the word, “outside,” and before we knew it, you were standing by the door begging to go out and play. You LOVE playing outside. Daddy stayed home with you one of the days that you were sick this month, and he said that you kept going from the front door to the back door. You kept whining and pointing at the door and trying to reach the doorknob. Finally, you found your shoes and brought them to Daddy. Your nonverbal communication is quite clear! Similarly, you have tried to climb into your high chair when hungry and tried to climb into the stroller when you want to relax a bit.
We had a rough month with illnesses. One evening, we noticed that you had goopy eyes. By morning, your eyes were crusted shut. We took you to the doctor where they diagnosed you with an infection in your eyes and your second ear infection. Your fully clothed weight was 19 pounds, 10 ounces. They prescribed you with Augmentin (Amoxicillin Clavulanate). We opted to get flavoring added to your liquid prescription, and you LOVED it. This was quite a difference from February when we had to forcefully administer your medication. Five days later on May 1st, you had your early 15-month check-up since we wanted to ensure you had your immunizations before leaving on our trip. Your ears were mostly clear of infection with just a little remaining fluid. The doctor said that we could continue the course of antibiotics or stop if we wanted. We decided to be cautious and continue the antibiotic. Your weight was 19 pounds, 8 ounces which is the 10th percentile. Your height was in the 44th percentile and your head circumference was in the 20th percentile. We love your little size.
Three days after your appointment, we woke to discover that you were covered in hives. This was quite scary! You looked awful, and we took you to the doctor. The doctor confirmed that you were having an allergic reaction to your antibiotic. Apparently, this can occur several days after finishing your doses. They prescribed prednisolone and recommended Zyrtec as well. Your hives looked pretty awful for several days. By the third day, you had a fever and we took you back to the doctor. Your ear infection had returned, so they prescribed cefdinar this time. This was the second time that you had been prescribed cefdinar. Five days later, we went back to the doctor as your fever had returned. Your ear infection was not better, so they changed your antibiotic to azithromycin (z-pak), another antibiotic that you had been prescribed in the past. You had a fairly high fever for the next few days, including one night where it reached over 104! We had your ears checked about 5 days later, and your ear infection had cleared up – just in time for the cruise!
We’ve had a few other struggles this month. We have trouble finding good shoes to fit both of your feet. The main problem right now is that your left foot is a size 3 which is a baby size. Your right foot is a 4.5 and a toddler size. They recommend getting sizes 3.5 and 5 to allow for growth. It’s very difficult to find these two sizes in the same style. We finally found a pair of tennis shoes for you at Stride Rite a few days before the cruise. Those shoes aren’t cheap, but we have been really happy with the Stride Rite shoes. Unfortunately, they do not have much selection. We found exactly one pair that fit our restrictions. The good news is that they are fairly versatile and cute, so I suppose we can’t complain too much.
Speaking of walking shoes, you participated in your second Triangle MS Walk to raise money for the National MS Society, in honor of Aunt Kristin. You helped us raise over $5,000 for the cause! You ended up napping through quite a bit of the walk. I guess you’re quite comfortable in your stroller! The walk has thousands of participants, so we didn’t think it would be wise to let you toddle the entire mile.
The same weekend, you had another photo session with Catherine Keene Photography. She captured some wonderful photos, and Mommy and Daddy are having trouble deciding what to order! We’re a lucky family to have such a talented photographer capture us. We wished that she had traveled with us to Bermuda as it is so difficult to get photos of you (not to mention the three of us together!).
You have changed so much in the past year. You are getting more and more hair every day, and this month you even sported your first “ponytail!” Very cute! You won’t let us put bows in your hair and refuse to wear a hat most of the time. Your hemangiomas on your head are mostly covered by your hair, and they are fading and flattening fast. The one on your chest is quite faded, and the one on your side is almost impossible to detect. We had a lot of worry in the early days about your hemangiomas, but we now feel like they will disappear within the next few years. It’s reassuring to see the evidence ourselves! I can still feel your soft spot, though you can’t see it unless your hair is wet and plastered to your head. I’m sure that it will close completely before too long. Your eyes were blue for months but they have transitioned to a beautiful color. Everyone has a little trouble identifying the color of your eyes. Some days they still look a little blue. Other days they look brown or green. You definitely have your Mommy’s eyes. I’m still not even sure what to say when asked about my eye color. Brown? Green? Hazel?
You still only have two teeth. This doesn’t stop you from eating whatever you want, and you’ve become a better eater. You definitely prefer to feed yourself these days and are getting quite good with your utensils. Your favorite food is cheese, by far. You can’t seem to get enough of it! You also love fruit and pasta with red sauce most of the time. You had your first taste of chocolate this month with chocolate chip muffins, yum!
We celebrated another Mother’s Day, although it was a bit stressful as Daddy was both sick and extremely busy at work. You were still recovering from your illnesses and went to the doctor that morning to discover your ear infection had not responded to antibiotic. You did give me some nice gifts. You might have had a little help from Daddy. We had a Mother’s Day tea at daycare the following day, and that was nice! You helped make a little box with your photo on it, and I love it! You still prefer your Mommy in many situations, but you’ve started to become more of a Daddy’s girl. At night, you definitely like to be close to Mommy as you still nurse quite a bit most nights. Shortly after my last letter, Daddy was trying to get you back to sleep in your crib. You were very wiggly and squirmy and trying to escape. Daddy asked, “where are you going to go? Are you going to see Mommy?” You pointed to the door and very clearly said, “Mama!”
You are very expressive and get excited about many things. You still love sitting on little ledges and Maddie-sized seats. You enjoy “helping” Daddy with laundry by taking everything out of the basket and putting them back again. You love to slide on the playground and in your classroom at daycare. You like watching older kids play. You laugh frequently, especially if we are laughing at something. You don’t want to miss out on the joke! I love hearing your laughter, it’s so sweet! You are generally a happy toddler and a joy to be around. You’re always on the move and do not like to sit still. I treasure the moments that you pause for a moment to cuddle in my arms. I know those moments will be gone before I can blink an eye.
You’re growing up too fast. We are enjoying every minute. We love you more than ever and look forward to what the next month will bring us.
Love,
Mommy
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