Reagan's Room

We (and by that I mean Ben) have been working on Reagan's room.  Check it out!

And when asked what color her room is, Reagan says "purple!"

By the way, in addition to painting and decorating her room, Ben has also recently built her an adirondack chair, two toy boxes and a shoe rack!  Talk about a super dad!  And to top it all off, he just watched the Bachelorette with me!  We are lucky girls :-)

These shoes are made for walking!

I took Reagan to get fitted for shoes for the first time last weekend.  Although we knew it would be a little pricey, I went to Stride Rite because I wanted to make sure she had the right size.  We had tried several different sizes recently and nothing fit.  Not surprisingly, she needed a wide shoe :-)  She was a size 4W but in the soft sole shoes she needed she was a 4.5W.  She loved shopping for shoes and when the woman brought out the shoes for her to try on, Reagan stuck her foot out eagerly, all ready to go!  I couldn't believe she knew to do that since we've never been shopping for shoes before but I guess she's a natural born shoe shopper!  She was so excited for her new pink and brown shoes and we got out of there with shoes, socks and the deodorizing spray I got talked into buying all for under $60, which I thought was pretty good!

Loving the feel of her new shoes!

Reagan is really close to walking now.  Today I was walking her around and she would let go of my hand and stand on her own.  I really think she was thinking about going for it but then she'd get nervous and grab my hand again.  I really think it's going to be any day now.  I'm not trying to rush it- I know it will be a whole new experience when she's up and running but I really think it will be a little bit of a relief.  All she wants to do is walk around all day - not scoot, not cruise on the couch but walk - and today only walk with mom - which meant if I wasn't holding her hand to walk her around even for a minute to pee, get her lunch ready or whatever, she would throw an absolute fit!!  Her walking on her own has to be better than that right?

Last Friday Reagan finished her music class we had been going to which was kind of sad, but there's never a dull moment for this girl!  She started swim class with Gram on wednesdays this week, which I don't think she loved but liked enough considering it was the first one.  Then in a couple weeks we start Tot Gym on saturdays- fun, fun!!

Happy Weekend!

All good things today...

 1) I've been wanting to mention my absolute favorite thing about being a mom so far- baby kisses!! Probably at about 11 months Reagan started giving kisses when anyone asks- big open mouth wet ones, haha!! Even better than that, sometimes she just leans over and gives me a big wet kiss without being asked- sometimes stopping mid-drink or mid-chew to lean over and give me the sweetest little kiss imagineable! Words can't describe how good that makes me feel as her mama!

 2) Reagan has been going to sleep on her own, no plug, without a peep or single tear now and sleeping solid through the night (knock on wood that I didn't just jinx this!)- oh happy day!! I think one thing that helped is putting a blanket over her at night now that it's considered safe. It's like a bigger baby swaddle. But when I tuck her in at night and leave her room she looks like she wants to cry but she's trying to be so strong and she blows me a kiss and goes to sleep. I am so proud of my brave little girl!!!

3) My cousin, Biz, had twin boys tonight on my sister's birthday! Congrats to Biz and her husband, Pete!!  And happy birthday, Andrea!

4) Reagan is walking really well now with Ben or I holding just one hand.  Ready to take off soon?!  Here's a video from today:

Purging the Plug

The first time we gave Reagan a pacifier (or a "plug" as we call it) was leaving the hospital to go home when she was 2 days old.    She raged as soon as we put her in the car seat and it was the only way to leave the hospital without making a big scene.  Once home, we tried to do without it at first but after a couple more days it was the only way anyone could get some rest (especially me, who was the pacifier substitute!).

The pacifier quickly became Reagan's crutch to soothe herself and it became ours to soothe her especially in public or at times when we really needed her to be quiet, like in church or on an airplane.  And it was fine because it worked and everyone was happy.  We were good about cutting Reagan down to having the pacifier only to sleep by 6 months.  However, that had it's pitfalls too- mainly, every time she lost her pacifier at night she cried for Ben or I to get it for her and at one point that was about every 1-2 hours!

So, we decided at around a year we would do away with the whole thing.  We figured it would only get harder to take away the more attached to it she got and by a year she should be able to cope without it.  At this point though, she loved her plug even if it was only to sleep.  Sometimes she wanted 2 or 3 at a time to sleep- one for her mouth and another one or two to hold.  I had fears of her being 5 and still attached to it if we didn't do something.  The pediatrician also recommended taking it away at her one year check up.  She said to go cold turkey and just throw all the pacifiers in the house away so we wouldn't be tempted to give in (read: so I wouldn't be tempted to give in).

In the end, this is what we did although Ben had to throw them out because I couldn't bring myself to do it (how bad was this going to be??).  There was no turning back.  We did this last Friday night - and she slept ok - just holding my hand for a minute and she was out.  She woke up only once and it was brief.  The next morning she went down for a nap and was asleep within 10 minutes without anybody even in the room.  Success!!  Or so I thought, but I knew it couldn't be that easy.  By saturday night, she had somehow latched on to holding my hand to go to sleep as a replacement for the plug and I spent most of the night sleeping on the floor next to her crib holding her hand so we could all get some sleep.  This was worse than the plug and couldn't become a new habit.

Sunday night we decided to let her cry a little more to really learn once and for all to fall asleep on her own.  She cried two one hour stretches (one at bedtime and one from 2:30-3:30) before I finally held her hand to get her to fall asleep- this was't working!!  Last night I had no energy for another night like that- we put her down and hoped for the best.  She cried 2 minutes and was quiet.  Thanks to the video monitor, we could see she was sitting up and wasn't sleeping but she wasn't crying either.  Then the funniest thing happened.  She rocked herself to sleep sitting up and then bobbed back and forth, swaying like a drunk, before she finally fell over and was asleep.  She was learning to self-soothe!  She slept 8 hours straight until 4:15 when I gave in and slept on her floor for another hour or so holding her hand but then she slept until 7.  Naps today she cried 20 minutes and then rocked herself to sleep sitting up and then finally fell over again- the first nap was only 15 minutes but the second one an hour and 10 minutes - progress!

Tonight she went to sleep without a peep and even went to sleep lying down.  It's been 3 hours- let's hope she keeps it up!

The point of this whole story is that getting babies to learn to self-soothe is one of the hardest things to do.  Sunday night when she was crying for an hour straight, it ended with me in tears also and Ben and I in a fight.  Reagan's little voice was hoarse from all the crying and it was the saddest thing in the whole world - I felt like a terrible, heartless person.  I really thought it couldn't work for her for some reason.  After only a couple (miserable!) days, I really think it did- although I'm afraid to speak too soon again.  She is learning though and I think teaching her how to sleep on her own is a gift, not a punishment, and so healthy for her in the end.  No more pacifier to lose in the middle of the night means better sleep for everyone once she is used to not having it - hopefully those days are ahead!  I know everyone has very different opinions on letting babies "cry it out" vs co-sleeping and everything in between and I actually want to side more on the co-sleeping end of the spectrum but in the end getting a baby to sleep well on their own is more practical (a baby goes to sleep at 8pm and I don't, and I can't get up and shower in the morning with a sleeping baby in my bed and she'll wake if I move her) and better for my marriage and everyone's health and sanity I think - but again this is just my opinion after one year of motherhood so take it with a grain of salt!

I'll end with a cute little video that sums up my typical day :-)

Birthday Wrap Up

This post will be the last in the birthday series.  Stay tuned after this for posts on pacifier weaning, kisses, and other random tidbits!

Reagan's Birthday Party and One Year Check Up

We had Reagan's birthday party last saturday.  Her Keffer grandparents and Herndon great grandparents came to town from Ohio and her Auntie Anne and Auntie Andrea came from New York.  We had about 40 people at our house for burgers, dogs, adult beverages and cupcakes!  Overall, I think the party was a success.

The night before her party, Reagan got to spend some time with her Ohio relatives and got a whole bunch of gifts from them, including her first TOMS, which she clearly loved!

Some quality time with her Grandma K. and Grandpa Great before her party.

Ready to party!

We were also celebrating her Gram and Papa Bobby's engagement that day!

After some good food and a nap for Reagan, it was finally time to sing to the birthday girl for the very first time!  I thought I was going to lose it in the middle - her turning one was so bittersweet for me!

She wasn't too sure about the cupcake or the 40 people staring at her at first.

But she eventually caught on with a fist full of cupcake!

She made a good mess just like she was supposed to and loved it!

Reagan got so many beautiful new clothes, toys and books and our friend Jill made her this amazing poncho!

One Year Check Up

Ben and I took Reagan to her one year check up on Tuesday.  No wonder her appetite has been HUGE because the girl had a major growth spurt!  She grew 3 inches in 3 months and gained less than 2 pounds.  She is now 30 inches tall and weighs 22 lbs 4oz.  She's in the 75th percentile for height and weight so she's proportionate.  Her head size was in the 90th percentile - down from off the charts last time so she's grown into her head a little more.  

The doctor said she looked great and healthy and is developing well (of course!).  She said mom and dad did good in getting her weaned off her bottle!  Next up would be the pacifier (more to come on that).

Reagan's birthday gift from the doctor was not as fun as the others she got - 3 shots and blood work in her arm.  She was very brave though and got over the trauma quickly!  

Happy Birthday Reagan!

We had a great day on Tuesday celebrating Reagan's first birthday!  I'm home anyway on Tuesdays and Ben gave himself the day off.

In the morning, Reagan had her first whole milk.  She didn't seem to mind the switch from formula and it was a pretty seamless transition (except she did poop A LOT yesterday - I don't know if it was from the milk??)

After breakfast, we gave her some clothes from J Crew.

In the afternoon, we took a family trip to the aquarium.  Reagan had some aquarium-themed stickers to get her in the mood.

Before the aquarium, we stopped for lunch and Reagan had her first fried food- chicken fingers and a couple bites of fries.  I cringed the whole time!!  I've tried so hard to get her off to the best possible start with her eating habits.  I at least gave her some avocado I brought so she didn't have just fried food.  Maybe that explains all the poop yesterday??

Reagan loved the aquarium!!  The beluga whales were the best part...

She also loved watching the sting rays and sharks...and of course the fish!

Later on, my dad and Claire stopped by to bring a gift.

And then my mom also came by with a gift.

After dinner, Ben finished putting together our gift to her...a swingset!!  She is still not so sure if she likes the swing- actually she pretty much hates it.  Hopefully she'll come around soon!  Grandma and Grandpa Keffer were on Facetime as Reagan was exploring her new swingset!  They'll be here in person tomorrow and then we have her party on saturday.  Yeah birthday week!!

Reagan: Months 10-12

Month Ten

In a Nutshell- By this time things were really getting fun!  I started taking Reagan to a music class and she loved it!  We're still going now and she's the most social, enthusiastic one there.  Reagan was a good eater as usual.  Over her prune phase now, she loved yogurt and cheese...oh my god the girl goes crazy for cheese!  She all of a sudden loved green vegetables too.  And fish and quinoa!  We took so many steps when she was first starting solids to introduce veggies first and to give her plain veggies, not just veggies mixed with fruit so she would like vegetables and not just want to eat fruit all the time.  I think maybe we did too god of a job because she'll eat broccoli and asparagus over apples and strawberries- not your typical 10 month old!  We started eliminating bottle feedings as she started drinking formula from a cup.  At this point Reagan was saying "uh-oh" ALL the time.  She started waving to everyone everywhere we went, pointing to everything, and was always clapping to her music.

This month we thought Reagan was going to crawl any day.  She was on her hands and knees rocking back and forth, ready to take off.  But she never took off...not on her hands and knees anyway.  She decided she was going to get around by scooting on her butt instead and she got good at it.  She was fast!  This was a whole new world.  When I tried to clean the house, Reagan would make a mess double the size of what I had just cleaned up.  I now spent most of the time chasing after her, but it was so fun to see her go.

Most Memorable- Seeing Reagan scoot around on her butt.  Watching Reagan having a blast in music class!

Biggest Lesson Learned- You can't make a baby crawl! 


Month Ten Pics

 Too cool for school!

Corned beef at Gram's for her first st. patty's day.

Month Eleven

In a Nutshell- This month was Reagan's first Easter.  Her Keffer Grandparents, Aunt Ella and Auntie Andrea came to visit!  Ben was home more often now and would be for most of the spring and summer.  Reagan was obsessed with her daddy and Meatball and said their names constantly- calling for "daaa" and "daw"- she couldn't quite get the g in dog.  After everything I did - I was like chopped liver compared to them!  It's like it was just a given that I was around but dad and the dog were exciting!  Reagan started getting her top two front teeth in this month.  And with more teeth came more teeth to brush - I literally would spend half an hour trying to brush her teeth and she would just clench her mouth shut!  I acted like a crazy person just trying to make her laugh so I could get the toothbrush in her mouth!  I'm still working on figuring out the best way to get her teeth brushed (besides having my dental hygienist mom do it).

Reagan was still sleeping pretty well but she was obviously teething.  She would normally sleep 11 hours a night and would maybe wake up once or twice for a quick cuddle and then would go back to sleep.  Many mornings though she'd wake up early, sometime between 4 and 6, and when that happened I brought her in our bed and she would cuddle up and go back to sleep with mom and dad for an hour or two more- so much for the sleep training!  But we were all still getting some pretty good sleep so that's all that mattered.

Most Memorable-  Reagan yelling for dad everywhere we went- the grocery store, music class, anywhere, whether dad was there or not- and she was loud!

Biggest Lesson Learned- Mommy isn't always the favorite :-(  But when she was tired or upset, I was still first choice :-)

Month Eleven Pics

 First Easter

A total ham for her first professional pics- she really worked the camera!

A full bed

 Our little dancer!

Month Twelve

This last month of Reagan's first year was another busy one!  Reagan got another cold (and so did I-we normally get them together)- this turned into her first ear infection.  Up until now Reagan only had a couple minor colds and had never taken any medicine, not even tylenol.  Now we had to giver her 3 medicines a day and she HATED it.  The first day, I squirted her in the eye with ibuprofen, Ben held her nose to get her to choke it down- it was terrible.  But after a couple days we all got more used to it.  Then Reagan got a separate virus and a rash- either from the virus or the amoxicillin.  The jury is still out on whether or not she's allergic to amox.  And right around this time, Regan got 5 more teeth!  She only had two for the longest time and then got 4 more on the top and one more on the bottom within a couple weeks- another one on the bottom is definitely in the works now.  This was a little rough patch, but at least we made it almost through the first year without her getting sick, and she was back to her happy self again fairly quickly.

This month was my first mother's day.  I treated myself to some yoga and a hot stone massage and Ben and Reagan got me some great gifts.  I also took my first trip away by myself to see Amanda in Charleston.  It was unbelievably hard to leave even almost a year in, but once I was gone, I had a nice little break and Ben did a great job with daddy-daughter weekend!

Reagan has really changed by leaps and bounds this month.  She is pulling up on everything now and really cruising around all the furniture and walking really well with her push toy.  She can follow commands with astounding comprehension, like "get the dog's toy and give it to him."  She says dada and dog of course but now she also says mama and cheese and yells "bye!" when anyone leaves.  She's also working on her animal sounds and today was saying "quack, quack" when asked what a duck says!  She understands no, but definitely does not always listen!  She is the happiest baby and so good, but she definitely has a stubborn side!  And lately I long for the days when she would just sit still on the changing table- now diaper and clothes changes can take at least 15 minutes- the girl doesn't stay still!

Tomorrow Reagan turns one.  Tonight was her very last bottle ever.  I will miss how sweet she always looked drinking a bottle and our cuddles during feeding time.  But these last three months have been my absolute favorite so far.  There aren't even words to describe how much joy Reagan brings me everyday.  Watching her grow into her happy, fun-loving self this last year has been without a doubt the most rewarding experience of my life.  Playing with Reagan is really so much fun now.  Like the other day when I was stacking blocks and she would knock them down and we'd say "boom!" and she had the biggest belly laugh and laughed so hard she fell over and we both just lied on the floor laughing.  Or this morning when I was at the bathroom sink getting ready for work and she was tickling my legs and feet trying to make me laugh.  I will never forget these moments.

I'm not sure who has grown the most this past year.  I think Reagan has to take the cake on that one but I am definitely a changed person from a year ago tonight on the night before Reagan was born.  That night I had all these expectations of being the perfect mom because that's just my personality.  The biggest thing this past year has taught me is that I don't have to be perfect, I don't have to do what all the books say or even what the doctor recommends to the letter- I just have to do what feels right and be the best mom I can be for Reagan.  And I've learned this year that my best is pretty darn good!  I can't take all the credit though.  I never would've made it through this year without my husband.  He has been my rock and the voice of reason in moments of temporary insanity and meltdowns.  He took care of me when I was too preoccupied with Reagan to take care of myself.  But now we've made it through (well, one year anyway).  There were moments at the beginning when I just wanted a do over because I felt like I had already screwed everything up, but in the end, I wouldn't change anything about this year.  It was perfect in its own way and perfect for us.  I can't wait to see what year 2 has in store!

Month Twelve Pics

 Daddy's Girl

 My first mother's day

 A little light reading before bed

 So peaceful (in mom and dad's bed)!

 Like an old lady at the beach.

Last bottle ever :-(

Ready to walk!