Fiona Lily, Month 3

I sometimes joke that Fiona wasn't really "with us" until her second month of life. As in, the lights were on but no one was home. For a long two months, she seemed to have little sense of awareness or comprehension. She had personality, but the extent of her interaction was to occasionally hold eye contact with an expression on her face that said, "Oh hey, you're here."

 

Suddenly, month three rolled around and we were hit by an avalanche of milestones. She transformed from a tiny incoherent blob to a chubby giggling baby overnight. She began holding her head up consistently, which turned into rolling over, which led to grabbing toys, which became laughing at everything, which caused us to realize that she was indeed chewing on things, and that it was time to start introducing solids. Of course, those beautiful moments were interspersed among many dark days.

 

We woke up to the horrible sight of her head covered in deep scratch wounds, twice. I've spent over a month surviving on no sleep at night, because I have to nurse her and hold her arms down through her painful itching spells. She cries so constantly throughout the day that I've forgotten what the peace of silence feels like. She lost about 90% of her wonderful dark hair, and it hurts my heart every time the rash creeps up her face again. Still, that sweet girl always seems to maintain a happy spirit.

It is so nice to be the mother of a truly sentient creature now. She has the cutest unique personality, one seemingly independent of Brian and I. She flirts with strangers, has the girliest voice I've ever heard, and reduces me to a puddle of adoring goo every time she giggles. I know that children change as they grow, so I'm trying to enjoy this "princess" stage as long as possible. If she's anything like me, she'll be a tomboy by age 5 :)

Since so much of her little life is filled with discomfort and pain, we try to make her laugh as much as possible. She bursts into that incredible toothless grin every time we stand her up, and she wants to be vertical ALL the time. She's enthralled with Jubilee, who wants nothing to do with her, and she doesn't seem to sense Bruno at all. We call him the "brown blur" because he moves so fast, she probably doesn't see him. She chomps on anything that comes within inches of her face, from clean fingers to her own wrist. Peekaboo is the easiest way to make her laugh, and her toes are a source of endless entertainment.

I am fortunate enough to own an iPhone, and I think it might be God's gift to moms. (Steve Jobs, you will be missed for your innovation, leadership, and the devices you created to help stave off intelligence atrophy). I spend almost all day using my phone to read news articles and catch up on blogs, but its other great use is capturing all of Fiona's little victories. Below is a collection of videos documenting her very busy third month.

First Giggles:

First Taste of Rice Cereal:

First Roll Over:

First Peekaboo: