Playful Rooted

Time for another update on my favorite little girl!

She’s amazing, fun, cuddly, and oh-so-sweet. She’s also turning my hair gray in a hurry. 😉 But enough about my hair; look at hers!

That tiny, adorable mohawk coming in has been the highlight of this month. It’s long enough now that she reaches up and twirls it in her fingers while she nurses, and I DIE of cuteness every time. Hello, I’m writing this from the beyond.

She’s also F I N A L L Y getting her first tooth! She’s had these little tooth buds for months and I have been convinced several times that a tooth was finally emerging. But nothing. Until yesterday when I was wiping her face after a meal and thought she had food left in her mouth. Nope. Not food. A tiny little tooth!

And would you look at these eyes. Photos don’t do them justice, really. My dad says she has Disney princess eyes, and I don’t disagree. They are pretty stunning. And I will forever be jealous of her naturally long, curly lashes. (My sister has these too, and so does Sawyer. Lucky ducks!)

Despite taking her sweet, sweet time on many milestones (more on that later), Pria is doing so much fun nine-month-old stuff now. She especially loves to sit and watch her brothers play. She gets so excited when they pay her any attention, and she continues to think Luca is THE MOST HILARIOUS person in the world even when he does literally nothing. Recently, I was FaceTiming with a friend, and Pria was cracking up. My friend asked what was making her laugh so hard, and I said, “Oh, Luca’s sitting in a chair.” He’s just sooo funny! 😉

Unfortunately, Pria’s food sensitivities/allergies/intolerances continue, so starting solid foods has been challenging (what can she even eat??) but fun at the same time. She has been especially loving raspberries, strawberries, Miyoko’s plant-based butter, Cheerios, and this gravy (which sounds INSANE but is shockingly delicious). I’m constantly trying to add fat to whatever she eats, so she’s been covered in almond butter and hemp seeds for weeks. She has gained some weight and I am determined to keep it up!

I always think she’s so cute covered in food. Do other people find that cute, or only the baby’s mom? (Ben hates it. He hates all grubby babies, including his own.)

She babbles (I especially love the “mamama” sound that I know doesn’t mean “mama,” but I pretend it does!) and plays and is a pro at rolling around to get where she wants to go. She LOVES peekaboo, pat-a-cake, and when I open the curtains after her nap and the light spills into her room. 🙂 She hates long car trips, getting out of the bath, and when Ben won’t let her pull his glasses off.

So, developmentally, Pria is technically doing fine, but she’s taking longer than the boys on just about every gross motor milestone lately, and it worries a mom, you know? I know every baby is different, but it’s hard not to compare her to what I’ve already experienced. It’s really not a fair comparison, though; Sawyer in particular was always months ahead on milestones (he was walking at nine months; Pria is nowhere even close). But since he was my most recent babe, it skews my perception, and I worry that she’s so far “behind,” when really, she is within the normal range on things. (I repeat that phrase to myself 90 times a day.)

Looking back now, I think I was very spoiled with super easy children prior to her, and I didn’t even appreciate it. They just…did things. Met milestones. Without my help. And P just needs a little bit of help to get things figured out sometimes. And that’s fine, truly. It’s just new. And after the tumultuous journey we’ve already been on, it makes me worry and stress out a little bit. Like 23/7, that’s it.

She’s a hard one, this baby.

But I do love her so. She’s such a little miracle and we are so blessed to have her in our crew!

For our prayer warriors whom we hold so dear, my anxious mama heart would genuinely appreciate prayers for these specifics:

• that Pria’s brain will continue to grow grow GROW and develop just as it should
• that she will continue to gain weight
• that her gut will heal and her food intolerances will be overcome-able (we’re working with a couple new practitioners on these things; I’ll share more details once there’s something to share)

As always, we are grateful beyond words for every prayer and warm thought for our one-of-a-kind little gal.

xo!