Category: letters to Mimi

Dear Mimi,

First off, I know. And I’m sorry. Despite what your brother may tell you, it doesn’t mean we love you any less–honestly!

The main purpose of these letters is to record all the little things that otherwise would be lost in the daily grind of life with small kids but the last few months went by especially fast.

It’s a shame that I didn’t get those letters written because you grew a lot these last few months. Back in October you were still very much a baby. It was fun to dress you up for Halloween and cart you around. It’s strange to think that next year you’ll be walking around on your own.

It’s amazing to me how quickly you’re changing. Back when you started solid food it took you a few weeks before you even wanted anything to do with it. But now you’ve got the hang of it and you want to eat EVERYTHING.

In the mornings I plop you in your high chair while I fix breakfast and your eyes follow me around the kitchen with such intensity that it makes me laugh. You smack your lips in anticipation and kick your little legs in excitement. And heaven help us all if your brother gets his food before you do because you are not shy about standing up for yourself.

Luckily you like mostly everything we’ve given you: green beans, ravioli, potstickers, roast chicken, yogurt, samosas, bulgogi, roast squash, hummas, and guacamole to name a few. You’ve liked everything except for bananas–you hate bananas.

With your brother’s food allergies we were worried that you might have allergies too. I’ve been avoiding dairy/eggs/nuts/peanuts while nursing you but we recently had you tested for food allergies. For now it seems that you’re allergy-free! It was such a relief.

Without fail you want to try whatever I eat and I can’t describe how wonderful it is to be able to be able give you a taste without worrying if it will make you sick. But at the same time it makes my heart ache a little bit more for your poor brother.

Regarding other milestones, you were a little late learning to crawl. For months you got around by scooting backwards and then by slowly creeping forward on your tummy. But in the last few weeks you’ve master forward locomotion and now if I turn my head for a second you’re off and getting into trouble. I can tell that you’re going to keep me on my toes.

It’s so exciting to watch you grow into your own person. You bring so much joy into our family. We all love you so much, sweet Mimi.

Love,

Mama

Dear Mimi,

I’m not going to lie, this month was a little hard for me. You, the baby who was basically sleeping through the night at two weeks, started waking up 3-4 times a night. You would wake up crying at 2 am, 3:30 am, 4:30 am, 5:00 am, and then be all smiles and and ready to start the day at 7 am. It was WRECKING me.

Fortunately the waking-4-times-a-night thing lasted only a few weeks. Now you’re getting up 1-2 times a night which, while far from ideal, is doable. I haven’t given up on getting you to sleep through the night, though. Your pediatrician told us that you’re physically capable of doing it so we’re trying to figure out how to help you do so. I just checked out a few books on sleep training from the library so we shall see, my friend. WE SHALL SEE.

During the day you continue to be a wonderfully pleasant baby. You’re interested in everything and laugh easily. I’ll sit you on down on the carpet with a few toys and you’ll happily play by yourself for 10-15 minutes at a time.

You’re still fascinated by your brother. He’s better at making you laugh than anyone else and is (usually) very gentle and kind with you. This last month you’ve been going through a hair-pulling stage and when E gets too close you grab his hair with your tiny fists and yank hard. You’ve actually pulled some of his hair out but he just laughs and doesn’t listen to me when I remind him not to get too close. He thinks you’re hilarious.

Watching the two of you together brings me joy in a way that I didn’t really anticipate. The other day I was listening to the radio and they were talking about sibling relationships and about how they’re the longest running relationships we have since your siblings are in your life before your spouse enters the picture and they’re there after your parents pass away. It makes me glad to think that you and E will always have each other.

Sweet Mimi, we all love you so. I wouldn’t change a thing about you (except for that pesky little waking-at-night habit–work on that, won’t you?)

Love,

Mama

Dear Mimi,

We had some fun adventures this summer. I took you on your first plane ride. You and your brother and I flew to Seattle to visit my parents. Because they’ve been in poor health this last year and unable to travel this was the first time they met you in person. They loved you like I knew they would and it made me happy to see you together.

Then your dad and the rest of my family came to town and then we all went to Ocean Shores, WA for a family reunion. Even though your nap schedule got shuffled around you were a trooper during all the chaos. You loved being around all the kids and your cousins Ivy and Clara doted on you ridiculously.

It would be fun if I could say that you loved the ocean at first sight, that you felt a primal oneness with that great force which settled over you as a mystical calm. But mostly you were just upset about the wind blowing in your face.

After the Ocean Shores the four of us (I love saying “the four of us”) drove down the the coast to Rockaway Beach, OR. It was a leisurely drive along the winding Pacific Coast highway, through the sort of lush green gray scenery that never fails to make me feel at home. For the most part you were content to nap or be entertained by your brother’s clowning. It was a lovely, lovely drive.

And then we were in Oregon. Our beach house there was right on the beach, so close that instead of plugging in the white noise machine we run at home to help you sleep I could open the windows and let the sound of the waves fill the room. As soon as you heard them you felt at home and your eyes would immediately start fluttering shut. (Because your first teeth were coming in your eyes had trouble STAYING shut, but whatever.)

You loved watching all your cousins run around from the safety of our arms. With all aunts and grandma around you had plenty of people willing to hold and snuggle you. Fortunately you weren’t clingy and went to whoever wanted to hold you.

During these last two months you did a slew of things for the first time: you rolled from your back onto your tummy, you got your first tooth (bottom front right), you started giving kisses (e.g. opening your drooling mouth as wide as you can and mashing it on my face while humming–let’s just say I’m looking forward to your form improving a bit), and you learned to sit up on your own.

There were ups-and-downs but this summer was wonderful. Some things are more complicated now (e.g. it’s harder to leave the house on time or work on my reports or get dinner on the table as planned) but it’s just so satisfying to have you around. Your sweet presence is like a balm that soothes an itch I didn’t know existed until it was gone.

Dear Mimi,

After a lot of practice, you finally rolled over this last month! Now as soon as I put you on your stomach you tip yourself to the side and roll onto your back, quick as a flash. I’ve had to really up the antics to keep you entertained for tummy time. So far you’re into situational and prop comedy but turn your nose up at impressions.

Besides rolling over you love, love, love grabbing your toes. As soon as I take your socks off (or you pull them off) you immediate reach for your toes and try to cram them in your mouth. It’s pretty cute.

I think your teeth are starting to come in because you will gnaw on everything given the chance. I’m not too good about remembering milestones (one of the reasons I write these letters) but I think that your brother didn’t start teething for at least a few more months um, so there’s that. Teething also means that you’ve also started biting occasionally when I’m nursing you and uh, yeouch! and also stop.

We’re gearing up to take you on your first trip away from home. We have back-to-back family reunions in WA and OR and even though I’m a little bit nervous about taking you away from your routine I’m looking forward to showing you off a bit. We all love you so much and know that the rest of our families will too.

Love,

Mama

Dear Mimi,

You’re a lot more coordinated with your hands now and like reaching for toys and cramming them in your mouth. You have a little squeaky giraffe toy and until recently you seemed fairly indifferent to it. But now you like to clutch it when you’re in your car seat and chew on its ears.

You seem so eager to move around on your own. Instead of chilling in your swing you now prefer wiggling around on your play mat. You like grabbing your feet and rocking back and forth and seem to be this close to rolling over.

You continue to be entranced by your big brother. You love watching E bop around and he loves goofing off to make you laugh. You are such a happy baby and bring so much joy into our house.

It’s hard to believe you’re only four months old; it seems like you’ve always been a part of our family. We love having you here and hearing your sweet laugh.

Love,

Mama

Dear Mimi,

This last month you’ve blossomed into awareness and you’re no longer a sleeping little lump. You have your own opinions and you ARE going to tell us about them!

With that said, you’re still very mellow and most of the time you’re happy hanging out in your bouncy seat or swing chomping on your hands and watching us bustle around the house. But if I leave the room for a few seconds too long you start squawking to let me know you’re not happy about being left alone. Then when you see me come back your whole face LIGHTS UP. It kind of makes me melt.

It seems like we’ve finally figured out your sleep schedule, more or less. Your naps are rather all over the place and you end up snoozing in your car seat a lot as I run errands. But if you’re not ready for bed by 8:15 pm you promptly turn into a pumpkin and collapse into a fit of shrieking cries. It’s took us a while to figure it out but now we just put you to bed before then (duh).

When you’re not tired you are such a happy baby. Sometimes when you’re nursing you pull away just to look me in the eye and giggle and grin. I’m not sure what the joke is but I can’t help laughing along.

Love,

Mama

Dear Mimi,

In the first month after you were born I used to say that you didn’t seem like a fragile tiny newborn, mostly because you weren’t so tiny. Well, this last month I had to eat my words when you were admitted to the hospital with RSV. When I watched you struggle to breathe you suddenly seemed frighteningly and terribly fragile.

But thankfully our prayers were answered and after three days in the hospital you were off the oxygen and the congestion had died down enough so that you could breathe okay on your own. And so the two of us went home from the hospital, again.

Even though I hated seeing you sick, once it was clear that you were on the mend I started appreciating certain aspects of our hospital stay. In some ways it felt like a do-over of our stay in the hospital after you were born. But this time I wasn’t in wrenching pain from surgery and I could devote all my energy to caring for you. My mind wasn’t addled by painkillers and so I could watch your sweet sleeping face and see the smiles flit across it.

Not that I just stared at you while you were sleeping for hours and hours like a creeper. I also watched movies on my phone, napped, read, or worked on a blanket I’m knitting for you. In some ways I’m grateful for the experience because being right by your side for three days without any distractions (i.e., your big brother and the demands of normal life) really cemented the bond I feel with you. I loved you before but now I feel like I know you and your needs better, like I’m more in tune to you.

The last few weeks you’ve been paying more attention to people and wanting to interact with us. Your first smiles were for your own reflection in the convex mirror on your swing but now you’ve moved on to second best and you like looking and cooing at us. Your gurgling smiles are the best.

You continue to be a mellow baby and for the most part sleep like champ. It’s something I continue to be very grateful for. Last night your dad and I were talking about you and gloating to ourselves about what a good baby you were and we jinxed it: for the first time ever you cried off and on for over an hour. I would rock you to sleep only to have you wake up crying ten minutes later. You eventually ended up going to sleep for real and your dad and I looked at each other slightly shell-shocked and silently agreed not to press our luck by bragging about you so much.

But even now I can’t help it. When I think of you I silently gloat to myself and my heart feels like it’s going to burst with joy. Really, you are the best.

Love,

Mama

Dear Mimi,

It’s only been a month since we met you but it feels like you’ve always been part of our family. You are such a sweet baby–basically you only fuss if you’re hungry or gassy (both things make me cranky too). Other than that you spend your time either sleeping or staring raptly at light sources.

Speaking of sleeping, you sleep like a champ for which I am profoundly grateful. After a week or two you settled into a routine of going to bed after I feed you around 11 pm, waking up to have a bottle with your dad around 1 am, and then going back to sleep until around 6 am. Lately you’ve been waking up closer to 7 which means that I’m able to get more sleep that any mother of a newborn has a right to expect. It makes a HUGE difference in my day. I know that there will be rough patches as you grow, but if you keep this up I will totally buy you a pony.

It might be because of your size (you’re almost ready to bust out of your three-month size clothes) or it might be because we’re not brand new parents this time around but you already seem older than a month–you already don’t seem like a fragile tiny newborn you seem like a full-on baby.

This time around I know how quickly these first few months pass and so I’m really trying to appreciate them. Sometimes after I feed you at night or early in the morning I hold you against my shoulder and lean my cheek against your fuzzy head and rock with you long after you’ve already burped. Part of me just wants to crawl back into bed but a bigger part of me just wants to hold you close and marvel that you’re here and that you’re mine.

Love,

Mama