Mikayla is quickly giving us a glimpse of her unique personality and temperament. For the first year, she was very easy going, often entertaining herself on the floor for an hour at a time, and perfectly content. She is now learning that the more vocal she is, the more we respond, and that her cries for attention yield results. So...that is normal, but unfortunately, she is at times becoming very demanding and very loud. Unfortunately, she seems to have a bit of the "mommy-factor" going on, similar to what we experienced with Luka, in that anytime I am in her visual presence, she is unsettled and not content to just be. Rather, she screams, wants to be held, and simply wants all of my attention. The minute she is with anyone else and I am out of sight, however, she is pretty content and able to entertain herself one again.
A few notes:
-She says "Mmmmmm" when she is hungry or when she likes something. A great clue for us to know what she wants and definitely an effective means of communication.
-She still gets up at least once if not twice a night to nurse. Is it wearing on me? Yes. Is it what works for us? Yes. Calories "in" remains an issue for Mikayla. She truly only takes what she needs to maintain, which isn't much. She is such an inconsistent eater that she is still relying on nursing for a bulk of her nutrients, so I'm not ready to take that feeding away from her. Until she exhibits a desire to eat "real" food consistently, I'll continue this nighttime cuddle session.
-On April 20, just shy of 15 months, she took her first two solo steps. Since then, she has expressed a desire to walk a lot while holding our hands, and she really enjoys walking while pushing the stroller or her walker. Her record so far is 8 steps unassisted, but prefers to crawl because she gets there so fast. (So fast, in fact, that we found her in the playroom once after having climbed the stairs solo. Yikes!)
-She loves to give big wet sloppy kisses, over and over. She sticks her face up in the air and sticks her tongue out, and waits for us to plant a kiss on her mouth, and then she giggles. She will sometimes do this 5 times in a row, and this is enough to just make us melt each time.
-Verbally, Mikayla has 5-10 words. We're not sure exactly, because she has some in Spanish and some in English, and at times uses the same word for more than one thing. She says doggie, dah (that but could be something else in Spanish, and she also says it for duck), dis (this), mama, dada, and just yesterday, she caught us off guard when I asked her if she wanted a banana, and in response, clear as day, said "nana." We also think she says Chilli, Luka, and TJ, but I'm not even able to phonetically write those! We appreciate so much that Regina speaks to her in Spanish all day long.
*Funny story: Mikayla's first word, at 9 months, was clearly Dada. She still lights up and says that every time Scott walks in the room. If I'm upstairs and she hears him, she says it over and over. With that said, interestingly, she also says it very loudly to almost every male she encounters, including Papa, other daddies, and male shoppers at the grocery store as well. It never fails to turn heads and bring out a smile on a stranger's face.
-Up until a week ago, car rides were no fun as there was constant screaming and nothing would seem to satisfy her. Turning the car seat to face forward seems to have curbed that behavior a lot, so at least we can get around in the Woodlands without too much trouble.
-Mikayla loves to sift through bags and pull everything out. One of her favorites is to go through my wallet and pull out all the cards and money. She is definitely into exploring everything, and toys don't always seem to cut it. She is certainly curious and learning about her little world every waking minute.
-She is fascinated with things inside cabinets: She pulls out all the Tupperware and then crawls in the cabinet; she pulls out all the toys at the lake and climbs in the cabinet; she pulls out all of the kids cups and place mats and then crawls in the cabinet. Of course this makes a grand mess, but it is entertaining for her, and when I'm trying to get dinner on the table, that is what matters!
Overall, despite eating issues and her small size, Dr. Parkerson has no concerns whatsoever about Mikayla's development, including physical, social and emotional. She just encouraged us to not give up on the eating by continuing to figure out different ways to hide foods and make it enjoyable for her to eat (i.e. giving Mikayla her own spoon, giving her regular people food, eating with the family, etc.)
Statistics:
Weight: 18lbs, 12 oz (2.79th percentile, down from 3rd)
Length: 30" (36th percentile, down from 26th)
Head Circumference: 17.8" (29th percentile, down from 48th)
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