January 11, 2022
To my Rainbow Baby, Henry,
Today, you are eleven months old! The next time I write you a letter, it will be your first birthday! You are almost a year old, and I just can’t believe it. You have become such a big boy, both literally and figuratively, from the tiny babe who rushed into the world and our hearts two weeks early. The last month has been so fun as we wrap up celebrating the last “firsts” of the first year of your life. I’m feeling all the things about your impending birthday, but mostly, I’m so excited to celebrate you!
The biggest thing we did this month was celebrate your first Christmas! We had so much fun making memories, but it was also a very busy whirlwind. We celebrated Christmas at Gammaw and Pup Pup’s first, and we had a great day at their house opening presents, eating brunch and dinner, and video chatting with Uncle John and Auntie Denise. You weren’t really into ripping the wrapping paper off the presents like I thought you would be, but you were really into all the new toys and books once they were opened. Your favorite presents there were stuffed animals of the characters from your favorite “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” video, and a stuffed animal of Elmo, who you are obsessed with!
Our first trip of the holiday was to Belleville to see Gram and Pops and celebrate Christmas with the Sharp family. We did lots more eating and you got to open more presents there. Then we went to Pittsburgh to celebrate with the Heilmann family, which included more eating and more presents. You were spoiled rotten by everyone and our car was loaded down with new toys and books by the time we headed home. You got a set of Sesame Street character figures from your cousins Donna Marie, Steve and Andrew that you love. We spent a lot of time in the car over three days and we were exhausted when we finally got home, but we loved sharing your first Christmas with so much family.
Our last celebration was at home just the 4 of us. We actually celebrated on New Years Day, so it was your last two “firsts” all rolled into one. Momma unwrapped all your presents for you- even though she’s the one who wrapped them- but you loved playing with all of your new stuff. We spent a quiet day at home as a family, eating lots of food and watching you play and climb. It was a nice way to end the holiday season, and Mom’s two week break from school, without a lot of rushing and travelling. But it was so bittersweet to see your year of first holidays come to an end. We’re so excited for your birthday, but I cannot believe this first year is almost over!
You are continuing to develop at warp speed! We finally got the hang of hands-and-knees crawling, so you are fully mobile and doing your best to get into everything you can. I spent a lot of my winter break chasing you around the new house to make sure you didn’t get into something you weren’t supposed to, and we are discovering things that need babyproofed on a regular basis now. You are also pulling yourself to standing on everything you can reach- including the flat walls now- and you are cruising on all the furniture. You love to be walked around the house with someone holding your hands, but you haven’t quite transferred this to a push walker yet. Once you figure that out, you will be unstoppable, so I’m not in a hurry for you to master that just yet! You are also gabbering away, and Momma and Daddy are in a race to see whose name will stick first- you love to say “dadadada” and “mamamama” but you haven’t quite figured them out as our names yet. I’m listening intently for that first word to come through, and- don’t tell Daddy- but I hope it’s mine! :)
You also are trying a lot of new foods each week, but you are a bit of a pistol about eating. You eat pretty much anything Gammaw gives you at lunch- and you can be quite demanding if she’s not getting on your plate fast enough. You also bawl when it’s all gone. At dinner time, you’re a little trickier. Things you liked in the past don’t interest you sometimes, and you don’t always want to try what I give you. In particular, you are reluctant to eat meat, which just isn’t going to work with your hunter Dad! But we keep putting things in front of you over and over, because babies need lots of tries before a food can stick. You still gobble down any fruit we offer you, so that’s a great place to get lots of nutrients, if nothing else.
You also have six teeth fully in, and we’re not sure, but you might have some more coming right behind. You haven’t been sleeping great lately- honestly since Thanksgiving, it’s been an on and off struggle. When it seems the worst, suddenly, there’s another tooth popping up. You haven’t fully gone back to your great sleeping abilities yet, so Momma has paused the night weaning for now, but things have improved the last couple of nights. So we’re not sure you’re done teething quite yet. You do have the cutest little smile now with all those teefers, but man, are they hard to come in!!
Momma and Gammaw have started planning your birthday party! We’re not sure how many guests you’ll have because it’s hard for our family to travel in the winter and this pandemic is still in full force and getting worse lately. But if nothing else, you’ll have Momma, Daddy, Gammaw and Pup Pup there to celebrate you turning a WILD ONE and I’m so excited for it! As we embark on this last month of your first year, I pray that God will help me focus on all the ways you are changing with joy and excitement at you growing into a toddler instead of sadness at the loss of my first baby. I ask that He give peace and patience as we adjust to your new found mobility, and as we continue to struggle with sleep, and I pray He either gives us some insight of how to help you sleep better at night or alleviate whatever’s causing you to be up so much so that we can get back to those long stretches of sleep and finish night weaning. And I pray that we will make your birthday celebration the best ever, no matter how many people come to celebrate with us, so that we can launch your second year with so much happiness and praise for the miracle He has given us in you, sweet boy!
I love you, little Rainbow Henry.
Love, Mommy
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