It seriously seems like Kinsie has made some huge milestones lately, some of which I have been thrilled about, but some that have not been so easy on me as her mother. I know that it is all part of raising children, but it is hard to watch your baby grow this fast right before your eyes! At least it is good to know that it is harder on me than it is on Kinsie. With all of the big steps we’ve taken lately, I have to admit that I would not have been able to accomplish them without Ryan’s support. He knows that I typically worry too much and he helps balance me out. I thank God every day for blessing me with such a wonderful husband.

Milestone #1: Kinsie is now sleeping in her own room. It is very convenient to have your baby sleep in your room for the first couple of months while they are still waking up several times throughout the night to eat. Kinsie is also notorious for waking up in the middle of the night from losing her pacifier, so it was always easy to just reach over and give it back to her and she would drift back to sleep. There is just something calming about having your baby sleep next to your bed and knowing that you can just look over at any moment and see her and hear her every breath. My original plan was to have her start sleeping in her room when she started consistently sleeping through the night (about 6 hours), which happened when she was about 2 months old. However, it seemed like every time I thought about trying it, something would stop me. She would have napped horribly that day and it took hours to get her to sleep at night, or she started having really bad acid reflux, or she had a cold, or something else always came up. I also wanted Ryan home when I first tried it for moral support. So finally, a month after my original plan, I finally worked up the courage to do it. That night when we went to bed and she wasn’t in our room, I missed her! But it was also nice to be able to talk to Ryan without whispering, or watch TV again since Kinsie was always overstimulated by the light from the TV. The hardest part about it now is that she still loses her pacifier at night, so Ryan and I take turns going in and giving it back to her. We’re hoping we can break her of this habit eventually. My favorite part about this now is that when she wakes up and I go to her room to get her, she has the biggest smile on her face! I guess she misses me too!

I may or may not stalk her on the monitor from time to time!

Milestone #2: Kinsie can now roll from her tummy to her back. The average baby doesn’t do this until about 4 months, so our girl is ahead of the game! She must be an over-achiever like her parents! She has been really close to doing this for over a month now, and finally one night, she did it! Then she did it again and again, a total of 4 times that same night. She hasn’t done it since, but she hasn’t really tried again. She is such a wiggle monster though, I’m sure she will be doing it consistently very soon!

Milestone #3: Kinsie is now going to the church nursery. This was also a tough one for me. Kinsie has been coming to the sanctuary with us since she was born, and she is usually a perfect angel and sleeps the entire sermon. If she ever did wake up, she would just chill and watch the lights on the ceiling. Only once did Ryan have to walk out with her because she was making noise. Now, being three months old, her wake times are longer, she doesn’t nap very well if there is any stimulation, and if she is awake, she is usually cooing away and making all kinds of noise. It is like Russian roulette now on whether or not she’ll sleep, or be awake and want to play during church. My sister told me that she first took Briggs to the nursery when he was three months, so I thought this was a good time to try it out with Kinsie. Again, I had to swallow my anxiety and just do it. When we brought her for the first time, she was asleep so that made it easier on me to leave her. Of course, I had a difficult time focusing on the message because I was so worried that her number would flash up on the screen. It never did though, and she did awesome! When I picked her up, they were holding her and she seemed perfectly happy, so I was too! It definitely helps that Traders Point has such an awesome kids ministry, so I know that she is in good hands!

Milestone #4: Kinsie is grabbing things and constantly interacting with her environment. This has been amazing to see her develop so quickly. It seems like one day, she would just sit there and wiggle, and now she wiggles, grabs, interacts and plays by herself. She received lots of new toys for Christmas, and it has been awesome to see how to responds to them and to watch her learn how to play with them. I feel like she is already so smart and loves to soak in everything in her environment. She rarely lets anyone just hold her and cuddle, she wants to play and be entertained all the time! There is no denying that she is our child and will be a lifelong learner just like us!

Like I said before, milestones are a part of growing up, and it is so much fun watching your child accomplish them each day, but it can also be difficult to start letting go and letting your child grow into their own unique person. Right now it may only be having her leave me to sleep in her own room, but before I know it, she will be leaving me to go to college! That is why I need to soak in every second of time we have and enjoy each milestone as it comes. Not only is she growing every day, but we are as parents too.