11 Months Old and On the Move!

Before it got cold, we made sure to give Millie time to explore outside.

She got a "taste" of the great outdoors.

We also let her run around like this before bed.

But it got cold quickly, so we now have to bundle her up.
(We don't mind because her winter clothes are so cute)

See what I mean?

This girl never holds still, and we love it.

Even her poor Barbie gets Millie's attention.

To think, Barbie used to just lay there next to Millie without being bothered...

and now this.

Don't feel picked on, Barbie.

These days, Millie leaves no purse un-licked and no shoe un-touched.


Millie is all girl. If we ever want to convince her to crawl, or get her to stop crying, we can simply use my purse as a carrot to dangle.

Looks like she caught her first fish!


Millie also finds herself under our little table and chairs checking out our pantry stock.

She loves to pull things off the shelf, which is great at helping me remember what I actually have down there.

Ah yes, the shoes.

She favors mine (whew), and always inspects them closely when I get home from work.

And to prove Millie is really "on the move" you'll have to see for yourself:

That's right! Millie is officially crawling!

That video was taken about a week ago, so she has gotten quicker and more adventurous. She still isn't trying to pull herself up on anything, but she will now crawl from room to room. Yesterday she crawled through our tiny kitchen, and hit her sweet head on the wall because she thought it was bigger than it actually is. Does that say how small our kitchen is? Our little baby expects it to be bigger than it is!

In her 11th Month, Millie:

1. Switched from size 2 diapers to size 3.
2. Still has no teeth! She drools like crazy, but she's been doing that since this summer.
3. Wears size 6-9 month pajamas, and 3-6 (with the occasional 6-9) month clothes. Of course her feet are super tiny, so it's still newborn shoes for her.
4. Eats solid food twice a day, and loves those little quick dissolving puffs. She's getting good at picking them up with her finger and thumb, too! I fed her some at Church last Sunday, and of course she choked. I promise she can eat them, and normally loves them. Stage fright?
5. Is officially in the early intervention program! She didn't qualify, but the therapist that evaluated her convinced the program to take her on to prevent problems in the future. This means we are in the program for the next 6 months, which is perfect for our timeline! We have visits from the physical therapist twice a month, and access to all kinds of resources. We will be getting a visit from a feeding specialist (I'm sure they have another name) soon, just to make sure Millie is where she needs to be...all because I asked a question about it! Nice.
6. As mentioned, she didn't "qualify" for the early intervention program. She tested too high in all of the areas they were looking at (motor skills, social skills, muscle development, etc.). When we had a meeting earlier this month, we went over her scores. Millie tested in the 75th percentile in social skills! The early intervention program folks couldn't believe it. She is my child. I couldn't be more proud. This was her first time being the the 75th percentile of anything.

We're gearing up for the big day later on this month! It's hard to believe that I was pregnant this time last year. As a matter of fact, I was very sick and pregnant this time last year. I hadn't even gotten to the point where I could eat yet! Don't worry, I've made up for lost time.

I'm having mixed emotions as I think through what happened at this time last year. It's emotional, but I have to say I remember most of it fondly. That might sound unusual, but Millie's birth has brought so much joy into our life. We were blessed with an extremely healthy baby, and a "best-case" scenario, especially for a 23-weeker. Millie has been a blessing to us since she was born, and we love her.

I'm planning on sharing more reflections on that experience later on this month. Ironic that November is Prematurity Awareness Month, isn't it?