Baby, Meet the Thumb. Thumb, Meet the Baby.

Dearest Samantha,

Really? 15 weeks? Can I use my magical Tivo remote and stop time? No? Nuts.

So, yeah, you’re the old baby on the block by now. Two other babies (Benjamin and Wendy Elizabeth) have been born since you made your debut last spring, thus making you the older, wiser, gigantor baby.

Seriously, you’re huge. I can’t pick you up (and hold you) with one arm anymore. You’re officially “two arms needed” Sammie now. This makes it a little difficult when I’m trying to walk and feed you at the same time. With two arms in use holding you, I’m left with my chin to magically hold your bottle in place to keep you appeased. I guess it’s a good thing that you’re making steps to hold the bottle on your own (although a little part of me is a little sad that soon you won’t need me to hold and feed you, as I rather enjoy our bottle/cuddle time).

In other milestones, you’ve discovered your thumb, or more specifically: thumb sucking. This momentous occasion happened when we changed you to the larger size swaddle last weekend. The smaller green one worked perfectly for the first few months, but in the past few weeks it required more than a bit of effort on my part to squeeze your growing body into a too-small swaddle. So, we handed off the smaller green one to your baby cousin and put you in the larger pink one.

Modeling the larger pink swaddle

Still, the new one is just a little too big for you because it doesn’t take long for you to work your pudgy arms through to the top so that they’re free…and ready for thumb sucking. Every morning, when I go to check on you before leaving for work, I find you sucking mercilessly on that little thumb of yours.

You're all thumbs in one of the last nights in the green swaddle.

Speaking of thumbs, you’ve got your father wrapped around your little finger. Nonni and Poppa babysat you last night (I had Bible Study), and when I brought you home he couldn’t get to you fast enough. I hadn’t been home two minutes before he had you out of the car seat and on the floor, chit chatting away with you. I know the look that he gets when you’re around—it’s pure love!

Love you lots,

Your mommy