Dear Samantha Joy,: 21 Weeks: The Gigantor Baby Edition

Dear Gigantor Baby…Errr…Samantha,

I’ve got a list of things to do that is a mile long, but because you turned 21 weeks today and are due for a weekly update, I’m giving myself permission to put everything aside and use the blog as an excuse to procrastinate on the to-do list. Grading my college students’ improv books and blocking Act II of ‘Annie’ will just have to wait!

As the heading suggests, you reclaimed the Gigantor Baby title this past Monday when we took you in for your scheduled doctor’s visit. Daddy and I were taking bets while waiting for your name to be called in the lobby of the doctor’s office. He said you’d be 14 pounds, 8 ounces. I thought you’d be 15 pounds, 2 ounces. We both were way off. I could hardly believe it when the nurse put you on the scale and said that you were a whopping 16 pounds (even). At 24.5 inches, you’re in the 75th percentile for length, and your weight puts you just above the 75th percentile.
I hope you don‘t develop a complex when you sit next to your cousins Benji & Wendy Elizabeth this year at Thanksgiving. They’re three months younger and still have got some catching up to do, but they are currently half your size!

While in the doctor’s office, we asked Still-the-BEST-Pediatrician-in-the-World (STBPITW for short) why you had given up on naptimes and were increasingly fussy. STBPITW reminded us that babies tend to throw their perfectly planned schedules out the window and start getting *temperamental* when they’re about ready to hit a new milestone.

I’m betting that you’re about ready to solve quadratic equations, because those the napping patterns (or lack thereof) I described last week are still in full swing this week.

Case in point: last Wednesday night, you gave your Nonni a run for her money while she baby sat you at Grandma & Grandpa Willis’ house: you screamed like a banshee much of the time. We blamed the lack-of-nap factor. Tuesday night, it was Grandma Max ‘s turn to regret volunteering to babysit you: you turned on the waterworks the entire time she was watching you at Grandma & Grandpa Pats’ house. In both cases, the tears stopped when we walked into the room. You even had the nerve to smile and giggle as I held you at Grandpa & Grandma Pats’.

So…kiddo…we’re waiting. What are you going to do next? Please do it soon because Mama really got spoiled with the whole 12-hour-a-night-sleeping-pattern thing.

While you’re figuring out what to do next, here are the pictures from last week’s photo shoot.

First: the 'Seinfeld' poses