It's official! The Muffin just rolled over from belly to back like it was nothing. In fact I think she was confused by all the clapping and kisses from Mom and Dad. It just reinforces she could've done it the whole time, knew it, and had no real desire to do it.
I'm excited anyway!! She's already rolling from back to belly all the way to her side and just hanging out there, if she just fell forward she'd have that one too, again I just don't think she's all that interested.
Yay Kat! A tooth and rolling over all in the same week! She's also sitting independently for long periods of time too... what a big big girl!!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Pictures of the Elusive First Tooth...
Lookie, I even circled it for you :) It's been nearly impossible to get a picture of this so far since as soon as Kat sees the camera she starts grabbing for it and won't sit still. We got two lucky shots this morning though YAY!
Kat has also discovered her feet, and likes to eat them all the time. Here she is goofing off with Daddy on the couch- showing him her lovely Sasquatch feet!
Here's my sweet smiley girl!
Kat has also discovered her feet, and likes to eat them all the time. Here she is goofing off with Daddy on the couch- showing him her lovely Sasquatch feet!
Here's my sweet smiley girl!
I love this one, because she looks so mischievious!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Randomness...
Sick (still, or again?) It's anyone's pick. Although I'm not nearly as bad as I was, definitely still sick. Kat seems to have picked up just a touch of the stomach bug as well. She's doing fine except at night when her tummy hurts it's hard for her to sleep. Already this morning she seems to be feeling better.
She was so good last night at our friend Karen and Greg's house. We went to have a game night with them and some other folks, and she just smiled at everyone and petted their (HUGE) golden retreiver dogs who were so sweet, and sat in our laps while we rolled dice etc. I never cease to be amazed at what a well behaved kid I've spawned. I'm not real sure how it happened, but no one is more shocked than me. Perhaps in 2 years or so I'll be singing a different tune, but who knows.
It's a rarity in life to meet folks you click well with, even more rare to meet them as a couple. I think we've genuinely met some capital F Friends, and not just for one of us, for both of us. And of course they adore Kat (who doesn't? LOL) so I have to say life in Michigan is surely looking up. We found a whole group of gamer nerds, and quite a few of them are pagan as well- so that's lucky LOL
Aside from that, I am SO very looking forward to going back home to visit this summer, especially to hit the festival! I miss workshops, and booths, and camping... I miss my festival buddies and my friends from back home. I'm looking forward to showing Kat off to everyone, but especially my Mom. Only a few more months!!!
So there's my random update... *and there was much rejoicing* "Yay."
She was so good last night at our friend Karen and Greg's house. We went to have a game night with them and some other folks, and she just smiled at everyone and petted their (HUGE) golden retreiver dogs who were so sweet, and sat in our laps while we rolled dice etc. I never cease to be amazed at what a well behaved kid I've spawned. I'm not real sure how it happened, but no one is more shocked than me. Perhaps in 2 years or so I'll be singing a different tune, but who knows.
It's a rarity in life to meet folks you click well with, even more rare to meet them as a couple. I think we've genuinely met some capital F Friends, and not just for one of us, for both of us. And of course they adore Kat (who doesn't? LOL) so I have to say life in Michigan is surely looking up. We found a whole group of gamer nerds, and quite a few of them are pagan as well- so that's lucky LOL
Aside from that, I am SO very looking forward to going back home to visit this summer, especially to hit the festival! I miss workshops, and booths, and camping... I miss my festival buddies and my friends from back home. I'm looking forward to showing Kat off to everyone, but especially my Mom. Only a few more months!!!
So there's my random update... *and there was much rejoicing* "Yay."
Friday, March 27, 2009
Pears...
I'm making Kat pear baby food today. I've found that baking apples and pears rather than steaming them tends to leave them tasting a bit better, and Kat certainly likes them! I thought I'd post my recipe for Pear Mush :) errr Baby Food here for your enjoyment.
I start with Ripe Organic Pears- Pears are on the Dirty Dozen list for pesticide accumulation. Most pesticides tend to build up in the skins (which we remove) but I like to buy organic pears regardless! Better safe than sorry. It might be a small amount of chemicals that wouldn't effect me, but Kat is just a tiny girl- it'll be harder on her!
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Peel and core the pears.
-Cut pears into small chunks
-Put pears into baking dish with a small amount of water on the bottom (just covering the bottom, not covering the pears)
-Bake for approx. 10 minutes until tender
-Let cool
-Mash pears with potato masher (I've found this gives me a more consistantly textured puree later)
-Puree pear mash in food proccesor with approx 1/2 oz of breastmilk per pear (give or take, depending on consistancy) You can also use water or formula, but I like the breastmilk as it adds some sweetness to the pears and is so nutritious!!
-Pour the puree into clean ice cube trays, cover, and freeze until solid.
-Transfer cubes to freezer bags and label appropriately.
To Reconstitute-
-I put one cube in a small baby dish in the microwave for about 10 seconds. This melts it and gets it slightly warm (which Kitten loves) Make sure to stir vigorously before feeding to eliminate any 'hot spots' from microwaving.
With any leftover pears for Mom and Dad here's a great idea!
-Sprinkle pear halves with brown sugar, cinnamon, and honey
-Bake for approx. 10 minutes at 400 degrees
YUM!
I start with Ripe Organic Pears- Pears are on the Dirty Dozen list for pesticide accumulation. Most pesticides tend to build up in the skins (which we remove) but I like to buy organic pears regardless! Better safe than sorry. It might be a small amount of chemicals that wouldn't effect me, but Kat is just a tiny girl- it'll be harder on her!
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Peel and core the pears.
-Cut pears into small chunks
-Put pears into baking dish with a small amount of water on the bottom (just covering the bottom, not covering the pears)
-Bake for approx. 10 minutes until tender
-Let cool
-Mash pears with potato masher (I've found this gives me a more consistantly textured puree later)
-Puree pear mash in food proccesor with approx 1/2 oz of breastmilk per pear (give or take, depending on consistancy) You can also use water or formula, but I like the breastmilk as it adds some sweetness to the pears and is so nutritious!!
-Pour the puree into clean ice cube trays, cover, and freeze until solid.
-Transfer cubes to freezer bags and label appropriately.
To Reconstitute-
-I put one cube in a small baby dish in the microwave for about 10 seconds. This melts it and gets it slightly warm (which Kitten loves) Make sure to stir vigorously before feeding to eliminate any 'hot spots' from microwaving.
With any leftover pears for Mom and Dad here's a great idea!
-Sprinkle pear halves with brown sugar, cinnamon, and honey
-Bake for approx. 10 minutes at 400 degrees
YUM!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
First tooth!
It's official! I noticed Kat kept keeping her tongue over her bottom lip, so I moved it aside and you can see one little tooth poking through on the bottom!! I can't get a picture because she's keeping her tongue there, but my little girl officially has her first tooth coming through! We'll likely be seeing it in person in a few days.
She's growing up! I'm so proud of her!
She's growing up! I'm so proud of her!
Martian Death Flu...
Sick sick sick... I'm so sick of being sick that I could just... get sick! Thank goodness Grandpa left the good jumpy toy with us for the weekend, it's buying me some downtime when I'm too weak to hold Kat, she just loves that thing!
So since I have nothing funny to say, and have no good baby stories due to evil martian death flu... here's a funny article:
So since I have nothing funny to say, and have no good baby stories due to evil martian death flu... here's a funny article:
98% of infants suffer Bi-Polar Disorder
NEW YORK—A new study
published in The Journal Of Pediatric Medicine found that a shocking 98 percent
of all infants suffer from bipolar disorder. "The majority of our subjects,
regardless of size, sex, or race, exhibited extreme mood swings, often crying
one minute and then giggling playfully the next," the study's author Dr. Steven
Gregory told reporters. "Additionally we found that most babies had trouble
concentrating during the day, often struggled to sleep at night, and could not
be counted on to take care of themselves—all classic symptoms of manic
depression." Gregory added that nearly 100 percent of infants appear to suffer
from the poor motor skills and impaired speech associated with Parkinson's
disease.
Aaaand pictures!
Kat's missing Grandma and Grandpa this week in Florida! Hope you're both soaking up some sun for us!!
Playing with Daddy
I wish to learn to play Super Nintendo Daddy...
Okay I was kidding, I just want to EAT the Super Nintendo...Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Easter Bunny is Greedy!
Well as an update post to Solstice Morning... we got Kat all dressed up in her little bunny outfit and headed to the Mall, and the Easter Bunny wanted 30 dollars for one measly tiny picture! I guess since I'm not a parent, I didn't get that Santa and the Bunny were such sellouts! LOL
We couldn't really afford it, so we went and instead spent that money (actually not even ALL of that money) getting Kat's entire new summer wardrobe at a local Mom2Mom sale. We got lucky too, a bunch of the clothes still had tags and were all from Children's Place and Carters. I have a HUGE bag full of adorable stuff for her for summer so aside from a bathing suit we're all set! I also have an artist friend who batiks and tye dyes the most adorable baby stuff, so she's also doing a set of onesies for Kat's first summer. We'll be heading back to the east coast for a big festival and to spend time with my mom, so we figured she needed to have some cool threads to show off.
Instead of Easter Bunny pictures and egg rolling solstice evening, we instead went over to Tim's parents house. I felt like at that point spending time with family was more in line with the holiday than rushing home to toss a few eggs. We'll likely be doing our egg roll tonight or tomorrow instead. We had fun with Tim's parents, and as always, Kat loves spending time with Grandpa and Grandma (where else can she get admired and cuddled for hours on end?)
We sat around, had pizza, looked at baby pictures of Tim, and I got to hear all kinds of stories about Tim and Katie as kids. It never ceases to amaze me how MUCH Kat looks like Tim, especially his baby pictures. The only real difference you can see is that her features are more delicate and girly, but that's about it. She's just a girl version of her daddy. We're lucky he's got a cute baby face LOL... so I felt like that was a perfect ending to our holiday evening. Sitting around with family, telling stories, and eating :) I feel like I got really lucky with my choice of in-laws, which is double lucky considering I moved to MI knowing nobody but them! I know people who hate spending time with in laws, but I truly enjoy myself. And it's a funny thing about motherhood that I've discovered- if someone loves my baby, I love them more for loving her. Funny huh? Kat's so lucky to have such adoring grandparents.
So yesterday I also went out with my girlfriends to a Victorian Tea Party at a local historic hotel. I thought it would be a really cute thing to try, and it really was! They brought us tiny sandwiches, tea, tiny desserts... all on antique china at a beautiful table in a gorgeous dining room. We sat around and giggled and gossiped and had tea. It was such a nice relaxing couple of hours, and a real refresher for me! It's nice to get out of the house every once in awhile without Kat and just get to enjoy being me for a little while. As fun as she is, it's also fun to hang out with my girlfriends. Aside from that I'm also in a Book Club, Tim and I are getting involved in a local Warhammer RPG gamer group (with our two really good friends Karen and Greg), and also finding more and more friendly, fun, and most importantly grounded pagans to spend time with. I really feel like things are slowly coming together. Unfortunately I can't seem to make enough time for everyone it feels like since I'm constantly doing the mommy thing, but I do keep in touch with them all via e mail and see some of them on occasion. Once summer gets here, I'll likely be seeing a LOT more of everyone!
So in Summary-
-Easter Bunny is a Greedy Bastard.
-Got good Deals at a Mom2Mom Sale
-Love the new family
-Friends are good
-I like tea
-Gamers are fun
-and I ramble too much!
We couldn't really afford it, so we went and instead spent that money (actually not even ALL of that money) getting Kat's entire new summer wardrobe at a local Mom2Mom sale. We got lucky too, a bunch of the clothes still had tags and were all from Children's Place and Carters. I have a HUGE bag full of adorable stuff for her for summer so aside from a bathing suit we're all set! I also have an artist friend who batiks and tye dyes the most adorable baby stuff, so she's also doing a set of onesies for Kat's first summer. We'll be heading back to the east coast for a big festival and to spend time with my mom, so we figured she needed to have some cool threads to show off.
Instead of Easter Bunny pictures and egg rolling solstice evening, we instead went over to Tim's parents house. I felt like at that point spending time with family was more in line with the holiday than rushing home to toss a few eggs. We'll likely be doing our egg roll tonight or tomorrow instead. We had fun with Tim's parents, and as always, Kat loves spending time with Grandpa and Grandma (where else can she get admired and cuddled for hours on end?)
We sat around, had pizza, looked at baby pictures of Tim, and I got to hear all kinds of stories about Tim and Katie as kids. It never ceases to amaze me how MUCH Kat looks like Tim, especially his baby pictures. The only real difference you can see is that her features are more delicate and girly, but that's about it. She's just a girl version of her daddy. We're lucky he's got a cute baby face LOL... so I felt like that was a perfect ending to our holiday evening. Sitting around with family, telling stories, and eating :) I feel like I got really lucky with my choice of in-laws, which is double lucky considering I moved to MI knowing nobody but them! I know people who hate spending time with in laws, but I truly enjoy myself. And it's a funny thing about motherhood that I've discovered- if someone loves my baby, I love them more for loving her. Funny huh? Kat's so lucky to have such adoring grandparents.
So yesterday I also went out with my girlfriends to a Victorian Tea Party at a local historic hotel. I thought it would be a really cute thing to try, and it really was! They brought us tiny sandwiches, tea, tiny desserts... all on antique china at a beautiful table in a gorgeous dining room. We sat around and giggled and gossiped and had tea. It was such a nice relaxing couple of hours, and a real refresher for me! It's nice to get out of the house every once in awhile without Kat and just get to enjoy being me for a little while. As fun as she is, it's also fun to hang out with my girlfriends. Aside from that I'm also in a Book Club, Tim and I are getting involved in a local Warhammer RPG gamer group (with our two really good friends Karen and Greg), and also finding more and more friendly, fun, and most importantly grounded pagans to spend time with. I really feel like things are slowly coming together. Unfortunately I can't seem to make enough time for everyone it feels like since I'm constantly doing the mommy thing, but I do keep in touch with them all via e mail and see some of them on occasion. Once summer gets here, I'll likely be seeing a LOT more of everyone!
So in Summary-
-Easter Bunny is a Greedy Bastard.
-Got good Deals at a Mom2Mom Sale
-Love the new family
-Friends are good
-I like tea
-Gamers are fun
-and I ramble too much!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Spring Solstice Morning!
For Kat's first Spring Solstice (Ostara, Eostre, etc) we got her a basket full of toys (since she really can't eat candy yet)
She got- a big purple dinosaur with bunny ears (she grabbed it off the shelf at Target yesterday lol), a green dragon from Baby Einstein that says Good Morning and Good Night in 3 languages when you touch his hands and plays a lullaby when you push his tummy, and a water teether/rattle since she's been obsessed with shaking our water bottles and watching the water.
Kat was pretty excited about the toys.... first round of pictures are the nice ones, but we got some that were just awful pictures but were so funny because Kat looked demented that we had to share. She was reaallllllly excited. :)
Tonight we're going to do our egg roll, and go to the mall to get a picture with the 'Easter' Bunny
Momma's Drooley Bunny Rabbit
Anything else in there??
"I don't know guys... what do you think?"
Happy Bunny
Vicious Killer Bunny, just with no sharp pointy teeth yet. Dad almost lost a finger here!
She was laughing here, but the picture just makes her look demented, we giggled over this one for like 20 minutes!
"Hey! You with the camera! Gimme that!"
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
4 Months Old...
At 4 Months old Kat is shaping up to be just a really fun little girl. She's still a huge clown, if she does something that makes you laugh she usually tries to do it again... and when you laugh she gives a huge delighted smile. She's crying a little more than normal lately because she's teething, and we're starting to deal with some separation anxiety already. If she knows I'm in the house she won't calm down until I take her, no matter what Tim does she'll just keep getting more and more upset. If I'm not in the house he can calm her down. Strange!
We're really trying to get Tim to hold her more and spend more time with her in order to get her more comfortable with him when she's upset. She's already pigeonholed us as- if she wants to play, she wants Daddy- but when the cards are down and something is wrong she only wants Mommy. Unfortunately he usually tends to hand her to me when something is wrong, and it's culminated in this. I think it really makes him sad that he can't comfort her, and realizes he needs to be there for her more when something is wrong and not just when it's fun. Parenting is a learning process, and this is just another lesson. It's definitely helping my stress level too, it's hard on me when I'm the one caring for her 24/7 but especially when she's upset.
She's mimicking a LOT... faces, gestures, vocal cues, everything. We're working on teaching her sign language (just started about 2 weeks ago) and if she's feeling interested and involved she'll sign back to you, even though she hasn't connected the meaning yet. So far she's signed 'milk' and 'eat'- both really easy hand gestures. Obviously they're modified since babies don't have fine motor skills, but as soon as that light bulb comes on and she connects the motion to the item I think she'll be communicating like crazy. Already she's constantly chattering and cooing. She loves her little mirror and talks to the baby in the mirror a lot. She is a reluctant giggler, she'll giggle and stop to listen to figure out where that sound came from... but she giggles more and more as time goes on. She smiles ALL the time, it's a normal expression for her, until the camera comes out of course!
Physically she's growing right on par for her age, she's just the right weight and height for her age according to the doctor. She is on the verge of sitting unassisted, in fact she does it for short periods of time. She's also lunging, all the time, everywhere. If you're holding her and she wants something she'll just lunge at it. It's made learning to sit up interesting, because she'll sit up and look around, see something across the room, and lunge at it- inevitably falling on her hands or her little face. She's undaunted by this and just keeps doing it. She will commando crawl if you lay her on her stomach, though she doesn't really have a lot of control over direction. She has figured out forward and backward, but nothing else just yet.
At the doctor's office earlier this week she was lunging at the doctor trying to grab his stethoscope during the exam, he just laughed and was surprised she was doing it this early. Especially since she still hasn't rolled over yet, the doctor told us it looks like she just skipped right past that skill and is on the verge of learning to crawl very soon. He said that he's seeing more and more babies skip the rolling over step and go right to sitting up and crawling. He said from what he can tell she might be an early crawler, but we'll see. Apparently rolling over is a mobility thing, and if she's learned she can scoot to what she wants she likely has no real desire to roll over even though she's physically able and strong enough. Earlier this week she scooted off my lap and over to Tim's lap on the other end of the couch... it took her about 10 minutes, but she was feeling pretty determined and got herself over there!
She's doing great on solids, she loves to eat. She's trying to grab and drink from our cups when we leave them unattended to, but I think it'll be a little longer before we move to a sippy cup. So far she's had Rice Cereal, Bananas, Avocados, and Carrots. The only dislike so far is Avocados, she loves Bananas and will eat Carrots without stopping so we have to cut her off :o) Next week we're trying Apples. We're staggering Fruit, Veggie, Fruit and so on. Dr. Das said that we can start her on drinking from cups whenever we feel she's ready. He's totally okay with us starting solids a little earlier than 6 months, and stated she was an early physical developer and she was ready for solids. It's more about the kid than the calendar, as long as it's after the 3 month mark anyway.
So thats our 4 month update- a tad late but better late than never! :O)
We're really trying to get Tim to hold her more and spend more time with her in order to get her more comfortable with him when she's upset. She's already pigeonholed us as- if she wants to play, she wants Daddy- but when the cards are down and something is wrong she only wants Mommy. Unfortunately he usually tends to hand her to me when something is wrong, and it's culminated in this. I think it really makes him sad that he can't comfort her, and realizes he needs to be there for her more when something is wrong and not just when it's fun. Parenting is a learning process, and this is just another lesson. It's definitely helping my stress level too, it's hard on me when I'm the one caring for her 24/7 but especially when she's upset.
She's mimicking a LOT... faces, gestures, vocal cues, everything. We're working on teaching her sign language (just started about 2 weeks ago) and if she's feeling interested and involved she'll sign back to you, even though she hasn't connected the meaning yet. So far she's signed 'milk' and 'eat'- both really easy hand gestures. Obviously they're modified since babies don't have fine motor skills, but as soon as that light bulb comes on and she connects the motion to the item I think she'll be communicating like crazy. Already she's constantly chattering and cooing. She loves her little mirror and talks to the baby in the mirror a lot. She is a reluctant giggler, she'll giggle and stop to listen to figure out where that sound came from... but she giggles more and more as time goes on. She smiles ALL the time, it's a normal expression for her, until the camera comes out of course!
Physically she's growing right on par for her age, she's just the right weight and height for her age according to the doctor. She is on the verge of sitting unassisted, in fact she does it for short periods of time. She's also lunging, all the time, everywhere. If you're holding her and she wants something she'll just lunge at it. It's made learning to sit up interesting, because she'll sit up and look around, see something across the room, and lunge at it- inevitably falling on her hands or her little face. She's undaunted by this and just keeps doing it. She will commando crawl if you lay her on her stomach, though she doesn't really have a lot of control over direction. She has figured out forward and backward, but nothing else just yet.
At the doctor's office earlier this week she was lunging at the doctor trying to grab his stethoscope during the exam, he just laughed and was surprised she was doing it this early. Especially since she still hasn't rolled over yet, the doctor told us it looks like she just skipped right past that skill and is on the verge of learning to crawl very soon. He said that he's seeing more and more babies skip the rolling over step and go right to sitting up and crawling. He said from what he can tell she might be an early crawler, but we'll see. Apparently rolling over is a mobility thing, and if she's learned she can scoot to what she wants she likely has no real desire to roll over even though she's physically able and strong enough. Earlier this week she scooted off my lap and over to Tim's lap on the other end of the couch... it took her about 10 minutes, but she was feeling pretty determined and got herself over there!
She's doing great on solids, she loves to eat. She's trying to grab and drink from our cups when we leave them unattended to, but I think it'll be a little longer before we move to a sippy cup. So far she's had Rice Cereal, Bananas, Avocados, and Carrots. The only dislike so far is Avocados, she loves Bananas and will eat Carrots without stopping so we have to cut her off :o) Next week we're trying Apples. We're staggering Fruit, Veggie, Fruit and so on. Dr. Das said that we can start her on drinking from cups whenever we feel she's ready. He's totally okay with us starting solids a little earlier than 6 months, and stated she was an early physical developer and she was ready for solids. It's more about the kid than the calendar, as long as it's after the 3 month mark anyway.
So thats our 4 month update- a tad late but better late than never! :O)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Spring!!!
I woke up this morning and could hear the birds singing outside our window, and to me that means Spring is here! So of course, I feel a deep seated need to make large quantities of soap. I think I did the festival circuit for so many years (which for me always meant a May deadline to get all my stock ready) so as soon as the first birds sing I'm ready to spend 14 hour days stockpiling soaps, shampoos, oils, salves, you name it!
I think I did festivals for so long it's a behavior pattern for me now. Too funny!
Since Tim spent 6 hours playing video games yesterday and left me pretty much on my own with Kat, he decided I should get a goof off day too- just to be fair. I'll still have to stop to nurse the baby etc, and I'm sure Tim won't get through the whole day... but at least I'll snag a half day or so. So what am I doing? Making a BIG batch of my special Brigit soap (Tim's favorite), and then getting my sewing machine out to start working on a few projects I've been excited about- including a few gifts for my special friends. I just have to MAKE something, CREATE something- I've got Spring Fever...
Granted this IS Michigan, which means we'll have snow next week and we'll forget Spring teased us, but for now I'm going to open the windows and enjoy this!
I think I did festivals for so long it's a behavior pattern for me now. Too funny!
Since Tim spent 6 hours playing video games yesterday and left me pretty much on my own with Kat, he decided I should get a goof off day too- just to be fair. I'll still have to stop to nurse the baby etc, and I'm sure Tim won't get through the whole day... but at least I'll snag a half day or so. So what am I doing? Making a BIG batch of my special Brigit soap (Tim's favorite), and then getting my sewing machine out to start working on a few projects I've been excited about- including a few gifts for my special friends. I just have to MAKE something, CREATE something- I've got Spring Fever...
Granted this IS Michigan, which means we'll have snow next week and we'll forget Spring teased us, but for now I'm going to open the windows and enjoy this!
Monday, March 16, 2009
4 Month Checkup and Vaccines
Kat just got home from her 4 Month Checkup and her Vaccines... she's snoozing now, but if last time is any indication she'll nap for an hour or so and wake up completely inconsolable. Wish us luck. She was so sweet to the nurse, smiling and pulling on her stethoscope- then it was angry baby time. She only cried for about a minute until Momma held her and started crying, that made her stop. Yes I cried, just a little. I hate seeing my little Muffin in pain. Poor Tim didn't know what to do, he doesn't like either of us crying.
She weighs 14lbs 6oz (75th percentile) and is 24 and 3/4 inches long (50th percentile) so we're pretty average. She's perfectly healthy. Dr Das was impressed when we tried to sit her up and put her shirt on her and she just stood up instead of sitting there.
So we're hunkered down for the day to cuddle the peanut... poor baby! I hate Vaccine Day!
She weighs 14lbs 6oz (75th percentile) and is 24 and 3/4 inches long (50th percentile) so we're pretty average. She's perfectly healthy. Dr Das was impressed when we tried to sit her up and put her shirt on her and she just stood up instead of sitting there.
So we're hunkered down for the day to cuddle the peanut... poor baby! I hate Vaccine Day!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
New foods...
We're introducing a new food every week or so, this week was avocados... and as soon as it hits Kat's mouth she gives me this completely angry and betrayed look... she spits it out (forcefully, at my face), and starts using her hand to wipe it off her tongue. Then she starts licking the clean part of the bib to get the rest off.
I'm picking avocado out of my hair and cleaning it off my glasses. I couldn't even get mad because she was hilarious about it. Then I wonder if I mix it with her rice cereal if she'd eat it then.... she opened her mouth, got a whiff of the spoon, and shut the trap door and gave me the most evil look I've ever seen from another human being, much less a baby. I had to fork over bananas just to make it up to her.
I'm still laughing. Guess we don't have a future guacamole fan here.
So no more of those... LOL
I'm picking avocado out of my hair and cleaning it off my glasses. I couldn't even get mad because she was hilarious about it. Then I wonder if I mix it with her rice cereal if she'd eat it then.... she opened her mouth, got a whiff of the spoon, and shut the trap door and gave me the most evil look I've ever seen from another human being, much less a baby. I had to fork over bananas just to make it up to her.
I'm still laughing. Guess we don't have a future guacamole fan here.
So no more of those... LOL
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Wish Fulfillment...
I'm getting a DISHWASHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is on par with looking out my window and seeing a minivan with a bow sitting there. I'm so so SO happy about this.
I spend about an hour or so daily doing dishes, yet inevitably there's always dishes in my sink (some law of science at work here I'm sure- Perpetual Dish Theorem or some such) now I have a dishwasher not only to clean my dishes, but sanitize my bottles.
I'm getting a little teary eyed here...
Ken is coming over and Tim is going to help him install it today!
I'm more excited than I should be you think- until you understand that dishes are, and always will be, the bane of my existance. It is the one household chore I despise more than any other.
I am SO EXCITED!!
This is on par with looking out my window and seeing a minivan with a bow sitting there. I'm so so SO happy about this.
I spend about an hour or so daily doing dishes, yet inevitably there's always dishes in my sink (some law of science at work here I'm sure- Perpetual Dish Theorem or some such) now I have a dishwasher not only to clean my dishes, but sanitize my bottles.
I'm getting a little teary eyed here...
Ken is coming over and Tim is going to help him install it today!
I'm more excited than I should be you think- until you understand that dishes are, and always will be, the bane of my existance. It is the one household chore I despise more than any other.
I am SO EXCITED!!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Baby Giggles
Okay since I was such a cranky pants yesterday, I thought I'd post something to make you all smile. We finally caught Kat giggling on video. We have to be sneaky because if she sees the camera she gets all serious and quiet. I must say, Tim is a pro at getting her to giggle like crazy. We're shooting all this with Ken's camera, I feel bad, I keep asking to borrow it and then just keep borrowing it until he wants it back... I'm thinking I should give it back... at least for awhile LOL- but one bonus is that we had it handy to get this on camera, so I'm not all bad :)
Also- apparently I was also sick yesterday, I realized in the early afternoon that I was apparently running one heck of a fever. Turns out I had mastitis, but it's clearing up slowly. I have a little fever today but after a night of rest and letting Tim take care of Kat I'm starting to slowly feel better. So forgive my crankyness, I'd just gotten a 'cry it out' lecture from someone who shall remain anonymous and was apparently sick... sooo I got irritated LOL
Things here are going well otherwise... hope you enjoyed the video.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
If ONE more person tells me...
... that not letting Kat cry herself to sleep is a bad thing- I'm gonna jam a spork in their eye.
Okay maybe not that, but I'm gonna yell at someone. I'm getting tired of that lecture, so here is a little information about babies, why they cry, and the responses I choose to give.
Let it be noted, that Kat rarely cries anymore. She rarely even cries to be fed, she makes a little insistant noise instead. Following this technique, she only cries when she's in pain from teething or gas, or occasionally when she's had a verrry long day and missed a nap- at least with me. She's learned that she can communicate with me without crying, and that I will immediately respond to her needs. No- I'm not spoiling her, I'm teaching her she can always trust me and that she can feel secure exploring her little world. Our little bedtime routine is peaceful, fun, and something she looks forward to every night. As soon as Daddy takes her upstairs to get her jammies on, she immediately starts smiling and chattering.
Okay- rant over. Here's an article by Dr. Sears... if you read it all the way through, some of the research is interesting. And all of it so far has proven right on the money with Kat. She's curious and independent and secure, she's a very happy baby who rarely gets incredibly upset. So there :oP LOL
7 THINGS PARENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BABY'S CRIES
1. An infant's cry – the perfect signal. Scientists have long appreciated that the sound of an infant's cry has all three features of a perfect signal.
* First, a perfect signal is automatic. A newborn cries by reflex. The infant senses a need, which triggers a sudden inspiration of air followed by a forceful expelling of that air through vocal cords, which vibrate to produce the sound we call a cry. In the early months, the tiny infant does not think, "What kind of cry will get me fed?" He just automatically cries. Also, the cry is easily generated. Once his lungs are full of air, the infant can initiate crying with very little effort.* Second, the cry is appropriately disturbing: ear-piercing enough to get the caregiver's attention and make him or her try to stop the cry, but not so disturbing as to make the listener want to avoid the sound altogether.* Third, the cry can be modified as both the sender and the listener learn ways to make the signal more precise. Each baby's signal is unique. A baby's cry is a baby's language, and each baby cries differently. Voice researchers call these unique sounds cry prints, which are as unique for babies as their fingerprints are.
2. Responding to baby's cries is biologically correct. A mother is biologically programmed to give a nurturant response to her newborn's cries and not to restrain herself. Fascinating biological changes take place in a mother's body in response to her infant's cry. Upon hearing her baby cry, the blood flow to a mother's breasts increases, accompanied by a biological urge to "pick up and nurse." The act of breastfeeding itself causes a surge in prolactin , a hormone that we feel forms the biological basis of the term "mother's intuition." Oxytocin, the hormone that causes a mother's milk to letdown, brings feelings of relaxation and pleasure; a pleasant release from the tension built up by the baby's cry. These feelings help you love your baby. Mothers, listen to the biological cues of your body when your baby cries rather than to advisors who tell you to turn a deaf ear. These biological happenings explain why it's easy for those advisors to say such a thing. They are not biologically connected to your baby. Nothing happens to their hormones when your baby cries.
3. Ignore or respond to the cry signal? Once you appreciate the special signal value of your baby's cry, the important thing is what you do about it. You have two basic options, ignore or respond. Ignoring your baby's cry is usually a lose-lose situation. A more compliant baby gives up and stops signaling, becomes withdrawn, eventually realizes that crying is not worthwhile, and concludes that he is not worthwhile. The baby loses the motivation to communicate with his parents, and the parents miss out on opportunities to get to know their baby. Everyone loses. A baby with a more persistent personality— most high-need babies—does not give up so easily. Instead, he cries louder and keeps escalating his signal, making it more and more disturbing. You could ignore this persistent signal in several ways. You could wait it out until he stops crying and then pick him up, so that he won't think it was his crying that got your attention. This is actually a type of power struggle; you teach the baby that you're in control, but you also teach him that he has no power to communicate. This shuts down parent-child communication, and in the long run everybody loses.
You could desensitize yourself completely so that you're not "bothered" at all by the cry; this way you can teach baby he only gets responded to when it's "time." This is another lose-lose situation; baby doesn't get what he needs and parents remain stuck in a mindset where they can't enjoy their baby's unique personality. Or, you could pick baby up to calm him but then put him right back down because "it's not time to feed him yet." He has to learn, after all, to be happy "on his own." Lose-lose again; he will start to cry again and you will feel angry. He will learn that his communication cues, though heard, are not responded to, which can lead him to distrust his own perceptions: "Maybe they're right. Maybe I'm not hungry."
4. Be nurturing. Your other option is to give a prompt and nurturant response. This is the win-win way for baby and mother to work out a communication system that helps them both. The mother responds promptly and sensitively so that baby will feel less frantic the next time he needs something. The baby learns to "cry better" , in a less disturbing way since he knows mother will come. Mother structures baby's environment so that there is less need for him to cry; she keeps him close to her if she knows he's tired and ready to sleep. Mother also heightens her sensitivity to the cry so that she gives just the right response. A quick response when baby is young and falls apart easily or when the cry makes it clear there is real danger; a slower response when the baby is older and begins to learn how to settle disturbances on his own.
Responding appropriately to your baby's cry is the first and one of the most difficult, communication challenges you will face as a mother. You will master the system only after rehearsing thousands of cue-responses in the early months. If you initially regard your baby's cry as a signal to be responded to and evaluated rather than as an unfortunate habit to be broken, you will open yourself up to becoming an expert in your baby's signals, which will carry over into becoming an expert on everything about your baby. Each mother-baby signal system is unique. That's why it is so shortsighted for "cry trainers" to prescribe canned cry-response formulas, such as "leave her to cry for five minutes the first night, ten minutes the second," and so on.
5. It's not your fault baby cries. Parents, take heart! If you are responsive to your baby and try to keep him feeling secure in his new world, you need not feel that it's your fault if your baby cries a lot. Nor is it up to you to stop your baby's crying. Of course, you stay open to learning new things to help your baby (like a change in your diet or a new way of wearing baby), and you get your doctor involved if you suspect a physical cause behind the crying. But there will be times when you won't know why your baby is crying—you'll wonder if baby even knows why he's crying. There may be times when baby simply needs to cry, and you needn't feel desperate to make him stop after trying all the usual things.
It's a fact of new parent life that although babies cry to express a need, the style in which they do so is the result of their own temperament. Don't take baby's cries personally. Your job is to create a supportive environment that lessens baby's need to cry, to offer a set of caring and relaxed arms so that baby does not need to cry alone, and to do as much detective work as you can to figure out why your baby is crying and how you can help. The rest is up to baby.
"When I was confused about my mothering, I asked a seasoned calm, impartial mother to observe how I handled my baby on a typical day in my home. Although I know I'm the expert on my own baby, sometimes it's hard to be objective, and a voice of experience can be helpful."
6. What cry research tells us. Researchers Sylvia Bell and Mary Ainsworth performed studies in the 1970's that should have put the spoiling theory on the shelf to spoil forever. (It is interesting that up to that time and even to this day, the infant development writers that preached the cry-it-out advice were nearly always male. It took female researchers to begin to set things straight.) These researchers studied two groups of mother-infant pairs. Group 1 mothers gave a prompt and nurturant response to their infant's cries. Group 2 mothers were more restrained in their response. They found that children in Group 1 whose mothers had given an early and more nurturant response were less likely to use crying as a means of communication at one year of age. These children seemed more securely attached to their mothers and had developed better communicative skills, becoming less whiny and manipulative.
Up until that time parents had been led to believe that if they picked up their baby every time she cried she would never learn to settle herself and would become more demanding. Bell and Ainsworth's research showed the opposite. Babies who developed a secure attachment and had their cues responded to in a prompt and nurturing way became less clingy and demanding. More studies were done to shoot down the spoiling theory, showing that babies whose cries were not promptly responded to begin to cry more, longer, and in a more disturbing way. In one study comparing two groups of crying babies, one group of infants received an immediate, nurturant response to their cries, while the other group was left to cry-it-out. The babies whose cries were sensitively attended to cried seventy percent less. The babies in the cry-it-out group, on the other hand, did not decrease their crying. In essence, crying research has shown that babies whose cries were listened and responded to learned to "cry better"; the infants who were the product of a more restrained style of parenting learned to "cry harder." It is interesting that the studies revealed differences not only in how the babies communicated with the parents based on the response they got to their cries, but there were also differences in the mothers, too. Studies showed that mothers who gave a more restrained and less nurturant response gradually became more insensitive to their baby's cries, and this insensitivity carried over to other aspects of their parent-child relationship. Research showed that leaving baby to cry-it- out spoils the whole family.
Okay maybe not that, but I'm gonna yell at someone. I'm getting tired of that lecture, so here is a little information about babies, why they cry, and the responses I choose to give.
Let it be noted, that Kat rarely cries anymore. She rarely even cries to be fed, she makes a little insistant noise instead. Following this technique, she only cries when she's in pain from teething or gas, or occasionally when she's had a verrry long day and missed a nap- at least with me. She's learned that she can communicate with me without crying, and that I will immediately respond to her needs. No- I'm not spoiling her, I'm teaching her she can always trust me and that she can feel secure exploring her little world. Our little bedtime routine is peaceful, fun, and something she looks forward to every night. As soon as Daddy takes her upstairs to get her jammies on, she immediately starts smiling and chattering.
Okay- rant over. Here's an article by Dr. Sears... if you read it all the way through, some of the research is interesting. And all of it so far has proven right on the money with Kat. She's curious and independent and secure, she's a very happy baby who rarely gets incredibly upset. So there :oP LOL
7 THINGS PARENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BABY'S CRIES
1. An infant's cry – the perfect signal. Scientists have long appreciated that the sound of an infant's cry has all three features of a perfect signal.
* First, a perfect signal is automatic. A newborn cries by reflex. The infant senses a need, which triggers a sudden inspiration of air followed by a forceful expelling of that air through vocal cords, which vibrate to produce the sound we call a cry. In the early months, the tiny infant does not think, "What kind of cry will get me fed?" He just automatically cries. Also, the cry is easily generated. Once his lungs are full of air, the infant can initiate crying with very little effort.* Second, the cry is appropriately disturbing: ear-piercing enough to get the caregiver's attention and make him or her try to stop the cry, but not so disturbing as to make the listener want to avoid the sound altogether.* Third, the cry can be modified as both the sender and the listener learn ways to make the signal more precise. Each baby's signal is unique. A baby's cry is a baby's language, and each baby cries differently. Voice researchers call these unique sounds cry prints, which are as unique for babies as their fingerprints are.
2. Responding to baby's cries is biologically correct. A mother is biologically programmed to give a nurturant response to her newborn's cries and not to restrain herself. Fascinating biological changes take place in a mother's body in response to her infant's cry. Upon hearing her baby cry, the blood flow to a mother's breasts increases, accompanied by a biological urge to "pick up and nurse." The act of breastfeeding itself causes a surge in prolactin , a hormone that we feel forms the biological basis of the term "mother's intuition." Oxytocin, the hormone that causes a mother's milk to letdown, brings feelings of relaxation and pleasure; a pleasant release from the tension built up by the baby's cry. These feelings help you love your baby. Mothers, listen to the biological cues of your body when your baby cries rather than to advisors who tell you to turn a deaf ear. These biological happenings explain why it's easy for those advisors to say such a thing. They are not biologically connected to your baby. Nothing happens to their hormones when your baby cries.
3. Ignore or respond to the cry signal? Once you appreciate the special signal value of your baby's cry, the important thing is what you do about it. You have two basic options, ignore or respond. Ignoring your baby's cry is usually a lose-lose situation. A more compliant baby gives up and stops signaling, becomes withdrawn, eventually realizes that crying is not worthwhile, and concludes that he is not worthwhile. The baby loses the motivation to communicate with his parents, and the parents miss out on opportunities to get to know their baby. Everyone loses. A baby with a more persistent personality— most high-need babies—does not give up so easily. Instead, he cries louder and keeps escalating his signal, making it more and more disturbing. You could ignore this persistent signal in several ways. You could wait it out until he stops crying and then pick him up, so that he won't think it was his crying that got your attention. This is actually a type of power struggle; you teach the baby that you're in control, but you also teach him that he has no power to communicate. This shuts down parent-child communication, and in the long run everybody loses.
You could desensitize yourself completely so that you're not "bothered" at all by the cry; this way you can teach baby he only gets responded to when it's "time." This is another lose-lose situation; baby doesn't get what he needs and parents remain stuck in a mindset where they can't enjoy their baby's unique personality. Or, you could pick baby up to calm him but then put him right back down because "it's not time to feed him yet." He has to learn, after all, to be happy "on his own." Lose-lose again; he will start to cry again and you will feel angry. He will learn that his communication cues, though heard, are not responded to, which can lead him to distrust his own perceptions: "Maybe they're right. Maybe I'm not hungry."
4. Be nurturing. Your other option is to give a prompt and nurturant response. This is the win-win way for baby and mother to work out a communication system that helps them both. The mother responds promptly and sensitively so that baby will feel less frantic the next time he needs something. The baby learns to "cry better" , in a less disturbing way since he knows mother will come. Mother structures baby's environment so that there is less need for him to cry; she keeps him close to her if she knows he's tired and ready to sleep. Mother also heightens her sensitivity to the cry so that she gives just the right response. A quick response when baby is young and falls apart easily or when the cry makes it clear there is real danger; a slower response when the baby is older and begins to learn how to settle disturbances on his own.
Responding appropriately to your baby's cry is the first and one of the most difficult, communication challenges you will face as a mother. You will master the system only after rehearsing thousands of cue-responses in the early months. If you initially regard your baby's cry as a signal to be responded to and evaluated rather than as an unfortunate habit to be broken, you will open yourself up to becoming an expert in your baby's signals, which will carry over into becoming an expert on everything about your baby. Each mother-baby signal system is unique. That's why it is so shortsighted for "cry trainers" to prescribe canned cry-response formulas, such as "leave her to cry for five minutes the first night, ten minutes the second," and so on.
5. It's not your fault baby cries. Parents, take heart! If you are responsive to your baby and try to keep him feeling secure in his new world, you need not feel that it's your fault if your baby cries a lot. Nor is it up to you to stop your baby's crying. Of course, you stay open to learning new things to help your baby (like a change in your diet or a new way of wearing baby), and you get your doctor involved if you suspect a physical cause behind the crying. But there will be times when you won't know why your baby is crying—you'll wonder if baby even knows why he's crying. There may be times when baby simply needs to cry, and you needn't feel desperate to make him stop after trying all the usual things.
It's a fact of new parent life that although babies cry to express a need, the style in which they do so is the result of their own temperament. Don't take baby's cries personally. Your job is to create a supportive environment that lessens baby's need to cry, to offer a set of caring and relaxed arms so that baby does not need to cry alone, and to do as much detective work as you can to figure out why your baby is crying and how you can help. The rest is up to baby.
"When I was confused about my mothering, I asked a seasoned calm, impartial mother to observe how I handled my baby on a typical day in my home. Although I know I'm the expert on my own baby, sometimes it's hard to be objective, and a voice of experience can be helpful."
6. What cry research tells us. Researchers Sylvia Bell and Mary Ainsworth performed studies in the 1970's that should have put the spoiling theory on the shelf to spoil forever. (It is interesting that up to that time and even to this day, the infant development writers that preached the cry-it-out advice were nearly always male. It took female researchers to begin to set things straight.) These researchers studied two groups of mother-infant pairs. Group 1 mothers gave a prompt and nurturant response to their infant's cries. Group 2 mothers were more restrained in their response. They found that children in Group 1 whose mothers had given an early and more nurturant response were less likely to use crying as a means of communication at one year of age. These children seemed more securely attached to their mothers and had developed better communicative skills, becoming less whiny and manipulative.
Up until that time parents had been led to believe that if they picked up their baby every time she cried she would never learn to settle herself and would become more demanding. Bell and Ainsworth's research showed the opposite. Babies who developed a secure attachment and had their cues responded to in a prompt and nurturing way became less clingy and demanding. More studies were done to shoot down the spoiling theory, showing that babies whose cries were not promptly responded to begin to cry more, longer, and in a more disturbing way. In one study comparing two groups of crying babies, one group of infants received an immediate, nurturant response to their cries, while the other group was left to cry-it-out. The babies whose cries were sensitively attended to cried seventy percent less. The babies in the cry-it-out group, on the other hand, did not decrease their crying. In essence, crying research has shown that babies whose cries were listened and responded to learned to "cry better"; the infants who were the product of a more restrained style of parenting learned to "cry harder." It is interesting that the studies revealed differences not only in how the babies communicated with the parents based on the response they got to their cries, but there were also differences in the mothers, too. Studies showed that mothers who gave a more restrained and less nurturant response gradually became more insensitive to their baby's cries, and this insensitivity carried over to other aspects of their parent-child relationship. Research showed that leaving baby to cry-it- out spoils the whole family.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Another Pregnancy scrap page...
Here is my 36 Week Page that I hadn't had a chance to finish yet... it even includes a picture of me beating myself at a Pie Eating Contest, otherwise known as The Great Pumpkin Pie Caper of 2008.
The rest of my pages for the pregnancy are going to be journal pages (cravings, silly facts, etc), pieces from the blog, and some of Tim's thoughts on the whole thing. My next project is scrapping the birth and her arrival home...
I have some other scrapped pages (Christmas etc) to fill in the blanks, but I have am planning to do one special page for each month and include my special pictures for each month. I love digital scrapbooking... it's completely free, I can share it online, have it published to a cute little book (my ultimate goal for these) and I can do it one handed while nursing or holding Kat while she's sleeping. There's no way I could find the time or money to scrap traditionally- gotta love the interweb LOL
This day last year...
Was the day that Tim and I found out I was pregnant....
I had been cranky for a few days- so Tim jokingly said: "What's wrong with you, are you pregnant or something?"
We both laughed because that thought was so ridiculous... then I started thinking about it... figured I'd get a test just to be sure I'm not...
So I drove to RiteAid, got my test, came home... did what you do... and it turned pink with two lines right away! Sooo I got out the directions (which are HUGE) and realized I couldn't figure out this marvel of technology since my brain had shut down...
Sooo I went running down the stairs to our front door where I plastered the directions and the test against the screen door and yelled through the door: "I forgot how to read!!! What does this mean???"
Tim turned white, and we stared at the test a bit. So we decided it could be a fluke, and we should test again, so we went to RiteAid and bought 10 more tests in different brands... I think the cashier that had just checked me out 10 minutes earlier thought we were pretty funny.
Every single test turned pink immediately- no waiting 3 minutes here!
Sooo, I called my best friend who was due on that day to tell her. Tim called his sister at midnight once we had stopped staring at the wall blankly, and we told the rest of the family later that week. Now Kat is 4 months old.
From being surprised, unprepared, and not ready for any of this... I think I've grown into motherhood admirably.
What a delightful little girl was announced in such a surprising way!
I had been cranky for a few days- so Tim jokingly said: "What's wrong with you, are you pregnant or something?"
We both laughed because that thought was so ridiculous... then I started thinking about it... figured I'd get a test just to be sure I'm not...
So I drove to RiteAid, got my test, came home... did what you do... and it turned pink with two lines right away! Sooo I got out the directions (which are HUGE) and realized I couldn't figure out this marvel of technology since my brain had shut down...
Sooo I went running down the stairs to our front door where I plastered the directions and the test against the screen door and yelled through the door: "I forgot how to read!!! What does this mean???"
Tim turned white, and we stared at the test a bit. So we decided it could be a fluke, and we should test again, so we went to RiteAid and bought 10 more tests in different brands... I think the cashier that had just checked me out 10 minutes earlier thought we were pretty funny.
Every single test turned pink immediately- no waiting 3 minutes here!
Sooo, I called my best friend who was due on that day to tell her. Tim called his sister at midnight once we had stopped staring at the wall blankly, and we told the rest of the family later that week. Now Kat is 4 months old.
From being surprised, unprepared, and not ready for any of this... I think I've grown into motherhood admirably.
What a delightful little girl was announced in such a surprising way!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
scrapping my pregnancy
A few of these are still works in progress, and I'm going to add a 36 Week page with ultrasounds as well- also found some cute cute maternity graphics that I want to use, but in a nutshell here's my pregnancy- scrapped :) These are going to be the started pages of Kat's first year album. I have a title page I'm working on with a pic of her for each month, but obviously we're only at the 4 month mark, so it won't be done until after her first birthday this November!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
I have a nice husband...
Who brought me home flowers and chocolates this morning just because. :)
It's very nice to have a husband that kinda 'gets' that even though Kat is a happy baby, she's also very high maintenance... and though I'd like the house to be immaculate, she's always going to trump any kind of chore I have going on. He fully understands that being a Stay at home wife/Mom is a 24 hour job and that sometimes I need a break and sometimes I need a treat :)
I always post how Kat is doing... with not much mention of how I'm doing. That's sort of the way things work anymore. I don't really think much about how I'm doing unless I'm in the middle of a nervous breakdown. My time and thoughts are so consumed with taking care of her, Tim, and the house that I get relatively little time to think about my life.
So I'm thinking about it, and this is how I am:
Blessed- everytime I look at Kat my heart does a little extra bump in my chest and I'm so proud to be her momma.
Loved- Tim goes out of his way to help me when he can or when he actually thinks of it :).
Tired- all the time pretty much, Kat sleeps through the night, but she's a voracious eater and I'm breastfeeding anytime that I'm sitting down (including at the computer) the rest of my time is consumed with dishes, laundry, cleaning, sanitizing toys etc. I operate in a constant state of exhaustion. This, I've come to understand is how moms operate and will continue indefinitely. :)
Stressed- with a single income household we're always trying to squeeze a dime out of every penny he makes. Gas and Electric bills are astronomical in the winter here, so I'm cutting every coupon I can find- planning every meal, and budgeting every expense. Thank goodness for our tax returns or we'd have had trouble paying our basic bills this month. I'm proud that with my anal retentive budgeting, we're still making it and occasionally getting to splurge a little bit. The way things are going in the US right now, we're the lucky ones! I also worry about Kat constantly, but I know that's also how motherhood works.
Sore- She's getting heavier and heavier, so constantly carrying her around with one hand while performing chores with the other puts a strain on my already crappy back... so I'm kinda sore but nothing a nice hot shower wouldn't fix right up.
Forgetful- I try so hard to keep a handle on everything that inevitably something slips through the cracks- I can't seem to keep my brain on one topic for too long, so I've had to start writing everything down and getting as organized as possible so I don't forget anything too important. Unfortunately Tim is even more forgetful than me, so it's really my job to keep this family on time for things :) On time is now a relative term- if I remember within a few days I consider that a success, even if it's technically late.
Wishful- I wish for so many things- a minivan (lol), a dishwasher, a few hours to myself, more money, more time, a few extra hands, more room in the apartment, and at the moment- I'm wanting some orange juice LOL
So there you go, that's how I'm doing now that I've had a chance to think about it. Just heard the dryer stop, off to finish laundry!
Friday, March 6, 2009
My Playful Girl
We were playing and making blanket forts today :) Sometimes I look at her and just can't believe what a pretty baby I have! :) :)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Feeling better and a nice long update...
Kat is and has been feeling much better, looks like that was just one of those lovely 24 hour tummy bugs (which I had earlier in the week) paired up with a fever from teething. She's such a happy kid though, it barely put a dent in her style. She just slept a little extra to make up for the sleep she missed the night before.
Otherwise, I swear she grew last night in her sleep... almost a full inch. You'd think I was exaggerating, but I just put her in her activity chair, and before she kinda tippy toed her way around it, today her feet are both flat on the bottom with room to spare. She sits up higher in it too. I wish I had a picture to compare last night to this morning, but no one sent me the memo that she was going to grow last night :) Gotta love the 4 month growth spurt.
Seems like the frantic feeding part of that growth spurt is over... something not only my left but my right breast are thankful for. (Add that to your 'Things I didn't need to know' list) Growth spurts are rough when you're breastfeeding, if I did formula I could just give her extra bottles no problemo. - as is, the kid just yells until your body starts doubling production for a few days, then you're left sore as heck when it's over and your body adjusts back to where it was! I still wouldn't trade it for anything, and as much as I'll be grateful to wean when she's ready, part of me will miss that special cuddle time with her every day. We're over 1/3 of the way to the 1 year milestone, one that I never thought I'd make it to. In the beginning I was praying just to make it to 3 months! That has got to be my most proud mommy thing.
I also made my first batch of homemade organic babyfood a few days ago- Banana puree. Kat was ambivalent about her rice cereal. but she LOVES her bananas!! She will start crying when they're all gone. I'll have to get some video of her devouring her bananas. I had a few folks question my decision to make her first baby food a fruit rather than a veggie. The standard thinking being that if you start them on fruits they'll get a sweet tooth and never eat their veggies. For formula fed babies that tends to be true, as formula isn't very sweet. What most people don't realize is that breastmilk is very very sweet... and that fruit is usually a step down from that in most cases and better tolerated by breastfed babies. Bananas are also really gentle on the tummy. Our Pedi recommended it, and it's so the right way to go! Next week we're trying avocados. They have lots of good fats in them, and we're hoping it helps with her awful eczema.
She's sitting in my lap dancing to celtic music I have playing so forgive my typos, she likes to rock and swing her arms and legs when there's music on she likes. Come to think of it, this was the music I played for her a lot in the womb, perhaps she remembers it :)
Things are going well here in Michigan, it got nasty cold again. I'll be so glad when Winter is over, I love the summers here- enough to tolerate the winters. It still keeps me dreaming of a tropical vacation. We'll be taking our summer vacation this June, going back home to the East Coast. We'll spend a weekend at a festival I used to frequent so we can introduce Kat to all my scattered festival buddies, then we'll be driving to spend 4-5 days with my mom. I may land a teaching spot at the festival too, so we'll see how that goes. At least I get to see my mountains again for a week or so. I find I miss their friendly presence on my skyline. I guess you grow up so used to something like that, you take it for granted until you land in lake country Michigan :)
The Great Babyproofing has officially begun. We spent last night tearing everything down, dusting, and reorganizing things so that cables are neatly tied together or hidden. And so that we can take anything off lower shelves that Scooter here might get into when she's officially mobile. We also have to bribe Grandpa into coming over and helping us anchor our shelves. Our living room is still in a transitional phase, it almost feels like we're moving because the room feels emptyish. We should be finishing the living room either today or tomorrow, and tackle another room in the house later this month. We're trying to do it gradually so we don't have to rush and
stress ourselves out even more.
Life is busy, and there's little free time... but that's just the way life works when you're a new family. :)
And since you were so good and read through, here's a Kat Picture. She fell asleep in my lap yesterday so I had to snap a picture.
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