She wouldn't sit still for a photo. I don't know if you can see her little red and white striped socks, but they are so cute (you can click on the photo to see the photo bigger).
Monday, March 31, 2008
Photos..
Today, Monday, March 31st:
She wouldn't sit still for a photo. I don't know if you can see her little red and white striped socks, but they are so cute (you can click on the photo to see the photo bigger).
She wouldn't sit still for a photo. I don't know if you can see her little red and white striped socks, but they are so cute (you can click on the photo to see the photo bigger).
more food...etc.
Saturday, we introduced corn baby food. She didn't seem to like it all that much, but she ate it fine today. On Saturday and Sunday, we gave her diced bananas, pear, and rotisserie chicken and she liked eating those, but it took FOREVER! I swear it takes me like an hour to feed her now (including breastfeeding) b/c she takes FOREVER to chew (or should I say gum) everything to death before she swallows. We tried giving her cooked veggies yesterday, and the expression on her face was priceless...should have gotten it on video but we didn't...we did capture right afterwards though (See video). Yesterday, it seems as though she's not really interested in the baby food. Then we tried giving her just the veggie baby food and not the cereal and she ate it ok. So maybe she's just not interested in the cereal anymore?
She's working on her cheerios skills. At lunch today, she ate all her cheerios with little help from me. Her hands do get wet and then the cheerios start to stick to her hands and fingers, but she did quite well.
Tales of Sleeping :)
Thursday night Elodie woke up in the middle of the night but she did go back to sleep on her own. Friday night however she woke up in the middle of the night and didn't go back to sleep herself. She woke up around 3am. Dave went in there around 3:30am and pulled the rocker up next to her crib so she could see him. They both eventually fell back asleep and he woke up when his head rolled off the chair and came back to bed at 5am. And because of that, she didn't wake up until we woke her up at 9am (we overslept b/c we were tired and we're used to L waking us up between 7:15 and 8). Saturday night, she woke up twice, once at 3:30am and once at 4:45am, but she fell back asleep on her own. Last night, she slept through the night with no interuptions!
Pictures
Ok, I'm going to try something new for photos. I posted some to my costco account from the week Elodie turned 9 months old. Click here for the link. You will have to login or create an account to view the photos. It's free.
She's working on her cheerios skills. At lunch today, she ate all her cheerios with little help from me. Her hands do get wet and then the cheerios start to stick to her hands and fingers, but she did quite well.
Tales of Sleeping :)
Thursday night Elodie woke up in the middle of the night but she did go back to sleep on her own. Friday night however she woke up in the middle of the night and didn't go back to sleep herself. She woke up around 3am. Dave went in there around 3:30am and pulled the rocker up next to her crib so she could see him. They both eventually fell back asleep and he woke up when his head rolled off the chair and came back to bed at 5am. And because of that, she didn't wake up until we woke her up at 9am (we overslept b/c we were tired and we're used to L waking us up between 7:15 and 8). Saturday night, she woke up twice, once at 3:30am and once at 4:45am, but she fell back asleep on her own. Last night, she slept through the night with no interuptions!
Pictures
Ok, I'm going to try something new for photos. I posted some to my costco account from the week Elodie turned 9 months old. Click here for the link. You will have to login or create an account to view the photos. It's free.
Friday, March 28, 2008
She eats chicken...
Last night Dave was deboning a rotisserie chicken for the soup I made today and we gave some to L and she totally ate it! So at each of the meals today, I broke up some of the chicken into small pieces and she ate them. I had to put them in her mouth for her but she would chew a little and then I gave her water in between some of the bites. She'd pick up the chicken herself but mainly just picked it up and dropped it again or mashed it around the tray. When she did try to put it in her mouth, she didn't get the concept that she had to let go of it to eat it so she'd suck on the bit that stuck out from her fingers but she wouldn't let go so she couldn't really eat it. But this is a big step toward eating real food. :) She's also eating almost twice what she was before. From 6 months through 8 months, she had 2 Tbsp. of dry rice or oatmeal cereal mixed with water and 2 Tbsp. of either veggie or fruit with each meal. Now she's getting 2 Tbsp of veggie, fruit, AND meat at EVERY meal plus the rice or oatmeal cereal plus breastfeeding. Once she gets better at the solids, we'll work to transition her over to real food completely. Baby food is only supposed to be a transition from breast milk to food anyhow. Oh, and we went back to cloth diapers now that she's well, having regular stools again and her diaper rash is gone.
In other news, I watched the story of mistaken identity on the Today Show and Dateline today. I'm sure you all know the story from two years ago of two college girls, one killed, one survived, who were mistakenly identified as each other until 5 weeks after the crash. The girls', Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak, and their families' faith is so inspiring...that they still love God...that they know he is soveriegn and has a plan. It's just incredible. I do know that one of my most heartfelt prayers was prayed tonight....that I NEVER have to bury my baby...that she outlives both Dave and me. Dave couldn't even watch the show because he automatically imagined himself and Elodie in the situation and couldn't cope with the imagined outcome. Let's just say that a lot of tears fell in our house tonight. I can't ever imagine a life that doesn't involve Elodie. And of course it really hit me when Laura's mom said that she used to sing You Are My Sunshine to her Laura so she sang it to her when she was in a coma a lot and I sing that to Elodie every day.
In other news, I watched the story of mistaken identity on the Today Show and Dateline today. I'm sure you all know the story from two years ago of two college girls, one killed, one survived, who were mistakenly identified as each other until 5 weeks after the crash. The girls', Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak, and their families' faith is so inspiring...that they still love God...that they know he is soveriegn and has a plan. It's just incredible. I do know that one of my most heartfelt prayers was prayed tonight....that I NEVER have to bury my baby...that she outlives both Dave and me. Dave couldn't even watch the show because he automatically imagined himself and Elodie in the situation and couldn't cope with the imagined outcome. Let's just say that a lot of tears fell in our house tonight. I can't ever imagine a life that doesn't involve Elodie. And of course it really hit me when Laura's mom said that she used to sing You Are My Sunshine to her Laura so she sang it to her when she was in a coma a lot and I sing that to Elodie every day.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Cheerios...
So two days ago (i think) I tried to give L cheerios. She scrunched up her face, wrinkled her nose, gagged, and wanted nothing to do with them. It was actually quite funny.
Yesterday, I tried giving her cheerios again. And at dinner she actually kept the cheerio in her mouth long enough for it to get soft so she could swallow it. Dave walked in just in time to see the triumph!
Then this morning I gave her some more cheerios and this time she actually chewed them. :) The only bad thing is she then refused any other food. So at lunch I think I'll try the other food first and then give her some cheerios. I also want to try an organic rice cereal b/c it has only two ingredients instead of the ton that cheerios has, including soy lechtin, which i would rather she not have.
In other news, it's snowing here on this spring morning. I must say though that i was thoroughly disappointed in our snow fall this year. I'm sure it was around average but it's just not enough. We had maybe one good storm in December and that's it. boo! i want more snow!!
Yesterday, I tried giving her cheerios again. And at dinner she actually kept the cheerio in her mouth long enough for it to get soft so she could swallow it. Dave walked in just in time to see the triumph!
Then this morning I gave her some more cheerios and this time she actually chewed them. :) The only bad thing is she then refused any other food. So at lunch I think I'll try the other food first and then give her some cheerios. I also want to try an organic rice cereal b/c it has only two ingredients instead of the ton that cheerios has, including soy lechtin, which i would rather she not have.
In other news, it's snowing here on this spring morning. I must say though that i was thoroughly disappointed in our snow fall this year. I'm sure it was around average but it's just not enough. We had maybe one good storm in December and that's it. boo! i want more snow!!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 photo
Everytime I sat her down to try to take a photo of her cute overalls with a teddy bear on the front, she instantly went to the crawling position. Oh well!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Our 9-month-old's development: Week 2
Memories
By this week, your baby will start to remember more specific information, such as where her toys are in your house. She'll also be able to imitate actions she's seen as long as a week before.
These skills indicate that she has recall memory — the ability to remember some details of a specific experience for a short time — though she still doesn't remember most of her experiences. Long-lasting conscious memory of specific events won't develop until your baby's second or third year, when real language emerges.
Playing and learning
Your baby can now put objects in a container and remove them. **I noticed this week that L has finally started putting thing in the basket, not just dumping them out.** Give her a plastic bucket and some colorful blocks so she can practice this new skill. (Make sure they're not so small that she can swallow them.) **L has a plastic bucket we put her toys in. She also has a couple sets of stacking cups.** She also likes toys with moving parts, such as knobs, levers, or doors that open and close. **She definitely likes doors that open and close. She's been opening our entertainment center's doors for at least a month. Last week she started opening the bottom dresser drawers in her room too. When we were at Linda's house (she was 8.5mos.), she played with a toy kitchen and open and closed the doors and drawers.** Big plastic cars that your baby can wheel around on the floor are fun playthings, too. **She has a car w/wheels that she got for Christmas. We've been working on getting her to roll the car along.**
If you take a toy away from her, your increasingly assertive baby is likely to object. She's really starting to be able to make her needs and wants known. Some sound advice: Give her something new before you take the other object away. **Yeah, I already learned that.**
About half of babies this age will initiate passing games — giving away objects and then taking them back. Be her playmate. Try rolling a ball to your baby and see whether she rolls it back to you. Give her a sorting toy or stacking rings and see if she sorts or stacks or hands the pieces to you. She'll also like to share her food, so accept these "gifts" graciously. **Yes, she's been doing this too. She hands the toy to me, but won't let go of it. It's really funny. Last night, I tried to give her cheerios for the first time, but she wanted nothing to do with it. She handed them to me and fed me cheerios.**
By this week, your baby will start to remember more specific information, such as where her toys are in your house. She'll also be able to imitate actions she's seen as long as a week before.
These skills indicate that she has recall memory — the ability to remember some details of a specific experience for a short time — though she still doesn't remember most of her experiences. Long-lasting conscious memory of specific events won't develop until your baby's second or third year, when real language emerges.
Playing and learning
Your baby can now put objects in a container and remove them. **I noticed this week that L has finally started putting thing in the basket, not just dumping them out.** Give her a plastic bucket and some colorful blocks so she can practice this new skill. (Make sure they're not so small that she can swallow them.) **L has a plastic bucket we put her toys in. She also has a couple sets of stacking cups.** She also likes toys with moving parts, such as knobs, levers, or doors that open and close. **She definitely likes doors that open and close. She's been opening our entertainment center's doors for at least a month. Last week she started opening the bottom dresser drawers in her room too. When we were at Linda's house (she was 8.5mos.), she played with a toy kitchen and open and closed the doors and drawers.** Big plastic cars that your baby can wheel around on the floor are fun playthings, too. **She has a car w/wheels that she got for Christmas. We've been working on getting her to roll the car along.**
If you take a toy away from her, your increasingly assertive baby is likely to object. She's really starting to be able to make her needs and wants known. Some sound advice: Give her something new before you take the other object away. **Yeah, I already learned that.**
About half of babies this age will initiate passing games — giving away objects and then taking them back. Be her playmate. Try rolling a ball to your baby and see whether she rolls it back to you. Give her a sorting toy or stacking rings and see if she sorts or stacks or hands the pieces to you. She'll also like to share her food, so accept these "gifts" graciously. **Yes, she's been doing this too. She hands the toy to me, but won't let go of it. It's really funny. Last night, I tried to give her cheerios for the first time, but she wanted nothing to do with it. She handed them to me and fed me cheerios.**
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 25th: caught her sitting
Ok, even though she's been doing this for days, on this day 3, I finally caught her sitting up on her own. I also saw her in action going from sitting to the crawl position and then army crawling for something she wanted.
We're having trouble with her nap times again. She's only doing one sleep cycle...I'll probably have to do some pick-up-put-down to get her back on track :(
We're having trouble with her nap times again. She's only doing one sleep cycle...I'll probably have to do some pick-up-put-down to get her back on track :(
new-to-Elodie outfit, complements of her cousins :) She was so cute. I put her in the rocker/recliner to put lotion on her and she started leaning forward and back to make the chair rock. Too cute!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008 army crawls
I definitely saw her army crawl, although it is one sided. I also kept seeing her sitting (like the pic above) when I had definitely put her down, laying down. Still haven't seen her sit up but I have seen her almost do it numerous times. It's like she'll only do it if we aren't watching. I was also able to finally move the jumperoo up to the next setting. She's been on the lowest one this whole time.
Well, I put L down for a nap and I missed Dexter last night so I think (if she sleeps...she's been awfully cranky...I think she's teething again) I'll download it on iTunes and watch it. :)
Well, I put L down for a nap and I missed Dexter last night so I think (if she sleeps...she's been awfully cranky...I think she's teething again) I'll download it on iTunes and watch it. :)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008...
Elodie's Easter outfit, complements of Sara's cousin Julia. She was supposed to wear it to my dad's non-wedding (long story) but she was too sick to get dressed up.
Mike, Karen, Jenny, Elodie, Dave, & Elizabeth
the happy family :) (I finally fit in this outfit again!! yipee!!)
Grandpa Mike & Elodie
mommy & baby in comfy clothes :)
Elodie's happenings Sunday, March 23rd
Elodie must be teething again b/c she's caulked her jaw to the side and she's making a weird squeaking noise with her mouth (by rubbing her gums back and forth?).
She also sat up by herself and got from sitting to laying today. (She's done the later before.) But we never did catch her doing it. We kept seeing her sitting when she had previously been laying down and then we'd see her laying after she had been sitting. Dave caught her going from sitting to laying but not the other way.
We also saw her army crawl (she kept doing it on the same side, but in secession) when we put toys far enough away from her. She's done the army crawl push, as I call it, b/c she only pushed off one leg and reached with one arm before (and not in sucession)...she started that at the beginning of February when my mom was here.
We watched We Are Marshall today. What a freaking sad movie. Who needs nasal flushes when you can just watch that movie??!
Other than that, Dave's mom, step dad and sister came down today for Easter lunch. We made dressy (read messy) chicken sandwiches and Karen brought fruit salad (yum!). Jenny made cherry cobbler thing. We had a nice time visiting and of course I made them do the mandatory photo session. :D I also finally got everything transferred to and working on my new computer.
She also sat up by herself and got from sitting to laying today. (She's done the later before.) But we never did catch her doing it. We kept seeing her sitting when she had previously been laying down and then we'd see her laying after she had been sitting. Dave caught her going from sitting to laying but not the other way.
We also saw her army crawl (she kept doing it on the same side, but in secession) when we put toys far enough away from her. She's done the army crawl push, as I call it, b/c she only pushed off one leg and reached with one arm before (and not in sucession)...she started that at the beginning of February when my mom was here.
We watched We Are Marshall today. What a freaking sad movie. Who needs nasal flushes when you can just watch that movie??!
Other than that, Dave's mom, step dad and sister came down today for Easter lunch. We made dressy (read messy) chicken sandwiches and Karen brought fruit salad (yum!). Jenny made cherry cobbler thing. We had a nice time visiting and of course I made them do the mandatory photo session. :D I also finally got everything transferred to and working on my new computer.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008:
Fun Night w/the Riccis:
dying Easter eggs
eating her hockey puck
Wendy, L & me
He did a great half & half egg. It took way more time & patience than I had.
all part of his technique...blow drying the egg...
Dave was being really silly...he had already put L's pants on his head but I was too slow getting the camera...this is her sweater on his head...silly boy!
dying Easter eggs
eating her hockey puck
Wendy, L & me
He did a great half & half egg. It took way more time & patience than I had.
all part of his technique...blow drying the egg...
Dave was being really silly...he had already put L's pants on his head but I was too slow getting the camera...this is her sweater on his head...silly boy!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008...
L was being silly and having fun rolling around under the chair & then banging on the plastic covering the banister.
There's nothing like the feeling...
...of sliding on a pair of jeans that didn't previously fit. :) I thought that after going to CA that I'd for sure have gained weight...but I guess I didn't. I'm finally down to not only prepregnancy but lower than that. I now fit in jeans that I didn't fit into before I got pregnant. It's been 3 years since I've fit into these jeans and cords! Crazy, but I must admit I'm loving it!! :)
skinny me :)
In other news, I figured out my problem with my Outlook & Gmail...I'm just dumb! :) I still have to hook up my old computer to fix the other problems.
Yesterday I made it out of the house. Elodie and I walked down to the park behind the rec center to meet my friend Liane and her two kiddos. It was a beautiful day (mid-60s) but the wind really picked up and made pushing Elodie home quite a chore.
L's also getting more clever. She managed to figure out how to put the cd jewels off the bookshelf even though they were in there really tight. Now the bottom row of cd jewels are all over the floor! :)
She's also been able to pick little things off the ground for about a week now (since we got back from California...maybe since 3/13?). She's always finding little things we dropped or we're picked up by the vacuum.
Also, at dinner last night, Elodie ate really well for Dave and she was much better for me too so I think we've rounded a corner on that recovery front. Yea! On the downside, now her poop smells again, especially with the introduction of chicken. Chicken makes it REALLY smell!! :( :(
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wednesday, March 19th:
Elodie cut her first tooth...her front, bottom right. :) Better late than never!
one of her favorite toys...the remote :)
i know this is really blurry...but it was too cute. she managed to get herself all the way under the chair and then popped her head up between the chair and the foot stool. :)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Sunday, March 16th:
mommy & Elodie
Looking outside at the snow. She loves to look out the window.
Daddy & Elodie
Pics from yesterday & today (Wed. 3/19)
Yesterday, Tuesday 3/18: Elodie's 9 months old
She loves mirrors :)
starting her with some early reading material :) Dave left some magazines on the floor and guess who discovered them??
Then she started to be destructive and ripped pages of my parenting magazine and then Dave's Air&Space magazine.
Today, Wednesday 3/19:
She likes our stereo.
and opening the tape deck
She loves mirrors :)
starting her with some early reading material :) Dave left some magazines on the floor and guess who discovered them??
Then she started to be destructive and ripped pages of my parenting magazine and then Dave's Air&Space magazine.
Today, Wednesday 3/19:
She likes our stereo.
and opening the tape deck
Technology
Don't you sometimes just hate technology? Dave buys himself a new computer every two years to keep up with all the latest gaming stuff so I get his old computer every two years. And even though I want an upgraded computer, I dread the whole process. Inevitably something doesn't get transferred or gets screwed up.
This time, I exported my Outlook Inbox but when I imported it on the new-to-me computer, there were no corresponding dates with each email. Who wants their emails if they can't sort them or search them by date??!! I think that Outlook shouldn't let you export it in that format if it's not going to export all the data! So now I probably need to go back and hook up my old computer again and export my Inbox in every method possible in hopes that one of them will do it correctly!
Then, when I set up my Outlook through gmail, this time I did IMAP instead of POP, but of course it's not working right. It downloaded all my emails from my inbox and junk mail, but none from any other folder, like the Sent folder. What the??!! So now I've got to figure that out or just go back to using POP, but POP downloads everything, including your sent emails, into your Inbox and then you have to sort them all, which isn't a big deal if you're doing it as you go, but if I wanted to download all my emails from the web instead of figuring out how to export and import them, then it would take a really long time to put every email I've sent from the last 16 months from my Inbox into my Sent folder. Ahh!!
Then my My Documents folder has a bunch of duplicates and is all disorganized b/c the external hard drive doesn't write over what's there, it just adds to it. So every time I deleted something on my computer or moved stuff around to get organized, it left it where it was and just added the new stuff so now I've got crap everywhere. I think I'm going to have to hook up my old computer, delete everything off the external drive and start over transferring everything again so it's just how I like it. Pain in the butt!!
Oh and I forgot to save my Favorites in Internet Explorer so I'll have to do that too b/c now I'm stuck with Dave's old ones which are not at all helpful to me!
In other news, I got L to eat 1/2 a banana and some oatmeal both at dinner last night and at breakfast this morning. So that's good! She also finished day 10 of the antibiotics yesterday. Her diaper rash seems to be much better so that's good too!
Also, she slept through the night for the second night in a row so we're getting some sleep!
I indulged and watched One Tree Hill last night. Yea, Lucas didn't marry Lindsay...maybe he'll get back together with Payton after all! The things you end up watching b/c of the writers strike! I look forward to OTH, Lipstick Jungle (season finale this week!), and America's Best Dance Crew every week. We even have watched a few episodes of a weird one, Dexter (from Showtime but on CBS now)...and even though it's seriously weird and wrong concept, it's actually kinda funny. I can't wait until Gossip Girl has new episodes! But I always end up watching something in the 8pm hour (that's the second hour of primetime here) b/c that's when I'm nursing Elodie. :)
This time, I exported my Outlook Inbox but when I imported it on the new-to-me computer, there were no corresponding dates with each email. Who wants their emails if they can't sort them or search them by date??!! I think that Outlook shouldn't let you export it in that format if it's not going to export all the data! So now I probably need to go back and hook up my old computer again and export my Inbox in every method possible in hopes that one of them will do it correctly!
Then, when I set up my Outlook through gmail, this time I did IMAP instead of POP, but of course it's not working right. It downloaded all my emails from my inbox and junk mail, but none from any other folder, like the Sent folder. What the??!! So now I've got to figure that out or just go back to using POP, but POP downloads everything, including your sent emails, into your Inbox and then you have to sort them all, which isn't a big deal if you're doing it as you go, but if I wanted to download all my emails from the web instead of figuring out how to export and import them, then it would take a really long time to put every email I've sent from the last 16 months from my Inbox into my Sent folder. Ahh!!
Then my My Documents folder has a bunch of duplicates and is all disorganized b/c the external hard drive doesn't write over what's there, it just adds to it. So every time I deleted something on my computer or moved stuff around to get organized, it left it where it was and just added the new stuff so now I've got crap everywhere. I think I'm going to have to hook up my old computer, delete everything off the external drive and start over transferring everything again so it's just how I like it. Pain in the butt!!
Oh and I forgot to save my Favorites in Internet Explorer so I'll have to do that too b/c now I'm stuck with Dave's old ones which are not at all helpful to me!
In other news, I got L to eat 1/2 a banana and some oatmeal both at dinner last night and at breakfast this morning. So that's good! She also finished day 10 of the antibiotics yesterday. Her diaper rash seems to be much better so that's good too!
Also, she slept through the night for the second night in a row so we're getting some sleep!
I indulged and watched One Tree Hill last night. Yea, Lucas didn't marry Lindsay...maybe he'll get back together with Payton after all! The things you end up watching b/c of the writers strike! I look forward to OTH, Lipstick Jungle (season finale this week!), and America's Best Dance Crew every week. We even have watched a few episodes of a weird one, Dexter (from Showtime but on CBS now)...and even though it's seriously weird and wrong concept, it's actually kinda funny. I can't wait until Gossip Girl has new episodes! But I always end up watching something in the 8pm hour (that's the second hour of primetime here) b/c that's when I'm nursing Elodie. :)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
our 9-month-old's development: Week 1
Your baby may be the most sociable young creature around — until somebody unfamiliar comes near. Many babies this age have begun to show signs of fear or shyness around strangers. Some even start withdrawing from familiar relatives and friends, and want to be close to no one but you. This phase can be so brief you barely notice it, or it may last for months, depending on your child's temperament.
Coping with separation
Now, and for the next few months, separation anxiety is at its peak. Although it's normal now for a baby to show an extreme attachment to you and fear of everyone else, it can be difficult for doting grandparents and caregivers. You can help ease transitions for your baby by warning people to approach slowly and let your baby make the first move.
If your baby uses a thumb or pacifier to soothe himself as he tries to cope with his anxiety, that's okay. Sucking is one of your baby's only methods of calming himself.
Travel tips
Because of separation anxiety, this can be a tough time to be away from your baby for any length of time. But it may also be hard to travel with your baby right now. He's become used to his surroundings and familiar faces, and he likes predictability. So being on the road can disrupt his sense of security and routine, especially when visiting an unfamiliar place or meeting lots of strangers.
At this age, he doesn't grasp the concept of travel but he'll realize he's in a new, strange place. Be ready for some cranky, clingy behavior and prepare plenty of distractions — picture books, noise-making toys, nesting blocks, hand puppets, and definitely his security object, if he has one. Schedule plenty of downtime away from all the strangers to let him decompress.
If he still uses a pacifier, it's wise to bring along a handful. They seem to vanish just when you need them most.
Coping with separation
Now, and for the next few months, separation anxiety is at its peak. Although it's normal now for a baby to show an extreme attachment to you and fear of everyone else, it can be difficult for doting grandparents and caregivers. You can help ease transitions for your baby by warning people to approach slowly and let your baby make the first move.
If your baby uses a thumb or pacifier to soothe himself as he tries to cope with his anxiety, that's okay. Sucking is one of your baby's only methods of calming himself.
Travel tips
Because of separation anxiety, this can be a tough time to be away from your baby for any length of time. But it may also be hard to travel with your baby right now. He's become used to his surroundings and familiar faces, and he likes predictability. So being on the road can disrupt his sense of security and routine, especially when visiting an unfamiliar place or meeting lots of strangers.
At this age, he doesn't grasp the concept of travel but he'll realize he's in a new, strange place. Be ready for some cranky, clingy behavior and prepare plenty of distractions — picture books, noise-making toys, nesting blocks, hand puppets, and definitely his security object, if he has one. Schedule plenty of downtime away from all the strangers to let him decompress.
If he still uses a pacifier, it's wise to bring along a handful. They seem to vanish just when you need them most.
Tuesday's update
I just wrote our friend Lisa a long update so I thought I'd just paste it below.
Dave & I still have colds and sore throats. Although I think my throat isn't sore today. Dave needs to get stitches out that he got like a month ago but didn't get out before he left for CA and then forgot about when he got back (really he would have had to do it Thursday b/c Friday he got sick and then he forgot yesterday. I reminded him today to call so he has an appointment tomorrow) so anyhow it should be interesting since now that the skin has grown over the stitches. Silly Dave! (He had to have a precancerous thing removed.)
We finally got Elodie back sleeping in her own crib after over a week of sleeping in our arms or with us (I think all the sleep deprivation is how we both got sick). So PTL!! Sunday night however she woke up at 2am and it took me an hour to get her back to sleep in her crib and then another hour for me to fall asleep. Her crying woke Dave up and he never did go back to sleep afterwards. He finally gave up at 6am and played computer games. Last night though I nursed her at 7:30pm instead of 8pm b/c it seemed like she was tired and then she was in bed by 8pm and she slept until 7:30am!! PTL! She's also been napping well! :)
We went to the Pediatrician's yesterday for her normal 9 month visit but got to have her cold and ear checked too. Her lungs were clear so all the cough and congestion is just in her throat. Her ear looks fine. So yea! Her diaper rash still looks horrible but we started treating her for a yeast rash on Sunday (and then putting Vaseline over it) and yesterday and today she was no longer screaming through diaper changes so I think that it is very slowly getting better. The Pediatrician's only concern is her lack of weight gain and that she's lost weight in the last 10 days. When I had weighed her on our scale before we left, she was 18.2 lbs. When we weighed her at the clinic visits in California, she was 17 lbs, 13.5 oz. the first time and a little under that the other times (with clothes on). Yesterday, she was only 16 lbs., 15 oz. (without clothes). So they want me to pump before I go to bed to try to get my milk supply up (if that is the problem) and recheck her weight in 6 weeks. I think that it's probably just the last week of only being on breast milk and not solids. She refused solids from dinner Friday through lunch Sunday. Then ate solids dinner Sunday through breakfast Wednesday and then refused again through breakfast Sunday. She then ate solids lunch & dinner Sunday but refused again 2 of the 3 meals yesterday and breakfast this morning. They aren't that worried though because she is hydrated and she is growing height-wise. She's 27 inches long (30th percentile). Her head is 17" in diameter (25th percentile). But her weight at 16#15oz drops her down from 25th percentile to the 15th percentile. I guess I'll just keep trying to feed her solids at each meal and hope that at some point she's interested again. We did try on Sunday to give her peach slices and pear slices to eat herself but mainly all she succeeded in doing was squishing them between her fingers and out either end of her hand. Then when there was almost nothing left, she tried to put it in her mouth. The doctor also asked about a bunch of physical/language milestones but we had to say no to most of them...no, she's not crawling (only backwards); no, she's not sitting up (she sits but doesn't go from laying to sitting on her own); no, she doesn't pull herself up; no, she doesn't stand; yes, she picks tiny things up off the floor (thumb and finger); no, she doesn't talk; no, she doesn't say mama/dada. She does search for a dropped object (she loves dropping things and making you pick them up...mommy only plays this game for two drops...then I'm over it); she does wave bye-bye; she does clap & wave on command; and she does search for hidden objects.
Dave & I still have colds and sore throats. Although I think my throat isn't sore today. Dave needs to get stitches out that he got like a month ago but didn't get out before he left for CA and then forgot about when he got back (really he would have had to do it Thursday b/c Friday he got sick and then he forgot yesterday. I reminded him today to call so he has an appointment tomorrow) so anyhow it should be interesting since now that the skin has grown over the stitches. Silly Dave! (He had to have a precancerous thing removed.)
We finally got Elodie back sleeping in her own crib after over a week of sleeping in our arms or with us (I think all the sleep deprivation is how we both got sick). So PTL!! Sunday night however she woke up at 2am and it took me an hour to get her back to sleep in her crib and then another hour for me to fall asleep. Her crying woke Dave up and he never did go back to sleep afterwards. He finally gave up at 6am and played computer games. Last night though I nursed her at 7:30pm instead of 8pm b/c it seemed like she was tired and then she was in bed by 8pm and she slept until 7:30am!! PTL! She's also been napping well! :)
We went to the Pediatrician's yesterday for her normal 9 month visit but got to have her cold and ear checked too. Her lungs were clear so all the cough and congestion is just in her throat. Her ear looks fine. So yea! Her diaper rash still looks horrible but we started treating her for a yeast rash on Sunday (and then putting Vaseline over it) and yesterday and today she was no longer screaming through diaper changes so I think that it is very slowly getting better. The Pediatrician's only concern is her lack of weight gain and that she's lost weight in the last 10 days. When I had weighed her on our scale before we left, she was 18.2 lbs. When we weighed her at the clinic visits in California, she was 17 lbs, 13.5 oz. the first time and a little under that the other times (with clothes on). Yesterday, she was only 16 lbs., 15 oz. (without clothes). So they want me to pump before I go to bed to try to get my milk supply up (if that is the problem) and recheck her weight in 6 weeks. I think that it's probably just the last week of only being on breast milk and not solids. She refused solids from dinner Friday through lunch Sunday. Then ate solids dinner Sunday through breakfast Wednesday and then refused again through breakfast Sunday. She then ate solids lunch & dinner Sunday but refused again 2 of the 3 meals yesterday and breakfast this morning. They aren't that worried though because she is hydrated and she is growing height-wise. She's 27 inches long (30th percentile). Her head is 17" in diameter (25th percentile). But her weight at 16#15oz drops her down from 25th percentile to the 15th percentile. I guess I'll just keep trying to feed her solids at each meal and hope that at some point she's interested again. We did try on Sunday to give her peach slices and pear slices to eat herself but mainly all she succeeded in doing was squishing them between her fingers and out either end of her hand. Then when there was almost nothing left, she tried to put it in her mouth. The doctor also asked about a bunch of physical/language milestones but we had to say no to most of them...no, she's not crawling (only backwards); no, she's not sitting up (she sits but doesn't go from laying to sitting on her own); no, she doesn't pull herself up; no, she doesn't stand; yes, she picks tiny things up off the floor (thumb and finger); no, she doesn't talk; no, she doesn't say mama/dada. She does search for a dropped object (she loves dropping things and making you pick them up...mommy only plays this game for two drops...then I'm over it); she does wave bye-bye; she does clap & wave on command; and she does search for hidden objects.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
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