I am so proud of my daughter :) she is so smart! Last night, she started rolling her hands when we would do "roll it" in pat-a-cake. She would clap her hands to the rest of it and roll her hands (baby style) when we came to "roll it". It is SO adorable! Her little face would just light up as she looked up at us while doing it. She knew we proud of her as we went "Yaaaay baby!" Babies at this age crave the approval of their moms, and dads too I'm sure.
Today, I was reading her "Good Morning, Good Night...A Touch and Feel Bedtime Book" which has pages that flip open to reveal a new scene and fuzzy cutouts for the child to feel. The way it flips open is in the opposite directions of how you turn a page. She would try to turn the page like usual with most books before I could flip open the special page. Today, though, she would grab the page and flip it open, feel the fuzzy cutout, help me close the special page, and then flip the page over like usual.
She is constantly learning new things, it's amazing! Right now we're trying to teach her to give kisses, which she does occasionally but with her mouth wide open lol. Oh yeah, and this morning she discovered how to open the sliding door in the hallway. She crawled over to it, got upset that it was closed, and before I knew it she had slid it open :) Love you honey!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Teething
My daughter has been teething on and off again since she was two months old. She was drooling all the time, which I've now found out that at about 2 months is when babies' salivary glands develop (according to my daughter's pediatrician) so that may have been it instead. But I still think it was teething because she was fussy and chewing on things, more than she usual. Who knows really though because its hard to look back 7 months ago and remember all the deciphering details of exactly how it happened. The reason I mention this is now I think she is truly teething. The last two weeks she has been irritable and drooling excessively, where there was quite a period of time where she didn't even need bibs because she wasn hardly drooling. I think it depends on when she was teething. Teeth can move up and down in the gums before actually surfacing (which you may have heard as "cutting teeth", when the teeth emerge breaking through the gums). She still doesn't have any teeth, yet, so either she will be cutting teeth soon or the teeth are just closer to the surface irritating her and will be moving back down again.
Part of when babies develop teeth is genetics and my husband and I and our siblings all developed teeth later on. My mother said she thought about 10-12 months old and my mother in law thought about the same. I'm not anxious though for two reasons: 1) the later baby teeth develop the better for their adult teeth (more stable) and 2) I'm still breastfeeding as her main source of food. You can still breastfeed after your baby gets teeth, and I plan on it, but the teaching process of no biting can be a bit painful.
Here are some products that I have found helpful:
-Hyland's homeopathic teething gel-- can be given every 15 minutes as needed, uses herbs instead of drugs to calm and soothe, no minimum age requirement (for ones like Oragel the baby has to be at least 4 months old, plus its not recommended by Dr.s). Used to work beautifully for my daughter when she was younger, but lately she's not a fan of having a finger crammed in her mouth to rub her gums.
-Sofie the Giraffe-- AMAZING! My sister in law bought this for my daughter and she instantly loved it! Sofie is made out of all natural rubber and is the perfect size for little hands (pretty much exactly what the manufacturer says but it's the best way to describe Sofie because it's so true!). My daughter loves chewing on Sofie's legs and head. Sofie has two squeakers, one in the head and one in the body, and the natural rubber gives her a great texture. Also, the paint or dye or whatever that is used for Sofie's design is totally food grade.
-RaZbaby RaZ-Berry silicone teether-- a cute lil raspberry teether that is just like a binky except the nipple part is a bit bigger and bumpy like a berry. Great for baby to chew on! My daughter loves it!
Part of when babies develop teeth is genetics and my husband and I and our siblings all developed teeth later on. My mother said she thought about 10-12 months old and my mother in law thought about the same. I'm not anxious though for two reasons: 1) the later baby teeth develop the better for their adult teeth (more stable) and 2) I'm still breastfeeding as her main source of food. You can still breastfeed after your baby gets teeth, and I plan on it, but the teaching process of no biting can be a bit painful.
Here are some products that I have found helpful:
-Hyland's homeopathic teething gel-- can be given every 15 minutes as needed, uses herbs instead of drugs to calm and soothe, no minimum age requirement (for ones like Oragel the baby has to be at least 4 months old, plus its not recommended by Dr.s). Used to work beautifully for my daughter when she was younger, but lately she's not a fan of having a finger crammed in her mouth to rub her gums.
-Sofie the Giraffe-- AMAZING! My sister in law bought this for my daughter and she instantly loved it! Sofie is made out of all natural rubber and is the perfect size for little hands (pretty much exactly what the manufacturer says but it's the best way to describe Sofie because it's so true!). My daughter loves chewing on Sofie's legs and head. Sofie has two squeakers, one in the head and one in the body, and the natural rubber gives her a great texture. Also, the paint or dye or whatever that is used for Sofie's design is totally food grade.
-RaZbaby RaZ-Berry silicone teether-- a cute lil raspberry teether that is just like a binky except the nipple part is a bit bigger and bumpy like a berry. Great for baby to chew on! My daughter loves it!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Find What Works
Babies change so quickly and what works to soothe or entertain them one time may not work the next time. I've been told many times by experienced mothers (ie: grandmothers) that just when you get a system down the baby changes on you and you have to get a new system. They worded it better, but you get the drift. I haven't necessarily found that to be true, but there is some truth to it. My daughter tends to stick to a routine for a good amount of time before I need to find something else that works, usually.
As my daughter has gotten older and more active, she really does not like being laid on her back to change her diaper. She will cry, squirm, kick, and buck. Actually, she's quite the little buck-er when she doesn't like something, whether it be a diaper change or resisting sleep or whatever it may be. Usually, we will grab whatever toy or trinket is nearby to give to her hurriedly to entertain her while we change her diaper. For the last week or two, there has been this one specific bath toy, a green sea horse thing, that has worked beautifully. Well, that's starting to not quite do the trick. So I started squeaking it at her-- so that it puffs air out at her face making her laugh-- before giving it to her. That works okay, but! I have found something again that works.
For whatever reason, singing the "Wheels on the Bus" song will stop her mid-cry and get her smiling. But! Only when I sing the first verse where the wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town. If I try any of the other verses involving babies, kids, or whoever else is on the bus, then she starts crying again. She only wants to hear me sing about the wheels on the bus going round and round. And no other nursery rhyme can do the trick, just "Wheels on the Bus". So for now, I've found what works and I'm sticking to it.
When it comes to naptime and bedtime, I have also found something new that seems to work beautifully. I wrap the arm that is under her head around her, snugging her in close to my chest, and lay my other arm across her body. Basically, wrapping her up in my arms. The key to this, though, is laying my head on top of hers. It mimicks how we sleep at night when she sleeps in bed with us. I think that is why it works so well, it's comforting to her. It hurts my neck, laying my head pretty much flat against my shoulder making the muscle on one side of my neck pull and stretch to its limit, but its worth it. Totally worth it :)
So to all you mommas out there (or papas!), find what works and stick with it 'til it doesn't. As parents, we're constantly evolving to keep up with our little ones. They keep our minds sharp and our hands and feet quick :)
As my daughter has gotten older and more active, she really does not like being laid on her back to change her diaper. She will cry, squirm, kick, and buck. Actually, she's quite the little buck-er when she doesn't like something, whether it be a diaper change or resisting sleep or whatever it may be. Usually, we will grab whatever toy or trinket is nearby to give to her hurriedly to entertain her while we change her diaper. For the last week or two, there has been this one specific bath toy, a green sea horse thing, that has worked beautifully. Well, that's starting to not quite do the trick. So I started squeaking it at her-- so that it puffs air out at her face making her laugh-- before giving it to her. That works okay, but! I have found something again that works.
For whatever reason, singing the "Wheels on the Bus" song will stop her mid-cry and get her smiling. But! Only when I sing the first verse where the wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town. If I try any of the other verses involving babies, kids, or whoever else is on the bus, then she starts crying again. She only wants to hear me sing about the wheels on the bus going round and round. And no other nursery rhyme can do the trick, just "Wheels on the Bus". So for now, I've found what works and I'm sticking to it.
When it comes to naptime and bedtime, I have also found something new that seems to work beautifully. I wrap the arm that is under her head around her, snugging her in close to my chest, and lay my other arm across her body. Basically, wrapping her up in my arms. The key to this, though, is laying my head on top of hers. It mimicks how we sleep at night when she sleeps in bed with us. I think that is why it works so well, it's comforting to her. It hurts my neck, laying my head pretty much flat against my shoulder making the muscle on one side of my neck pull and stretch to its limit, but its worth it. Totally worth it :)
So to all you mommas out there (or papas!), find what works and stick with it 'til it doesn't. As parents, we're constantly evolving to keep up with our little ones. They keep our minds sharp and our hands and feet quick :)
Monday, November 14, 2011
Baby's First Steps
So proud of my baby girl today! This morning she took her first steps! Three to be exact. I set her down on her feet on the kitchen floor and let go how I do when I'm helping her balance and learn to stand on her own. She stepped out with her left foot, to balance I thought, then her right foot, then her left foot, and then needed to grab hold of my arm to catch herself. The whole time I had my arms under hers waiting to catch her and saying "Oh my God" over and over. It was amazing! And so in her fashion. Whenever she decides to do something, she just does it. She didn't take her first step--she took her first THREE steps. Whenever she has done a first--first time rolling over, first time crawling, etc-- she doesn't do it in stages. She simply does it straight out. It totally took me by surprise. I was just expecting to help her stand on her own. Crazy :) I have been saying for awhile that I thought she'd start walking between 9 and 10 months and sure enough she is 9 months and 6 days old today! Granted, she's not walking yet, but first steps are a big step toward that (pun intended).
Tonight, after my husband was home from work, I was working with her some more on walking. For the last few weeks, my daughter has been acting like she's going to take off running when we have her walk while holding our hands. Well, tonight she did! My cousin had to leap off the sofa to get in front of my daughter in case she fell. I was behind my baby, but she was going so fast that I could barely keep up with her in the crouched position I had to be in to be at her level. This time I was ready for her to take some steps like before, but not for her to take off as fast as she did! She must have taken like 10 steps, give or take a couple. It all happened way too fast for me to count them, but she covered a good distance on the floor. Especially if you consider that she only just took her first steps earlier today. It was like if she lost her momentum she would lose her balance too. I swear, it was like the baby version of running. SO wish I would have had my husband filming it just in case. If we had, then we'd have some pretty amazing footage right now :) Good job, baby girl! Momma and dadda are so proud of you :)
Tonight, after my husband was home from work, I was working with her some more on walking. For the last few weeks, my daughter has been acting like she's going to take off running when we have her walk while holding our hands. Well, tonight she did! My cousin had to leap off the sofa to get in front of my daughter in case she fell. I was behind my baby, but she was going so fast that I could barely keep up with her in the crouched position I had to be in to be at her level. This time I was ready for her to take some steps like before, but not for her to take off as fast as she did! She must have taken like 10 steps, give or take a couple. It all happened way too fast for me to count them, but she covered a good distance on the floor. Especially if you consider that she only just took her first steps earlier today. It was like if she lost her momentum she would lose her balance too. I swear, it was like the baby version of running. SO wish I would have had my husband filming it just in case. If we had, then we'd have some pretty amazing footage right now :) Good job, baby girl! Momma and dadda are so proud of you :)
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Screw the Time Change
Fall Backward, Spring Forward. Usually people, myself included, love setting the clocks back an hour in the fall because then it gives you an extra hour. Well, I had NO idea that the time change would screw with my baby's sleep schedule so much. Granted it hasn't even been one week, but still. It seemed fine at first, but the last two mornings she's been awake at 5 o'clock in the morning. Rise and shine, momma!
She has been coming into bed with us at around 11pm when she wakes up wanting momma, sometimes midnight, so she's in bed with us when she wakes up in the morning. My husband could sleep through just about anything, so he doesn't wake up until I'm like okay it's your turn to enjoy being awake when it's still dark out. So tonight, I'm going to try to remember to just nurse her in her room, rock her back to sleep, and put her back in her crib. I am always SO tired when she wakes up in the middle of the night that the sound of her crying sends me running into her room half asleep to rescue her and bring her in bed with us. It usually isn't until I already have the door to her nursery open that I think, "Oh yeah, I should've let her cry a little bit. Maybe she would've put herself back to sleep." So I'm going to try to get her to sleep and put her back in her crib, but I'm sure if that even if that does work she will still wake up again and then I will probably concede. However, I have a back-up plan.
If she does come into bed with us in the middle of the night (and by if I mean when), then if she wakes up a normal time great! If she wakes up at 5 in the morning again though, I will just have to put her back in her crib and let her cry it out. I hate hate HATE letting her cry. It stresses me out and makes me feel so bad for her, but I need my sleep. I already get practically zero sleep, so I am not willing to give up that extra hour in the morning and let her get in the habit of waking up so early.
Since the time change, she has been going to bed later, waking up earlier, and her naps are all over the board. Her third naps were going away, but now she takes that third nap which screws up her bedtime. She isn't tired enough for bed, so even when I get her relaxed before putting her in her crib she ends up playing with her teddy bear for a long while before going to sleep. Thus, I'm going to try to not put her down for a third nap and get her to bed extra early at 6-something instead of 7ish. That is the direction her bedtime/nap routine was taking before the time change screwed everything up. Wish me luck!
She has been coming into bed with us at around 11pm when she wakes up wanting momma, sometimes midnight, so she's in bed with us when she wakes up in the morning. My husband could sleep through just about anything, so he doesn't wake up until I'm like okay it's your turn to enjoy being awake when it's still dark out. So tonight, I'm going to try to remember to just nurse her in her room, rock her back to sleep, and put her back in her crib. I am always SO tired when she wakes up in the middle of the night that the sound of her crying sends me running into her room half asleep to rescue her and bring her in bed with us. It usually isn't until I already have the door to her nursery open that I think, "Oh yeah, I should've let her cry a little bit. Maybe she would've put herself back to sleep." So I'm going to try to get her to sleep and put her back in her crib, but I'm sure if that even if that does work she will still wake up again and then I will probably concede. However, I have a back-up plan.
If she does come into bed with us in the middle of the night (and by if I mean when), then if she wakes up a normal time great! If she wakes up at 5 in the morning again though, I will just have to put her back in her crib and let her cry it out. I hate hate HATE letting her cry. It stresses me out and makes me feel so bad for her, but I need my sleep. I already get practically zero sleep, so I am not willing to give up that extra hour in the morning and let her get in the habit of waking up so early.
Since the time change, she has been going to bed later, waking up earlier, and her naps are all over the board. Her third naps were going away, but now she takes that third nap which screws up her bedtime. She isn't tired enough for bed, so even when I get her relaxed before putting her in her crib she ends up playing with her teddy bear for a long while before going to sleep. Thus, I'm going to try to not put her down for a third nap and get her to bed extra early at 6-something instead of 7ish. That is the direction her bedtime/nap routine was taking before the time change screwed everything up. Wish me luck!
My beautiful baby and I getting ready for a cold day out.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Enjoy the Moments
My husband said something to me months ago that has really stuck with me. In fact, I think of it quite often. He told me, "Sometimes, you need to just enjoy the moment for yourself," ...or something to that extent. I don't remember what exactly it was prefaced by, but that is the one bit that really branded itself in my memory. I had been telling him about something adorable that our daughter had done that I so wished I could have captured on film. There are so many moments like that! Actually, I think it's one of those right-of-passage parts of parenthood to be following your child around with a camera, hoping that you can catch every special moment with a picture or video. I was distressed about not being able to catch all the moments, like when she's sleeping and I know the flash of a camera would wake her up or running to grab the camera just to get back a moment too late. My husband being the voice of reason had told me to stop stressing and simply enjoy the moment. Now, whenever I think "Oooh that would be such a good picture!", but know it's not possible for whatever reason, I think of my hubby's words and stop...and savor the moment :) I might not be able to share that moment, but at least I have it for myself. Those are the moments, and memories, that years from now I will still cherish.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
A Difficult Transition Week
My daughter is at the age where her last nap of the day is starting to go away. The sleep book I had read had warned me of this, but there still really isn't a way out of the awful transition period. This week, or at least the last few days (not sure how long it's actually been, just know how long it feels like it's been--forever), she gets tired around her usual 3-4 o'clock time in the afternoon, but will NOT go down for a nap despite many MANY attempts by me. I can rock her, walk her, sing to her, read to her, nurse her, give her a binky--all the usuals--and it doesn't do any good. The rest of the night until her bedtime at about 7pm is spent with a very fussy, tired, and might I say stubborn baby. I know she still NEEDS that last nap, but I just can't get her to actually go to sleep. She fights it so hard! She wants to stay up so she doesn't miss out on anything, but she's so tired that she isn't content with any of our usual playtime activities. She will, however, go to sleep if we go for a drive anytime after she's gotten overtired. I discovered this on a late afternoon trip to Safeway. I've always known that she is more apt to fall asleep in the car when she's tired, but the idea of going through the theatrics of getting us both out the door and buckled in the car just to put her to sleep seems a bit much. I have always been successful using other easier and more natural methods--until now. So do I let her afternoon naps go away even though she still acts like she needs them? Or do I saddle up everyday for a car ride to lull her to sleep? For now, I'm going to go with the first. I will still try to get her to sleep at that time. I might have to start doing activities before her nap that will stimulate her more so that maybe she's more ready for a nap later in the day, like taking her for a walk around the neighborhood or finding new activities indoors (it's quite chilly out!). So this week I have had more difficult afternoons while getting practically no sleep at night while feeling very run down. Things seem to happen in threes, but this set of three has been repeating itself every day and night this week. Thank goodness for the weekend! I get the chance to catch up on some MUCH needed rest while hubby takes care of the baby :)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
My Favorite Time
I love putting my baby to bed at night. The time I spend with her in her nursery is my favorite time of night. I nurse her on both sides, give her a binky, and burp her all while rocking in the chair. I keep cuddling her to me while rocking, with the little receiving blanket flipped over her eyes like she likes. The music and dim lighting are very relaxing. The rocking motion and cuddling with my baby very comforting. All in all it is my favorite time of night. My daughter relaxes and enjoys the alone time with momma getting her ready for bedtime. I always stand up and walk and rock her just before laying her down in her crib. While rocking my baby, I look at her little face and think to myself how lucky I am to have such a precious little girl, how big she's grown, and how much I love her. No matter what's going on in life, I always have that time to cherish with my daughter. In those moments, life couldn't get any better.
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