Baby Squash

Start with any kind of squash (this is also a good way to make pumpkin for the pumpkin)

Pre-heat the oven to 400F

Cut it in half and scrape the seeds out. 

(you could keep these and roast for yourself)

Place cut side down in a baking pan with 1-2 inches of water.

Bake in the oven for 45 min to an hour.

Or until the skin is puckered like below.

Let it cool until you can handle it and scoop out the "meat".

I squashed it (punned totally intended),

in the bowl with the spoon before putting in my bullet.

Puree until you reach the consistency you want, 

adding water as needed.

Baby girl was awake and hungry by the time I got here so I totally for got to take after pictures...

And because I'm lame I have no idea what the cost break down was either.  I made this probably a month ago... See hard to keep up...

Too Soon

Yes I think it's just a little too soon for this stuff...

All she has to do is figure out how to get those feet under her and she's gonna be gone.  Anyone want to take bets on if she walks or crawls first?

Laney - 7 Months

Where does the time go?  Really, I feel like I just wrote her 6 Month update.

Length: I'll have to come back and update this
Weight: 17.0lbs

We just had another doctor visit a few days ago after another night of no sleep with her up screaming in pain.  But this time I've switched doctors.  We discussed her reflux and my concerns of her meds not working.  We also discussed her weight gain and her "spitting up".

Laney is not at the max dosage for the Zantac yet so she wants to increase and re-evaluate in a month.  She knows I'm not fond of the idea of just increasing, but the she said that it could work for 2 weeks and then not.  If that's the case we will look at something else.  Since she has gained about half a pound since her last increase I agreed knowing that she will at least discuss other options if I want in a month (or less if I see no improvement).  As for her weight, she said doctors don't get too concerned until they go down 2 % groups between well child visits (3mth, 6mth, 9mth).  She She only went down 1 between 3 and 6 months, but it was very close to 2 and she's almost down another one at only 7 months.  She plans to keep an eye on this, but said to keep offering the solids and start with maybe some yogurt and cheeses to see if it helps with the reflux.  She also said to continue the Miralax as it seems to be working.

Diapers: Still in size 3, but we've switched to the Walmart brand.  They seem to be working good.
Clothes: Mostly 6-9 Months, but all the cute footless one piece outfits are too short :(
Toys: Anything she can get her hands on.  Especially the foam puzzle pieces her sister leaves on the floor.
Food: sweet potatoes, green beans, plums, pears, squash, peaches, peas and apple sauce
Sleep: What's that.  Actually when she's feeling good she only wakes up some nights to eat and then drifts right back off to sleep.  This week I think I've gotten at most 4 hours a sleep a night since Sunday.

She is starting to get on all 4s and thinking about moving forward.  Right now she has backwards and around in a circle mastered.  Just last night she went FORWARD in her walker for the first time!  This is something Lillian never did!

Composure

I’m having a hard time keeping my composure at work today.  It all started Saturday and I just can’t seem to keep myself under control anywhere.  So this is pretty much going to be a long whiny post if you don't want to hear me be all "oh poor me".

Friday night I took Lillian to see Nemo in 3D.  I think I enjoyed it more than she did.  Although she did great sitting through the movie.  On the way home she wanted to know why Sissy didn’t come, cause she wanted her to.  Me, not so much, it was nice to have a little one on one with my big girl.

Saturday that all changed around noon.  Lilli and I made teething biscuits for Laney and peaches, while she slept.  Around noon when she got up she had the peaches for the first time.  She seemed to like them just as she has liked all the other fruits.  Well around 1 the mood of the day changed drastically.  Laney started crying and growling as she does when she’s upset, so much for folding laundry.  I decided to try giving her a piece of frozen peach in one of those mesh things.  Silly mommy thought it might be her teeth coming in that’s bothering her.  Well I just get the bib on and hand her the peach and BAM, out comes the 2oz of peaches she had eaten along with a crap ton of slimy phlegm type stuff.  Ok, it wasn’t all 2oz and the mess was nicely contained on her bib, PJs and highchair.  I removed her sleeper while she was still in the highchair and the cover and its contents were easily removed and put into the washer.  So I took her temp.  100.2 and then it was a bath.  After bath I spent the next 3 hours sitting in one position on my bed while she slept.  Any time I even tried to move she stirred and started to cry.  Her fever went up to 101 and back down over and over.  Poor girl was tired and uncomfortable. 

All night was pure HELL.  Worse than newborn, she didn’t sleep a full hour straight and when she woke up it was all gut wrenching screaming.  When she did sleep I had to be in a completely upright sitting position.  I had pillows tucked every where cause after a while I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. 

Her nose got runny.  To the point I had to give her 2 bottles because she couldn’t nurse long enough to get a let down.  And the few times she did, she choked on it.  So yeah, feeding then trying to pump with a baby that has to be held upright… impossible!

Anyway I'm sure you get the picture, mommy got no sleep and baby is miserable.

Sunday was football and I seriously thought about staying home, but there was going to be yummy food and people to help me hold the baby.  So I thought.  By the end of the first quarter I decided to take Laney up to the living room (we watch the games in the Bills Cave, AKA Uncle Joe's basement).  Every time there is a good play it was all Woot Woot! and then when they actually score they blare music.  While it didn't scare her, Laney couldn't fall asleep.  I really hadn't thought about this being a problem since rarely do the Buffalo Bills score.

So we I watched the game upstairs in the recliner while Laney slept yet again on me so she could be upright.

Sunday night was more of the same... Monday I snoozed through my workout time, got up took a shower and let B convince me to stay home because I was too tired to work.  This was quite obvious when I put shampoo in my hair twice.  I took both girls to the sitter and went home to eat and sleep.  Not as easy as it sounds..  I did get about an hour though and it was refreshing.  My arms, neck, shoulders, back and even abs were very sore from the positions I'd been sleeping in.

Last night while Laney still didn't go to bed until 10:30, she wasn't screaming and she slept til 4!

Mommy on the other hand is still trying to catch up.  My bosses mood is making me want to lash out!

Co Sleeping

So I never thought I'd be one to co-sleep with my children.  In fact, I was against it.  I mean it can be dangerous, you could roll over, the blankets.... the list goes on.

Then I had a new born.  Still scared to death in the beginning I would get up with her, change her in her room, feed her and then put her back in the bassinet. Problem was, I wasn't putting her back in the bassinet until I was waking up a half hour later.  I was scared to death I was going to drop her.  Then we learned how to feed laying down.  That was the end of it.  I would fall asleep while she ate, she'd fall asleep and at some point I'd wake up and put her back in the bassinet.

Then Laney was born.  Getting her to sleep was impossible.  She cried for hours, you'd get her to sleep, lay her down and she'd wake up.  I can't tell you how many night I fell asleep propped up against my wall with pillows under both arms so she could sleep on my chest and I could still sleep too.  Then we discovered the reflux and we were able to sleep laying down again, but by this point she was so used to sleeping on me she would wake up the second I laid her down anyway.  So we started going to sleep with her eating (laying down)  I have a king size bed and it was just the two of us (that's a whole other post) so after she'd fall asleep I'd just get up and move to the other side of them and barricade her in with pillows.  At midnight we'd do the same thing.  This had been going on for quite some time now, OK more like 5 months and part of it is my fault.  I admit I like sleeping with her and having her cuddle up to me.

But Friday night I said enough is enough.  I want my bed back and I'd like my husband in it with me.  So Friday night after bath I changed her in her room, sat down with her, fed her and when she was done I took her off the boob (which wakes her up some) and let her fall asleep.

Saturday for both naps, I waited until she was good and tired and I laid her in her bed awake.  Both times she was able to put herself to sleep.  Bed time went well, but she woke up after a couple hours screaming off and on.  Even after I picked her up and took her to my room she was screaming.  I think it was teeth.  They looked a little red and she was chewing her thumb and screaming in her sleep.  We got through the night with only 4 wakings though.

Last night went great.  I don't think I was in there 10 minutes with her, including feeding her.  Then I decided that rather than take her to my room and lay down to feed her I'd sit in the chair and feed her.  It took about 10 minutes I think and she then slept in her crib until almost 6 this morning!

Hopefully I can keep up with sitting in her room to feed her at night.

Maybe tomorrow I'll write a post about my husband coming back to my bed...

Laney - 6 Months

It seems un-real to be half way through her first year!

 Newborn     6 Months

 

It seems weird that she actually had a well child visit:

Length: 27.25” (95%)

Weight: 16lb 5oz ( 59% This is actually and ounce less than last month)

*Dr. Do Nothing did comment that her weight gain has slowed and will slow even more as she starts to crawl and get around more.  She isn't concerned.  I on the other hand am a little, her weight gain didn't slow, it stopped last month.  Although she was comparing it to her 4 month weight of 15lb 3oz.

Diapers: Size 3, the huggies fit best now, but once she moves up in the weight limit we’ll have to switch back to pampers for the larger leg holes.

Clothes: Mostly 6 Month stuff.  Still fits some 3 month and already some 9 month.

Toys: We’ve gotten out the “bigger” toys.  She’s still loving the exersaucer and now the Jumperoo too.  She’s also very interested in her moving ball and the gumball machine toy.

Food: She is very interested in food.  We started her last month and now she eats sweet potatoes, green beans, plums and pears.  We only use cereal once in a while to thicken up a fruit that is overly runny.  She also had her first Melba toast that she did quite well with.

Sleep: Still waking up at least once a night to eat, some times twice.  And on a rare occasion Mommy gets a full night’s sleep.

She sits like a pro now and reaches for EVERYTHING, toys, food, your shirt, the back of the chair, anything she can get her hands on.

She is definitely interested in figuring out how to get around.  With her ball that rolls around on the floor with the lights you can see her mind working to figure out how to get to it.

Sure I play with this paper until Dr comes in!

At her well visit I informed Dr. Do nothing that I took her off the med that was supposed to make her stop spitting up and help her digest.  It wasn’t doing either and I thought it was pointless.  She agreed it was the right call.  She didn’t however say anything one way or the other about me giving her Miralax.  She, again, gave me a run down of the foods that would make her constipated and what wouldn’t.  See list above for all foods that promote healthy bowel movements.  It makes me sad to think that there are parents out there that need those things told to them several times, I just don’t happen to be one of them, thank you.  So until things become more get more regular I plan to keep with the Miralax.

Besides that she’s the perfect picture of health!

Until she puked all over last night :-(  And I don't just mean some spit up, I mean she covered my tank top wearing back, herself, and got some on the floor.  It took 2 receiving blankets to clean it up.  And it smelled horrible!  She was so scared and I felt so bad for her.  

She slept for a few hours and then woke up again.  She sounded like she may be sick again, but she moved around and farted *like a man* and was then happy as pie.  She ate and thought it was play time.  She lay there squealing with delight as I struggled to keep my eyes open.  She never had a fever over 100.2 and besides being clingy seems perfectly fine now.

Green Beans

I'll get to the green beans in a minute, but I was right!  The more I talk about her pooping the more she does!  I think we may be having a break through, but I'm not going to say it's over yet...

First let me show you how easy it is to make Green beans...

Ingredients:

Green Beans (I used frozen, of course you could use fresh, but canned should be used as a last resort)

Water

1. Cook beans according to package.  If using fresh, cut off the ends and steam until tender.

2. Place beans in food processing gadget of choice.  I like to use my bullet.

3. Puree until smooth.  Adding water as needed to get a consistency your child does well with.  Green beans need to be pureed a little longer than other vegetables to make sure the skins are all pureed too.  Some people like to strain them, but I find a little extra time in the blender works fine.  Some times a little extra water is needed to get it smooth.

4. Dish into containers of your choice.

5. Freeze what you don't plan to use right away.  Ice cube trays are typically one ounce.

Remember how I said this saves money?  Well here's the break down:
You can buy a case of Gerber Green Beans on line - 56oz for $20.72 (doesn't count shipping) = $0.37/oz
Earth's Best Organic Green Beans at Walmart (12 pack) - 30oz for $13.08 = $0.44/oz

Home made using frozen Great Value Green beans: 1 pkg beans $1.08
made 10oz of puree = $0.11/oz.  That's a savings of $0.26 and $0.33 / oz!  It sounds so small, but once your baby is eating 6oz per day, your saving at least $1.50 A DAY!  Plus if your little one likes them thinner, you get more from one bag or you can make them thinner if you like to add cereal for iron or something.  Plus, no preservatives!

I'm very excited to make squash and pumpkin.  They take a little more time cause I think they taste best if you bake them, but you get a lot of food from them.

Oh yeah and I don't mind licking this food off my fingers (as is habit while I'm feeding her).  If it tastes better to me, it must taste better to her.

Here's Little miss trying her beans for the first time!

Not Helping

Apparently I need to post about poop more often.  Every time I do, Laney goes!  Well really she didn't go much, just little bit a few more times.  I think it's the water that's helping her go, but it isn't helping her feel any better :-(  Last night was another night of comfortableness for her.  She didn't even want to nurse when she went to bed like normal.

We went up to MIL's to get her some "new" toys to play with.  You know all the crap great stuff I saved from when Lilli was small. She loved them all!

I'm thinking tonight we might make up some peas or green beans to try.  I think I might also skip cereal for now unless I need it to thicken up some of her other food.

I'm really not sure why more people don't make their own baby food.  Lillian never ate anything out of a jar. I always just steamed or baked fruits and veggies and pureed them.  And as she got older I just put our dinners in the blender.  It is definitely WAY cheaper than buying.  With most veggies you can get fresh or frozen for $2.  It normally makes at least 6oz depending on the veggie.  Maybe I will share some of that stuff with my lovely peeps.

Getting the Best of Me

My stress and emotions are getting the best of me and I can feel it quickly spiraling out of control.  

Little Miss still isn’t feeling well.  The last time I posted about her poop, was the last time she had a real one.  That was 6 days ago now!  Over the last 2 days she had pushed out 3 little marble sized pieces and that’s it.

I took her back to the doctor yesterday (even though her well child is next week) and the pedi made me feel like I was an over-reacting mom.  

Her suggestions:

Since apple juice isn’t working, give her prune

Giver her more water (I already started over the weekend)

Instead of plums giver her green beans

Give her 1mL of Erythro instead of .8mL

It is my feeling that since I have been in there at least once a month for the last 3 months because of her belly issues, you should be doing more than just suggesting I change her diet.  I’m actually starting to wonder if it’s the Erythro that made her constipated in the first place.  I know that a side effect is loose bowels, but just like apple juice binds some people up, maybe this med does too.

Also on the suggestion of some friends and lots of searching on the internet, I bought some Mirilax last night.  I haven’t given it to her, but if something doesn’t happen by tomorrow night you can bet your ass I will be.

Thankfully she slept peacefully last night, although I think it’s just because she is so exhausted for not getting any sleep.

On a positive note, both the girls had some firsts this weekend.

Little miss Laney sat in the grass for the first time this weekend, she didn’t mind it at all.

She also used a sippy cup for the first time!

And Lilli was in her first fishing derby, she didn't catch anything though :-(

 And Lillian got to ride her bike all weekend!  He she is taking a break while letting her Great Aunt’s dog out…

She Pooped!

Finally!

And I would be lying if I said I wasn't glad she did it at the sitter's. If we are totally honest, I'd be happy if from now on she only poops while she's at the sitters, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen since I do like having her home.

I don't know how much it really helped her belly though. We still spent most of last night with a very uncomfortable baby. I know some of it is teething, the girl is chewing everything! But the way she throws her body around isn't teething. Last night it was so bad I had to put her on my bed and let her go cause I couldn't keep her on my lap, I was afraid I was going to drop her! After 10 or 15 minutes she got comfortable enough to fall asleep and I didn't bother her again. After eating in the night she had trouble getting comfortable again too. This morning she woke up with all sorts of gas out of both ends. I'm at a loss still. I'm going to keep up with feeding her plums and cereal for a few days and see if we can get her to poop a little more frequently. I'm also looking into a second opinion on her reflux. I'm really irritated by the way my pedi keeps just upping the dose of her meds.

Not that I want the 3 month supply and $70 worth of meds I just got in the mail to go to waist, but I want my happy little girl back.

Oh and she has started crying when I leave after feeding her and giving her medicine at lunch time during the day. Breaks my heart so much I can barely leave.

Here's my big girl yesterday riding in the cart rest for the first time!

Tummy Troubles

Saturday night I actually thought I was going to get some time to myself to blog *gasp* while not at work!  And I did, but I did it on my weight loss blog.

Sadly though the post that should have taken 15 minutes tops took me over an hour.

Starting Friday night I decided it was time for Laney to start sleeping in her own bed.  I don't need 2 girls that won't sleep alone in their room and I swore I wouldn't let it happen.  Well, at 5.5 months old I can see that I may have started a little too late.  But I have been making Laney take her naps in her bed for a few weeks now.  I even take her in and lay her down awake for her naps.  Once in a while I have to go in and have to rock to her to sleep, but that's better than her being in my bed.

So anyway, Friday night went great, she slept in there until 1am when she woke up for her nightly meds and feeding.  At this point I brought her back to my bed.  I do this so that I actually have a chance to fall back asleep before my alarm normally goes off (at 3:30am).

Saturday all was good, except she seemed to be having some trouble getting comfortable and was acting as if she was fighting sleep.  Now I learned with Lilli that if I laid her down before she was tired she would scream, talk whatever until I can in.  But Laney was tired!  Her eyes were all red, she was rubbing them and so on.  But she couldn't get comfortable.  Once she finally did, she slept for 2 hours.  She was pretty good the rest of the day until it was time for bed.  At her normal bed time of 8pm I took her into her room to feed her rather than laying in bed with mommy.  After eating it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.  Unfortunately within 20 minutes of falling asleep again she was awake and not going back to sleep.  She'd start to fall asleep and would all of a sudden throw her head back arching her back.  Then she'd try to curl right up into a ball or throw herself from side to side.  Most of the time with her eyes closed and a thumb in her mouth.  This went on until almost 11pm.  She managed to sleep until 2, but it took longer than normal for her to go back to sleep then and then she was up again from 4 to 5.  Sunday was filled mostly with eating, wanting to be held and some sleeping.  She actually did quite well at the outside birthday party we attended my niece.  Although I held her most of the time, she napped on my shoulder and didn't cry too much when I put her down in her seat so I could eat.  On the 15 minute car ride home she fell asleep and even stayed asleep while I got her out of her seat and in the house.  It wasn't until  gave her meds that she opened her eyes and sissy thought she needed "watch" her.  She has a very hard time understanding that no talking means NO talking.  So again last night I was up with little Laney until 11 with the same screaming, as Saturday night, only this time my alarm was going off at 3:30 am!

If you do not wish to read about my daughter's bowel movements you may want to stop reading now...

So here's my worry, I don't know if all this is reflux related or not.  Right now she is on 2 medications.  One for the reflux (twice a day) and one that is supposed to help her digest faster and not spit up so much (every 6 hours).  I think they are both technically working, but also causing another major problem.  She isn't pooping.  My poor girl is going 3 days without a messy diaper and even when they come they are not normal.  The last decent one was like paste.  As of right now the last one she had was Friday morning and that was more like a messy fart.  And the one she had yesterday I can't even count because it looked more like a booger came out her ass.  yes, it was even greenish and sticky.

And my poor girl can't get the gas out either!  I've tried rice cereal and oatmeal (both made with apple juice), I've tried not giving it to her, I've tried diluted apple juice and tonight will be plums (prunes are just dried up plums).  If this doesn't work I don't know what I'm going to do.

5 Months

Normally I wouldn't have true weight stats and such at 5 months, but hey she's been to the doctor twice in the last few weeks...

Height: 26.5" (I measured her myself)
Weight: 16lb 6oz (I'm pretty sure it was 16 and not 15 cause 15 would have meant she only gained 3oz in a month and I'm sure the doctor would have been a little worried about that.)

So she is still 95% for height and 82% for weight.

She has changed so much in some ways.  She can almost sit on her own, her back muscles just need a little work.  Tummy time has been hard for us since laying her on her belly usually ends with her face in a pile of spit up.  The exersaucer seems to be helping though and she loves that!  She's also learned in the last few days that she can use one arm to prop herself up while reaching with the other.

She definitely shows her emotions, especially excitement.  One afternoon she wanted nothing but to stand on my legs, but I had to make dinner.  Daddy held her while I went to get the exersaucer and I thought she was going to jump off his lap with her excitement.  Squealing and flailing her arms, it was too cute.\

She now reaches for me and pulls on my shirt when she is hungry.

Last week her reflux got bad again.  To the point she wasn't sleeping and becoming lethargic.  I was glad that my normal sitter was on vacation and she was at Traci's with Lillian.  I took her to the doctor Tuesday afternoon.  She upped her Zan.tac by .1mL and put her on another med to help her digest her food faster.  In the past the second med had been an option.  After her, for the first time, witnessing the crying and spitting up she said I needed to start it immediately.  Wednesday is when she became a little lethargic and just couldn't sleep (Monday it was lots of crying and spitting up).  So Wednesday afternoon I picked her up to see what was going on.  I was able to get her to sleep for a few hours after I got her home.  She didn't sleep well at all that night or the next.  She also hadn't had a crappy diaper.  So I stayed home with her. After giving her a bottle that was half apple juice and giving her cereal made with apple juice she finally got it out!  But then Saturday she started coming down with a cough and sneezing.  It was horrible through the night and Sunday morning, but she slept decent Sunday night.  Today, she's congested.  You can feel the congestion when she breathes :(  I want my poor girl healthy again!

A New Sitter.... AKA a long rant

I have been becoming more and more frustrated with Laney’s sitter over the last few weeks.  She is a really nice lady, kids love her, she takes good care of them, but she just doesn’t seem listen to me.  I don’t think she blatantly ignores what I tell her, but I think she just doesn’t get it.

My biggest problem is with her feeding Laney.  She has been watching Laney for 14 weeks now and I have had to tell her to only feed on demand 4 times already.  Really I should have only had to tell her once.  But no, I’m having to tell her like every 3 weeks.

Friday she infuriated me when I learned that she purposely fed Laney at a certain time “so she’d be ready for me”.  Well really no, she wasn’t because she eats so much at your house that she doesn’t want to nurse for 4 hours or more after I pick her up!

After the first time she started constantly drinking 4 bottles at the sitter I looked at the book and realized most times she was finishing a bottle just before I got there at 4.  So I asked for her not to feed her after 3 unless it had been over 2 hours since her last feeding (this was when she was still eating every 2 hours).  The next day she woke Laney up from a nap just to make sure she had her 4^th bottle before 4!  Umm no, feeding on demand means you feed her when she’s hungry and my theory is to never wake a sleeping baby to eat unless they have a medical need for it. *And maybe a few other circumstances that may warrant it, but not just so she has the bottle*

After finding this out I told her, “just feed her on demand, when she’s hungry.  If I am going to be here to get her in the next 20 minutes or so, try holding her off so I can feed her.” *which I have to drive some where to do because she doesn’t think her son would be comfortable with me nursing her there, insert exasperated sigh and huge eye roll*

Anyway, this was working for a while, until last week.  Last Monday I told her that 1 of the 4 bottles I sent was 5oz instead of 4 because I just had some extra so not to worry if Laney didn’t finish it.  I also told her that the whole week I was exclusively nursing she was eating maybe every 3 hours, sometimes 4.  So the rest of the week when writing down what and when Laney ate, she wrote down 5oz for EVERY feeding!  This isn’t a huge deal, but irritates me because it means she wasn’t even looking at the bottles.  On Thursday she said “she really downed those bottles today.” So I told her “well maybe tomorrow I will send all 5oz bottles and maybe they will fill her up more.”  She said to me “You mean they haven’t been?  I thought you’ve been sending 5oz bottles.”  HELLO??? LISTEN!

So Friday after all week she’d been having 4 bottles a day I said “I’m not sure what you are using for hunger cues, but I always wait until she starts to whine at least and shake her head because he thumb doesn’t give her milk.”  Laney is a good self soother and sucks her thumb a lot, plus she’s teething so sucking and chewing are NOT signs of hunger.  That day she also called me at noon saying something was off with Laney and could I come check on her during lunch.  Of course I went and it was nothing more than her normal nightly discontent with whoever holds her sitting and what I think is a belly ache.  I got her to sleep and also called the Dr and made an apt for her cough (whooping cough is going around and her cough hadn’t gotten better in a week) anyway, I told the sitter I’d be back at 3 to get her.  She called me at 2 again and asked me if I wanted her to wake her up and feed her.  Um NO, if she isn’t hungry don’t feed her!  That day was the first day in a long time she slept over a half hour 45 minutes at the sitter.  And guess what, she only ate 1.5 bottles!

And last but not least, yesterday when I picked Laney up, she asked if I sent 5 bottles.  I said no why?   She said “I know I fed her 3 times today, but there is still 2 bottles left in the fridge.”  I knew then that she had only fed her twice because I knew that I had sent 4 bottles.  One was left from the day before and the other 3 were what I had pumped the day before.  I didn’t defrost milk and I never have more than needed any more.  When I got home and looked in her book tough, she had written down that she fed her 3 times.  This irritated the crap out of me.  What is she doing, filling out the book before she even feeds her?  Feeding her on a schedule which I specifically asked her not to do?  This morning I said to her “Did you find any empty bottles last night, if not you must have only fed her twice.”  She said “No, she must have slept through the 12:30 feeding.”  I said that very possible.  On Sunday she ate at 11 and then napped 1 to almost 4 and didn’t eat til after that.  I’m fine if she only eats twice as long as she’s only eating when she’s hungry.”

Today I’m sending out for information from a daycare center…

I hope this made sense, I don't have time to proof read at the moment

Nursing

With Lillian I loved every minute of it.  OK, that's a lie.  There was a two week period after she started bottles that I loathed it and almost gave up.  But my determination pulled through.  This time, it's different.  I don't know if it's because with 2 children there is more stress and I want to "relieve" that stress (aka consume massive amounts of alcohol).  Or if it's because I'm even more upset about being a working mom and having to pump more than I actually get to nurse.  If it's because I barely pump what Laney consumes (which I think is because the sitter over feeds her) or something else that I can't even think of right now.

Either way, something changed last week.  I don’t know what it was.  Most times I’m upset I can’t drink and B can because I have to drive, work, feed, don’t have a pump, whatever.  I went on vacation last week prepared!  I had enough frozen milk with me to feed her all week if I wanted to.  We didn’t have a microwave or hot water so I would have had to heat the bottles on the stove, but it was completely doable.  

Guess what; while I did indulge in maybe 6 drinks all week, I nursed Laney 100% on demand the whole time!  I didn’t even really have the urge to drink.  Maybe because I felt like crap the first 4 days we were there, maybe because I HATE pumping, I don’t know.  The one night I thought about indulging, the thought of having to get up to heat water on the stove for her 2am feeding was enough to make it not worth it.  I enjoyed every second of it too.

It didn’t really seem like a big deal, just like it didn’t seem like a big deal for B and Lilli to stay over at another family’s cabin by the fire while I took Laney back for bed.  I had the video monitor, but I normally just stayed, mostly because I didn’t feel well and went to sleep too.

What sucks, is this week, being back at work, only getting to nurse her maybe 3 times a day (including her midnight feeding), and having to pump.  I HATE pumping.  My breasts are tender and nipples too.  Not to mention since feeding her on demand for 9 days straight, you’d think I’d have no problem pumping what she consumes at the sitter, but no.  If I didn’t feed her on one side and pump the other in the morning, I’d never pump enough.  I don’t know if the sitter feeds her just because she starts sucking on her thumb or if she’s mistaking teething signs for hunger, or if Laney drinks the whole bottle just because it’s there, but something is off.

One of my favorite things about nursing is when
she falls asleep with her hand gently resting on me.
Obviously I covered myself up before taking the picture!

4 Months

I’m  only a couple weeks late writing about this…

Delaney turned 4 months on July 3^rd.  It was a pretty busy time for us between her aunt’s birthday, her great uncles coming to visit and her sister having hand foot mouth disease.  I will post on all that stuff later though.  This post is for my little girl…

Stats:

Weight: 15lb 3oz (87%)

Height: 26 inches (95%)

Her growth seems to be slowing some and it doesn't bother me one bit.  

She seems to be such a content little girl most of the time.  Happy to just sit there and watch as the world happens around her.  Only one week after she turned 3 months she started rolling over, but even now, a month later she only rolls over when she feels she has the need.

This month we got out the exersaucer.  I wasn't sure her back was ready for it, but honestly my arms were starting to get tired holding her in the standing position.

She loves it!  I'm happy to have something to put her in that doesn't put her to sleep like the swing does while I make dinner or we eat dinner.


We also tried cereal this month at the suggestion of her pediatrician because she is still spitting up and having some reflux pain.  

She didn't seem to mind the oatmeal and did quite well eating it, but her poor little belly just isn't ready for it yet.  For the two night she ate it, she had horrible, horrible gas pains and left both of us with little sleep.  We'll try again in another month or so and see what happens.


I love having my own little model for some of the stuff I've been crocheting, but when I can't find my camera it makes it hard to get some really good shots.  My phone doesn't do too bad capturing her cuteness though!

She also started laughing just a few days after turning 4 months, its just the cutest sound, of course I said the same thing about her sister's laugh too!  Her face was adorable when she realized the noise was coming from her.

She of course loves to blow bubbles and babble to herself all the time, but I don't have a good video of that yet!

One of my favorites

Rolling With It

I've just been going along with whatever comes at me the last few days.  It's been hot and miserable and I just haven't felt like "dealing" with anything.  I've been tired.

Tuesday night was the Chase Corporate Challenge.  The same race I blogged about a year ago.  Oddly enough it was just one week later that I found out I was pregnant.  I was pretty excited to compare my times from being barely pregnant to being 15 weeks postpartum.

Again this year I was disappointed with having to walk before I ever made the one mile marker, but this year the heat and humidity was unbearable.  When I reached the one mile marker I realized that it was also the turn around point.  They decided to make the race a "Run For Fun" and shorten it to only 2 miles.  This also meant that they didn't time it.  Thankfully I was still wearing my heart monitor and Nike Sports band.  According to the sports band, which I forgot to turn off right away, it took me 28:09 to finish the 2 miles.  So knowing that I actually grabbed some water and walked back to my mother who was waiting, it probably took me somewhere between 26 and 27 minutes to finish 2 miles.  While this is not stellar and something I certainly want to improve, I am proud.  I normally run at 4am, before any other physical activity to speak of and it's a good 30 degrees cooler than it was during the run, without the (according to the weather man) oppressive humidity.

And now for the real topic of Rolling with it.  My baby girl Delaney Rose started rolling over last week!  I've been meaning to post about it, but put it off cause I wanted to include the video I got, but it appears I may never post about it if I wait until I get a moment to do that!  So at only 14 weeks and 2 days old she rolled from her BACK to FRONT.  By Tuesday she had figured out how to get that second arm out from under her and by Saturday at only 15 weeks old she rolled across our King Size bed!  Now thankfully at this point she is only using rolling as a mechanism to get comfortable, I'm hoping it's a while before she realizes it can get her to things she wants to reach and grab for.  Which she is doing.  And I'm pretty sure she has good depth perception cause she only reaches for the things she knows she can reach, otherwise she just sits and watches.  My baby girl is getting too big too quick!

Waiting for Mommy to cool down after the run.

Done?

This past weekend brought to me a startling realization.  Delaney may be my last baby.  This breaks my heart.  I’ve always wanted AT LEAST 2, most likely 3, but finances allowed, 4.  My mom was one of 6 six kids and I always loved her large family.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday just because of the family.  My sister and I have both always said that we wished we’d had more siblings like my mom did and I’ve always wanted that for my kids.

B and I have mentioned more/no more kids vaguely, but it’s never really been discussed.  This weekend when my friends’ husband asked him if we were having more B stated “No, we’re done.”  All I could think was “what if I’m not done?”  I do know that there will have to be a compromise and that the fact that he never wanted kids to begin with and now we have 2 is amazing in itself, but I don’t know if I’m ok with saying “we are done.”  Obviously this doesn’t mean it can’t be discussed, it was just a comment, but it was a blow to me.  Yesterday when I was packing up Laney’s clothes for my two cousins that are due this fall, I realized I may not have a reason to save them for myself, but giving them away seems so final to me.  Like I’m resigning to the fact that we won’t have any more and it left me with that very big empty pit feeling in my stomach.

Delaney is 3 Months!

My baby girl is growing up so fast!  I can’t believe she is 3 months old already!!! My pregnancy sure didn’t seem to go this fast!  Delaney amazes me every day.  She gets more and more smiley and coos all the time.  She is constantly looking around and taking everything in.  She adores her big sister, who can’t seem to leave her alone either.

Delaney’s 2 Month Stats (measured by me):

Height: 25.5”

Weight: 14lb 6oz

 

She’s back on the charts for weight at 92% but still above 95% on height.  Yesterday I went to my MIL’s and sorted out the rest of the clothes we have stored in her basement because Laney was quickly running out of pants and one piece outfits.  I started to get nervous, but I finally found all the 3-6 month stuff in the last few boxes I opened.  *hint for new mom’s, save the diaper boxes and put them in the closet to just toss clothes into as your little one grows out of them.  When you start a new box write the size on it and then when it’s full, write the last size on it.  Saves from having to go through it all again later.

Hopefully we will be set for a while, although I was disappointed to find that she has already out grown 2 of the out fits when I went to get her ready for bed last night.  I also grabbed the bumbo and she seemed to enjoy it!

Thoughts on Membrane Stripping/Sweeping

Not that there isn't already a million places on the internet to find information and opinions on membrane stripping.  I thought I'd share my experience and thoughts on it anyway.

As I mentioned in my last post it didn't really hurt besides the pressure of being checked.  Of course being dilated to 3 probably helps.  I would guess if you are only at 1 it would be more painful.

My cramping has continued off and on since having it done, almost 48 hours ago now.  I was cramping before, but probably not as frequently, its not something I was really keeping track of.

As for contractions, I haven't had any "Real" ones.  As in the ones that start in your back and work their way around your belly until the whole thing is contracted.  What I have had is some that start in my back, go around my hips and only part way up my belly.  Which is more "real" than the ones I was having before the stripping that all started in the front.

I do believe the the stripping is what caused me to lose my mucus plug.  This never happened with Lillian and I had no idea what to expect, but when it happens, its hard to miss.  The first part came and I was like "wow, that quite the glob, but not as gross as I had expected."  Well then more came out a 2nd and 3rd time over the last 24 hours and I realized how gross that really would have been had it all came out at once.

I did call the midwife this morning because I had some red blood streaks, but she said it's normal and as long as it's not a flow I'm fine.

I've got everything but my legs crossed that things will really start progressing now!

Just Not Today

Seems weird to feel like I've been praying for this little one to come out forever, but right now, I don't want her to come out today.

I have lots of people telling me she's coming today and if she continues her streak of doing exactly the opposite of what mommy wants, she'll be here within 16 hours or so.  At my appointment today, cervix willing, the plan is to strip my membranes.  I was a fingertip dilated last time so hopefully the contractions over the last week have helped me get to at least 1cm and things will go smoothly, but not so smoothly that my labor is less than 12 hours.

Really if she is born on this 29th day of February, it won't be a huge deal, I will be happy to meet her whenever she decides to arrive.  I just won't be looking forward to explaining to her when she turns 5, 6 or 7 why she doesn't have an actual birthday.

So with the notion that she will hopefully be coming in the next day or two I've been thinking about how I want to handle things after labor.  After Lillian was born I had a bombardment of people in the room before I was even able to shower.  I refuse to let that happen again this time.  I actually have pictures of people other than me and B holding my baby girl in the same room that I gave birth to her in.  In my hospital the birthing rooms and recovery rooms are in different hallways.  So here's the thought I have...I have a list of people I (or some one) will be sending labor updates to.  Once the wee one is born I will send stats and a message saying we thank everyone for their support and patience.  We will start accepting visitors... (obviously this will depend on the time of day she's born).

My other thought is that I'm worried about how Lillian is going to react to her little sister and me having to be so attentive to her.  While I know that she understands there is a baby coming and that right now she's in my belly, I know she doesn't understand that it means she can't have all my attention.  I'm trying to decide on how I want to introduce them.  I think the best option is to just have the baby in the room and in the bassinet when Lillian arrives to meet her, not me or daddy holding her.  That way I can love on Lillian right away and let her know how much I've missed her.  Then introduce her to the baby.  And of course we have a gift from baby sister to Lillian and a shirt that says "Best Big Sister Ever" for her to wear.

Another thought I've had to help Lillian deal with not being the center of attention is to ask all visitors to come in and say hi to Lillian first and let Lillian introduce or show them the baby.  Let her say "see my baby sister" or something like that rather than them just rushing to the baby like many family members do.  Do you think it's rude of me to mention this to people who may visit?  I just really don't want her to feel left out.

Do you think any of this sounds unreasonable?  Or have a better suggestion on ways to introduce baby to siblings and stop visitors from invading?