Mobile - But Not Crawling Just Let

AJU5 is mobile now. She can move forward and backwards as well as change direction. She isn't crawling, but is almost there. She gets up on her hands and knees, moves her arms forward, and then pushes with her feet until she is back on her belly. She continues this until she gets what she wants. It is kind of fun to watch her do this, and I am starting to make her come to me when she wants up (only one lunge distance though). Part of me is wanting her to crawl for real, but then the other part of me realizes it is nice that I can leave her somewhere and pretty much guarantee she won't have gone far. Once she starts crawling for real we will have to remember to put the gate up!

We have also determined she does not like prunes! The apple prune juice did not stay down the two times I gave it to her, so I won't try it again. Last night she get tired early, so she didn't want to eat much of her cereal. The not wanting to eat was discovered after (a) I split her juice all over the table trying to mix it into the cereal (b) while going to get a sponge to clean the juice up with she got a hold of her bowl and knocked it on the floor making a bigger mess. So, I was happy to figure out she was tired (about 45 minutes earlier than normal) and she went down easily. AJU1 and I actually went to bed when she normally does because we were both tired too.

Happy Baby - I Don't Think So...

Today I was in an 2-3 hour meeting at work. There were only 5 of us there, and the only other female has a 13 month old son. She said AJU5 is so happy and cooperative... I think she is better than some babies, but she does behave better around company I think. She likes the attention - end of story. If she is getting attention, she will be happy and pleasant. If she isn't getting attention - and she wants it - she will be very cranky. There are a few times when she likes to be alone - when she doesn't want me to hold her - but these are at most once a day and last for about 15-30 minutes (when she is in her exersaucer).

Now on to the cranky part - I think she is constipated. Her poo is very thick. I tried apple juice - didn't help much. So today I bought some apple-prune juice (Gerber). Since I have no idea how to make prune juice (I don't like prunes...), I decided buying it would be easier. She has drank about 3 ounces of it, but she has spit some of that up. She has actually spit up more this evening following the juice than ever before. So, tomorrow I think I will skip the morning solids and go back to the once-a-day solids until this issues is resolved. She grunts a lot, and some ties they are followed by cries, so I know it doesn't feel good. Hopefully it will relieve itself in a few days. Then I will give her a week before we try two solids again...

Apples...

I think she is still getting used to two meals (of solids) a day. It takes two sittings to get through her morning apples with a tablespoon of oatmeal as a thickener (I had to add water to make the blender work). But, she does eat it all. This afternoon I am going to start apple juice because she seems a little constipated. We have a juicer, so I will just make my own. I think I will try out the sippy cups, but I might have to revert to the bottle (which she will drink about 1 oz of at a time).

So - time for some advice from some of you...
How long did you breastfeed?
How did you transition?

I am planning on breastfeeding until she is at least a year old, but I keep thinking about when I will stop, etc.

Experimenting with Homemade Baby Food

Today AJU5 got her first fruit - apples. I have decided to make my own baby food because it seems to be just as easy as buying it (since I don't go to a store with baby food on a weekly basis) and a lot cheaper. So, last night I pealed and cored 5 apples. I then threw them in the blender with some water (so the blender would work). And after a few minutes, a nice puree of apples existed. I put about 2 days worth in a container for the fridge and put the rest in ice cube trays to freeze. From what I have ready online, you can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months. And since they will be ice cube-sized pieces, I can just defrost one or two for a meal. I will update you with "recipes" as new food are introduced.

Camera - A lot more interesting than apples I think!

Blessings...

Yesterday was an interesting day. When I checked Google Reader in the morning, I saw a post from a friend about her night. She is a labor and delivery nurse and had to deliver a still-birth the previous night. We have friends at church that had a still-birth with their first (they are currently pregnant with what will be 5 living). We didn't know them at the time, but she shared the story with me a few years back. So, I had prayed for families like this for a long time. I had never thought of praying for the health care workers until yesterday.

Then, last night, I found the blog of a sorority sister from college whom I hadn't kept up with. She is now a photographer. I was looking at her pictures, and she had one with a comment about "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep." So, I read about this group online AJU5 spent a week in the NICO/Special Care Nursery, but it wasn't life threatening or anything. There was just a chance she had gotten an infection because I got one during labor. So she had a week on antibiotics before she could come home.

I spent some time bawling and praying to God. I don't know why He put these two things in my path yesterday, but I definitely felt a burden for so many people yesterday. Even now, tears are running down my face. I am so blessed that we didn't have to go through that. Yet, at the very beginning of the pregnancy, I prayed for a miscarriage. I prayed that I wasn't actually pregnant. Now I see that being pregnant and having a healthy baby was a huge blessing from God.

She is growing...

Today she had her 6 month check-up. She is now 15lbs 12oz, 26 in long, and has a 44cm head. That is just below normal for weight, just above normal for height, and the usual big for the head. She also got 3 shots and one oral vaccine. She, as usual, did not like the shots. But she slept through a short car ride and most of a shopping trip to Costco. On the way out of Costco, we saw some of our neighbors we met last night on a walk. The two families have three kids - two girls and a boy. The girls came over and held her hand. They seem to really like her. She seemed to like the boy (the youngest - probably about 4 or 5) the most last night though. She just sat there and laughed at him while the adults talked.

Okay - on the funny side - right now she is sucking/chewing on the lever for my chair. It is a standard office chair with the height adjustment lever. Normally she just plays with it using her hands or feet. I just she decided it would be a good chew toy as well!

"Help Me"

I have already had to "rescue" AJU5 twice this morning from under the chair. The two instances were not too far apart either. She really likes to go backwards and the chair gets in the way (she can get under it, but then she can't look up, which she does not like).

She has also decided that naps during the morning should only be a few minutes long. It started yesterday and is continuing today. Luckily, she did take an almost 3 hour nap yesterday afternoon. The hard thing is learning the new schedule and adjusting to it..

Father's Day and Such

Yesterday was AJU1's first father's day as a dad. We didn't do anything special, but we did spend lots of time hanging out as a family. He spent more time than usual holding and playing with AJU5, and we watched a movie together. All in all, it was a good day. AJU5 even fell asleep in his arms while we watched the movie (I got a picture of it, but I haven't gotten it off the camera yet).

As AJU5 gets bigger and more active, AJU1 becomes more and more involved in her care. He doesn't do much in the actual care column, but he loves to hold her, play with her, and just give me a break and allow me to get things done. He won't change her diapers because she is a girl (why I am praying for a boy when we are ready for number 2). He doesn't understand how baby clothes work (it was funny seeing him try to take off her overall dress yesterday before she had cereal). He rarely feeds her because I am still breastfeeding (he has given her a bottle a few times though - no attempts with the cereal though). But I can handle doing these things. His wanting to play with her when he gets home is a huge help, that the rest doesn't matter at all.

Happy Father's Day (a day late) to all the dads out there!

Has It Been That Long Already?

AJU5 is 6 months old already. It is very hard to believe it has been this long! It was just over a year ago I told my family I was pregnant - just after my first OB/GYN appointment. There are times I am ready to be pregnant again, and then there are times that I think I am not sure I want to go through this again. The plan is to have two kids, roughly 3 years apart. But, since she was a surprise and through her we have learned that God laughs at our plans, anything could happen.

I love being a mom most of the time. The only times I don't like it are when she is inconsolable and some nights/early mornings when I don't get enough sleep. Other than that it has been great. Being pregnant wasn't terrible either. The morning sickness the first trimester and then the kidney infection at about 4 and a half months weren't cool, but those were the only issues. I didn't have problems getting around, shaving, etc. even at 9 months. And since I am considering a repeat c-section for number 2 (she was too big, so if number 2 is measuring any where near her size, I will go planned c-section), so labor won't be an issue.

But, I don't think we are ready for number 2 yet. The house is still not done by any stretch of the imagination. That definitely needs to be complete before we start trying (at least the interior). Plus, we are still getting used to being three. Being four I think would be hard. But, I know whatever God has planned for us He will help us though. At this time last year we weren't ready to be 3. We both prayed early on that I would miscarry because we weren't ready. But, they we accepted God's will. Now I can't think about use not being 3.

So, on the 6 month anniversary of her birth, I am happy where we are. I am happy with my family of 3. I thank God for getting us through these first few months and for the blessing she is.

Thank you Lord!

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3-5 (NKJV)

Walks- a Magical Thing

Yesterday we went to the library. It ia about a mile walk to the library, and she fell asleep early on. She stayed asleep for most of the time at the library, and then fell asleep on the way home. I decided to keep walking for a while because I knew she would wake up once we got home (i.e. when the motion stopped). All in all, we were gone for about 2 hours.

On top of making her sleep, they seem to be helping me loose all of the maternity weight I gained. I stepped on the scale yesterday, and I am down to 152.5. I weighed almost 200 lbs when she was born. I thought I might have gained some weight this past week because I have been snacking a lot (because I was hungry), but I had actually lost a little bit of weight. My goal is go get to at least 145- the lightest I remember weighing since high school.

On the Move

AJU5 has figured out how to move backwards. Yesterday she made it as far as possible in our living room (almost 2 couches long). This morning she has moved from behind my chair to the doorway. She doesn't move very fast luckily though. I am not too afraid of her getting into trouble just yet.

Luckily we are almost done with our bedroom remodel. Once that is done, we should have a little more room for her to play in. Then, once we get the other bathroom (hers) done, we can get the office done and she will have her own room. That will mean a lot of room to play, as the only furniture she has is a pack-n-play and a set of drawers meant for an office or something (which works well for her clothes and stuff). Well, she does have toys like the exersaucer that might end up in her room, but still, there will be lots of room for crawling and playing.

Oh - and on the exersaucer thing - why don't they make the music last longer on kids' toys? She loves the music, but the songs are so short she gets upset. Luckily she can get it to the music on her own, but when she is very cranky, we have to do it for her.

Oh - now she is coming back to me because she has made a 180 degree turn - it is fun to figure out where she will go next!

Keyboards, Bathtubs, and Screams - Oh My!

Keyboard: aka AJU5's favorite toy these days. She enjoys hitting the buttons and "typing" while I am trying to work. Yesterday, I took one of our extra keyboards and put it on the floor for her to "use." She was entertained for a while - so we might have to let her have that one.

Writing to some of Mommy's students for her while we were at work.

Bathtubs: I decided to let her try a second baby bath tub yesterday. We had been using one that is meant for only laying in and for 0-6 months. But, the other one we have she can sit in. Well, since she likes to move around, the bigger one is more of a strain on me. I have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't fall forward, etc. But, she really likes the toy that is attached to the new one! She was chewing on it and didn't want to let go of it when the bath time was over! So, other than more stress on me and having to learn how much water to put in it (I had too much to begin with), it is working great!

Screams: Last night she was not a happy camper. I think the top teeth are coming in (bottom teeth arrived one week ago!). She would scream at the top of her lungs, we would go talk to her and she would smile, then when she got bored, she would scream again. Eventually, I got her teething tablets, read to her, let her nurse, and got her to bed. It was a little earlier than normal, but she went down without a fuss or anything. Hopefully if there are more teeth coming in, they show up fast so she can get back to being happy.

Nap Time and Company...

Nap time can be the tale of two cities with AJU5. Some times she wants to hold my finger, and won't settle down without the company. Other times she doesn't want me near her. She will squirm and fuss until I leave the room, and then she falls asleep quickly. The biggest problem is that one never knows which mood she is in until you try both! Now, on the other hand, there are times where she is just exhausted and doesn't care either way and times when she doesn't want to nap and neither work, so figuring out which of the four categories she is falling into is not the easiest. But, we are getting it figured out!

Bedtime has been getting better - the reading before we sleep seems to work because she gets her snuggling in then too. We read other books during the day (literature and math, Dr. Seuss, and Bible story books from the library). She seems to like the reading for a little bit, but her attention span is short...

Well, it is nap time I think... she making the "I am sleepy sounds" and playing with my desk chair....

So What Do You Do?

We got to a church with only one other family with children under the age of 5 (note - they do have 3 kids under 5 currently). I decided to sit behind them in church because their kids like to play with AJU5 and because then the noise during service would be limited to one area (AJU1 is up in the sound room during service running all of that stuff). We also have a 13 year old in the church with the mental age of about a 5 or 6 year old who sits with us or the other family. Yesterday I had the 13 year old and the 4 year old in my pew with us. The 13 year old (JL) wanted to hold AJU5 all service. I let her hold her quite a bit, but when she didn't want to take a nap (and she needed one), I decided to lay her on the floor to see if that would help. Well, the 4 year old (JR) decided to get down on the floor and play with her. So, periodically during the sermon, you would hear giggles out of AJU5 (and a few from JR). JR's mom would tell her to be quite when she got loud, but what do you do? If AJU5 wasn't entertained, she would be crying because she was so tired. So, I would have had to get up and go to the nursery (we have one - just no one scheduled to be in there because of the lack of kids). So, I just dealt with it. Luckily we have been reassured by many in the congregation that the kids don't bother them and all.

And for the naps - she did fall asleep a little at the end of service, but woke up before we left. Then she dosed during the car ride, took a decent nap at home, but only dosed again in the car for her late naps (she normally take 3-4 1-2.5 hour naps - she only got 2 yesterday). So, she was cranky but ended up sleeping well last night (5 hrs, 2 hrs, 2 hrs - I can deal with that!). So, do I push the naps, or let her be cranky? I think half of it is the teeth issue (two are poking through, think the uppers are on their way). So, we will see if it gets better!

A Blessing I Guess

The past two days AJU5 has only had her pacifier when she is going down for a nap/bed time. I guess this is a blessing because we have friends that had to battle their kids to give it up when they were almost 3 years old. Now, she does want it for naps and bed time unless she falls asleep in the car or while eating. So, we aren't over the pacifier yet by any means. But, I don't think it is useful in the teething situation we are in (two teeth protruding on the bottom). So, she would rather gnaw on flesh or clothe (paper if we let her - but we don't because she eats it).

It is Great When We Can Laugh at Ourselves!

AJU5 loves mirrors! Yesterday I sat her in front of the new ones for our bathroom after she had been cranky and didn't want to be put down. She smiled and giglged and laughed at herself until I took her away (she was starting to pull on the box, and I didn't want it to fall on her). Later, after cereal but before bed, I put her in her exersaucer. I went to help AJU1 with the sanding of some doors, and the next thing we knew she was laughing again. So, we looked over, and she had turned the pages of the "book" to one of the mirrors and was laughing at herself again! It was great.

As for bed time, I tried reading to her before she went down. We read Luke 1, which is quite a long chapter, and then she eat a little bit and went down with only one pacifier reinsertion! So, maybe reading a chapter of the Bible before bed is a good routine. We will try Luke 2 tonight!

New Bed Time Ritual

So here is AJU5's old bed time routine:
Eat cereal (4-5 tbsp plus milk) around 7:30
Get cleaned up, head upstairs for an outfit/diaper change.
Sit with Mommy at the computer or watch Daddy work on house
Get good night kiss from Daddy
Nurse and lay down in bed
Maybe fuss a little for missing pacifier (she tends to loose it when she squirms to find a comfortable position) - but fall asleep within 2 pacifier reinsertions.

New Routine - Same as old but won't fall asleep even with pacifier reinsertion. She now requires to be taken out of bed, held for a bit (where she smiles at you), confirms she is not hungry, and then goes down with at most one pacifier reinsertion.

Maybe I should try to just hold her for a bit in the bedroom before bed???

At least she is sleeping better - only woke up 4 times between 9:30 and 7:30 this morning! I can deal with that (she was doing about 6-7 wake ups...)

First Posting

Well, I have gone to the darkside and started a blog. I already keep a webpage wtih AJU5's pictures on it, send out monthly (if not more often) emails on her behalf, and have a facebook page. but he, I have been enjoying reading blogs for a while so I thought I would start one.

AJU5 is almost 6 months old, and one tooth is already poking through her gums (on the bottom). So, she has not been a happy camper to say the least. Teething Tablets are helping though - she slept better last night and has been happier this morning.

Now to try and get her to be happier playing by herself so I can get work done around the house!