I can't believe how quickly these past 4 months have gone by. It seems like only yesterday when I was sitting in a hospital room, not having gone into labor, but having a 'surprise' induction thanks to some mild pre-eclampsia.
And now I have this HUGE kid. Over 18 lbs. of solid baby boy. He really is the happiest little guy. He is firmly a thumb-sucker, turning to that little nub when he is trying to comfort himself to sleep or interested in eating but not starving yet. And sometimes, when he's sucking his thumb to fall asleep, he fusses a bit. And that is code for 'nurse me to sleep, mommy!' Other times he starts sucking his whole hand. That is code for 'HUNGRY!'
He is not a kid who cries for fun or just to hear his own voice. When Donovan cries, it's for a reason, and it sounds painful. Sometimes it's that we have missed his hunger cues. Sometimes it's a rather soiled diaper (the double-edged sword of neutral-smelling breastfed baby poop). Usually it's a tummy ache, no doubt related to his food sensitivities that we have not fully uncovered. I have eliminated all soy and dairy from my diet, and I am an avid label-reader, but sometimes you just don't have control.
When he wants to hear his own voice, he chatters away. The kid loves to 'talk'. He gets a goofy grin on his face in response to the sound of his voice. It's awesome. He also laughs a whole lot. And his laugh is infectious! He loves having his cheeks 'eaten' and hands and feet kissed. All of these things make him super giggly. He's a giant flirt - he laughs and smiles at anybody who makes faces at him. I'm in big trouble with that one.
Donovan is getting really good at grabbing things. While he nurses he enjoys holding my hand or shirt. While on his play gym he holds the rings that hang above. He hasn't picked up any toys yet, but I bet he would hold something if we put it in his hand. He's also big on grabbing my finger and sticking it in his mouth and chomping on it. I wonder if that means that teeth are on the horizon. He is also *this close* to rolling over. He tries really hard. He even rolls to his side when we lie him down on his back. It's like, now that he knows that he can view the world from different angles, there is no reason to view it from his back anymore. And his head control is fantastic. I can hold him in my arms and he keeps his head upright like a champ.
We are still working on the sleep schedule thing. And, honestly, Mike and I are still just taking Donovan's lead. We are waiting for the daycare stuff to become routine. Some nights he is asleep when he gets home, and even sleeps straight into the evening and through the night. I'll wake him up once or twice for a diaper change and dream feed, but he is content to keep on sleeping. Other nights he is a bit more energetic. Last night, for example, he never really went to sleep. He just took a few naps in a row. He does have the ability to put himself to sleep. He will often lay down on his blanket or his play gym.
Unfortunately he still has green diarrhea. It has been 3 to 4 weeks. We have his well visit on Wednesday, and hopefully we will figure out next steps at that time. It might be another trip to the GI doctor. It might be another set of poop collection vials. I just don't know what else we can do.
Anyway, it's been an amazing 4 months. Amazing. I love my little guy :-).
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Somebody is saying her name!
It was only a few months ago (not even) when Jocelyn couldn't even say "Jocelyn." But last night she repeated after me, "Jocelyn Piper Karle"!!! Yup, my baby girl can say her full name. And, actually, I was teasing her because she peed a whole lot yesterday. So I called her Jocelyn Diaper Karle. She thought that was funny, and thus repeated it. But when Mike changed 'Piper' to 'Pooper' she was not amused. She said 'NO Daddy!' Too funny!
She also said a 6-word sentence. Mike was reading her a Clifford book and she said, "Emily riding Clifford Big Red Dog." That's pretty awesome.
I'm such a proud mama!
She also said a 6-word sentence. Mike was reading her a Clifford book and she said, "Emily riding Clifford Big Red Dog." That's pretty awesome.
I'm such a proud mama!
Almost on a roll!
Donovan is trying SO hard to roll over. When he lays down on a flat surface he immediately lays down on his side. He is SO CLOSE to being over turned over, but his bottom arm just gets in the way. He can't quite flip over it. He'll get there. I am watching hi work it now, he is 2/3 of the way over.
He also *loves* the Exersaucer. Did I tell you that already? I don't remember. Anyway, he loves it. We need to set up the one we have at home. I should do that right now. Jocelyn and Mike are both asleep, and Donovan is getting some exercise by laying on his play gym (and, well, trying to roll over.. like I said above).
Poor little guy has a cold, though. Which is really no surprise, since he is in daycare now. So he is exposed to just that many more hazards. He is being a champ about it, though. The kid is just laid back! Jocelyn was always tough with her colds, too. So I guess I have had it easy in that sense.
He also *loves* the Exersaucer. Did I tell you that already? I don't remember. Anyway, he loves it. We need to set up the one we have at home. I should do that right now. Jocelyn and Mike are both asleep, and Donovan is getting some exercise by laying on his play gym (and, well, trying to roll over.. like I said above).
Poor little guy has a cold, though. Which is really no surprise, since he is in daycare now. So he is exposed to just that many more hazards. He is being a champ about it, though. The kid is just laid back! Jocelyn was always tough with her colds, too. So I guess I have had it easy in that sense.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
And now it's time for the evening naps
Daycare is very tiring for Donovan, at least it has been the past few days. He naps just fine, for the most part. And it's not like he gets a ton of one-on-one attention. But he does play pretty hard and get to work on new skills. While most of the day is spent in a bouncy seat (which I hate), he has spent some time in the Exersaucer (or whatever brand they have) the past few days. This has been very tiring for him! It's a lot of exercise so it wears on him! The past two days he has been asleep when I pick him up from daycare. And it's not as though he was put down for a nap today (yesterday he was). He just passed out in the bouncy seat! It's super cute.
Also, Donovan is getting really good at grabbing at things, especially his own hands. He napped in the chair while clutching his hands together. It was too sweet!
This does make me sad, though, because Donovan and I had very little play time today. I'm talking on the order of 30 minutes total! He napped on and off all evening. I woke him for diaper changes and to eat. And then he was awake while I was putting Jocelyn to bed, which was 30 minutes of wasted awake time that he spent in the swing :-(. Actually, he was also awake for her bath, but at least he was in the room with us and I got to make faces at him and make him laugh, even if it wasn't physical play time. It will get better when I'm not a single parent - I'll be able to cuddle my bugaboo while Mike reads Jocelyn her bedtime stories (and he will get his cuddle time while I'm singing to and rocking Jocelyn).
I will say that the post-daycare naps do make dinner prep a whole lot easier. Again, it's a moot point when Mike is home - he typically holds Donovan while I feed Jocelyn and make our meals... or he keeps Jocelyn company while I nurse Donovan (depending on how the timing works out). But if Donovan naps during that time, then maybe we can split the dinner prep duties and get to eat together a bit earlier.
Also, Donovan is getting really good at grabbing at things, especially his own hands. He napped in the chair while clutching his hands together. It was too sweet!
This does make me sad, though, because Donovan and I had very little play time today. I'm talking on the order of 30 minutes total! He napped on and off all evening. I woke him for diaper changes and to eat. And then he was awake while I was putting Jocelyn to bed, which was 30 minutes of wasted awake time that he spent in the swing :-(. Actually, he was also awake for her bath, but at least he was in the room with us and I got to make faces at him and make him laugh, even if it wasn't physical play time. It will get better when I'm not a single parent - I'll be able to cuddle my bugaboo while Mike reads Jocelyn her bedtime stories (and he will get his cuddle time while I'm singing to and rocking Jocelyn).
I will say that the post-daycare naps do make dinner prep a whole lot easier. Again, it's a moot point when Mike is home - he typically holds Donovan while I feed Jocelyn and make our meals... or he keeps Jocelyn company while I nurse Donovan (depending on how the timing works out). But if Donovan naps during that time, then maybe we can split the dinner prep duties and get to eat together a bit earlier.
A-bet! Chicago!
I love how toddlers say the first and last syllable of long words. It's cute. It can be tricky. Some words are easier than others (boon for balloon is easy), so a-bet is alphabet.
We sing the alphabet every night... have since we started trying to sleep train (so since 5 months). I do a medley of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Bah Bah Black Sheep / ABC's / Made-up song about Jocelyn. And there are a few YouTube videos we watch frequently, one where Elmo sings the ABC's with India Arie and another where Abby sings it with some little girl. So there is a whole lot of alphabetting going on. I suspect that they also sing it at daycare. They do a whole lot of singing there.
Anyway, we got in the car after daycare and the trip did NOT start with the typical request for Old McDonald (EIEIO! Pig!). Instead she started reciting the alphabet. I didn't recognize it at first, since she has no real concept of melody yet. But sure enough, A B C D E F G H I J K babble babble S T U V babble babble Next Time Sing With Me. She is 22 months old. This is awesome.
Yesterday she asked me to sing Bah Bah Black Sheep to her. Today she recited it to me! Totally unprompted at that. She just busted it out. She misses a few words, and only gets 2/3 of the way through it. But it was instantly recognizable.
And then, while she was talking herself to sleep, she started talking about how Daddy is in Chicago. Now, he's not. He's in Lynchburg, VA. But last month he had to take a work trip to Chicago. So when she would ask for him, I would tell her that Daddy went on an airplane to go to work in Chicago. This time I didn't tell her where Daddy went, just that he went on an airplane to go to work. She deduced that he must be in Chicago again.
We sing the alphabet every night... have since we started trying to sleep train (so since 5 months). I do a medley of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Bah Bah Black Sheep / ABC's / Made-up song about Jocelyn. And there are a few YouTube videos we watch frequently, one where Elmo sings the ABC's with India Arie and another where Abby sings it with some little girl. So there is a whole lot of alphabetting going on. I suspect that they also sing it at daycare. They do a whole lot of singing there.
Anyway, we got in the car after daycare and the trip did NOT start with the typical request for Old McDonald (EIEIO! Pig!). Instead she started reciting the alphabet. I didn't recognize it at first, since she has no real concept of melody yet. But sure enough, A B C D E F G H I J K babble babble S T U V babble babble Next Time Sing With Me. She is 22 months old. This is awesome.
Yesterday she asked me to sing Bah Bah Black Sheep to her. Today she recited it to me! Totally unprompted at that. She just busted it out. She misses a few words, and only gets 2/3 of the way through it. But it was instantly recognizable.
And then, while she was talking herself to sleep, she started talking about how Daddy is in Chicago. Now, he's not. He's in Lynchburg, VA. But last month he had to take a work trip to Chicago. So when she would ask for him, I would tell her that Daddy went on an airplane to go to work in Chicago. This time I didn't tell her where Daddy went, just that he went on an airplane to go to work. She deduced that he must be in Chicago again.
Monday, May 14, 2012
22 Months - or maybe a more clever title
Jocelyn is getting far too old for me to still express her age in months. But it makes for a good blog update goal. So there you have it :-P.
My little monkey becomes more and more of a person each day. She has opinions, and she is not afraid to share them! We recently had Samantha out to visit. Now, normally Jocelyn is very open to being friends with our guests, especially the female ones. The first night they both made an effort - Jocelyn expressed interest in Samantha's stuff, and wanted to see what was in her suitcase. Samantha showed her some of it, and then it was bath / bed time so it was over. The next morning Jocelyn tried to look through the suitcase again. This time, her potential buddy Samantha said no. And when Jocelyn cried, Samantha stood her ground and said, "you'll live." Now, I don't care that she said no to Jocelyn - having a lesson in respecting people's stuff is good for her. There are certainly things we don't let Jocelyn play with for a variety of reasons (value, danger, etc.). But Jocelyn was not quite so forgiving. From that point on, she expressed zero interest in being friends with Samantha. I have never seen her turn on somebody so quickly. And, out of a healthy level of self-awareness, I can't say I'm mystified as to where she gets this trait.
The repeating has grown tremendously. Just today, I was talking with Donovan and said, "All Right Bugaboo!" Jocelyn repeated the exact phrase with the same inflection. The daycare teachers know to be very careful around her because she repeats everything. The week we spent away was enough of a gap that they were able to see measurable growth in her skills and vocabulary.
In addition to repeating phrases, she is getting really good at learning and repeating her songs. She quotes partial verses from "The wheels on the bus." She will bust out things like: 'bus driver move on back,' 'daddy shh shh shh,' and 'mommy i love you.' It's super cute. Then Mike told her that the daddies on the bus say "burp burp burp' which she thought was funny. So now she sings it that way to us. She's also getting better at Old McDonald. She says "EIEIO" and then usually also gives the name of an animal. She usually starts with a typical farm animal (usually pig, cow or chicken), then she might do cat and dog, and eventually Mommy, Daddy and Donovan. It's funny. She also sings the 'Clean up' song and the corresponding 'pick up' song. And some other songs that I don't know. I guess that they also play Duck Duck Goose (or at least an under-two variation of it) because she often says 'Duck Duck Goose.' Sidebar - when I made couscous for dinner the other night, and asked her to try it, she said 'duck duck couscous!' I nearly died!
A few weekends ago Jocelyn was fighting bedtime. She just refused to go to sleep. She jumped up and down in her crib, and eventually let out a blood-curdling wail. That was the sort of sound you don't ignore, so I ran in. Lo and behold, she got her foot stuck between the crib slats. So I went to help her. To this day, she often retells the tale, "Jocelyn foot stuck. Mommy help." We tell her, yes, Mommy did help you when your foot was stuck. It's cute how she loves to retell the story.
Jocelyn loves her new lawnmower. I am pretty sure I have talked about that before, but now she can sort of say it. And when I say 'sort of', I really mean sort of. It takes Mike and I each a few times of hearing it before we understand it. We usually think she is saying lamb. Then we think she is saying grandma. Tonight she wanted to push lamb on the lawnmower, so she said, "Lamb on lawnmower!" Yeah... that took quite a bit of time before I figured it out.
She has a few other new 'toys'. She has a table and chairs that she just loves. Mostly she loves to climb on the chairs, but sometimes we will sit at her little table and color. She also now has a step stool in her bathroom. She can climb onto it and wash her hands. She just loves to wash her hands. She will often request to do it. She understands that she is not supposed to climb the step stool without us. And she also understands that she is not supposed to use the hot water ("no no hot").
So at the end of this month, Jocelyn 'might be able to use prepositions.' I guess we are ahead of the curve on that one - Jocelyn has been using some prepositions for a while now. She's been saying 'up' for a while, but that seems pretty common. She also understands 'on', 'off', 'down', 'outside', 'inside', and a few others that I can't remember. She also understands driver seat and car seats
I am drawing a blank on all of the other little stories that I need to capture. I need to do a better job with this whole blogging thing. I am WAY behind on baby books, I haven't printed pictures in months, and obviously I don't blog as well as I need to. I feel like I can't possibly forget these stories, but then when it comes time to type them out they are gone.
One last thing to capture... Jocelyn does great at daycare. She knows all of her friends' names. She has some girl friends who she gives hugs to. She loves her teachers. She makes crafts that she is super proud of. But when she sees me at the end of the day, her whole face lights up in this huge smile. She shakes her hands, as though she can't contain the excitement. And she runs over to where I am and throws her arms around my neck and gives me a huge hug. It is totally the highlight of my day. I don't think that there has ever been anybody in the whole world so excited to see me. Just thinking about it makes me so happy and warms me down to my belly. It's pretty amazing. This is what motherhood is all about.
My little monkey becomes more and more of a person each day. She has opinions, and she is not afraid to share them! We recently had Samantha out to visit. Now, normally Jocelyn is very open to being friends with our guests, especially the female ones. The first night they both made an effort - Jocelyn expressed interest in Samantha's stuff, and wanted to see what was in her suitcase. Samantha showed her some of it, and then it was bath / bed time so it was over. The next morning Jocelyn tried to look through the suitcase again. This time, her potential buddy Samantha said no. And when Jocelyn cried, Samantha stood her ground and said, "you'll live." Now, I don't care that she said no to Jocelyn - having a lesson in respecting people's stuff is good for her. There are certainly things we don't let Jocelyn play with for a variety of reasons (value, danger, etc.). But Jocelyn was not quite so forgiving. From that point on, she expressed zero interest in being friends with Samantha. I have never seen her turn on somebody so quickly. And, out of a healthy level of self-awareness, I can't say I'm mystified as to where she gets this trait.
The repeating has grown tremendously. Just today, I was talking with Donovan and said, "All Right Bugaboo!" Jocelyn repeated the exact phrase with the same inflection. The daycare teachers know to be very careful around her because she repeats everything. The week we spent away was enough of a gap that they were able to see measurable growth in her skills and vocabulary.
In addition to repeating phrases, she is getting really good at learning and repeating her songs. She quotes partial verses from "The wheels on the bus." She will bust out things like: 'bus driver move on back,' 'daddy shh shh shh,' and 'mommy i love you.' It's super cute. Then Mike told her that the daddies on the bus say "burp burp burp' which she thought was funny. So now she sings it that way to us. She's also getting better at Old McDonald. She says "EIEIO" and then usually also gives the name of an animal. She usually starts with a typical farm animal (usually pig, cow or chicken), then she might do cat and dog, and eventually Mommy, Daddy and Donovan. It's funny. She also sings the 'Clean up' song and the corresponding 'pick up' song. And some other songs that I don't know. I guess that they also play Duck Duck Goose (or at least an under-two variation of it) because she often says 'Duck Duck Goose.' Sidebar - when I made couscous for dinner the other night, and asked her to try it, she said 'duck duck couscous!' I nearly died!
A few weekends ago Jocelyn was fighting bedtime. She just refused to go to sleep. She jumped up and down in her crib, and eventually let out a blood-curdling wail. That was the sort of sound you don't ignore, so I ran in. Lo and behold, she got her foot stuck between the crib slats. So I went to help her. To this day, she often retells the tale, "Jocelyn foot stuck. Mommy help." We tell her, yes, Mommy did help you when your foot was stuck. It's cute how she loves to retell the story.
Jocelyn loves her new lawnmower. I am pretty sure I have talked about that before, but now she can sort of say it. And when I say 'sort of', I really mean sort of. It takes Mike and I each a few times of hearing it before we understand it. We usually think she is saying lamb. Then we think she is saying grandma. Tonight she wanted to push lamb on the lawnmower, so she said, "Lamb on lawnmower!" Yeah... that took quite a bit of time before I figured it out.
She has a few other new 'toys'. She has a table and chairs that she just loves. Mostly she loves to climb on the chairs, but sometimes we will sit at her little table and color. She also now has a step stool in her bathroom. She can climb onto it and wash her hands. She just loves to wash her hands. She will often request to do it. She understands that she is not supposed to climb the step stool without us. And she also understands that she is not supposed to use the hot water ("no no hot").
So at the end of this month, Jocelyn 'might be able to use prepositions.' I guess we are ahead of the curve on that one - Jocelyn has been using some prepositions for a while now. She's been saying 'up' for a while, but that seems pretty common. She also understands 'on', 'off', 'down', 'outside', 'inside', and a few others that I can't remember. She also understands driver seat and car seats
I am drawing a blank on all of the other little stories that I need to capture. I need to do a better job with this whole blogging thing. I am WAY behind on baby books, I haven't printed pictures in months, and obviously I don't blog as well as I need to. I feel like I can't possibly forget these stories, but then when it comes time to type them out they are gone.
One last thing to capture... Jocelyn does great at daycare. She knows all of her friends' names. She has some girl friends who she gives hugs to. She loves her teachers. She makes crafts that she is super proud of. But when she sees me at the end of the day, her whole face lights up in this huge smile. She shakes her hands, as though she can't contain the excitement. And she runs over to where I am and throws her arms around my neck and gives me a huge hug. It is totally the highlight of my day. I don't think that there has ever been anybody in the whole world so excited to see me. Just thinking about it makes me so happy and warms me down to my belly. It's pretty amazing. This is what motherhood is all about.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Donovan starts daycare
I can't believe that my maternity leave is OVER. It was a very fast 15 weeks. And, honestly, I'm not sure I'm ready for it to be over. But it is, and since we are accustomed to our lifestyle, and I couldn't handle two babies all day, and I like my job, my leave is over.
Which means that Donovan is now in daycare. We send him to the same place we send Jocelyn. But Jocelyn never went to daycare as a baby since my MIL moved down to take care of her. She started up as a toddler - already walking, saying a few words (and I mean a few.. Mama, Dada, milk and more, maybe a few others), etc. She could play with toys. She could flip through books. She could communicate what she wanted fairly clearly (or clearly enough).
Donovan, on the other hand, is 15 weeks old. He can't even sit up. He is still mastering thumb-sucking! He can hold his head up, and is huge, but he is truly just a baby. And it's not that the caregivers aren't great. They seem really good. And most of the babies seem happy (and some are only happy when held, and you can't hold a baby all the time). I just feel bad that most of his day is spent strapped into a bouncy chair, or hanging out in a crib. They don't even get to all be held while eating because sometimes more babies need to eat at once than there are grownups to feed them. When that happens, the caregivers give bottles to babies in bouncy chairs. They can hold two bottles and satisfy two babies, but the babies don't get the cuddles.
The director does pop into the baby room fairly frequently and lend a hand. I think it is because she loves babies. She comes in, gives them cuddles, comforts them, etc. Today she was rocking with one in each arm. It was very cute. With a director like that in place, I have a lot of confidence in the facility.
Donovan's first day didn't go great. He was fine at drop off, but when we popped in midday, I could hear him crying when we walked in the main door. We bumped into one of Jocelyn's old teachers who was all, "I just saw him, he was fine, that's not him crying." Well it was, because I know my boy's cry. We got in there and he wasn't crying anymore, but had the look of a baby who was. He hardly ate anything, hardly slept, didn't poop, and was very cold. I nursed him while we were there. He ate hard and then passed out. Then at the end of the day he fell asleep in Mike's arms and slept there for quite some time. We only had about an hour of Donovan awake time before he passed out for the night.
I was sort of a wreck this morning when we dropped him off, but he seemed perfectly happy to be there and was laughing with us before we left. So if there was trauma, he didn't take it with him. He did MUCH better! He drank just about all of the milk I sent in, took two short and one good nap, had a poop and was much warmer (I dressed him in long sleeves and jeans today). We popped in at lunch again, and he was screaming again, but it was because he was hungry. They had just gotten his bottle from the fridge and hadn't warmed it yet, so I just nursed him. Again, he ate hard, but this time he didn't pass out. And he had eaten well all morning, and had a nap already. We played and laughed and cuddled for a bit before heading back to the office.
The moral of the story is that I think he is going to be fine. They said that he is adjusting much faster than most children do. He is already laughing with them and smiling a lot. He loves it when they wash his hands after diaper changes. He giggles away (we don't do that, so the newness might be part of it). My little man is a champ!
He has been extra tired since starting, though. I don't know if it's that he doesn't sleep as much while there (he takes lots of nursing cat naps with me during the day), or if he is coincidentally going through a growth spurt, but he has been asleep for a big chunk of the evening.
Which means that Donovan is now in daycare. We send him to the same place we send Jocelyn. But Jocelyn never went to daycare as a baby since my MIL moved down to take care of her. She started up as a toddler - already walking, saying a few words (and I mean a few.. Mama, Dada, milk and more, maybe a few others), etc. She could play with toys. She could flip through books. She could communicate what she wanted fairly clearly (or clearly enough).
Donovan, on the other hand, is 15 weeks old. He can't even sit up. He is still mastering thumb-sucking! He can hold his head up, and is huge, but he is truly just a baby. And it's not that the caregivers aren't great. They seem really good. And most of the babies seem happy (and some are only happy when held, and you can't hold a baby all the time). I just feel bad that most of his day is spent strapped into a bouncy chair, or hanging out in a crib. They don't even get to all be held while eating because sometimes more babies need to eat at once than there are grownups to feed them. When that happens, the caregivers give bottles to babies in bouncy chairs. They can hold two bottles and satisfy two babies, but the babies don't get the cuddles.
The director does pop into the baby room fairly frequently and lend a hand. I think it is because she loves babies. She comes in, gives them cuddles, comforts them, etc. Today she was rocking with one in each arm. It was very cute. With a director like that in place, I have a lot of confidence in the facility.
Donovan's first day didn't go great. He was fine at drop off, but when we popped in midday, I could hear him crying when we walked in the main door. We bumped into one of Jocelyn's old teachers who was all, "I just saw him, he was fine, that's not him crying." Well it was, because I know my boy's cry. We got in there and he wasn't crying anymore, but had the look of a baby who was. He hardly ate anything, hardly slept, didn't poop, and was very cold. I nursed him while we were there. He ate hard and then passed out. Then at the end of the day he fell asleep in Mike's arms and slept there for quite some time. We only had about an hour of Donovan awake time before he passed out for the night.
I was sort of a wreck this morning when we dropped him off, but he seemed perfectly happy to be there and was laughing with us before we left. So if there was trauma, he didn't take it with him. He did MUCH better! He drank just about all of the milk I sent in, took two short and one good nap, had a poop and was much warmer (I dressed him in long sleeves and jeans today). We popped in at lunch again, and he was screaming again, but it was because he was hungry. They had just gotten his bottle from the fridge and hadn't warmed it yet, so I just nursed him. Again, he ate hard, but this time he didn't pass out. And he had eaten well all morning, and had a nap already. We played and laughed and cuddled for a bit before heading back to the office.
The moral of the story is that I think he is going to be fine. They said that he is adjusting much faster than most children do. He is already laughing with them and smiling a lot. He loves it when they wash his hands after diaper changes. He giggles away (we don't do that, so the newness might be part of it). My little man is a champ!
He has been extra tired since starting, though. I don't know if it's that he doesn't sleep as much while there (he takes lots of nursing cat naps with me during the day), or if he is coincidentally going through a growth spurt, but he has been asleep for a big chunk of the evening.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Jocelyn on Vacation
We recently took the kiddos on vacation to Grand Rapids. I covered Donovan (and his champion-ness) in his 3 month post. But I thought that Jocelyn needed her own post - separate from her upcoming 22 month post (which, let's be honest here, this might just turn into).
As always, Jocelyn was a champ on the plane. She played quietly, ate a few snacks and was well-behaved. Also, as always, she had a major blow-out poop in mid-air. Something about flying makes that poor kid have to power poop! She fussed a tiny bit, but she was fine. Evidently she asked for me and Donovan a bunch (we couldn't all sit in the same row, since there is only one extra mask per row).
Jocelyn took to all of her aunts and cousins. We got to the house and she fell in love with her Aunt Kathy. She also had lots of fun playing with Libby (Nancy's dog). Eventually Carrie came by with blocks. I didn't see any of that, though. We got Donovan down for a nap and took one ourselves. We were very happy that she took so well to her family!
By the end of the day Jocelyn knew everybody's names. It was so cute to hear her talk and refer to "An Kassie" (Aunt Kathy), "Ca-ee" (Carrie), "Ma-ee" (Mary), as well as Aimee, Jim and Debbie (she pretty much said those right). She also got to meet her Great Grandpa and of course spend good quality time with "Gamma" and "Yibby".
Jocelyn learned about 100 new words while we were there. It was cool to watch her learn and grow. Because Aunt Kathy has a friend with babies just older than our babies, she was able to get her hands on some gear, toys, etc. We had car seats already installed in Grandma's car (which meant that poor Mike got to squish between two car seats on the drive home). We had two Pack 'n' Plays with sheets and everything (we did bring our own sheets and waterproof pads, though... and good thing, too, since both babies peed through their diapers several times during the trip).
There was a whole library of new books. Okay, it was probably a dozen new (to her, they were borrowed) books. But we read them all and she picked out her favorites. There was a book of nursery rhymes that we read over and over (and over and over) again. She's a big fan of "Diddle Diddle Dumpling." Even still, weeks later, she says, "One shoe off, one shoe on, de de de." That is her cue for me to recite the whole rhyme. But when we were in MI we would start at the beginning of the book and read through each rhyme. There were some in the back in Spanish, which Aunt Sarah was able to read to her.
Aunt Kathy is totally Jocelyn's new best friend. She just took Kathy around everywhere with her. Kathy has a screensaver on her phone with different animals that come out, and Jocelyn really liked when the baby deer came out on the screen. She still asks about Aunt Kathy and the baby deer ('baby dee-o'). And then Kathy brought a new tiny dog around, Baby Bella, or as Jocelyn says, "Baby Beyya," who she also remembers and asks about. So cute!
Aunt Sarah, Uncle Pat and Uncle Jeff all showed up toward the end of the week, which was also fun for Jocelyn. I think that "Pat" is easy to say, because every time Jocelyn saw Pat she yelled his name. It was adorable! She also has been perfecting how she says Sarah. It's no longer "Sessou." Now it's more of a "Say-ah."
It was amazing and heartwarming watching my baby spend time with her extended family. She is at such an amazing age. She remembers everybody right now, and she asks about them. She looks through the pictures on my camera and says everybody's names. They sent her a video on my phone and Jocelyn loves to watch it. She says everybody's name there - and when Uncle Pat comes on, she asks for Aunt Sarah. She remembers her toy car - the kind you climb into and drive with your feet - and remembers how Libby takes the key out when you honk the horn ('Yibby key out'). She understands about Grandma's house, and how it's somewhere different.
While we were there, Mike had to travel to Chicago on business. She understood about how Daddy needed to go to work, and how it was in Chicago ("Cago" or "Chigo"). And that he went on an airplane and would be back in a few days. And she was okay reading stories with her cousin Carrie while Mike was out of town and Mommy had to nurse or change Donovan.
She loved climbing stairs, and understood right away that she should only go up and down stairs with a grown up. She loved climbing into her booster seat. She loved eating fish sticks and chicken nuggets, and would ask for them by name. She also dazzled us all with her requests for peaches and pears. And when she ripped a gift bag, she went up to Kathy and asked, so sweetly, "Kathy, please tape this." Her first sentence. All strung together. She also had some other complete thoughts that she was able to communicate. When she tried to open a snap clutch purse, and was unsuccessful, she declared, "hard to open!" She also assigned seats to everybody - or at least liked people to stay in the seats that they originally sat in. Kathy had to stay in the yellow chair. And when I sat in Grandma's seat, Jocelyn stopped on the landing of the steps and yelled at me, 'No Mommy! Grandma seat!"
She loved taking Libby out to potty. When they came inside, Libby would get a treat ('Libby Teet'). She loved playing outside with Libby. She would collect sticks and Libby would take them. She thought that was hilarious! Well, until she decided she wanted the sticks for herself. So she would collect them into the trunk of her car. She continued to love throwing the ball for Libby.
She also had fun playing with Uncle Jeff. They would build block towers. And then they would knock down the block towers and yell "Kaboom!".
Given all of the fun she had with everybody, and the relationships she built with everybody, we felt totally comfortable leaving her with her aunts and cousins while we went to the wedding. Not that we would have been uncomfortable. We knew that she was in good hands. But it gave us peace of mind of her comfort level. We knew she wouldn't miss us (and she didn't).
My girl did great on vacation. And, like I said already, my boy did too. But I covered that story already :-).
As always, Jocelyn was a champ on the plane. She played quietly, ate a few snacks and was well-behaved. Also, as always, she had a major blow-out poop in mid-air. Something about flying makes that poor kid have to power poop! She fussed a tiny bit, but she was fine. Evidently she asked for me and Donovan a bunch (we couldn't all sit in the same row, since there is only one extra mask per row).
Jocelyn took to all of her aunts and cousins. We got to the house and she fell in love with her Aunt Kathy. She also had lots of fun playing with Libby (Nancy's dog). Eventually Carrie came by with blocks. I didn't see any of that, though. We got Donovan down for a nap and took one ourselves. We were very happy that she took so well to her family!
By the end of the day Jocelyn knew everybody's names. It was so cute to hear her talk and refer to "An Kassie" (Aunt Kathy), "Ca-ee" (Carrie), "Ma-ee" (Mary), as well as Aimee, Jim and Debbie (she pretty much said those right). She also got to meet her Great Grandpa and of course spend good quality time with "Gamma" and "Yibby".
Jocelyn learned about 100 new words while we were there. It was cool to watch her learn and grow. Because Aunt Kathy has a friend with babies just older than our babies, she was able to get her hands on some gear, toys, etc. We had car seats already installed in Grandma's car (which meant that poor Mike got to squish between two car seats on the drive home). We had two Pack 'n' Plays with sheets and everything (we did bring our own sheets and waterproof pads, though... and good thing, too, since both babies peed through their diapers several times during the trip).
There was a whole library of new books. Okay, it was probably a dozen new (to her, they were borrowed) books. But we read them all and she picked out her favorites. There was a book of nursery rhymes that we read over and over (and over and over) again. She's a big fan of "Diddle Diddle Dumpling." Even still, weeks later, she says, "One shoe off, one shoe on, de de de." That is her cue for me to recite the whole rhyme. But when we were in MI we would start at the beginning of the book and read through each rhyme. There were some in the back in Spanish, which Aunt Sarah was able to read to her.
Aunt Kathy is totally Jocelyn's new best friend. She just took Kathy around everywhere with her. Kathy has a screensaver on her phone with different animals that come out, and Jocelyn really liked when the baby deer came out on the screen. She still asks about Aunt Kathy and the baby deer ('baby dee-o'). And then Kathy brought a new tiny dog around, Baby Bella, or as Jocelyn says, "Baby Beyya," who she also remembers and asks about. So cute!
Aunt Sarah, Uncle Pat and Uncle Jeff all showed up toward the end of the week, which was also fun for Jocelyn. I think that "Pat" is easy to say, because every time Jocelyn saw Pat she yelled his name. It was adorable! She also has been perfecting how she says Sarah. It's no longer "Sessou." Now it's more of a "Say-ah."
It was amazing and heartwarming watching my baby spend time with her extended family. She is at such an amazing age. She remembers everybody right now, and she asks about them. She looks through the pictures on my camera and says everybody's names. They sent her a video on my phone and Jocelyn loves to watch it. She says everybody's name there - and when Uncle Pat comes on, she asks for Aunt Sarah. She remembers her toy car - the kind you climb into and drive with your feet - and remembers how Libby takes the key out when you honk the horn ('Yibby key out'). She understands about Grandma's house, and how it's somewhere different.
While we were there, Mike had to travel to Chicago on business. She understood about how Daddy needed to go to work, and how it was in Chicago ("Cago" or "Chigo"). And that he went on an airplane and would be back in a few days. And she was okay reading stories with her cousin Carrie while Mike was out of town and Mommy had to nurse or change Donovan.
She loved climbing stairs, and understood right away that she should only go up and down stairs with a grown up. She loved climbing into her booster seat. She loved eating fish sticks and chicken nuggets, and would ask for them by name. She also dazzled us all with her requests for peaches and pears. And when she ripped a gift bag, she went up to Kathy and asked, so sweetly, "Kathy, please tape this." Her first sentence. All strung together. She also had some other complete thoughts that she was able to communicate. When she tried to open a snap clutch purse, and was unsuccessful, she declared, "hard to open!" She also assigned seats to everybody - or at least liked people to stay in the seats that they originally sat in. Kathy had to stay in the yellow chair. And when I sat in Grandma's seat, Jocelyn stopped on the landing of the steps and yelled at me, 'No Mommy! Grandma seat!"
She loved taking Libby out to potty. When they came inside, Libby would get a treat ('Libby Teet'). She loved playing outside with Libby. She would collect sticks and Libby would take them. She thought that was hilarious! Well, until she decided she wanted the sticks for herself. So she would collect them into the trunk of her car. She continued to love throwing the ball for Libby.
She also had fun playing with Uncle Jeff. They would build block towers. And then they would knock down the block towers and yell "Kaboom!".
Given all of the fun she had with everybody, and the relationships she built with everybody, we felt totally comfortable leaving her with her aunts and cousins while we went to the wedding. Not that we would have been uncomfortable. We knew that she was in good hands. But it gave us peace of mind of her comfort level. We knew she wouldn't miss us (and she didn't).
My girl did great on vacation. And, like I said already, my boy did too. But I covered that story already :-).
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Stinky poop! Green poop!
Read this at your own risk....
While we were on vacation a few weeks ago, Donovan started having stinky poops. They looked fairly normal, but they could knock you over. They smelled of sour milk. It was awful!
I didn't think much of it at first. I mean, we did fly. My diet was sort of different. I was even eating a whole lot of sourdough bread. So who knows?
But as I thought about it, I was concerned. When we returned from vacation Donovan just seemed a bit off. He was a bit congested, and coughing some. He also sneezed out some large, cork-like boogers. And, honestly, the rest of us were sick. Jocelyn was just on the mend, but Mike and I were sick the entire time. When I went to the doctor I learned that I had strep. I called the nurses' line at his doctor's office and they recommended I bring him in.
While we were at the doctor's office, Donovan was a champ and demonstrated his stinky poop - and this time it was green. And I'm not just talking regular poop green. I'm talking bright, vibrant, spring day grass green! It was also very loose (even for breastfed baby poop). His doctor diagnosed him with Rotavirus. Since he had his first (of three) vaccine she thought it would be mild. There was no need to test in her eyes - it would work itself out in a week and there was nothing different to be done with confirmation. Just rest, fluids, etc. and it would eventually reverse. If he got dehydrated (stopped peeing), had blood in his stool, got a fever, etc. then I should bring him back. Also, bring him back at the end of the week if he still has symptoms.
Well, nothing new started up, so that was good. And, eventually, the smell even went away. But the poop was still vibrant green. And loose and mucoussy. I let Friday come and go, hoping it would be gone by the weekend. But alas, it was not. So Monday we were back at the doctor's office. He still looks and sounds great, so he is not presenting with anything obvious. The next round of testing was then to collect stool samples. Yes. I had to scoop poop out of his diaper and put it into test tubes. Three tubes had different solvents in them, and the fourth tube had no liquid so it had to be refrigerated.
The samples are at the lab and his poop is still green and loose. And he is a bit sleepy these past few days, sleepier than he had been. It's worked out well for me since I have been sleepy as well. Which reminds me... he's napping now, so I should curl up and try to catch a few Zzz's.....
While we were on vacation a few weeks ago, Donovan started having stinky poops. They looked fairly normal, but they could knock you over. They smelled of sour milk. It was awful!
I didn't think much of it at first. I mean, we did fly. My diet was sort of different. I was even eating a whole lot of sourdough bread. So who knows?
But as I thought about it, I was concerned. When we returned from vacation Donovan just seemed a bit off. He was a bit congested, and coughing some. He also sneezed out some large, cork-like boogers. And, honestly, the rest of us were sick. Jocelyn was just on the mend, but Mike and I were sick the entire time. When I went to the doctor I learned that I had strep. I called the nurses' line at his doctor's office and they recommended I bring him in.
While we were at the doctor's office, Donovan was a champ and demonstrated his stinky poop - and this time it was green. And I'm not just talking regular poop green. I'm talking bright, vibrant, spring day grass green! It was also very loose (even for breastfed baby poop). His doctor diagnosed him with Rotavirus. Since he had his first (of three) vaccine she thought it would be mild. There was no need to test in her eyes - it would work itself out in a week and there was nothing different to be done with confirmation. Just rest, fluids, etc. and it would eventually reverse. If he got dehydrated (stopped peeing), had blood in his stool, got a fever, etc. then I should bring him back. Also, bring him back at the end of the week if he still has symptoms.
Well, nothing new started up, so that was good. And, eventually, the smell even went away. But the poop was still vibrant green. And loose and mucoussy. I let Friday come and go, hoping it would be gone by the weekend. But alas, it was not. So Monday we were back at the doctor's office. He still looks and sounds great, so he is not presenting with anything obvious. The next round of testing was then to collect stool samples. Yes. I had to scoop poop out of his diaper and put it into test tubes. Three tubes had different solvents in them, and the fourth tube had no liquid so it had to be refrigerated.
The samples are at the lab and his poop is still green and loose. And he is a bit sleepy these past few days, sleepier than he had been. It's worked out well for me since I have been sleepy as well. Which reminds me... he's napping now, so I should curl up and try to catch a few Zzz's.....
Wait... when did three months go by?
On Friday, my baby boy turned 3 months old. Holy crap! It has gone by really quickly! My big boy is over 17 lbs. and busting out of size 6 month clothes.
So what is he doing now? He can bear quite a bit of weight on his legs when you hold him up. It's amazing how strong he is! And he loves doing it. He gets a big smile on his face and laughs a very boisterous 'AAH!'
He still holds his head up really well, and really wants to sit up. He loves the game where you say "ahh boo!" and move your face toward him on the "boo!" Lots of giggles! Lots of smiles. He loves it :-). The babbling has also increased tremendously. He looks at you as though he is actually having a conversation. And he finds it all just so funny! He giggles a ton when you talk to him.
He is also getting some good hand coordination. He can suck his thumb, and does so fairly frequently. Usually in a way that makes it seem as though he is angry with his thumb. It's cute. He is also getting really good at grabbing - he grabs at the toys on his play mat, he grabs at my hands and shirt while he is nursing, he even grabs at his own hands sometimes. It's cute.
Donovan did have his first flight recently - we went to Grand Rapids, MI for Mike's cousin's wedding. It was a great trip - since the aunts and cousins on the other side of the family all live in Grand Rapids, and the wedding was within miles of where we were staying (at my MIL's temporary place). Donovan was a champ with all of the new people, and of course went on to impress everybody by being the best behaved, most easy going baby ever. He stole everybody's hearts.
He is still fairly portable and a good sport about heading here or there. He is good in the stroller, car seat, etc. We need to work on bottle skills, though. He has used them, and used them well, but since he starts day care in a week we need to practice more. I think he will be fine, though. There might be some adjustment, but I think he will be fine.
So what is he doing now? He can bear quite a bit of weight on his legs when you hold him up. It's amazing how strong he is! And he loves doing it. He gets a big smile on his face and laughs a very boisterous 'AAH!'
He still holds his head up really well, and really wants to sit up. He loves the game where you say "ahh boo!" and move your face toward him on the "boo!" Lots of giggles! Lots of smiles. He loves it :-). The babbling has also increased tremendously. He looks at you as though he is actually having a conversation. And he finds it all just so funny! He giggles a ton when you talk to him.
He is also getting some good hand coordination. He can suck his thumb, and does so fairly frequently. Usually in a way that makes it seem as though he is angry with his thumb. It's cute. He is also getting really good at grabbing - he grabs at the toys on his play mat, he grabs at my hands and shirt while he is nursing, he even grabs at his own hands sometimes. It's cute.
Donovan did have his first flight recently - we went to Grand Rapids, MI for Mike's cousin's wedding. It was a great trip - since the aunts and cousins on the other side of the family all live in Grand Rapids, and the wedding was within miles of where we were staying (at my MIL's temporary place). Donovan was a champ with all of the new people, and of course went on to impress everybody by being the best behaved, most easy going baby ever. He stole everybody's hearts.
He is still fairly portable and a good sport about heading here or there. He is good in the stroller, car seat, etc. We need to work on bottle skills, though. He has used them, and used them well, but since he starts day care in a week we need to practice more. I think he will be fine, though. There might be some adjustment, but I think he will be fine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
