1st Official Swimming Lesson

Ariella had her 1st "official" swimming lesson on Saturday. We had a lot of fun. She was the only baby that had done any kind of underwater swimming before. There were 8 babies in the class, all right around her age, give or take a few months.

We started in the very shallow part (maybe 1 1/2 feet deep) of the pool and played with toys for a while. And, we got to know the other moms and babies. Then, we sat in a single line and had the babies practice kicking and then "scoops" (scooping water with their hands). Ariella was quite good at both.

Then, we went into the deeper water (maybe 4 feet deep?) and went around this pathway that looped around. The first time, we just went through however we wanted. The second time, we went through with the babies on their backs. Ariella was amazingly comfortable on her back. A lot of times at home, she didn't necessarily like being on her back in the water. And, then the 3rd time they were supposed to be on their tummy going around. These 3 loops were the perfect time for Ariella to get to do her underwater swims. So, that worked out well.

After that, we stood the babies up at the side of the pool and had them "jump" in. So, this was another good place for Ariella to practice going underwater. I think most of the babies didn't go underwater at all. Then, we made our way to the "vortex", which was a circle area of the pool. We all made a big circle and sang "Wheels on the bus" while we did motions with the babies. And, then we sang "Ring around the rosie" while moving with the babies. Next, we took the babies up to this twisty water slide. I was wondering how that would work because if I sat Ariella up and sent her down, she would surely hit her head. So, I just laid her on her back, and that seemed to work. The instructor caught her at the bottom, while I came around to get her. She was slobbering all over the instructor's shoulder when I got there - hehe. And, then she grabbed the instructor's necklace when I went to pick her up. Lol!

After that, we had the babies blow bubbles in the water. I wasn't sure how that was going to go, since we had never practiced anything like that. So, I put Ariella's face in, and she blew major bubbles! (This impressed the instructor a lot. Actually, the instructor was pretty much amazed with everything she could do - her kicks, scoops, blowing bubbles, and underwater swims. I guess most babies come in with no swimming experience.) Then, we played with toys in the shallow part again and socialized until the time was up.

All in all I think this will be a wonderful way to keep up her swimming progress. I'm not sure that she'll really "learn" much swimming in this class. But, she'll get to practice everything we learned over the summer. And, she'll get to socialize with the other babies (which is very important). And, we'll both get to have fun. Oh, and the pictures here are from the pathway where we did the 3 loops.

Parents As Teachers Visit

We had the Parents As Teachers program visit last night. The lady did Ariella's vision and hearing screening, which both came back fine. We talked about how Ariella has been doing. It sounds like she's doing great, even though she's not crawling yet. The lady played some games with her and gave us some suggestions for things to do.

We're supposed to put toys just out of reach to encourage her crawling/moving. We're also supposed to let Ariella practice with the sippy cup each day (I think Tyree's mom has just been holding it for her to drink from). And, we can play peek-a-boo games to teach object permanence. Singing and rhyming are good, too.

She said that Ariella is hitting the age where separation anxiety might come about pretty soon. And, she should be saying mama, dada soon. And, a goal for her is to get from tummy to sitting on her own. So, she'll be having lots of new things in the near future.

The lady also game us a pamphlet with some instructional sessions that they have. And, there's also going to be a Christmas social in December that looks like fun. There aren't nearly as many sessions as last year (budget cuts), but there are still some things. I'm glad the program was continued. We'll see her next in January!

Fall and Halloween Pics!

8 Months Old!

Ariella has hit the 8 month old mark! Here are some of her latest firsts:
- Sitting unsupported
- Monkey slap (clapping both of her hands onto her belly at the same time - looks like a monkey)
- Clapping (although still fairly sporadic)
- Standing (while holding onto something, has to be put into the standing position, though, she cannot pull up to standing yet)
-Lots of new foods - green beans, beef, pumpkin, green peas, peaches, chicken, gerber puffs (even showed the pincer grasp - but she hasn't self-fed yet)
-Sleeping longer, sleeps until 5-6am most nights

More Kashi Lean!

I had Kashi Lean Cereal for dinner again last night, and Ariella really wanted some. Since she did fine with that one piece, I figured she's not going to choke on it. I wound up giving her 6 little puffs total! Granted, it doesn't sound like much, but she's a baby, so proportionally it was a nice little snack for her.

She nursed very well at her first nursing session after I got home. She only nursed a little at the 2nd session, though. Tyree theorized that she might have wanted more solid foods. I think her eating/sleeping patterns are starting to mature. She didn't eat this morning until 6:30am (although she stirred earlier, and I still had to get up around 5:30am to pump). But, it will be interesting to see how things go with that in the coming month or so.

Ariella's first "real" solid food

Ariella has done great with purees and mashed up foods (avocado and banana), but I had been hesitant to get her something like puffs because it shows those are for crawlers on the package, and she's not crawling yet.

Well, a day or so ago, I was eating Kashi Lean cereal for dinner. Ariella was EXTREMELY interested! I asked Tyree if he thought it would be ok if I gave her a piece of my cereal. He said, sure! (Although, I'm not really sure why I asked him, since he doesn't really have any knowledge of baby food - lol).

I picked out 1 little puff of the cereal and sort of sucked the milk off of it (since I heard no cow's milk until 1 year old). And, then I put it in her mouth. I expected her to spit it right out, but instead, she started gumming it! (She has no teeth yet.) It was quite exciting. I kept expecting her to choke on it or something, but she did great! I'm going to have to get some of those puffs next weekend. I think she's ready for some finger foods!

Ariella on the Trapeze!

Here's a picture of Ariella on the trapeze from her My Gym class last night. She's be doing a trapeze routine with me in no time!

Our Weekend - Moving and Swimming

This weekend was pretty full. On Saturday we helped a friend move out of her apartment. It was several hours of carrying things downstairs and onto the moving truck. We brought Ariella's exersaucer with us. She did great with that. And, we also had her reading videos for her to watch. I nursed her before we left the house, 1 time while we were out, and right when we got home. And, I fed her a jar of squash while we were driving to the new house to empty the truck. It worked very well bringing her with us, and we were still able to move a lot of things.

On Sunday, the big event was swimming! It's probably the last time we're going to be able to go before the pool is closed. But, that's ok because her swimming lessons start on the 23rd. So, it won't be too much of a gap.

Ariella still has the congestion/runny nose! The swimming helped to clear out her sinuses, and then I did the California Baby cold/flu congestion bubble bath afterwards. She was in good shape after that. But, this morning she was all stuffed up again with the runny nose and occasional cough. Sigh. How long is this going to last? Poor baby. At least she's still in excellent spirits for most of the day. Just sometimes it gets to her, and she still despises the nasal sucker thing.

Fitness and Trapeze Info

If anyone is interested in keeping up with my fitness/trapeze endeavors, I'll be posting about that in my fitness blog. I had kept extremely detailed logs in that for a couple of years, but now my life is focused on Ariella. I figure I'll post there after each trapeze class. So, if you'd like to follow along with that journey, here's the link my fitness blog:

http://joannafitness.blogspot.com/

Trapeze!

In the year or so before i had Ariella, I was heavily into fitness. I learned how to ice skate. I even took an ice hockey class after regular ice skating lessons! I was going to a rock climbing gym. I was doing weights several times a week. I did yoga and pilots at work. I trained for and ran in a 5k race. But, my main physical interest was the static trapeze - yes, like in circ de soleil. All my other activities were mainly just to help condition me for the trapeze. I took 2 sessions of classes, along with additional private lessons, and for each session, I created and performed a trapeze routine. It was a very challenging, yet exhilarating endeavor. But, of course, once I got pregnant, all of that stopped.

My husband still has his hobby. He goes to guitar lesson once a week. He also does guy's night out every so often. But, I've been in super Mommy mode, which has been great, but I really need a little "me" time. Several of my friends had told me this, but it's been so hard with scheduling time for myself, especially because of breastfeeding.

At my request,my trapeze instructor had kept me on her email list. She emailed out about an aerial choreography class on Thursdays from 5pm to 6:30pm. This is actually pretty ideal. I'll go into work a little early. I'll add an extra pumping session so that I can leave an extra bottle for Ariella, since I'll be home late those days. But, it's workable! Tyree is thrilled for me, which is great. And my instructor said she'd love to have me in that class. So, I'll be creating a new routine dedicated to Ariella. I can't wait for her to see me perform in December!

My Donated Milk Has Been Used!

I hadn't heard anything from the milk bank, so I sent them an e-mail yesterday to see if everything had gone well with the blood tests and the rest of the forms from my doctors. I got this response:

"Hello Joanna,

YES! We have everything and you should have received a donor acceptance via e-mail (sometimes it ends up in your junk folder). In fact we have processed and used your milk and it is in a baby’s tummy by now.

Thanks you so much!"

This made me so happy today. It's awesome knowing that a little NICU baby was helped by my milk!