We were going to do the crib transition this weekend, but my cousin called me to let me know that they could come visit! So, the choice was to wait until after that or to start tonight! I figure if we start tonight, that will give her 4 nights to get used to things. Hopefully she'll be doing pretty well by then. She used to sleep very well in her bassinet in our room until she outgrew it, but by then it was too hot, and Tyree said that we wouldn't move her upstairs because our air conditioner wasn't working all that well.
Now, it seems like it's not too hot at night. Plus, it's definitely time. The doctor said that she should be sleeping longer than she does. Besides that, she's started regressing with her sleep, waking up at 1am! She needs to learn how to put herself back to sleep at night. I'll miss snuggling her at night, but I think it's time.
So, we're going to start a whole night-time routine. I "think" it's going to be dinner (for all of us) at the table at 7pm. Then, we'll have playtime. At 7:45pm, I'll nurse her. Then, I'll take her to her room and we'll read a book. So, around 8:15pm or so will be bedtime. Maybe I'll do some baby massage, too. Wish me luck!!!!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Park!
On Sunday I took Ariella to a park that is just around the corner from our house. For the first time, she got to do the infant swings, she road this horse on a spring, and we went down about 5 different slides.
She had an amazing time on the swing! At first, she was looking down, trying to figure out what was going on. Then as I started swinging her, she looked up and all around. Then, she kept opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue, tasting the wind! She squealed with delight and smiled like crazy - huge success!
Then, I put her on this little horse that was on a spring. I held onto her the whole time (obviously), but she started bouncing up and down on it like she does in her jumper. Also, she actually kept her hands up on the handles. She was so cute!
After that, we went in the play equipment and went down about 5 slides. It was so much fun (and was quite a bit of exercise for me). I can't wait to take her again. Maybe Daddy can come along next time!
Festival of Nations!
After Ariella's doctor'a appointment, we met some friends at the Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park in St. Louis. We had a wonderful time, and Ariella was exposed to lots of new people, sounds, and smells. There were food booths from countries all over the world. My favorite was the Iranian booth. There was this uniquely spiced chicken with lentil rice with raisins. Ariella and I danced to a Regge band, and we watched some Indian dancers. We stayed for almost 2 hours. It was a very fun day.
Monday, August 30, 2010
6 Month Doctor's Appointment
Ariella had her 6 month doctor's appointment on Saturday morning. It went really well overall. The shots were harder this time, though. She cried a LOT. The previous 2 times, she cried a little, but as soon as I got her over to nurse, she stopped and nursed herself to sleep. This time, though, it took her quite a while to latch. And, then she kept popping off to cry. I felt really bad for her. Either the shots hit some kind of nerve that made it hurt more, or maybe she's just more aware at 6 months. This doesn't make me optimistic about next time's shots. Poor little girl!
Onto the better parts of the visit, though. Here are her 6 month stats:
Height: 27 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 5 oz (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17 inches (75th percentile)
Ariella was a little wiggle worm for her head circumference measurement. The actually had to come back into the room to take it again (because the first measurement didn't make sense with her growth curve). She is growing so big! At least she's in the same percentile for height and weight now, though. She's leaning out a bit.
The doctor seemed pleased with her solid foods progress. She said to do a new food every 3 days. That's about the pace I've been doing. She also mentioned finger foods and then table foods. I think she meant for a while down the road, though. She said the goal by her 1st birthday is to have her on all table foods (but after I asked for clarification, she said it was still fine to be nursing). We're also going to be moving her down to 3 bottles rather than 4 during the day (so, 3 bottles of about 6oz each). And, then we'll increase her amounts of solids over time.
In addition, we'll be starting her with a sippy cup with water soon. I bought 2 sippy cups yesterday (the ones with the handles), so once they go through the dishwasher, we'll do up to 4 oz per day. The nurse said we could do 2-3 oz 2-3 times per day. I've heard the rule of not more than 1oz per month old, though, so I'm going to start on the lower side. And, if she doesn't drink it all, no problem. I'll just leave the cup filled in the morning with 4oz, and whatever she gets though will be fine.
I was a little discouraged at the doctor's lack of enthusiasm over her sleep progress. At the previous visit, Ariella was still getting up 2-3 times a night. This time, she has progressed to most nights going to be between 7 to 9:30pm and sleeping until 3 to 4:30am. But, the doctor said she should be sleeping longer than that - until at least 7am. Sigh... Oh well. I think we're going to do the crib transition next weekend. (If she knew we were still co-sleeping, she would probably have NOT been happy about that. She told us at 4 weeks that Ariella should be sleeping in her crib in her room upstairs and that we might have to let her "cry a little".)
But, Ariella has regressed a little bit with her sleep in the past couple of weeks. Every couple of days, she's been waking up to eat at 1am! She did it last night, too, but I was determined NOT to feed her. So, I didn't feed her until 3am, but I certainly didn't get sleep from 1-3am. She was a squirming little gal! I'm not sure if she was asleep of awake, but she was definitely not still. And, she kept making noises, so I had to keep putting the pacifier back in. And, she kept spitting it right back out and getting unsettled. Who knows? Maybe I should have just fed her.
The doctor checked her hips and her mouth (still no signs of teething - yay!), and when she checked Ariella's belly, Ariella started laughing! So, that was fun. The doctor also evaluated her sitting, which is coming along but isn't quite there. But, the doctor said she should be progressing with that continually, so all was fine.
Overall, a very good visit. Shots were bad, sleep progress wasn't quite good enough, but everything else was great!
Onto the better parts of the visit, though. Here are her 6 month stats:
Height: 27 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 5 oz (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17 inches (75th percentile)
Ariella was a little wiggle worm for her head circumference measurement. The actually had to come back into the room to take it again (because the first measurement didn't make sense with her growth curve). She is growing so big! At least she's in the same percentile for height and weight now, though. She's leaning out a bit.
The doctor seemed pleased with her solid foods progress. She said to do a new food every 3 days. That's about the pace I've been doing. She also mentioned finger foods and then table foods. I think she meant for a while down the road, though. She said the goal by her 1st birthday is to have her on all table foods (but after I asked for clarification, she said it was still fine to be nursing). We're also going to be moving her down to 3 bottles rather than 4 during the day (so, 3 bottles of about 6oz each). And, then we'll increase her amounts of solids over time.
In addition, we'll be starting her with a sippy cup with water soon. I bought 2 sippy cups yesterday (the ones with the handles), so once they go through the dishwasher, we'll do up to 4 oz per day. The nurse said we could do 2-3 oz 2-3 times per day. I've heard the rule of not more than 1oz per month old, though, so I'm going to start on the lower side. And, if she doesn't drink it all, no problem. I'll just leave the cup filled in the morning with 4oz, and whatever she gets though will be fine.
I was a little discouraged at the doctor's lack of enthusiasm over her sleep progress. At the previous visit, Ariella was still getting up 2-3 times a night. This time, she has progressed to most nights going to be between 7 to 9:30pm and sleeping until 3 to 4:30am. But, the doctor said she should be sleeping longer than that - until at least 7am. Sigh... Oh well. I think we're going to do the crib transition next weekend. (If she knew we were still co-sleeping, she would probably have NOT been happy about that. She told us at 4 weeks that Ariella should be sleeping in her crib in her room upstairs and that we might have to let her "cry a little".)
But, Ariella has regressed a little bit with her sleep in the past couple of weeks. Every couple of days, she's been waking up to eat at 1am! She did it last night, too, but I was determined NOT to feed her. So, I didn't feed her until 3am, but I certainly didn't get sleep from 1-3am. She was a squirming little gal! I'm not sure if she was asleep of awake, but she was definitely not still. And, she kept making noises, so I had to keep putting the pacifier back in. And, she kept spitting it right back out and getting unsettled. Who knows? Maybe I should have just fed her.
The doctor checked her hips and her mouth (still no signs of teething - yay!), and when she checked Ariella's belly, Ariella started laughing! So, that was fun. The doctor also evaluated her sitting, which is coming along but isn't quite there. But, the doctor said she should be progressing with that continually, so all was fine.
Overall, a very good visit. Shots were bad, sleep progress wasn't quite good enough, but everything else was great!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Recharged and Scary Sleeping Experience
I am quite recharged from my vacation day. The hemmies aren't totally well, but they're tolerable. I think the lounging did a lot of good. Also, it was great fun to see my friends for lunch. It made me feel more like me (if that makes sense). And, then I was able to take Ariella out in the stroller for a walk around 7:15pm. The weather was beautiful, and it was nice to be out and about with her.
Onto the scary sleeping experience. So, we're co-sleeping because she outgrew her bassinet, and the air conditioning doesn't work well enough for Tyree to agree to do the crib transition to her room upstairs quite yet. And, we tried having her sleep in the pack n play that we moved into our bedroom, but that didn't work well. Around 2 or 3am, I woke to her moving around. I reached to get the pacifier to stick back in her mouth, but instead of it being her head, it was her feet! Her head was where her feet were supposed to be and was under the covers!!! Very scary for me. I quickly pushed the covers off of her and have her the pacifier, and I woke Tyree. He seemed confused as to why I woke him up, so I said "see anything wrong here?". He took a second and then realized she was upside down. And, then I told him that her head had been under the covers. Then, I set her in the correct position, put my arms around her, and then we went back to sleep. Scary stuff. We really need to do the crib transition. I'm glad I'm such a light sleeper these days.
Onto the scary sleeping experience. So, we're co-sleeping because she outgrew her bassinet, and the air conditioning doesn't work well enough for Tyree to agree to do the crib transition to her room upstairs quite yet. And, we tried having her sleep in the pack n play that we moved into our bedroom, but that didn't work well. Around 2 or 3am, I woke to her moving around. I reached to get the pacifier to stick back in her mouth, but instead of it being her head, it was her feet! Her head was where her feet were supposed to be and was under the covers!!! Very scary for me. I quickly pushed the covers off of her and have her the pacifier, and I woke Tyree. He seemed confused as to why I woke him up, so I said "see anything wrong here?". He took a second and then realized she was upside down. And, then I told him that her head had been under the covers. Then, I set her in the correct position, put my arms around her, and then we went back to sleep. Scary stuff. We really need to do the crib transition. I'm glad I'm such a light sleeper these days.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Vacation Day and Scare
I've been enjoying my vacation day so far. I've lounged around watching movies, and I was able to meet some friends for lunch. I pumped my 3 times already for the day, bit MIL is only going to do 3 bottles rather than the usual 4, so I'll have actually pumped enough for the day (didn't do enough Monday or Tuesday, but I had plenty since I pump on the weekend in the mornings).
The scare came when my husband called. He told me that his group at work was being spun off into a small company, and that they were going to become freelancers! Not good. Right now stability is key regarding a job. Being a contractor/freelancer was not good. We were talking about getting his resume ready and such. And, he was going to try to transfer somewhere else in the current company, rather than going to this little one. We also discussed how we would need to transfer our medical coverage to be under me rather than him. About an hour later, he called me back. He mis-heard. He was in the group being transferred within the company. Whew! Huge relief. Granted, it's still a change, but his salary and benefits will all stay the same.
Having a baby has been such a big change already. We really don't want to have to deal with a career upheaval right now. We would have figured something out, i'm sure. He's so talented. But, it's nice not to have to panic.
The scare came when my husband called. He told me that his group at work was being spun off into a small company, and that they were going to become freelancers! Not good. Right now stability is key regarding a job. Being a contractor/freelancer was not good. We were talking about getting his resume ready and such. And, he was going to try to transfer somewhere else in the current company, rather than going to this little one. We also discussed how we would need to transfer our medical coverage to be under me rather than him. About an hour later, he called me back. He mis-heard. He was in the group being transferred within the company. Whew! Huge relief. Granted, it's still a change, but his salary and benefits will all stay the same.
Having a baby has been such a big change already. We really don't want to have to deal with a career upheaval right now. We would have figured something out, i'm sure. He's so talented. But, it's nice not to have to panic.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Vacation Day Tomorrow!
So, with all this crappiness, I decided to take a vacation day tomorrow! Hooray!
I'm going to lounge around most of the day and then meet up with some friends for lunch that I haven't seen since before Ariella was born. I really need this break.
I'm going to lounge around most of the day and then meet up with some friends for lunch that I haven't seen since before Ariella was born. I really need this break.
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