We went on vacation for a week in June, down south to Louisiana and Florida to visit relatives. It was a fun trip, although trips to LA always seem to be a whirlwind of trying to fit in seeing relatives and friends. It was wonderful to see so many people, though, and it was so cute seeing Ariella interact with her cousins. I wish she had more interaction with younger kids. We're doing the MyGym classes, but that's only once a week. I need to find more socialization time for her.
The Florida part of the vacation was more relaxed. We did more touristy types of things, including taking Ariella to the beach for the first time and going to the Gulfarium. The beach was beautiful. We lucked out on the weather. It was overcast the day we went (actually started raining as we were ready to leave), so it wasn't so brutally hot. It was still exhausting for me, taking her out into the water, but she got such a kick out of it! She laughed and laughed as the waves rushed onto her feet. And, on the beach, she loved digging her hands in the sand and lifting it up over her head. She's such a sweet kid.
On our trip, she made some pretty big developmental leaps. She started taking steps on her own, up to 4 in a row. And, she said "mamamama" 2 days in a row. In coming back home, though, her progress has slowed. I wonder if it's because I work all day, and then by the time the weekend comes, I'm so drained that it's hard to do much besides catching up on housework and cooking, etc.
I need to start expecting more from her - get her working towards eating with a spoon on her own, getting her to communicate verbally through methods other than crying, get her to pick up her toys to put them away, etc. I want to get a big toy chest to help with the toys part. Maybe I should see if I could send her to daycare one day a week. I wonder if that would help jump start her development. I really don't like that she's so far behind other babies her age. I wonder how much daycare once a week would even cost.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Swimming!!!!
I've taken Ariella swimming 4 times so far this season. The first time hardly even counts. It was a complete disaster. I think my timing was off with her - maybe hungry and sleepy. She started crying almost immediately after we got in. So, she was in the pool maybe 3 or 4 minutes tops. Not fun.
The 2nd time I took it much slower with her, holding her tight, and making her feel very secure with me in the water. She was very hesitant at first, but she got used to the water and was able to do some of her swim positions. She LOVED her little pink floating boat. I put her in that, and she had so much fun. This was even where I noticed a new tooth when she was laughing. At the very end, she did 2 very quick underwater swims. She was ok with them.
The 3rd time, it was a little better even than the 2nd. She again loved her little boat. And, I do this thing where I lift one of my legs under the water and brush her feet while saying "kick, kick, kick!". She thought that was so fun!!!! And, she improved once again on her underwater swims, doing maybe 5 or so.
The 4th time was yesterday. Even though the water was slightly cooler than I had hoped, she had fun immediately! In her swim position, she was even kicking her legs and moving her arms. She was ready to swim! So, I let her do many underwater swims, even letting go for a bit like I did last year. She's definitely back in her element, and had the biggest smile when coming up from her underwater swims. I was so excited for her and am looking forward to taking her again. If only the weather would cooperate more frequently. But, it's almost June, so I'm sure it will be warmer soon.
The 2nd time I took it much slower with her, holding her tight, and making her feel very secure with me in the water. She was very hesitant at first, but she got used to the water and was able to do some of her swim positions. She LOVED her little pink floating boat. I put her in that, and she had so much fun. This was even where I noticed a new tooth when she was laughing. At the very end, she did 2 very quick underwater swims. She was ok with them.
The 3rd time, it was a little better even than the 2nd. She again loved her little boat. And, I do this thing where I lift one of my legs under the water and brush her feet while saying "kick, kick, kick!". She thought that was so fun!!!! And, she improved once again on her underwater swims, doing maybe 5 or so.
The 4th time was yesterday. Even though the water was slightly cooler than I had hoped, she had fun immediately! In her swim position, she was even kicking her legs and moving her arms. She was ready to swim! So, I let her do many underwater swims, even letting go for a bit like I did last year. She's definitely back in her element, and had the biggest smile when coming up from her underwater swims. I was so excited for her and am looking forward to taking her again. If only the weather would cooperate more frequently. But, it's almost June, so I'm sure it will be warmer soon.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Lots of Updates - Plus BIG NEWS!!!!
I'll start off with the big news - I'm pregnant again!!!! We're so excited and are so looking forward to a new baby. I'm thrilled that Ariella will have a sibling. Baby 2.0 is due on 12/25/11!
Once I was pregnant, my milk supply plummeted. We hung on with breastfeeding in the morning and at night for as long as we could. Then, we reduced to only in the morning. Then, only once every couple of days. And, now I'm totally dried up. I didn't intend to wean, but I figured there was no point in trying to increase my supply. Some women just lose supply when they get pregnant (a lot don't, but some do, and I was apparently one that did). I'm thrilled with how well we did with breastfeeding - made it to 14 1/2 months! And, I didn't have to deal with any engorgement at all with weaning.
Last Friday, I transitioned Ariella from the bottle to sippy cups for her milk. She's getting the evaporated organic goat's milk (which is supposedly closer to breast milk and has fewer hormones in it).
Ariella has also been sleeping much better. I don't dare call it yet, but the past 3 nights she has completely been sleeping through the night - 6am, 4am, 6:30am this morning. She hasn't been waking up at 2am - yay for me (especially since I really need my sleep now in this first trimester).
Ariella now has 5 teeth - her bottom 2 front teeth at Halloween, her top 2 front teeth several weeks ago, and 1 bottom tooth to the right of her front ones this past weekend. Only the bottom 2 front teeth are all the way in. The others are still coming in.
Last Saturday I restarted Ariella in her MyGym classes. I'll take her on Saturdays at 9:15am now. Her first class back she was a bit overwhelmed. She clung to me quite a bit and was sort of in awe of all the other babies. The age range is 14 months to 2 1/2 years, so she's the youngest one, and the only non-walker. I kind of wish she had been more in the middle age-wise, but she still had a ton of fun. After a while, she really got into some of the activities, and she crawled all over the place, and pulled up and such.
Speaking of crawling, have I mentioned that she can finally crawl!!! She crawls and then when she's about 2 feet short of where she wants to go, she switches to her sitting scoot. She is too cute. She's also pulling up on everything, and she loves emptying out mommy and daddy's clothes from the drawers.
So, that's the scoop - lots of new things here lately.
Once I was pregnant, my milk supply plummeted. We hung on with breastfeeding in the morning and at night for as long as we could. Then, we reduced to only in the morning. Then, only once every couple of days. And, now I'm totally dried up. I didn't intend to wean, but I figured there was no point in trying to increase my supply. Some women just lose supply when they get pregnant (a lot don't, but some do, and I was apparently one that did). I'm thrilled with how well we did with breastfeeding - made it to 14 1/2 months! And, I didn't have to deal with any engorgement at all with weaning.
Last Friday, I transitioned Ariella from the bottle to sippy cups for her milk. She's getting the evaporated organic goat's milk (which is supposedly closer to breast milk and has fewer hormones in it).
Ariella has also been sleeping much better. I don't dare call it yet, but the past 3 nights she has completely been sleeping through the night - 6am, 4am, 6:30am this morning. She hasn't been waking up at 2am - yay for me (especially since I really need my sleep now in this first trimester).
Ariella now has 5 teeth - her bottom 2 front teeth at Halloween, her top 2 front teeth several weeks ago, and 1 bottom tooth to the right of her front ones this past weekend. Only the bottom 2 front teeth are all the way in. The others are still coming in.
Last Saturday I restarted Ariella in her MyGym classes. I'll take her on Saturdays at 9:15am now. Her first class back she was a bit overwhelmed. She clung to me quite a bit and was sort of in awe of all the other babies. The age range is 14 months to 2 1/2 years, so she's the youngest one, and the only non-walker. I kind of wish she had been more in the middle age-wise, but she still had a ton of fun. After a while, she really got into some of the activities, and she crawled all over the place, and pulled up and such.
Speaking of crawling, have I mentioned that she can finally crawl!!! She crawls and then when she's about 2 feet short of where she wants to go, she switches to her sitting scoot. She is too cute. She's also pulling up on everything, and she loves emptying out mommy and daddy's clothes from the drawers.
So, that's the scoop - lots of new things here lately.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Finally Free from the Pump!!!
Last Thursday was my last pump at work!!! It's very freeing to have retired the pump. Ariella's still nursing in the morning and before dinner, so we'll see how long she'll keep going. I'm thrilled that we've made it past 14 months. My supply has dropped quite a bit, but I still seem to have enough for the 2 nursing sessions. She seems to especially like the morning nursing session. I suspect she'll keep that one the longest.
For her other milk, she's been drinking warm organic goat's milk. It took a little adjustment for her (I tried both goat's and cow's milk, both warm and cold. She didn't really like either at first.) But, after a couple of days she's doing great! Next step, switching from the bottle to the sippy cup! I'll probably give her another couple of weeks and will switch her over then. I don't want to do too many changes at once.
For her other milk, she's been drinking warm organic goat's milk. It took a little adjustment for her (I tried both goat's and cow's milk, both warm and cold. She didn't really like either at first.) But, after a couple of days she's doing great! Next step, switching from the bottle to the sippy cup! I'll probably give her another couple of weeks and will switch her over then. I don't want to do too many changes at once.
Ariella Weighs...
22.4lbs! And, how do I know this? I weighed her on the scale at the veterinarian office when we took our dogs last night for their yearly appointments! Tyree gave me a look like I was crazy when I said I should weigh her and said something like, "should you be doing that?" But, the tech chimed right in that it was totally fine. :-)
Ariella was a total charmer, and had all the techs and even the vet fawning over her. When we were waiting to pay, Ariella kept looking at this big cream-colored cat laying on the counter. She started babbling, and they were all convinced she was saying "kitty!" over and over. (In reality she was just saying "gee gee gee gee", but still I'm thrilled she's actually really babbling more. She's also started doing "duh duh duh duh" and "dee dee dee", etc.) But, I just went with it. Who knows? Maybe she really was referring to the cat.
She's been babbling a little bit, but lately she's the little chatterbox, so that's made me really happy. It's fun hearing her "talk" rather than screaming or just lots of "aahhs" or "eat", "ate". I'm glad she's doing the consonant first now. She really is starting to progress quickly. Just this weekend she stood without holding onto anything in her pack and play for 1-2 seconds, and she took a full step from one side to the cati-corner side.
Our poor dogs, though. They're never the center of attention anymore. Oh well. I guess that happens when you have a baby. :-)
Ariella was a total charmer, and had all the techs and even the vet fawning over her. When we were waiting to pay, Ariella kept looking at this big cream-colored cat laying on the counter. She started babbling, and they were all convinced she was saying "kitty!" over and over. (In reality she was just saying "gee gee gee gee", but still I'm thrilled she's actually really babbling more. She's also started doing "duh duh duh duh" and "dee dee dee", etc.) But, I just went with it. Who knows? Maybe she really was referring to the cat.
She's been babbling a little bit, but lately she's the little chatterbox, so that's made me really happy. It's fun hearing her "talk" rather than screaming or just lots of "aahhs" or "eat", "ate". I'm glad she's doing the consonant first now. She really is starting to progress quickly. Just this weekend she stood without holding onto anything in her pack and play for 1-2 seconds, and she took a full step from one side to the cati-corner side.
Our poor dogs, though. They're never the center of attention anymore. Oh well. I guess that happens when you have a baby. :-)
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sitting Up Instead of Going to Sleep!
I was so excited when Ariella finally started sitting up from laying down and then pulling up. She's even starting a little bit of cruising now. BUT! She won't fall asleep in her crib anymore! I used to put her in her crib awake. I'd sing to her for a bit or play her seahorse music toy, maybe rubbing her back a bit. She'd usually settle down within 5 minutes and go to sleep.
She won't do that anymore, though! I lay her down and before I even get myself fully standing straight up again, she's sitting up! Last night I was up with her for 30 minutes, singing, rocking, continually laying her back down, trying to keep her laying down by holding her down with one hand and then rubbing her back with the other. No luck.
So, I figured I should try to leave her there by herself to setting down. Nope! The child was screaming for 20 minutes! So, I went and got her, put her in her swing, and she was out like a light within like 30 second! I know it's just a phase because of learning all of these new skills, but it's really getting difficult for me without getting a decent night's sleep. Also, when she wakes in the middle of the night, she can't go back to sleep anymore either because she sits up. Aaahhhh!!! Tired mommy here.
She won't do that anymore, though! I lay her down and before I even get myself fully standing straight up again, she's sitting up! Last night I was up with her for 30 minutes, singing, rocking, continually laying her back down, trying to keep her laying down by holding her down with one hand and then rubbing her back with the other. No luck.
So, I figured I should try to leave her there by herself to setting down. Nope! The child was screaming for 20 minutes! So, I went and got her, put her in her swing, and she was out like a light within like 30 second! I know it's just a phase because of learning all of these new skills, but it's really getting difficult for me without getting a decent night's sleep. Also, when she wakes in the middle of the night, she can't go back to sleep anymore either because she sits up. Aaahhhh!!! Tired mommy here.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Milestones! Pulling Up!
2 weeks ago I posted about Ariella learning how to get herself from laying down to sitting. Well, Sunday night she learned how to pull up!!! We were playing over by the steps. I had some toys and cheerios a couple of steps up. I got on my hands and knees and then I put my hands 1 at a time on the bottom step, saying "Up Up!" She joined in and copied me! She only did it that 1 time that morning, so in the afternoon I had her trying it again. I had to help her some, but she did it a couple of times on her own.
Then, we moved her over to try by the sofa to get to my ipad to play a game while standing at the side of the sofa. She pulled right up! We couldn't get her to do it again, though.
So, then Sunday night I took her back to the steps. She pulled up a ton of times! She made it a game to stand up and then sort of try to stand without holding on. She would plop down on her tushy, and I would say "Whee! Boom!". I moved her over to the sofa, and she did it there, too - not even to get to a toy, just to do it so she could fall back to sitting and try again! Then, I brought her over to her toy where she can stand and play, and she got right up! I even got video of her pulling up to that one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SoXL9Pu6K8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Yesterday my mother in law said that she was able to pull up several times during the day on both the steps and the sofa. And, last night she pulled up on all 3 places that we've been practicing. It wasn't effortless for her. She had several attempts where she didn't make it up. But, I'll bet after some more days of practice she'll be able to do it every time.
I'm very excited! This is huge progress for her!
Then, we moved her over to try by the sofa to get to my ipad to play a game while standing at the side of the sofa. She pulled right up! We couldn't get her to do it again, though.
So, then Sunday night I took her back to the steps. She pulled up a ton of times! She made it a game to stand up and then sort of try to stand without holding on. She would plop down on her tushy, and I would say "Whee! Boom!". I moved her over to the sofa, and she did it there, too - not even to get to a toy, just to do it so she could fall back to sitting and try again! Then, I brought her over to her toy where she can stand and play, and she got right up! I even got video of her pulling up to that one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SoXL9Pu6K8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Yesterday my mother in law said that she was able to pull up several times during the day on both the steps and the sofa. And, last night she pulled up on all 3 places that we've been practicing. It wasn't effortless for her. She had several attempts where she didn't make it up. But, I'll bet after some more days of practice she'll be able to do it every time.
I'm very excited! This is huge progress for her!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)