Lucy is in-right, outright, upright, downright happy most of the time. Actually, she is most happy when she is able to be in, out, up, and down. She is very energetic. She is not only walking but running and attempting to jump. She knows the word "jump" from bathtime and swimming at the pool, where she has started jumping to me in the water. Her water skills are quickly improving. For a few months, I've supported her with my forearm under her chest and let her kick as I move her around the pool. I think it has helped her learn how to balance herself in the water. Recently, she has been kicking so well that she sometimes swims over my arm. She then promptly goes under and then bobs to the surface by the time I can get my hands on her again. She is surprised but not upset when she goes under. She is also getting used to putting the back of her head in water. I'm hoping that by the end of next semester I can try to get her to float on her back and to dog paddle a bit. She's not ready yet, but she's developing necessary skills to do both. Not all of her time at the pool is spent in the water. She also likes walking around the outside of the pool and exploring. She knows not to touch the drains in the floor. She looks at them as she walks by and shakes her head, remembering that she has been told "no" many times. She also wants to climb onto the starting blocks, but she hasn't tried recently. She's heard "no" to that many times as well. She is allowed to climb on the bleachers. She has to go slow and careful, and I stay nearby, but she loves to climb. And since they're metal bleachers, they make fun sounds when she stomps on them and beats the seats like a drum. She also likes to help the lifeguards sweep water from the decks. She's very friendly and very helpful.
Occasionally, she's hangry, angry because hungry. Matt and I aren't people to readily use newly-minted words, but "hangry" is exactly what Lucy is sometimes. If she is unhappy, feed her and watch her mood change before your eyes. She also fusses when sleepy or hurt, and she's started crying when she dirties a diaper; but for the most part, she's a happy kid. She bounces back very quickly from physical pain. She may be bruised or bleeding, but a hug or a Dum-Dum sucker (after shots at the doctor's office, mostly) will put her to rights in seconds. And I'm thrilled that she realizes that she has a dirty diaper. She has never cared what was in her diaper or how long it had been there. We've never had to do middle-of-the-night diaper changes because wet diapers didn't wake her. I have wondered how we were going to get a kid who never noticed that she had already soiled a diaper to realize she needed to go to the bathroom so that we could potty train her. So her crying when she dirties a diaper is a great step in the right direction.
For the most part Lucy is also a friendly kid. She will talk to nearly anyone. She doesn't want to be touched by everyone, but she'll often talk. She goes through little shy phases, but they pass. She especially likes other kids. She gets very excited, throws her arms up, and squeals. Unfortunately, this scares many kids, and they run from her, which makes Lucy cry. We're practicing waving and saying "hi" instead of screaming and gesturing wildly. She remembers it sometimes, and sometimes she even acts coy while saying "hi." We go to Rhyme Time at the library every Tuesday, and she gets to play with other kids. She always plays well with them. She is occasionally aggressively friendly, but she isn't mean or selfish, and she is fairly careful about not accidentally hurting people. She also plays with a little girl at church. Lucy shares toys and drinks with her (but not cookies) and tries to read her stories. It's pretty cute.
She is also independent and likes playing alone. Sometimes large groups turn her off, and she goes somewhere by herself to play. I think she's a jolly little creature, and I enjoy her immensely most of the time.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
15-Month Appointment & St Lucy's Day Celebration
Lucy's 15-month check-up was today. She is now 31.75 inches long (87%) and 22 lbs., 6 oz. (67%). She's not as comparatively huge as she was at her last appointment, but she's a healthy-sized girl. They also retested her lead levels, and they were normal this time. I think it helps that she's not putting things in her mouth as often. She got three shots. She was not happy about anything that happened after we got into the exam room. I think she remembers past visits. She fought being measured. She batted away stethoscopes. She writhed as they gave her the shots. Fortunately, Matt was with us this time and helped hang onto her as she fought. I'm not sure I could have handled her alone. She's fine now, napping peacefully. We go again in three months. She did get her first prescription today, an ointment for the eczema on her face. She has been a very healthy child so far.
We held a small "name day" party last Saturday, Dec. 13, which is St. Lucia's Day. The day is a big deal in some countries like Sweden, which has various traditions. One tradition is that a girl wears an evergreen crown with lighted candles on it. Last year I made one for Lucy out of a little wreath and a string of battery-powered lights from Dollar Tree. It's pretty cool for a $2 crown, and it still works, so we used it again this year. The crown with lights is part of the St. Lucia legend. St. Lucia (who may or may not be a real person) was taking supplies to Christians hiding in the catacombs. She needed to take a lamp to light her way, but she wanted to carry two armfuls of supplies. Her solution was a crown that lit her way and freed up her hands. I love this story. Lucia wanted to help with both hands, and so she invented head-wear to solve her problem. I'd love for my Lucy to be someone who wants to help with both hands and is open to solving problems creatively. Here are some pictures from our celebration.
We held a small "name day" party last Saturday, Dec. 13, which is St. Lucia's Day. The day is a big deal in some countries like Sweden, which has various traditions. One tradition is that a girl wears an evergreen crown with lighted candles on it. Last year I made one for Lucy out of a little wreath and a string of battery-powered lights from Dollar Tree. It's pretty cool for a $2 crown, and it still works, so we used it again this year. The crown with lights is part of the St. Lucia legend. St. Lucia (who may or may not be a real person) was taking supplies to Christians hiding in the catacombs. She needed to take a lamp to light her way, but she wanted to carry two armfuls of supplies. Her solution was a crown that lit her way and freed up her hands. I love this story. Lucia wanted to help with both hands, and so she invented head-wear to solve her problem. I'd love for my Lucy to be someone who wants to help with both hands and is open to solving problems creatively. Here are some pictures from our celebration.
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| St. Lucia's Day - 2013 |
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| St. Lucia's Day - 2014 |
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| She rode on the kitchen cart. It was one of her favorite activities. |
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| She also liked playing with the battery-powered candles on the tables. |
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| Candles in and out of the holders like little puzzle pieces. |
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| And she let Susie play with her, too. |
How We Sleep Now
Sleep has been an issue for us for most of Lucy's life, but it's getting much, much better. When we had company for Thanksgiving, Lucy and I slept with Matt in our big bed. I slept so much better in the big bed that I became determined to sleep there all the time. And for the most part it's worked. I put Lucy to sleep on a mattress on the floor of her room. Sometimes she nurses to sleep, and sometimes she plays after nursing and then puts herself to sleep. I then go to bed in my room. If she wakes, she talks or cries, and I go see what she needs. I typically get her back to sleep with just cuddling. Recently, she's had a cold, and cuddles don't cut it, so she's nursed in the middle of the night once or twice. The other day she slept 8 hours straight! I gave her a little milk, and she slept a few more hours. It was wonderful. I had an entire night of sleep in a comfortable bed and then got some things done before she got up in the morning. It has taken a long time, but I'm pretty glad that I didn't torture her or me with "cry-it-out sleep training." It might work for some people, but I think she and I are too sensitive for that method. She just needed to grow into a new sleep habit. She's now able to get up and find me when she needs me, so she's not as afraid for me to leave her alone in her bed. We've still got a ways to go before she's where I want her to be, but I'm enjoying the recent success and sleep.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Found'em!
Fact #1: I have been naming body parts for Lucy for months, and I've tried to get her to point to her nose or mouth or eyes, but she's never been interested in demonstrating her knowledge of anatomy.
Fact #2: Lucy's hair is now long enough that it covers her face if it's not pulled back.
This morning, instead of putting Lucy's hair in a ponytail, I used a barette. Eventually, the barette fell out. When I saw her face was covered with hair, I said, "Your hair fell down. Where are your eyes?" She ran up to me, pointed at her eyes and said "eyes." I hugged her and laughed in delight. Matt was there to witness it, too. I've now started to wonder if she wouldn't point to her nose when I've asked in the past because it wasn't hidden and didn't need to be found. If a body part really needs to be found, however, she'll find it.
Her other cuteness today was calling a puzzle a "puzzuzzle." She was repeating what I said and not using the word for herself, but now know she knows how to say it. She already knew what the word meant, so now she's all set to use it.
Fact #2: Lucy's hair is now long enough that it covers her face if it's not pulled back.
This morning, instead of putting Lucy's hair in a ponytail, I used a barette. Eventually, the barette fell out. When I saw her face was covered with hair, I said, "Your hair fell down. Where are your eyes?" She ran up to me, pointed at her eyes and said "eyes." I hugged her and laughed in delight. Matt was there to witness it, too. I've now started to wonder if she wouldn't point to her nose when I've asked in the past because it wasn't hidden and didn't need to be found. If a body part really needs to be found, however, she'll find it.
Her other cuteness today was calling a puzzle a "puzzuzzle." She was repeating what I said and not using the word for herself, but now know she knows how to say it. She already knew what the word meant, so now she's all set to use it.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Big Girls Use Direct Objects
Lucy displays some new skill nearly every day. It's a lot of fun to watch. One of today's developments was her first non-pronoun direct object. It's the kind of milestone two English teachers would get excited about. Today she said, "I got ball." She has previously said things like "I got it" or "I do it," but this is the first time she has named the "it" that she got. Her list of words that she says is still pretty short: mama, daddy, bubbles, ball, book, baby, bite, up. She also says "good job" because she hears it from me so often. The other day I did something for her, and she told me "good job." It cracked me up. I think she's probably got more words that she is capable of saying, but she only says things when she wants to. And she isn't interested in repeating what we want her to repeat.
However, the number of words she understands is amazing. Most of the time we learn that she knows words because we ask her questions or tell her to do things, and she responds correctly. Tonight I asked her if she wanted to brush her teeth, and she ran to the sink and pointed at her toothbrush. Last week I told her to pick up an apple and bring it to me, and she did it. She wasn't near the apple when I asked, and I asked her to do two things in the same question, so I was very impressed when she brought me the apple. Sometimes the results are funny. When she dances, I sometimes say, "Shake it, baby!" A few days ago, she was holding a rattle, and I told her to shake it. She started dancing. Not what I meant, but really funny.
I have much more to say about Lucy--her physical skills, her personality, her pretend play--but I need to get to bed. Keeping up with Lucy takes a lot of energy. I'm hoping that we can spend some time in the garden tomorrow afternoon after swimming in the morning and nap after lunch. The weather is supposed to be pretty good, and Lucy likes playing outside. I need to clean up my garden a bit, and Lucy can help me dig in the dirt. I'm sure she'll want to go swinging, too. And there may be bubbles. Lucy and I agree that everyday is a good day for bubbles.
However, the number of words she understands is amazing. Most of the time we learn that she knows words because we ask her questions or tell her to do things, and she responds correctly. Tonight I asked her if she wanted to brush her teeth, and she ran to the sink and pointed at her toothbrush. Last week I told her to pick up an apple and bring it to me, and she did it. She wasn't near the apple when I asked, and I asked her to do two things in the same question, so I was very impressed when she brought me the apple. Sometimes the results are funny. When she dances, I sometimes say, "Shake it, baby!" A few days ago, she was holding a rattle, and I told her to shake it. She started dancing. Not what I meant, but really funny.
I have much more to say about Lucy--her physical skills, her personality, her pretend play--but I need to get to bed. Keeping up with Lucy takes a lot of energy. I'm hoping that we can spend some time in the garden tomorrow afternoon after swimming in the morning and nap after lunch. The weather is supposed to be pretty good, and Lucy likes playing outside. I need to clean up my garden a bit, and Lucy can help me dig in the dirt. I'm sure she'll want to go swinging, too. And there may be bubbles. Lucy and I agree that everyday is a good day for bubbles.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Thinking Ahead to Christmas
I've gotten a few questions from people about Christmas gifts for Lucy, so I thought I'd share my thoughts. First, Lucy's Amazon list from her birthday is still available. And my previous post about what Lucy likes still applies. She is now willing to wear shoes, so we've bought a couple pairs of soft, flexible shoes for her. I have a few more ideas based on how Lucy has developed in the last few weeks.
Active Indoor Toys
I have an energetic baby, months of winter ahead, and no indoor play spaces in town. I may not need as much as I think I will, but I like to be prepared. I don't know what Lucy will like, but I've thought about rocking horses, ride-on toys, swings, slides, ramps, or even just a bunch of big cushions and pillows that she can pile up and climb or jump on. I've got a trampoline and a video rocker that I plan to get out for her. Most active indoor toys can be moved outside when the weather improves next spring, so I expect that she'd get a lot of use out of them.
Dress Up Clothes & Props
Lucy hasn't shown a lot of interest in dressing up yet, but I'd like for her to have some things to practice putting on and fastening. I have thought that elastic-waist skirts and vests with different kinds of closures (buttons, snaps, velcro, etc.) might be a good start. Quite honestly, they could be very simple and made with scrap material. I'm also a big fan of fun hats. And I think she's getting into pretend play enough that play dishes and food would be fun for her.
Dolls and Accessories
Lucy is paying a little more attention to her doll. I think she hugged and kissed it today, but she may have been squishing against her face as a telephone and then biting it. It's hard to tell sometimes. I'd like for her to have a doll that can get into the bath tub. She threw her doll into the tub yesterday, and it's still drying. Bottles, a stroller, and clothes she can change might be good, too. This does not have to be an expensive doll that does tricks. Now that she's got some little girls as friends and has met some babies, I expect her to start showing more interest in dolls.
Art Supplies
Lucy wants to play with paper and pens, but we won't let her do that yet. I've gotten her a set of Crayola Color Wonder paint brushes and a partially used coloring book at Goodwill. She tried it just a little, but I think she'll like it. And I like that it won't get messy. Anything like MagnaDoodle and AquaDoodle that will let her scribble without making a mess would be good. There may be other things toddlers can do that I haven't thought of. I'm open to suggestions.
Stroller and Weather Cover
We have two strollers, both of which are used and have tires that are losing their treads. I'd like to get a sturdy but light-weight and fairly compact stroller. Because we live just off campus, we've been using our strollers a lot. Walking to school won't be possible at times over the winter, but as weather allows, I'd like to walk whenever we can. Good tires will be especially important on wintry roads, and we don't have sidewalks for part of our route.
These are some of the latest things I've thought of. I'll try to make sure that these get on Lucy's Amazon list.
As for me and Matt, I'm still thinking and updating my Amazon list, and Matt keeps his list pretty up-to-date. I haven't asked him, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind my recommending that you give money so that he can buy what he wants. He goes shopping at used book stores and places where he can buy used music, movies, and games, so he can get more when he finds a good deal that if you had bought him something new from Amazon.
Active Indoor Toys
I have an energetic baby, months of winter ahead, and no indoor play spaces in town. I may not need as much as I think I will, but I like to be prepared. I don't know what Lucy will like, but I've thought about rocking horses, ride-on toys, swings, slides, ramps, or even just a bunch of big cushions and pillows that she can pile up and climb or jump on. I've got a trampoline and a video rocker that I plan to get out for her. Most active indoor toys can be moved outside when the weather improves next spring, so I expect that she'd get a lot of use out of them.
Dress Up Clothes & Props
Lucy hasn't shown a lot of interest in dressing up yet, but I'd like for her to have some things to practice putting on and fastening. I have thought that elastic-waist skirts and vests with different kinds of closures (buttons, snaps, velcro, etc.) might be a good start. Quite honestly, they could be very simple and made with scrap material. I'm also a big fan of fun hats. And I think she's getting into pretend play enough that play dishes and food would be fun for her.
Dolls and Accessories
Lucy is paying a little more attention to her doll. I think she hugged and kissed it today, but she may have been squishing against her face as a telephone and then biting it. It's hard to tell sometimes. I'd like for her to have a doll that can get into the bath tub. She threw her doll into the tub yesterday, and it's still drying. Bottles, a stroller, and clothes she can change might be good, too. This does not have to be an expensive doll that does tricks. Now that she's got some little girls as friends and has met some babies, I expect her to start showing more interest in dolls.
Art Supplies
Lucy wants to play with paper and pens, but we won't let her do that yet. I've gotten her a set of Crayola Color Wonder paint brushes and a partially used coloring book at Goodwill. She tried it just a little, but I think she'll like it. And I like that it won't get messy. Anything like MagnaDoodle and AquaDoodle that will let her scribble without making a mess would be good. There may be other things toddlers can do that I haven't thought of. I'm open to suggestions.
Stroller and Weather Cover
We have two strollers, both of which are used and have tires that are losing their treads. I'd like to get a sturdy but light-weight and fairly compact stroller. Because we live just off campus, we've been using our strollers a lot. Walking to school won't be possible at times over the winter, but as weather allows, I'd like to walk whenever we can. Good tires will be especially important on wintry roads, and we don't have sidewalks for part of our route.
These are some of the latest things I've thought of. I'll try to make sure that these get on Lucy's Amazon list.
As for me and Matt, I'm still thinking and updating my Amazon list, and Matt keeps his list pretty up-to-date. I haven't asked him, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind my recommending that you give money so that he can buy what he wants. He goes shopping at used book stores and places where he can buy used music, movies, and games, so he can get more when he finds a good deal that if you had bought him something new from Amazon.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
A Very Belated Birthday Post
Lucy had a very happy birthday fortnight. We celebrated for a couple of weeks. Thank you to everyone--grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends--who celebrated with us by partying with us or sending gifts and cards. Here are some highlights from Lucy's birthday party on Saturday, September 20, 2014.
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Our friends, Susie and Shawn, helped us so much. They made the games that the kids played. They helped with setting up and cleaning up. And Susie took many of the pictures I'm posting, including this great family picture.
This is Lucy with her friend, Elin. Elin's dad is a professor in the English department with Matt. Lucy and Elin had ever met before the party, but they became fast friends. We're used to kids crying and running from Lucy, so we were thrilled that Lucy made a friend.
Our friends, Susie and Shawn, helped us so much. They made the games that the kids played. They helped with setting up and cleaning up. And Susie took many of the pictures I'm posting, including this great family picture.
You know it was a great party when there was table dancing before the party even started.
The theme of the party was monsters. So we had a monster sub sandwich. The sub, which was really good, was from Wal-Mart. The monster bits were jack-o'-lantern parts from Dollar Tree.
The birthday cake was a Texas sheet brownie with candy and marshmallow eyes.
I called it a mud monster. Lucy needed some help with the candle. We tried practicing blowing out candles the week before her party, but the fire freaked her out.
Lucy didn't actually play any of the games, but she had fun trying to knock down the tower Shawn set up for monster bowling. We had to keep catching her to keep her from ruining other people's turns.
This was the best way to keep her from knocking down the tower or getting in the way.
She also enjoyed peeking at daddy, who was pretending to be a monster.
This is Lucy with her friend, Elin. Elin's dad is a professor in the English department with Matt. Lucy and Elin had ever met before the party, but they became fast friends. We're used to kids crying and running from Lucy, so we were thrilled that Lucy made a friend.
Lucy really got into the present opening. We let her stand on a table to open gifts.
We really had to be on our toes with Lucy on the table.
Ooo! A book!
She had lots of help with her gifts.
Dr. Lindsay Anderson couldn't wait to play with Lucy's toys. Everybody had fun at this party.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
12-Month Well-Baby Appointment
I wanted to quickly share about the appointment. I'll have more to say about Lucy's birthday after this weekend.
Lucy weighed 22 lbs., 1.5 oz. (88th percentile) and was 30 inches long (94th percentile)! She seems to have rocketed off her previous growth curve. She's on track developmentally, even a little ahead in some areas since she's already walking. They stuck her finger to take blood, and it seemed like they had to squeeze forever to get enough blood to test. Lucy was not happy about that, and I don't blame her. Her blood work came back mostly normal. Her lead level was slightly elevated. 3.3 is normal, and hers was 4.6. The doctor said they don't worry about it unless it's 10 or 11 but that it might be good to figure out where the lead is and deal with it. He said the health department can help us with that.
Lucy has been sick with an unknown virus that caused fever but no other symptoms. On her birthday, a rash appeared after the fever had broken. She has been cranky and hasn't had much of an appetite. Some nights she woke up every hour wanting to nurse. We're both exhausted.
We didn't make a big deal of her birthday, partially because Lucy and I weren't up to a big deal. She got a free stuffed cow toy from Chick-fil-A when Matt took her there while I was teaching. We Skyped with my mom and sister and her kids. And we received gifts and cards from Matt's parents and his brother's family. So thank you to everyone for thinking of Lucy. We're having a birthday party for kids on Saturday. We plan to celebrate with our church on Sunday. And then the next weekend, my family is coming to celebrate some more.
Lucy weighed 22 lbs., 1.5 oz. (88th percentile) and was 30 inches long (94th percentile)! She seems to have rocketed off her previous growth curve. She's on track developmentally, even a little ahead in some areas since she's already walking. They stuck her finger to take blood, and it seemed like they had to squeeze forever to get enough blood to test. Lucy was not happy about that, and I don't blame her. Her blood work came back mostly normal. Her lead level was slightly elevated. 3.3 is normal, and hers was 4.6. The doctor said they don't worry about it unless it's 10 or 11 but that it might be good to figure out where the lead is and deal with it. He said the health department can help us with that.
Lucy has been sick with an unknown virus that caused fever but no other symptoms. On her birthday, a rash appeared after the fever had broken. She has been cranky and hasn't had much of an appetite. Some nights she woke up every hour wanting to nurse. We're both exhausted.
We didn't make a big deal of her birthday, partially because Lucy and I weren't up to a big deal. She got a free stuffed cow toy from Chick-fil-A when Matt took her there while I was teaching. We Skyped with my mom and sister and her kids. And we received gifts and cards from Matt's parents and his brother's family. So thank you to everyone for thinking of Lucy. We're having a birthday party for kids on Saturday. We plan to celebrate with our church on Sunday. And then the next weekend, my family is coming to celebrate some more.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Gifts for Lucy
I've had people ask me what to get Lucy for her birthday, and so I thought I'd share a little about what she likes so far and what we'd like for her to have. The easiest thing to do is look at Lucy's Amazon List. It's got a wide variety of things that can be ordered easily or serve as inspiration if you like to buy elsewhere. We do not mind used toys and clothes in good condition. Most of what we buy her is second hand.
What Lucy Likes: Music, Balls, Books, Bath Time, Fresh Fruit, and Destruction
Lucy owns a little drum, a recorder, a xylophone/keyboard, a maraca, some rattles, and two tambourines. She plays with all of them. Other instruments that can be shaken, banged, or blown would be a hit. She also likes to dance, so CDs, MP3s, or other music are also good ideas. She likes all kinds of music, but she reacts most strongly to classical music. Vivaldi's Four Seasons makes her bounce on the furniture.
Lucy probably has enough balls unless you find something really cool. She's got a variety of sizes and textures from ping pong balls to beach balls. But she's never met a ball she didn't like, so she would enjoy more balls whether she needs them or not.
Lucy owns quite a few books. We're limiting her to board books, fabric books, and plastic bath books for now because she's pretty rough on paper pages. She doesn't always sit still for us to read to her, but she regularly sits by herself flipping pages and looking at pictures. We have most of the Dr. Seuss board books and quite a few Sandra Boynton board books. There are many books on the Amazon list. If you have a favorite you'd like to share, that would be great. We also don't mind if we get a duplicate of something we have. We pack duplicates in the diaper bag or leave them in Matt's office for when Lucy visits him at school.
Lucy also loves bath time, so bath toys could be fun. We also use a lot of baby bedtime bath that smells like lavender. And she likes foam, but the bubbles would need to be edible because that's the first thing she'll do with them.
When in doubt, give Lucy fresh fruit. She loves mango, pears, peaches, watermelon, blueberries, and strawberries. She also likes trying new things. Is it weird to give a one year old a fruit basket? Not in this case. :)
Puzzles and blocks are supposed to be put together, but at this point Lucy just takes them apart. But she loves doing it. I like the chunky Melissa and Doug puzzles because she can play with the pieces as animal figures even when she can't put the puzzle together. We have a few wooden alphabet blocks, a set of nesting blocks, and some bristle blocks but could always use more. She enjoys it when I build something that she can take apart. Eventually, she will learn to build as well, so those are toys that will grow with her.
What I Want for Lucy
Lucy has started playing pretend a little. Everything she picks up--stuffed animal, puzzle piece, cup, blanket--is put to her ear like a telephone while she talks to it. She has also pretended to feed us with a spoon. Toys for pretend play--doctor's set, dishes, dress up clothes--will be something she will grow into.
We also like developmental toys. She already has a shape sorter, plastic chain links, and one ring stacker. If you know of other good developmental toys for toddlers, we like that stuff. She could probably use something that teaches fastening clothes with snaps, velcro, zippers, and buckles.
I don't know when she'll show interest in potty training, but she wants to be big so bad she can't stand it, so it wouldn't surprise me if she took to it early. We don't have any potty training supplies.
Other Things to Know
Since Lucy has not expressed an interest in princesses and other "girly girl" things, we're keeping her toys and clothes mostly gender-neutral. We don't consider boy toys or clothes off limits. We don't buy her things just because they are pink. We plan to give her lots of options and let her discover what kind of girl she is. She may decide to be a ballerina, but we're waiting to buy tutus until she makes that decision.
In general, we prefer toys that she can manipulate and investigate. Toys that play by themselves or repeatedly beg kids to play are kind of annoying. Things with microchips rather than mechanical parts seem like magic and can't be investigated in the same way. For example, I had the old Fisher-Price record player with thick plastic disks when I was little. I loved playing the Edelweiss record. It worked like a music box, reading bumps on the record. The new retro-looking Fisher-Price looks the same but uses sensors and chips instead of a music box mechanism. The old one actually lets kids investigate how sound is made, so it's the one I prefer. We aren't against electronic toys, but so far we've tried to choose them judiciously.
She doesn't intentionally watch much television. We've started watching Sesame Street sometimes, but she mostly plays and looks at the TV occasionally. She does like to interact with my Kindle Fire. She has a couple of apps that she plays with. There are some more book-related apps on the Amazon wish list that she might enjoy.
Lucy owns so many stuffed animals that we've only given her some of them to play with. She hasn't shown much interest in them yet, but that may change as she learns to pretend. Her favorite is an opossum. It looks like roadkill when she leaves it on the living room floor. She has a couple of dolls. She chews on them or laughs at them, but she doesn't really play with them yet. I've started modelling how to play with these things, so we'll see if she catches on.
She is currently wearing size 12 month clothes. She has been running at least a month behind what the size would recommend, so I expect her to be in 12-month clothes for another month or two. There are a few things she needs: a long-sleeve dress, long sleeve white onesies, and neutral colored socks with grippers on the bottom (bonus points if the socks look like shoes--man, I love shoe-socks!). She refuses to walk in shoes right now, and she'll need something to keep her feet warm as the weather changes.
Hopefully, this gives you some idea of what kind of kid Lucy is and what kind of family we are and helps you feel confident if you are selecting a gift.
What Lucy Likes: Music, Balls, Books, Bath Time, Fresh Fruit, and Destruction
Lucy owns a little drum, a recorder, a xylophone/keyboard, a maraca, some rattles, and two tambourines. She plays with all of them. Other instruments that can be shaken, banged, or blown would be a hit. She also likes to dance, so CDs, MP3s, or other music are also good ideas. She likes all kinds of music, but she reacts most strongly to classical music. Vivaldi's Four Seasons makes her bounce on the furniture.
Lucy probably has enough balls unless you find something really cool. She's got a variety of sizes and textures from ping pong balls to beach balls. But she's never met a ball she didn't like, so she would enjoy more balls whether she needs them or not.
Lucy owns quite a few books. We're limiting her to board books, fabric books, and plastic bath books for now because she's pretty rough on paper pages. She doesn't always sit still for us to read to her, but she regularly sits by herself flipping pages and looking at pictures. We have most of the Dr. Seuss board books and quite a few Sandra Boynton board books. There are many books on the Amazon list. If you have a favorite you'd like to share, that would be great. We also don't mind if we get a duplicate of something we have. We pack duplicates in the diaper bag or leave them in Matt's office for when Lucy visits him at school.
Lucy also loves bath time, so bath toys could be fun. We also use a lot of baby bedtime bath that smells like lavender. And she likes foam, but the bubbles would need to be edible because that's the first thing she'll do with them.
When in doubt, give Lucy fresh fruit. She loves mango, pears, peaches, watermelon, blueberries, and strawberries. She also likes trying new things. Is it weird to give a one year old a fruit basket? Not in this case. :)
Puzzles and blocks are supposed to be put together, but at this point Lucy just takes them apart. But she loves doing it. I like the chunky Melissa and Doug puzzles because she can play with the pieces as animal figures even when she can't put the puzzle together. We have a few wooden alphabet blocks, a set of nesting blocks, and some bristle blocks but could always use more. She enjoys it when I build something that she can take apart. Eventually, she will learn to build as well, so those are toys that will grow with her.
What I Want for Lucy
Lucy has started playing pretend a little. Everything she picks up--stuffed animal, puzzle piece, cup, blanket--is put to her ear like a telephone while she talks to it. She has also pretended to feed us with a spoon. Toys for pretend play--doctor's set, dishes, dress up clothes--will be something she will grow into.
We also like developmental toys. She already has a shape sorter, plastic chain links, and one ring stacker. If you know of other good developmental toys for toddlers, we like that stuff. She could probably use something that teaches fastening clothes with snaps, velcro, zippers, and buckles.
I don't know when she'll show interest in potty training, but she wants to be big so bad she can't stand it, so it wouldn't surprise me if she took to it early. We don't have any potty training supplies.
Other Things to Know
Since Lucy has not expressed an interest in princesses and other "girly girl" things, we're keeping her toys and clothes mostly gender-neutral. We don't consider boy toys or clothes off limits. We don't buy her things just because they are pink. We plan to give her lots of options and let her discover what kind of girl she is. She may decide to be a ballerina, but we're waiting to buy tutus until she makes that decision.
In general, we prefer toys that she can manipulate and investigate. Toys that play by themselves or repeatedly beg kids to play are kind of annoying. Things with microchips rather than mechanical parts seem like magic and can't be investigated in the same way. For example, I had the old Fisher-Price record player with thick plastic disks when I was little. I loved playing the Edelweiss record. It worked like a music box, reading bumps on the record. The new retro-looking Fisher-Price looks the same but uses sensors and chips instead of a music box mechanism. The old one actually lets kids investigate how sound is made, so it's the one I prefer. We aren't against electronic toys, but so far we've tried to choose them judiciously.
She doesn't intentionally watch much television. We've started watching Sesame Street sometimes, but she mostly plays and looks at the TV occasionally. She does like to interact with my Kindle Fire. She has a couple of apps that she plays with. There are some more book-related apps on the Amazon wish list that she might enjoy.
Lucy owns so many stuffed animals that we've only given her some of them to play with. She hasn't shown much interest in them yet, but that may change as she learns to pretend. Her favorite is an opossum. It looks like roadkill when she leaves it on the living room floor. She has a couple of dolls. She chews on them or laughs at them, but she doesn't really play with them yet. I've started modelling how to play with these things, so we'll see if she catches on.
She is currently wearing size 12 month clothes. She has been running at least a month behind what the size would recommend, so I expect her to be in 12-month clothes for another month or two. There are a few things she needs: a long-sleeve dress, long sleeve white onesies, and neutral colored socks with grippers on the bottom (bonus points if the socks look like shoes--man, I love shoe-socks!). She refuses to walk in shoes right now, and she'll need something to keep her feet warm as the weather changes.
Hopefully, this gives you some idea of what kind of kid Lucy is and what kind of family we are and helps you feel confident if you are selecting a gift.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
End of the Summer Status Report
Garden
The Squash Ghetto is dead. I got three zucchinis and a tiny watermelon out of it before the squash bugs devoured it. I will probably try fewer types of squash and justy hope to get a good crop of zucchini and yellow summer squash next year. I will plant sunflowers again because they were really pretty and really spruced up the Ghetto. Several of my other vegetables didn't make it this year either. But the green beans, beets, purple hull peas, tomatoes, herbs, and snap peas did OK, so I fee reasonably successful. I have a fall planting of snap peas that is already doing well, and I plan to put in a few more root veggies, which may have time to grow before winter. Lucy enjoys coming outside to garden with me, and she doesn't eat everything she can get her hands on now. She especially enjoys cherry tomatoes right off the vine. She also liked eating my green beans and the roasted beet pasta sauce that I made with my beets. I've got a turnip for her to try tomorrow. It feels really good to have my baby enjoy food from my garden. Next year she may be able to help with planting and watering. That will be even more fun.
Back to School
School started on Tuesday. I'm teaching one class, and Matt is teaching five. We teach at different times, so one of us is always able to keep Lucy. Unfortunately, we all have colds. Matt brought one home from GenCon, and Lucy and I caught it last weekend. Fortunately, I'm the only one with a chest cold. Lucy just has a runny nose. We're starting to get better, but it made the first week of school really rough. I wasn't quite in my right mind during my class on Tuesday. I took a new cold medicine that made me light-headed and forgetful. I was miserable. Thursday was better, but I'm looking forward to teaching while not medicated next week. I'm trying out some new things this semester, hoping to get my pass rate above 30%. The department chair thought that 30% might actually be a good pass rate, but I want to do better. I know I have only a little control over the pass rate, but I hope to find the right approach that inspires my students to try and succeed.
Lucy
Lucy is having a ball hanging out in the English department while I teach. She has made some new friends. When she sees students standing around and talking, she crawls or toddles up and babbles with them. Her walking has really improved, and I think it's because she has seen all the big kids doing it. She makes friends everywhere she goes. In fact, I have three new Facebook friends this week just because of Lucy. She's going to need her own account soon!
The marching band practices about a block from our house, so we've taken her to watch them a few times. One time the directors sons were there and played rocks with Lucy. She thought that was the best fun ever. I'm not sure that she has paid attention to individual instruments yet, but she dances sometimes when the band plays.
Lucy has become fascinated by telephones. It started while Matt was in Indianapolis for GenCon for four days. When he would call, I would put him on speakerphone on my cell phone so that Lucy could hear him and talk to him, too. After we talked to him a time or two, she started picking up my phone and saying, "Hey, Da!" at it. She did the same thing with our home phone, her toy phone, and the baby monitor. It was pretty impressive how she made the connection between those items. But the most fun it that today she was holding a rectangle piece of a shape puzzle and started walking around holding it to her hear and talking into it. She was pretending it was a phone! She may be on the cusp of pretend play. Oh, that will be fun!
Last Friday night, Lucy stayed with a babysitter for the first time since I quit working part-time. Matt and I went to the new faculty reception at the university, and I wasn't sure kids were allowed. Fortunately, the week before, Lucy and I went out to eat with Susie, Shawn, and Alia, a theater student at CU. Lucy loved Alia. She let her carry her to the car after supper. So I called Alia to see if she would watch Lucy while we were at the reception, and she jumped at the chance to hang out with Lucy. We had her meet us at the dining hall and take Lucy in the stroller. When Alia brought her back, she said that Lucy only cried twice: when she put her down on some grass and when she put her in the stroller to bring her back to us. Hurray! It is so great to know Lucy can be OK with a babysitter. Matt and I might be able to go out sometime.
Health
Other than our colds, I think we're doing pretty well. I haven't had any more vomiting. I've had a few episodes of discomfort, but no vomiting. I've lost a bit more weight and am fitting into clothes I haven't worn in a while. We were going to the pool in Lebanon this month because the CU pool was closed. I'm eagerly awaiting the posting of new open swim hours at our pool so that we can swim more regularly.
The Squash Ghetto is dead. I got three zucchinis and a tiny watermelon out of it before the squash bugs devoured it. I will probably try fewer types of squash and justy hope to get a good crop of zucchini and yellow summer squash next year. I will plant sunflowers again because they were really pretty and really spruced up the Ghetto. Several of my other vegetables didn't make it this year either. But the green beans, beets, purple hull peas, tomatoes, herbs, and snap peas did OK, so I fee reasonably successful. I have a fall planting of snap peas that is already doing well, and I plan to put in a few more root veggies, which may have time to grow before winter. Lucy enjoys coming outside to garden with me, and she doesn't eat everything she can get her hands on now. She especially enjoys cherry tomatoes right off the vine. She also liked eating my green beans and the roasted beet pasta sauce that I made with my beets. I've got a turnip for her to try tomorrow. It feels really good to have my baby enjoy food from my garden. Next year she may be able to help with planting and watering. That will be even more fun.
Back to School
School started on Tuesday. I'm teaching one class, and Matt is teaching five. We teach at different times, so one of us is always able to keep Lucy. Unfortunately, we all have colds. Matt brought one home from GenCon, and Lucy and I caught it last weekend. Fortunately, I'm the only one with a chest cold. Lucy just has a runny nose. We're starting to get better, but it made the first week of school really rough. I wasn't quite in my right mind during my class on Tuesday. I took a new cold medicine that made me light-headed and forgetful. I was miserable. Thursday was better, but I'm looking forward to teaching while not medicated next week. I'm trying out some new things this semester, hoping to get my pass rate above 30%. The department chair thought that 30% might actually be a good pass rate, but I want to do better. I know I have only a little control over the pass rate, but I hope to find the right approach that inspires my students to try and succeed.
Lucy
Lucy is having a ball hanging out in the English department while I teach. She has made some new friends. When she sees students standing around and talking, she crawls or toddles up and babbles with them. Her walking has really improved, and I think it's because she has seen all the big kids doing it. She makes friends everywhere she goes. In fact, I have three new Facebook friends this week just because of Lucy. She's going to need her own account soon!
The marching band practices about a block from our house, so we've taken her to watch them a few times. One time the directors sons were there and played rocks with Lucy. She thought that was the best fun ever. I'm not sure that she has paid attention to individual instruments yet, but she dances sometimes when the band plays.
Lucy has become fascinated by telephones. It started while Matt was in Indianapolis for GenCon for four days. When he would call, I would put him on speakerphone on my cell phone so that Lucy could hear him and talk to him, too. After we talked to him a time or two, she started picking up my phone and saying, "Hey, Da!" at it. She did the same thing with our home phone, her toy phone, and the baby monitor. It was pretty impressive how she made the connection between those items. But the most fun it that today she was holding a rectangle piece of a shape puzzle and started walking around holding it to her hear and talking into it. She was pretending it was a phone! She may be on the cusp of pretend play. Oh, that will be fun!
Last Friday night, Lucy stayed with a babysitter for the first time since I quit working part-time. Matt and I went to the new faculty reception at the university, and I wasn't sure kids were allowed. Fortunately, the week before, Lucy and I went out to eat with Susie, Shawn, and Alia, a theater student at CU. Lucy loved Alia. She let her carry her to the car after supper. So I called Alia to see if she would watch Lucy while we were at the reception, and she jumped at the chance to hang out with Lucy. We had her meet us at the dining hall and take Lucy in the stroller. When Alia brought her back, she said that Lucy only cried twice: when she put her down on some grass and when she put her in the stroller to bring her back to us. Hurray! It is so great to know Lucy can be OK with a babysitter. Matt and I might be able to go out sometime.
Health
Other than our colds, I think we're doing pretty well. I haven't had any more vomiting. I've had a few episodes of discomfort, but no vomiting. I've lost a bit more weight and am fitting into clothes I haven't worn in a while. We were going to the pool in Lebanon this month because the CU pool was closed. I'm eagerly awaiting the posting of new open swim hours at our pool so that we can swim more regularly.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Such a Big Girl!
She is walking a little. She's still a little unsteady, and her record is only 11 consecutive steps; but she has decided that she is a walker rather than a crawler. When she wants to go somewhere, she stands up and walks until she falls and then crawls to her destination. She climbs like a little monkey. She can get onto the couch and Matt's chair without assistance. We have to keep her from climbing on the arms of the chairs because she tends to hurl herself off of things with no understanding of gravity. She dances when she hears music. Sometimes it's just rocking and wiggling her shoulders, but sometimes she jumps and squats and waves her arms and claps until she falls down. Then she seems to break dance until she gets back up to dance some more.
Lucy is also talking a little. She started saying "mama" and "dada" a couple of months ago. The next word was "bubble." She's just starting to try to repeat what we say. She started saying phrases about a month ago, and she uses them at appropriate times: "all done," "I do it," "I got it, and "hi, dad." She will occasionally say "bye bye."
She feeds herself a wide variety of foods. She likes green beans and cherry tomatoes from my garden. She eats watermelon, peaches, pears, mangoes, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, potatoes, pasta, feta cheese blue cheese, and goat cheese. I haven't been trying out spices with her because we're enjoying fresh produce so much right now. This fall and winter, we'll try more spices.
She's still not a good sleeper, but she's a more predictable sleeper. She tends to take two naps that average 1 hour each. She sleeps about three hours at a time at night and nurses back to sleep every time. We're still sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Recently, I've gotten up after feeding her after 8:00 a.m. and have done some gardening while she sleeps for another hour or two. The morning time and two naps are giving me more opportunity to get things done, which is good because I'm teaching a class this semester. We've tried having Matt put her down for her second nap. She cries and cries until she gives up and sleeps. I'm hoping that she will start to associate daddy with sleeping a little.
There's much more to say, but I'll stop for now. I start many posts and publish so few.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Maybe I Just Need Some Pepcid
I had my appointment with the surgeon today. After hearing my symptoms and pressing on my abdomen, Dr. Watkins said he's not sure I have a gallbladder problem. I have gallstones--the ultrasound showed that--but 30% of people with gallstones don't have gallbladder problems. I may be in that 30%. He said that there's no sign of inflammation on the ultrasound, neither fluid nor thickening of the gallbladder. My friend, Dr. Annie Skaggs, had told me not to have my gallbladder removed if there's no inflammation, and Dr. Watkins agrees. He said that we should try a prescription for Pepcid twice a day for a couple of months to see if that helps. We can reassess then. He said that he could take my gallbladder out, and it's pretty safe to do so; but he's not inclined to remove organs without more evidence that it will help. Matt and I were both relieved to know my surgeon wasn't overly eager to slice me open and hack bits out of me. I asked about the possibility of digestive problems after gallbladder surgery and told him that my Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) had gotten better only relatively recently and that I don't want to return to life with IBS. Dr. Watkins said that gallbladder removal sometimes makes IBS worse. Yet another reason to try to keep my gallbladder! I don't have answers. But I have a prescription and an expert opinion. So I'm going to take my medication and continue/renew my weight-loss efforts and healthier diet as Dr. Annie recommended.
I had a little digestive/pain episode on Sunday afternoon, but before that it had been quite a while since my last episode. And my episode on Sunday didn't end with my vomiting. Stretching, a warm bath, and strangely enough breastfeeding Lucy kept the episode from escalating. Now I've got the Pepcid, so maybe that was my last episode. That would be nice.
I had a little digestive/pain episode on Sunday afternoon, but before that it had been quite a while since my last episode. And my episode on Sunday didn't end with my vomiting. Stretching, a warm bath, and strangely enough breastfeeding Lucy kept the episode from escalating. Now I've got the Pepcid, so maybe that was my last episode. That would be nice.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Garden Update: Late June
Pea HavenFilet-style green beans are on the right. Purple hull peas to the left. And weeds further to the left. The green beans are already producing beans. The purple hull peas have a ways to go. The front border has kale, chard, and a marigold. The side border has basil. The middle planters have oregano and thyme. I planted other herbs, but these are the only ones that have come up.
The snap peas to the right have produced fairly well. I've gotten a handful of pods every few days for the last few weeks. The vines are starting to die. The plant on the left I thought was a strawberry plant, but it may actually be a very large, well-tended weed. Some marigold seeds from last year sprouted as well.
I've got a really good sage plant. My Brussels sprouts and eggplants aren't looking very good. I've got a surprise cabbage that was supposed to be broccoli. But it's doing better than the broccoli did, so it's a good surprise. I transplanted some store-bought celery leftovers, which have taken root and are growing pretty well. The asparagus is still putting out occasional shoots, which are still tasty. In the front planters there are a few beets, parsnips, and carrots. But mostly the annex is growing weeds.
The corner of the annex and squash ghetto is where I have six pots of cherry tomatoes. Three are red, two are yellow, and one is sun-dried tomatoes. One of the yellow tomato plants has blossoms. All of the plants are looking really good.
The ghetto is doing OK. I've got corn, sunflowers, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber, spaghetti squash, butternut, acorn, pumpkins, and watermelons. They look good, but I don't get my hopes up too much when it comes to the ghetto. It tends to disappoint. I think I planted late enough that the squash bugs won't be a problem. Very little is planted around the ghetto. A few beets seem to be doing OK.
If I get tomatoes and green beans, I'll feel the garden has been minimally successful. If I actually get squashes, corn, and purple hull peas, I will feel very successful.
Trying to lose the fat and keep my organs
My nurse practitioner's nurse left a message that my ultrasound showed gallstones. A doctor who goes to my church and works at the hospital recommended a few surgeons. I have an appointment set with Dr. Watkins for July 29. I'd like to see him sooner, but that's his first available appointment. I'll keep calling in case he has a cancellation.
The doctor-friend from church also gave me advice about deciding whether or not to have my gallbladder removed: if it's not inflamed, don't have it removed, but try a low-fat diet and weight loss instead. Large gallstones that could never fit in the duct aren't a reason to have surgery. I was glad to get the advice. I'm reluctant to have an organ removed.
First, I'm not sure it can be definitively known whether my gallbladder is causing my pain and vomiting. Some of my symptoms are textbook gallbladder attack, but some are not. Surgery might not help my current symptoms, but it could cause new ones. After I heard I had gallstones, I looked online for information about the surgery and recovery and found a message board full of people who had continued pain and new digestive symptoms after surgery. I don't want to continue in pain and gain diarrhea. I'd rather live with my current symptoms without adding another one.
Second, even safe surgeries like gallbladder removal aren't 100% safe. Dying is unlikely, but I don't want to take risks that aren't absolutely necessary.
Third, the logistics of caring for Lucy while recovering are tricky. Matt can care for her. But when she's sleepy, she wants mama and milk. Matt can't provide that. When she doesn't get mama and milk, she cries for a long time until she passes out from exhaustion. We would have to try to change her expectations before I had surgery so that we're not all miserable. Also because she is still breastfed, I would need to have a supply of milk frozen for her to drink while I'm on pain meds.
Fourth, timing is also an issue. I'm teaching this semester, so I don't have time for surgery, especially if I don't see the surgeon for a consult until the end of July.
Whether I have surgery or not, the low-fat diet is going to be a good idea. If I don't have surgery, it's still what my doctor-friend recommended. And if I do have surgery, I may need to eat less fat to compensate for no longer having a gallbladder to release stored bile to digest the fat. So I've started eating more mindfully. It's easier to do in the summer when there's so much good fresh produce, especially if that produce is growing in my yard. (Garden update soon)
The doctor-friend from church also gave me advice about deciding whether or not to have my gallbladder removed: if it's not inflamed, don't have it removed, but try a low-fat diet and weight loss instead. Large gallstones that could never fit in the duct aren't a reason to have surgery. I was glad to get the advice. I'm reluctant to have an organ removed.
First, I'm not sure it can be definitively known whether my gallbladder is causing my pain and vomiting. Some of my symptoms are textbook gallbladder attack, but some are not. Surgery might not help my current symptoms, but it could cause new ones. After I heard I had gallstones, I looked online for information about the surgery and recovery and found a message board full of people who had continued pain and new digestive symptoms after surgery. I don't want to continue in pain and gain diarrhea. I'd rather live with my current symptoms without adding another one.
Second, even safe surgeries like gallbladder removal aren't 100% safe. Dying is unlikely, but I don't want to take risks that aren't absolutely necessary.
Third, the logistics of caring for Lucy while recovering are tricky. Matt can care for her. But when she's sleepy, she wants mama and milk. Matt can't provide that. When she doesn't get mama and milk, she cries for a long time until she passes out from exhaustion. We would have to try to change her expectations before I had surgery so that we're not all miserable. Also because she is still breastfed, I would need to have a supply of milk frozen for her to drink while I'm on pain meds.
Fourth, timing is also an issue. I'm teaching this semester, so I don't have time for surgery, especially if I don't see the surgeon for a consult until the end of July.
Whether I have surgery or not, the low-fat diet is going to be a good idea. If I don't have surgery, it's still what my doctor-friend recommended. And if I do have surgery, I may need to eat less fat to compensate for no longer having a gallbladder to release stored bile to digest the fat. So I've started eating more mindfully. It's easier to do in the summer when there's so much good fresh produce, especially if that produce is growing in my yard. (Garden update soon)
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
9 Month Well Baby Report & Medical Update
Lucy did well at her checkup today. Everything is perfect. She weighed 18 lbs., 12 oz. (60th percentile), was 28 inches long (65th percentile), and has a 17.5 inch head (67th percentile). She gained 3 pounds and 2 inches in three months. Her first tooth broke through on Sunday. She is crawling and pulling up and climbing everywhere. She is right on track developmentally. We think she has figured out "dada" and "mama," but she doesn't use them regularly enough to claim that she is talking. She eats nearly anything. Last night she ate a few (pasteurized) blue cheese crumbles, and she sucked on the lemon that came with my water at lunch today. She wants to be big so bad. She wants to walk and eat crunchy things. And recently she has discovered that big people use toilet paper. Hopefully, we can leverage that interest while potty training in the future. The nurse noted today that the only appointments Lucy has had are her well baby visits. Other than a very messy stomach virus a couple months ago and roseola two weeks ago, she's been healthy. We are very blessed. Matt believes she inherited his immune system. I'm all for that.
I also had a doctor's appointment today. With all of the medical visits in 2013, it seems like I go to the doctor all the time. But I hadn't seen my primary care nurse practitioner since April 2012, just after the bowel infection. After my most recent backpain/vomiting episode last week, I decided to get another opinion about my problem. The stretches the chiropractor showed me help when I have attacks, but if something could prevent the attacks altogether, I'd prefer that. The nurse practitioner scheduled a gallbladder ultrasound for tomorrow morning. I have a follow-up with her on June 30. While I was there, I got refills on a couple of my "as needed" prescriptions, had her look at a 3-week-old tick bite (nothing wrong), and had her freeze off a plantar wart on my toe. It was all very efficient, and I really like Nurse Tammy. I'll post an update when I know the results of my ultrasound.
I also had a doctor's appointment today. With all of the medical visits in 2013, it seems like I go to the doctor all the time. But I hadn't seen my primary care nurse practitioner since April 2012, just after the bowel infection. After my most recent backpain/vomiting episode last week, I decided to get another opinion about my problem. The stretches the chiropractor showed me help when I have attacks, but if something could prevent the attacks altogether, I'd prefer that. The nurse practitioner scheduled a gallbladder ultrasound for tomorrow morning. I have a follow-up with her on June 30. While I was there, I got refills on a couple of my "as needed" prescriptions, had her look at a 3-week-old tick bite (nothing wrong), and had her freeze off a plantar wart on my toe. It was all very efficient, and I really like Nurse Tammy. I'll post an update when I know the results of my ultrasound.
Monday, May 26, 2014
You take the nostrils. I'll take the tub.
We had quite a morning yesterday. I was feeding Lucy our normal yogurt breakfast when she threw herself toward a large spoonful and filled her nostrils with yogurt. I grabbed a bulb syringe quickly to open her airways and wiped quite a bit from her face, but I just couldn't get it all. She was a mess, so I decided to give her a quick bath. Just a few minutes into her bath, she pooped in the tub for the first time in her entire life. And she did a good job of it. Eventually, I got the yogurt off one end and the poop off the other, put her in a clean diaper, and took her and some q-tips to Matt, who was sleeping. I told him that I needed him to clean the last bits of dried yogurt out of her nostrils while I disinfected Rick & Cathy's tub. When I got done and went to see how the yogurt removal was going, Matt told me that he had to hold Lucy kind of upside-down to get at her nostrils, and she spit up. It was a rough morning for all of us. I guess some days are just like that: not fun in the moment and yet you know it will make a good story later.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Shhhh! She's Sleeping!
I started this post a couple of weeks ago. Here it is with an update at the end:
We've started "sleep training" again. We did really well in March, but April was a month of back problems (me), stomach virus (all of us), and general crankiness and neediness (mostly Lucy... mostly). But in May we started again. We put the two crib mattresses on the floor again, and Lucy quickly took to sleeping beside me instead of on me. She's sleeping right now while I type this. I'm free! I'm free... to blog and water house plants and unload the dishwasher! At least I'm not stuck in the recliner beneath a sleeping baby for hours at a time. I've even gotten to thoroughly bathe by myself twice this week because she fell asleep early.
She does a good job of putting herself back to sleep. I nurse her to sleep in the first place, but I only have to nurse her back to sleep occasionally. She typically sleeps for a few hours at a time, but a few times she's awoken every 45 minutes during her nap and needed to nurse every time. I let her fuss a bit before I offer comfort or milk. If she insists that she needs to nurse, I let her. I tend to underestimate her hunger, so she may need the nourishment. Or she may just need a little extra closeness once in a while. I'm OK with that.
It takes a while to get her to sleep. After she nurses for a few minutes, she sits up and wants to play. I've got a few stuffed animals on her mattress. They provide a cushion between her head and the side of the crib. And I wanted to give her the opportunity to choose a comfort item if she wanted to. She hasn't shown special interest in anything yet, despite my attempts since her birth to get her to love a little Tigger toy. She chews or sucks on the stuffed animals or waves them around and beats them against the mattresses. She bounces on the mattress. With the wild-eyed look of a professional wrestler jumping off the ropes on the side of the ring, she sits up on her knees and launches herself at my breast. She sometimes plays so vigorously that she spits up. Eventually, I'm able to pull her close and finish nursing her to sleep. But sometimes play takes more than 20 minutes and multiple nursing attempts. Getting her to sleep can be exhausting.
She's doing surprisingly well with waking up when I'm out of the room. She fusses, but she doesn't cry. She used to freak out. And she cries easily. When something upsets her, it goes deep enough to draw tears. And sometimes she has trouble letting go of the hurt. You'll think she's calming down, and then you can tell she has thought about what upset her, and it upsets her all over again. She may just be a sensitive kid, and we may eventually have to help her learn to cope with it. But for now she's a baby, so I'm impressed when she doesn't cry when she wakes up alone.
We're still figuring out her sleep schedule so that we can get her in bed before she gets overtired. We've had a problem with consistency. We haven't been good about setting a sticking with a routine, but Lucy falls asleep anywhere from 7:30-midnight, so it's a little hard to figure out when her best bedtime should be. With both Matt and me at home this summer, our schedule is wide open and can accomodate whatever works for Lucy. Much of parenting so far has been negotiating between the needs of all the members of the family, and sleep scheduling is no different. I have figured out that she needs a nap 1.5 hours after waking, whenever that is. That's been clear and consistent. The other nap(s) and bedtime are still in flux. Ideally, I'd like her sleep schedule to allow us to go to Rhyme Time at the Library and to the pool and to keep her in a good mood during church, but we'll work on it.
Because of my back, we may let her sleep on her mattress on the floor for the foreseeable future, especially now that she can pull up and we need to lower the mattress height and she's over 18 pounds. I'm too weak and too short to lay her in the crib without waking her. I did a little reading on the Montessori method of child education, and it turns out that a floor bed is a Montessori recommendation. It's all about giving kids opportunities to discover and to become self-sufficient. The floor bed lets kids choose to go to sleep when they feel tired. I'd be thrilled if Lucy reacted to fatigue by getting into bed by herself. I don't expect it to happen soon. I don't know that I expect it at all. She's doesn't seem like she's going to be eager to go to sleep.
Sleeping on the crib mattress is also rough on my back, so we tend to end up in the recliner before morning. And sometimes I let her nap on me. But we've clearly established that sleeping happens on her mattress. Overall, I'm pleased with her progress. Ultimately, I'd like for her to fall asleep without nursing, but we'll get there eventually.
UPDATE
Sleep training continued through our travels to see family. We had floor beds everywhere we stayed, and Lucy adjusted well. She even got over her mid-feeding manic periods and settled down quickly. She probably ate more solid food and got more stimulation than she's used to, which might have helped. As I type this, she's sleeping and hogging most of a twin-sized mattress. I hope the calm continues at home. I also hope that the more regular napping continues. She didn't have a strict nap schedule while travelling, but it seemed more like a schedule than what happens at home most days. We do need to do something about needing to nurse to sleep. It made travel trying at times because I sat next to her in the car and couldn't feed her when she got sleepy, and she couldn't understand why. I'm sure it was very frustrating to be so close to comfort and a meal and yet still be denied.She eventually settled for sucking on my finger, but I had to leave it in her mouth for more than an hour at a time and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" for half an hour before she fell asleep. Twinkle, Twinkle is magic, but it takes a little while to kick in. Overall, I'm still pleased with her progress. Maybe June will be even better.
We've started "sleep training" again. We did really well in March, but April was a month of back problems (me), stomach virus (all of us), and general crankiness and neediness (mostly Lucy... mostly). But in May we started again. We put the two crib mattresses on the floor again, and Lucy quickly took to sleeping beside me instead of on me. She's sleeping right now while I type this. I'm free! I'm free... to blog and water house plants and unload the dishwasher! At least I'm not stuck in the recliner beneath a sleeping baby for hours at a time. I've even gotten to thoroughly bathe by myself twice this week because she fell asleep early.
She does a good job of putting herself back to sleep. I nurse her to sleep in the first place, but I only have to nurse her back to sleep occasionally. She typically sleeps for a few hours at a time, but a few times she's awoken every 45 minutes during her nap and needed to nurse every time. I let her fuss a bit before I offer comfort or milk. If she insists that she needs to nurse, I let her. I tend to underestimate her hunger, so she may need the nourishment. Or she may just need a little extra closeness once in a while. I'm OK with that.
It takes a while to get her to sleep. After she nurses for a few minutes, she sits up and wants to play. I've got a few stuffed animals on her mattress. They provide a cushion between her head and the side of the crib. And I wanted to give her the opportunity to choose a comfort item if she wanted to. She hasn't shown special interest in anything yet, despite my attempts since her birth to get her to love a little Tigger toy. She chews or sucks on the stuffed animals or waves them around and beats them against the mattresses. She bounces on the mattress. With the wild-eyed look of a professional wrestler jumping off the ropes on the side of the ring, she sits up on her knees and launches herself at my breast. She sometimes plays so vigorously that she spits up. Eventually, I'm able to pull her close and finish nursing her to sleep. But sometimes play takes more than 20 minutes and multiple nursing attempts. Getting her to sleep can be exhausting.
She's doing surprisingly well with waking up when I'm out of the room. She fusses, but she doesn't cry. She used to freak out. And she cries easily. When something upsets her, it goes deep enough to draw tears. And sometimes she has trouble letting go of the hurt. You'll think she's calming down, and then you can tell she has thought about what upset her, and it upsets her all over again. She may just be a sensitive kid, and we may eventually have to help her learn to cope with it. But for now she's a baby, so I'm impressed when she doesn't cry when she wakes up alone.
We're still figuring out her sleep schedule so that we can get her in bed before she gets overtired. We've had a problem with consistency. We haven't been good about setting a sticking with a routine, but Lucy falls asleep anywhere from 7:30-midnight, so it's a little hard to figure out when her best bedtime should be. With both Matt and me at home this summer, our schedule is wide open and can accomodate whatever works for Lucy. Much of parenting so far has been negotiating between the needs of all the members of the family, and sleep scheduling is no different. I have figured out that she needs a nap 1.5 hours after waking, whenever that is. That's been clear and consistent. The other nap(s) and bedtime are still in flux. Ideally, I'd like her sleep schedule to allow us to go to Rhyme Time at the Library and to the pool and to keep her in a good mood during church, but we'll work on it.
Because of my back, we may let her sleep on her mattress on the floor for the foreseeable future, especially now that she can pull up and we need to lower the mattress height and she's over 18 pounds. I'm too weak and too short to lay her in the crib without waking her. I did a little reading on the Montessori method of child education, and it turns out that a floor bed is a Montessori recommendation. It's all about giving kids opportunities to discover and to become self-sufficient. The floor bed lets kids choose to go to sleep when they feel tired. I'd be thrilled if Lucy reacted to fatigue by getting into bed by herself. I don't expect it to happen soon. I don't know that I expect it at all. She's doesn't seem like she's going to be eager to go to sleep.
Sleeping on the crib mattress is also rough on my back, so we tend to end up in the recliner before morning. And sometimes I let her nap on me. But we've clearly established that sleeping happens on her mattress. Overall, I'm pleased with her progress. Ultimately, I'd like for her to fall asleep without nursing, but we'll get there eventually.
UPDATE
Sleep training continued through our travels to see family. We had floor beds everywhere we stayed, and Lucy adjusted well. She even got over her mid-feeding manic periods and settled down quickly. She probably ate more solid food and got more stimulation than she's used to, which might have helped. As I type this, she's sleeping and hogging most of a twin-sized mattress. I hope the calm continues at home. I also hope that the more regular napping continues. She didn't have a strict nap schedule while travelling, but it seemed more like a schedule than what happens at home most days. We do need to do something about needing to nurse to sleep. It made travel trying at times because I sat next to her in the car and couldn't feed her when she got sleepy, and she couldn't understand why. I'm sure it was very frustrating to be so close to comfort and a meal and yet still be denied.She eventually settled for sucking on my finger, but I had to leave it in her mouth for more than an hour at a time and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" for half an hour before she fell asleep. Twinkle, Twinkle is magic, but it takes a little while to kick in. Overall, I'm still pleased with her progress. Maybe June will be even better.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Mid-April Garden Update
I have pictures, but they aren't very clear because I was excited and took them with my phone.
I was surprised and thrilled to see the asparagus I planted last year had come up. ASPARAGUS!!! It's a perennial, so I should continue getting asparagus every spring.
This strawberry plant was already here and is doing good. A few of the ones I transplanted are sprouting leaves. I'm looking forward to strawberries this summer.
The little green spots in front of and behind the white fence are snap pea sprouts. They've gotten taller and put out leaves in the few days since I took the picture.
I scooped the marigold seeds left from last year's massive marigold plants and some of the dirt from the front garden plot before planting strawberries and peas. I put the dirt in a planter, and now the marigolds have sprouted. I'll transplant them throughout the garden to keep pests away and provide some pretty color.
The back planter has chives, which are also perennials. I planted lettuce in the back between the groups of chives and spinach in front of it. The front planter has mini carrots and a gourmet blend of radishes.
I've got more things planned but not planted. I've got seedlings to transplant. After the weather warms again, I'll get back out to my garden.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Baby Ministry
The Lutheran church I worked at in Wisconsin had a baby ministry. People would periodically visit families with babies and leave them Bible story books. It was a lovely idea that fizzled out by the time I left.
Lucy and I have our own take on "baby ministry": ministry BY babies rather than TO babies. I first came up with the idea while shopping with Lucy. A harried cashier hours into her shift was checking us out and smiled at Lucy, who smiled back, which caused the cashier to talk to her, which made her smile and coo even more, which charmed the cashier. As the cashier handed me my receipt, she thanked me for bringing Lucy in because it made her night. I already knew that Lucy's smiles have theraputic properties, but I hadn't considered that she could have such an effect on people. Since then, we've brightened cashiers' days several times. If anyone shows interest in her, I stop and let Lucy interact with them. She loves it, and it leaves people genuinely feeling happier.
Today we tried out first non-cashier baby ministry visit. Friends from church have been stuck at home recovering from surgery and injuries and hinted that a visit from Lucy would be welcome. So we went to see Karen and Mitch and their dogs. Lucy has been a little moody recently, but she had her moments during the visit. She showed off her straw-drinking skills (which are incredibly cute). She let Karen hold her for a few minutes at a time and was happy to interact if I held her. She was fascinated by Mitch as long as he didn't wear a hat. For some reason his hat made her cry. She loved the dogs and did a pretty good job of being gentle when petting tiny Sadie. Lucy has been invited back, and we'll certainly take them up on that offer. We've had invitations from other people in the church, so we'll probably try to "do some visitation." :)
Lucy and I have our own take on "baby ministry": ministry BY babies rather than TO babies. I first came up with the idea while shopping with Lucy. A harried cashier hours into her shift was checking us out and smiled at Lucy, who smiled back, which caused the cashier to talk to her, which made her smile and coo even more, which charmed the cashier. As the cashier handed me my receipt, she thanked me for bringing Lucy in because it made her night. I already knew that Lucy's smiles have theraputic properties, but I hadn't considered that she could have such an effect on people. Since then, we've brightened cashiers' days several times. If anyone shows interest in her, I stop and let Lucy interact with them. She loves it, and it leaves people genuinely feeling happier.
Today we tried out first non-cashier baby ministry visit. Friends from church have been stuck at home recovering from surgery and injuries and hinted that a visit from Lucy would be welcome. So we went to see Karen and Mitch and their dogs. Lucy has been a little moody recently, but she had her moments during the visit. She showed off her straw-drinking skills (which are incredibly cute). She let Karen hold her for a few minutes at a time and was happy to interact if I held her. She was fascinated by Mitch as long as he didn't wear a hat. For some reason his hat made her cry. She loved the dogs and did a pretty good job of being gentle when petting tiny Sadie. Lucy has been invited back, and we'll certainly take them up on that offer. We've had invitations from other people in the church, so we'll probably try to "do some visitation." :)
Monday, March 31, 2014
Garden 2014
I do have plans for this year's garden, but nothing like the great expansion last year. I'm adding a couple of blocks of width to the Ghetto, and I'd like a stand for my water barrels so that I get better water pressure, but that's all the building I have in mind. I bought some broccoli and Brussels sprout plants to transplant into my garden. I didn't get seeds started in February, so I'm taking a shortcut. I am starting seeds for tomatoes, beans, and squashes that won't be planted for a while. One of my strawberry pots broke, so I'm transplanting the plants to the front bed where I plant snap peas. I plan to plant root veggies, hearty greens, and snap peas this week. Ater that I'll finish cleaning and prepping the Pea Haven, Annex, and Squash Ghetto for planting later this spring. And I'll probably remulch the blueberry patch, which is looking even more promising this year.
Lucy, Matt, and I are going to have to negotiate how much time I have to garden this spring and summer. I will garden. Not only do I enjoy it and benefit from the exercise and the produce I get, but I also read that there's a study that shows that digging in dirt helps with depression symptoms. That seems like plenty of reasons for my gardening time to be a family priority.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Eat It Up with a Spoon
At Lucy's 4-month check up, the pediatrician said we could start spoon feeding Lucy some rice cereal mixed with breast milk. He said it was about getting her used to texture rather than supplementing her diet for nutritional reasons. So we tried it. Lucy loved the spoon--she was willing to sip breast milk or herbal tea from a spoon--but she kept spitting out the rice cereal. We tried it again a few days later and a time or two after that, but she didn't like it.
I did let her start tasting liquids: beef broth, fresh lemon juice, Candycane Lane herbal tea. She liked them all. So when she showed interest in my pureed squash soup, I gave her a little. She loved it! She even sucked the dried bits off the spoon. I was impressed, especially since I had added sweet curry powder to the soup to make it more interesting. (There's a certain line of cooks in my family who like to experiment to make things "interesting.") The next day I added more curry powder to my soup, and when she tried it, she still really liked it. The next day I had ginger carrot soup, which she also liked. That's how I figured out that she just didn't like plain rice cereal. After that she tried and liked cran-apple and cran-grape juices. I would have thought the cranberry would be too bitter, but she thought it was great. So we decided it was OK to try solids other than rice cereal.
Avocado
When we went out for Mexican food, Lucy wanted to eat, too, so I mashed up some of the avocado that Matt didn't want on his fish tacos. Success! We took the leftover avocado home and fed it to her for a few days. I even tried mixing some rice cereal into the avocado, and she ate it.
Oatmeal Cereal
On my sister Kristin's advice, I bought Lucy some baby oatmeal cereal. Unlike the rice cereal, she would eat that plain.
Sweet Potatoes
Next I mashed some sweet potatoes for her. She wasn't impressed even after I added curry powder. We'll try it again sometime.
Peaches
I looked at what baby food flavors Kroger had that looked good. I bought two jars each of peach and mango. They sounded good to me. We tried the peach, and Lucy liked it. I then tried mixing in some oatmeal cereal, and that was a huge hit. It makes sense. I really like Quaker's peach almond oatmeal and granola bars. A week or two later I served her a pouch version of peach baby food, and she ate the whole pouch in two days. She never eats that much. She really likes peaches.
Squash
Kristin had given me several jars of unopened baby food that my nephew Alton didn't need, so I got those out of the closet. Lucy liked squash baby food, especially with curry powder and rice cereal mixed in. It made her smell like an Indian restaurant, partially because she got it on her ear and under her chin and we didn't find it until bathtime.
Kiwi
At church on Sundays, we have food and fellowship after service. This week there was kiwi fruit, so I mashed up some of the part without seeds and fed it to her. She liked it. I watched her pretty closely after that one. I know of people with kiwi allergies. But Lucy had no reaction.
Apple
When we were at Target in Louisville, I bought some apple baby food in a pouch and got an attachable spoon. It's pretty handy for on-the-go feeding. I fed Lucy apples between shopping stops, and she loved it. However, she seems to have eaten too much and to have inherited my family's reaction to apples. She had the biggest diaper blow out ever. I had to clean poop off of her legs, down to her calves, before actually opening the diaper. So we're cautious with the apples now.
Mango
Lucy LOVES mango! Her first taste was a pineapple mango smoothie from McDonald's. The post-apple diaper blowout was cleaned up in a McDonald's bathroom, and it was so traumatic for both of us that I bought and shared a smoothie. She loved it. Several days later she was getting fussy at Walmart and we still had errands to run, so I bought and shared a mango juice drink. She loved it. And I bought a different mango juice brand on sale yesterday and put it in a cup with a straw. She learned to drink from a straw just so she could get to the mango juice. This morning I gave her some mango baby food. She's not a big fan of that. I can't blame her. It tastes really processed and not fresh, especially compared to the good mango drinks she's had.
Banana
Matt and I don't like bananas, so I tried really hard to sell them as yummy. I want her to like everything if possible. I don't want our preferences to limit her. But she doesn't like bananas much either. The first time she tried them, she spit them out. The second time she swallowed a little. And every time since she's mostly spit them out. I'll try mixing them with oatmeal and/or adding spices to see if we get a different result.
Carrots
She liked them just fine. The last time I served them with ginger powder mixed in, and she liked them even more.
Pears
She likes them. She makes faces when she eats them, but she keeps opening her mouth for more. That means she really likes them. The last time I served them with pumpkin pie spice mixed in. She liked her "fancy pears." I liked them, too.
Green Beans
Baby food green beans have the same problem as mango. All the happy vegetable freshness is missing. She ate green beans but wasn't excited about them. I tried mixing in garlic powder, but she didn't care. She hasn't eaten much baby food for a couple of days. I'm not sure if the problem is the food or her appetite. I'll certainly try green beans again. I thought the garlic helped them quite a bit.
Apple Blueberry
I expected a better response. She was willing to eat a little but wasn't eager. I tried mixing it with oatmeal and didn't get a better response. I'm not sure if it's appetite or taste preference that caused her lack of enthusiasm. I didn't push her to eat much. I remember the last apple incident.
What's Next?
Now that she's tried quite a few things, I can give her some mixtures that will allow her to try new foods with old ones we know she can tolerate. I've got jars or pouches of pear-spinach, carrot-corn, apple-guava, pear-peach-strawberry, and apple-broccoli. I also found some green pea and mint baby food at Big Lots. That's a classic combination I'd like to sample. I'll try other herbs and spices. I've got quite a few. Sage would be good with the squash. Perhaps cilantro in some avocado. I've considered making a tea of herbs and using it to thin the food instead of adding fibrous herbs directly to the baby food. I'll try cooking and mashing some fresh veggies to see if she likes that better than the jarred baby food. And who knows what we may come across at a restaurant. Ethiopian greens or cabbage? A taste of hummus or falafel? We're excited that she seems to be an adventurous eater because we like all kinds of food. Eventually, she should be able to eat produce from my garden: turnips, peas, green beans. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to most.
I did let her start tasting liquids: beef broth, fresh lemon juice, Candycane Lane herbal tea. She liked them all. So when she showed interest in my pureed squash soup, I gave her a little. She loved it! She even sucked the dried bits off the spoon. I was impressed, especially since I had added sweet curry powder to the soup to make it more interesting. (There's a certain line of cooks in my family who like to experiment to make things "interesting.") The next day I added more curry powder to my soup, and when she tried it, she still really liked it. The next day I had ginger carrot soup, which she also liked. That's how I figured out that she just didn't like plain rice cereal. After that she tried and liked cran-apple and cran-grape juices. I would have thought the cranberry would be too bitter, but she thought it was great. So we decided it was OK to try solids other than rice cereal.
Avocado
When we went out for Mexican food, Lucy wanted to eat, too, so I mashed up some of the avocado that Matt didn't want on his fish tacos. Success! We took the leftover avocado home and fed it to her for a few days. I even tried mixing some rice cereal into the avocado, and she ate it.
Oatmeal Cereal
On my sister Kristin's advice, I bought Lucy some baby oatmeal cereal. Unlike the rice cereal, she would eat that plain.
Sweet Potatoes
Next I mashed some sweet potatoes for her. She wasn't impressed even after I added curry powder. We'll try it again sometime.
Peaches
I looked at what baby food flavors Kroger had that looked good. I bought two jars each of peach and mango. They sounded good to me. We tried the peach, and Lucy liked it. I then tried mixing in some oatmeal cereal, and that was a huge hit. It makes sense. I really like Quaker's peach almond oatmeal and granola bars. A week or two later I served her a pouch version of peach baby food, and she ate the whole pouch in two days. She never eats that much. She really likes peaches.
Squash
Kristin had given me several jars of unopened baby food that my nephew Alton didn't need, so I got those out of the closet. Lucy liked squash baby food, especially with curry powder and rice cereal mixed in. It made her smell like an Indian restaurant, partially because she got it on her ear and under her chin and we didn't find it until bathtime.
Kiwi
At church on Sundays, we have food and fellowship after service. This week there was kiwi fruit, so I mashed up some of the part without seeds and fed it to her. She liked it. I watched her pretty closely after that one. I know of people with kiwi allergies. But Lucy had no reaction.
Apple
When we were at Target in Louisville, I bought some apple baby food in a pouch and got an attachable spoon. It's pretty handy for on-the-go feeding. I fed Lucy apples between shopping stops, and she loved it. However, she seems to have eaten too much and to have inherited my family's reaction to apples. She had the biggest diaper blow out ever. I had to clean poop off of her legs, down to her calves, before actually opening the diaper. So we're cautious with the apples now.
Mango
Lucy LOVES mango! Her first taste was a pineapple mango smoothie from McDonald's. The post-apple diaper blowout was cleaned up in a McDonald's bathroom, and it was so traumatic for both of us that I bought and shared a smoothie. She loved it. Several days later she was getting fussy at Walmart and we still had errands to run, so I bought and shared a mango juice drink. She loved it. And I bought a different mango juice brand on sale yesterday and put it in a cup with a straw. She learned to drink from a straw just so she could get to the mango juice. This morning I gave her some mango baby food. She's not a big fan of that. I can't blame her. It tastes really processed and not fresh, especially compared to the good mango drinks she's had.
Banana
Matt and I don't like bananas, so I tried really hard to sell them as yummy. I want her to like everything if possible. I don't want our preferences to limit her. But she doesn't like bananas much either. The first time she tried them, she spit them out. The second time she swallowed a little. And every time since she's mostly spit them out. I'll try mixing them with oatmeal and/or adding spices to see if we get a different result.
Carrots
She liked them just fine. The last time I served them with ginger powder mixed in, and she liked them even more.
Pears
She likes them. She makes faces when she eats them, but she keeps opening her mouth for more. That means she really likes them. The last time I served them with pumpkin pie spice mixed in. She liked her "fancy pears." I liked them, too.
Green Beans
Baby food green beans have the same problem as mango. All the happy vegetable freshness is missing. She ate green beans but wasn't excited about them. I tried mixing in garlic powder, but she didn't care. She hasn't eaten much baby food for a couple of days. I'm not sure if the problem is the food or her appetite. I'll certainly try green beans again. I thought the garlic helped them quite a bit.
Apple Blueberry
I expected a better response. She was willing to eat a little but wasn't eager. I tried mixing it with oatmeal and didn't get a better response. I'm not sure if it's appetite or taste preference that caused her lack of enthusiasm. I didn't push her to eat much. I remember the last apple incident.
What's Next?
Now that she's tried quite a few things, I can give her some mixtures that will allow her to try new foods with old ones we know she can tolerate. I've got jars or pouches of pear-spinach, carrot-corn, apple-guava, pear-peach-strawberry, and apple-broccoli. I also found some green pea and mint baby food at Big Lots. That's a classic combination I'd like to sample. I'll try other herbs and spices. I've got quite a few. Sage would be good with the squash. Perhaps cilantro in some avocado. I've considered making a tea of herbs and using it to thin the food instead of adding fibrous herbs directly to the baby food. I'll try cooking and mashing some fresh veggies to see if she likes that better than the jarred baby food. And who knows what we may come across at a restaurant. Ethiopian greens or cabbage? A taste of hummus or falafel? We're excited that she seems to be an adventurous eater because we like all kinds of food. Eventually, she should be able to eat produce from my garden: turnips, peas, green beans. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to most.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
My Baby Makes Me Puke
There are many things about babies that you could say might make you want to puke (typically figuratively speaking): poopy diapers, curdled milk spit into your cleavage. But Lucy literally makes me need to puke. OK, so it's not just Lucy. It's partially from falling at KMart and having a C-section (not at the same time). But Lucy makes it happen more frequently. I should start at the beginning (or at least a little earlier in the middle).
For a while, even before Lucy was born, I've been having what I call "digestive episodes." First, it feels like heartburn. Antacids don't help. And it gets worse as pain starts in my back and ribs. A few times it has ended with a bowel movement (which made me think it was constipation), but most of the time it ends with vomiting. The last few times I've made myself vomit after several hours of pain so that the episode would pass and let me get back to caring for Lucy. (Last time I held her to try to bring on the vomiting--holding holding Lucy makes me feel worse--but I gave her to Matt before the actual vomiting started.) I've considered that the problem was gall bladder or poor diet. I even noticed that it happened about the same time every month and thought it might be hormonal. But I decided to ask my chiropractor about it since there's back and rib pain. He said pressure in the mid-back can cause my symptoms. Of course, you'd expect a chiropractor to say something like that, but I decided to go with that answer for now because it doesn't involve lots of expensive medical tests. And I already knew I have mid-back issues. I asked the chiropractor what I could do if an episode struck when his office wasn't open, and he showed me some stretches. On Monday, I started having an "episode" in the afternoon and was able to make an appointment with the chiropractor half an hour later. I tried the stretches before we went to the chiropractor's office, and they helped a little bit. When the chiropractor adjusted me, I popped all over the place, top to bottom, especially in my mid-back. When I got home, I took a nap and woke up feeling fine. No vomiting necessary. I think the chiropractor might be right about my back causing my digestive issues.
What would be ideal is to prevent the episodes altogether. That may be tricky. I will try to strengthen my back muscles, but my back is permanently jacked up because of an accident. When I worked at KMart after my first year of college, I fell carrying boxes and because my arms were full, my torso caught all my weight as I landed on an empty wooden pallet. I knocked some ribs out of place and injured my mid-back. For several years, I needed regular adjustments to nudge the ribs back in place. And my mid-back problems are still the ones most likely to send me to the chiropractor. (I've also had injuries to my neck and tail bone, which get adjusted at the same appointments, but which don't usually cause me to make appointments.) I asked a chiropractor years ago if there was anything I could do to fix my back, and he said that my back is hyper-flexible, which makes it easy to get out of whack. So there's no easy fix.
My only solution is to change what I do so that I can try to keep my mid-back from getting out of whack as often. And that's where Lucy comes in. My episode on Monday came after Matt had been out of town and I was the only one picking Lucy up for several days. I was also trying to get her to sleep in her crib, which meant extra lifting. I think that's why my back was in such bad shape and set off an episode. And yesterday I was carrying her to the kitchen to find myself something to eat and regurgitated into my mouth. I promptly put her down and was fine. (See. My baby makes me puke.) Carrying Lucy puts a lot of pressure on my mid-back, so I've been trying to carry her less. I carry her directly to some place and set her down instead of holding her while I'm doing something. Fortunately, she's getting pretty good at playing by herself, so I can leave her in the living room while I heat her baby food and do other little tasks like that. I also try not to run errands with her any more than I have to. Getting her into and out of the car is tough. Matt is picking up the slack by picking Lucy up more often. He transports her like he did after I had the C-section. (The C-section didn't help my core stability and so is also part of the back problem.) Unfortunately, the inability to lift her has set back our sleeping plans a little. We were trying to get her used to the crib, but that's too much lifting for me, so she sleeps part of the time on a mattress on the floor and part of the time with me in the recliner. At least my goal of being able to put her down and get other things done is met. Today I got a lot of cleaning done in the kitchen while she napped on the mattress for an hour and a half.
Other than not carrying Lucy, the only things I've figured out to do are to regularly stretch my back as the chiropractor showed me and to go for adjustments as soon as something feels out of whack instead of waiting for an episode.
I feel bad that I can't carry Lucy around, but I try to make sure that we sit together to make up for the other holding that she's missing. There is a silver lining: she gets more practice being alone for a minute or two at a time and entertaining herself as well as more time with her daddy, both of which are good things. And a puke-free momma is certainly a good thing for all of us.
For a while, even before Lucy was born, I've been having what I call "digestive episodes." First, it feels like heartburn. Antacids don't help. And it gets worse as pain starts in my back and ribs. A few times it has ended with a bowel movement (which made me think it was constipation), but most of the time it ends with vomiting. The last few times I've made myself vomit after several hours of pain so that the episode would pass and let me get back to caring for Lucy. (Last time I held her to try to bring on the vomiting--holding holding Lucy makes me feel worse--but I gave her to Matt before the actual vomiting started.) I've considered that the problem was gall bladder or poor diet. I even noticed that it happened about the same time every month and thought it might be hormonal. But I decided to ask my chiropractor about it since there's back and rib pain. He said pressure in the mid-back can cause my symptoms. Of course, you'd expect a chiropractor to say something like that, but I decided to go with that answer for now because it doesn't involve lots of expensive medical tests. And I already knew I have mid-back issues. I asked the chiropractor what I could do if an episode struck when his office wasn't open, and he showed me some stretches. On Monday, I started having an "episode" in the afternoon and was able to make an appointment with the chiropractor half an hour later. I tried the stretches before we went to the chiropractor's office, and they helped a little bit. When the chiropractor adjusted me, I popped all over the place, top to bottom, especially in my mid-back. When I got home, I took a nap and woke up feeling fine. No vomiting necessary. I think the chiropractor might be right about my back causing my digestive issues.
What would be ideal is to prevent the episodes altogether. That may be tricky. I will try to strengthen my back muscles, but my back is permanently jacked up because of an accident. When I worked at KMart after my first year of college, I fell carrying boxes and because my arms were full, my torso caught all my weight as I landed on an empty wooden pallet. I knocked some ribs out of place and injured my mid-back. For several years, I needed regular adjustments to nudge the ribs back in place. And my mid-back problems are still the ones most likely to send me to the chiropractor. (I've also had injuries to my neck and tail bone, which get adjusted at the same appointments, but which don't usually cause me to make appointments.) I asked a chiropractor years ago if there was anything I could do to fix my back, and he said that my back is hyper-flexible, which makes it easy to get out of whack. So there's no easy fix.
My only solution is to change what I do so that I can try to keep my mid-back from getting out of whack as often. And that's where Lucy comes in. My episode on Monday came after Matt had been out of town and I was the only one picking Lucy up for several days. I was also trying to get her to sleep in her crib, which meant extra lifting. I think that's why my back was in such bad shape and set off an episode. And yesterday I was carrying her to the kitchen to find myself something to eat and regurgitated into my mouth. I promptly put her down and was fine. (See. My baby makes me puke.) Carrying Lucy puts a lot of pressure on my mid-back, so I've been trying to carry her less. I carry her directly to some place and set her down instead of holding her while I'm doing something. Fortunately, she's getting pretty good at playing by herself, so I can leave her in the living room while I heat her baby food and do other little tasks like that. I also try not to run errands with her any more than I have to. Getting her into and out of the car is tough. Matt is picking up the slack by picking Lucy up more often. He transports her like he did after I had the C-section. (The C-section didn't help my core stability and so is also part of the back problem.) Unfortunately, the inability to lift her has set back our sleeping plans a little. We were trying to get her used to the crib, but that's too much lifting for me, so she sleeps part of the time on a mattress on the floor and part of the time with me in the recliner. At least my goal of being able to put her down and get other things done is met. Today I got a lot of cleaning done in the kitchen while she napped on the mattress for an hour and a half.
Other than not carrying Lucy, the only things I've figured out to do are to regularly stretch my back as the chiropractor showed me and to go for adjustments as soon as something feels out of whack instead of waiting for an episode.
I feel bad that I can't carry Lucy around, but I try to make sure that we sit together to make up for the other holding that she's missing. There is a silver lining: she gets more practice being alone for a minute or two at a time and entertaining herself as well as more time with her daddy, both of which are good things. And a puke-free momma is certainly a good thing for all of us.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Post-Shopping Update: What Lucy Needs for Spring/Summer 2014
While we were in Louisville to transport Matt to and from the airport, Lucy and I went to Once Upon a Child, a store that sells gently used children's gear and clothing. We got some of the things on our list, so I thought I'd update the list on the blog.
Now that she has a dress, cardigan, white tights, and shoes, I think we're ready for Easter. I also got dress-like rompers and white sandals, all of which are appropriate for everyday or for church.
I've had trouble finding nice dress socks, which would be good for church when it gets too warm for tights. The ones I've seen seem like cotton socks with lace tacked on. I was hoping for something cuter.
I'm a big fan of denim overalls. They are cute and very versatile. She mostly wears one-piece outfits, but her overalls are our second favorite. Her 3-6 month pair will fit a little while longer, but we'll want a 6-9 pair.
She's outgrowing her baby towels, so we need some toddler size hooded towels. The kinds that look like animal heads are our favorites. This pirate octopus one is especially fun.
Now that she has a dress, cardigan, white tights, and shoes, I think we're ready for Easter. I also got dress-like rompers and white sandals, all of which are appropriate for everyday or for church.
I've had trouble finding nice dress socks, which would be good for church when it gets too warm for tights. The ones I've seen seem like cotton socks with lace tacked on. I was hoping for something cuter.
I'm a big fan of denim overalls. They are cute and very versatile. She mostly wears one-piece outfits, but her overalls are our second favorite. Her 3-6 month pair will fit a little while longer, but we'll want a 6-9 pair.
She's outgrowing her baby towels, so we need some toddler size hooded towels. The kinds that look like animal heads are our favorites. This pirate octopus one is especially fun.
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