One week of torture is over, one more to go.
I'm looking forward to this weekend, but I cannot wait until next Thursday, when work has calmed down a little and payroll is back to normal. I feel like that's when everything else will go back to normal, too.
Brooke is loving eating regular table food. So far, she LOVES chicken, eggs, diced peaches, french fries, green beans, and peas. She really likes spaghetti and bites of cheese, too. The only problem is that she won't pick any of it up - she'll pick it up, squish it, and shake her hand to get it off. It's so funny. She does really well using her pincer grasp to pick up puffs or yogurt melts, she just doesn't like how anything else sticks to her or squishes, I guess.
She's been officially moved to the Infant II room at daycare. Right now, all of the other babies in there are 13-14 months old, so most of them are walking. She is SO CLOSE to crawling, hopefully this will help things along.
Other than that, our life just keeps going on and on, with nothing exciting to report.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Rough week....
We've had a bit of a rough go of it the last few days in my house.
Last Wednesday, Brooke woke up about 10 pm crying. Not normal for her, so I rushed upstairs - to find that she had vomited all over herself/crib/carpet. Jim helped me clean it up and give her a bath. Then, being the caring daddy he is, he noticed that she looked like she still had "that taste" in her mouth, and we decided to give her a sip of pedialyte to get rid of it and keep her hydrated.
Wrong choice - she vomited again, all over me and the floor.
Got it cleaned up, finally got her back down around 2 am. I never fell asleep until going on 4 am because I was afraid she would get sick again.
She didn't, and she stayed home with Jim on Thursday - she was fine.
Saturday, I got bit by the stomach flu bug.
And today, Jim is home with it.
For the second time this year.
Brooke still isn't crawling or pulling up to standing. I'm trying not to worry, because I know babies learn these things at their own speed, and since she's "chunky," it'll likely take her longer. All that worry will be replaced with pure joy when she crawls for the first time. And, I think she's getting close - from sitting, she'll lean really far forward and have her belly up off the floor - she starts to rock back and forth REALLY FAST, but her one leg gets stuck underneath her.
I've been kind of down today. I think it's partly the weather (it's miserable) out today and a whole lot of being homesick. I miss my family. It's been too long since I've seen them - I can't wait until Mom and Dad get here in a few weeks! I think I just need to try to get out and do something again soon - Jim and I have opposite schedules so much of the time, that it's taking it's toll. I miss him. I'm excited for this weekend, too - his sister, her husband, and her kids will be here for a few days, so we'll all get to spend some time together.
Plus I'm just getting burned out from my job - I haven't taken a day off just to have one in a while, and I think I need that.
On a more positive note, plans are coming along for Brooke's party! We've picked out the decorations. And I've been inspired by my friend, Liz - I'm going to make the invitations for the party myself. They'll turn out much cuter, and be personalized for my little princess. I bought some baby cookie monster cookie cutters, which I'm going to make and decorate as a snack at the party and a favor for the other kids that will be at the party :-)
Last Wednesday, Brooke woke up about 10 pm crying. Not normal for her, so I rushed upstairs - to find that she had vomited all over herself/crib/carpet. Jim helped me clean it up and give her a bath. Then, being the caring daddy he is, he noticed that she looked like she still had "that taste" in her mouth, and we decided to give her a sip of pedialyte to get rid of it and keep her hydrated.
Wrong choice - she vomited again, all over me and the floor.
Got it cleaned up, finally got her back down around 2 am. I never fell asleep until going on 4 am because I was afraid she would get sick again.
She didn't, and she stayed home with Jim on Thursday - she was fine.
Saturday, I got bit by the stomach flu bug.
And today, Jim is home with it.
For the second time this year.
Brooke still isn't crawling or pulling up to standing. I'm trying not to worry, because I know babies learn these things at their own speed, and since she's "chunky," it'll likely take her longer. All that worry will be replaced with pure joy when she crawls for the first time. And, I think she's getting close - from sitting, she'll lean really far forward and have her belly up off the floor - she starts to rock back and forth REALLY FAST, but her one leg gets stuck underneath her.
I've been kind of down today. I think it's partly the weather (it's miserable) out today and a whole lot of being homesick. I miss my family. It's been too long since I've seen them - I can't wait until Mom and Dad get here in a few weeks! I think I just need to try to get out and do something again soon - Jim and I have opposite schedules so much of the time, that it's taking it's toll. I miss him. I'm excited for this weekend, too - his sister, her husband, and her kids will be here for a few days, so we'll all get to spend some time together.
Plus I'm just getting burned out from my job - I haven't taken a day off just to have one in a while, and I think I need that.
On a more positive note, plans are coming along for Brooke's party! We've picked out the decorations. And I've been inspired by my friend, Liz - I'm going to make the invitations for the party myself. They'll turn out much cuter, and be personalized for my little princess. I bought some baby cookie monster cookie cutters, which I'm going to make and decorate as a snack at the party and a favor for the other kids that will be at the party :-)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
9 months
Today, my baby is 9 months old!
I play this game with myself every months - 9 months ago, at this time (9:30 am), I was just getting my epidural and was only 1 cm dilated...my water had been broken for almost 4 hours (it broke at 5:45 am). 9 months ago at 1:00-ish (the exact timeline after I got my epidural is a blur), I was still only 2 cm and we were told that Brooke's heart rate was decelerating right after some contractions and that, to be on the safe side, we should have a C-section to avoid needing an emergency C-section later in the day. 9 months ago, at 2:07 pm, the greatest gift of my life was born.
At 9 months, Brooke is:
- Sitting unassisted
- Saying mamama, dadada, bababa, gagaga, papapa, hi!, a-boom.....
- Is starting to have stranger anxiety :(
- Loves to feed herself & can hold her own sippy cup, although she normally still needs help tipping it.
- Starting to try to figure out how to crawl, although she prefers to scoot while she's on her butt these days :-)
- Loves to hold Mommy's fingers for balance & stand & bounce.
In just 3 months, she will be a year old!
I play this game with myself every months - 9 months ago, at this time (9:30 am), I was just getting my epidural and was only 1 cm dilated...my water had been broken for almost 4 hours (it broke at 5:45 am). 9 months ago at 1:00-ish (the exact timeline after I got my epidural is a blur), I was still only 2 cm and we were told that Brooke's heart rate was decelerating right after some contractions and that, to be on the safe side, we should have a C-section to avoid needing an emergency C-section later in the day. 9 months ago, at 2:07 pm, the greatest gift of my life was born.
At 9 months, Brooke is:
- Sitting unassisted
- Saying mamama, dadada, bababa, gagaga, papapa, hi!, a-boom.....
- Is starting to have stranger anxiety :(
- Loves to feed herself & can hold her own sippy cup, although she normally still needs help tipping it.
- Starting to try to figure out how to crawl, although she prefers to scoot while she's on her butt these days :-)
- Loves to hold Mommy's fingers for balance & stand & bounce.
In just 3 months, she will be a year old!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
9 months (almost!)
Yesterday, we had Brooke's 9 month appointment a little early. She is now weighing 20 lbs (75% - holy cow! At one point, she was down to 3%!) and 27.25 inches (50%). Dr. Castro said she is a little "chunky" now, but not to worry because it will even out once she starts walking!
Dr. Castro wasn't too concerned about anything. We have to start working with her on crawling, etc....if she's not doing anything like that by the time she's 10 months, we'll reevaluate. She's starting to show some interest in crawling, just hasn't figured out how to get her knees under her, so I'm not worried at this point.
She still has a blocked tear duct in one eye, so more massaging to come! And, she still has cradle cap, but we can deal with that.
Her bloodwork was great, so now she can start having milk products. She can also start eating chunky food & pieces of soft table food (not that I completely waited for the go-ahead on that one!). We celebrated by buying her lots of new foods last night to try out - she's not a fan of the Gerber version of Spaghetti-O's, LOL.
I'm so glad my baby girl is doing so well. They gave me the 10-month questionnaire I'll fill out in 30 days for her milestones, and with the exception of the big physical stuff (crawling, standing up to stuff, etc.) she's already doing everything on it! I'm proud of her, and I know the big stuff will come when she's ready for it - I've known plenty of babies that didn't crawl yet at 9 months!
Dr. Castro wasn't too concerned about anything. We have to start working with her on crawling, etc....if she's not doing anything like that by the time she's 10 months, we'll reevaluate. She's starting to show some interest in crawling, just hasn't figured out how to get her knees under her, so I'm not worried at this point.
She still has a blocked tear duct in one eye, so more massaging to come! And, she still has cradle cap, but we can deal with that.
Her bloodwork was great, so now she can start having milk products. She can also start eating chunky food & pieces of soft table food (not that I completely waited for the go-ahead on that one!). We celebrated by buying her lots of new foods last night to try out - she's not a fan of the Gerber version of Spaghetti-O's, LOL.
I'm so glad my baby girl is doing so well. They gave me the 10-month questionnaire I'll fill out in 30 days for her milestones, and with the exception of the big physical stuff (crawling, standing up to stuff, etc.) she's already doing everything on it! I'm proud of her, and I know the big stuff will come when she's ready for it - I've known plenty of babies that didn't crawl yet at 9 months!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Weekend update
We had a great weekend!
Thursday, Brooke and I had a playdate with some friends, Adriana & Gaby, after work. Gaby was born just 4 days before Brooke in July. We met up at Adriana's house and had a great time just chatting! The girls played together, and it was so cute to hear how they were talking to each other, too. Brooke and I both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to do it again!
Friday, I worked, then Brooke and I just hung out at home.
On Saturday, Brooke and I went shopping. She got some new clothes and picked herself out a new toy (yes, my daughter already loves to shop, and she grabs stuff off the racks at 8 months old!) She picked out a pink O-ball that rattles - she loves it!
On Sunday, Brooke and I went to BJ's for some baby items we needed and then just relaxed at home and watched the storms outside. Brooke tried some of the green beans I had for dinner and LOVED them! I'm relieved to have found a way to get her to eat her green veggies without much convincing! Once she was in bed, I worked on a trust that I had to prepare.
Now, I'm back at work, and she's in daycare. Tomorrow, she stays home with Daddy, and I'll leave early. We had to change her 9 month appointment, so she'll be going 1 week early (I've been assured this is fine because there are no shots). I think we should get the go ahead to give Brooke tastes of what we're eating (which I obviously haven't waited for, but she doesn't get to try too much yet).
So, tomorrow, look for an update on Brooke, and the recipe I'm trying tonight (if it's any good)!
Thursday, Brooke and I had a playdate with some friends, Adriana & Gaby, after work. Gaby was born just 4 days before Brooke in July. We met up at Adriana's house and had a great time just chatting! The girls played together, and it was so cute to hear how they were talking to each other, too. Brooke and I both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to do it again!
Friday, I worked, then Brooke and I just hung out at home.
On Saturday, Brooke and I went shopping. She got some new clothes and picked herself out a new toy (yes, my daughter already loves to shop, and she grabs stuff off the racks at 8 months old!) She picked out a pink O-ball that rattles - she loves it!
On Sunday, Brooke and I went to BJ's for some baby items we needed and then just relaxed at home and watched the storms outside. Brooke tried some of the green beans I had for dinner and LOVED them! I'm relieved to have found a way to get her to eat her green veggies without much convincing! Once she was in bed, I worked on a trust that I had to prepare.
Now, I'm back at work, and she's in daycare. Tomorrow, she stays home with Daddy, and I'll leave early. We had to change her 9 month appointment, so she'll be going 1 week early (I've been assured this is fine because there are no shots). I think we should get the go ahead to give Brooke tastes of what we're eating (which I obviously haven't waited for, but she doesn't get to try too much yet).
So, tomorrow, look for an update on Brooke, and the recipe I'm trying tonight (if it's any good)!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Where to begin?
I don't even know where to start today. I have so much swimming in my head that I can't even organize how to get it out!
When I updated on all of Brooke's "tricks," I forgot one of the sweetest. She gives kisses! She'll open her mouth super wide and put it on our foreheads or cheeks and give the sloppiest, wettest, most delicious kiss over. When she's doing it, I ask her over and over again for more kisses...I just can't get enough from my sweet little girl!
She's getting so big! She's going to be moved to the Infant II room at daycare soon, which is the room for babies that have started crawling through a year old. She'll be joining some of her friends from when she first started daycare - Lily, Avery, and Antwon. And there's this adorable little boy, Riley, who just ADORES Brooke. I'm excited for the move, but sad at the same time since it means my little girl is growing so fast.
I found out this morning that one of my best friend's - and Brooke's godmother (once we ever figure out when/where to do the baptism!) - leukemia is back :( She was in remission for a few months, and I was sure things were going to look up for her and her husband. My heart just aches for her - for all she's been through, for the loss of her baby, for the pain she and her family are feeling right now. She is one of the sweetest, kindest people I have ever met in my life, and she doesn't deserve this. I've had family members with cancer in the past, but nothing quite like this - a 27 year old with a form of leukemia normally found in the elderly, who are just made "comfortable," a form of leukemia no one seems to be quite sure of how to treat in someone her age. I wish there were something I could do.
When I updated on all of Brooke's "tricks," I forgot one of the sweetest. She gives kisses! She'll open her mouth super wide and put it on our foreheads or cheeks and give the sloppiest, wettest, most delicious kiss over. When she's doing it, I ask her over and over again for more kisses...I just can't get enough from my sweet little girl!
She's getting so big! She's going to be moved to the Infant II room at daycare soon, which is the room for babies that have started crawling through a year old. She'll be joining some of her friends from when she first started daycare - Lily, Avery, and Antwon. And there's this adorable little boy, Riley, who just ADORES Brooke. I'm excited for the move, but sad at the same time since it means my little girl is growing so fast.
I found out this morning that one of my best friend's - and Brooke's godmother (once we ever figure out when/where to do the baptism!) - leukemia is back :( She was in remission for a few months, and I was sure things were going to look up for her and her husband. My heart just aches for her - for all she's been through, for the loss of her baby, for the pain she and her family are feeling right now. She is one of the sweetest, kindest people I have ever met in my life, and she doesn't deserve this. I've had family members with cancer in the past, but nothing quite like this - a 27 year old with a form of leukemia normally found in the elderly, who are just made "comfortable," a form of leukemia no one seems to be quite sure of how to treat in someone her age. I wish there were something I could do.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Recipes
I know I just posted, but as I was sitting at my desk, I had a thought.
Each week, I'm going to post one of my favorite recipes. It may be old, it may be new, but it will always be delicious! And hopefully healthy.
This week's recipe is one of Jim's new favorites: Black Bean Chicken
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
2 cans black beans (drained & rinsed)
1/2 C brown rice
1 jar salsa (sometimes I add a little extra)
1/4 or 1/2 C Water (just to give a little extra liquid, depends on how chunky your salsa is)
Put all ingredients in your crockpot and cook on low all day! :-)
Each week, I'm going to post one of my favorite recipes. It may be old, it may be new, but it will always be delicious! And hopefully healthy.
This week's recipe is one of Jim's new favorites: Black Bean Chicken
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
2 cans black beans (drained & rinsed)
1/2 C brown rice
1 jar salsa (sometimes I add a little extra)
1/4 or 1/2 C Water (just to give a little extra liquid, depends on how chunky your salsa is)
Put all ingredients in your crockpot and cook on low all day! :-)
Book review and other miscellaneous goodies
Last night, I finished the book I bought last Friday - Lauren Conrad's L.A. Candy. (Should I be ashamed to admit that?) I loved the Hills (almost as much as I love 16 and Pregnant), so I picked up the book.
It, obviously, wasn't the best-written book an English major could have read. I could have written it, and done a much better job. But it was interesting - maybe because I spent the whole time trying to figure out "Is Jane actually Lauren? And Scarlett, is she Lo or Heidi? Maybe Hannah is Whitney, or she could be Audrina. And Jesse, he must be Jason. What about Madison - maybe Stephen's girlfriend in high school whose name I can't remember? Oh, and I bet the pictures of Jane and Braden actually refer to the rumors of LC and Jason's, um, homemade video" and so on and so forth. I spent so much time trying to figure out if this was a novel or a glimpse into LC's real life, that maybe it was better written than I give her credit for.
All of that being said, I think I would have liked it anyway. It's the easy kind of reading, the kind you can read without focusing too much, like how I love to watch mindless comedies like My Best Friend's Girl or Good Luck Chuck that don't take too much brain activity - it's more of a way to rest my brain than to exercise it, ha. It's the kind of reading I love to come home to after a long day at work.
My Gram got home from the hospital on Sunday evening (yay!) and my parents are starting to recover from their bouts with the stomach flu too. Hopefully it stays up there - my mom was sick from Thursday until Sunday night, basically! I don't want it, no way.
It, obviously, wasn't the best-written book an English major could have read. I could have written it, and done a much better job. But it was interesting - maybe because I spent the whole time trying to figure out "Is Jane actually Lauren? And Scarlett, is she Lo or Heidi? Maybe Hannah is Whitney, or she could be Audrina. And Jesse, he must be Jason. What about Madison - maybe Stephen's girlfriend in high school whose name I can't remember? Oh, and I bet the pictures of Jane and Braden actually refer to the rumors of LC and Jason's, um, homemade video" and so on and so forth. I spent so much time trying to figure out if this was a novel or a glimpse into LC's real life, that maybe it was better written than I give her credit for.
All of that being said, I think I would have liked it anyway. It's the easy kind of reading, the kind you can read without focusing too much, like how I love to watch mindless comedies like My Best Friend's Girl or Good Luck Chuck that don't take too much brain activity - it's more of a way to rest my brain than to exercise it, ha. It's the kind of reading I love to come home to after a long day at work.
My Gram got home from the hospital on Sunday evening (yay!) and my parents are starting to recover from their bouts with the stomach flu too. Hopefully it stays up there - my mom was sick from Thursday until Sunday night, basically! I don't want it, no way.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Easter!
We've had a great weekend so far!
Friday, I got off work at 1 pm. I came home and picked up my family, then we went to Penney's to return some clothes Brooke got for Easter and picked her up some adorable outfits for 12 months. Then we went to Barnes N Noble, since the Easter Bunny had to pick up some books for her.
Saturday, we went to the Miami Seaquarium for their annual Easter celebration. It was so much fun! Brooke seemed a little miserable part of the time because she's not used to the heat. She shared a snowcone with us, went on a "Bunny Hunt," watched SeaLions and ate some puffs! She was starting to get really tired and the Easter festivities were over, so we left about 4 - after only being there about 3 hours. We would have been there longer, but traffic was SO BAD getting there because the Easter festivities, the beach, and the Sony Ericsson Open.
At the Seaquarium, Brooke sat on the Easter Bunnies lap. She wasn't too sure of it, but once the bunny handed her back to Mommy, she turned herself inside out trying to get back to that bunny!
After we got home, we gave Brooke a bottle and got her changed...then Mommy took her into the pool for the first time! She loved it and didn't even care that the water was kind of cold. We could only stay in for a couple of minutes until she started to shiver, but she loved it.
Every day, Brooke seems more and more interested in what we're eating and less interested in her jarred baby food. Tonight, I'm going to make her some mashed potatoes without milk and puree some of our turkey and see how she likes it :-) She loves to eat bites of Mommy's bananas!
I've seen this on other blogs, so I"m going to list what Brooke can do now (almost 8.5 months):
- Sits up on her own
- Rolls (she rolls/scooches to get to what she wants)
- Holds her own sippy cup!
- Can feed herself finger food pretty well
- Tries to crawl, although she hasn't gotten herself up on all fours yet.
- Says Mama, Dada, baba, gaga.......doesn't associate anything with specific people yet.
At 8 months, she was about 19 lbs. I can't wait to take her to the dr for her 9 month appointment and see how she's grown!
Friday, I got off work at 1 pm. I came home and picked up my family, then we went to Penney's to return some clothes Brooke got for Easter and picked her up some adorable outfits for 12 months. Then we went to Barnes N Noble, since the Easter Bunny had to pick up some books for her.
Saturday, we went to the Miami Seaquarium for their annual Easter celebration. It was so much fun! Brooke seemed a little miserable part of the time because she's not used to the heat. She shared a snowcone with us, went on a "Bunny Hunt," watched SeaLions and ate some puffs! She was starting to get really tired and the Easter festivities were over, so we left about 4 - after only being there about 3 hours. We would have been there longer, but traffic was SO BAD getting there because the Easter festivities, the beach, and the Sony Ericsson Open.
At the Seaquarium, Brooke sat on the Easter Bunnies lap. She wasn't too sure of it, but once the bunny handed her back to Mommy, she turned herself inside out trying to get back to that bunny!
After we got home, we gave Brooke a bottle and got her changed...then Mommy took her into the pool for the first time! She loved it and didn't even care that the water was kind of cold. We could only stay in for a couple of minutes until she started to shiver, but she loved it.
Every day, Brooke seems more and more interested in what we're eating and less interested in her jarred baby food. Tonight, I'm going to make her some mashed potatoes without milk and puree some of our turkey and see how she likes it :-) She loves to eat bites of Mommy's bananas!
I've seen this on other blogs, so I"m going to list what Brooke can do now (almost 8.5 months):
- Sits up on her own
- Rolls (she rolls/scooches to get to what she wants)
- Holds her own sippy cup!
- Can feed herself finger food pretty well
- Tries to crawl, although she hasn't gotten herself up on all fours yet.
- Says Mama, Dada, baba, gaga.......doesn't associate anything with specific people yet.
At 8 months, she was about 19 lbs. I can't wait to take her to the dr for her 9 month appointment and see how she's grown!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Court day
I went to court for two hearing this morning. It was a long morning! I didn't even make it back to the office until 1, now it's lunchtime.
Brooke has been doing great the past week. We're still giving her breathing treatments 4 times a day. I'm almost afraid to stop them yet because the past few times we've stopped them when it seems like she's completely better, it takes about 5-7 days for the bronchiolitis to start up again and she gets worse each time. We're going to give them at least the rest of this week, then we'll take it from there.
It looks like the weather should be nice this weekend, so I'm still hoping to take Brooke to the Seaquarium for her first Easter egg hunt! Obviously she can't participate, but I had a great time taking her to the Seaquarium last time. The other option is to take her to the Miami Metrozoo, but I know I would rather watch the shows at the Seaquarium.
My Grandma was in the hospital for one night earlier this week, went home yesterday, and is being re-admitted today. Hopefully she'll get feeling better and get home soon!
I'm hoping to figure out how to put pictures in here this weekend. My blog looks so bland compared to others I've seen!
Brooke has been doing great the past week. We're still giving her breathing treatments 4 times a day. I'm almost afraid to stop them yet because the past few times we've stopped them when it seems like she's completely better, it takes about 5-7 days for the bronchiolitis to start up again and she gets worse each time. We're going to give them at least the rest of this week, then we'll take it from there.
It looks like the weather should be nice this weekend, so I'm still hoping to take Brooke to the Seaquarium for her first Easter egg hunt! Obviously she can't participate, but I had a great time taking her to the Seaquarium last time. The other option is to take her to the Miami Metrozoo, but I know I would rather watch the shows at the Seaquarium.
My Grandma was in the hospital for one night earlier this week, went home yesterday, and is being re-admitted today. Hopefully she'll get feeling better and get home soon!
I'm hoping to figure out how to put pictures in here this weekend. My blog looks so bland compared to others I've seen!
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