Thursday, February 24, 2011

Slugger 6.5 months yelling to herself

Slugger:
Almost 7 months old
3 months 3 weeks adjusted
Milestones:
-can reach out to things in front of her and grab them
-so close to rolling from back to stomach
-sitting up much better with assistance (both hands)
-has officially dipped her legs in the Pacific Ocean

How did our family celebrate our first Valentine's Day? Apart=(

I am officially back to work (boo boo) and am working the night shift. Scott had Valentine's day off from the church and was called in to be an extra for Hawaii 5-0. Yes, I think he's getting bit by the bug. So, the grandparents had the exciting fun of watching Slugger for the day.

But we did get to celebrate Valentine's the weekend before at Ignite's Valentine's Dinner. It was a super cute party with karaoke and `ono food, and even a photo booth. I loved these photos taken by Arthur Wong. They even put the creative touches of the prom-like photo stamp.

We had a lot of people trying to get Slugger to smile but I think it just confused her so she really wouldn't smile. She just stared at everyone making a commotion behind the camera.
A big developmental milestone that Slugger just achieved this week is being able to reach for things in front of her. Before, she would grab objects if they were to her side and already somewhat near her hands already. Now, she has started to move her hands in front of her and can purposely reach for something in front of her. She seems to love this new development. When she's on the changing table, she now uses her left hand to grip the wooden side and she raises her right fist up straight in the air at me. I don't quite know why she's doing it but she loves doing it. I've tried to capture it on my camera.
It's blurry because as soon as I bust out my cell phone she gets all excited and starts dancing.

I've been trying to meet up with another mommy friend every Tuesday for a walk around Kailua Beach. I really want to invest in a jogging stroller soon but I'm still doing my research on the best for my money. We've been blessed with great weather on our walking days. But it's always important to protect your baby from the UV rays even in the shade. I finally found a hat that Slugger can wear without losing it every 3 seconds.
My goal this past weekend was to take her swimming in a pool or in the ocean. But the island was under flash flood warning for the days I had free. Of course. Still, I brought along a bathing suit from her friend, Lexie, on the chance that it wasn't too cold for a dip. It wasn't cold but it wasn't too warm so I just dipped her legs into the ocean and tried to gauge her reaction. There wasn't really any reaction. She was past the time for her naptime so she was in a bit of a zone. No smiles. No laughing. We'll have to try again when she's a little more awake.
Our day at the beach had a fun ending. After our walk, I took Slugger back to the car to change her on the front passenger seat. As I picked her up and closed the door, I locked it and then realized I had left my keys in the car. I had to call Scott, who was gracious enough to agree to drive down to the beach with my spare. While I was waiting, I took Slugger down to the water and then came back and waited by the car. When Scott arrived, he walked up to my driver side door and I yelled out "No, my keys are on the seat on the other side."
Scott looked up and with a big dramatic motion, he opened up the driver side door. Apparently, that door had been unlocked the whole time. Ah, poor Scottie. How does he put up with me? I convinced him we were meant to have a little date afternoon together. So we walked to Island Snow for shave ice. Slugger kept her eyes fixated on my root beer shave ice. Scott, who can't say no, was trying to convince me to let her try a little bit. Crazy!!! No way!!! I hope he was kidding.
She's not a quiet little girl. She's smiley and has a crazy loud laugh. And now she just likes to yell. I was in the kitchen washing dishes and I hear her just yelling/talking. She's not mad, she's not upset. She's just talking but now she's talking at a very loud volume. I try and try to get it on videotape but she always stops as soon as she sees me sneaking in the room.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Slugger 6.5 months (3.5 months corrected)

Slugger
Age: 6 months 3 weeks old
corrected age: 3 months 2.5 weeks
Height: 24.5" long
Weight: 13 lb 10 oz at last weigh-in
Milestones:
-rolling from back to side and hanging out there
-talking and making noises with mouth closed
-listening to herself talk
-drooling and I swear I hear her spitting sometimes
-sleeping for 9-11 hours at night
-enjoys tummy time for at least 5 minutes now
-sucking on her fingers
-taking her daytime naps in her crib

I can't believe it's been half a year since that life-changing day at the end of July. We have to start planning for her first birthday already!!!! Because she has passed the 6 month mark, we have finished a brunt of her doctor's appointments. She had her last RSV shot followed by the flu shot and her 6 month vaccinations. Poor thing, 6 needle pokes in 2 days. She didn't know what was coming. She loves talking to people and she was laughing and cooing at the nurse holding the needle. How do you tell a baby what's coming? =( But, with flu season over, no more RSV shots until next year (she should still be qualified to receive them).

We had a follow up swallow test to see if she's become more coordinated with eating. She has to drink a barium solution while they X-ray her throat and watch it on this little TV.

[Pic below: the X-ray machine. Slugger and I sit in that chair while I fed her the barium solution in the dark and the machine runs. The doctors and Scott are behind a glass partition watching it on the X-ray video]

[Photo below: Family pic after the X-ray swallow test. I'm wearing the apron shield. Thanks to reading blogs and reading about another family going through a swallow test...I thought to ask this time for a shield to put around Casey's waist during the X-ray]
She showed some progress. She swallowed the thickened solution well but when we transitioned to an unthickened solution, she started coughing immediately. No more swallow test. We're going to keep thickening her milk until she's at least 6 months corrected. So another 3 months.

[Photo Below: sporting a cute onesie her Auntie Nalani brought from the Big Island]

[Photo below: I love her expression. I think she was telling me something at the time]


She's starting to sleep a lot more now. I hope it's just a sign of a growth spurt. Since she was born with tiny heart defect, fatigue is a warning sign. That's real hard to watch in babies who sleep all the time. We were feeding here every 3-4 hours during the day and 4-5 at night. But about two weeks ago, I forgot to set my alarm and woke up at 6 in the morning to find that Slugger was still sleeping away. She went 8 hours between meals!!! The next night, instead of waking her up, I let her wake up when she wanted and it was 8 hours again!!! Since then, she's been averaging 9-11 hours at night. It's AMAZING!!! I feel like a whole new person. It literally seemed to just happen overnight.

I skimmed one parenting book but really didn't do much research into the popular methods. I got the gist of the three phases

Phase E= Eat
Phase P= Active Play time
Phase S= Sleep Time
which I've been doing for a month already. Basically feeding her when she wakes up from her nap. But Slugger really fell into a schedule all on her own.

8 am Wake up and Eat Meal #1
Read a book, practice sitting in bumble chair, talk story during active time
9:15-9:30 am Nap
11:30-12 Meal #2
She amuses herself pretty much during active time
1:30 pm Nap
3:30 pm Meal #3
Tummy time and physical therapy exercise (stretching and rolling practice)
7:00 pm Meal #4
9:00-11:00 pm Meal #5 Bedtime Meal

Notice I don't put down nap times for the last half of the day. That's because she's inconsistent in the afternoon and at night. Sometimes she sleeps for hours and sometimes she stays up to her next meal. It also means that her bedtime meal just depends on how tired she is.

I always said I would move her into her nursery at 3 months (corrected) but somehow when she hit 3 months, I was overcome with amnesia. I can't remember any reasons why I would ever want to do that. I love having her sleep in her cosleeper right by my side. What a beautiful sight whenever I open my eyes. So, we're transitioning her for our own sake. We put a sheet on her crib mattress and set up a video baby monitor that we got as a hand-me-down from my sister (LOVE IT)...and she takes her day time naps in her nursery.

She's conditioned to know it's naptime whenever she's in her crib. But, our dog, Charlie, certainly loves to choose a spot right outside her window whenever he howls at any sirens. And there's always sirens somewhere in Kaneohe multiple times a day. Sheesh.
[Photo below: I have the video feed right on my desk where I do all my work. I love the view. I'm so spoiled. I can't imagine not having the video aspect. And I can even see her chest rising and falling while she breathes. Reassuring to the power of ten]
Finally just some pics of her in her bumbo chair, tummy time, and taking a nap with daddy-o.


[Photo Below: She loves tummy time much better with this Tiny Love tummy time mat she got for Christmas from Uncle John-John]