Before Sam's top 4 broke through
Anna's toothy grin
Monday, January 31, 2011
Teeth!
In just about a week (at 10 1/2 months old), Sam went from 3 teeth to 6 teeth total- 2 on the bottom and 4 on the top! Anna's sitting at 3 teeth- two on the bottom and one on top. Now that they have them on both sides, the biting has started! Ouch! I think Anna's going to be a big-time biter... she already seems to be biting Sam and he takes a toy from her or gets in her way.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Convertible Maze
I came. I saw. I researched. I conquered.
Whoa- I did not realize the huge maze of information that convertible car seats entailed. Convertible car seats was one area that I spent zero time thinking about pre-babies. I thought that I had enough decisions to make that were more pressing, and that I would figure it out many months from then when we would actually need to switch from infant seats to convertible seats. We're not quite there yet because I am pretty sure that Sam and Anna can make it to at least their first birthday hanging out in their bucket seats. I am in no hurry to transition them over, because winter in Wisconsin sucks and who wants to buckle and unbuckle two babies and bundle them up every time they go in and out a vehicle when they can't wear winter coats while riding? Too much of a pain. I will deal with the weight of lugging two infant seats carrying babies because the handles have got to be a million times more convenient than the alternative.
So I starting dipping my toe into the sea of information and options a few weeks ago, and promptly got very overwhelmed. Compounding my head spinning was that we needed 3 sets of convertible seats for three very different situations. I wish convertible seats had a base-option like infant seats! When I realized we would need a set of convertible seats for our Pilot (the most used vehicle) a set for our car (for daily daycare drop off only) AND a set of convertible seats for daycare (because she likes to take them to the Children's Museum weekly and other random outings), I didn't know where to start. I had been leaning towards Britax Marathons, mostly because Baby Bargains said to get them, and because I've seen a lot of bloggers have them. But whoa- I couldn't imagine 6 seats at over $200 a pop! Cost is definitely a factor, but of course we want our babies to be as safe as possible and comfortable!
The Car Seat Questions group on babycenter.com steered me in the right direction for our individual needs. (I have to say I am so thankful for the day I stumbled upon Babycenter's ovulation calculator so many years ago. I never imagined how finding that site and discovering their boards would influence my life.) So I am happy to say that I confidently know now which seats we will be getting for Sam and Anna's next stage in car travel.
First, Sam and Anna are skinny-minnies, so that is a factor. As long as they are in car seats, their weight to height ratio will probably stay low. For the Pilot, we wanted seats that would be comfortable for long drives, since we take many of those a year to visit our family out of state. The people on the car seat group said, "...for "nice" convertibles, the Britax seats are nice, but they're not the longest lasting and they're more $$ than similarly featured seats" and that they are better for higher weight to height ratio kids. After reading their thoughts and researching their suggestions, I decided to go with First Years True Fit seats, especially since I think we will extended-rear-face for a while.
For our car convertible seats, we are either going with two more First Years True Fit seats (after we try them out in the car and see if the driver can still be comfortable), or Evenflo Triumph 65s. For the daycare seats, the Car Seat Questions group helped me feel comfortable spending very little on Cosco Sceneras.
So now I feel a little better that we're not sacrificing safety by not dropping so much money on 6 Britax convertible seats, and I feel like we will get the best seats for our kids, our individual situation, and our vehicles!
Whoa- I did not realize the huge maze of information that convertible car seats entailed. Convertible car seats was one area that I spent zero time thinking about pre-babies. I thought that I had enough decisions to make that were more pressing, and that I would figure it out many months from then when we would actually need to switch from infant seats to convertible seats. We're not quite there yet because I am pretty sure that Sam and Anna can make it to at least their first birthday hanging out in their bucket seats. I am in no hurry to transition them over, because winter in Wisconsin sucks and who wants to buckle and unbuckle two babies and bundle them up every time they go in and out a vehicle when they can't wear winter coats while riding? Too much of a pain. I will deal with the weight of lugging two infant seats carrying babies because the handles have got to be a million times more convenient than the alternative.
So I starting dipping my toe into the sea of information and options a few weeks ago, and promptly got very overwhelmed. Compounding my head spinning was that we needed 3 sets of convertible seats for three very different situations. I wish convertible seats had a base-option like infant seats! When I realized we would need a set of convertible seats for our Pilot (the most used vehicle) a set for our car (for daily daycare drop off only) AND a set of convertible seats for daycare (because she likes to take them to the Children's Museum weekly and other random outings), I didn't know where to start. I had been leaning towards Britax Marathons, mostly because Baby Bargains said to get them, and because I've seen a lot of bloggers have them. But whoa- I couldn't imagine 6 seats at over $200 a pop! Cost is definitely a factor, but of course we want our babies to be as safe as possible and comfortable!
The Car Seat Questions group on babycenter.com steered me in the right direction for our individual needs. (I have to say I am so thankful for the day I stumbled upon Babycenter's ovulation calculator so many years ago. I never imagined how finding that site and discovering their boards would influence my life.) So I am happy to say that I confidently know now which seats we will be getting for Sam and Anna's next stage in car travel.
First, Sam and Anna are skinny-minnies, so that is a factor. As long as they are in car seats, their weight to height ratio will probably stay low. For the Pilot, we wanted seats that would be comfortable for long drives, since we take many of those a year to visit our family out of state. The people on the car seat group said, "...for "nice" convertibles, the Britax seats are nice, but they're not the longest lasting and they're more $$ than similarly featured seats" and that they are better for higher weight to height ratio kids. After reading their thoughts and researching their suggestions, I decided to go with First Years True Fit seats, especially since I think we will extended-rear-face for a while.
For our car convertible seats, we are either going with two more First Years True Fit seats (after we try them out in the car and see if the driver can still be comfortable), or Evenflo Triumph 65s. For the daycare seats, the Car Seat Questions group helped me feel comfortable spending very little on Cosco Sceneras.
So now I feel a little better that we're not sacrificing safety by not dropping so much money on 6 Britax convertible seats, and I feel like we will get the best seats for our kids, our individual situation, and our vehicles!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Party Plans
I am reluctantly starting to think about first birthday plans. I always thought I'd eagerly await the day they turned one year old because that would mean we had survived an entire year with twins. But now that it is so much easier to parent twin babies (than the early days), I don't want them to become toddlers! I want them to stay this way forever (well, maybe rewind a little to puree eating days, because, man- 100% finger food is extremely messy! We had spaghetti last night, enough said, I think.)
I won't go all out since it will be a pretty small affair because our family all lives out of state. I considered traveling to them for a party, but decided against that. I am guessing that just our 3 sets of grandparents will come and maybe my sisters-in-law, but only if they don't have to work. I want to do some fun stuff regardless of the small number of guests because, well, it will be fun for me. I am thinking about doing a sort-of Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 theme and here's my reasoning: This is probably the only year I have sole input on the theme. I have plenty of years ahead of me of pink and blue; princesses, characters, bugs and monkeys. I like the red and teal blue combo because it will be bright in an otherwise dull March world. And, Sam and Anna's birthday is only a week after Dr. Seuss' birthday and the week before that at my job we go all out celebrating reading and Dr. Seuss books. Time-wise, it is very fitting.
I did invitations already, with a photo deal from SeeHere.com for 24 free cards and paid only shipping of $2.49. They don't exactly match and I didn't have fabulous pictures, but they are teal and bright and that's good enough for $2.49., especially when I could just forgo the invites all together.
I won't go all out since it will be a pretty small affair because our family all lives out of state. I considered traveling to them for a party, but decided against that. I am guessing that just our 3 sets of grandparents will come and maybe my sisters-in-law, but only if they don't have to work. I want to do some fun stuff regardless of the small number of guests because, well, it will be fun for me. I am thinking about doing a sort-of Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 theme and here's my reasoning: This is probably the only year I have sole input on the theme. I have plenty of years ahead of me of pink and blue; princesses, characters, bugs and monkeys. I like the red and teal blue combo because it will be bright in an otherwise dull March world. And, Sam and Anna's birthday is only a week after Dr. Seuss' birthday and the week before that at my job we go all out celebrating reading and Dr. Seuss books. Time-wise, it is very fitting.
I did invitations already, with a photo deal from SeeHere.com for 24 free cards and paid only shipping of $2.49. They don't exactly match and I didn't have fabulous pictures, but they are teal and bright and that's good enough for $2.49., especially when I could just forgo the invites all together.
I want to get these shirts for Sam and Anna, and color-wise use red and light teal. I'll use the same colors for plates, cakes etc.
And I might splurge and get one of these banners. But that's probably it for bought decorations. I'll bring my stuffed Thing 1 and Thing 2 and Cat in the Hat from school for added decorations too. (cost=free).
I need to put thought into the bigger cake and their personal cakes yet.
Since their actual birthday is on a Wednesday, I decided I'd start a tradition of taking their day off of work (at least until they are school-age) and spend the day with them. I know I would have a hard time sending them to day care, and I know I will be spending a large chunk of the day reminiscing about their birth and the past year of our lives so this way I can do so freely. My husband is also taking the day off. Not sure what we'll do yet (although I'm thinking about going to the nearby cupcake shop and have that small treat on their actual birthday, maybe a nice long walk if the weather's nice, etc.). I can't wait to have our little midweek celebration as just our family of 4.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday Tidbits
Did you get the invite for the party in Anna's crib at 2 am last night? Us either. Sounded like she had a great time though (jabbering away for two hours). I swear, that girl knows when I have to get up at 5 am for work, because she typically sleeps her usual awesomeness on the weekends (12 hours just like Sam does pretty much 7 days a week), on the days I could take a nap if I needed one. Sam slept through the whole thing, although my husband and I couldn't. Let's just say I tripled my typical coffee intake this morning!
*****
*****
Sam and Ann tried fish the other day, and my usual meat-hater Anna loved it. She couldn't shove it in her face fast enough. On the other hand, since being too "grown up" for baby food, Sam has turned into one big picky eater. He wrinkles his nose at most veggies, and sometimes will eat a little finger food only if it is given to him on our fork. I think he thinks he's eating "just like us" then. If we are eating anything he can't (like a salad), then he'll stare at that and reject everything else. Except yogurt. If it is true that you are what you eat, then my son is made out of yogurt!
*****
*****
Current tooth tally is Anna: 3, Sam: 3. Both bottom teeth are in, and both have one top tooth. One of Sam's canines isn't far behind. Anna's smile is so gummy, that you can clearly see the teeth when she smiles. Toofer smiles are adorable, although I miss the completely gummy mouth smiles that I know I'll never see in person again. Sam's teeth don't show as much when he smiles, so we really have to work at it (or trick him) to get a glimpse.
*****
Sam's hair is growing like a weed. I am amazed at the difference in length between photos taken at Christmas and now. Not a day goes by without my husband talking about a haircut for him! I just don't think I can do it before 1 year old though. Especially since Anna has such little hair. My little girl had more hair when she was born. It's growing, just at a snail's pace. It's growing in much lighter now as well, so we're starting to think we'll have two blondies toddling around...
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Our Baby Food Adventure
...Or rather, my Baby Food Making Adventure. It has come to a close. I haven't pureed baby food in over a month, and our stockpile of pureed baby food is down to just a few frozen cubes of veggies. Sam and Anna are rejecting just about every pureed form right now, so they are on 99% table food- i.e., eating what we eat. They want to eat like we do. We still heat up about 2 oz of puree every meal, just to try and to use up what we've got. Most meals, we're lucky if they are willing to take a bite off of a spoon for us. Right now, the only food they will accept being fed to by spoon is yogurt. Maybe they know that that isn't baby food, and that adults have to eat yogurt by spoon too? I don't know. Sam and Anna are each working on their third tooth (Anna's just popped through and Sam's is thisclose), but they have been eating just about every form of table food since they had just one tooth. I learned pretty quickly that it really doesn't matter if they have one tooth or 8 teeth- they can get the same job done with their gums.
I never started out thinking that homemade baby food was the path I wanted to take. I remember receiving baby food trays and cubes, cookbooks (totally not needed, fyi), and a food mill at my shower and thinking (hmmm- didn't register for that. Not going to use that.) But then my babies had reflux. We got it under control finally, and then I learned that Gerber baby cereal has hidden milk and soy products in it. We weren't sure if Sam and Anna's reflux was the result of MSPI, but I was very leery of giving them processed baby food. Okay, I was really leery of giving them any food. I had read many times that often babies with reflux will have flare ups with some foods, and the acid in most fruits scared me. I was really hesitant to start giving them something that might make reflux hell return. (Just for documentation's sake- we never had any issues with any food we tried. No constipation, diarrhea, reflux bouts, etc. I was and am so happy about that.)
We started out on Earth's Best cereal (no hidden milk/soy), and Sam and Anna were not huge fans. The thought behind starting on cereal is that you mix it with formula/BM so that the taste is familiar to babies. But my two have never been formula fans. I think months of reflux that wasn't completely controlled left a lasting impression on them. We quickly decided that because a.) they didn't love cereal and b.) cereal isn't that nutritious anyway, we'd move onto something that was more calorie laden for them to help boost their weight (something we've been consciously aware of since they were born). Avocado was a hit with them. And since avocado is pretty much something you have to buy fresh and mash yourself, it was a good foray into my baby food making journey.
I have never been much of a cook, so I was thrilled when I married a big cooking fan. My husband cooks everything, and when he's gone I force myself to make mac and cheese and frozen pizzas. What little cooking ability I had in college when I used to cook for myself every day quickly dissipated after years of mostly no cooking. I was hesitant to attempt to do more than mash avocado or banana for Sam and Anna. Five things spurred me on to homemade baby food making though 1.) knowing exactly what was going in my little ones' mouths with no hidden ingredients to trigger reflux flareups 2.) the much lower cost of baby food when you make it yourself 3.) Having more control over my babies' eating (something I felt was lacking during the months we tried so hard to bottle feed bottle-refusing babies) and 4.) the sense that because I didn't breastfeed them, this was something I could do instead to feel like I was going "above and beyond" what most parents do to meet their nutritional needs. Yes, making homemade baby food in a small way made me feel like a better parent. Go ahead and judge. (However, please realize that I don't think anyone is less of a parent for not making their own baby food. It just made me feel like I was better for doing so.) and 5.) Fresh food with no added anything for increased shelf-life + steaming for retaining the most nutrients seemed healthier.
Once I started steaming veggies and fruit, it seemed so easy. The hardest things at first was getting the skins off of pears and peaches. The hardest thing later on in my baby food making journey was cranberry puree from fresh cranberries (total PITA to press the cooked cranberries to only get the juice and not the skins or seeds for a very very little amount of actual juice). An extra bonus of homemade baby food- it all smelled and tasted so good. I always tried a little of any new food to see how it tasted and make sure it was the right temp. Often, I thought Sam and Anna's food was so yummy, I could have eaten their whole bowl. When we were traveling over the holidays, we decided to buy packaged baby food to use, just to make it easier. I tried a little of that, and yuck- it was no where near as good as the homemade stuff I made. I didn't blame Sam and Anna for wanting very little of the Gerber stuff while we were traveling!
It wasn't super time consuming to make food for two babies either. I work full time, and still had time to do it. Most often, I'd make a bunch on the weekends, but when our supply was getting low, I'd sometimes make a batch in the evenings (usually something that only took a little bit to steam, like peas or green beans).
An added bonus that I didn't realize at first was that the food that Sam and Anna got was closer to what they would be eating for the rest of their life, so transitioning them to table food was extremely easy. They had no problem with textures, because from the beginning, their baby food was not always a completely smooth puree. Steamed carrot chunks taste exactly like pureed steamed carrot; banana chunks tasted exactly like mashed banana and so on.
Seeing them eat entire meals like toddlers with their fingers is a stage in growing up. It is easier now for all of us to eat a a family at the same time. However, now I have new worries that they aren't eating as much as they need because eating involves more work for them to pick up, bring to their mouths, and chew the food before swallowing. I wish I knew how many "ounces" they were ingesting. But I know that these are just things that I have to accept as Sam and Anna grow up. Feeding them homemade baby food is one stage that I will miss. I am thankful that Sam and Anna are open to the tastes and textures of the food we eat every day, even if I am a little sad that my baby food making adventure has ended.
I never started out thinking that homemade baby food was the path I wanted to take. I remember receiving baby food trays and cubes, cookbooks (totally not needed, fyi), and a food mill at my shower and thinking (hmmm- didn't register for that. Not going to use that.) But then my babies had reflux. We got it under control finally, and then I learned that Gerber baby cereal has hidden milk and soy products in it. We weren't sure if Sam and Anna's reflux was the result of MSPI, but I was very leery of giving them processed baby food. Okay, I was really leery of giving them any food. I had read many times that often babies with reflux will have flare ups with some foods, and the acid in most fruits scared me. I was really hesitant to start giving them something that might make reflux hell return. (Just for documentation's sake- we never had any issues with any food we tried. No constipation, diarrhea, reflux bouts, etc. I was and am so happy about that.)
We started out on Earth's Best cereal (no hidden milk/soy), and Sam and Anna were not huge fans. The thought behind starting on cereal is that you mix it with formula/BM so that the taste is familiar to babies. But my two have never been formula fans. I think months of reflux that wasn't completely controlled left a lasting impression on them. We quickly decided that because a.) they didn't love cereal and b.) cereal isn't that nutritious anyway, we'd move onto something that was more calorie laden for them to help boost their weight (something we've been consciously aware of since they were born). Avocado was a hit with them. And since avocado is pretty much something you have to buy fresh and mash yourself, it was a good foray into my baby food making journey.
I have never been much of a cook, so I was thrilled when I married a big cooking fan. My husband cooks everything, and when he's gone I force myself to make mac and cheese and frozen pizzas. What little cooking ability I had in college when I used to cook for myself every day quickly dissipated after years of mostly no cooking. I was hesitant to attempt to do more than mash avocado or banana for Sam and Anna. Five things spurred me on to homemade baby food making though 1.) knowing exactly what was going in my little ones' mouths with no hidden ingredients to trigger reflux flareups 2.) the much lower cost of baby food when you make it yourself 3.) Having more control over my babies' eating (something I felt was lacking during the months we tried so hard to bottle feed bottle-refusing babies) and 4.) the sense that because I didn't breastfeed them, this was something I could do instead to feel like I was going "above and beyond" what most parents do to meet their nutritional needs. Yes, making homemade baby food in a small way made me feel like a better parent. Go ahead and judge. (However, please realize that I don't think anyone is less of a parent for not making their own baby food. It just made me feel like I was better for doing so.) and 5.) Fresh food with no added anything for increased shelf-life + steaming for retaining the most nutrients seemed healthier.
Once I started steaming veggies and fruit, it seemed so easy. The hardest things at first was getting the skins off of pears and peaches. The hardest thing later on in my baby food making journey was cranberry puree from fresh cranberries (total PITA to press the cooked cranberries to only get the juice and not the skins or seeds for a very very little amount of actual juice). An extra bonus of homemade baby food- it all smelled and tasted so good. I always tried a little of any new food to see how it tasted and make sure it was the right temp. Often, I thought Sam and Anna's food was so yummy, I could have eaten their whole bowl. When we were traveling over the holidays, we decided to buy packaged baby food to use, just to make it easier. I tried a little of that, and yuck- it was no where near as good as the homemade stuff I made. I didn't blame Sam and Anna for wanting very little of the Gerber stuff while we were traveling!
It wasn't super time consuming to make food for two babies either. I work full time, and still had time to do it. Most often, I'd make a bunch on the weekends, but when our supply was getting low, I'd sometimes make a batch in the evenings (usually something that only took a little bit to steam, like peas or green beans).
An added bonus that I didn't realize at first was that the food that Sam and Anna got was closer to what they would be eating for the rest of their life, so transitioning them to table food was extremely easy. They had no problem with textures, because from the beginning, their baby food was not always a completely smooth puree. Steamed carrot chunks taste exactly like pureed steamed carrot; banana chunks tasted exactly like mashed banana and so on.
Seeing them eat entire meals like toddlers with their fingers is a stage in growing up. It is easier now for all of us to eat a a family at the same time. However, now I have new worries that they aren't eating as much as they need because eating involves more work for them to pick up, bring to their mouths, and chew the food before swallowing. I wish I knew how many "ounces" they were ingesting. But I know that these are just things that I have to accept as Sam and Anna grow up. Feeding them homemade baby food is one stage that I will miss. I am thankful that Sam and Anna are open to the tastes and textures of the food we eat every day, even if I am a little sad that my baby food making adventure has ended.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Missing Daddy
Daddy's out of town for his latest work trip all week (solo parenting expedition #4 for me), so because we're all missing Daddy, today's Wordless (kinda) Wednesday includes two recent photos I simply love.
(Did I mention that both babies have been sick- Anna's projectile vomiting and Sam's had all-day-long explosive diarrhea? Can Friday get here soon enough???)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
10 months!
Whoa- 10 months, double digits, 2 months away from 1 year old and the end of babyhood? Unbelievable.
The ninth month ushered in all sorts of changes!
At 10 months, Anna:
Is in size 3 diapers
Wears 9 month clothes, although she does have a pair of 12 month jeans she wears! (and er, um... can still fit into a few 6 month stuff. Seriously.)
Drinks 6-9 oz a time, 4 times a day
Is so over baby food purees. On 99% table food, and only because we're trying to use up what purees we've got left so I give it the good ol' college try each meal at home.
Has eaten so many new foods, I can't list them all- including kiwi, ricotta, ravioli, Alfredo, marinara sauce, blueberries, cranberries, etc. Loves blueberries, cheese, cranberries
Dislikes meat
Is a pro at picking up with a pincher grasp and places thing in her mouth with the same grasp
Learned how to drop food off her tray for our dog and calls "Bella" while looking for her
Likes to throw things
Enjoys trying to get people to shriek at her in a call-and-response pattern
Doesn't like being confined by the car seat cozy cover and will work her head and arms out of it while pulling the bottom elastic off with her foot.
Still not a car sleeper unless she's really, really tired
Pops right up when it is time to get up in the morning
Takes 2 longer naps of 1 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours a day, unless she's teething. Or learning something new.
Loves to race her brother by crawling all over the house
Can go from sitting to crawling and crawling to sitting on her own pretty quickly
Is starting to climb things like the fireplace mantel and over chair rungs
Is starting to pull up. Can pull up to her knees, but still too scared to pull up to standing.
Is a very tentative stander (like with sitting, we think she is afraid of falling). She gets pretty upset if you are not there spotting her, even though she can stand for a long time
Plays very happily independently
Likes to play the I've-got-your-nuk-Sam game and laughs hysterically every time she gets it away from him
Doesn't like things put in her ears, but tolerates fingernail clipping more than her brother
Favorite toy of the moment: balls from the Busy Ball Popper and the Laugh and Learn Kitchen
Says Dada, Mama and Bella on her own
Repeats words all the time- including "ravioli" (it came out more like "ah-ee-o-ee") and "tacos"
Likes Pat-a-Cake and The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Can wave goodbye
Second tooth popped through (bottom left)
Got her second cold
Is very very ticklish under her chin
Both are interacting with each other all the time- playing together, talking/yelling (happily) at each other, giggling together, racing, etc.
The ninth month ushered in all sorts of changes!
At 10 months, Anna:
Is in size 3 diapers
Wears 9 month clothes, although she does have a pair of 12 month jeans she wears! (and er, um... can still fit into a few 6 month stuff. Seriously.)
Drinks 6-9 oz a time, 4 times a day
Is so over baby food purees. On 99% table food, and only because we're trying to use up what purees we've got left so I give it the good ol' college try each meal at home.
Has eaten so many new foods, I can't list them all- including kiwi, ricotta, ravioli, Alfredo, marinara sauce, blueberries, cranberries, etc. Loves blueberries, cheese, cranberries
Dislikes meat
Is a pro at picking up with a pincher grasp and places thing in her mouth with the same grasp
Learned how to drop food off her tray for our dog and calls "Bella" while looking for her
Likes to throw things
Enjoys trying to get people to shriek at her in a call-and-response pattern
Doesn't like being confined by the car seat cozy cover and will work her head and arms out of it while pulling the bottom elastic off with her foot.
Still not a car sleeper unless she's really, really tired
Pops right up when it is time to get up in the morning
Takes 2 longer naps of 1 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours a day, unless she's teething. Or learning something new.
Loves to race her brother by crawling all over the house
Can go from sitting to crawling and crawling to sitting on her own pretty quickly
Is starting to climb things like the fireplace mantel and over chair rungs
Is starting to pull up. Can pull up to her knees, but still too scared to pull up to standing.
Is a very tentative stander (like with sitting, we think she is afraid of falling). She gets pretty upset if you are not there spotting her, even though she can stand for a long time
Plays very happily independently
Likes to play the I've-got-your-nuk-Sam game and laughs hysterically every time she gets it away from him
Doesn't like things put in her ears, but tolerates fingernail clipping more than her brother
Favorite toy of the moment: balls from the Busy Ball Popper and the Laugh and Learn Kitchen
Says Dada, Mama and Bella on her own
Repeats words all the time- including "ravioli" (it came out more like "ah-ee-o-ee") and "tacos"
Likes Pat-a-Cake and The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Can wave goodbye
Second tooth popped through (bottom left)
Got her second cold
Is very very ticklish under her chin
At 10 months, Sam:
Is in size 4 Overnight diapers, size 3 Pampers during the day
Wears mostly 12 month clothing
Drinks 6-9 oz a time, 4 times a day
Is now a better night sleeper than Anna- will go 12 hours without a peep almost every night
Is so over baby food purees. On 95% table food, and only 5% puree because we're trying to use up what purees we've got left
Has eaten so many new foods, I can't list them all- including kiwi, ricotta, ravioli, Alfredo, grapes, all kinds of cheeses, blueberries, cranberries, etc.
Loves pasta and variety in his food
Will sweep all the food he doesn't want to eat to the sides of the tray so only the stuff he wants is in the middle
Does best being put down right after his bottle completely awake. Goes to sleep on his own within minutes
Takes 2 longer naps of 1 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours a day
Pulls to stand everywhere
Pulls up to stand in his crib if he's in a good mood when he wakes up, but usually he needs a few moments to himself before interacting with you or he's grumpy!
Starting to cruise furniture
Has learned how to sit back down somewhat gracefully after standing up
Tries to climb over the Leapfrog Learning Table or over his sister
Likes to climb into your lap and bury his face in you (awww)
Huge separation anxiety- he cannot stand it if you are not in the same room with him or if he can't see you
Hates being changed (diaper or clothes)
Favorite toy of the moment: Busy Ball Popper and Laugh and Learn Kitchen
Says Dada and Mama
Says "Anna" all the time- it is so evident he adores his sister
Likes to open and close drawers and doors
Beelines for the hard floors in the kitchen and bathroom and then pats the floor when he gets there
Got his second cold that lasted over a week this time
Second tooth is just breaking through...
Detests getting his fingernails clipped, but allows you to stick things in his ears
Is very ticklish all over
Both are interacting with each other all the time- playing together, talking/yelling (happily) at each other, giggling together, racing, etc.
Why picture taking at 10 months has been the hardest month yet- babies on the move!
Outtakes:
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Pair of Failures
Over winter break, we attempted to drop one dose of prevacid for Sam and Anna's reflux, to just one dose a day for each of them. Earlier in December we successfully dropped the third dose that they had been taking since the acid reflux got under control last summer and so I was hopeful that it would be the beginning of the end of dispensing medication via syringe 6 total times a day. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before Sam and Anna were spitting up lots of formula again, and it didn't take long for the bottle refusing to pick back up either. That old but very familiar frustration and worry about bottle feeding and weight gain came flooding back and I most definitely don't want to be in that place ever again, so we quickly went back to 2 times a day again.
It was disappointing that it didn't work because I had fantasies that we could finally put the reflux and feeding issues behind us for good. It also made me realize that I am not going to be willing to risk the return of uncontrolled reflux and everything that comes with it again for a long time, this time. It will be awhile before we take the plunge to try to drop a dose again.
Failure #2: At the new year, I had declared that Sam and Anna's New Year Resolution was going to be to stop using pacifiers, and, well... basically- I'm a wuss. First it was delayed because we had company and it wouldn't be polite to let your babies cry it out with guests in the house, you know? Then Sam and Anna got their second colds which seemed to hang around forever. I just couldn't take away a comfort item when they were feeling crummy. They also went back to daycare after almost two weeks at home and I thought waiting until after that transition would be better. Then my husband was out of town for work and like hell I was going to potentially endure sleep issues voluntarily by myself. Then the excuses got a little weaker- "Anna's more fussy than usual, maybe she's teething." "Sam seems to have amped up the separation anxiety- we can't take the pacifier away now."
Now here we are mid-January already and we haven't even attempted a night without the pacifiers. It doesn't look promising we'll try anytime soon, either, because my husband's next work trip starts on Monday. Eh- I'm not worried. We just used the New Year Resolution as a way to make it fun for us and give us a start date. Plus, I haven't had a kindergartner yet that still used one and I'm pretty sure my two won't be the first!
It was disappointing that it didn't work because I had fantasies that we could finally put the reflux and feeding issues behind us for good. It also made me realize that I am not going to be willing to risk the return of uncontrolled reflux and everything that comes with it again for a long time, this time. It will be awhile before we take the plunge to try to drop a dose again.
Failure #2: At the new year, I had declared that Sam and Anna's New Year Resolution was going to be to stop using pacifiers, and, well... basically- I'm a wuss. First it was delayed because we had company and it wouldn't be polite to let your babies cry it out with guests in the house, you know? Then Sam and Anna got their second colds which seemed to hang around forever. I just couldn't take away a comfort item when they were feeling crummy. They also went back to daycare after almost two weeks at home and I thought waiting until after that transition would be better. Then my husband was out of town for work and like hell I was going to potentially endure sleep issues voluntarily by myself. Then the excuses got a little weaker- "Anna's more fussy than usual, maybe she's teething." "Sam seems to have amped up the separation anxiety- we can't take the pacifier away now."
Now here we are mid-January already and we haven't even attempted a night without the pacifiers. It doesn't look promising we'll try anytime soon, either, because my husband's next work trip starts on Monday. Eh- I'm not worried. We just used the New Year Resolution as a way to make it fun for us and give us a start date. Plus, I haven't had a kindergartner yet that still used one and I'm pretty sure my two won't be the first!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wordless Wednesday- Video Edition!
Sam and Anna are really interacting now- these are some of the ways they love to play with each other!
The pacifier stealing game
Playing with wrapping paper is more fun than with toys
The screaming game- notice how Anna changes her tone of yelling to tell Sam to stop bouncing, and he does? I love it!
Racing down the hall
This momma forgot that videos can't be flipped. You'll just have to turn your head sideways. :)
Friday, January 7, 2011
A Change of Heart
All of my life, I wanted two children. Preferably a boy and a girl (as I thought in my pre-IF days as a not-quite-grown-up girl), but during and post IF, of course any gender would have been quite wonderful. When I met my husband in college and I realized he was The One, I was thrilled to find out that he too wanted two children. Perfect, right? No need to have The Talk to try to convince him to change his mind. So we happily settled into our marriage expecting just that.
Than infertility became a huge part of our life, irrevocably shaping who we are. We poured out our prayers for one baby, not really daring to wish for more...until our IVF cycle gave us around 50% odds of multiples. Then we wished fervently for twins, not really feeling worthy of such a perfect ending.
It is ironic to me that for so long, I thought two children was what I wanted, and I ended up having just that after thinking for so long that having just one might never happen. It is even more ironic to me now, because I find myself with babies on the brain. Every so often, the thought of another child pops in. I know that this isn't completely unusual as my babies speed so fast towards their first birthday, and their newborn days seem so far away. I do realize that.
When I was pregnant I put a lot of effort into soaking in every experience and feeling, because I knew it would be my only time. While Sam and Anna were born, during their early days, and even at this age, I often make myself stop and really be "in the moment," imprinting each experience in my brain, because there will not be another first smile, first word, first kiss, etc. in our lives. I won't feel another kick from the inside. There won't be another sleeping newborn son or daughter in my arms. Sometimes this makes me sad, because I know now how those things feel. I want to experience them again.
I know we will never try to have more children. We will not pursue ART again. I am 100% positive of that. I am content with my family of four. But I find myself growing more and more discontent with taking birth control to prevent having more children. Going through infertility really made me aware how miraculous and amazingly wonderful having a child is. I'm not Catholic, but I find myself getting more and more spiritual about the gift of bringing a child into this world. On a level most people don't get to experience, I think I was able to truly appreciate being given the gift of becoming Sam and Anna's mother.
It would expand my heart to be given that gift again. (And let's face it, with 0% sperm morphology, it will literally be a miracle of God for us to get pregnant without ART.) Somehow now, a family with three children doesn't seem that bad anymore. Now to just help my husband feel the same...
*This post was brought to you by a glass of wine by myself on night three of my husband being gone. :)
Than infertility became a huge part of our life, irrevocably shaping who we are. We poured out our prayers for one baby, not really daring to wish for more...until our IVF cycle gave us around 50% odds of multiples. Then we wished fervently for twins, not really feeling worthy of such a perfect ending.
It is ironic to me that for so long, I thought two children was what I wanted, and I ended up having just that after thinking for so long that having just one might never happen. It is even more ironic to me now, because I find myself with babies on the brain. Every so often, the thought of another child pops in. I know that this isn't completely unusual as my babies speed so fast towards their first birthday, and their newborn days seem so far away. I do realize that.
When I was pregnant I put a lot of effort into soaking in every experience and feeling, because I knew it would be my only time. While Sam and Anna were born, during their early days, and even at this age, I often make myself stop and really be "in the moment," imprinting each experience in my brain, because there will not be another first smile, first word, first kiss, etc. in our lives. I won't feel another kick from the inside. There won't be another sleeping newborn son or daughter in my arms. Sometimes this makes me sad, because I know now how those things feel. I want to experience them again.
I know we will never try to have more children. We will not pursue ART again. I am 100% positive of that. I am content with my family of four. But I find myself growing more and more discontent with taking birth control to prevent having more children. Going through infertility really made me aware how miraculous and amazingly wonderful having a child is. I'm not Catholic, but I find myself getting more and more spiritual about the gift of bringing a child into this world. On a level most people don't get to experience, I think I was able to truly appreciate being given the gift of becoming Sam and Anna's mother.
It would expand my heart to be given that gift again. (And let's face it, with 0% sperm morphology, it will literally be a miracle of God for us to get pregnant without ART.) Somehow now, a family with three children doesn't seem that bad anymore. Now to just help my husband feel the same...
*This post was brought to you by a glass of wine by myself on night three of my husband being gone. :)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
*Pat Pat*
Myself and two 9 month old babies changed, dressed and fed, medicine administered, dog let out and out the door before 7 am to daycare and even made it to work 5 minutes early! All by myself! Yeah, that's me patting myself on the back. :)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
And Now I'll Really Be Outnumbered
Sam and Anna have a new favorite activity that is oh-so-cute: they love to race each other down our hall. Each one moves as fast as possible to get ahead, and then turns and giggles at their sibling, teasing them, seeing how close behind they are. It is frickin' adorable, and yes, I do have a few videos of it.
This also means I have two crawlers.
And boy, oh, boy do things change when you're outnumbered by crawlers. When Sam started crawling, Anna was a pretty happy independent player. I could plop her down in front of a interesting toy and go fetch my adventurous son away from whatever trouble he was about to get into. Now things are much more interesting. We divide and conquer as much as possible- "Honey- grab Sam- he's about to tip the humidifier!" or "Watch Anna so I can grab Sam before he shuts the door on his fingers!" and so on.
While Anna is getting more adventurous, Sam is fearless. Over my winter break, he learned how to climb a few stairs, pull up on everything, open drawers and cabinets, shut open doors, etc. and don't forget he discovered a way to climb out of an exersaucer right before the holidays, too. If he's not doing one of those things, he's headed for a cord that we can't hide or eliminate or the fireplace doors that I can't figure out a way to babyproof. He's always into something, and I can't baby proof everything. Anna just delights in following her brother in his explorations... or sometimes veering off in a different direction on her own adventure (usually precipitated by where our dog is at that moment). They are really keeping us on our toes now- but at least we aren't usually outnumbered for more than an hour or two at a time.
However, this week will be my third solo parenting expedition since Sam and Anna were born. My husband leaves Wednesday and returns late Saturday. Gone are the days when I could leave a baby laying on the floor and confidently change the other in one swift motion with my back turned, knowing the floor baby would be just fine. Olympic level diaper changing also happens now, which means it can take up to 10 minutes sometimes to get the darn thing on correctly on a wiggly baby who wants nothing to do with laying still and wants everything to do with crawling or climbing and attempts to do one of those things every second during a diaper/clothing change.
I know I can do it all by myself because I have before, but I have a new layer of worry that didn't exist before this time. I'm more worried than ever that we won't all make it to Daddy's return unscathed. Will Sam shut his finger in the drawers, will Anna get trampled by a 60 lb dog, will a baby fall several feet from some piece of furniture? I have nightmares that Sam will soon figure out how to climb out of his crib. That day is coming- and what on earth do I do when that time is here? This is also the first trip where no help is coming for even part of the time. It is the first time I have to get all 3 of us ready and out the door by 7 am, in the winter to boot and for several days in a row. (I'm only a little sheepish to share that I chickened out last time, and took two personal days off of work so I wouldn't have to do that by myself.)
I can't wait to type the post explaining how it went much better than I thought and that not only did we survive, but we succeeded. That post will also mean that my latest solo parenting experience will be over.
Then I get a week break before being outnumbered again. The end of January is looking pretty attractive right now...
This also means I have two crawlers.
And boy, oh, boy do things change when you're outnumbered by crawlers. When Sam started crawling, Anna was a pretty happy independent player. I could plop her down in front of a interesting toy and go fetch my adventurous son away from whatever trouble he was about to get into. Now things are much more interesting. We divide and conquer as much as possible- "Honey- grab Sam- he's about to tip the humidifier!" or "Watch Anna so I can grab Sam before he shuts the door on his fingers!" and so on.
While Anna is getting more adventurous, Sam is fearless. Over my winter break, he learned how to climb a few stairs, pull up on everything, open drawers and cabinets, shut open doors, etc. and don't forget he discovered a way to climb out of an exersaucer right before the holidays, too. If he's not doing one of those things, he's headed for a cord that we can't hide or eliminate or the fireplace doors that I can't figure out a way to babyproof. He's always into something, and I can't baby proof everything. Anna just delights in following her brother in his explorations... or sometimes veering off in a different direction on her own adventure (usually precipitated by where our dog is at that moment). They are really keeping us on our toes now- but at least we aren't usually outnumbered for more than an hour or two at a time.
However, this week will be my third solo parenting expedition since Sam and Anna were born. My husband leaves Wednesday and returns late Saturday. Gone are the days when I could leave a baby laying on the floor and confidently change the other in one swift motion with my back turned, knowing the floor baby would be just fine. Olympic level diaper changing also happens now, which means it can take up to 10 minutes sometimes to get the darn thing on correctly on a wiggly baby who wants nothing to do with laying still and wants everything to do with crawling or climbing and attempts to do one of those things every second during a diaper/clothing change.
I know I can do it all by myself because I have before, but I have a new layer of worry that didn't exist before this time. I'm more worried than ever that we won't all make it to Daddy's return unscathed. Will Sam shut his finger in the drawers, will Anna get trampled by a 60 lb dog, will a baby fall several feet from some piece of furniture? I have nightmares that Sam will soon figure out how to climb out of his crib. That day is coming- and what on earth do I do when that time is here? This is also the first trip where no help is coming for even part of the time. It is the first time I have to get all 3 of us ready and out the door by 7 am, in the winter to boot and for several days in a row. (I'm only a little sheepish to share that I chickened out last time, and took two personal days off of work so I wouldn't have to do that by myself.)
I can't wait to type the post explaining how it went much better than I thought and that not only did we survive, but we succeeded. That post will also mean that my latest solo parenting experience will be over.
Then I get a week break before being outnumbered again. The end of January is looking pretty attractive right now...
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