Nine Months

Ooops...I haven't updated since month 7.  I have been super busy with work and ave been working late.  Amaya is getting so big and smart.  She figures out things so quickly, it's amazing!  She loves to eat.  Her diet is pretty widespread now.  The only thing I can say she is not a fan of is eggs.  She'll eat a few spoonfuls and then be done with it.  But she does loves her fruits and vegetables.  I have been able to get very creative with her meals and she has been loving it.  Amaya is also drinking from her sippy cup so much better now...more goes in than spills out of her mouth.  I still nurse about 4-5 times a day when I have her at home.  During the work week 3-4 times per day (morning before I get her up, during lunch, and at night).  Pumping has been a bit difficult anymore.  It seems that I don't get much out the sessions any more.  I think I may bet too use to the pump it my motor may be going.  

Amaya finally learned to crawl Sunday night!!  This girl is backwards.  She walked first, with out assistance, and then learns to crawl.  J believes she is saying dada.  I think she is still babbling...but it could very well be dada since she says it when looking at him, but she does that when looking at me.

She still loves daycare.  Loves the kids and her teacher.  She could care less when I leave her behind. I have been blessed to find a great daycare facility.

We are also back to sleeping through the night, unless she is teething.  There have only been a few instances where I had to get up and rock her back to sleep.  And we have 2 bottom teeth.

Next follow up with the pediatrician is in 2 weeks.

7 month update

Where does this time go!!  Amaya is now 7 months old.  Today she had a well visit and is in the 95% for her height and head circumference, her weight is 75%.  She is 17 lbs and 7.5 oz, 27 1/4 in ling, and her head is 17 1/4 in.  Her ped s er pleased with her development.  We also got the ok to add eggs  and seafood to her diet.  I think we will stick to fruits and veggies for a bit longer.

Amaya loves to eat!!  She loves her fruits and veggies, especially oatmeal and bananas mixed.  She wasn't to thrilled with avocado, green beans, and white potatoe.  She tries to drink from her zippy cup.  She doesn't get much out, but she still tries.  This weekend I'm going to buy teething biscuits at the suggestion from her ped.  He said it's a good treat and will help her learn to chew.

So far no teeth yet.  Her bottom front two are cutting through, not much longer now.  She's trying to crawl as well.  She gets up on her hands and knees, but doesn't know where to go from there.  She'll rock like she's ready to move, but will plop own on her stomach.  She's a roller though.  That is her mode of transportation for now.

And for the best part....we are back to sleeping through the night!!!

Sick Again...

So Amaya has been sick again.  I kind of saw it coming, but I was crossing my fingers.  A few of the kids in day care were sent home with fevers last week.  Guess what Amaya got on Sunday?!?  Fever, runny nose, dry cough....On Sunday her fever got as high as 102.1 and then it was bouncing back and forth from a high 100 to a high 101.  Sunday and Mid Monday I was doing strictly Tylenol, just 1.25 mL.  Called our ped Monday afternoon since her fever was not breaking.  He told us to alternate 2.25 mL of Tylenol and 1.25 mL of Motrin every 4 hours.  Doing that combination helped, her fever finally broke Monday night.  Tuesday my aunt kept her since she was not allowed back into day care.  She was completely better, with the head cold of course.  She still has it, but is getting better....at least her fever is gone.  I can deal with sniffles.

6 Months

Amaya is now 6 months old!!  Holy cow!!!  Everyday it seems like she gets bigger and bigger.  She had a couple good colds during her fifth month, one leading us to her ped for a sick visit.  She is still an excellent nurser and takes bottles really well at day care.  I still plan on nursing as long as I can since it is going so well.  Maybe when her teeth actually come in I will start weaning...

Amaya loves solids!  She was getting bored with her oatmeal so we moved to veggies and fruit.  She loved sweet potatoes and bananas and tolerated zucchini and squash.  Soon we'll be trying apples, peas, and green beans.  She is still only once a day during dinner time, but soon I will be doing twice a day.

She is getting more active all around.  She is becoming such a babbler....my husband is insisting she is saying dadda.  She also kind of stopped that growling thing she did.  Amaya loves to be on her feet standing, bouncing, or jumping.  She's also trying to crawl, but not going anywhere.  Her legs move, but she puts her arms out to her sides.  She loves, loves, loves bath time.  Now, she's kicking up a storm and splashing all over the place.

Right after Christmas, we bought her a ton of books.  She loves to be read to, especially her princess book she got for Christmas.  She still loves Elmo and Spongebob.  There isn't too much that she hates really.

I'll have to post a pic when I get home from work and from the computer.  Having figured it out from the iPad yet

Update

Good news!  No pink eye, but she has a bad sinus infection/head cold at least there is not a fever.  I'm going to go into too much information here.  The mucous is so backed up it is in her tear ducts and ears.  It is even coming out of her eyes.  My poor girls eyes and face are soo puffy.  I can see how it got confused with pink eye, but the whites of her eyes weren't pink.  Our ped gave us antibiotic drops just in case.  He wants the infection to run its course for at least another day or two, keep her eyes clean with a warm compress, aspirate her nose, and use a humidifier at night.  If she gets a fever, ear pain, pain in general,  or her eye turns pink then we fill the drops and call him back for another appointment.  She's allowed back into day care, but I feel she should stay home and rest for a day maybe two.

Our First Sick Visit

I had a feeling that I would get a call from day care today, but I was praying I wouldn't.  Amaya's eyes have been a bit puffy since yesterday.  We put it in the back of our head that he might have pink eye, but was hoping that she just had a bad head cold.  Well today day care called and told me she had to be picked up.  My little bug couldn't even open her eyes.  So we have a date with the ped at 3:20 this afternoon.  I'm extremely curious as to how much I'm going to pay for this since my insurance plan change drastically.  We need to pay our deductible first before  100% coverage for any non preventative appointments.  So much for no sick visits.  Tis the season I guess, and I'm thankful that it's nothing serious.  So since I have the afternoon off, I've been cleaning up my messy house, getting the dishes done, figured out dinner, stripped everything that came into contact with her AND her face, and wiped down her exersaucer.  Now all I need to do is find care for the next couple of days...

4 & 5 month update

with my sisters,BIL, and niece

with Godparents

Wow has it been awhile since I last posted.  It has been really crazy with the holidays and J being away on business a lot.

Amaya is really growing...fast.  It seems that every time I blink, she's bigger!  She is still a really good baby.  She's not really a fussy girl, only gets loud when she's hungry.  Her hair is getting a bit lighter and her eyelashes are so long and gorgeous.  She did excellent at her 4 month well visit...only crying a bit for her shots.  Amaya is now 26 inches long and 15lbs.  Her ped is guessing she will be around 5'7" tall when she's older (this was based on both J and my height).  She loved Christmas.  By the end of the day, she actually tried to open presents.  Oh, to go back a few weeks, we also had her baptized.  She did great and didn't cry.   We have also come to realize that she is camera shy.  She doesn't mind getting her picture taken, but she'll turn away or stop smiling.
She is on the verge of crawling too.  She scouts around a lot when she's on her belly.  It won't be long now.  The ped also gave us the go ahead on solids at her 4 month appointment.  She's doing rather well.  We are starting her on oatmeal for a couple weeks then move to a vegetable.

What she loves:
-sleeping on her belly
-car rides
-attention..no change there
-toys...especially anything with lights and sounds
-sponge bob and Sesame Street
-bath time... She loves to splash around
-music
-our fireplace
-her exersaucer
-standing
-blowing raspberries
-oddly enough her vitamin d drops

What she hates:
-her car seat
-her swing.. Doesn't really hate it, but doesn't want to be in it long
-the aspirator.. Another cold and the sucker is being used again
-bed/nap time when there are people n the house

Success!!!!

I'm pleased to report that weaning Amaya from swaddling has been a success.  She actually loved it.  She loved being able to stretch and not be constricted.  I still swaddle from the waist down just for warm.  Because I stopped swaddling, the very next day she started rolling over unassisted!!  Now she can' get enough of it.  She even does it in her sleep and freaks herself out.  We also discovered that she is a side sleeper.  If she's still semi-awake in her crib, she'll roll to her side and pass right out!!  Next feat... hopefully solids next month.

Unswaddling Trial

I've been swaddling Amaya since the day she was born.  And honestly, the SwaddleMe was one of my favorite items.  She slept soundly, didn't cry when swaddled, and never broke out of it....until recently.  Recently, Amaya has been giving me cues she is ready to be unswaddled.  She has been freaking out when I tighten the swaddle.  So last week, I have been loosening it up.  When I loosened her up, she broke free and it woke her up.  Last night, I decided to wean her since she has been freaking out over anything confining.  I put her to bed a little before 9 pm and tried with one arm out.  That didn't work so well.  She slept soundly until 11:30 pm and then woke me up with this piercing scream.  She tried to get her right arm out and it got stuck.  Her arm was half way out of her pj sleeve and the swaddle.  I fixed her up, rocked her, and left both arms out.  She slept much better.  She slept from 11:45 pm to 3:30 am and then woke up.  I left her cry a bit to see if she'd go back to sleep, but she didn't she was hungry.  I did a quick feed and she was back out.  I actually had to wake her up this morning at 6:15 to get ready.  All in all, the first night wasn't bad.  I hope tonight will be better and we work our way back to STTN!

Pumping at Work

Up until last week, pumping at work has been going fairly well.  There are times when I am only able to pump once during the work day, but so far I haven't noticed a dip in my supply nor have I had to use my freezer stash.  I normally get to use one of our rooms that has a lock on it, other days I use empty patient rooms.  Never have I had a walk in....until Thursday.  One of my doctors walked in on me.  He didn't see much but was really embarrassed.  I knew it was only a matter of time.

Weathering the Storm

That was a crazy storm!!!  Monday wasn't bad with the rain as predicted, but the wind was pretty bad.  J and I didn't think Sandy was going to bring the punch we thought it would.  Well we were wrong...  Monday we both went into work and Amaya went to daycare.  We figured we'd play it by ear as best as we could since they predicted by evening we'd get hit.  Well I got sent home at 11:30 and J wasn't to far behind me.  The winds slowly picked up but nothing we haven't seen before.  We thought nothing of it.  We then lost power at 10:00 pm Monday night and didn't get it back until last night.  Tuesday we definitely roughed it.  We made coffee and speghettios on the grill.  For dinner we went out and got a pizza.  We kept calling our electric company for updates and kept getting pushed back hours until we got power.

Amaya did really well.  I thought she'd have a fit.  She loved it!!  We have a fireplace and that was all she can keep her eyes on.  She also found her shadow and tried to play with it.  The only time she really cried was Tuesday morning because she was cold.  So i got her and brought her into bed with us to keep her warm.

Thankfully the power came on because there are a few sections in our place that won't get power back until this weekend or next week.  My parents also lost the shingles off their roof causing a mess in their home.  Hopefully they get that fixed soon.  We're suppose to get a nor'easter next week.

Here is a picture of Amaya during our power outage.

3 Months Old

Each and every day I look at my little bug and she keeps changing and even getting bigger.  Everything is going way too fast and needs to slow down!

This past Monday, October 22, was my first day back at work.  It was rough for me, but the week got better since I got busier.  I have Amaya in a home daycare by my house and she loves it.  It did start out a bit rough with her naps and eating.  It wasn't until Friday that she finally ate 3- 3 ounce bottles and it all came down to the bottle.  At home we have been using Playtex Ventaire bottles since that is what seemed to work best for her.  But now, she likes the breastflow bottles which she didn't like before.  Today I continued with giving her the bottle, since I didn't want her to regress with her progress, and she fought me with the breastflow bottle.  So now I had to order new bottles for her while she is at daycare.  I have been having trouble finding them around so I had to go with Amazon.  So hopefully they will be here soon.  She's a strange little thing....Her naps got a lot better.  At the beginning, she would take small cat naps.  Her "report card" said 20 minutes here and 40 minutes there.  On Friday, she actually got a good solid 2.5 hours in with some small fussing.  And the best part of all is that she is taking to the pack n play which she hates at home.  On another plus side...she is back to sleeping through the night!!  Which I totally didn't think would happen with her poor eating habits the first half of the week.  She's down for the count at about 8:00/8:35 and then I get her up at 6:15 am for changing and her 6:30 am feeding.

What She Likes:
-Bath Time:  She absolutely loves it now.  She sits in her tub and kicks her feet around.
-Swing/Bouncy Chair:  Still loves them.  Passes out in her swing and just loves sitting in her chair bouncing and looking around.
-Playmat:  She loves looking at the animals above her.  She bats them around and even "talks" to them.
-Sitting/Standing:  She loves sitting up and looking around.  It also gives her a chance to try and grab her feet.  She also love to stand so she can be at eye level.  We get the biggest smiles out of her when she stands.
-Eating:  still loves to eat.  She's becoming a faster eater now which is starting to become a problem.  Sometimes she eats fast and doesn't realize she is full.  She then spits up all over.  We had at least 2 days of 2-3 outfit changes.
-Tummy Time:  She is actually starting to like this now.  She'll get frustrated after 10 minutes, but she's really getting the hang of keeping her head up and looking around.
-Attention:  Still loves her attention.  I don't think this is going to go away.
-Kids:  She loves watching the other kids in daycare play.

What She Hates:
-Bottles:  Only when mom gives them.
-Aspirator:  She really hates that nose sucker.

Milestones:
-We're getting a bit of a laugh from her.  It's not constant and sometimes it could be a half a laugh or a squeak.
-She has rolled over from front to back 2 times.  I'm not counting it as rolling over yet, because she is not  consistently doing it.  She is on her way though...
-She made it through her first week of daycare with minimal problems.  She absolutely loves being there.

We Survived!!

Today was my first day back at work.  It went well, I was very busy getting caught up on charts and changes.  My drive to work was horrible.  Once I dropped Amaya off at day care, I cried the whole way to work.  I also really don't like pumping at work...I feel like a cow.  AND to make matters worse, one of the bottles spilled after I filled it for day care tomorrow.  ughh...  The week will get better for me...in a way.  I will get very busy the rest of the week which will make the day go by fast.

Amaya did well herself.  She adjusted fairly well for her first full day, a bit fussy, but did well.  My only concern is that she didn't eat much.  Total she took just over 2 ounces.  I hope that will change as she gets more accustomed to day care.  But all throughout the day, she took to the other kids and played on the floor.

I did miss my bug terribly, but it made my reunion with her that much better at the end of the day

Day Care Dry Run

Today Amaya did a trial couple of hours with day care since I start back with work on Monday.  She did pretty good for the most part.  She did get kind of cranky and didn't want to be put down.  She did enjoy the other kids and was really interested in what they were doing.  The only downside is that she only took 1 ounce from her bottle which concerns me.  It is normal for her to do that at times, but at least when we are at home it's an easy fix and she'll be fed.  I guess it will take some time, but at least I'm more comfortable with leaving her.

Happy Birthday/You Know You're a Mom When...

Happy Birthday to me!!  Today I'm 31 years old.  Ughh, it's going way too fast.  J got me out of the house Saturday to treat me for my birthday.  We left Amaya with my MIL and took a small trip to Hershey.  We had dinner, went shopping at the outlet, and stopped at Troeg Brewery.  It was nice to get out of the house.  I admit, I did have some separation anxiety for about a hour and a half (mostly when I was still home with her).  Let's just say Amaya didn't do too well being separated from us for 6 hours and my MIL got a work out.  If she stopped moving, the baby would scream.  So for 6 hours, my MIL had to walk around the house.  Now J and MIL know how my days are when I can't get her settled.  So after being separated from each other most of Saturday, I'm fearful for daycare.  I'm nervous that she'll do the same exact thing and not adjust.  

You Know You're a Mom When....you go shopping for your birthday and buy nothing for yourself, but buy a ton of stuff for your child.

Oh What a Night!

My little bug has just become a little monster last night.  The past couple of nights she was up a couple of times for feedings.  Last night was a whole other story...I felt like I was back at the hospital or just brought her home.  She did not want to be put down to sleep, she wanted to constantly nurse.  After a day of barely napping and being very active, I thought I'd have a blissful/peaceful night.  I'd get to clean up, watch the debate, and relax.  Little did I know that she would fight me the minute I put her in her crib.  After rocking and feeding her for a few hours, I tried putting her down at 1 am.  I FINALLY changed, brushed my teeth, realized that I didn't bathe (oh well), and climbed into bed.  That was when my monster sounded her alarm.  At that point, I made the executive decision to go downstairs with her.  If I'm going to be up all night, I might as well be comfortable and have entertainment.  Amaya at least got a few hours of sleep.  Once J got up and left for work a little after 5 and I attempted one last time to put her to bed so I can at least get a few hours of sleep.  It finally worked and I successfully got a few hours of sleep.  I think she's going through a growth spurt, from what I read she is.  Today, she goes to the pedi for 2 month check and shots.  So we'll discuss when to start introduction of solids.

Survived Our First Fair

Saturday we took a trip to the Bloomsburg Fair for their last day that they  were open.  Amaya was great!  She slept for the 40 minute drive there and was awake the 4 1/2 hours we were there.  She got fussy towards the end and wanted to be carried.  She got sick of being in the carrier and stroller.  She loved looking around at all the people and the sights.  I packed 2 bottles for the trip and she did ok with them.  Total she drank 7 ounces from the bottle.  The first bottle was 3.5 ounces and she drank 2.5 ounces when we all stop an ate.  The car ride home she had around 3.5/4 ounces.  When we got home and she was changed, she cluster fed like crazy then zonked out for the night.  She slept from about 8:45 pm to 6:00 am.  This weekend she should be tuckered out again.  My niece's birthday party is Saturday and some family members have not met Amaya yet.  So she will be getting a lot of attention and stimulation.  Hopefully she will be in a good mood because Friday she goes for her 2 month immunizations.  

Zombie?

I think my daughter may be a zombie.  Have you ever seen those zombie movies and watched them attack?  Picture that as a baby.  Last night I got a couple videos of J holding her while she attacks his hands.  It's hilarious!

2 Months Old

My little bug is growing up way too fast.  I can't believe it is 2 months already.  She just got over a little cold from last week, but is still a bit congested.

What She Loves:
-Attention:  I don't think she will outgrow this.  I think it will only get worse.
-Swing/Bouncy Chair:  She still naps in them which is wonderful for me to complete housework, workouts, and showers.
-Sesame Street:  She loves the characters and the voices, especially Elmo.  She has the biggest smile when he's on.  We have Sesame Street on you tube on our favorites for quick access.
-Bath Time:  She actually loves this now.  She loves it when I fill her tub with the lavender soap for her to smell.
-Baby Talk:  This helps us get through diaper changes.  She smiles every time.  I'm not sure if she really likes it or thinks we're goofy doing it.
-Humming On Her Feet:  I think it tickles her and she likes it.  She'll keep stretching her feet out for more.
-Car Rides:  She's out like a light every time.
-Music:  It relaxes her, especially at night.  I'll play her Baby classical DVDs for her bed feedings and it helps her sleep...and stay asleep.
-Cuddles:  She is a cuddler.  Put her chest to chest and she cuddles.

What She Doesn't Like:
-TummyTime:  She's getting better with it, but still is not found of it.  I think she's a rock star at it, but she doesn't believe me.
-Dinner Time:  She hates when Mommy has dinner...or any other meal for that fact.  I pop her in her swing just to get 5 min of food.
-Aspirator:  With her congestion we got good use out of it and the saline.  She was mad at me after that.

Milestones:
-She smiles...a lot.  I love it.
-She finally takes the bottle.  We're still not at 4 oz just yet, but very close.
-She found her feet.  Friday night after her jammies were on and we were relaxing in the living room, she kept throwing herself forward on my lap to touch her feet.  It was hilarious.
-We had a full week of STTN!  It was heaven.  It may have been because she was sick, but I'll take it.

All Clear

For the past few weeks, Amaya has had baby acne and cradle cap.  Well we also figured out that along with the acne she had a horrible case of eczema all over her body.  My poor baby, no wonder why she was moody.  Her acne and eczema have cleared up but still has a small amount of cradle cap left.  What has been helping with that is putting baby oil on her scalp, then taking a cotton ball, massaging it all around, leaving it sit for 10 min while I bathe her, and then washing the oil out of her hair.  I have also been combing and brushing her hair multiple times a day which helps loosen and getting rid of the grossness.  For her skin, Baby Aveeno has been a miracle.  I bathed her in the soothing wash every other day and lathered her in the eczema cream 2-3 times a day.  I can't believe the difference I saw in a matter of a day!

Before

4 days of Aveeno

9 days of Aveeno