So Big!

Rachel surprised us today (yeah, shocking) when she all of a sudden busted out the "so big" motion. I swear we did not work on this like crazy. I only did it to her once or twice during the week not expecting her to do it on her own - ever. This wasn't something that I really cared that she did. But, I guess she did. Enjoy.

Pug Love

I guess one of the things you worry about when you are about to have a child is whether or not your pets will accept the baby. You would be thrilled if they loved them like their own pup but you'd really just be happy if they didn't try to eat the baby and stayed out of the way. Our two dogs, Dizzy and Jack, were a concern for me. Jack is pretty laid back unless a baby gets in his space or hits him unexpectedly. He is 10, after all, and old and grumpy so I expect that of him. Dizzy has always been skittish of everything and has snapped at other people's kids. I was scared that Dizzy would be an issue with Rachel in the house. I could never have been more wrong. Dizzy loves Rachel. He will bring her a toy to "play." He comes right up to her, lays down and rolls over, expecting her to be able to rub his tummy. She reaches out her little hands to grab an ear or eyeball and he doesn't flinch. I think Rachel and Dizzy are going to be inseparable as she grows older. If anything, Dizzy knows that she will at least drop him some food from the highchair and that alone scores her high points!

TOOTH!

Yesterday, I let Rachel "kiss" my face and it hurt! I put my finger on her gums and I swore I felt a large bump on the bottom left front of her gums. This morning it didn't seem to be getting bigger so I thought maybe I was wrong but this afternoon I checked again and low and behold...something scratched my finger! She has her first tooth coming in and on her daddy's birthday, no less. As soon as it's easy to see (and if she lets me) I'll take a pic and post it. Our little girl is getting so big!

Isn't This How It Always Is?

The morning of the play date I put the blanket down and set Rachel in the middle of a sea of toys. I went into the kitchen to fix myself some coffee and heard the sounds of a toy that I knew I did not put on the blanket. I walked into the living room to see this...

 No matter where she is...it's never good enough. I can only hope that attitude propels her forward in life. :)

We Finally Meet and Rachel SITS!

 

The play group that I have formed for "special needs" babies finally got together today. Four out of the six of us (so far) met here, at our house, for some relaxed play time. We had two boys and two girls and I think everyone had a nice time. I really enjoyed just hanging out and talking. Cute kids are a bonus!

Kristin and Carter

Korey and Jack

Victoria and Tierney

Rachel also decided that the meet up would be the perfect place to debut her sitting skills. Again, I think she practices this stuff while we are sleeping. This past Thursday she would barely sit for a couple seconds before toppling over and then today, ta-da, she's sitting up to 10 minutes by herself while eating Gerber puffs off the blanket or playing with a toy. Truly amazing. Now we need to work on teaching her how to get to sitting position and from sitting to stomach position. We actually have some new goals that our PT can help us with!

sitting at the play date

later today eating Gerber puffs off the floor

"see mom, i can do it!"

11 Months Old!

Our baby girl is rounding the bases to her First Birthday. She's almost home. Eleven months old today and she's already turning in to such a beautiful and capable little girl. Found out her eating issues are not related to the food. It's because she wants to feed herself. She ate broccoli. cauliflower and chicken without any issues because she did it herself. Our little independent munchkin. How we love her.

morning playtime

yum yum...mum mum!

"no photos please"

all dressed up with someplace to go!

"i don't think you are paying attention to me..."

"now you'll pay attention to me!"

Wiggle Worm

Ear Infections, A Visit and The NICU Reunion

As you know, Rachel has been battling ear infections for close to a month now. She was put on a new antibiotic last Wednesday and was on it for two days before the effects showed up. Her reflux came back something horrible. Our poor girl was screaming and arching and so unhappy ALL day. The antibiotic was changed but by that time it was too late and she had had enough. Her stomach was done. We stopped giving them to her on Saturday for the rest of the weekend and today she is like a brand new girl. Ear infections hurt but they do not affect her like the antibiotics do. So, back to the pediatrician on Monday. Not sure what is next but obviously we can't let her ears not be treated. We have a feeling tubes are in the very near future.

My friend, Allyson, came to visit this weekend too. At the time it was a good idea because Rachel wasn't feeling the full effects of the antibiotics. Well, let's just say that I'm happy that she was here though because it was a tough weekend with Rachel not feeling well and Stephen at work, I really needed the help. We did manage to get out, just the two of us, on Friday and Saturday nights for dinner and then a movie. I really needed the break and it was so good to just hang out like old times. I only wish Rachel had been feeling better so I wasn't so exhausted by the end of the day.

(Eating Allyson's hair. yum!)

(I want it!)

Today at Women's Hospital, where Rachel was born and spent 4 days in their NICU, was the NICU Reunion. It's a time for all those babies born and cared for in the NICU to get together and see the nurses and doctors that cared for them. Even though that time was a complete blur and I can't remember any of the wonderful nurses, I will never forget what they did for us. I wanted to go and at least show support. We did get to see Lisa, our old EI therapist and Rachel had a lot of fun playing and meeting new people. Everyone kept telling me how cute and pretty she was.

(After a day like that, naps are mandatory!)

Fancy Pants with Skillz

I mentioned in an earlier blog about new pants Rachel's PT gave her. So, I thought I would post a pic of them and her getting up on her hands and knees in them.

Here they are on her. You can see they are like spandex shorts that have been sewn together in the middle.
Now here she is getting into the hands and knees position. Notice how her knees are directly under her and not to the side, where they would be if she didn't have the pants on.

 And here is a bonus baby crack photo!

Rachel has really been working on some new skills too. She is able to pick up a Gerber puff with her fingers and put into her mouth 8 out of 10 times. Today she didn't even let me do it for her. As soon as I held it out with my hand, she snatched it up! She is also able to hold her bottle and finish her bottle as long as there is only 3oz. in it. We have also notice that she is understanding two words/signs: "more" and "food". When we do either of those signs there is an immediate response by her. It's so nice to be able to communicate even that little bit with her. I think it's time to add a couple more signs into our repertoire!

First Hair Accessory

Ok, so this isn't baby book material but I am happy. Rachel has enough hair and it's long enough to support a small hair clip. Doesn't she look so cute?

Just an update...

Rachel is getting over an ear infection. Her second, so far, which is really good. Hopefully we can close her first year out with only those two. Anyway, during the painful part of the ear infection, she was refusing to eat her solid foods. I, being a crazy person, automatically think that she is regressing and that we are going to have to start all over again with stage one foods and that we are hitting the notorious Ds issues with eating. Even so, I bought some stage three foods from Babies R Us. We had some Gerber stage three foods but their stage three foods are still smooth. There really isn't much of a difference between two and three stages. So, I picked up some Plum Baby Training Meals and Earth's Best Fruits and Grain. These were chunky! I was a little nervous about giving them to Rachel. I was afraid she would reject them. Surprise, Surprise, she loves them. I think she likes them even more than anything else she's eaten before! The lumps didn't even phase her. I love this girl. The Earth's Best was apples, oatmeal and cinnamon. It smelled delicious! The Plum Baby was chicken and veggies with pasta. I know I need to just give her our food, unsalted and unseasoned, but I don't cook very often. And when I do cook, I ALWAYS forget to make something for her to try. I know I am going to have to do it. Eventually. But right now I will savor the glory of her eating stage three foods from a jar (or packet)!

Her sitting ability has really improved as well. I think she is finally starting to see the benefit of being seated and playing. It has got to be easier moving those arms in that position. She still resists me and pushes backwards at times but more and more she hangs out for a minute or two before falling over. She hasn't realized that she needs to use her arms to catch herself. That will come.

She also got some pants from her PT to help her keep her legs together and hips secure. When Rachel brings her knees under her to get into her hands and knees position, these pants will work the muscles on the inside of the legs which will help her with crawling. I put them on her today for about 20 minutes and when she did get into her hands and knees position, she was able to stay there for a good 30 seconds and rock back and forth. The pants kept her legs from "frogging" out. Seeing her being able to hold that position for so long makes me excited and I know for sure she will be wearing them more often now. I can't wait until she can crawl! She is so much fun now I can't even imagine what she will be like when she is mobile.

Shhhh..Don't Tell Rachel's PT...

But she's been enjoying short amounts time in her $12 craigs list exersaucer. She LOVES the dumbbell shaped rattle.