Don't Take My Oranges!

I was telling a coworker this morning about this story and she said I needed to write it down...it reminded me to post a blog!

I dropped Caitlyn off at daycare this morning. I always get her there during breakfast time as she doesn't cry when I leave if she's eating! She was sitting in between J (little boy) and Z (little girl). She had just been given her bowl of cereal and her cup of oranges. Next thing you know Caitlyn is screaming and J is throwing a handful of oranges which landed in front of Z. J had taken Caitlyn's oranges, all of them from her cup. Caitlyn freaked out. Oranges are her favorite! You should have seen her face. Poor thing! Miss Nicole got her another cup of oranges and set them on the other side next to Z. Caitlyn grabbed them all out of her cup and shoved them in her mouth. She wasn't letting anyone else get those from her!

Toddlerhood is really keeping Jared and I are our toes!

From Baby to Toddler

9/14/2008 Caitlyn weighed 8lbs 11oz and was 19 1/2 in long.


9/14/2009 Caitlyn weighed 22lbs 2oz and was 22 in long.

Caitlyn has accomplished so much during her first year. She's now walking on her own. She talks on her toy cell phone. She feeds her baby doll a bottle. She says dada, bye-bye, baba and Zeus (we're still waiting on mama). She dances when music is playing. She laughs and her whole face lights up when she's excited. She loves the dog. She gives great kisses and hugs! We can read her moods, when she's tired, hungry, happy, sad or frustrated. She puts herself to sleep for her naps and bedtime. She lets me wipe her nose with no fuss when it's running. She loves pushing her shopping cart around and has learned to carry her purse like a big girl (this makes mama proud)! She knows the meaning of the word no and she's already starting to push the limits to see how far she can go. There are so many things that she does every day that just amaze me. I look forward to each and every day to see what new things she's going to discover!

Happy Birthday Punky!

One year ago today a beautiful miracle entered our lives. One we thought may never happen.

Caitlyn mommy and daddy love you so much. You are truly a blessing that entered our lives. You keep us on our toes with your funny (and sometimes not so funny) antics. You make our hearts grow with each of your kisses and hugs. You make our miserable days disappear with those beautiful smiles that just light up your eyes! Your laugh is musical to listen to. You have taught us so much in this past year and we look forward to watching you grow and learn during this next year. Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Changes...

So much has been happening and so much more to come in the next couple of weeks! I have notes of different blog titles I wanted to write...but not enough time to put the thoughts down on paper. So another looonnnngggg post with many updates!

Infant Room 2: Caitlyn moved into infant room 2 the same week she got hand foot and mouth. Her transition went pretty smoothly. They have toys more age appropriate in this room. She was getting bored with the little babies. She was ready for this move! The biggest upset when moving was her naps. She was pretty much refusing to nap. I didn't understand. The girl can sleep....what was up? Too much happening. She didn't want to miss anything. Totally understand that! Otherwise she's loving being in the new room. She loves her teachers in the new room. All is well!!!

Stranger Danger: A few weeks ago she started being afraid of almost everyone. Even people that she sees 3 or 4 times a week. It was weird. I really thought we were going to pass that stage. The first time it happened we were out to brunch with my family. Aunt Beth was holding her and she tried to pass her off to my uncle. I wasn't watching this happen but Aunt Beth says that mid way through the pass off her face changed. Next thing I know she's screaming and crying uncontrollably. I'm standing right in front of her, talking to her. But she won't open her eyes to see me. She won't stop crying. I had to take her to calm her down. She's getting better already. The phase isn't lasting long - hopefully we pass it and it never comes back!

Sickness: This last week she got a cold and a bacterial infection in both her eyes. Monday I had to stay home with her. The nurse called in eye drops. (thank you for not making us come in...you saved us $120)! Aunt Beth came over to help administer the eye drops since Jared was at work. I wasn't thinking it was going to be a horrible experience. But she was feeling bad enough that she let me pry her eye open and put drops in both eyes. Monday night also went well. Tuesday morning...she was feeling better and was not having drops put into her eyes. I couldn't even pry them open. So I put the drops in the corners of her closed eyes and waited for her to open them hoping some would blink in. Today is the last day of eye drops. Her eyes look so much better!

Healthy Eating: I want to teach Caitlyn healthy eating habits. Which in turn should help Jared and I eat healthier as well. I have struggled with my weight since my sophomore year in high school. It is a battle sometimes I feel I will never overcome. I don't want that for Caitlyn. Hopefully she will have Jared's metabolism...but that is not a guarantee. And even with a high metabolism she still should have healthy eating habits and be active so she is healthy over all. I'm learning to include more and more vegetables. And so far she loves them all. Her favorite though at the moment is fresh cucumbers from Grandpa Rich's garden. Yummy! She also really enjoyed Grandma Kendy's zucchini brownies. Next year I want to plant my own garden. We just have to find the right spot in our yard. Last night we grilled a sweet potato for her. She ate a few bites and then started flinging it everywhere. The dog was having a hay day chasing after it all. At least I didn't have to clean it up! If anyone has healthy recipes they'd like to share...please do!

Coming soon...Caitlyn's first birthday. I can't believe it's been a year already. Time is moving way to fast.

Caitlyn's 1st Surgery (And Hopefully Her Last!)

Tuesday August 18th, 2009 Caitlyn had her first surgery. She got tubes in both her ears. This girl had 8 ear infections in less than 6 months. The last double ear infection was while she was on a preventative antibiotic. We met with the ENT on August 11th. Jared was pretty much set on this surgery before we even went in to talk to the ENT. He had tubes as a baby (numerous times) so he was comfortable with that decision. It was not that easy for me. What got to me is that the ENT was sure that the infections were keeping her from walking and from talking and babbling more. That the infections could effect her hearing permanently. Once I made the decision to go forward with the surgery I wanted to schedule it as quickly as possible. I just wanted it to be over with. It wasn't the surgery itself that scared me. It was my little baby girl being under anesthesia. I was so afraid that they'd put her under and she'd have some sort of reaction and she wouldn't wake up. Monday afternoon before her surgery daycare called me - she had a fever of 102.5. I started freaking out. I called the ENT and they assured me that as long as she wasn't congested that they would go through with the surgery. The ENT had a sneaky suspicion that she had another ear infection causing this fever. So I went and picked her up early from daycare that day. Tuesday morning we got to the surgical center at 6:30 in the morning. I was really worried because I couldn't give her her morning bottle. But she didn't fuss once about not getting her bottle. This was because she really wasn't feeling good. She basically just laid in my lap watching cartoons (which she never sits still for normally!). She still had her fever, but her lungs were clear so we were going ahead with the surgery. The ENT came and talked to us after the nurse got all her stats. She said it would only take 10 min and she'd come out to talk to us. She carried Caitlyn back to the surgical room. I was surprised that I didn't cry when she took her from me. I was amazingly calm up to that point. We went out to the waiting room. We both went to the bathroom. We sat for a few more min. I was watching the clock. At 10 minutes I was asking Jared where she was at. He thought I was nuts and assured me she'd be fine. The ENT came out a few min later and said everything went well. She had another double ear infection which she was able to clear out while she was in there. She said the nurse would be out to get us soon to take us back to her. They had warned us ahead of time that she'd be cranky (their word) when she woke up. Nothing could have prepared me for the way she was acting when they took us back to her. She was SCREAMING / CRYING. Uncontrollably. They said she was hungry so we made her a warm bottle. It took awhile for her to realize I was trying to give her something she wanted. She did finally take the bottle. And she was calmer after the bottle, but still fussy and seemed uncomfortable. They said she wasn't in any pain, but I don't know how they could know that if she couldn't tell us. They said she was acting totally "normal" from waking up from the anesthesia. She was disorientated and super fussy. I basically just sat and rocked and cried with her. It was the worst feeling I've felt so far as a mother. After about 15 minutes they asked if we were ready to go home. I thought they were crazy for letting us leave before she had totally calmed down. I was so afraid of going home and her not calming down and what were we going to do??? But once we got into the car (I rode in the backseat with her) she really started calming more. I guess they do know what they're doing! I gave her a few graham crackers on the way home. Once we got home I put her in her sleep sack and she went right to sleep. She slept for 4 HOURS! After 2 hours I called the nurse to make sure I shouldn't be waking her to check on her. The nurse laughed at me and told me to enjoy it. That usually babies slept for 3-4 hours after anesthesia. During that 4 hour nap I got most of our bedroom painted! She woke up happy as can be after that nap. Like nothing had happened that morning and she had forgotten all about it! Putting drops in her ears for the next week was a challenge and I'm glad Jared was always there to help me. I don't think I could have done them alone! She's not quite walking yet...but she's now standing on her own without holding on. I think walking is just around the corner!

Now she's working on 2 more teeth!

Singing In The....Car?

When I have the radio turned up in the car I can sometimes hear Caitlyn singing softly in the background. It is the sweetest sound. But if I turn down the radio to hear her better...she stops. So I've learned to just listen for her and block out the actual music.

Sickness Update: She was feeling much better last week. She still wasn't herself on Monday and I ended up picking her up from daycare early again. But Tuesday morning from the moment she woke up you could tell she was feeling herself! Yesterday she started with a runny nose. Hopefully that ends soon! We have an appt with the pedi tomorrow morning to check her right ear and make sure the infection is gone. Hopefully the pedi doesn't refer us to the ENT...very worried about this!

Hand Foot & Mouth Disease

Monday afternoon I got a call from daycare saying that Caitlyn had a temperature of 100.7. They said if it got to 101 that I'd have to come pick her up. That was at about 2:30. I didn't get another call but I did end up leaving early at 4 to go get her. I couldn't concentrate on work. I was pretty sure it was just teething but they said she just hadn't been herself all day. Tuesday she still had the fever so I stayed home with her. Wednesday she still had the fever so I stayed home and called the nurse. She said they didn't usually need to see them until the fever had been going on for 3 days. So I waited. Caitlyn wasn't horrible during this time. She was a little fussy and much more cuddlely but she'd still play intermittedly and was okay for the most part. She's been sleeping really well and taking extra long naps during all this. Thursday still had a fever. Called and made an appt. I was pretty sure it was still teething - but wanted that confirmed from the Dr. Took her in at 9:20. I changed her diaper at 9 right before we left. At 9:50 when we were seen by the Dr. she had a horrible rash on her chest and tummy. My eyes about popped out of my head. The Dr. said that a viral rash could appear that quickly. He checked her mouth and she had open sores in her mouth. Poor baby girl...she was diagnosed with Hand Foot & Mouth disease. On top of that she also has a ear infection in her right ear. So more antibiotics. Our regular pediatrician was out on vacation, her back up didn't mention tubes but I'm assuming the conversation will come up when we go in for her f/u in 2 weeks.

See some info below on Hand Foot & Mouth disease.


Description Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness of infants and children. The disease causes fever and blister-like eruptions in the mouth and/or a skin rash. HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth (also called hoof-and-mouth) disease, a disease of cattle, sheep, and swine; however, the two diseases are not related—they are caused by different viruses. Humans do not get the animal disease, and animals do not get the human disease.
Illness
The disease usually begins with a fever, poor appetite, malaise (feeling vaguely unwell), and often with a sore throat.
One or 2 days after fever onset, painful sores usually develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. The sores are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks.
A non-itchy skin rash develops over 1–2 days. The rash has flat or raised red spots, sometimes with blisters. The rash is usually located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; it may also appear on the buttocks and/or genitalia.
A person with HFMD may have only the rash or only the mouth sores.
Cause
HFMD is caused by viruses that belong to the enterovirus genus (group). This group of viruses includes polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, and enteroviruses.
Coxsackievirus A16 is the most common cause of HFMD, but other coxsackieviruses have been associated with the illness.
Enteroviruses, including enterovirus 71, have also been associated with HFMD and with outbreaks of the disease.

How It Is Spread Infection is spread from person to person by direct contact with infectious virus. Infectious virus is found in the nose and throat secretions, saliva, blister fluid, and stool of infected persons. The virus is most often spread by persons with unwashed, virus-contaminated hands and by contact with virus-contaminated surfaces.
Infected persons are most contagious during the first week of the illness.
The viruses that cause HFMD can remain in the body for weeks after a patient's symptoms have gone away. This means that the infected person can still pass the infection to other people even though he/she appears well. Also, some persons who are infected and excreting the virus, including most adults, may have no symptoms.
HFMD is not transmitted to or from pets or other animals.
Factors That Increase the Chance for Infection or Disease
Everyone who has not already been infected with an enterovirus that causes HFMD is at risk of infection, but not everyone who is infected with an enterovirus becomes ill with HFMD.
HFMD occurs mainly in children under 10 years old but can also occur in adults. Children are more likely to be at risk for infection and illness because they are less likely than adults to have antibodies to protect them. Such antibodies develop in the body during a person’s first exposure to the enteroviruses that cause HFMD.
Infection results in immunity to (protection against) the specific virus that caused HFMD. A second case of HFMD may occur following infection with a different member of the enterovirus group.
Diagnosis
HFMD is one of many infections that result in mouth sores. However, health care providers can usually tell the difference between HFMD and other causes of mouth sores by considering the patient’s age, the symptoms reported by the patient or parent, and the appearance of the rash and sores.
Samples from the throat or stool may be sent to a laboratory to test for virus and to find out which enterovirus caused the illness. However, it can take 2–4 weeks to obtain test results, so health care providers usually do not order tests.

Treatment and Medical Management
There is no specific treatment for HFMD.
Symptoms can be treated to provide relief from pain from mouth sores and from fever and aches:
Fever can be treated with antipyretics (drugs that reduce fevers).
Pain can be treated with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or other over-the-counter pain relievers.
Mouthwashes or sprays that numb pain can be used to lessen mouth pain.
Fluid intake should be enough to prevent dehydration (lack of body fluids). If moderate-to-severe dehydration develops, it can be treated medically by giving fluids through the veins.

Thanks to my September mommy friend Leah for looking this up for me!!!

First Word

We've been working on teaching Caitlyn bye-bye for probably 2 months now. She's been really close to getting it. Every once and awhile she'd move her hand a little bit as we were. But last night she decided she didn't want to wave. She wanted to say it with us! I picked her up from daycare and I was waving bye to the teacher and saying bye-bye and Caitlyn repeated bye-bye after me! I couldn't believe it! She also did it for Beth and Josh last night but Jared hasn't heard it yet. He's still holding out for dada! I was so happy to be able to experience her first word with her!

9 Month Stats

I just realized that I hadn't posted Caitlyn's 9 month stats! She weighed in at 18lbs 15oz and was 27in for her height. We actually had her 9 month Dr. appt on Tuesday June 2nd. At the time she was having problems with her ears again. She had another (her 4th) ear infection. They gave her another antibiotic shot and a prescription for a different antibiotic liquid. So far this seems to have done the trick...no ear infections for over a month! I hope I'm not jinxing her. If she gets another ear infection the Pedi is going to be sending us to the ENT. I really don't want her to have to have tubes in her ears. Even though many people have said that it was so easy and babies did so much better once they had tubes. The fact that they would have to put her under anesthesia scares the crap out of me! Her top two front teeth finally came in! These bothered her way more than the 2 bottom ones. I think she's now working on her her side teeth, but can't tell yet if they are top or bottom or both maybe? Poor girl! Teething sucks!

Milestones: She's crawling and getting into everything! She's been pulling herself up on things for a couple of weeks! We got her some new big girl toys. The Leap Frog Music Table and a little shopping cart push toy that helps her learn to walk. She loves them both! She's stood on her own for a few seconds at a time a couple of times now. We also got her a little blow up pool and let her play in that the other day. I didn't get any great pictures. We did it late in the day so she was tired and even though I had filled the pool earlier and let it sit in the sun the water was still pretty cold. So she splashed around a little bit but she didn't enjoy it as much as I thought. We'll try again this weekend! She's started the transition to Infant Room 2 at daycare. She goes over a little bit longer every day this week and then next week we start dropping her off in the new room. She is so ready for this...she's bored with the toys in infant room 1. Plus she loves climbing on the little babies and terrorizing them!

Two months until her first birthday...can you believe it?!?!?

Left Behind

The other day I was in the kitchen cleaning up. Caitlyn was on the floor playing. I picked up a towel off the counter and a HUGE moth flew out. It scared the crap out of me. I screamed and ran out of the kitchen...leaving Caitlyn to fend for herself. Aunt Beth will never let me live this down.

Cute Stories

We tried to push the binkie on her as a newborn. We probably bought 20 different kinds / brands trying to find one she liked because I was so worried about her sucking her thumb. She wouldn't have it though. Wouldn't you know now she terrorizes the other babies and takes theirs? She doesn't suck on them - she just wants it because she doesn't have one. The daycare really has their hands full with her!

The other day I was volunteering with a coworker selling tickets for the O What a Duck Race for the Omaha Food Bank @ the grocery store. My sister was there and I brought Caitlyn with us because Jared had to work. Caitlyn was tired and I was trying to cuddle her and get her to fall asleep in my arms. This wasn't happening. She hates to cuddle. The only cuddle time I get is when she's taking her bottle. Doesn't matter how tired she is. I kept telling her I wanted her to be a cuddle bug for me. My co-worker just looked at her and said she's more like a squirmy wormy. So true!

First Trip to the Zoo!

June 9th, 2009

I took the day off for my birthday! Beth and I planned on taking Caitlyn to the zoo. Jared decided he didn't want to miss this, so he took the day off too and we made it a family day! Caitlyn really didn't get what was happening. She wasn't too interested in seeing the animals.

She really didn't like petting the goats in the petting zoo. She's not much of a texture feeling baby!

She was way more interested in people watching. It was a little chilly out for a June summer day. I can't remember the last time it was cold on my birthday! We also got rained on a little bit. Luckily we got to see most of the outside stuff before the rain started. Once it started raining we went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. Then we did inside stuff for the next couple of hours. Her first trip to the zoo was definitely more for the adults! But it was a fun day.
She fell asleep within minutes of getting into the car. But woke up once we were home and decided that napping was for the birds! So she only had a 20 minute nap all day! Aunt Beth and Uncle Josh watched her that night while Jared and I went out for drinks with Colleen and then to dinner. Beth said she fell asleep in the highchair and went right to sleep when she laid her down. My little angel!
On a side note: Jared bought me a ring for my birthday. It has 2 heart stones with my and Caitlyn's birthstones. He called it a hand-me-down ring. Someday I'll give it to Caitlyn - maybe for her 16th birthday! God I can't believe I just said that....the time moves quickly enough as it is!

Stairs

Written June 10, 2009

Our baby girl fell down the stairs. I had taken the dogs outside and was out there making sure they went to the bathroom. Caitlyn and Jared were in the kitchen. Jared thought I was coming right back in. He decided to take our plates of food downstairs real quick. He thought he closed the gate behind him, but it didn't latch. As I was coming back inside I heard a thump and her cries. My heart was in my throat. I screamed for Jared and we both went running. I got to her first and picked her up. We looked her over, moved her arms and legs to see if anything was broken. Jared wanted to lay her back down flat to check her, but she would scream each time I put her down. As long as I was holding her she would calm down a little. He wanted her to crawl for us, but she wouldn't do that either. She calmed down after about half an hour. I then gave her a bottle and put her to bed. She slept all night. I checked on her a couple of times throughout the night. The next morning she woke up happy and smiling and babbling...just like normal. I cried the next day each time I told someone about it. My heart still aches 2 days later as I'm writing about it. Parenting is hard.

Aunt Beth's & Uncle Josh's Wedding Day

Written 6/3/2009

Caitlyn was a real trooper the weekend of May 23rd! I took Thursday and Friday off from work to do last minute wedding stuff with Beth. I took Caitlyn to daycare on Thursday while we ran errands and got pedicures and manicures. I picked her up early on Thursday afternoon and met Christy and Kim at the mall so that could hold and snuggle her (as much as she would allow)! Thursday night was the bachelorette party. It started at our house at about 7. Right before Caitlyn's bedtime. But she took her bottle and went to bed right on time. Even though we were being kind of loud...she went to sleep like our perfect angel! We had a great time out Thursday night. This was my first girls night out since having Caitlyn. Actually since finding out I was pregnant with Caitlyn!

On Friday I decided to keep Caitlyn home with me while we did our running around. I probably should have taken her to daycare so she could have some kind of schedule...but it's so hard when I'm off to not keep her with me. I miss her so much! So on Friday she went with us to get our eyebrows waxed and to the reception hall to help decorate. Then we were off to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. She and Melanie (the other flower girl) did great in the wagon being pulled by Ian and Noah. She was up a little past her bedtime and since she wasn't in her jammies when we got home I had to wake her and change her. She didn't like that much and didn't want to go back to sleep.

Saturday...Wedding Day! Jared had to work in the morning so we took Caitlyn with us to get our hair done. She was awesome while we were there. We got our hair done in 2 groups so there was always someone to hold and watch her! She took a nap on the way home and actually napped in her carseat for an hour after we got home while we all got into our dresses. Those carseat naps are few and far between anymore. We all got dressed and the other girls did their makeup. Beth and I got our makeup done at the salon. Then we all piled into the cars to drive down to the park for pictures @ 12:30. Once at the park I got Caitlyn into her dress. The weather was wonderful! It had rained a little bit while we were getting our hair done and this was the only time that Beth showed any signs of nervousness. Even though we told her that rain on your wedding day was good luck and that it wouldn't last long and the rest of the day would be beautiful (and we were right!). The guys were running late so we started with pictures of Beth and the bridesmaids and flower girls. I am so excited to see these pictures - I can't wait! The guys showed up and we finished doing pictures. This lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Caitlyn was hot and got a little tired throughout this. I tried to get some pictures of Caitlyn and Melanie together, but Caitlyn didn't like the grass and then didn't want to sit even on the blanket. She was such a trooper! She did great riding in the wagon with Melanie down the isle as Ian and Noah pulled them down. She then fell asleep in Jared's arms during the ceremony. And continued to sleep for awhile in her stroller. It was so adorable! After the ceremony the wedding party left in the limo and Jared took Caitlyn to the reception hall. She was passed around all night from person to person and loved all the attention! She ate mashed potatoes and stuffing for dinner from daddy's plate. She danced with daddy (unfortunately mommy had too much wine and not enough food and didn't think about dancing with her baby girl). She finally fell asleep around 10:30. We left for home around 11. Once home she went right to bed - our perfect princess!

Congratulations Aunt Bethy and Uncle Josh!!!

8 Months

Written 5/27/2009.

We are feeding her more and more table foods vs baby food. She only gets about 50% of the food into her mouth and I usually end up helping her so that I know she's getting some food in there! She's doing really well though and so far she likes everything we feed her! I'm getting braver with her. I still worry that she's going to choke on something, but I have to let go sometime....this won't be the only thing I worry about.

Last Friday (5/22/09) Caitlyn started crawling forward! We're in trouble now! She's drawn to the bookshelf so that she can pull all the books off the bottom shelf and chew on them. She's also drawn towards the tv and all the gadgets when we're downstairs. Doesn't matter that she has her tub full of baby safe toys sitting right there in front of her! She's starting to pull herself up on furniture but only on her knees so far. She hasn't pulled to a standing position yet. On Sunday she was trying to pull up on the coffee table and bonked her head. Poor thing. I hate those tables...way too many corners for her to hurt herself on. I told Jared we should shop for new ones! :0) She's also started clapping! I LOVE it!!! She's loves playing patty cake. Now we're working on hi & bye.

Mothers Day was wonderful this year! Jared was out of town for Josh's (my sister's new husband) bachelor party which was in Des Moines that weekend. He left Saturday afternoon and came back on Sunday afternoon. Before he left on Saturday he went and got me flowers from him and Caitlyn. They were beautiful! On Sunday we went to breakfast in the park with Jared's family (even though he wasn't there). I had debated on going because Caitlyn had been sick with a cold and ear infection. But it seemed nice enough out when I took the dogs out, so I decided to go for a little while. Of course when we got there the wind picked up and it was pretty chilly. Total bummer. So we only stayed for about 30 min. But it was still fun and some good food. And they all got to pass Caitlyn around. Then we went home and just hung out the rest of the day. It was an awesome day and one I've waited to celebrate in this way for a very long time!

The ear infection that I spoke of in my last post reared its ugly head again. Apparently she had a very stubborn infection. So 2 rounds of antibiotics...a very painful antibiotic shot...5 Dr. office visits in 6 weeks...lots of $ out of pocket...I'm told it's finally gone. Hopefully it doesn't resurface again. Poor baby girl.

Her 9 month Dr. appt will be coming up in about 2 weeks. No shots at this appt so I am very excited!!! I'll also be getting her 9 month pictures done. I'm very excited about this as well! Lots of things to look forward to!

Daddy's Girl

On Saturday we were chanting daddy so that he would come and change her diaper and Caitlyn repeated "daddy" in a low growly voice. I don't think she knew what it meant but it was so cute! She's been saying dada for awhile now but that was the first daddy! There were 7 of us there and we all stopped and looked at each other to see if we all heard it! Of course she hasn't said it since....

Another monster post will be coming soon updating on 8 months and so many other things....

7 Months

This was written April 28th, 2009.

Life for our family has been quite busy! I feel like I'm going to miss

writing about so many of Caitlyn's milestones. She's totally sitting up on her own now. She's such a big girl! She can't get from laying down to sitting yet, but she'll get there. She scootches backwards really well and the other night she took a few movements forward. She's so close to crawling she can taste it! Jared and I on the other hand are so not ready for this! We still haven't started the baby proofing yet....better get busy! She's still working on getting the Gerber puffs into her mouth on her own. She can pick it up, but can't get them into her mouth so well yet. I also gave her bits of banana's the other night, again she has issues getting them into her mouth. We'll keep practicing! She's now getting 3 meals a day of baby food. The daycare started feeding her a solid at lunch time last week.

We got her a new baby tub - it's a ducky! And when you squeeze the beak it quacks! Plus we got her new bath toys...she loves bath time!

She had a great Easter. It was our first time since we got together (almost 8 years) where we had to fit 2 family gatherings into one day. A little stressful - but we made it! She got an Easter bunny from Grandpa and Grandma Darling and she got an Easter basket with goodies from Aunt Shanna! She also got the Easter Bunny from Hallmark that dances from mommy - he's so cute. She is a spoiled little girl and I have a feeling it's only going to get worse!

She's had almost a constant cold since starting daycare in January. 2 weeks ago I took her to the pediatrician because her cough was so bad she rattled. This was her first sick visit to the Dr. Come to find out that she had a double ear infection. So we had to give her an antibiotic to get rid of that. A week later and she was ear infection free! I'm a little worried because she's been tugging on her ears the past few days and she's got another cold that started Thursday night. Hopefully the ear infections aren't back....

We also had a visit to the dermatologist. She has a spot on her head on the left hand side about an inch back from her hair line. It started out looking like a pimple so I didn't worry about it. But then it got bigger and turned an orange color. So I called the pedi and they referred me to a dermatologist. It's nothing to worry about as long as she doesn't get any more of them. And it should go away on it's own in the next year. I felt like I was acting paranoid - but I'm glad we had it checked out. Piece of mind!

Aunt Beth's wedding is coming up and Caitlyn is one of the flower girls. The ring bearer (Noah) is going to pull Caitlyn and Melanie (Josh's niece) up in a wagon. It's going to be sooo cute!

This is what happens when I don't post for a whole month! Super long messages....

A Little Bit More....

I fall in love a little more everyday with our little girl! She's now grabbing my face with both hands and giving huge open mouth kisses. And she laughs while doing it. I LOVE IT! She's also hugging me and holding on and it just melts my heart!

Daddy is trying to take on some of her solids feedings when we get home at night so that I can work out. The first time he tried to feed her she just wanted to play...so she kept blowing raspberries and spitting it all out all over herself and daddy! She's getting better about it though. I tried to give her some Gerber puffs (they dissolve in her mouth) yesterday. I don't think she's quite ready for these yet. She can pick them up pretty good - but has no clue what to do from there. We tried putting them in her mouth for her and she pushes it out with her tongue and it gets stuck on her lips. It's fun to watch! We'll keep trying.

Last week we went out to dinner with Uncle Tony, Matt & Lisa. I was eating a pickle spear and Caitlyn was grabbing for it. I decided to let her taste it. Bad idea. I didn't think she would like it. Instead she LOVED it! She started chomping on it and I got scared. I was afraid she'd choke on the seeds - so I pulled it away. She threw her first fit out in public. She was not happy with mama!

Our little girl has her 1st two teeth! I went to pick her up from daycare a week ago and the teachers asked me when she got teeth? I was like "she has teeth"? I was totally surprised because earlier that week the pediatrician had said it didn't look like she was close to teething yet. Then a few days later she's got her two bottom ones. They didn't seem to bother her too much when they broke through. We have a little mesh feeder for her and I put an ice cube in there and she loves chewing on it. Regular teethers didn't do much for her - so I'm so happy that this works.

She's back to sleeping through the night for us. Knock on wood! She does wake between 6:30 and 7:00 even on the weekends now - but on the weekends if we give her a bottle she'll go back down for a couple of hours.

She's able to sit on her own for a few minutes at a time now - but still not consistently. She's rolling around to get places like crazy! Her favorite place to roll is towards the TV so that she can play with the door and buttons on the vcr!

She loves Zeus! She is mesmerized and he's so good about coming over and sitting nicely so that she can pet and pull on him! He does still love to give her kisses and she opens her mouth wide for this. It drives me crazy!

Time just goes by way too quickly. I can't believe it's the middle of March and our baby girl is 6 months old already.

Scary Mommy Moment and 6 Month Stats

Someday maybe I'll get my act together and get on to post about these stories the day they happen...maybe.

On Saturday night Jared went to the UNO hockey game with my brother Tony so I was home alone with Caitlyn. Usually for her bedtime routine I get her changed in into her sleeper and Jared makes her bottle. Since he wasn't home I changed her like normal and then left her on her changing pad (on the floor) and went into the kitchen to make her bottle. When I went back into the room she had scooted her way down the changing pad (it has walls on the upper half) and rolled over onto the floor and scooted her way over to the wipes package and was chewing on it. Her room is baby safe except for the hardwood floors. So when she heard me come back into the room she rolled back over and bonked her head. I think it scared her more than anything - as soon as I picked her up she was fine. I was stunned that she figured out how to move around like this. If I hadn't been so freaked out I would have taken a picture! I guess it's one thing for her to do this in a wide open area - but to figure out her way around obstacles...she just amazes me everyday!

Last night we had a rough night. She woke up twice during the night and when she woke at 1 it took us an hour to get her back to sleep. Then she woke at 5:30 this morning...an hour before her normal wake up time. So when she woke up this morning I gave her a bottle and then laid her with Jared in bed. She was so cute trying to grab his face to get him to wake up and play! It was precious!

We had her 6 month checkup today. She weighs in at 14lbs 15oz (50th percentile), she's 26in (75th percentile) and her head measures 16 1/2 in (50th percentile). She got 3 shots and an oral vaccine today. She's growing at a perfect rate and the pediatrician had no concerns - she said we were doing wonderfully! We don't go back now until 9 months!

First Born
Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself!
1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes but still a wonderful surprise
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes
3. HOW LONG WERE YOU MARRIED WHEN YOU GOT PREGNANT? 2 1/2 years
4. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Pure Shock!
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 29
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Since we had done an IUI - I tested - totally not thinking that it had worked. The first test was so light that I had to have Jared study it and ended up taking a second!
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Jared
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? I didn't at first, Jared did. I didn't decided to find out until we were at the u/s and the Dr. asked.
9. DUE DATE? September 9, 2008
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? I would get nauseous if I didn't eat every couple of hours, but I never got sick.
11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? peanut butter pancakes and orange sherbet
12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Having to use the restroom a lot more than normal, especially in the middle of the night numerous times.
13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Girl
14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No! I wanted a girl. I was more worried about how Jared felt about it - but he was just as excited!
15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? We are not going here.
16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes
17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew - my sister hosted it at MY HOUSE...
18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? I had major bleeding during the 1st trimester due to blood clots and high blood pressure during the last 2 weeks.
19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Omaha, NE (Lakeside Hospital)
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 24 hours, 25 if you count the last hour for the c-section
21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Jared, nervously. :)
22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Jared, nurses, anethesiologist and the doctor
23. WAS IT Natural OR C-SECTION? c-section
24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Oh heck yes! The epidural wore off twice during that 24 hour period.
25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 8lbs, 11oz
26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? September 14, 2008
27. DID YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS? her heart rate started fluctuating with contractions - hence the c-section
28. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Caitlyn Anita Darling
29. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 5 months 3 weeks

Many Many Updates...

Where to start???

Food for thought: Today was my last day nursing Caitlyn About 2 weeks ago I decided to start weaning her. for the past few days I've only been nursing her once a day first thing in the morning. She doesn't seem to notice the difference or care...I'm a little sad about it. Pumping at work sucked and my supply was dwindling. She seemed hungry after nursing so I just decided that it was time to stop.

She's had all of the stage one veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas and green beans) and most of the fruits (apples, pears & banana's). I haven't found a food that she doesn't like yet. She usually gets mad when it's gone. Now when she's made she blows raspberries and sprays food all over! Fun!

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings the other night and attempted to put her in a high chair. She did pretty good. Uncle Tony said it looked like too much work to get her in there safely - but it was totally worth it!

Sleep: She had been sleeping through the night 99% of the time. This past week though she must be going through a growth spurt. She woke up 4 out of 5 nights. I'm hoping for a full night of sleep tonight!

Milestones: Last Sunday she learned how to roll from her back to her tummy and subsequently forgot that she knew how to roll from her tummy to her back. She hates tummy time so you can imagine the fits that ensued. Even though she hates being on her tummy - when we rolled her back to her back - she rolled right back to her tummy. Yesterday she finally remember how to roll from tummy to back again. At daycare they said she was rolling all over today - trying to get to things. My little baby is getting mobile! Time to baby proof the house - oh boy! She's talking up a storm these days. I love listening to her. Her toes touch the floor when we put her in the jumperoo. She loves being held standing up on our legs and bouncing. They say she's a great baby at daycare - I love to hear this! She hates her socks and takes them off at every opportunity. I think she'll be growing out of her 6 month sleepers in the next couple of weeks. Just the other day I was thinking they may last awhile - and now her feet are getting snug and the sleeves are getting shorter....

Exercise: lifting her and playing with her is going to give me great arm strength. I tried to put her in my moby wrap and do the elliptical - this didn't go very well. She was pretty wobbly and Jared was freaking out saying I was going to give her shaken baby syndrome - so I stopped. I can't wait until it's nice enough to go walking with her! I find it very hard to find the time to work out. I get home at 6 - feed her - play with her - eat dinner - get her ready for bed - give her a bottle and put her to bed by 8 - I'm ready to pass out by this time. So I workout on the weekends - I just wish I could do more. I told Beth I may be wearing jeans in her wedding if I don't lose more of this baby weight! ;0)

Sweet Potatoes

Yesterday we started sweet potatoes...her first veggie! She gobbled them up - she LOVED them! Today she's been a little fussy - I think she's teething. So after every bite she was putting her thumb in her mouth.

On Tuesday this week (2/3/09) I had Caitlyn's first parent teacher conference. Jared and I were both pretty sceptical, but it turned out to be very informative! We mainly just talked about the milestones that she's met and the ones that she should be meeting soon. So far she's found her feet, she's talking up a storm, she grabs for toys and puts knows to bring them to her mouth! She's not a real cuddly baby right now so book time doesn't usually last long. I hope this changes! Next she'll be sitting up on her own. Yesterday she was actually able to sit for a few seconds all by herself - so it won't be long! She'll also be learning cause and effect. Like toys that play music or light up - she'll learn that if she pushes a button something will happen. You can already see the wheels turning in her brain when you show her things. She just hasn't figured out how to make it work.

Yesterday we had a busy day. We went to lunch with my dad's side of the family at Millard Roadhouse. Faith had a blast playing with and holding Caitlyn! Then we went shopping with Theresa, Eddie and Faith. We got home and we had sweet potatoes for the first time. While she was laying down she had spit up and it got in her hair...so we also had to have a bath. I got a new bath seat where she can sit up. She wasn't sure what to think about that. I think it will be much more fun when she figures out how to splash! Grandma & Grandpa Darling came over to play cards. Caitlyn was so tuckered out she fell asleep in her highchair waiting for mommy to finish playing!

Cereal & Feet

Caitlyn had both cereal and feet for the first time today! She did great with the cereal - she was totally ready. And I couldn't get the spoon in her mouth fast enough! In a couple of weeks we'll start veggie's! I bought a book that my pediatrician recommened called super foods. I'm thinking I'm going to make her baby food myself. I'm actually really excited about it!

She also learned how to put her foot into her mouth tonight. It was so cute! It was a busy day!

Rough Week

Caitlyn had her first cold this week as I stated in my last post. She's still dealing with a stuffy nose and cough. Then on Friday she got a stomach virus. It must have been a 24 hour bug because she was feeling better on Saturday. Friday morning I got her up and she seemed fine. I fed her and she spit up on both her outfit and mine. This isn't the first time this has happened so I didn't think much of it. I cleaned up my pants and was in the process of changing her and the next thing I know she's projectile vomiting all over! It was unreal. At this point she had to have a bath. It was all over her and in her hair. So I gave her a bath and as I was trying to put on a new outfit she got sick again. So we stayed home from daycare. The nurse said to try to feed her in small increments and that seemed to work. I tried to give her pedialite in her bottle and she didn't like that too much. But if I put it in her medicine dropper she took it just fine. Her temperature was really low that morning so I kept her bundled in blankets and that helped. Hopefully she'll be healthy and happy this week!

Aunt Beth visited this weekend - so she got lots of cuddling in!

I also bought a highchair - I'm going to try to feed her cereal real soon! Stay tuned!

First Cold

Caitlyn has her first cold. It started last week with a stuffy nose. Last night she started coughing and today she feels miserable. I took her to daycare this morning. By 9 she had a fever of 100 and by 10:30 she had a fever of 100.8. When the fever gets to 101 they send the baby home, so I picked her up at 11. She was crying when I got there - but when I took her she calmed down. Nothing like mommy to make her feel better! Hopefully this runs it's course quickly and she's feeling like herself soon.

4 Month Stats

Where has the time gone??? I can't believe she's 4 months already. We had her 4 month well visit today with the pediatrician. She now weighs 13lb 14oz (50th percentile), she's 25 1/2 inches long (90th percentile) and her head circumference is 16 1/4 (50th percentile). Dr. W says she's doing great! She's meeting all her milestones and her physical exam was perfect! She had to have 3 shots and an oral vaccination today. Poor baby...she's now sleeping it off! The pediatrician said we could start cereal any time. She did say that if she's sleeping through the night that we could wait a little longer, that any time between 4 and 6 months will be fine. So I think we're going to wait a little longer. She still seems totally satisfied with breast milk and nursing!

We started her at daycare the beginning of January after letting Barb (Jared's mom) watch her for the month of December. She didn't start the transition off very well. She refused to take her bottles from the teachers at the daycare the first week. Good thing I was able to go and feed her at lunch time. By Thursday that week she was taking them better and now she's doing great again!

She's found her voice and talking like crazy! It's so fun to listen to her talk and babble at us. The other day I was putting her in her car seat and she honestly sounded like she was tell me off! It was the funniest thing! She's also learning how to laugh and giggle - it just melts my heart!

She's been sleeping in her crib in the nursery since the first of the year and she made the transition very easily. I stopped swaddling her at the same time that we moved her and she's still sleeping through the night! Such a big girl! I still get up at least once during the night and go in to check on her. I just can't help myself!

More funny stories to come!

Funny Story

She's already beating up on the boys at daycare! She was laying on the playmat the other day (1/14/09) and loves to kick her feet and move around. Well she got herself turned around and was kicking her feet and knocked over one of the boys who's big enough to sit up on his own. The teacher said that it wasn't very hard - he didn't cry - just looked really surprised! I love this story!!!

Caitlyn @ 13 Weeks

I wrote this post at work last month and forgot to post it...

The colic is gone! Hallelujah!!! I have a happy go lucky baby now. She does get crabby when she's tired - but what baby doesn't do this? She's still sleeping through the night and most mornings I have to wake her now. I think I need to start putting her to bed earlier, but I want to spend as much time with her as possible now that I've started back to work. I think I'm going to try to transition her to her room in her crib the weekend of New Years. I'm still swaddling her at night and I know this helps the sleeping through the night with her. I'm worried about when she outgrows her swaddle blanket...

Milestone's
My little girl rolled over last night (12/16/07)! I said it in my last post...she hates tummy time. Last night she figured out how to roll from her tummy to her back! She did it for me once and then did it again for daddy. The look of surprise on her face was priceless! She's also doing much more with her hands. She'll grab at toys, try to hold the bottle when daddy is feeding her & stick her whole fist in her mouth! Sometimes she trys to stick both fists in her mouth at the same time! It also looks like maybe we have an early teether on our hands. She's always chewing on her thumb or fists, she's drooling like crazy and I see a little white thing on her bottom gum. It doesn't seem to be bothering her yet though as she's not fussy due to teething yet. This girl loves the tv! Every time we take her out to a restaurant she finds the tv and is transfixed! It's crazy how quickly she can find it wherever we are. We also let her watch Baby Einstein videos at home - she loves them! All the colors and the music!

Still breastfeeding - the pumping at work is going okay. We've had to supplement a bottle of formula here and there - whatever works. I'm still not ready to give it up!

I can't believe she's 3 months already and Christmas is only a week away! Time is just flying by!