Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Bbbbbbbbbbb
Clara's new sound is Bbbbbbb where she vibrates her lips and hummms. It is cute... but spit-y.
When did she get to be such a big girl?
Matt and I have noticed over the last few days that Clara is a big girl. She acts like one. She crawls like a big girl, acts like a big girl and IS a big girl.
Clara did something funny the other day in bed. She had her froggy (the bath one) and she was putting him to my lips and I was kissing him, then she put it to Matt's lip and he would kiss it. She did that a few times. Then she did it to Matt's nipple :). I thought it was really funny.
She has this new scream. Yesterday she was really cranky after Carrie left. I sat her down for dinner and fed her dinner and she cried and complained the whole time through bits. Her new favorite food is yogurt, she will eat so much of it, she will get sick later over it. She did it again at dinner tonight when Matt and I were eating (she was up past her bedtime because Matt had riled her up :)) she was sort of yelling over and over again. It was funny.
We love that baby :)!
Clara did something funny the other day in bed. She had her froggy (the bath one) and she was putting him to my lips and I was kissing him, then she put it to Matt's lip and he would kiss it. She did that a few times. Then she did it to Matt's nipple :). I thought it was really funny.
She has this new scream. Yesterday she was really cranky after Carrie left. I sat her down for dinner and fed her dinner and she cried and complained the whole time through bits. Her new favorite food is yogurt, she will eat so much of it, she will get sick later over it. She did it again at dinner tonight when Matt and I were eating (she was up past her bedtime because Matt had riled her up :)) she was sort of yelling over and over again. It was funny.
We love that baby :)!
Sunday, August 14, 2005
The whirlwind is over
It has been a long time since I have posted mostly because there has been about a billion things going on!
First all the new things going on and then to random commentary:
1) I left Clara for the first time with Matt and his parents and all went well! I missed her so much but it was good to get away
2) Clara's two top teeth broke through today!
3) While I was gone, Clara learned to take a bottle and she now does less of the army crawling and now does big girl crawling!
4) Clara learned how to clap her hands in the last two days. They are silent claps, but claps nonetheless.
5) When Clara is upset now, she goes "Boom Boom". THAT is funny. She is definately talking more and saying new things everyday.
After I got back from the Ozarks, Matt's dad was here and helped Matt and I unpack some. That was very helpful! On Thursday, he came back with Evelyn and on Friday, Scott and Robert came for the weekend. Needless to say, it was crazy around here.
Evelyn and Clara are SO different. Evelyn is all go go go (just like her daddy!) and she is SO LOUD! Her new name is Everyell Owen. And I cannot believe the amount of food this child consumes. For dinner, she had about 1/2 jar of veggies, some cereal, 1/2 jar of veggie/meat mixture and then some fruit on top of it! It is amazing the amount of food she packs in. Clara eats about a 1/3 of what Evelyn eats in one day. No wonder Evelyn has surpassed Clara in weight. Though Clara is still chunkier than Evelyn. You play hard you gotta eat a lot to make up for it.
Evelyn certainly tired out her grandfather who watched her for the weekend while Amanda and Ryan were at Chris Guyer's wedding. It was fun to see the two girls interact. I saw a zerbet conversation this morning between the two of them. It was pretty funny. And they would follow each other around the room and sort of fight over the same thing. But they really did seem to enjoy each other's company. When Evelyn would yell, Clara would just sort of look at her in a dazed and confused look. And it happened often because Evelyn likes to give her tarzan yells pretty often!
More later, gotta post the pictures.
First all the new things going on and then to random commentary:
1) I left Clara for the first time with Matt and his parents and all went well! I missed her so much but it was good to get away
2) Clara's two top teeth broke through today!
3) While I was gone, Clara learned to take a bottle and she now does less of the army crawling and now does big girl crawling!
4) Clara learned how to clap her hands in the last two days. They are silent claps, but claps nonetheless.
5) When Clara is upset now, she goes "Boom Boom". THAT is funny. She is definately talking more and saying new things everyday.
After I got back from the Ozarks, Matt's dad was here and helped Matt and I unpack some. That was very helpful! On Thursday, he came back with Evelyn and on Friday, Scott and Robert came for the weekend. Needless to say, it was crazy around here.
Evelyn and Clara are SO different. Evelyn is all go go go (just like her daddy!) and she is SO LOUD! Her new name is Everyell Owen. And I cannot believe the amount of food this child consumes. For dinner, she had about 1/2 jar of veggies, some cereal, 1/2 jar of veggie/meat mixture and then some fruit on top of it! It is amazing the amount of food she packs in. Clara eats about a 1/3 of what Evelyn eats in one day. No wonder Evelyn has surpassed Clara in weight. Though Clara is still chunkier than Evelyn. You play hard you gotta eat a lot to make up for it.
Evelyn certainly tired out her grandfather who watched her for the weekend while Amanda and Ryan were at Chris Guyer's wedding. It was fun to see the two girls interact. I saw a zerbet conversation this morning between the two of them. It was pretty funny. And they would follow each other around the room and sort of fight over the same thing. But they really did seem to enjoy each other's company. When Evelyn would yell, Clara would just sort of look at her in a dazed and confused look. And it happened often because Evelyn likes to give her tarzan yells pretty often!
More later, gotta post the pictures.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Clara's Life and Times
I wrote this for Matt's parents for when they would be watching Clara while I am at the Ozarks:
Clara’s Life and Times
Her basic schedule:
Below is Clara’s basic schedule. Rule #1 for her schedule, she does not really follow a schedule but this is basically what happens everyday. Our days are rather fluid except on days when we have a class or something.
Around 5 AM: Clara wakes up once before she actually wakes up for the day. If you try and keep her up at this time, she gets very cranky so do your best not to actually wake her up very much or stimulate her enough where she cannot go back to bed. This includes talking or changing her diaper. Try giving her a bottle at this time, though I think a small one is all she needs because she just needs to be lulled back asleep again.
7-8 AM: Clara will wake up for the day. This is pretty much her happy time except if she wakes up on the wrong side of the crib. She LOVES to play. Matt knows ALL of her favorite toys.
About half an hour after waking up, changing her diaper, and playing in her pajamas, it is breakfast time!
Breakfast: Clara tends to not eat very much at breakfast. I usually make a small amount of cereal (see “Making Food” below) and some sort of fruit mixture. If it is a #1 container, I will make about half. If it is a #2 container, 1/3 will be fine. It is perfectly normal for you to make breakfast and she will refuse to eat ANY of it. Serve breakfast with water. Sometimes when she is eating, she gets thirsty and won’t eat until you give her some water. She prefers her water cold. While feeding her don’t let her get the spoon until the end of the meal or you will never get it back and it will cause a meltdown. Don’t forget to do the “EAT” symbol (see Matt for this) and “ALL DONE” when it is complete and before you take her out.
After Breakfast until first nap: Play, play, play (oh and change a poopy diaper, if it does not occur first thing, it usually hits between breakfast and her first nap).
Recently, Clara has not been taking her first nap ever since she has been sick. Not sure what that means for you guys! She has been going down for a nap at around 1 or so. And only take that one nap which means she is SUPER tired at bedtime and I have been moving everything up about half an hour because of it.
8:30 or 9 to 10 or 11 - First Nap: She takes her first nap EARLY. Signs of an impending nap are loud whining, clinginess, random outburst of crying, rubbing her eyes or scratching the hair around her ear. Give her a bottle before her nap in her room. The glider is perfect for it! If she is not too tired, I like to read her a book or two before feeding. If you are lucky, she will sleep for a while and you can clean up the mess she made at breakfast . (See “Putting Clara to Sleep”)
After her nap: Change her diaper and play play play! (See “Playing with Clara”)
Snack: Sometime after this nap and before her second one, if you want, go ahead and giver her a snack. This is a perfect finger food time. But not necessary. (Though is she is not taking a bottle well, it might not be a bad idea to get more nutrients in her)
1-3 – Second Nap: Her second nap is basically when she gets tired. It is all based on how well she slept for her first nap and activities that you guys did after her first one. For example, being outside totally wipes her out and she will sleep long and hard after that. This nap usually does not last very long. Feed her before you put her to bed.
After her nap: Change her diaper and play play play!
5:30- Dinner time! Clara eats more at dinner than she does at breakfast. We usually give her one or two veggies. I usually make more cereal and a little more veggies.
6-ish – Once she is done with dinner, we usually play a little in her room and then prepare her for bed. That takes a while because she LOVES her bath and one of her favorite things to do is play in her room. Matt very capable doing the bedtime routine so I won’t bother writing it down though some things Matt forgets:
1) Lotion her up after the bath
2) Vitamin her up – give her the TriViSol (the PolyViSol tastes HORRIBLE and she gags). .5 is OK. Keep a wash cloth handy to wipe her mouth!
3) Wipe well in all her fat crevices or else it will get irritated and bleed. Wipe under her chin (get in there good), behind her knees, in her folds near her private parts, and under her armpits. Those are notorious for holding water in there and getting irritated.
4) Brush her hair
5) Dump the tub water out of the duck so the toys don’t get mildewy and slimy
6) Brush her teeth with the toothbrush that has the little plastic bristles. It really does not do much but get her used to the idea of brushing her teeth.
After she is ready for bed, read her the Quack Quack book and any others. The Quack Quack one is her absolute favorite.
Oh, and lots of kisses and remind her how much her mommy misses her and is thinking about her every second of the day (with a margarita in her hand). Feed her before you put her down.
Bedtime is normally 7 PM. After that, you really should not hear from her. Sometimes she might cry in the middle of the night but we are trying to ignore her (as the doctor has stated would be best). If she gets SUPER upset, of course go in there and feed her before you put her down).
Lately, since Clara can stand in her crib now, we have actually had to keep her up a little later to calm her down and allow her to fall back asleep without getting too upset.
Putting Clara to Sleep
Oh this one is going to be a challenge! Here are some tips and pointers. Normally, I nurse Clara until she is at least calm from playing and then I put her down awake. This usually works out for me especially for her morning nap and going down for the evening. Sometimes she will cry when I put her down, but then after crying for about 5 minutes or less, she will just simply start to moan. Moaning usually leads to sleep, even if she moans for half an hour. It is important that she know how to put herself to sleep. So for example if she cries out at first when you put her down, that is OK. Give her time to calm herself down. However, there are always exceptions to the rule. I don’t like to leave her up there when she is crying so hard she is gasping for breath. If that occurs, we normally pick her up and walk her around to calm her down and then start the process all over again. Matt usually has some success walking her around on his shoulder until she is asleep. Clara likes to sleep with something in her crib, particularly the crocheted blanket I made her or the ducky cloth that you guys gave her. She likes to grab onto it when she is asleep and it comforts her. Since it can be warm, we usually leave the fan on the second option when we put her down and I check on her in the evening, I turn it down to the third option. Her room is the warmest one in the house.
Making Food
To make Clara’s cereal, we either give her the rice or oatmeal. I end to give her the oatmeal one because the giving her rice too many times in a row causes her to become stopped up a little. I usually wet the cereal enough where it is the same consistency as the food in the jars. She does not like it when it is too pasty. For the veggies or fruits, I usually give her about a third of the 2 level food or a half of the 1 level food for breakfast and a little more than for dinner. To warm up her food, hit the power button until the power is at 40. I normally start with 10 seconds and then take out the oatmeal and continue warming up the other food at 40 power for 5 more seconds until it is complete. If it is in the fridge, it might take one or two more 5 second intervals. Mix it up in between so it does not get too hot! I usually taste it before I give it to her to make sure it is not too hot. Don’t forget to put a bib on her. Clara likes to feed herself sometimes. When she is like that, I use the little dipper to feed her instead. Or, you can put a piece of fruit (but not strawberries since they are high on the allergen list) in the little mesh bag. I mash up the fruit a little bit before I give it to her. Good luck taking it away though . While we feed her, give her water. Sometimes she gets too excited about the water and drinks to much so I usually take it away before she is actually done. For finger good, you can give her the veggie puffs or Cheerios. Because we are ultra paranoid, we still cut it up into little pieces. She is still trying to figure out the pincer grasp so give her some pieces so she does not get too frustrated.
I organized Clara’s pantry shelf for you guys. All the ones in the front are sort of random. The ones on the rotating shelf from top to bottom are breakfast, dinner and dinner/meat options. The meat ones are sort of touch and go at this point. You can give it to her but her poop schedule is a little questionable after that because her body is still trying to sort out the whole carnivorous aspect of her diet. Use at your own risk…
Don’t forget to put a bib on Clara. Normally I put a pile of them in the shelf in the family room because I am always forgetting to grab one upstairs.
Playing with Clara
Clara loves to play! She certainly has her favorite toys. They include Checkers, MoJo the Monkey, Forbin the Bear, the foam fish, turtle, ladybug, etc, her cups (or any cup or bottle for that matter), the Discovery ball, and her telephone. I am sure Matt can point out many more.
Tips on giving Clara a bottle
The nanny, Carrie, has been working on giving Clara a bottle for two weeks. She has had some success with the Dr. Browns bottles. They are different than the Avent bottles in that they do not allow a lot of air out and allows the baby to eat without getting too much gas. (FYI, burping Clara rarely works). There are many pieces to the Dr. Browns bottle (the bottle, the tube with a larger area, the beige piece that fits on the tub, the nipple and the cap to hold the nipple on). It will not work without all those pieces. I have a lot of milk stored in the freezer. They are in 3 oz bags. Warm the milk in warm water as you did for Evelyn way back when.
Carrie says that Clara takes her sweet time drinking from the bottle and she prefers it warm, which might mean that you need to warm it a few times before she finishes. If that does not work, Clara does drink from a sippy cup VERY well so if you need to feed her the milk that way, that should be OK. Though be warned, it will be ALL over her (and possibly you).
A note on the formula: I bought the premixed kind since I know about your fears of mixing formula. Just kidding, I know it can be a pain and much easier to have it all ready! Anyway, they suggest to make sure that she gets some breastmilk each day is a better approach at using all the breastmilk first and then moving to formula. So whatever works, at least try and give some breastmilk and then some formula. They say not to mix it either. (And P.S. by they, I mean the academy of pediatrics guide book (the purple and white one), I will leave it out for you guys as some good cereal reading). Since we have not really been giving her formula (she started on it a week ago, it was the first time she had it since she was a day old!) yet, I was not sure what kind to buy. Buying the one with iron in it made me nervous because it can make her backed up and a backed up baby is not always a happy baby. But the whole formula aisle was a little intimidating and I just got some random things but they did not have much of a choice of the premade kind. I did even know what brand to get! So I got the brand Evelyn drinks and sees to enjoy! In general, formula seems to confuse Clara a bit but hopefully she will get it. If anything comes out of this experience, it will be VERY nice if Clara learns to take a bottle because it would make life a little easier . It has been a little TOO long now, her being dependant on my body so much!
Going to the pool
Clara loves the pool so enjoy! Here is a list of things I normally pack to bring with us to the pool:
1. Sippy cup full of water and ice
2. Her swimming hat (make sure she wears it, it is hard to get it on sometimes so basically give her a distraction and put the cap on when she is busy with something else)
3. Extra suntan lotion (don’t forget to grease her up before you even head out!)
4. Towel
5. Extra swim diaper
6. Regular diaper
7. Lotion
8. A comfy outfit for after the pool
9. Swim shoes
Before you leave the pool, I normally change her diaper to a regular one and put on her clothes since she falls asleep in the car so it is much easier to get her down for a nap when you get home if you don’t have to change her clothes. Also, don’t forget to put lotion on her before you cloth her so her skin does not get too dry. Also make sure you bath her that evening.
Sign Language
Matt knows the words we are working on. We have had some success with it but she is still a bit young to be communicating back. They say it could take months for a sign to even come from her but she has done it in the past! We do: Eat, More, All Done, Kitty and Milk. See Diagram Matt for this
Clara’s Closet
For the most part, her closet is pretty organized. All the clothes that she currently wears (she is in 6-9 comfortably and 12 months are a little large but she wears them anyway). In the middle are the two tiers. On the top of the two tiers are Clara’s sweaters and long sleeved tops to the left and to the right are all her fancy dresses. On the bottom are Clara’s clothes for everyday. Most of the outfits are paired together on a hanger. To the left of the tiers are Clara’s PJs. To the right are the clothes that are still tagged and either have not been washed yet or are too big for her.
Clara’s t-shirts, burp clothes, socks, bibs and shoes are all in the wardrobe. Blankets and towels (middle) are all in the dresser where the changing pad was. All extra sheets and covers for the boppy or changing pad are under the crib.
Random Important notes
1. Be sure if you go out, especially on a hot sunny day, even if you are just going to hope in and out of the car, that you put suntan lotion on her. And a lot of it. She tans through 50 SPF so I can’t even imagine how dark she would get without it!
2. Wherever you go, bring a sippy cup of water and ice with you since she gets thirsty, thirsty, thirsty.
3. Make sure you put a hat on her if it is really sunny out. Basically, if you are wearing sunglasses, she needs to wear a hat.
4. Please don’t over dress her. One of the easiest things that can happen is overheating in the summer.
5. Please change her diaper on the floor. We have stopped using the changing pad since she really tries to get away now when you are changing her diaper.
6. We have a bag of safety items we have been slowly installing. They are on the shelf in the family room. Feel free to go wild especially if you see her getting into something. We are still in the process of babyproofing the house so any help would be great.
7. There is an additional pack and play in our bedroom. So if you want to make a playpen somewhere else, that might be useful.
8. I bought a drying rack for the bottles but it has not been opened yet. It is in the cupboard with all the bottles. Enjoy.
9. Sanitizing bottles. Make sure you do so before you use them. There is a microwave thing you can use. It is circular and in the cabinet where the formula is. Add 6 oz of water and microwave for 4 minutes. Leave in microwave for 2 minutes and then they are sanitized.
10. Emergency numbers are
a. Clara’s doctor: Dr. David Schwartz 630.289.8800 and his emergency line 630.289.8801
b. The rest of the numbers are by my work phone in the basement.
Clara’s Life and Times
Her basic schedule:
Below is Clara’s basic schedule. Rule #1 for her schedule, she does not really follow a schedule but this is basically what happens everyday. Our days are rather fluid except on days when we have a class or something.
Around 5 AM: Clara wakes up once before she actually wakes up for the day. If you try and keep her up at this time, she gets very cranky so do your best not to actually wake her up very much or stimulate her enough where she cannot go back to bed. This includes talking or changing her diaper. Try giving her a bottle at this time, though I think a small one is all she needs because she just needs to be lulled back asleep again.
7-8 AM: Clara will wake up for the day. This is pretty much her happy time except if she wakes up on the wrong side of the crib. She LOVES to play. Matt knows ALL of her favorite toys.
About half an hour after waking up, changing her diaper, and playing in her pajamas, it is breakfast time!
Breakfast: Clara tends to not eat very much at breakfast. I usually make a small amount of cereal (see “Making Food” below) and some sort of fruit mixture. If it is a #1 container, I will make about half. If it is a #2 container, 1/3 will be fine. It is perfectly normal for you to make breakfast and she will refuse to eat ANY of it. Serve breakfast with water. Sometimes when she is eating, she gets thirsty and won’t eat until you give her some water. She prefers her water cold. While feeding her don’t let her get the spoon until the end of the meal or you will never get it back and it will cause a meltdown. Don’t forget to do the “EAT” symbol (see Matt for this) and “ALL DONE” when it is complete and before you take her out.
After Breakfast until first nap: Play, play, play (oh and change a poopy diaper, if it does not occur first thing, it usually hits between breakfast and her first nap).
Recently, Clara has not been taking her first nap ever since she has been sick. Not sure what that means for you guys! She has been going down for a nap at around 1 or so. And only take that one nap which means she is SUPER tired at bedtime and I have been moving everything up about half an hour because of it.
8:30 or 9 to 10 or 11 - First Nap: She takes her first nap EARLY. Signs of an impending nap are loud whining, clinginess, random outburst of crying, rubbing her eyes or scratching the hair around her ear. Give her a bottle before her nap in her room. The glider is perfect for it! If she is not too tired, I like to read her a book or two before feeding. If you are lucky, she will sleep for a while and you can clean up the mess she made at breakfast . (See “Putting Clara to Sleep”)
After her nap: Change her diaper and play play play! (See “Playing with Clara”)
Snack: Sometime after this nap and before her second one, if you want, go ahead and giver her a snack. This is a perfect finger food time. But not necessary. (Though is she is not taking a bottle well, it might not be a bad idea to get more nutrients in her)
1-3 – Second Nap: Her second nap is basically when she gets tired. It is all based on how well she slept for her first nap and activities that you guys did after her first one. For example, being outside totally wipes her out and she will sleep long and hard after that. This nap usually does not last very long. Feed her before you put her to bed.
After her nap: Change her diaper and play play play!
5:30- Dinner time! Clara eats more at dinner than she does at breakfast. We usually give her one or two veggies. I usually make more cereal and a little more veggies.
6-ish – Once she is done with dinner, we usually play a little in her room and then prepare her for bed. That takes a while because she LOVES her bath and one of her favorite things to do is play in her room. Matt very capable doing the bedtime routine so I won’t bother writing it down though some things Matt forgets:
1) Lotion her up after the bath
2) Vitamin her up – give her the TriViSol (the PolyViSol tastes HORRIBLE and she gags). .5 is OK. Keep a wash cloth handy to wipe her mouth!
3) Wipe well in all her fat crevices or else it will get irritated and bleed. Wipe under her chin (get in there good), behind her knees, in her folds near her private parts, and under her armpits. Those are notorious for holding water in there and getting irritated.
4) Brush her hair
5) Dump the tub water out of the duck so the toys don’t get mildewy and slimy
6) Brush her teeth with the toothbrush that has the little plastic bristles. It really does not do much but get her used to the idea of brushing her teeth.
After she is ready for bed, read her the Quack Quack book and any others. The Quack Quack one is her absolute favorite.
Oh, and lots of kisses and remind her how much her mommy misses her and is thinking about her every second of the day (with a margarita in her hand). Feed her before you put her down.
Bedtime is normally 7 PM. After that, you really should not hear from her. Sometimes she might cry in the middle of the night but we are trying to ignore her (as the doctor has stated would be best). If she gets SUPER upset, of course go in there and feed her before you put her down).
Lately, since Clara can stand in her crib now, we have actually had to keep her up a little later to calm her down and allow her to fall back asleep without getting too upset.
Putting Clara to Sleep
Oh this one is going to be a challenge! Here are some tips and pointers. Normally, I nurse Clara until she is at least calm from playing and then I put her down awake. This usually works out for me especially for her morning nap and going down for the evening. Sometimes she will cry when I put her down, but then after crying for about 5 minutes or less, she will just simply start to moan. Moaning usually leads to sleep, even if she moans for half an hour. It is important that she know how to put herself to sleep. So for example if she cries out at first when you put her down, that is OK. Give her time to calm herself down. However, there are always exceptions to the rule. I don’t like to leave her up there when she is crying so hard she is gasping for breath. If that occurs, we normally pick her up and walk her around to calm her down and then start the process all over again. Matt usually has some success walking her around on his shoulder until she is asleep. Clara likes to sleep with something in her crib, particularly the crocheted blanket I made her or the ducky cloth that you guys gave her. She likes to grab onto it when she is asleep and it comforts her. Since it can be warm, we usually leave the fan on the second option when we put her down and I check on her in the evening, I turn it down to the third option. Her room is the warmest one in the house.
Making Food
To make Clara’s cereal, we either give her the rice or oatmeal. I end to give her the oatmeal one because the giving her rice too many times in a row causes her to become stopped up a little. I usually wet the cereal enough where it is the same consistency as the food in the jars. She does not like it when it is too pasty. For the veggies or fruits, I usually give her about a third of the 2 level food or a half of the 1 level food for breakfast and a little more than for dinner. To warm up her food, hit the power button until the power is at 40. I normally start with 10 seconds and then take out the oatmeal and continue warming up the other food at 40 power for 5 more seconds until it is complete. If it is in the fridge, it might take one or two more 5 second intervals. Mix it up in between so it does not get too hot! I usually taste it before I give it to her to make sure it is not too hot. Don’t forget to put a bib on her. Clara likes to feed herself sometimes. When she is like that, I use the little dipper to feed her instead. Or, you can put a piece of fruit (but not strawberries since they are high on the allergen list) in the little mesh bag. I mash up the fruit a little bit before I give it to her. Good luck taking it away though . While we feed her, give her water. Sometimes she gets too excited about the water and drinks to much so I usually take it away before she is actually done. For finger good, you can give her the veggie puffs or Cheerios. Because we are ultra paranoid, we still cut it up into little pieces. She is still trying to figure out the pincer grasp so give her some pieces so she does not get too frustrated.
I organized Clara’s pantry shelf for you guys. All the ones in the front are sort of random. The ones on the rotating shelf from top to bottom are breakfast, dinner and dinner/meat options. The meat ones are sort of touch and go at this point. You can give it to her but her poop schedule is a little questionable after that because her body is still trying to sort out the whole carnivorous aspect of her diet. Use at your own risk…
Don’t forget to put a bib on Clara. Normally I put a pile of them in the shelf in the family room because I am always forgetting to grab one upstairs.
Playing with Clara
Clara loves to play! She certainly has her favorite toys. They include Checkers, MoJo the Monkey, Forbin the Bear, the foam fish, turtle, ladybug, etc, her cups (or any cup or bottle for that matter), the Discovery ball, and her telephone. I am sure Matt can point out many more.
Tips on giving Clara a bottle
The nanny, Carrie, has been working on giving Clara a bottle for two weeks. She has had some success with the Dr. Browns bottles. They are different than the Avent bottles in that they do not allow a lot of air out and allows the baby to eat without getting too much gas. (FYI, burping Clara rarely works). There are many pieces to the Dr. Browns bottle (the bottle, the tube with a larger area, the beige piece that fits on the tub, the nipple and the cap to hold the nipple on). It will not work without all those pieces. I have a lot of milk stored in the freezer. They are in 3 oz bags. Warm the milk in warm water as you did for Evelyn way back when.
Carrie says that Clara takes her sweet time drinking from the bottle and she prefers it warm, which might mean that you need to warm it a few times before she finishes. If that does not work, Clara does drink from a sippy cup VERY well so if you need to feed her the milk that way, that should be OK. Though be warned, it will be ALL over her (and possibly you).
A note on the formula: I bought the premixed kind since I know about your fears of mixing formula. Just kidding, I know it can be a pain and much easier to have it all ready! Anyway, they suggest to make sure that she gets some breastmilk each day is a better approach at using all the breastmilk first and then moving to formula. So whatever works, at least try and give some breastmilk and then some formula. They say not to mix it either. (And P.S. by they, I mean the academy of pediatrics guide book (the purple and white one), I will leave it out for you guys as some good cereal reading). Since we have not really been giving her formula (she started on it a week ago, it was the first time she had it since she was a day old!) yet, I was not sure what kind to buy. Buying the one with iron in it made me nervous because it can make her backed up and a backed up baby is not always a happy baby. But the whole formula aisle was a little intimidating and I just got some random things but they did not have much of a choice of the premade kind. I did even know what brand to get! So I got the brand Evelyn drinks and sees to enjoy! In general, formula seems to confuse Clara a bit but hopefully she will get it. If anything comes out of this experience, it will be VERY nice if Clara learns to take a bottle because it would make life a little easier . It has been a little TOO long now, her being dependant on my body so much!
Going to the pool
Clara loves the pool so enjoy! Here is a list of things I normally pack to bring with us to the pool:
1. Sippy cup full of water and ice
2. Her swimming hat (make sure she wears it, it is hard to get it on sometimes so basically give her a distraction and put the cap on when she is busy with something else)
3. Extra suntan lotion (don’t forget to grease her up before you even head out!)
4. Towel
5. Extra swim diaper
6. Regular diaper
7. Lotion
8. A comfy outfit for after the pool
9. Swim shoes
Before you leave the pool, I normally change her diaper to a regular one and put on her clothes since she falls asleep in the car so it is much easier to get her down for a nap when you get home if you don’t have to change her clothes. Also, don’t forget to put lotion on her before you cloth her so her skin does not get too dry. Also make sure you bath her that evening.
Sign Language
Matt knows the words we are working on. We have had some success with it but she is still a bit young to be communicating back. They say it could take months for a sign to even come from her but she has done it in the past! We do: Eat, More, All Done, Kitty and Milk. See Diagram Matt for this
Clara’s Closet
For the most part, her closet is pretty organized. All the clothes that she currently wears (she is in 6-9 comfortably and 12 months are a little large but she wears them anyway). In the middle are the two tiers. On the top of the two tiers are Clara’s sweaters and long sleeved tops to the left and to the right are all her fancy dresses. On the bottom are Clara’s clothes for everyday. Most of the outfits are paired together on a hanger. To the left of the tiers are Clara’s PJs. To the right are the clothes that are still tagged and either have not been washed yet or are too big for her.
Clara’s t-shirts, burp clothes, socks, bibs and shoes are all in the wardrobe. Blankets and towels (middle) are all in the dresser where the changing pad was. All extra sheets and covers for the boppy or changing pad are under the crib.
Random Important notes
1. Be sure if you go out, especially on a hot sunny day, even if you are just going to hope in and out of the car, that you put suntan lotion on her. And a lot of it. She tans through 50 SPF so I can’t even imagine how dark she would get without it!
2. Wherever you go, bring a sippy cup of water and ice with you since she gets thirsty, thirsty, thirsty.
3. Make sure you put a hat on her if it is really sunny out. Basically, if you are wearing sunglasses, she needs to wear a hat.
4. Please don’t over dress her. One of the easiest things that can happen is overheating in the summer.
5. Please change her diaper on the floor. We have stopped using the changing pad since she really tries to get away now when you are changing her diaper.
6. We have a bag of safety items we have been slowly installing. They are on the shelf in the family room. Feel free to go wild especially if you see her getting into something. We are still in the process of babyproofing the house so any help would be great.
7. There is an additional pack and play in our bedroom. So if you want to make a playpen somewhere else, that might be useful.
8. I bought a drying rack for the bottles but it has not been opened yet. It is in the cupboard with all the bottles. Enjoy.
9. Sanitizing bottles. Make sure you do so before you use them. There is a microwave thing you can use. It is circular and in the cabinet where the formula is. Add 6 oz of water and microwave for 4 minutes. Leave in microwave for 2 minutes and then they are sanitized.
10. Emergency numbers are
a. Clara’s doctor: Dr. David Schwartz 630.289.8800 and his emergency line 630.289.8801
b. The rest of the numbers are by my work phone in the basement.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Ma ma ma ma ma Rar rar rar rar rar
The baby doll is a little looney! Tonight she had a hard time going to sleep so I went in there to get her since she has been sick. We took her to the doctor today and she just has a cold. Anyway, when she got tired she just started going on and on and on. MA MA MA MA MA RAR RAR RAR RAR RAR. She is so funny. Since she has been sick, and she gets a little tired, she has taken to just putting her head on the ground and resting. So funny.
Friday, July 29, 2005
MOMS group
So we went to meet this MOMS group that Lisa (Lexi's mom) told us about. It was sort of nice that they have an organization like this for people but it was sort of like I was budging in on an already formed group. Lisa ended up not making it because Lexi slept in, so I met four other moms who all have older kids (all between 1-5) and they all either had two kids or was working on the second one. Anyway, we took a walk at the Spring Valley Nature Preserve (or whatever it is called). It is a nice place. There is a little farm area which was sort of fun (and smelly :)).
Anyway, I think I am going to join the club even though I felt like a bit of an outsider at times but Kelly, the section leader or whatever, said there were about 40 members or so and different people show up at each event. There seems to be about two events a week so it would be nice to have options like that whenever we do have free time. Especially during the winter when there is going to be less stuff to do!
Anyway, I think I am going to join the club even though I felt like a bit of an outsider at times but Kelly, the section leader or whatever, said there were about 40 members or so and different people show up at each event. There seems to be about two events a week so it would be nice to have options like that whenever we do have free time. Especially during the winter when there is going to be less stuff to do!
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Standing in her crib
Clara's latest thing is that putting her to bed has become QUITE an issue. She sits and stands in her crib now and does not know how to get down. It does not help that the weather has been quite warm lately so she is also sweating her ass off. Matt went in there once and he said that she was grabbing the top of the crib and just SCREAMING her head off because she was not ready to go to bed. We have taken to taking her out of her crib and hanging out with her until she is tired and then we put her down. So basically she has been going to be at like 9 o'clock! It makes for later evenings because I still need to get some stuff done after she goes to bed. Not sure what to do about that one!
My trip to the Ozarks is coming up closer and closer and I am getting pretty nervous and upset about leaving Clara. I am getting really sad about it and it makes me sort of upset just thinking about it. AHHH!!!!
Clara is really moving now. She is not crawling like a normal baby yet, she sort of pushes along with her left leg and her right one sort of flails about. She is moving to where she wants to now though and I think she feels better about that. She still makes quite a lot of noise when she does it though which is pretty funny. I was joking that she does it as a last resort and pretty much is not pleased when she HAS to crawl :).
The gym class is going well. The new session started and now there are 8 kids in the session. Our original teacher, Miss Elizabeth, had to leave for some reason, and there is a new lady now, Miss Terri, who is OK but a bit too crazy energetic. She made me tired. I liked how laid back Miss Elizabeth did the class. We signed up again for the next session, so we will see how that goes!
This Friday we are going to join the MOMS club and going for a stroller walk. Hopefully it will be fun and the weather will be good. It did not rain for most of July and June and in the last week, it has rained a lot so hopefully it will clear up! According to weather.com, it will.
Clara has been eating VEGGIE BOOTY, and loves it. They are sort of these corn/rice puffs covered in spinach and kale. I like them and the LOVES them. She gets really excited when you start feeding her (she pants like a little puppy) and gets annoyed when you do not feed her fast enough.
My trip to the Ozarks is coming up closer and closer and I am getting pretty nervous and upset about leaving Clara. I am getting really sad about it and it makes me sort of upset just thinking about it. AHHH!!!!
Clara is really moving now. She is not crawling like a normal baby yet, she sort of pushes along with her left leg and her right one sort of flails about. She is moving to where she wants to now though and I think she feels better about that. She still makes quite a lot of noise when she does it though which is pretty funny. I was joking that she does it as a last resort and pretty much is not pleased when she HAS to crawl :).
The gym class is going well. The new session started and now there are 8 kids in the session. Our original teacher, Miss Elizabeth, had to leave for some reason, and there is a new lady now, Miss Terri, who is OK but a bit too crazy energetic. She made me tired. I liked how laid back Miss Elizabeth did the class. We signed up again for the next session, so we will see how that goes!
This Friday we are going to join the MOMS club and going for a stroller walk. Hopefully it will be fun and the weather will be good. It did not rain for most of July and June and in the last week, it has rained a lot so hopefully it will clear up! According to weather.com, it will.
Clara has been eating VEGGIE BOOTY, and loves it. They are sort of these corn/rice puffs covered in spinach and kale. I like them and the LOVES them. She gets really excited when you start feeding her (she pants like a little puppy) and gets annoyed when you do not feed her fast enough.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
My TiVo is Republican
OK, this has nothing to do with the baby doll but I just wanted to say that I think my TiVo is Republican. Night after night it REFUSES to change the channel to record The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It works for almost every other channel and every other time slot it is supposed to be taping. But NOT for that... What is that all about?
Almost distant memories
I was thinking about how fast Clara changes and there were some memories I wanted to write down before they write themselves out of my brain. Which could very possibly happen at any moment so I better get my act in gear and start logging some of this stuff.
Paddle arms: That is what we used to call Clara when she would get angry because her arms would rhythmically (sp??) paddle: left, right, left right.
Peanut: Her first nickname because she was so darn small when she was born. She grew out of that fast! :)
Clara would always sleep with her arms above her head. Sometimes when you would put her down to sleep she would thump her arms above her head: Thump Thump, really fast. It was very very funny.
It is so hard to remember what she was like when she was an infant. It is really amazing how quickly you forget what they are like since they grow at absolute lightening speed. It makes me sad sometimes that it is SO hard to stop and smell the roses even if you want to!
I will be adding more of these as they come to me. Currently, I am listening to Clara moan herself to sleep. We lowered the crib ONE last time and it is hard to put her down without disturbing her. I am going to try and put a stool there for me to stand on and see if that helps.
Paddle arms: That is what we used to call Clara when she would get angry because her arms would rhythmically (sp??) paddle: left, right, left right.
Peanut: Her first nickname because she was so darn small when she was born. She grew out of that fast! :)
Clara would always sleep with her arms above her head. Sometimes when you would put her down to sleep she would thump her arms above her head: Thump Thump, really fast. It was very very funny.
It is so hard to remember what she was like when she was an infant. It is really amazing how quickly you forget what they are like since they grow at absolute lightening speed. It makes me sad sometimes that it is SO hard to stop and smell the roses even if you want to!
I will be adding more of these as they come to me. Currently, I am listening to Clara moan herself to sleep. We lowered the crib ONE last time and it is hard to put her down without disturbing her. I am going to try and put a stool there for me to stand on and see if that helps.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Watch out world!
The baby doll is crawling! Well... sort of :). It is more of an army crawl and she can only go on a diagonal for now. I think she is pushing harder with her left foot than her right so she sort of angles to her right.
Anyway, she is on the move now so watch out! I am actually not ready for her to full out crawl so I better get my ass in gear :)
Anyway, she is on the move now so watch out! I am actually not ready for her to full out crawl so I better get my ass in gear :)
Monday, July 18, 2005
My babydoll
Clara is moving around a bit more these days. She is sort of army crawling and can turn 360 degrees easily. She gets a little frustrated at times and it is hard to not want to help her! She is such a wonderful little girl. Her smile can literally make my day. It is so nice that she loves me so much! There are definately times when she favors me. It is sort of nice!
I leave for Molly's bachelorette party/shower in about two and a half weeks. I am FULL of anxiety about it. I really know it is something that in the end would be good for her and I, but itis going to be a difficult task to get through.
I leave for Molly's bachelorette party/shower in about two and a half weeks. I am FULL of anxiety about it. I really know it is something that in the end would be good for her and I, but itis going to be a difficult task to get through.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Bye bye a-goo
I noticed recently that Clara no longer says A-Goo. It has been replaced by a scream. Not an always pleasant scream either. It can get quite loud at times especially when she wants something, like nursing for example! I am trying to get her to be comfortable to take a bottle but it really has not been happening yet. I don't think I am ready to wean her because I really enjoy our nursing times but I don't want it to be too hard on her when I go away in August. And that time is quickly approaching...
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Clara's Chompers
I can't believe that I forgot about this one! She has been doing so many new things it is hard to keep track! Clara's first tooth is coming in. It is on the bottom and I noticed it for the first time on Wednesday. It was just beginning to peek through. I felt bad that I did not notice it earlier! I think she is in a little bit of pain because last night she was awake from between 11 to about 2. Very cranky and very sad, not much would calm her down until I realized that Tylenol might help!
Our Pool
So today and yesterday Clara and I went to the Bartlett Pool. Yesterday we met some people from the Beginning Sounds class and I liked the pool so much, that Matt and I went this afternoon. It is a really nice pool. Pretty big and is zero depth, so it starts with a slope at zero depth to 5 feet. We think that we are going to get a season pass because it is pretty cheap for a family of two (C gets in for free), 79 dollars!
Clara seemed to enjoy the pool more today. We stayed a little deeper than we did yesterday and Matt bounced up and down with her. She seemed to love it and actually started to splash a little! She liked it until she got herself in the face. I have not gotten brave enough to dunk her head under water, I really do not think she would like that very much!
When Matt bounced up and down with her she would kick her legs, smile and laugh or stick her tongue out. She was having fun, she even yelled with happiness a few times. We had fun, though we really cannot stay very long because she gets tired and TAN! Her legs and arms are so tan even though I have been putting 50 SPF on her. She must have my coloring! Yesterday when we got back from the pool, she slept for 3 hours! She would have slept longer if I did not go in there and wake her up because we had to run an errand (get more bathing suits!).
Today she did not take as long a nap when she got back but she did go to sleep at 6:15. I went to go to Costco (and got completely distracted getting Amanda's bday present) and by the time I got back, I thought that I would have to give her a shower, but Matt had already done all that and she was in bed! I was a little sad that I did not get to put her down :(. But Matt did a wonderful job putting her to bed.
Her other new thing is pretty much attacking us when we lay on the floor with her. She crawls all over you and tries to pin you down. I am not sure what she is trying to accomplish but she gets so excited when we lay on the floor with her.
Another one of her new tricks is the sound "Pbbfft". It is short and sweet and really cute. THe first time she did it was when Matt was giving her a kiss on the cheek and air sort of escaped from her pursed lips. Now she does it all the time. It is so cute.
Clara seemed to enjoy the pool more today. We stayed a little deeper than we did yesterday and Matt bounced up and down with her. She seemed to love it and actually started to splash a little! She liked it until she got herself in the face. I have not gotten brave enough to dunk her head under water, I really do not think she would like that very much!
When Matt bounced up and down with her she would kick her legs, smile and laugh or stick her tongue out. She was having fun, she even yelled with happiness a few times. We had fun, though we really cannot stay very long because she gets tired and TAN! Her legs and arms are so tan even though I have been putting 50 SPF on her. She must have my coloring! Yesterday when we got back from the pool, she slept for 3 hours! She would have slept longer if I did not go in there and wake her up because we had to run an errand (get more bathing suits!).
Today she did not take as long a nap when she got back but she did go to sleep at 6:15. I went to go to Costco (and got completely distracted getting Amanda's bday present) and by the time I got back, I thought that I would have to give her a shower, but Matt had already done all that and she was in bed! I was a little sad that I did not get to put her down :(. But Matt did a wonderful job putting her to bed.
Her other new thing is pretty much attacking us when we lay on the floor with her. She crawls all over you and tries to pin you down. I am not sure what she is trying to accomplish but she gets so excited when we lay on the floor with her.
Another one of her new tricks is the sound "Pbbfft". It is short and sweet and really cute. THe first time she did it was when Matt was giving her a kiss on the cheek and air sort of escaped from her pursed lips. Now she does it all the time. It is so cute.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Shake shake shake, Shake shake shake, shake your rattle
Clara started to shake her maracas today for the first time (which Matt keeps calling Moroccos). Her music class is finally over, 5 weeks. I really did not like that teacher very much. But we learned some good songs and met some new people! Tomorrow we are meeting for our first play date at the pool. I am excited about it but not so excited about the fact that our first play date involves me getting into a bathing suit.
Clara also waves good bye... Sort of. When Evelyn does it, it is more clear cut. Clara sort of uses her whole arm. Very cute, can't wait to see what else this little girl can learn.
My latest thing is wanting another baby. Is it nuts?
Clara also waves good bye... Sort of. When Evelyn does it, it is more clear cut. Clara sort of uses her whole arm. Very cute, can't wait to see what else this little girl can learn.
My latest thing is wanting another baby. Is it nuts?
OK for now
I think Clara is OK now. She made it through the night and had bright eyes in the morning. I still feel pretty awful over what happened but after much consideration, it is probably a common thing to occur with a first throw up like that.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Vomit vomit everywhere
We had a bit of a scare this evening for Clara and I. I was brushing her hair like I just started to do at night and she likes to get a hold of the brush that I am using. So I have been giving her a brush to play with and then I will use the other one to brush her hair. I noticed that she had a rubber band stuck in her mouth that fell off of the brush so I took that out of her mouth, took the rubber bands off of ALL of the brushes and gave it back to her. All of a sudden, she started to vomit. I think she stuck the brush too far in her mouth and gagged herself. The vomit was coming out of her nose and she started to gag and she could not catch her breath because there was vomit everywhere. It was SO scary. I was so terrified that she was going to chooke or gag to death. She was naked because she had just gotten out of her bath. I picked her up and started to pat her on her back but I don't know if I was helping or hurting the situation. After a while, she seemed to be able to breath OK. I called Matt and then the doctor and they told me to aspirate her with the bulb thing. That sort of made things worse because I had finally calmed her down and she HATES that. I was so scared. I started to cry after that. If anything EVER happens to that child, I seriously don't know what I would do with myself.
Anyway, she was so tired so I fed her and she fell asleep. I figured she was OK because if she can cry normally, then she can probably breath OK. I just hope that there is not a rubber band in there causing problems. I think that would pass if it is what she swallowed. Since she has fallen asleep, I think we have checked on her at least 5 times. I love her so much, I really really need her to be OK.
Anyway, she was so tired so I fed her and she fell asleep. I figured she was OK because if she can cry normally, then she can probably breath OK. I just hope that there is not a rubber band in there causing problems. I think that would pass if it is what she swallowed. Since she has fallen asleep, I think we have checked on her at least 5 times. I love her so much, I really really need her to be OK.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Fireworks
Clara saw her first fireworks tonight. I just put her down after they were done. She sort of woke up when they started in town so we decided to grab her and have her watch them! We could see them perfectly from our backyard. It was so nice. She sort of just watched them in a sleepy daze. I think she was rather confused! It was so convenient to be able to step out of our door and see them closely :)!
It was almost as cool as when we were leaving the cubs game last year and we could see all of the fireworks in all the towns going at the same time. Very cool memory I had tonight that I thought that I would try and remember...
It was almost as cool as when we were leaving the cubs game last year and we could see all of the fireworks in all the towns going at the same time. Very cool memory I had tonight that I thought that I would try and remember...
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