10 months!

How is this even possible people? How is my baby 10 months? How are we just 8 weeks away from her first birthday!? Yikes!


Anyway...

Here are Brynna's 10 month pics:






As you can see, it's getting harder and harder to get her to sit still long enough to get a good shot.

Not too much has gone on this month. Since we were in Seattle for a couple weeks with my dad, she spent a lot of time being held and gushed over. Which may or may not have delayed her walking? Who knows...

She still on the go ALL THE TIME! Crawling over (sometimes literally) and around everything and cruising around furniture like a pro! It's funny how you want so much to reach the next milestone (aka rolling over, crawling, walking, etc) and then when they get there, all you want is for them to SLOW DOWN! I'm not pushing her walking AT ALL as crawling gets her into plenty of trouble already ;-) We've gotten her to stand on her own a bit here and there though, which is exciting!

She's eating more and more true solid foods (thanks so much for the advice!) Every meal at least one of her foods is something she can feed to herself which makes my job so much easier! Hooray! We've been getting some stellar produce from the farm and she enjoys every bit of it- especially the peaches these days!

She is still in the same sizes- 9 month for clothes, size 3 for disposable diapers (I think... we haven't used any in a while) and we haven't changed anything on her CD.

She says "mama" and "dada" mostly discriminately. I say mostly because sometimes she will look at Kino and say "mama" Haha! She was just getting the hang of "papa" while we were in Seattle too and when we skyped the other day she said it!! That's pretty much it for words so far though. We are working on "puppy" in some form as she LOVES Kino, but no go yet ;-)

She finally cut a couple more teeth (also while we were in Seattle... see the best things happen there... we should totally move! Ha!) so we have a total of 4- 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom (as you can see in one of the pics) :)

She is getting quite the personality too! Just last weekend we took her to the fair (post to come on that!) and she was quite a hoot! She was a bit scared of the sheep, but seemed to love the cows, horses, and chickens (Weird huh? What does she have against sheep?).


She is still nursing about the same as 9 months; still 4 or 5 times a day. I'm still loving it and I am realizing it more and more how mom's can just continue on doing it for... well, ever. It's just so easy and I love that my body can nourish her! We are still planning on weaning around 12 months, although I have a feeling the "right before bed" feeding will continue for a while.

She caught that summer flu that seems to be going around, poor thing! Although it didn't hit us too bad. She had a couple days of a high fever (thank goodness for tyle.nol and mo.trin) and a couple runny diapers, but other than that she managed to weather it pretty well.

Things I forgot to mention the last couple months:

She waves "hi" and "bye!"I can't remember exactly when she started doing this, but it was sometime between 8-9 months I think

She claps!- She's been doing this since about 6 months?

She DANCES!- she does it more to certain songs (Down, I Got A Feelin', things like that) but it is SO stinkin' cute! She waves her hands and shakes her feet... oh my! I'm still trying to get it on video, so hopefully I can post it on here!

When she gets excited she screeches like a raptor (Jurassic Park style) which I think is much better than the panting she used to do- I think she switched to this around 8 months.

Bathtime is her FAVORITE just like it was for Batman at her age! She can be down the hall and as soon as we turn on the tub, she comes crawling like a speed demon into the bathroom- I think she started doing this soon after she started crawling- she can't seem to get there fast enough HA!

She discovered pacifiers, although not like you think- she chews on them Ha! and mostly on the plastic part not the nipple part. It's kind of funny because she will discover one of the two that we have in her toy box and it's like a new treasure every time! I think this happened right around 8 months? We've had one of those raspberries so we've been giving her that mostly.

And I think... that's it!

Another typical Saturday

We spent most of today doing yard work... fun times. If there is one thing I hate about being a homeowner (you know, besides all the bills) is that I have to take care of the yard.

I hated yard work as a child. I used to tell myself it would be different, I would feel differently, when it was my own yard I was taking care of, instead of just mom and dad's.

Ya, notsomuch.

I really don't like digging around, with all the bugs and SPIDERS (have I mentioned I'm arachnophobic? Like completely irrationally so), in the dirt.

Don't get me wrong. I've enjoyed making a mud pie or two in my life. I used to LIVE for that as a kid. I can remember being about 5 and my older brother playing baseball. One of the particular fields was near a bunch of woods. I would spend all my time there getting dirty from head to toe. In a party dress. It was most likely pink. I remember my mom's reaction every time we headed home. Looking back I should have savored it more. Ha!

But in my "old" age, I've become completely irrational about bugs, spiders and the like and I hate yard work. Especially when my hands get so dirty that I can't get all the dirt off for like 3 days.

The things I do for love... right? Because that's why I do it... because I love Batman and I know he likes getting his hands dirty and having a nice looking yard...

Right... love...

I think it's more that I was afraid the weeds, and thereafter the bugs, would invade my HOUSE if we didn't take care of them soon.

Definitely love...

BTDT- Need some advice

I need some advice on 2 things since I'm completely lost here...

First, I've started trying to pump again as my freezer stash is almost completely depleted. It would be nice to be able to go out again without B. My concern is, I'm not getting much :( The last few nights I've tried pumping in lue (sp?) of B's night feeding (using up milk that was about to expire in the freezer) and I can't get a let down without waking B up and having her nurse on the other side. And even when I do that, I'm only getting an ounce, maybe an ounce and a half. What is going on here? Is it because I haven't pumped in a while? Do I just need to keep pumping everyday in between feedings? Is there anything I can do about the let down issue because I feel like I've been trying everything? Is it worth going back on fenugreek? Anyone have an advice? PLEASE!! This mama needs a night out with Batman!!

Second, when did you start switching over mostly to finger foods? We are introducing more and more foods that B can feed to herself and I am starting to help her use a spoon, but I just wondered how much longer we should keep doing jarred food (jarred food is another whole story since Brynna has now decided she no longer likes ANYTHING I make. She just shakes her head and refuses to eat it. Anyone else have this issue too? What did you do?) and when do we transition her fully to "normal" foods (well as normal as an almost toothless kid can get). Am I jumping the gun here? Will it be a long while that we keep jarred food in the house?

Any and all advice is welcome, so please weigh in even if you aren't a BTDT and just have a suggestion ;-)

PS: I was on a conference call with my dad's docs this afternoon and their goal is to have him rehabilitated enough to go home within 4 weeks!!! I can't believe what a miracle this is!! Please continue to keep his progress in your prayers :)

Rearranging

We've spent this weekend rearranging just about every room in our house. It's kind of been a nightmare, but now that it's finished, I'm pretty happy with the results.

We live in a 3 bedroom, single level (small) home. Before B was born, Batman and I had our own separate rooms- mine was a craft room, his a study. The craft room was generally the "go-to" room for guests that stayed overnight. With Brynna's arrival, that room changed into her nursery, so we sort of lost the extra guest room.

Until this weekend. We decided we really needed an extra room for guests to sleep instead of the living room futon. So, Batman's study is now the official guest bedroom/ workout room, our family room is now the study, and our living room (aka the room we never used) is now our family room. I kind of wish I had taken some before and after pictures so you could get the real affect of how big of a job it was, but since I'm lazy with the camera, you'll just have to take my word for it. ;-)

It was like musical rooms...

And did anyone know that the new energy efficient light bulbs that are all the rage contain mercury? And that if you break one in your home, it's kind of a big deal for cleaning up? Silly me. I had no idea until my neighbor came over and informed me that I should probably do a little more than just vacuum up the scattered glass. I swear I can feel my kidneys failing. Okay, I know that's a little dramatic, but now I'm paranoid about using those bulbs lest I break another one.

9 mos FINALLY!

OK, I finally have time to do Brynna's 9 month update... only almost a month late. Yikes!


So, here's the pics I took (on time) this time around:







Not a whole lot changed for her at 9 months. She was still crawling EVERYWHERE and is an expert at it. She started officially cruising too!

Her 9 month appt was set up for the 27th and, as you know, I was in Seattle, so we had to reschedule. I won't bother you with the details, but when I called to reschedule they couldn't get her in... until she was 11 MONTHS OLD! So I canceled it all together and just had her seen by the doctor I had growing up (my mom's boss). It was such a treat to see him :) And I realized how spoiled we would be if we lived there and got to go to him. (Seriously- no waiting EVER, happy staff, nurses available WHEN YOU CALL... it was heaven!) Anyway, B was 18 lbs 5 oz and 27 1/4 in tall- both in the 45%. I can never remember her head measurement, but she's in the 30% which is about where she's been from birth.

She's still in size 3 disposable diapers and we haven't changed her cloth diapers. Batman thinks it's going to need to happen soon... I disagree Ha! She's wearing pretty much all 9 month size clothes. Once in a while I sneak in something cute that's 12 months, but it's usually big (Other than jeans. For some reason 12 mo jeans fit her the best. I think it's because of the bulky cloth diapers).

Still BF and will continue as long as she lets me or 12 months whichever comes first. She's down to about 4 feedings a day and the rest is solid food (3 solid meals and 2 snacks with nursing in between). Our schedule looks something like this:

5-5:30: nurse, then back to bed
8: wake up
8:30: breakfast
9:30: nurse
10:30-11: nap for an hour
11:30-12: snack
1: lunch
2-2:30: nurse
3: nap for an hour
4-4:30: snack
5:30-6: dinner
7: bath
7:30-8: nurse and bedtime

She LOVES these new snacks we found at Cost.co. They are freeze dried apples and pears that dissolve kind of like puffs. I can't remember the brand, and we are out, but as soon as I get more I will let you know ;-)

Still only 2 teeth on the bottom at 9 months.

She's getting more and more animated! She "dances" when we play music and "sings" too! It's the cutest thing ever!

We've discovered a "blankie" of hers. Batman's gma knitted her a few and one in particular seems to be the one she's attached to. Hopefully it holds up over the next few years!

She's more interested than ever of her toys. She loves blocks and things that make noise. And even with all the toys she has to play with, she manages to find the ONE piece of whatever on the floor that she shouldn't have and puts it in her mouth. I feel like I'm constantly vacuuming, sweeping and mopping just to make sure there's nothing to find haha!

I think that's it for now. 10 months is quickly approaching! Yikes! Only a weeks away.

Quick update on my dad too- he was moved to rehab! He's now walking laps around the rehab unit everyday, feeding himself entirely and no more catheter FOR GOOD! The anticipate he will be in the hospital another 21days and then will go home with care (vs an skilled nursing facility). This is WONDERFUL news! :) They think what's going to take the longest is his speech, reasoning, personality, etc. That's what got hit the hardest in all this and it may be a while before he is back to his "old self" if ever. They also anticipate that he may be back to work within 3 months! Such an answer to prayer since the original diagnosis was that it wouldn't be for a year or more. God hears prayers, I tell you! Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts :)

Update on my dad

First, thank you all for the comments and prayers. This whole situation has been made better because of prayers and I could feel them all.

B and I are finally home. We spent nearly two weeks in Seattle with my family, helping out where we could and being a support (especially to my mom).

Here's the scoop thus far:

As I explained in my last post- dad was getting out of the car and fell and hit his head. He spent 9 days in neuro ICU at Harborview. He's now in the neuro-ward and will be for a while(probably the next month or longer depending on his progress). It was looking pretty hairy for the first few days, and he's not completely out of the woods, but he's made some miraculous progress in the last few days.

I'm sure some of you have seen my updates on FB- but dad went from being completely in basically a coma, to being able to speak some, stand on his own weight (with the help of PT), sit in a chair and even chew and swallow. Just the other morning he ate applesauce, yogurt, cream of wheat, protein pudding and thickened juice! All of this is baffling the doctors as they anticipated he would be weeks away from doing any of this. It's amazing the power of prayer, I tell you! What's even more amazing is that he is TASTING all of this food! All of the doctors assumed he would no longer be able to smell or taste based on his injuries (99% of people lose those senses with this injury).

This morning I got an update from my mom that they have taken out both his NG tube and his catheter, also unexpected progress! :) We even got a picture of him feeding himself and sitting up learning to punch buttons on the nurse call/ remote.

I will keep updating on him as he gets better. Thank you all again for all your prayers, positive thoughts and comments!


Upcoming- a very belated 9 month post and PICTURES of B!