What's New

So Much!!!! I can’t believe how much Elena has changed in the last few weeks, let alone the last 6 months. She had her well baby check up & needles last Wednesday…she weighs a whopping 19 ½ lbs & 2’3” tall! The Dr is pleased that her growth is so consistent. He said the words every nervous-first-time-worry-wart-mom needs to hear: “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it…she’s perfect.” She took her needles like a champ…it breaks my heart though because when she’s stuck with the first needle, she cries a bit but takes it in stride but when the Dr sticks her the second time, she looks at me with this look like, “AGAIN?!?!?!?! MOMMY!!!! Why are you letting this happen to me?!?!?!??!” She calms down again pretty quickly which makes me feel better.

Elena is learning so much so quickly…she is mobile now that she figured out how to belly crawl…it made all the difference once I bought play mats to put down on top of our carpeting. I was putting her down on a quilt, which was fine for a while (& necessary due to her spitting up) but she couldn’t get any traction. I bought those interlocking foam mats & the first time I put her down on them, away she went!

She can’t get into a sitting position on her own yet but if I sit her down, she is able to balance herself & keep from toppling over most of the time. From her sitting position, she can get herself onto all fours & she rocks back & forth like she’s thinking about crawling but if I don’t save her soon enough, she’ll usually face-plant!

She’s good for about 15-20 minutes of independent play before she’s craving my attention whether it be on the floor or in her exersaucer. She seems to understand when I’m eating or pumping as she will play well on her own while I’m doing either of these but if I grab the laptop or iTouch to check emails or blogs, she fusses & squawks for my attention. I don’t mind too much though…I can’t imagine a better way to spend the day than playing with Elena & watching her discover the world. Elena is fascinated with the most mundane things but watching her eyes sparkle as she explores everything has me captivated!

She likes to watch TV & loves the Disney Junior channel…which she comes by honestly since I’m a TV-aholic (& so’s Grandma)…it’s always just on in the back ground but she has her shows that she’ll pay attention to like Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Imagination Movers & she likes some of the “commercials” between shows too…it’s the songs that grab her attention. She stops everything when Manny & the Tools sing their work song or for the Hot Dog Song on Mickey…her favourite show is Bear in the Big Blue House. It’s the only show that can hold her attention for the entire episode and she just loves Luna & the Goodbye Song…

We had to give up the cloth diapers. All of a sudden Elena was getting these really bad bum rashes…I’d switch her to disposables, it’d clear up then within a day or two of being back in the cloth ones, the rash would reappear. The service said they hadn’t changed anything so it’s a mystery why, after 5 months, she was getting these rashes. Since she was fine in the disposables, I had to switch…I was disappointed but couldn’t continue with those horrible rashes.

And that’s life with us now-a-days…better get this posted before Elena learns something else new, lol!