It’s
been a while since I’ve done a proper update post…I have so many blog post
ideas whirling around in my head & some half written but nothing has really
formed into anything post-able…in the mean time Elena is growing & learning
& changing…
Mobility
Elena
has been crawling for over a month now…once she was purposefully crawling, I
completely baby-proofed our entire living room & made it her space. I
didn’t want to spend all our time saying, “No, don’t touch”…I mean, she’s a
baby, she’s curious…she’s going to be in a lot of places where I’ll have to do
the “No, don’t touch” thing so I wanted her to have a space that was hers…but
there are 3 spots that are off limits: 1 electrical plug, the cable box & a
corner that has my file & scrapbooking boxes…so in a room entirely
dedicated to her, FULL of toys, where she can play freely, what is she
obsessively focused on? Yep, you guessed it: the plug, cable box & file
boxes!!!
Elena
seems to believe she can stand now too…only one problem, she hasn’t quite
figured out balance & gravity yet. She pulls herself up on things then just
lets go…She’s also taking tentative steps…it’s very exciting. I blame her GiGi
(her Great Gramma)…when she started belly crawling in August, GiGi said,
“She’ll be walking by Christmas!!” My reply was,
“Oh Gramma, she’ll only be 9 months at Christmas, there’s no way Elena will be walking by then!” Apparently Elena has other ideas!! We'll see...
“Oh Gramma, she’ll only be 9 months at Christmas, there’s no way Elena will be walking by then!” Apparently Elena has other ideas!! We'll see...
Teething
I’m
afraid to even type this for fear of jinxing it but teething hasn’t been nearly
as bad as I heard it could be…Elena has 3 teeth with her 4th
breaking thru now. The saving grace for us has been Camilia…really seems to
take the edge off…she'll get a “super dose” when a tooth is 1st
breaking thru (when pain & discomfort is at it’s worst)…the “super dose” is
3 doses 15 minutes apart…plus I give her 1 dose just be before bed. Thankfully,
we’ve only had to use Advil or Tylenol very sparingly.
Sickness
We
have been plagued by sickness lately…nothing too serious, it just seems like
one thing after another…I got a cold a few weeks back. The worst of that cold
was trying not to cough & wake Elena in the night…oh & the lack of
sleep.
Then
last week…I got shingles!!! I’ve had them before & for any of you who don’t know,
shingles are a strain of the chicken pox virus & aside from the itchiness,
they hurt like HELL!! I got my outbreak along my rib cage & it felt like
I’d broken a rib. Since I’m still breastfeeding I was doubly concerned with
Elena either catching it or chicken pox or the medication crossing into my
milk. Thankfully, Elena didn’t catch anything & it turned out the meds do
cross into the milk but in a lower dose than would be prescribed so I took them.
Just
when all that starts clearing up…Elena gets the sniffles. At first I thought it
was from her top teeth coming in until I got the sniffles too…it’s a cold &
it started Saturday night. I was so worried about the time change but it didn’t
make any difference since we were up every hour that night…poor Elena couldn’t
breath. During the day she does alright since she’s upright & her nose
drains…so Sunday night, I propped her up on our nursing pillow & this made
all the difference. She’s slept relatively well these last few nights. Also
we’ve used Coryzalia made by the same company as Camilia…she gets 1 dose before
bed & it helps.
Sleeping
Well…sleep
has been our most challenging aspect…Nights were hit & miss for a long time but Elena napped really well during the day (2 or more hours twice a
day!!). I read so many (too many) books, articles etc…so much conflicting info…I
really overloaded myself, over thought the whole situation & was feeling
like an epic failure that I couldn’t get Elena to sleep with any consistency at
night…then one Saturday a few weeks ago we spent the day at my brothers &
Elena barely had any naps, ½ hour in the morning & maybe ½ hour in the
afternoon. My brother said, “maybe she’ll just konk out tonight!” I smiled
& nodded but in my head was thinking, “Nope, that’s not how it works. The
books said so.” Well guess what? Yep, she slept like a log!! So I tested it the
next day…and day after that…limited Elena to no more than a 1 hour nap twice a
day…well lo & behold she started sleeping straight thru…until she got the
sniffles but that’s just a blip. Are you kidding me? I felt like such a dummy!!
I mean now it makes perfect sense but I feel like a real idiot for not figuring
out on my own that Elena wasn’t sleeping well at night because she was sleeping
so much during the day!
Eating
Elena
is doing really well in this department & her weighing in at 22 lbs proves
it! I’m still making most of her food. I still puree all her veggies but for
fruits I’ve been buying the Motts unsweetened apple sauces…she’ll eat just
about anything mixed in applesauce!! Elena’s funny about trying new foods…my
system is to introduce something new & offer it daily for 4 days to allow
for reactions. Elena always resists & does not take it well. After the 4
days, I give her a break then re-introduce it a week or so later & she always
just takes it without complaint from then on…so weird!
I’m
going to be honest with y’all now…I am terrified of the next eating step of
finger foods & Elena feeding herself. I am petrified she is going to choke
& I am not confident in my first aid skills & worry I’ll panic. If it
were up to me, Elena would eat pureed foods until she was 12! I know I have to
get over this for Elena’s sake but I am gripped with fear at the thought of her
choking. I am constantly thinking & worrying about having to start more
textured foods…my stomach is in knots just typing about it. She does get some
texture now with her green beans & peas & I mash her banana instead of
puree it & the apple sauce isn’t smooth…but that’s about as much texture I
can bring myself to offer her. Can’t we just wait until she has ALL her teeth?
And is old enough for me to explain how important it is for her not to choke?!?!?
Okay,
now that I’ve worked myself up into another panic attack about Elena choking,
maybe it’s time to wrap up this epic update post. If anyone has any advice
about any of the above, please share…
This was a great update. It's amazing how all babies develop at their own rates. To start finger foods, start with a cookie like farleys (from Heinz). They dissolve into nothing (but have a mat or blanket under the high chair b/c what a mess) and you don't need to worry about choking. From there, I would give Scarlett pieces of canteloupe or banana...very small. It gets easier. Now Scarlett eats small pieces of toast with different toppings (egg salad, salmon, peanut butter) every day.
ReplyDeleteI have had shingles so I know all about that business. I had them across my upper back and couldn't wear a bra/shirt for almost two weeks.
ReplyDeleteI wanna see those teethies!
Each kid is definitely so different! Your 8-month-old is the same weight as my 25-month-old, lol. She's a little shrimp - definitely not taking after her mama in that respect! She started crawling at 8.5 months and pulled up shortly thereafter, but it took another 4.5 months for her to stand without holding on and take her first steps.
ReplyDeleteI know it's hard not to, but don't worry too much about choking. It doesn't happen that often (unless you have a kid with sensory or feeding issues), and when it does happen it's not usually that bad, with a quick recovery. I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times my daughter choked, and the worst time, the only time she had a little trouble breathing, was with water of all things. And she got over it without any intervention. Of course it's a good idea to know what to do in case it happens, but don't let the fear stop you. The best advice is just to give very small pieces of everything, don't put too many bites within her reach, stay close by, and stay away from the risky foods (hot dogs, popcorn, nuts, raw carrots, etc.). Good luck!
When she is ready to feed herself, start with some kind of puffs. They basically disintegrate when mixed with the tiniest bit of saliva. The same goes for Baby Mums after she has mastered the puffs. I can't believe how fast she's growing!
ReplyDeleteI just asked my sister, And she agreed with the puffs and mum mums suggestions. I've been investigating some baby led weaning sites, you should check them out, they'll make you feel better. I think. :)
ReplyDeleteForgot to say, so sorry about the shingles. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update :-)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you were sick.
Hope you get over the fear of choking soon :-)