7 months

My Ellianna,

Turning 7 months hit me harder than when you turned 6 months.  You are now closer to your first birthday than to the day you were born.  Everyone warned me that time goes by faster with a baby, and boy are they right!  You continue to change on a daily basis and as you become more independent, you remind me that you are no longer my baby girl.

This biggest development this past month was the emergence of your first two teeth.  About one week after turning six months, your bottom left tooth officially broke through the gums then your bottom right tooth surprised us by breaking through the following day.  Thankfully, once those teeth broke through, you were happier and started sleeping better again.  Unfortunately, those restful nights were short lived because the next week you got strep throat.  Your little nose was so congested and you were coughing.  Until the antibiotic kicked in, you and I were sleeping 45-60 minutes at a time.  You actually enjoyed your nebulizer breathing treatments and when we would do your bedtime treatment, you would nurse and fall asleep while breathing deeper.  And suctioning out your nose wasn't something you typically minded.  We felt so bad seeing you so uncomfortable but within a week, you were back to yourself.  Given those things happening, this past month of breast feeding has flown by and despite two clogged ducts the week you were sick with strep throat, we are making it work.  Most days, I have been pumping equal to what you are drinking at the sitter and that makes me so very happy. 


We have made your daily routine our priority this past month.  Same bedtime and same wake-up time everyday in hopes of helping you get on a schedule.  Unfortunately, your naps didn't get the memo as those remain hit or miss despite our best efforts.  And contrary to what we may think, days you don't nap good mean for restless nights while days you nap well, leads to good sleep that night.  We have made attempts at sleeping in your crib again this month but haven't had luck yet.  You and I remain co-sleepers and when you sleep good at night, you wake up so happy, full of stretches and smiles.  We have worked with your sitter to help keep the same schedule weekdays vs. weekends but we'll consider your schedule a work in progress.

Developmentally speaking, you now reach out to me when you are ready for me to pick you up.  You haven't mastered sitting but you are so close.  You can maintain sit when propped on your arms but then you see something you want and you are more interested in getting that object than worrying about sitting.  Diaper changes are often a wrestling match with you rolling side to side.  When I'm changing your diaper at your changing table, you love knocking the wipes container off the edge and waiting for me to say 'uh-oh' and that starts your giggling.  I'm happy to see some cause and effect is emerging.  We have also been using your Exersaucer this past month and you love bouncing in there and talking to the toys.  You also love bouncing in our arms or when we hold you standing on the floor.  You are still blowing raspberries though not as often but your new trick this month is wrinkling up your nose and blowing air through it.  It's actually quite cute.  You love petting your dogs and Tex has become more brave around you and approaches you often.  You get so excited when you see your puppies and give them such big smiles.  We are practicing 'gentle' touches with you are sometimes you swing a little hard when petting the dogs.

You have expanded your list of solid foods this past month.  Butternut squash and apples are your favorites.  We have introduced those along with peas, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, pears, and bananas.  Only zucchini and carrots are strongly disliked.  We have also introduced drinking water from a cup rather than a sippy cup.  You enjoy the challenge and are getting the hang of it.  When we offered water from the sippy cup, you seemed disappointed that sucking resulted in water and not milk :)  Now that you are eating solids, three meals a day, your poops have changed.  We clearly know when you are pooping as you put effort into the task.  Gone are the days of  breast milk poop blow-outs and now we have smelly solid poops.

You are wearing size 3 month or 3-6 month clothes, 6 month pants for the length, and 6 or 9 month sleepers for the length, and size 2 diapers.  You remain long and lean, unofficially weighing in at 17 pounds and 27 inches long.  You are eating 2-3 ounces of solid food for your meals and drinking 4 ounce bottles, every 3-4 hours.  You eyes seem to be getting bluer so everyone is guessing you will keep your daddy's blue eyes.  Your hair is also beginning to thicken with a few strands growing in length.

This past month may not have been as much growth at mastering developmental skills, but you are getting stronger every day and trying new things.  You remain our petite princess but we think you are perfect just the way you are.  We can't wait to help you learn new things and watch your personality emerge.  Every day we get to spend with you is priceless.

Belated Valentine's Day Dinner

 So...YUM....Ryan made me a belated Valentine's dinner this weekend with homemade crepes!  They were delicious!  One of my mandatory stops when visiting Granger is to eat at the Original/Bibler's Pancake House for their crepes (and apple pancake!)  We don't have pancake houses here in south Texas and IHOP is no comparison.  Ryan found the recipe and had  been talking about making them for about a week and when he finally did, they did not disappoint.  Next year, I'll share with Ellianna!

 Some pictures of Elli just because it's Monday....

Valentine's 2013

Happy Valentine's Day to our friends and family,

From our little Valentine :)

Tex and Elli

 Floor time together.  Tex doesn't usually get this brave to be so close to Elli!

 Elli thinking, 'Hey brother, what are you doing on my floor mats?'

 Elli now thinking, 'Hmm...maybe that bone is a good teething toy?'

 Elli thinking, 'Now is my opportunity!  He left the bone for me!'

Poor Elli, so close yet so far...but trying so hard to get herself crawling forward for that bone!

And this is what we do in the evenings while waiting for Ryan to come home from his clinical rotation.  Can't wait until he graduates in May!

Weekends

Two weekends ago, Ellianna and I had the pleasure of attending a baby shower for a friend.  It gave us girls an excuse to get a little dressed up and spend the afternoon with friends.  Elli had a great time!  She enjoyed watching all the people, several people held her without her complaining, and she even took a short nap.

Before we left, we had Ryan take some pictures of his girls.  Elli was very interested in the hibiscus flowers and kept trying to put it in her mouth.  The weather this time of year is perfect for spending time outside...we know we need to take advantage of the nice temperatures before the 90 degree days return!

This past weekend however, Elli spiked a 103 temperature Saturday night, threw-up a little, refused food, runny nose and just did not act normal.  After a call to our pediatrician Saturday night, we started Tylenol every 4 hours and kept watch as doc said there is a good virus going around.  We also learned that putting the febrile baby in a bath is no longer recommended so it doesn't shock their body and/or cause a seizure.  Several e-mails to the doc on Sunday describing Elli's symptoms had the doc thinking it was her first ear infection and told us to come in first thing today.  We got there early and were the first ones to be seen!  Turns out Elli has strep throat but no ear infection.  Her fever has gone down but hasn't stayed in the normal range yet.  She will be playful for a few minutes then goes back to feeling fussy.  She is finally napping right now.  In hindsight, this explains why she has only been sleeping for 40-60 minutes at a time the last 3 nights.  I can't wait for the antibiotic to kick in so our sweet girl starts feeling better.  How quickly our weekend plans get thrown out the window with a sick baby.  This was a good lesson for Ryan and I as she acted completely normal all day Saturday and we didn't realize how fast a baby can go from normal to sick.  We're hoping babies also go from sick to normal just as quickly!

First Teeth!

Ellianna has teeth now!  No more gummy smiles for us with 2 pearly white teeth appearing on the bottom gum.  February 3 is when the bottom left broke through then she surprised us the next morning with her bottom right!  Fortunately, Elli's only symptoms of teething was some pulling of her ears and disruption of sleep.  I'll take those signs over fever and diarrhea any day!  It was interesting because for about a week we could feel the teeth trying to break through the gums and once they did, they are sharp little teeth!  She used to like chewing on our fingers but we aren't letting her do that anymore with those teeth in there!  We've been offering her chilled pacifiers to chew on but she still doesn't have an interest in a pacifier.  Hoping we get some time between now and when her top teeth appear...

6 months

My sweet Ellianna,

This has been such a fun month with you!  We continued our family vacation and celebrated  Christmas with your extended families.  You were interested in the wrapping paper but primarily  because it was something new to bring to your mouth.

You have made so much progress developmentally this past month!  On December 31 you found your voice.  You have always been a talker and enjoyed making sounds, but on this day, the squawk began.  We were driving from Poynette to Granger and the last hour of our drive, you entertained us with your constant squawking.  You are now playing around with different variations in tone and our house is no longer as quiet as it once was.  On January 6, you mastered rolling back to tummy and discovered a new love of tummy time.  You had been working on this skill for some time but it was on this day that it clicked and you realized how much fun it is to roll.  We have floor mats for you to play on and it doesn't take you too long before you have rolled yourself to the edge of the mats.  January 12 is when you started to entertain us by blowing raspberries with your lips.  It's one of the cutest things you do and you think its funny when we do them back to you.  Then on January 21, you mastered the prone pivot where you move yourself around in a circle while on your tummy.  This has made you much more independent with floor play because if there is a toy you decide you want, you have these new means to reach the toy.  Not that you don't still squawk or yell for help but you are now trying to get places on your own.  Speaking of getting places, you are doing what appears to be beginning attempts at crawling.  You can push yourself backwards on your tummy already and we have seen you trying to pull those knees under your hips to push yourself forward.  It won't be much longer before you are mobile! You are also very interested in sitting and are doing a great job sitting when propped with your arms in front of you.  We're guessing you will master sitting in the next few weeks.  And we are still waiting for that first tooth to appear.


Also this past month, you were introduced to solids.  We had decided to hold off until close to your 6-month birthday for several reasons:  You really weren't showing interest in our food until after you turned 5 months, we were concerned how you would handle solids given how sensitive your tummy was when we had tried formula, the AAP recommends only breast milk/formula for the first 6 months, and we know how nutritious the calories from breast milk are so we still wanted all your calories to remain breast milk.  Plus, there are more calories in an ounce of breast milk than an ounce of cereal or vegetables so it seemed to be a win-win.  (I really feel that the antibodies in breast milk kept you healthy over vacation when you were around your cousins who had pneumonia and fever and for that I am so thankful.)  You had your first bites of baby oatmeal cereal on  January 10 and while you spit out more than you took, your digestive track handled it well.  After a few days of trying oatmeal, we tried rice cereal but you still weren't too thrilled about either.  So, we progressed to peas on January 20 then butternut squash on the 24th.  And thankfully, you are enjoying your vegetables!  You are often lunging towards the spoon to get that squash!  I am by no means a chef but I'm trying to learn by making you your baby food.  I'm hoping that we'll continue to provide you with fresh, homemade baby food as long as we can.

You and I are continuing with our breast feeding and although you are more distracted during daytime nursing, come evening time, you are ready to nurse like a champ. I am so proud of us for not giving up in those difficult early weeks/months and for fighting ahead.  We have had plenty of tears and frustrating moments but knowing that we have made it to 6 months is something we will never regret.  It amazes me what the human body is able to do and that the content of the milk changes with your changing needs and because of this I strive to continue to provide as much milk for you as I can.  Overall, it seems your latch has improved and you are more efficient because those painful clogged ducts are 2-3 times per month now rather than at least once per week.  We have finally found our rhythm!

As promised, when we returned home from our vacation, we transitioned you to your nursery.  We spent the first week playing and getting you familiar with your room, including taking naps in your swing.  Yes, we brought your swing back out however only for that first week to ease the transition.  Then we tried naps in your crib.  Miss Ellianna, you are quite the stinker and continue to fight sleeping in your crib.  You will play in there happily however, sleep is another story.  Ten minute naps in your crib equal one very tired and fussy baby by bedtime which turns into very restless nights.  So, for the record, you are napping in your swing in your nursery and still sleeping with me at night.  Our goal remains to get you sleeping in your crib but after reading different references, I don't think you are ready to self-soothe.  So we continue to get by focusing on  the importance of you getting sleep and being well rested outweighing the battle for you to sleep in your crib.  We know that once you are ready, we all will gladly make the transition.

You are doing very well with your new sitter.  It's been about 3 weeks now and I can tell when I drop you off and pick you up that you are very comfortable and happy with the arrangement.  You eat very well for her, as often as every 2 hours, but you don't nap very well for her yet.  When you come home in the afternoons, you usually take a solid 1 hour nap. We are very happy with this transition that you are comfortable with another person, in another house, and you are able to socialize with their 5 year old daughter who looks for you when she gets home from school every day.  We just need to work on my Spanish to help you understand the sitter!

You continue to wear size 3 month to 3-6 month clothes, 6-month sleepers, and size 2 diapers.  You drink between 3-5 ounces in your bottles every 3-4 hours.  You prefer to hold your bottle yourself.  Your personality remains a very happy baby, one who is very observant.  You love watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and flying in your bouncer.  You love being outside, feeling the breeze through your hair.  Family walks are more enjoyable for you now that you are facing forward in the jogging stroller and can watch your puppies.  You continue to love bath time and enjoyed your first trip to the beach.  This makes us very excited to take you swimming once the pool warms up as you are going to love it!  Official stats from your 6-month check-up today are 14 pounds, 15 ounces (25th percentile), 27 inches long (95th percentile) and head circumference of 16.5 inches.  There has been a lot of growth this past month!


This past month has been so much fun as it seems you are changing so much every day.  You are becoming more independent and I know that you will continue to amaze us with your new skills in the upcoming months.  We love you baby girl and are so blessed to be your parents.