Talking, Marching, Hand/Foot/Mouth and teeth
May 03, 2004 - 1:13 p.m.
I think Marlee is going to be a talker soon. She's been babbling and making more and more constantant and syllables lately. She's been saying "dada" and "Hi" for a few days now, and she starting saying "Baba" and today she said "yeah yeah yeah" and she ALMOST said "kitty". She got out "key". I don't want to make it sound like my child is a genious, but geez, she's not even 8 months old. I guess it really doesn't count as talking (even though Sheila says it does) because she doesn't know what she's even saying - but the fact is, she's getting there. It's so exciting.
In other "exciting" news - well a lot happened this weekend. Starting with Friday night, Marlee, Tim and I were supposed to go stay at my SIL's house. She called that afternoon and told us that our niece, a year older than Marlee, had been exposed to hand, foot and mouth disease at daycare and was running a fever. She told us she was pretty sure the fever was associated with teething, and not to worry but I had to make the call as to wether or not we'd put the kids together in that situation. I decided to wait out the night and see what SIL had to say about her condition the next morning.
Saturday we were scheduled to do the March of Dimes together. That morning, SIL told us that our niece was no longer sick and that the fever definitely had to do with teething, so we could all get together. Which we did. Towards the end of the day, my niece got sicker and sicker, her fever got worse and she developed a sore throat and eventually blisters.
So now we are waiting to see if Marlee gets sick. Hard as I tried to keep her away from my neice, my SIL is a very careless person and did not take the same precautions as I did. In all actuallity, I am almost sure that Marlee will get sick. It's horrible because I will have to take off more than a week from work since they are contagious through the blister period, which lasts 5 days.
Otherwise the March went well...Marlee is such an angel baby!!! She stayed in her stroller for the entire 4 miles, even slept some of the way, and was really good while we went out to eat and garage sale shopping afterwards. I couldn't believe how good she was.
Sunday was just the best day ever - Marlee took THREE naps all before 3PM (weird) and I got tons of laundry done. Then my grandma came to babysit while I went to a party to video Tim playing in a coverband and later on we all went to a Metallica concert.
This morning, Marlee woke ina good mood, but slowly went downhill. She was so clingy, I couldn't even try to set her down. She would cling on to me and moan and cry. I felt in her mouth and I am SURE a tooth is popping through. I tried some teething tablets (worthless, the work for 3 minutes) and then some Tylenol, but then I had to drop her off at daycare so I don't know how she is doing now. I expect her to nap like she did yesterday...which was out of character for her but so nice.
I am stressed about the hand/foot/mouth thing...I really don't want Marlee to get it. And I hope that some teeth pop through soon - poor kid seemed sooo miserable this morning.
For Joannie
May 03, 2004 - 1:12 p.m.
Marlee is 32 weeks old today. She's 7 and a half months old. It seems as though time goes so fast now - just the other day she was just a placid little lump of baby-sweetness and now she's a mobile, tantrum-throwing little PERSON.
Just recently, things have gotten to where Marlee hates to be set down and cries like her world is ending when you walk out of the room. Her likes and dislikes are getting stronger. She's getting more capable...not quite crawling but definitely moving in all directions. I can no longer just leave her sit on the floor with some toys...oh no. She'll find some long lost penny or string and in her mouth it goes. Her hand/eye coordinataion is much more refined...I guess all that practicing with cheerios has really developed something. She eats 3 meals a day, with snacks in between. She likes arrowroot cookies, cheese and fruit wagonwheels, biter bisquits, cheerios (but only the honey-nut kind). The other night, I was feeding her some sort of Gerber puffs (like cheerios without the hole) and the box said "Dissolves in baby's mouth!" I was taping her with our digital camera and all of a sudden she sucked in some air and started to choke as one of the puffs flew down her throat. It was the scariest 3 seconds of my life, folks, and I have it all on video to relive over and over. Instinctively, she thrust her hand back into her mouth, I don't know, to push it down or to bring it back up, and then she burst into tears and screamed. At that point I guess it must have dissolved or whatever but I never had her out of that highchair so fast. I was pounding on her back, all while cursing myself for not taking Infant CPR but then she was fine. And she even sat back in the seat and ate some more puffs. Some mothers would have taken the puffs away, but I was able to watch the playback with clarity, and saw where the problem was. She was flirting with the camera and took in a big gulp of air, that little puff didn't have a chance to dissolve in her mouth because it instantly flew to the back of her throat which may have blocked her windpipe temporarily and we both panicked. Thankfully she wasn't scared to eat them afterward because I consider her finger food to be a little babysitter while I get her dinner ready.
I make the majority of her food. I buy organic fresh fruits and vegetables and cook them and puree them and freeze them. I'm very poud of this fact. Like I said, she's eating more and more each day which means I am cleaning more and more each day. She used to sit patiently while I shoveled the food in her mouth, but now she likes to "help" and constantly grabs at the spoon and drops food everywhere. As I sit here at work I have banana yogurt on my sleeve and applesauce on my neckline, where Marlee's hands and face smudged them in after I took her out of her chair to console her down from her complete tantrum thrown about me taking her bib off, which meant that breakfast was over, apparently the end of her little world again. The kid could sit down and eat a 7 course meal and not be full. She's taken to saying "MMMMM" after every bite, as I used to say that to convince her that she liked her squash when she really didn't.
She's learning how to stand and pull herself up and to walk, sort of. She was sitting in a clothes basket (a safety zone in a pinch) and suddenly grabbed the edges and stood herself up. She did it several times, so I was able to get it on video. And if you hold her hands she can stand steadily and even will walk a few feet. I am eager for walking. I suppose crawling should come first but she doesn't have the patience for it now that she knows eventually she'll be on twos instead of fours.
We're still nursing. Though as of Tuesday, I swore I was done. She had practically all bottles that day, and I thought for sure it was over. Then I started to take the prescription drug that I have for increased milk production and we seem to be back on track again. I guess I will go as long as I need to go, as long as she needs me too. Formula is expensive, far too expensive. I'd say she's still on 50% formula though. I mostly nurse her at night and in the evenings and she gets formula during the day.
Speaking of night. They've been unbearable. Those nights of sleeping through, well I had all but given up on them. Though she did sleep through the night last night...before that she had been getting up at all hours to eat. I had figured it out that a baby is supposed to take in no less than 32oz a day, and she only takes 12 at daycare. So I am supposed to somehow get in 20 more oz in her before bed? That's insane. Because I am nursing, I can't tell how much she is getting. So I think that is the main reason why she's getting up so often in the middle of the night to catch up.
I've tried getting her DCP to give her more during the day, but if I send extra bottles, they just come home with her, and if I make her bottles bigger, she complains that Marlee is spitting up too much. So the only way to get her to take more food is to give her bottles before or after daycare and before bed, plus nurse her as much as possible. Another thing I think I was working against was her natural bedtime. Everything out there says to put a baby to bed between 7 and 8. According to Marlee's "Grumpy" time, we lay her down anywhere from 6:30 - 7:00 and no later than that. We've avoided grumpy time for almost 3 months now. However, she wakes up so often, and is hard to put back down. So maybe her "natural bedtime" is actually later, like 9pm. Come to think of it, when she WAS sleeping through the night, it was when we were putting her down at 9 after a brief nap at 7.
We'll try anything at this point.
Reflux still happens occasionally but we are going sans meds nowadays. She gets it occasionally when it's really bad.
Daycare is going well...the two "good" little boys that loved Marlee so much are gone - lost to a center - and they were replaced with a creepy little boy and a loud-mouthed boisterous bad-mannered boy. Thank goodness the sweet little quiet girl is still there for Marlee to play with...and the other girl who taught Marlee to scream in frustration and gives her kisses each day before I leave with her.
Is that enough of an update Joanne? I certainly hope so, I know there is so much more that has happened.... like the wedding we went to last week where Marlee flirted with everyone and her first Easter, and all sorts of things, but for now that's all I can type!!