Ah, teething...

At first you tell yourself that there's no way. She's too young. It's too early.

Then you notice that she isn't eating as well and sometimes cries while nursing. She's been drooling for some time and everyone seems to be warning you that she's teething. So you ask other mom's who have had babies in this decade. They respond, "are her gums inflamed? Do you see the teeth coming through?" the reality is that first time Moms have never gone through this, so we haven't a clue what we're really looking for.

Then you watch as she grabs for things, draws them to her mouth and wails out in pain. Finally catching on here, Mom.

OK, it's teething. The drool, the poor nursing, the trouble sleeping and random crying is buttressed by noticing reddish gums and white bud looking shapes under the gumline.

Thanks to Becky Sechrist for offering her teething solution of frozen washcloths. These serve as fantastic replacements for the rapidly melting teething rings the stores hock.

And so it begins.

Gotta love it!

Week 19

Tricks: feet in the mouth, helping to open the mail by tossing everything on the floor and looking down to see where it all went. Maybe a bit of hide and seek? Pulls pacifier out to talk

Life: the trip overseas has been challenging as far as getting the babies back on schedule. The first night back was particularly rough, she was up several times and then again at 3am for good.

Day by day it's getting better. After Ellie woke herself out of a sound sleep by knocking her head against the crib rail, we bought bumpers right away! She seems to be loving them, since they block her view.

Week 18

Tricks: rolls her Rs, flips over both ways, laughs more, can hit toys to make noise

Life: we're in Italy now. So we'll have much more to add once we're back - exhausted for now!  It's amazing and the baby is spending most of her day in the baby bjorn on either Dave or me.

Easy Tender Brisket

3 pounds beef brisket
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 Tbsp liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

Pour liquid smoke over the brisket and sprinkle on garlic powder, dry onion soup mix, and ground black pepper. Seal foil.
Bake in a preheated oven for 6 to 8 hours.  At the end, pull pan out of oven and whisk 1-2 Tbsps flour. Pan is bubbling still with juices, and flour will thicken sauce.

Serves 7.

How much your heart expands

Your heart feels like it could explode with love for your child.  Suddenly so many things feel different.  The news becomes almost unbearable to read and watch the crime stories. 

Millions of kisses...and the kid's only 3 months old.  Such joy with every smile, twinkle, sweet nap, and laugh.  Being a Mom is the best job, and I'm so blessed to have it!

Week 17

Tricks: She's suddenly clutching everything and wants to get her hands and mouth on just about everything she sees. She regularly bounces on our legs, laughs at the dogs (and only sometimes at us.) She's still trucking down the crawl track. Ellie loves petting Killian, practicing sitting up, and showing off her grins.

Life: Wow, time is really starting to fly!

And we're flying to Italy this weekend, so wish us luck! I recognize that her routine will wind up slightly 'off' with the 5 hour time difference. I cannot wait for Ellie to see some of the paintings in the Vatican.

As for this week, the weather has warmed up and so we threw the windows open throughout the day and night. I think that the outdoor lullaby isn't as sweet as she's used to, so she's begin waking a bit more often at night. In contrast with my former self, I'm sure she'll work it out.

But for now, I find myself typing this on my phone as I'm sitting in the car hoping she can extend her nap and catch up on some much needed sleep!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

First Day Spent Outside!

Week 16

Tricks: Can get halfway down the crawl track; can spin on her back with some help; has brought the pacifier to her mouth twice; a few other 'getting better at doing' things

Life:  All smiles.  Such a happy happy baby. We are blessed beyond belief. She's getting into quite a nice routine.  Her night time sleep has started earlier and been lasting longer.  Given her daytime naps have gotten shorter, it's a fair trade. :) She's getting stronger and I'm realizing she's almost ready to go up another size in clothes from 3 months to the 3-6 months (which isn't so bad).  She's getting to recognize faces now and gets extra excited to see her Dad in the mornings and when he gets home.  

David got home last night after she'd bunkered down for the evening.  He seemed so sad to have missed her awake and smiling at him.  He got to hold her and cuddle for a bit before putting her into her crib and again this morning (since she nodded off MUCH earlier last night, around 7:30pm and woke up for the day around 7:30am).  Such fun to see them interact.  Love spilling over both directions.

A Taste of Spring

Wow - I had no idea how much the weather can affect our moods.  We've been inside all winter - both with baby and the historic snowstorms - you almost forget what a sunny day feels like. :)

After we cancelled our mommy-date since everyone was snowed in - literally, Heather was joking that she'll have to plan her 2nd baby to be a summer delivery.  Being stuck inside with a newborn, bundling up, and dealing with cabin fever isn't a new mom's best option.  With the break in temperature, we're outside as much as we can be, walking everywhere, planting the garden, working outside.

Ellie spent her first day outside with me in the bouncy chair, while I turned the soil and threw in an early crop of kale, collard greens, mesclun, beets, radishes and some chinese cabbage (whatever that is).  She just hung out the entire time!  Perfect little angel.  The neighbor came over and asked to borrow a shovel.  She laughed and smiled at him for almost 20 minutes.  He brought her back some crocus(es) for 'her garden'. 

How can you avoid being in a good mood?!

The Poop Decoder

A diaper always goes on clean - but you never know what you're gonna get in the morning. :) This was her Happy St. Patrick's Day onesie...maybe too much Guinness.  Diaper Decoder

Week 15

Tricks: we got another 2 roll overs, even better laughter, learning to have 'favorite' toys, loving tummy time, smiles at the dogs, beginning to entertain herself

Life: Yikes! 15 sounds so old!

I was filing bills yesterday during her nap when I started to hear a strange noise: turns out Ellie was sucking and slurping her hands after she woke up. No crying. :) Yay baby!

Ellie came down with her first cold. I fought taking her to the doctor's office, but after missing 2 feedings because her poor little nose was too stuffed up for her to breathe and eat at the same time. So David came home to take us to the pediatrician, after a quick visit we left with a prescription for ammoxacilin to treat her ear infection. To treat her cold, we were told to stick with the humidifier and saline spray. And apparently diarrhea for this age just means that she's pooping almost every hour. We have diarrhea.

Sweet baby still smiles through it all, except when she's hungry and can't eat until her sinuses clear up. She's a trooper!

Love you Munchkin!

Shore Trip

I headed to the shore for the first time with baby. Dave and his buddies were meeting up in Harrisburg for a guy's weekend, so off we went with Annie, Dan and Mary Helena to Sea Isle City, NJ.  The weather was unbeatable!!! Just fantastic. 

Watching the little girls interact was so new.  Mary squeals when she sees Ellie.  She's been doing that for a while.  This time around, Ellie seemed like she was able to comprehend the buddy-system she will have with her cousin.  She just stared at Mary and smiled, watching her like a hawk!  We threw a blanket onto the floor and made it sort of home base for the girls' toys.  Mary was crawling everywhere, but didn't go far when Ellie was down there too.

Can't wait to see them by the end of the summer!

Outings

Setting: Amish Farmer's Market

Situation: shopping for food for the shore. We planned on getting in and out within the hour. Turned into more of a two and a half hour trip.

Reason: people love to smile at babies. Ellie was more than happy to return the smiles and show off her flailing arms and legs. We were in the produce section (around hour 1) and I turned to look at the bananas (don't worry, lesson learned, I had my hand on her leg while I turned away.) when boom, she was out like a light! All of those funny faces tired her out! We got through the bakery and the meat sections and she awoke again, (about 45 minutes later). I was able to get the other shopping done in the meantime. We were heading to the car and it took us an HOUR to get out of the place with so much interest in the baby. Granted, I was feeling very polite and sociable, but it was hilarious!

She slept so well!

Darn cold!

Poor Baby's first cold is really sticking around! She was up a lot last night boy being able to breathe through her nose and occassionally phlem would get in the way too! We will likely head to the Doctor's later today, since I need to get more fluids into her.

Week 14

Tricks: She rolls halfway over and then back.  She's making new cooing sounds - more razzing noises.  When I pull her up by her arms to a sitting position, she goes right to standing up - forgets about the sitting part! HA. 

Life:  Baby's first cold arrived this weekend.  Surprisingly, I've been sick twice now and she'd never gotten it.  This time, she's sick and it skipped over me. Symptoms:  runny nose, fever, cough, phlem and cuddly.  I'm shocked to have found that she's not really been cranky, miserable, etc.  She's still the happy, smiley baby she always seems to be.  The coughs will interrupt her conversations with the toys, and she'll struggle to eat and breathe at the same time (obviously, this is the biggest problem). But that's it.  She's still so stinkin' sweet!