i was noticing last night that nissa uses both hands to feed herself right now and i was kind of impressed. she favors her right hand usually, but last night it was pretty even between the two.
she favors her right hand when sucking her thumb, but tends to wave with her left. she uses both to bring balls into her toy, but has more success with her left. i want to say she tends to use her right hand to grab your face (charming little skill that is), but i'm not sure if that's true or if it is, if it's a function of how i tend to hold her and that's the hand that's free.
the books say kids don't favor a hand this early, but with the thumb sucking, i wasn't convinced. now i am!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
tooth!!
last night i was encouraging nissa to walk (gulp) by holding her arms up in a standing position. (why, again, was this the first time i was doing this and adam has been doing so for what he makes out to be forever!?!?!?!) i was sitting on the floor, so my arms weren't that high and she proceeded to chomp on my finger. aside from having a startlingly strong bite, i noticed a bit more texture than the usual gummy softness. sure enough, there was a sliver of a tooth in there!
i thought she'd be a toothless wonder for ever!!
she had a fever last tuesday and wednesday evening, but nothing since. she's been somewhat cranky, but nothing too unexplainable, given some recent sleeping shifts. this explains everything.
now i'll get to find out first hand if a teething baby can nurse without too much discomfort for mom. fingers crossed. . .
i thought she'd be a toothless wonder for ever!!
she had a fever last tuesday and wednesday evening, but nothing since. she's been somewhat cranky, but nothing too unexplainable, given some recent sleeping shifts. this explains everything.
now i'll get to find out first hand if a teething baby can nurse without too much discomfort for mom. fingers crossed. . .
Monday, July 20, 2009
up, up, and away
nissa has been pulling herself up on everything in the last few days. and not just pulling herself around, pulling herself up to her feet! she uses her toy, the brass kick rail on the bar, the foot rest on the bar stool, the coffee table, her crib. good thing we dropped her mattress down in the crib! i have the sneaking suspicion she's getting ready to walk soon. not that long ago, it was amazing that she pulled herself up to her knees. then she pulled up to her feet once or twice. now, walking in closer on her knees to easily pull up to her feet is old hat. i swear it's only been a few days!
adam and i have already discussed that since nissa would be crawling when we went camping, we'd leave her home with grandma and grandpa. BUT if she's walking. . . maybe she could come with us? that would be sooooo cool. the last trip kept me at camp more than usual because it was gibson's first trip and he didnt' like being left alone (i.e. not many fishing trips). so, if he's keeping me camp-bound anyways, why not have a toddler too? i shouldn't get my hopes up. one thing at a time.
speaking of up up and away will be nissa and i in september. ever since kate moved to jackson, WY last year, i've wanted to visit her. before, i was pregnant. but i diligently watched airfare for the prime moment to fly less expensively. the airfare came, and after getting my head on straight, i found dates that could work well. so now nissa and i fly direct chicago to jackson, friday to monday. i can't wait!
the other plans that finally got arranged last week were for nissa's baptism. not sure what the hang up was, but we have a date set for 8/22. we're still arranging for an invite list and dinner location, but at least we know when it will be.
adam and i have already discussed that since nissa would be crawling when we went camping, we'd leave her home with grandma and grandpa. BUT if she's walking. . . maybe she could come with us? that would be sooooo cool. the last trip kept me at camp more than usual because it was gibson's first trip and he didnt' like being left alone (i.e. not many fishing trips). so, if he's keeping me camp-bound anyways, why not have a toddler too? i shouldn't get my hopes up. one thing at a time.
speaking of up up and away will be nissa and i in september. ever since kate moved to jackson, WY last year, i've wanted to visit her. before, i was pregnant. but i diligently watched airfare for the prime moment to fly less expensively. the airfare came, and after getting my head on straight, i found dates that could work well. so now nissa and i fly direct chicago to jackson, friday to monday. i can't wait!
the other plans that finally got arranged last week were for nissa's baptism. not sure what the hang up was, but we have a date set for 8/22. we're still arranging for an invite list and dinner location, but at least we know when it will be.
Friday, July 17, 2009
fabulous food finds
so the last two days have been interesting in the food department. wednesday nissa tried extra firm tofu rolled in graham cracker crumbs. she loved to pick up the little cubes and from what i can tell, got the majority of them in her mouth. unfortunately, they are not as sturdy as the cherrios we've had to date, so if nissa misses her mouth, it's a bit more messy because the little cubes crumble under the pressure of her modified pincer grip. the best part was she loved to eat them! she was enthusiastic when i offered them directly into her mouth and was eager to get them in on her own too. plus, the tofu did not give her gas, as it does her father.
last night we ventured into the world of meat. i had roasted a chicken and took some breast meat to grind up for her. man, that food mill comes in handy! the resulting grind was dry and crumbly, making it hard to spoon feed and not all that tasty. on it's own, the chicken was rather moist. . . i guess the grinding took it's toll. i took a chance and stirred in some olive oil and it worked like a charm. the oil seemed to bring out the chicken flavor and made it easier to work with on the spoon. nissa seemed to enjoy the chicken, though it ended up all over the place. i'm curious to see how things work out on the back end.
in general, nissa doesn't eat all that much when we "eat" and i'm not sure if i need to change that. she can't be eating more than an ounce or two in a sitting and i think eating is still a novelty for her. she usually doesn't stick with it for very long before loosing interest. i doubt she's full because soon afterwards she's demanding to nurse. i've been letting her call the shots so far and i'm not sure when i need to start stepping in and making sure more solids get eaten. i'll have to ask around and get some opinions. she seems to be happy and healthy otherwise and sleeping well. i think i should check her weight.
last night we ventured into the world of meat. i had roasted a chicken and took some breast meat to grind up for her. man, that food mill comes in handy! the resulting grind was dry and crumbly, making it hard to spoon feed and not all that tasty. on it's own, the chicken was rather moist. . . i guess the grinding took it's toll. i took a chance and stirred in some olive oil and it worked like a charm. the oil seemed to bring out the chicken flavor and made it easier to work with on the spoon. nissa seemed to enjoy the chicken, though it ended up all over the place. i'm curious to see how things work out on the back end.
in general, nissa doesn't eat all that much when we "eat" and i'm not sure if i need to change that. she can't be eating more than an ounce or two in a sitting and i think eating is still a novelty for her. she usually doesn't stick with it for very long before loosing interest. i doubt she's full because soon afterwards she's demanding to nurse. i've been letting her call the shots so far and i'm not sure when i need to start stepping in and making sure more solids get eaten. i'll have to ask around and get some opinions. she seems to be happy and healthy otherwise and sleeping well. i think i should check her weight.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
playing with. . . toys!?
so far, nissa has had more fun playing with boxes than actual toys. she'll chew on her diapers instead of a teether.
but i pulled out the walker toy the other day, intended for 9 months and up, and she loves it. she'll crawl to "chase" one of the balls along the floor (when she grabs for it, she ends up pushing it away, or does she do it on purpose?). she'll pull the lever to make it play the stupid song. but the most exciting thing she does is take the balls and other shapes and put them right in the hole at the top. she did this for the first time a few days ago and i was so impressed. the lights light up, the little tune sounds and she reaches for another. when did she get so coordinated? surely this is some type of milestone? it's just so cool. i'm working on showing her which shapes go in which hole, but those don't make sounds or light up, so there's a lot less motivation there.
nissa's other neat trick is to climb up the toy. if i hold it still, she'll pull herself up to kneeling from her stomach, then inch in her knees. if she's really feeling tough, she'll keep pulling until she's standing. she's already taken a tumble from this position, but still goes back, so i feel less guilty for letting her fall [and bawl hysterically :(]. the other day she kept pulling, stepping on the wheels for more height, so she could chew on the red handlebar. it was so cute to watch her work so hard to get into such a precarious position. she seemed happy up there, though.
when the day is done, nissa's gotten an excellent work out and i know she'll love to climb when she's bigger (just like me!). when she's tired and ready for bed, sometimes she'll scream, but usually she sucks her thumb and folds her ear. i like the latter much better.
but i pulled out the walker toy the other day, intended for 9 months and up, and she loves it. she'll crawl to "chase" one of the balls along the floor (when she grabs for it, she ends up pushing it away, or does she do it on purpose?). she'll pull the lever to make it play the stupid song. but the most exciting thing she does is take the balls and other shapes and put them right in the hole at the top. she did this for the first time a few days ago and i was so impressed. the lights light up, the little tune sounds and she reaches for another. when did she get so coordinated? surely this is some type of milestone? it's just so cool. i'm working on showing her which shapes go in which hole, but those don't make sounds or light up, so there's a lot less motivation there.
nissa's other neat trick is to climb up the toy. if i hold it still, she'll pull herself up to kneeling from her stomach, then inch in her knees. if she's really feeling tough, she'll keep pulling until she's standing. she's already taken a tumble from this position, but still goes back, so i feel less guilty for letting her fall [and bawl hysterically :(]. the other day she kept pulling, stepping on the wheels for more height, so she could chew on the red handlebar. it was so cute to watch her work so hard to get into such a precarious position. she seemed happy up there, though.
when the day is done, nissa's gotten an excellent work out and i know she'll love to climb when she's bigger (just like me!). when she's tired and ready for bed, sometimes she'll scream, but usually she sucks her thumb and folds her ear. i like the latter much better.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
independence day - sarah's baptism
i'm a week past due in writing and it's killing me. i'm not sure where the time goes, but it goes quickly and the last 2 weeks have brought some fun and exciting stuff, so i need to get it down now while i'm thinking of it. funny enough, yesterday scott asked me how i get anything done with such a cute baby. my response- i don't. and it's true. when i get home, it's make dinner and eat. then hang out with nissa till she goes to bed at 9. then i'm so tired from the day i use that last hour to relax and try very diligently to get to bed by 10. it's usually later than that, but i'm still getting by ok on sleep, and there's always the weekends.
so last weekend, saturday was independence day. i had friday off, so in the morning nissa, gibson and i went to the dog beach. gibson had a great time chasing tennis balls and other dogs. nissa loved watching all the doggy antics. near the end of the visit, gibson went off to handle his business. when i went to pick up after him, i noticed his poop looked funny, so i went in for a closer inspection. sure enough, there were dollar bills in his poop! i could see a $20 and $1, so i scooped it up and called adam to share the amusing news and get his opinion on keeping or dumping. of course, he said to keep it (eeewwww) and so i did. we enjoyed ourselves on the beach a while longer, then headed home to do some stuff around the house. fast forward 4 days (really eewwww) to when i actually got around to sorting through the poop. while gross, i'm glad for 2 things- adam's suggestion and latex gloves. it turns out there was $58 in mixed bills in that pile!! i've since washed the bits in the sink twice and taped them together. i'm hoping the bank will provide replacement bills for all but one, since i have less than 51% of that one.
the 4th was one of the more fun days we've had in a while. nissa and i got up and hung out for a bit before packing into the van to visit lisa's family for a bbq. the weather was dreary, but the tail on the sling proved handy during the walk from the car. nissa got to meet katie & freddy's dog mimi, whom ended up more scared of nissa than nissa of mimi. you can truly tell which babies are used to being around dogs. we spent the majority of our time there tucked away in the 3rd bedroom, avoiding the chaos that was the rest of lisa's family. to be fair, it's mostly chaotic because of all the little girls and i did follow lisa into the room. she was hiding too. we took advantage of the room's crib to take some super cute pictures of the cousins in their coordinating outfits. accidentally coordinating- i have to say. each got their outfits from different people, but we did choose to have them wear them that day. here is one of my favorites from the "shoot":
after a nice afternoon of chatting, nissa and i headed home to check in with gibson, then head right back out to evanston. we took the el there, so we could get a ride back with adam. we got there a bit early, but it worked out just fine. the commute was interesting, with everyone wanting to say hello to this cutie of mine. i nursed her on the first train, changed her diaper on the second, so we arrived prepared. we were ready when the fireworks started and nissa loved them. she spent part of the time sitting on daddy's shoulders, the rest of the time on my lap laying down. it was past her bed time, after all. she watched wide-eyed and captivated the entire time, barely flinching from the occasional boom. she even giggled every once in a while. it wasn't until the next day that i even considered that she might not have enjoyed the fireworks. my kid is so cool!
sunday we hung out around the house again. i pulled some weeds and set up the sprinkler. nissa and i ran through it a few times to cool off. i think i enjoyed it more than she did. but she looked super cute in her new suit!
the weekend was highlighted by nissa sporting the new wool soakers i crocheted for her. i finally got around to finishing then lanolizing them, which takes some time. i'm proud to say they work great! when nissa has a wet diaper, you can tell if you're holding her, but it's not wet. it's weird, but kinda neat. only problem is when they get poopy. my 2 meager efforts so far haven't worked well, so i'm waiting for some wool wash to work some magic so i can get them back into rotation.
nissa is pulling herself up on things, but wasn't pulling quite up to her feet yet. until last night! while holding down the new walker toy she's been enjoying, she managed to climb up the front by pulling herself up and impressively coordinating those little knees to walk herself closer to the toy. she pulled up all the way to her feet and stood for several seconds before tipping over, landing on her back and screaming hysterically. (chalk that one up to yet another bad mommy moment!) last night i left her sitting up facing the bars in her crib and she pulled herself up to almost standing a few times. she fell backward from sitting and screamed hysterically yet again. i guess falling backward is really scary and i need to help out in preventing that more. she got up to kneeling a few nights ago (more of a genuflecting position with one foot flat) and though i was all impressed, adam insisted she does that all the time. he says that a lot, now that i think about it, and it's a bit irritating. i spend just as much time, if not more, with nissa, why does she seem to do all the cool stuff when he's around???
anyways. she crawls well, but still pretty low to the ground. she can really bolt when she wants to; usually toward something i DONT want her to have. like cords, the vertical fan that could fall on her, playstation controllers, all the good stuff.
i hear she holds her bottle, but i nurse her when i'm home, so i haven't seen that in action. it's that much more of a feat since we're using glass and it's so heavy!
every diaper change is a wrestling match and if i don't distract her well enough, i've mastered the art of applying a cloth diaper butt-side-up. some days are trickier than others. my best distraction so far is taking one of her toys and chewing on it myself. i kind of "growl" while doing it and show my teeth and nissa finds it completely hilarious. i try to save that move for when i'm really not up for the challenge of a full match. . . who knows how much longer it'll work!
she is developing a love for solids and really, i mean really, enjoyed some spaghetti and jarred sauce the other day. she's never taken to something on a spoon quite so enthusiastically and it was super cool. conversely, we tried carrots the other day and they were a no go. she enjoyed picking up little carrot rounds, but she never got them down. i tried milled carrots and after 2 spoon fulls, she refused to take any more. oh well. i froze the rest for a rainy day.
nissa continues to love gibson, and most other dogs as well. she smiles huge when he comes in the room and always wants to touch him. too bad that usually means pulling his hair out. :(
this weekend my parents were it town, so they stopped by saturday morning. we got to show off all the cool new things nissa can do. it was short, but good. i was hoping to get out to visit our friends dann and erica, but adam hasn't been feeling well, so nissa and i stayed home to keep him company.
yesterday was sarah's baptism and it was beautiful. 3 different babies were being baptized and they barely made a peep! i was so impressed. after the ceremony we took lots of pictures, then we were off to rick and lisa's house for lunch. with all the family, it was a bit cozy in the basement, but everyone seemed to be well fed and enjoying the visit, so i think rick and lisa did a wonderful job. i know they were a bit stressed, but everything turned out great and their efforts were worth the money they saved. nissa was a big hit yet again, waving at everyone and willingly went from person to person. she got a bit fussy after arriving at rick and lisa's but that was remedied by some time in the sling.
so last weekend, saturday was independence day. i had friday off, so in the morning nissa, gibson and i went to the dog beach. gibson had a great time chasing tennis balls and other dogs. nissa loved watching all the doggy antics. near the end of the visit, gibson went off to handle his business. when i went to pick up after him, i noticed his poop looked funny, so i went in for a closer inspection. sure enough, there were dollar bills in his poop! i could see a $20 and $1, so i scooped it up and called adam to share the amusing news and get his opinion on keeping or dumping. of course, he said to keep it (eeewwww) and so i did. we enjoyed ourselves on the beach a while longer, then headed home to do some stuff around the house. fast forward 4 days (really eewwww) to when i actually got around to sorting through the poop. while gross, i'm glad for 2 things- adam's suggestion and latex gloves. it turns out there was $58 in mixed bills in that pile!! i've since washed the bits in the sink twice and taped them together. i'm hoping the bank will provide replacement bills for all but one, since i have less than 51% of that one.
the 4th was one of the more fun days we've had in a while. nissa and i got up and hung out for a bit before packing into the van to visit lisa's family for a bbq. the weather was dreary, but the tail on the sling proved handy during the walk from the car. nissa got to meet katie & freddy's dog mimi, whom ended up more scared of nissa than nissa of mimi. you can truly tell which babies are used to being around dogs. we spent the majority of our time there tucked away in the 3rd bedroom, avoiding the chaos that was the rest of lisa's family. to be fair, it's mostly chaotic because of all the little girls and i did follow lisa into the room. she was hiding too. we took advantage of the room's crib to take some super cute pictures of the cousins in their coordinating outfits. accidentally coordinating- i have to say. each got their outfits from different people, but we did choose to have them wear them that day. here is one of my favorites from the "shoot":
after a nice afternoon of chatting, nissa and i headed home to check in with gibson, then head right back out to evanston. we took the el there, so we could get a ride back with adam. we got there a bit early, but it worked out just fine. the commute was interesting, with everyone wanting to say hello to this cutie of mine. i nursed her on the first train, changed her diaper on the second, so we arrived prepared. we were ready when the fireworks started and nissa loved them. she spent part of the time sitting on daddy's shoulders, the rest of the time on my lap laying down. it was past her bed time, after all. she watched wide-eyed and captivated the entire time, barely flinching from the occasional boom. she even giggled every once in a while. it wasn't until the next day that i even considered that she might not have enjoyed the fireworks. my kid is so cool!
sunday we hung out around the house again. i pulled some weeds and set up the sprinkler. nissa and i ran through it a few times to cool off. i think i enjoyed it more than she did. but she looked super cute in her new suit!
the weekend was highlighted by nissa sporting the new wool soakers i crocheted for her. i finally got around to finishing then lanolizing them, which takes some time. i'm proud to say they work great! when nissa has a wet diaper, you can tell if you're holding her, but it's not wet. it's weird, but kinda neat. only problem is when they get poopy. my 2 meager efforts so far haven't worked well, so i'm waiting for some wool wash to work some magic so i can get them back into rotation.
nissa is pulling herself up on things, but wasn't pulling quite up to her feet yet. until last night! while holding down the new walker toy she's been enjoying, she managed to climb up the front by pulling herself up and impressively coordinating those little knees to walk herself closer to the toy. she pulled up all the way to her feet and stood for several seconds before tipping over, landing on her back and screaming hysterically. (chalk that one up to yet another bad mommy moment!) last night i left her sitting up facing the bars in her crib and she pulled herself up to almost standing a few times. she fell backward from sitting and screamed hysterically yet again. i guess falling backward is really scary and i need to help out in preventing that more. she got up to kneeling a few nights ago (more of a genuflecting position with one foot flat) and though i was all impressed, adam insisted she does that all the time. he says that a lot, now that i think about it, and it's a bit irritating. i spend just as much time, if not more, with nissa, why does she seem to do all the cool stuff when he's around???
anyways. she crawls well, but still pretty low to the ground. she can really bolt when she wants to; usually toward something i DONT want her to have. like cords, the vertical fan that could fall on her, playstation controllers, all the good stuff.
i hear she holds her bottle, but i nurse her when i'm home, so i haven't seen that in action. it's that much more of a feat since we're using glass and it's so heavy!
every diaper change is a wrestling match and if i don't distract her well enough, i've mastered the art of applying a cloth diaper butt-side-up. some days are trickier than others. my best distraction so far is taking one of her toys and chewing on it myself. i kind of "growl" while doing it and show my teeth and nissa finds it completely hilarious. i try to save that move for when i'm really not up for the challenge of a full match. . . who knows how much longer it'll work!
she is developing a love for solids and really, i mean really, enjoyed some spaghetti and jarred sauce the other day. she's never taken to something on a spoon quite so enthusiastically and it was super cool. conversely, we tried carrots the other day and they were a no go. she enjoyed picking up little carrot rounds, but she never got them down. i tried milled carrots and after 2 spoon fulls, she refused to take any more. oh well. i froze the rest for a rainy day.
nissa continues to love gibson, and most other dogs as well. she smiles huge when he comes in the room and always wants to touch him. too bad that usually means pulling his hair out. :(
this weekend my parents were it town, so they stopped by saturday morning. we got to show off all the cool new things nissa can do. it was short, but good. i was hoping to get out to visit our friends dann and erica, but adam hasn't been feeling well, so nissa and i stayed home to keep him company.
yesterday was sarah's baptism and it was beautiful. 3 different babies were being baptized and they barely made a peep! i was so impressed. after the ceremony we took lots of pictures, then we were off to rick and lisa's house for lunch. with all the family, it was a bit cozy in the basement, but everyone seemed to be well fed and enjoying the visit, so i think rick and lisa did a wonderful job. i know they were a bit stressed, but everything turned out great and their efforts were worth the money they saved. nissa was a big hit yet again, waving at everyone and willingly went from person to person. she got a bit fussy after arriving at rick and lisa's but that was remedied by some time in the sling.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
finger foods
last night we officially made our foray into the world of finger foods. nissa has enjoyed cheerios before, but last night she really did well getting them from table to mouth. sometimes it meant putting nearly her whole hand in her mouth, sometimes it meant getting a little help from her other hand. . . but most all of the cheerios put out made it in. gibson took care of the rest :D
nissa hasn't perfected the pincer grip yet, so she spends most of her time pointing diligently with both hands. that little index finger will curl around and get something, or in the case of cheerios, pick them up with sticky-power. the big success was getting banana bits in the mouth. they're super slippery on their own, but once in her mouth, they run the risk of slipping out. after a few tries most bits stayed put.
what frustrates adam and i alike is her insistence on being with me when i'm in the room. she can't hang out with daddy if i'm right there. she cries and fusses and reaches out for me. it's cute for a second, but really frustrating for adam. although last night i think she was fussing out of tiredness mostly, but still.
i know there was something else i wanted to write about, but it's just not coming to me. yes, the dreaded baby-brain persists and will be the death of me. i've found little ways to cope, but every day i find some other little thing i've forgotten. i'm sure by the time i get my brain back it'll be time to have another baby and i'll be doomed.
nissa hasn't perfected the pincer grip yet, so she spends most of her time pointing diligently with both hands. that little index finger will curl around and get something, or in the case of cheerios, pick them up with sticky-power. the big success was getting banana bits in the mouth. they're super slippery on their own, but once in her mouth, they run the risk of slipping out. after a few tries most bits stayed put.
what frustrates adam and i alike is her insistence on being with me when i'm in the room. she can't hang out with daddy if i'm right there. she cries and fusses and reaches out for me. it's cute for a second, but really frustrating for adam. although last night i think she was fussing out of tiredness mostly, but still.
i know there was something else i wanted to write about, but it's just not coming to me. yes, the dreaded baby-brain persists and will be the death of me. i've found little ways to cope, but every day i find some other little thing i've forgotten. i'm sure by the time i get my brain back it'll be time to have another baby and i'll be doomed.
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