11 Months Old

The month started out strong. With Alexa's latest sickness behind her, she made it the entire week at school. Alexa and Jerrod continued their super cute relationship. This week they made everyone smile. They sat chris cross apple sauce & leaned towards each other until their foreheads touched. They were just as entertained by this as the teachers were. Sadly, Jerrod will be transitioning in just a few weeks. Alexa's other friends are Olivia & Riley. The three girls are all within a month of age, Alexa being in the middle. They started crawling the exact same week. If they are walking at the same time then their room will be a busy one.

Alexa started climbing the stairs just days after she started walking around furniture. She went from minimal interest in moving to making it her goal each day. She walks around the tables, couches & even her toys. She will take steps between items & stands alone for a few seconds at a time. She does not have the normal fear. At times she just let goes of whatever her support is and tries to go. As a result she has many bruises to show for it. When Alexa climbs the stairs it is terrifying to me. When she is tired she will turn around and want to walk down. I have to keep a close eye on her these days. I have not put up baby gates yet for a few reasons. One reason being that I want her to learn how to use the stairs safely. She has not mastered going down them yet, but we are working on it. When she is upstairs I do not leave her side unless the door is shut.

We had another sleepover with Ariel, but this time Angelina stayed too. We all got a fresh coat of toe nail polish and I also did Angelina's fingers. This was Ariel's first pedicure and she did awesome. Angelina told her she had to sit still and she did. Both of the babies were up later than normal but eventually did get tired. In the morning we all had breakfast around Alexa's new picnic table. It was a very exhausting few hours but definitely worth it.

Alexa had her first big fall this month. She has always believed she can do more than she really can. Walking is no different for Alexa. For awhile she would stand up and just go. Unfortunately her balance does not keep up with her drive. She ended up having a huge wipe out at school. They called me immediately which they are required to do with any head injury. They gave me an update about ten minutes later and I decided to let her stay at school. When I got there they warned me how bad it was going to look. Honestly it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. She did not have any long term effects from the bruise. However she did bump it on things for a few days which upset her off and on.

We went to the local farmers market as a field trip & shopping trip. Alexa made a lot of friends. We ended up getting lots of fruits and veggies for Alexa's meals and some honey butter & homemade bread for me. Alexa did not care for the homemade food as much as her jarred baby food. I did put some of the food I made into a jar and she did not seem to mind it. So maybe I just need to be more creative.

Last Saturday we went to the Carousel Museum here in Leavenworth. It is a hidden treasure around here. I discovered it after getting lost the previous weekend. The carousel seemed to be unusually fast. Alexa did not seem to mind but I felt a little dizzy. The carousel had baby horses for the smaller children. It was a fun experience that I am sure we will do again. We ended the weekend with a visit to the park where we watched the fisherman and then a quick trip to the pool. The baby pool is a little too deep for Alexa and she is not allowed to have her flotation device there. I put her in the infant life jacket, which she did not enjoy. So our pool trip ended up being a short one.

Alexa and I were supposed to have a four week session of parent child swim lessons. We went to the first class and really enjoyed ourselves. The next morning Alexa was not acting like her normal self. I made her a doctor’s appointment on our way to school/work for that afternoon. I thought she would make it the entire day. Not fully to my surprise her school called me at 10:30 to tell me she was sick. I picked her up and found out she had another ear infection. This is her fourth one in 8 weeks. We were given antibiotics and a referral for the ENT. Her ENT appointment is next week. We have heard great things about tubes. Hopefully the doctor is able to get her issues resolved. She will be a much happier girl if she did not get sick so much.

The next day Alexa was feeling a lot better. She returned to school and has slowly started returning to her normal self. One thing I have learned with Alexa is to hide her medicine in her milk. I put her antibiotics in her morning & bed time bottles and Tylenol in the afternoon bottle. She does not seem to notice & it allows me to avoid the struggle of having to give her medicine plain.

Alexa’s eating is still our biggest struggle. Some days she will eat the 6oz jars of baby food at each meal & still want her bottles. Other days she will refuse the solids all together. She has still not fed herself any food. At home and school she is offered finger food but she ends up throwing them on the floor. When I spoon feed her food that has chunks in it, she throws up. I was told the best way to cure this is repeat exposure. So far this has not worked. I do however add oatmeal cereal to most of her foods to thicken them up for her. She does not seem to mind this. Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, peas & bananas.

I was not in a big rush to take Alexa off the bottle. However I was going to try to introduce the Sippy cup per the schools request. Alexa took to it like a champ. This weekend she went without the bottle completely. However she has trouble holding the Sippy cup. So I do still help her with it. I feel she is on a good track to be 100% bottle free by her first birthday. At school they are still using bottles during the day. Alexa also started whole milk at exactly 11 months. She will be having 1 ounce in each bottle with 5 ounces of breast milk. Each week we will change the ratio to add an additional ounce of whole milk. So far so good! Alexa does not seem to notice the difference & her body seems to be taking to it well. This is another thing we should have mastered by her first birthday.

I am starting to realize there are a lot of big changes happening this month. Her sleeping habits are where I consider ideal. She goes to bed between 7 & 730. I sometimes rock her, but usually just lay her down. She rolls around for a few minutes and then falls asleep. I usually wake her up around 6:30am. For some reason every weekend she wakes up at 6. Not sure why? She takes a nap at school from 1130 to 1 or 130 on the cot and then a short 10 minute nap on the way home. On the weekends she tends to take an hour nap at 9 & then again at 1. She has two very consistent schedules.

Alexa’s vocabulary includes Mama, Dada, Ut-oh, Dat (Cat) & Hi ya. Sometimes she gets creative and combines her vocab. We love when she says “Hi ya Dada” as she waves to Justin. She knows how to shake her head no and tries to sign more if I ask her if she wants milk. She knows Mickey Mouse means TV & when I go to the basement it means dinner for the cats. Instead of following me to the basement she goes to their bowls and waits for me.

This month we are going to be working on her walking, eating & transitioning from bottles to Sippy cups. She will also celebrate her birthday in Cincinnati with all of her Grandparents & most of her aunts & uncles. We are more than 7 months into our year long deployment. I am sure they last few months will go just as quickly as the first have.

10 Months Old

The month started out with Alexa's 9 month photos. I decided to do a patriotic/ 4Th of July theme. It only seemed fitting. Alexa loves getting her picture taken. She sat where we put her & smiled every time the photographer held up the camera. I always wonder what is going through Alexa's head when she sees a camera. Can she really comprehend what a picture is? What is her reasoning for smiling? Anyways, I am glad she enjoys it. Saturday evening I noticed Alexa was not her normal happy self. She started coming down with a fever. This is when I knew we were in trouble. She slept most of the night but woke up looking weak. I gave her some Tylenol & went to Walmart to pick up some Motrin. She seems to quickly improve. Monday morning I took her to school. They called me around 1pm saying she was not eating & was not happy. At 2:40 they called back to say she had a fever and needed to be picked up. I took her back to work with me where she slept for a little while.

Tuesday morning we went to the doctor. Of course her fever was gone, she never has a fever when we get there. Her doctor heard wheezing in her lungs. They sent us to get a chest xray. This was the most shocking parental experience ever. Alexa was put on a bicycle seat that was in a cut out of a table. They then had me hold her hands over her head. They put a clear cylinder around her & strapped it closed. I was terrified & Alexa was screaming. It was the longest 5 minutes ever. All I could do was hold her hands & talk to her. The xrays showed pneumonia. I cannot believe it! Alexa was given a breathing treatment & two shots of antibiotics. We were sent home with an inhaler to help her breathe.

Wednesday we went back to the doctors for a follow up. Alexa's lungs were sounded better. We were given an antibiotics prescription that will last 10 days. Alexa seems to be doing great. I am sooo grateful to have such a happy girl. Although I hate her being sick, I have enjoyed the extra few days with her.

Forth of July weekend Alexa and I flew to Cincinnati. Our flight was at 7:30am which meant we had an early morning. Alexa slept for most of the flight and I had to wake her up when we arrived. I am fortunate that Alexa is such a great traveler. Saturday afternoon was spent at Coney Island. Alexa really enjoyed walking around the floaty in the shallow end & floating around in the deep in. Saturday evening we had a family dinner. Alexa is starting to get her appetite back, but is still eating like a bird.

On Sunday we had a cousin picture with Matthew & Jackson. All three babies were overwhelmed. There were lots of tears & fearful faces and a few smiles. They looked extra adorable in their matching orange outfits. Even though it was a very trying morning, I am glad to have the photo. We then proceed on to lunch. Of course Jackson slept for most of the meal. Alexa threw a fit because she wanted to be held & Matthew made a mess of the restaurant floor. Just another typical day for these babies. The afternoon was spent at Mom's neighborhood pool. The sight of three babies literally walking around the baby pool in their matching floaties was ADORABLE. They all enjoy the water & I think the Mommy's all enjoy the activity as well. Sunday evening we were off to Megan & Steve's to watch some fireworks. Their neighbors put on quite the show. I believe I was one of the most scared people out there. And of course I was hit by a "tail" right below my right eye. It scared me more than anything. But this type of thing is the reason I have my fears.

Like always we both very much enjoyed our trip to Cincinnati. The only fear I really have about traveling is having Alexa scream on the airplane. Monday morning it was time to face the inevitable. We arrived at the airport with enough time to get a quick snack, change & feed Alexa and then board the plane. Alexa would NOT stop crying. I gave her a bottle & then another.. I was really getting nervous. She took 12oz of milk in a matter of 30 minutes and I did not have anymore for her. Then the announcement came... we were delayed. They were not sure how long it was going to me. I really started to panic. Fortunately it was only a minor maintenance issue and we were ready to board. Alexa did OK for most of the flight. There was a small child behind us, I am certain she was under 2. She screamed for most of the flight. There were many rude people who were making comments and giving death stares. Most of these people were not parents & had no idea that the parents were already embarrassed and having a hard time. I wish people would understand that parents do not want to have their child screaming, but they are unable to stop them. The little girl was grabbing her ears and clearly in pain. When we got off the plane people were looking at me like it was Alexa making all that noise. I was quick to say "it was not mine." I know it was not necessary since these are complete strangers, but I was embarrassed.

The next day was my birthday. I spent most of the day working, but left 2 hours early to give myself a "treat". We ended up doing some grocery shopping & cleaning stuff around the house. I made myself some birthday cookies & called it an early night. The rest of the week was quick & uneventful.

Alexa has a few new words this week. To add to her vocabulary of Mom, Dad, Ut Oh is Dat (Cat) & Oh yah. She tries to make other sounds but is still learning. I love watching her crawl around after Bengal & Carson saying "Dat". I am sure she will keep them young. She has also discovered their food & water bowls. She loves to empty out their food for them, even when they are eating out it. I do not believe they appreciate this jesture. She enjoys splashing in their water bowl until she is completely wet.

One thing this month that I have been working on as a mother is figuring out my parenting approach. I was very much into attachment parenting while she was an infant. Now we are starting a new chapter and I feel I need to get a plan in place. I started reading "Attached at the Heart" & "Unconditional Parenting." I am looking to find guidance on parenting by creating a "yes environment" and teaching Alexa how to make decisions for herself. This is certainly a more difficult approach to discipline, but I believe it will teach her how to be a proactive adult. I am trying to move away from the No's (by creating a yes environment) and the because I said so's. I am sure we will be experiments with a few approaches until Justin and I can figure out what works best for our family.

On Monday I went to the orthopedic. We are taking the approach of "getting through the next 6 months" with my wrist and knee. My wrist is really doing better. Of course the cyst is still there, but it is manageable. I am going to continue to wear my wrist brace when I can. The doc also gave me another option for when I am typing. I am hopefully that this will get me through the deployment with out too much of an issue. My knee which has been a pain for almost 8 years has been bothering me quite a bit lately. She I am no longer pregnant we can start treating it again. I was given synvisc injections to help with the pain. This can help up to 6 months, which again in the timeline we are aiming for. After a few days of wearing gym shoes I am almost back to my preshot self. I will not feel the full effect of the injection for a few weeks, but again I am hopeful.

Tuesday was Alexa's follow up pneumonia appointment. She weighed in at 17lbs 3oz. This is by far her biggest number! The doctor believe she was clear of all of the pneumonia & told us she will see us at her 12 month appointment. Right after she said that I knew were were in trouble. I do not really believe in jinxing, but with Alexa's health I do believe something is going on. I took Alexa back to school & went on to work. I received a call at 1:05 saying that Alexa has a fever and needs to be picked up. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing at home. On Wednesday I decided to take her back to the doctor just to see if there was anything going on. Of course she did not have a fever, but the doctor did see a little red in her right ear. This is the third ear infection in her right ear (June 1st, June 21st & now July 13). The doctor did not feel it was anything serious but gave us an antibiotics because of Alexa's history. She returned to school & her normal self of Thursday.

Today Alexa is 10 months old. I guess she decided to celebrate in a big way. This morning she crawled over to the couch, pulled up completely & started taking steps around the furniture. This is a huge advancement for her. She was a little slow on crawling but it right on schedule with walking. I am very proud of her. She is not only an adorable little girl but also very happy. I hope she continues to have a great outlook on life.