3 months and counting

Three months old today is little Iz. My how time flies.

And she's decided to make it a memorable day. I put her down on her mat to play this afternoon (on her back) and the next time I looked at her, she was on her tummy. What?!?!? You're only 3 months old...and you haven't even been trying to roll over! You've been happily lying on your back or your side. But suddenly today, poof, over she goes. And she's done it about 7 times at least, so it's not a fluke.

The question is, if Trevor didn't roll until 3 days before he was 4 months old and he walked at 9 1/2 months, what does that mean for how early Izzy will crawl and walk?!?!?!?


Other stats:

• She's grown quite a bit, and is starting to outgrow her 0-3 month clothes (mostly by length).
• She's now 11.7 pounds according to the Wii!
• She's been sleeping about 6 hours at night before waking to eat, and then sleeping another 4-6 hours!!! This is definitely my favorite development!
• She's a social little chatterbox more and more, exploring her vocal skills and 'chatting' with anyone who comes by her...especially her brothers!

She's had a busy month, with trips to the zoo, Great America, birthday parties, and her first fireworks. She's handled it all like a pro. And as long as there's no dairy in my diet, she's totally happy pretty much all the time!!!

She was rolling, and rolling, until I took out the camera. Then she stopped....


until I turned off the video, and then she did it.... so I got it last minute!

Whew...the busiest 4 days of my life!!

Wow! I think i'm feeling my age! Or more likely, I'm feeling the effects of the last 4 BUSY CRAZY days! But as tired as I am, it was a great great birthday weekend!

Friday....
was Trevor's actual birthday. The day started with camp - their last day- and Trevor was thrilled that he got to bring cupcakes to camp! He has spent a mere 2 years in "school" settings, but has already noticed that all kids bring treats to school on their birthday's and then figured out that he doesn't have school on his birthday. That realization made him pretty sad earlier this year, and as a fellow summer-birthday-no-school-treats-sufferer, I fully understand. So, when someone else brought treats to camp for their birthday, T was so excited. He had to bring cupcakes. And the bonus was, we found Monsters vs. Aliens cupcakes at the store!! Woo Hoo!

After cupcakes and camp, we went to Grandma's for lunch. It was rainy and drizzly, but we were hoping that would pass so we could go to Great America. Well, the weather got better, so after lunch and presents with grandma (yay, for a new tball bat, and a tackle box!), the boys and I went to GA (we left Izzy to bond with G'ma).

A great time ensued at GA since we could go on all the rides that they need me for, since I had no excuse not to go on. So we rode the Roarin' Rapids and got soaked, the Triple Play (2 times for me, since only 1 kid could go with me at a time), the Fiddlers Fling, the Great American Raceway (2 times), and a few others. The kids had a great time, and we caught up with a good friend, so that T-man and his friend could ride on the cars together (they looked like kids driving off on their first date together!), and they were thrilled when a teenager got of Fiddler's Fling and puked!!! THey were laughing that a big kid got sick when they didn't!!! Kinda funny!

The highlight of the day was getting to be in the Parade! We rode in the trolley and were dancing and singing with the parade music, and waving to everyone! The boys had fun and Trev was telling anyone who would listen that it was his birthday!!

We finally came home, picked up Izzy and Daddy and went to Chili's for dinner. Chili's was Trev's request since they serve corn on the cob! After that we came home, opened presents, and sent the kids to bed! Trev was excited by his new 18" big boy bike that has no training wheels!! He has showed it to a million people, but hasn't tried to ride it yet!!!



Saturday....
morning started with me working. While I worked (and Izzy got admired!), Daddy and the boys worked on my "To Do List" and got the house ready for the party. The weather decided to cooperate this year and it was nice, sunny and warm. Perfect for Trevor's backyard pool/sprinkler/water balloon party! The kids and mom's started arriving at 2, and we had a fun afternoon! For quite a while, everyone played happily in the pool or a sprinkler, and then we threw the water balloons! After that, we came inside for cake and the pinata!!

Bob from Monsters vs. Aliens... another Daddy creation
Everyone pulling the pinata

After the busy party, Trev opened his presents, and was thrilled with everything. The boys played, and Daddy and I decided that we were too tired to cook, so dinner was drive-thru! Eventually, we got the boys to stop playing with the new toys and go to bed!

Sunday....
was my birthday! I was granted my favorite present....SLEEP! I was left alone until 9:15 am, and Izzy even cooperated and slept two 6-hour spans, only making me get up once at 3 am!!! What a treat!! Daddy and the boys cooked my requested breakfast of french toast and bacon...YUM! We lazed around a bit and then went to Grandma's for the family birthday party.

We spent the day with cousin's of Daddy's and the kids, as well as Uncles and Aunts, Granpa and lots of family! It was a fun day out in the yard with more time in the pool and more water balloons. There were a few massive water gun fights with Scary Steve, Daddy, and Grandpa. I think Trevor won at least 2 of the fights and the third one (with Scary Steve) was a draw! [Note: no his real given name is not "Scary Steve", but that is what the boys call their Aunt's boyfriend, as he seemed very scary looking to them when they were about 18 months old!!! He's not so scary anymore, but the name has stuck!]

Trev and Blake ready for the water gun fight!


Later at Grandma's, we opened gifts- yay for Batman and no duplicate gifts! - and had a great pirate feast! Eventually, the boys got tired and we dragged them home and dumped them in bed!!

Trev, Kate and cousins on the Treasure Hunt that Kate made for T to find his birthday present. It was done VERY well and I will have to add photos and details later!
Trev hitting the pirate pinata at the party Sunday! The darn thing was tough, and T had to really beat on it to get it open!

Trev opening presents, and being TOTALLY thrilled!


Monday....
was supposed to be a boring day at home. A day to recover from party poop-ed-ness (is that a word) and to catch up on chores, cleaning, and laundry. However, while doing just that, and chatting on the phone, I looked out my back window....to see a "small fire" at the corner neighbor's house. Well, the "small" fire quickly got out of control and we eventually watched 1/2 the garage and the back wall of the house go up in flames!!! Yikes!! We saw the family and pets come out the front of the house safely, so we stopped worrying SO much!

While the boys enjoyed watching the fire and the firemen spraying water and doing their jobs, we also took the time to talk about fire safety and how the family might be feeling right now. The boys ended up feeling pretty sad for them, since the family (most likely) won't be sleeping in their house for a while! What a crazy four days.....

Here's hoping the rest of this week is MUCH quieter!!!

5 years ago today...

July 9, 2004 was a Friday morning and I got up to take a walk at about 6 am before working from home. About half-way around the block, something happened. I wasn't sure if my water broke or I peed my pants. Hmm??? How was I supposed to know the difference, all this was new to me!

So I came home, woke up hubby and tried to decide what to do. I called the Dr.’s office and they told me to come in. They were pretty sure my water had broken, and wanted to confirm. My mom was staying with us, so she could be here for the birth. We woke her up, waited around for her to get ready and left for the Dr.’s office. They confirmed that my water had broken and sent me to the hospital. I knew at that point that I had 24 hours to have this baby, or they would do a c-section....something I SERIOUSLY wanted to avoid!

We got to the hospital at about 10:30 am. They got me situated in a room and left me alone for a while to see if labor would progress. We waited a long time and not much happened. Daddy and I walked the halls of the hospital trying to get some contractions going, but no dice. Eventually, they hooked me up with Pitocin to get the contractions moving. That got things moving along, but didn’t stop me from enjoying the Cubs game- but I think they lost =(. Meanwhile, hubby and Mam-gu waited (somewhat patiently), and made me a little crazy!

Eventually, the real hard labor began at about 6 pm. The contractions were rough, and it took a lot of help from hubby to keep me focused. By midnight, it was time to push and they were calling the Dr. to come. I recall they told me not to push as the doc wasn't there yet, apparently she got a speeding ticket on the way to the hospital!!

After an hour and a half of pushing, Trevor was finally born, facing up into the world (opposite of what you’re supposed to do!). His nose was bent because of that, and he had the umbilical cord wrapped around one shoulder making his arm blue. But the arm was just fine, and eventually the nose un-bent. I remember Daddy cutting the cord, my mom taking a zillion pictures, and making faces like "ow, that looks painful".....thanks mom! ;)

Trevor Phineas born Saturday, July 10, 2004 at 1:39 am 6 pounds 13 oz, 20 inches.

I'm stepping on to my soapbox now

Yes, I am a semi-crunchy mama. What, you might ask, does "semi-crunchy" mean? Well, I'm not completely crunchy (as in granola) as in all things natural/organic/etc. for my kids.

I am a CD, BF, BW mama. Confused now? I am a Cloth-Diapering, Breast-Feeding, Baby-Wearing Mama. All things considered crunchy. However, I'm not a big organic person (I don't feel it necessary to pay for that label on all my products and I don't think all the additives have harmed me that much), I don't avoid vaccinations, I don't co-sleep, and I don't plan to home-school my children. Hence, why I'm only SEMI-crunchy.

All those things, I CHOSE to do, for my sake and my childrens. And for the most part, I try, I believe I REALLY try not to pressure others to do those things unless they feel comfortable doing them. I will encourage/educate people on the benefits, but if you say no, that's your choice. For me, the cloth-diapering is mostly about saving money and being green, and the breast-feeding is about doing something natural, increasing my childrens' health (and possibly intelligence) and saving money. I think both are smart and easy ways to benefit your child, your savings account, and the earth, but I realize it's not for everyone.

But now, I must step on to my soap-box about a topic that has slowly become near and dear to my heart: car seats.

5 years ago, when T was born, I went to BRU and got a car seat. I paid a basic amount of attention to how big he could be when in it, and what the ratings were (from consumer reports and parents in general), but I didn't pay much more attention than that. As directed by my pediatrician (a person with a medical degree, but not a CAR SEAT technician), I waited until he was both 1 year old and 20 pounds (for T, that was not until 17 months old) and then I turned him forward facing. The seat I had him in at that point, is a standard convertible car seat that would hold him in a 5-point harness until he was 4o pounds or a certain height. At that point in time, that seemed like ages away (and very big) and I wasn't really concerened about what I would do then.

Ditto the story for Blake... except he was 20 pounds by the time he turned 1, so he was moved to forward facing at age 1.

But slowly, through a good-friend of a good-friend I have come to change my stance on car seats and my understanding.

At age almost 5, Trev is still in a 5 point harness, and he is in a car seat that he can be harnessed until he is 65 pounds (which is ages away for him since he is a mere 37 now). Blake is in a seat that he can be 5 point harnessed until he is 65 pounds. Izzy is rear facing, and will be until she is 35 pounds, the rear-facing limit of most car-seats (and based on my kids, that will be about age 3-4).

Why? Because of this. A little boy named Kyle. It scares me to think of this happening. And I am not one who gets freaked-out and worked-up about things... I take life as it comes and I live by the phrase "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". But in this case, I make a BIG exception.

I think this is on my mind at the moment (when I should be sleeping) because SO many of my friends are having babies in the next year. And I'm sure most of them know only the bare minimum (just like I did) and will not have all the information (because you have to go LOOK for it, it's not pushed at you enough, IMO). And many of my friends, have their 2 and 3 year olds in boosters, because they are over 40 pounds. So here's the data for those of you, like my hubby, who need facts, about why 5-point harnesses and rear-facing are safest.

And so I find myself unable to sleep tonight, because I feel I'm not doing all I shoudl be doing to encourage parents to keep their children rear-facing and in 5-point harnesses for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!!! (Angela, I need a magnet or two!) Because, if I ever have to find out that what happened to Kyle, has happened to one of my friends children, I will never forgive myself for not speaking up.

If nothing else, go read the links that I have included here, and educate yourself, before you make a decision. Go talk to a Child Passenger Saftey Technician vs your pediatrician. I love my pedi and value her medical knowledge, but few of them are very educated on car seats and they only tell you the minimum requirements.

And for those of you who want to talk about cost, because yes the boosters are cheap and the 5-point harness seats for kids up to 65 or 80 pounds are not, think about how much that seat costs you for every day of use (4-8 years times 365 days/year) .... it's pennies, and think about how much your child's life is worth.

Okay, i'm stepping down off the soapbox now.... I'm going to bed, and hopefully to sleep.

Boys, boys, boys

I feel like I've been giving the boys the short end of the stick on the blog. Everytime I manage to find time to blog, it's an Izzy update. So let's see.... what have the boys and I been up to...

We have a membership to the Milwaukee County Zoo. So we've been there a few times already. It's about an hour (at most) from home, and rarely do we have issues with rush hour traffic, so much easier that Chicagoland zoos! The boys love seeing all the different animals, and can't decide what their favorite is!

Two monkeys riding the train

Trev by the dinosaur hedge. Blake loved this, but WOULD NOT pose for a picture!
Watching the polar bears swim
Being checked out by the mountain goats.

Blake's favorite: the rhino. Who was very entertaining drinking, gargling his water, then peeing. The kids thought that was great. If you've ever seen a rhino pee, you'll understand why! You'll also understand why I didn't capture that on film!!Feeding time for the giraffes. This was a really neat thing to happen to see. For a fee, a few select people can feed them. It was pretty cool just to watch. And they have really LONG black tounges.

We also have passes to Six Flags Great America. Yes, I got passes this year. While its a bunch of money, I figure between this and the zoo membership, we can stay busy and spend very little money on a daily basis! So far, it's working well and the boys are having lots of fun!!

Izzy hanging out in her stroller, enjoying herself
The boys enjoying their treat: cotton candy!

The boys on the spinning tea cups... fun times!

Aside from that, we've been going to a lot of parks, the spray park, and hanging out with friends.


So that's about it for now. We're just enjoying summer!!

And the Dr said...

Today was Izzy's 2-month check-up. But before we get to that, let's briefly recap last nights events....

Last night, Izzy and I attended a baby shower for a friend who is due in a few weeks. This was a gathering of my online mom's group of friends, and many wanted to meet Izzy for the first time. She was dressed to kill (in one of her many fabulous outfits) and she ate just before we left, and therefore she was in a GREAT mood. She was wide-eyed, alert, and more than ready to play "pass the baby". She let everyone and anyone hold her! And only complained twice in 3.5 hours that she was hungry (she likes to cluster feed at night to get ready for bed).

So she ate at 6, 7:30 and 8:45. At 9:30 we headed home. I had changed her into a clean diaper and jammies, and had high hopes that a 20 minute car ride home would put her to sleep and then I could either a)transfer her to her crib, or b) but her car seat in her bedroom and just leave her there! We arrived home, and there was miss bright-eyes wide awake! So she said hi to Daddy, and then demanded another feeding. But still, as I fed her I thought, okay this is it for the night, she'll fall asleep and I'll put her in bed. Nope... not sleeping! At this point she was awake for about 4+ hours straight!!! Geez kid...

Regardless, I tried putting her to bed, knowing she was tired. But that's not how Iz likes to fall asleep....she likes to move, either in swing or car or vibrating bouncy seat. So that didn't go well. Both Daddy and I tried rocking and swinging and dancing with her to get her to sleep but no dice. Heck, we tried moving the swing up to her room and letting her sleep there. Nope. No sleeping, and at that point she didn't want to be held either. So we left her there in her crib to cry... at midnight she passed out from exhaustion (I think)! And slept til 4:30.

Lessons learned:

• she can go 6.5 hours beteween feedings!
• she can scream for 2 hours before falling asleep!

Hopefuly we can get to a point where we sleep for 6.5 hours and skip the 2 hours of screaming. Then I would be a happy mommy!!

As for the Dr visit... Izzy is growing just fine. She's in the 25th percentile for everything. She weighs 9 lbs 13 oz, she's 22 inches long, and her head is 14 7/8 inches. Just fine.

I asked the Dr about the dairy issue, and much as I expected, he confirmed there is no real test for this issue, and that his advice at the time of the rash would have been to cut out dairy! (Yay me, $$$ saved on a dr visit I didn't make!). He also informed me that babies intestinal tracts are not fully developed until 6 months, so at that point she may be far more tolerant to dairy!

Not much else to report from the Dr visit. She got her first 2 vaccinations....and she took them like a pro. She seems to be sleeping most of the day away, but if I'd gotten a bunch of shots, and then Tylenol, I would too. It's fine with me, as long as she sleeps tonight!!

Izzy....2 months

Wow, she's two months old already! Where does the time go!! (I know, what a cliche!).

Things she likes:

• Lying on her changing table in her closet
• Listening to the hair dryer
  (Those two things will calm her when she's upset, quite quickly and easily....I guess she's a girly girl after all!)
• Swinging in her 'new' swing.... thanks for letting me borrow it Jayden!
• Watching her brothers do silly things to make her laugh!

Apparently, Izzy had TOO much pink in her wardrobe as 'Aunt' Kate had to add these. Not that I object... I love all the clothes Kate has added to the kids wardrobes over the years! I think the 3rd one is my favorite!!




The rash has gone completely. I've had minimal amounts of dairy (a little sour cream on a taco, a little bit of chocolate, or a little bit of Parmesan on pasta) and that seems to be okay. But at the moment, I'm keeping it to a minimum. I'll see what the doctor says at her appointment on Thursday.

Don't ya LOVE the dimples!?!?!?!?

She's becoming much more predictable in her waking/sleeping/eating patterns, and her mood. She still wants to eat every 3 hours during the day. In fact she's like an alarm clock, she won't go much past that 3 hour mark, and she'll let you know she's STARVING!! In the evenings, she still wants to nurse a little more often (to "tank up") and then she'll sleep for about 5.5 hours straight. I'd love to get that longer, but we'll get there. But after that 5.5 hours, she doesn't always want to go back to sleep! It seems to help if it's already light outside, as then she can look around her room while in the crib, and is content to look and babble, until she falls asleep again! I never thought I'd like that her room faces East and gets VERY bright in the morning!

Working on holding her head up...
and posing for the camera!


When she's awake-for about 3 hours in the morning from 9-12, and from 7-10 at night, she's content to lie on her play mat, look around, coo, and watch bright lights or the crazy brothers. It's all good! At the point she starts to fuss, she's usually over stimulated, and wants to snooze in her bouncy or her swing! The swing is a life saver... not sure how I got thru life without one for Trevor! She adores it and will sit in it for hours, either awake or asleep. Eventually, it always puts her to sleep!

Trevor still loves to hold her, and has to at least once a day or he gets very upset. Blake finally decided he was ready to hold her and loved it! He doesn't need to do it as often as T, but he does like to hold, hug, and kiss her!


She's still able to squeeze into some Newborn size outfits, but only if she's wearing a disposable diaper. However, most of the 0-3 month sleepers are just miles too long for her!! Still, she's got a great wardrobe, and is always better dressed than her mother!
Thursday is Izzy's 2 month checkup. So we'll talk about the dairy issue, see how much she's grown (officially-the weight measurement on the side-bar are taken by holding her on the Wii!), and getting her first immunizations.

I think that covers the last month.... I can't believe how fast this is going. My last baby is growing up!!!

Updates...

Wow...long time no blog. Oopsies!!

2 weeks into June and we've had very few fabulous days....at least weather wise. We've had quite a few cool days, quite a few rainy days, and a few nice sunny warm days. We've tried to get out when we can and enjoy those days. Some park trips, some picnics, a trip downtown, and a trip to Great America come to mind.

Having fun on a warm day with a bucket of water and squirt guns!

Trevor's been playing tball, or at least trying to....2 games have been rained out. But he's having fun. Yet again, there are two Trevor's on the team....seriously, is the name that popular? There are 7 other teams, could you split up the kids with the same name please!?!??! He's one of the oldest as the league is for 3 and 4 year olds, so he gets the ball a lot, and plays first base a lot (the position with the most 'action'). He wants to play again next year, so maybe we've found something he really likes!

Playing first base
Batting

Izzy and I enjoying the game!
We went to a friends wedding a few weeks ago. The boys stayed home with Grandma and Izzy went with us. At the moment, I have only 1 picture, as I'm waiting for a friend to send us the rest of hers (hubby used her camera all night, instead of ours!).

She slept thru the whole ceremony!


Izzy's doing great, rash is gone, and she's growing like a weed. But more about her in a seperate post on Monday, when she turns (gasp) 2 months old!!!

The boys start summer camp Monday, so we'll have lots of highlights from that I'm sure!!

Blake seems to finally be 'fully' potty trained!!!! June has been a completely dry month! Woo Hoo!!

Other than that, there isn't much news to blog about. And it seems Izzy is starving, so I'm off to feed her!!

5 months of this...

Friday marked the 5 month "anniversary" of Blake being diaper-free. Not of Blake being potty trained unfortunately!

In the last month, we've made MAJOR strides on actually completing the potty training mission!

In early May, we noticed something that might serve as a major incentive to staying dry - the achillies heel we'd been looking for!!! Blake regularly was asking to do 3 activities, that are not high on my list of things to do: play-doh, moon sand, and painting. (Mostly, these are low on my list due to the amount of work and clean-up that I do!). But since we were looking to motiviate Blake, I figured I could either clean up these activities or clean up pee accidents!!!

So we started an incentive program (gawd, I sound like the HR rep I used to be!) involving Potty Points or Potty Dollars. Each time B peed in the potty he got 1 potty point (hubby printed out some home made potty dollars to give him). Every time he pooped, in the potty, it was worth 2 dollars. An accident cost the same amount. The reward, trade in potty points for time playing play-doh or moon sand. Each dollar is worth 5 minutes!

I'd say it made an instant impression. The day we started it, he went potty a bunch of times, and got a bunch of points. Late in the afternoon, he traded in points for 20 minnutes of moon sand time. He was ECSTATIC!!! However, at that point he had no potty points left (he'd spent thme all) and he'd gotten what he wanted (moon sand) so after dinner, he peed in his pants! Darn kid....

So we modified the rules, and said that he had to always keep a reserve of $2, so he could still pay for an accident. After a few more successful days, we also doubled the fines ($2 for peeing in pants, and $4 for pooping). For the next 10 days or so, he'd rack up his money, trade it in for play-doh time, and have an occasional accident. We thought we were making progress....

And then suddenly, last Friday started a string of 6 dry days in a ROW!!! AND, as if that wasn't enough, 6 dry NIGHTS too!!! Holy cow!! We apparently have finally gotten through to this kid! After waking up dry a few times, we started giving him $2 if he could stay dry at night too. Friday & Saturday have seen 1 accident each, but the difference... B has been NOTICEABELY upset about the accidents and really sad to give up his potty points!!! Woo Hoo!!! And, a double bonus, he's willing to go potty and goes when he needs to on his own, vs. being told!!!

The icing on the cake for B and me, Trev still isn't dry at night. (He'll kill me when he's older and sees I wrote that on the internet!). So now that Blake is regularly staying dry, T is a little upset, and trying his hardest to stay dry then too!!

So....either we found the right strategy, or it just took 5 months, but either way, we might be totally potty trained soon!

No Dairy for Izzy

The rash in the early stages....


And today....
(If you click on the photos, it will open a bigger copy.)

It's amazing to me HOW big an impact taking dairy out of my diet has made. A HUGE impact. Aside from the visual evidence, my daughter's personality has totally changed. She's a much easier, happier baby now. No senseless, endless crying and no out of control gas. It makes me feel terrible that I was causing her all that pain! It also makes me wonder if "colic" is actually babies who have allergies of some type??? Hmm...

She has a well-baby check scheduled at the Dr in a few weeks, June 17th I think, so we'll update the Dr then on what we've been through and learned. I'm curious if there are any tests to confirm this 'diagnosis' as I've heard differing opinions from other parents/friends/medical personnel.

I'm not sure it's really worth putting her through any major testing (and the associated pain) since it's pretty obvious to me that she's better now. Hubby suggests waiting til the rash is fully clear (and gone for a week or so) and then having me eat some milk and cheese to see what effect it has. But I'm not too keen on dealing with a crabby baby or making her skin itch again...so we'll see if we try that approach!