Yes, we deprived our little baby of Easter Bunny treats. I read about how people get these elaborate baskets together for their children and I shrug and sigh. Harper didn't get anything from the Easter Bunny. Oops. I suppose next year she will but what would I even get her anyway? I guess the grandmas figured it out because they both got her things from the EB. And, Brad's mom even bought her an Easter basket so now I won't have to worry about that in years to come. Wait, maybe I'm on to something? If I just don't act, the grandparents will and then I can save money and buy alcohol or something? Just kidding.
We actually had a very nice day yesterday. It was cool but sunny and I always like to have the sunshine on a holiday. We got to church in the morning where we saw my mom and chatted a bit and then we went home and quick gathered up our things before heading to Brad's mom's where we spent the day. We decided to just go there for the entire day and stop traveling from place to place. Next year, we'll be with my family. It just works so much better that way. Of course, my sister was a total asshole and my mom wound up having a rotten holiday but I can't change my sister's behavior so there wasn't much I could do on that front. Anyway, Brad's mom had little eggs "hidden" all over for Harper to find. H didn't so much seek them out as run into them but that was fine and it gave her something to be mesmerized with. Brad's mom also dyed some eggs while Harper watched and that was pretty cute. Harper was pretty taken with watching the eggs go in the dye and get pulled out again. Of course, I had her in a frilly little dress. She was adorable. The child has absolutely no ability to nap anywhere but at home in her crib so she was napless the entire day except for the half hour car ride home from church. All said, though, she did really well with no nap. We got her to bed by 7:30 and she was out until we got her up this morning at 7:30 so I could nurse her before work. I'm just hoping that she took some good naps today!
So, I think I've conquered the night feedings with Harper. She had been doing really well and was waking up later and later to nurse (say between 5-6 and then back down until 7:30) but all of a sudden she started waking up at 4 and then 10 to 4 and then earlier and earlier. I really didn't want to get back in the business of being up at all hours to assuage her with a boob in her mouth so we decided last week that I would stop nursing her in the night. One night was kind of bad....yes, there was crying......from both of us! The next night, there was A LOT less crying (5-10 minutes?) and since then there's been maybe a sniffle here and there that amounts to nothing (not even a minute?) and back to sleep. I am just hoping this keeps up because I am LOVING it. I had not gone to bed and stayed in bed for 8 hours straight since about month 4 of my pregnancy so I feel like I deserve this! And, Harper has been perkier in the morning and taking better naps during the day as well. So, it's been a win/win for all of us. That first night was so hard but I really think we needed to do it. The bad thing is that my boobs haven't adjusted yet and I've been dealing now with clogged ducts in BOTH breasts. Ugh. Today my left side feels fine but my right side is just awful. I am extremely prone to them anyway but quitting the night nursing has really messed them up! Guess when I get home I'll be down on all fours trying to get her to nurse it out. Lovely.
I finally got Harper's invites all mailed for her party. I am getting excited and nervous all at the same time. We are doing a sweet pea theme because her baby doll that she loves is called sweet pea and one of the month of April's flowers is the sweet pea. We're having it at our neighbors place because it is so much larger than our place. I'm just praying for a lovely Wisconsin spring day so we can be outside...I feel like I may have typed this before?? Anyway....
I finally finished my taxes today :) Thanks to Harper we are actually getting money back this year. Woot woot. I suppose I should put it in a college fund or something righteous like that. But, where's the fun there? CPR class next weekend and then Cathy's here!! Weekend after that is Mother/Daughter weekend in Chicago and then it's the party!! Ack! Where does the time go????
.....Cathy and Randy! She took this laminated card off the fridge and now won't give it up. It cracks me up. She will sit and look at them and talk to them, point at them, and then, eventually, put it in her mouth and crawl around with it.
I feel so bad that I haven't posted in so long! What can I say? I think about posting all the time and then I just get overwhelmed and I don't do it. Things are going just fine lately and yet, I'm feeling a little blue. I think there are two things going on. 1. I'm so tired of the cold. We need spring badly here. I mean, anything over 30, is that too much to ask for? The winter wears on and we all get more and more sick of staying inside and breathing the stale indoor air. I need a trip to Florida, right? 2. I think I'm starting to put on some weight. I know that I had some room to spare but my gut is starting to make a reappearance. I don't want to worry too much about eating right now since I'm still nursing Harper. I notice that if I cut back on my calorie intake, I don't produce as much and I don't want my supply tanking now! What I really need to do is get back to exercising. But where, may I ask, does that fit in? I hear about these people who work, write, raise kids, cook wonderful meals, clean their houses, and sew all their clothes and I just wonder how in the hell they do it? I can barely even get lunch made! I keep telling myself that once the weather warms up and I'm off work again, Harper and I can get out every day for some exercise. Until then, I'd better cut down on the sweets. They are my downfall!
On to happier notes. Harper is cute and funny and I want to bottle her and put her in my pocket. She has been doing the "patty" part of patty cake for a while now but this week she has figured out how to "roll it." Well, at least her version of rolling it! She basically switches her hands back and forth over each other but man, is it adorable. I need to try to get that on video. She will also respond now if you ask her for a kiss. After you ask she will lean out to you and pucker her lips up. It's kind of a move that says, "I will allow you to kiss me now." I find myself asking for kisses all the time because I'm so amused by it! Separation anxiety is also starting to settle in a bit more. Now when she sees me putting on my jacket she starts to cry. When I say "bye bye" it gets even worse. Usually she is ok if I am leaving her with Brad but, this morning, she even pouted a bit when I left her with him. Oh, and she's all over the place and into everything and tantrums when I won't give her what she wants. Ahhh, the joys of growing up and realizing you can't have it all! Funny thing is, I'm still not sure I've completely learned that lesson.
Ok, here are a couple of videos to enjoy. One is just the standard "so big" video and the other is just of her being "busy." There is no other way to describe it. The girl is just busy. Unfortunately, in that one you don't get to see her face too much. I have a hard time getting her on video because once she sees it's on her, she clams up and just stares at the lens! So, I have to try to be covert and crappy shots are what I wind up with. Oh well. Enjoy!
All of a sudden it seems like Harper is quickly moving from baby stage to person/toddler stage. Of course, I'm mourning the loss of my baby but it is also so much fun to watch her explore her world. And explore she does! She is now crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything, and cruising from place to place. Sometimes she'll take both hands off of whatever she is holding on to, look at me, I see the terrified look in her eyes, and then she quick grabs whatever it was she was bracing herself on. She is also much more in to actual walking using Brad's and my hands. Her steps are these really gigantic steps but she just looks so damn pleased with herself when she's walking around with us. I know, it's only a matter of time.....but, I'm still hoping she doesn't start walking until after she turns 1!
Sleeping is still somewhat of an issue, for me mostly. I have such terrible insomnia that when Harper stirs or cries out, I wake up and can't get back to sleep. Lately she's been waking up three times in the night! I know that sounds bad but the first two times are for like 5 minutes and she cries or fusses a bit and then just settles back down. Around 5 she gets up and I nurse her and then she normally goes back down until between 7:30-8. Problem is, after each of those wake-ups it takes me a good 45 minutes to get back to sleep. So, I'm tired. And, as a result, somewhat cranky. I seriously cannot imagine the day when I lie down to bed, go to sleep, and don't wake up until 7-8 hours later. Oh glory! I don't mind the early morning feeding but I do wonder when we'll cut that out. She is only nursing 4 times during the day (every 4 hours about) so I figure keeping that last one in there is ok for now.
Other things that are happening include multiple games of patty cake, peek-a-boo, and so big over the course of the day. She can now do them on command unless, it seems, we are around a bunch of people and then she just stares at them. I've also got her eating pretty much everything at this point. Last week her 4 top teeth really started to descend so she's been liking the really pureed stuff a little better right now. One of the top ones is now actually protruding through her gums and I think that has helped in the eating arena as she gobbled up quite a bit of food last night. She is going to look so darn grown up when those teeth come in!!
I also finally splurged and got her a really nice carseat for once she's out of the infant seat. It rear faces up to 35 pounds so I'm really happy about that. Of course, I can't afford to splurge and buy the same type for all three cars she will likely be riding in so I'll have to look at the old consumer reports to find something a little cheaper but something that's also safe and rear faces for a long period of time. Dandy, can I please request that you think about RFing your little one longer than a year? I try not to give you lots of advice or make lots of recommendations but that one is an important one to me!!
We are currently in the process of looking for a new car for me. It's a pain in the ass! Why are cars so much money? I still expect to get something really nice (used) for like 8k. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! The Outback would be nice....too much $$. I am also entertaining a CR-V or a RAV 4. Of course, I really want a Lexus 300 series but that ain't never gonna happen.
Well, Miss Harper has officially been out in the world for as long as she was inside of me. I think that's a milestone, not sure why but it just seems like it is. She's actually 9 months and a week and I'm sure 10 months will sneak up on me just as quickly as all the rest have. We all went to her 9 month appointment last week and it appears she is doing well. I thought for sure she would be at least 20lbs but on their scale there she was 19lbs on the nose. Her head size is normal and she's 28 1/2" tall. The doc was impressed with her vocalizations and her overall intensity. Yeah, tell me about it dude. I am, though, worried. We have a referral to have her see a pediatric dermatologist up at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. We both started noticing these brownish little spots in random places on her back. Then there was one on her wrist and a few on her head. I am totally freaked about it. I am terrified that my one and only child is somehow filled with something horrible that I can't see. I can barely even think about it or type it here. So, that's all I'm going to say for now. We have an appointment on Feb 17th. Of course, there were no appointments before then. Figures. My mom keeps telling me that she is obviously doing well. She's eating, she's pooping (Lord is she!), she's peeing, she's nursing, she's happy, she sleeps, she plays. All good stuff. So, I'm just trying to concentrate on that. The ped. had a few thoughts about what it might be and thought it looked like an auto-immune thing where your mast cells produce too much histamine. He said many children outgrow it as they age. Ok, now I'm really going to stop talking about it. I am just terrified it's cancer. There, I said it. Now, moving on.
It is about damn time but Harper can finally go from a prone position to sitting up all on her own. She just never could before. She was happy sitting, could lie down, but then couldn't get back up on her own to sitting. All of a sudden, she just figured it out. Now she just gets up on all fours, kicks a leg out to the side, and uses those arms/hands to push herself up. That makes things a lot easier because she doesn't get pissed when she's tired of lying down. She appears quite proud of herself too. She still loves to stand but she really loves being up on her tippy toes. When I make her stand flat footed she gets all pissed off and screams at me. She can do it flat footed fine but she just wants to be up up up!
She is also turning into an eating machine. All of a sudden she is loving the food. I'm running out of ideas and feel bad when she's back to applesauce and squash. I have a great little book of blender recipes but I seriously don't have the time to make anything. I can only get maybe 20 minutes out of her being in the pack n play in the kitchen with me before she wants out. I can't get much made in 20 minutes!
Well, I was going to write more but it's about time for me to start packing up here at work. I'm terribly tired today as H didn't have a very good night last night; she was up at 1am screaming. The only way to calm her when that happens is to nurse so I was up then nursing and then up at 5 nursing again. Ah well, I know I will really miss those days when we don't have that relationship anymore!
I am going stir crazy. I think Harper is too. We are just tired of sitting inside and looking at each other. I need a break from her and I think she needs a break from me! I would just love for it to break zero. Is that too much to ask? This morning it was -21! Yes, that's without the windchill. With it it was -45. Lovely. Please God let her take a nap today. I gave her a biter biscuit this morning after breakfast. It was darn messy but at least it was something new to amuse the both of us for a bit!
