Neptune’s Net

Today Fiona and I went to lunch with my dad. We drove down Highway 1 to Neptune’s Net in Malibu. The weather was beautiful and sunny, and the sky was amazingly clear. The islands were visible and sharp in the distance. Lunch was tasty. Both my father and I had crab cake burgers without tartar sauce. Fiona ate apple sauce with oatmeal cereal and cinnamon and few puffs. I ate a few puffs as well. In fact, I think I eat more of her puffs than she does. She might eat three at most in a sitting, but I eat them by the handful. Well, they’re just for fine motor skill practice anyway, not for any serious eating.

Here are some photos from the day:

She sat so nicely during our meal and ate her food very daintily. Here is my dad feeding her:

 

Here are some photos from a month ago when I last went to the zoo. They were taken by my friend Jenny:

Fiona is a really serious baby sometimes. I am not sure what she was thinking here:

No other developments to report today, other than she slept really well last night. She ate at 7, was asleep by 7:30, woke to eat at 1:30, and then didn’t wake up again until after 6. She slept in on the one day that John needed to go to work early. It’s so dark when we wake up that we thought it was 3am, but it wasn’t. I’m off to bed now, hoping she repeats last night’s sleep pattern!

Untitled (Because I Can’t Think of a Title)

 

Yesterday we gave Fiona yogurt for the first time. We gave her a couple of spoonfuls of full fat Greek yogurt. She ate it, but didn’t seem to like or dislike it. We’ll try again soon. She’s moving around so much now, not crawling, but sitting up, rolling around, sitting again, turning, scooting, pivoting. We can no longer put her down and walk away. I’m really excited, but in some ways, I’m sad. My little girl is growing up before my eyes. Sniff.

Here are some photos of her:

Her first time out:

    

Just kidding! She was trying to eat the wall.

Praying? No, just trying to eat the carpet (yes, she tries to eat everything):

Eating puffs (they are good for fine motor skill practice because they are edible ad dissolve easily in the mouth, should they make it that far):

 

Puffs get everywhere:

Do these pants make her bum look puffy?

Looking out at the rain. It has been raining cats and dogs and cows and horses today:

You lookin’ at me?

At least she’s going to sleep like normal again. There were several nights last week that she had a hard time going to sleep and staying that way for any length of time. I’ve been so tired all week. I hope this week is better.

On a sad note, Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ron lost their dog today. Moxie was almost 15 years old. She lived a full life and I can attest that she was a real sweetheart of a pooch. She will be dearly missed.

Whale Watching

On Friday, John, my mom, Fiona, and I went whale watching with some of the moms in my mom’s group and their families. It was Fiona’s first time on a boat and she handled it like a pro. She took two naps and otherwise hung out quietly in the Ergo or on my mom’s lap. The seas were VERY choppy and many people were ill, including John who spent most of the trip in the back of the boat, occasionally throwing up over the side. I went whale watching a few years ago and we saw lots of seal, dolphins, and whales. This time, we saw only a few dolphins and just as we were headed home having spotted nary a whale, three gray whales appeared. We saw their plumes and one of them rolled sideways and showed us his or her flipper. We followed them for a while, then turned to go home. I do not have many photos as I did not want to take the camera out much because of the rocking.

Here is my mom just we left the harbor:

Here is John before losing his breakfast:

Arch Rock on Anacapa Island:, the symbol for Channel Islands National Park:

Here are more photos from the day. They were taken by a friend of mine:

Nursing Fiona. Who wouldn’t be hungry with all that rocking and rolling and pitching and yawing?

The whale spout. If you look closely with a magnifying glass at the second photo, you can see a flipper.

 

A group shot:

Nine (and a half) Months Well Baby Visit

The diarrhea dried up, the diaper rash healed, the ear infection went the way for the dodo and we finally had our 9 month well baby visit. Fiona is definitely a growing girl. To make up for the weight she lost while sick, she gained a pound during the last two weeks. She now weighs 16 pounds, is 26 1/2 inches long, and her head is 17 inches around. That puts her above the 10th percentile for her weight, at the 10th percentile for her length, and at the 25th percentile for her head circumference. These percentiles are all for her actual age, not her adjusted age. We didn’t even look at her adjusted age.

Fiona hit two milestones in the past week or so. First, she has begun to vocalize with purpose. She makes all sorts of noises at us that are not whines or cries. She opens her mouth wide and says “Aah!” as well as lots of other sounds. Sometimes, she sounds like a little dinosaur. Her sounds have evolved from the sound she made in the video I posted last week.

The other milestone is a big one and we think it is affecting her sleep. Yesterday, Fiona figured out how to get into a sitting position from her stomach. My mother kept telling me she was trying to do so and I shrugged her off. When Fiona succeeded the first time I called it a fluke, like the first time she rolled over back in August or the first time she “crawled” forward in December (neither event was repeated much after). But a few minutes later, she did it again. And then we couldn’t keep her on her tummy. As soon as we put her down, she was sitting. My mother was right!

She has been trying to crawl in earnest. She can move backward, but not forward. She gets around by rolling, pivoting, and backward movement.

Oh, and of course she is still teething and it looks like something may be getting ready to break through very soon, possibly on the bottom again. She won’t let me poke around in her mouth so I cannot tell for sure.

Her sleep this week, particularly last night, has been awful. Normally, she gets a bath around 7 (sometimes a little earlier if she seems really tired, never later), is clothed and fed and read to for a little while, and is in bed by 7:30. I usually put her down wide awake and she rolls to her side and falls asleep. Once in a while she falls asleep in my arms. She sleeps for about 4 hours then eats 11 and 11:30. I go to sleep after this feeding. She wakes up once during the night to eat, then wakes up for good between 5 and 6 (yes, we are trying to get her to not wake until after 6, but she’s an early bird unlike both of her parents). Lately, she has been restless after her bath and not going to sleep right away. Last night she cried for a long time, even though we were trying to sooth her. I even tried to feed her again and she was uncharacteristically refusing. She finally went to sleep, and slept for about 5 hours. I fed her around 1 and she never truly settled back down. She woke at 2:45 and John held her until 5am, when I fed her again. This behavior is rare for her of late.

Tonight began in a similar way. We made her bath earlier and put her in bed, on her back, at 7:15. She was quiet for a while, then began to whine, then cry. We let her cry for a few minutes (sometimes she settles down and goes to sleep after a minute or two) and then John checked on her. She was on all fours in her crib! Aaaah!

At least she settled quickly after John turned her over onto her side. I’m sure the time change isn’t helping at all, what with it being light at her bedtime now, instead of dark.

Here is a photo I took of her today:

Chewing on her hand like this means more teeth in the near future:

She’s eating more and different solid food. Yesterday she had Annabel Karmel’s Lovely Lentils. She ate it up of course. And we have the green light to try yogurt and cheese, meat and pasta, and pretty much everything except raw honey, nuts, and shellfish.

Here is a bib I bought because I could not resist it. I think it is appropriate for both Fiona and St. Patrick’s Day:

It’s a little small to be practical, but sooo true!

Last Synagis Shot

 

After illness, ear infection, diarrhea, and diaper rash, today Fiona received her last Synagis shots. Synagis is used to combat the effects of RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). It is very expensive ($1000-$2000 per shot, 5 shots in all) and very few babies qualify for it. Because of Fiona’s gestational age at birth and her actual age at the start of RSV season, she qualified for all 5 shots. They must be given exactly four weeks apart. At the beginning we had to deal with some annoying red tape and many calls to our insurance company, but eventually everything was straightened out and she received all of her shots on time. Today was the last one. Actually, she needed two shots because the medicine is sent in pre filled syringes and the dose is based on weight; her weight was such that one syringe was not quite enough. She was a real trooper and hardly cried after. She felt well enough that we were able to go to the library, the drug store, the coffee shop, and the supermarket after. We didn’t dally in any of those places, but it was a good hour and half after the shots before we were home again.

Here is is waiting for the shots:

On another note, she likes the Moby Wrap again. Now that she can sit up on her own, and has excellent posture, she can face forward and I do not need to hold her. I sometimes put her in the Moby when she is need of holding or just wants to be carried around the house. I like to save the Ergo for outings.

Other than that, nothing very exciting has happened around here. I’ve been busy with the last week of classes, writing a term paper and studying for a final. We’ve hardly left the house even though the weather has been very nice. Fiona has been sleeping well and only waking once a night to eat, which is nice for me. Although, every time I get used to getting a little bit more sleep, she’ll either pull and all-nighter of eating, or my body will realize that 3 1/2 to 4 hours is still not enough sleep even if it feels that way compared to 2 hours. Either way, I’m still exhausted.

Some exciting things Fiona has done at home lately is to take a toy in each hand, vocalize (see video below), and is still trying to crawl forward. She is very efficient at getting on her hands and knees and moving backward, but has yet to make any real forward progress. She is so very close and I can tell she is getting frustrated, but she hasn’t had that “Aha!” moment yet. She did manage to eat a food puff that I gave her to practice her fine motor skills, and now tried to pick the mole on my neck as well. She’s obsessed with my hair and will pull on it whenever she can. Pretty soon I am going to try to feed her some Greek yogurt and maybe cheese. Her 9 month Well Baby Visit was rescheduled for next week due to her illness and ear infection last week, so there will be more to report then.

Here is video of her vocalizing. I am sorry it is so loud. I used my new camera and did not realize how well the microphone picked up sound.

And here are some photos of her from the week:

She really means it!

Very serious…just kidding!

Yummy measuring cup (a favorite new toy I’m teaching her to bang together and on the floor to make noise). She prefers to chew on them, of course.

What do I do with these things again? Oh, yeah, eat them…

Baby tuchie!

 

She looks worried. Don’t fret Fi! I won’t show these to all of your boyfriends, only your prom date ;)

 

Oy vey! It’s hard being a baby and chewing on your toys all the time!

Practicing for the opera! O, Sole Mio…

Catch her on tour at La Scala in Milan. Just kidding. I have the greatest baby on the planet. I can’t believe how much I love her more and more each day.

*Sigh*

The Final Tally

The final tally of last week’s illness, including the original family is: 4 babies, 4 mommies, three daddies, and two grandmas. After Fiona and I finished being sick, both John and my mom got it. Then, several days later, Fiona had her first real fever (not caused by shots). Her 9 month Well Baby Visit on Thursday turned into a not-so-well baby visit. She was diagnosed with an ear infection. She’s holding up well, not 100% herself and she’s lost a little weight and is eating a little bit less, but seems to be on the mend. Earlier in the week she was refusing her morning solids and now she’s eating them again – sort of. Everything seems to be returning to normal. I’m sure that the infection is caused by teething. I wish those teeth would just break through already. She has two, I wonder how many are coming this time.

Here is a photo of her from this week, ever the trooper: