Addison - the 9 month old!

Addison has officially been *out* of me for as long as she was *in* me! Even though her name changed from Silly Baby to Addison Grace, she is still very much a Silly Baby! So let's take a look at her progress in her 9 month!

9-Month Check-Up

Height

28 1/2" - 90th Percentile

Weight

19 1/2" - 50th Percentile

Head Size

17 1/2" - 50th Percentile

Addison received the first round of H1N1 vaccination and will receive her second dose in a month. The rest of her check-up went well.

Talking

Last week, I decided that Addison officially said "mama." It went from just being a noise she made to being what she would say when she is nursing, or wants me to pick her up, or I walk in a room, or walk her away from her. She does, however, still say "mama" sometimes when in context it does not make sense for it means "mama." In those instances, I think she is saying "more", especially when it involves eating. Which is another good achievement since we have been working on teaching her that word, both by repeating it and using the sign language motion for it when we are feeding her.

Addison may also be trying to say "kitty." Although it will take awhile for her to actually be able to say it. But it is a word we say a lot - every time the cats are nearby we say "look at the kitty!" or "what's that kitty doing?" So she certainly has heard it enough. When the cats do get close to her, she sounds like she is trying to make the *k* sound. Yes, it is probably mostly Mommy reading into it - but hey, it's fun!...And maybe I'm right :0)

Eating

If Addison's height and weight growth are any indication, she is quite an eater! She has now been introduced to Gerber's full line of fruits and vegetables. She really enjoys Gerber Graduates puffs, so we always have them on hand for her to feed herself during meal times. We also give her her own spoon during meal times for her to entertain herself. And, as you can see from the picture, she really does enjoy it - and cute faces like this make it fun for us too!

Now that she has passed the 9-month mark, we will begin feeding her some table foods and the meaty versions of those Gerber foods.

Crawling, Kneeling, Standing

Just one month ago, Addison was rolling all over the place. However, now that she is much better at just sitting right back up after she tips over (and she tips over less often), she doesn't need to roll to get herself back into position. But even more important than that - Addison has learned to crawl!

In just one month's time, Addison mastered the art of the "army crawl" where she would kick her legs out while pulling with her arms. Every once in awhile, she would get up in crawling position, and rock but most of the time one of her legs were still tucked under her from being in the sitting position.

But then early last week over at Auntie Lorie's, Addison took to all-fours and began to crawl. Mommy and Daddy didn't get to see the full-out crawl until two days later, when she took four full crawl-strides in the living room. Just two days later, she was crawling - fast - all the way back and forth Grandma G's family room floor.

Addison has also begun pulling herself up to a kneeling postion when holding onto a foot stool or coffee table. Last week she also advanced to pulling herself up to kneeling, then letting go and being able to stay in the kneeling position!

She does not stand alone yet, and has not pulled herself up to standing except when assisted by us. Sometimes when she is in crawling position, she will pull her leg up so that she has a foot flat on the ground. When I watch her crawling and feel how much she still needs my support when she is standing - it seems that her standing and walking is a long ways away. But as babies go, I know she will be standing and walking before I can believe it.

Addison - the 8mos. old!

So wow! Addison's 8th month was quite the adventurous one. After 7 months of great health, no scares and no worries - we were dealt with a full deck of issues.

ER Visits
On Tuesday, January 5th, Addison had a small seizure. She was in her Bumpo chair while I was getting ready for work. All of a sudden, I looked at her and her head had dropped down to the side and she had a funny look on her face. I crouched down to look at her and her eyes were glazed over, then they started to flutter and roll back in her head and she started to tremble. I rushed and got her out of the chair and ran to call 911.
By the time I was done with the 911 call, the shaking had stopped and she was just out of it. I was instructed to lay her on her side, so I sat with her across my lap on the floor of her nursery. Moments later, the EMT's werethere. They didn't see anything wrong with her, by then she was her usual self. They checked her temperature and her vitals. She was taken to the ER for further tests.
In the ER, they took blood work (from her heel) and checked her temperature and vitals again. Everything came back clear.
That afternoon we took her in to see her Pediatrician who scheduled an EEG for the following Monday. The EEG results came back clean, so still no answers. We hoped this meant the seizure was a fluke and we wouldn't have to worry about it again.
However, only three weeks later, while at Auntie Lorie's she had another seizure in the afternoon. This time, it lasted longer than a minute - long enough for the paramedics to witness the final moments of the seizure. So again, she was taken to the ER. They took more blood work, this time from her arm which was terribly painful for us to watch Addison have to go through. They also gave her a CAT scan. Again, both test came back clear. We went to see the Pediatrician again and he gave us a referral to see a Neurologist. The earliest appointment we could get in Mid-March. After the initial appointment, Addison will most likely be scheduled for an extended EEG - which is a 48hr. EEG. I am not sure how that would work - but we are patiently awaiting the appointment.
In the meantime, Addison was prescribed medicine that we give her rectally in the event of another seizure lasting longer than a minute. We hope we never have to use this, but it is good to know it is there.

The First Cold
In between the two seizures, Addison got her first cold that lasted a little over a week. We wondered if perhaps the onslaught of the cold could have caused the first seizure, since that is somewhat common even though she didn't have a fever at the time of the seizure. She came down with the cold 3 days after the seizure and it was a lot of chest congestion and from what we could tell - a very sore throat. So that meant many sleepless nights for us all, with her coughing and screaming in pain. One day, her fever was 103 while she was at Auntie Lorie's so she ended up taking her to the doctor that instructed us to give her Motrin and Tylenol on a rotating basis for her fever. Tim stayed at home with her the next few days and her fever came and went. Then, her first day back at Auntie Lorie's - she spiked another high fever in the late afternoon, so I took off work early to take her into the doctor again who told us to just keep going with the Motrin/Tylenol and that this was most likely a virus so there was nothing else we could do - it just had to run it's course. Which it did in a matter of a few more days.

IN HAPPIER NEWS....let's review Addison's developments!

Talking
Addison consistently says "mamamamama", "bababababababa" and "dadaddadadadda" and some combinations of those. This does not mean she says "mama" or "dada", although sometimes we like to pretend ;) She does, however, understand when we say "where's mama" or "where's dada" she will look at the appropriate person.

Eating
She is eating more and more. She now eats the following fruits and veggies: sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, squash, carrots, pears, apples, bananas, strawberries and peaches. We've also been giving her Gerber sweet potato puffs that she can feed herself and water in a sippy cup, although she doesn't drink too much of that.
I still nurse her in the morning and at bedtime, as well as through the night when she awakes. But many times we need to supplement a bottle, as I don't think nursing is quick enough for her and she gets frustrated - although she still finds it soothing.

Sitting, Rolling, Crawling
Addison constistently sits up unassisted for long periods of time. She only tips over when she is trying to get something out of reach or wants to roll over. She rolls everywhere now and quickly so the baby proofing has begun. She has some noise-making toys we have set up on the ground for her that keeps her well entertained.
When on her belly, she will push herself up to a crawling position and rocks back and forth, although no progression forward yet.
She still enjoys time in the jumperoo, although more of her time is spent rolling around on the living room floor.
She will be on the move before we know it!

Addison - the 7-Month Old!

December 27, 2009
For some reason, Addison being 7-months old sounds so much older than 6-months old. Perhaps that in this second half of her first year, big changes are coming down the pike. Let's take a look at her lifestyle!

Eating
Her eating habits are perhaps the biggest change that I feel because, well, I used to be her only source of food! Here's her eating schedule:
7am - Nurses for 10-20 minutes before Mommy goes to work
8:30am - Cereal
10am - Bottle of formula/breastmilk then nap
12pm - Jar of fruit/veggie
1pm - Bottle of formula/breastmilk then nap
3:30pm - Bottle of formula/breastmilk
6pm - Cereal and Fruit/Veggie
8pm - Nurses at bedtime
**Usually wakes sometime between 12am-2am to nurse, and sometimes even again at 4am**

The foods that she now eats are: rice cereal, bananas, apples, carrots and sweet potatoes. Next up - pears!

Sleeping
As you can see above, she is in a very good routine which began in the few weeks before I went back to work in November.
10am nap lasts about an hour
1pm nap lasts almost two hours, but sometimes up to three hours!
8pm bedtime is sometime as early as 7:15pm based on how she is acting. She shows signs of tiredness with redness around her eyes and resting her head on our chest and shoulders when we hold her. In the past two weeks she has begun the classic rubbing of the eyes!

Her bedtime routine includes changing her diaper and getting her into her pj's and sleepsack. Then I sit with her in the rocker and read her a short story, which is when her sleepiness really sets in and she begins to get cranky. So, then I nurse her for as long as she needs - which can be up to 30-minutes.

As I also mentioned above, she usually wakes at least once a night just to nurse, which did not bother me since it would only be fore 10-15min and I could fall back asleep while nursing her securely in bed, then when I would wake up, I would simply put her back in the crib. However; in the past couple weeks she has begun to wake a few times a night - and not to nurse. She just wants to hang out. I did read an article about nighttime separation anxiety. Separation Anxiety is supposed to kick in around 7 months, so perhaps she is beginning with the nighttime variety. But it is very frustrating for Tim and I as we are both working now and have been booked solid for the past 8 weekends so that has left us little recovery time from being awoken 3-4 times a night. We may attempt another round of sleep training, to at least minimize the number of times she wakes up. We'll see about that.

Playing
Addison still very much enjoys her Jumperoo and it is a part of her daily activity. Especially during dinner time so Mommy & Daddy can eat! She is also sitting up better and better on her own. We typically have the Boppy pillow as support around her in case she tips to one side or the other, but sometimes she is rolling back and forth so much - we take it away so she can roll around easier. For Christmas she received some stationary entertainers, including a LeapFrog keyboard as well as a couple similar items. So she enjoys sitting and looking at them. We usually need to do most of the button pushing to make things happen, but she has her few known functions on them that she knows how to do that gets a reaction.
She enjoys "grown-up" items such as a remote control and cell phones, of course. So she now has her very own real remote control and cell phone - neither which work, but entertain her nonetheless.
Anything and everything goes into her mouth - so what they say is true!!! But we take it as a sign of her really liking something!
All in all, when she is playing she is a very happy baby. Squeals and screams of delight, with happy baby babbling throughout. She enjoys being tickled and her belly "eaten" - she will grab onto our glasses and hair and laugh away! Some very special and fun moments for us all.

Addison's 6-Month Check-Up

Thursday, December 3

Addison had her 6-Month check-up yesterday. Let's take a look at her stats!

Height

27" 90th Percentile

Weight

15lbs. 10oz. 50th Percentile

Head Size

16 5/8" 40th Percentile

Addison remains tall and thin. She is filling out a little as her weight was only in the 40th percentile at her 4-month check-up. Her head size has certainly gained some ground, since she has been only in the 10th percentile in head size up until now.

We will begin to feed her solids in addition to rice cereal that she has been eating for the past two months. Starting this weekend, we will be feeding her bananas (baby food version of course!). The doctor recommends introducing a new "flavor" to her every four days or so to give time for any allergies to appear - and also to get her used to the new flavors!

Addison received her third round of shots: Diphtheria, Tetanus & Pertussis and Hepititus/Hib as well as her first flu shot. She will go in for a booster flu shot in one month!

Otherwise, Addison is in good health and is growing well!

Her next appointment is her 9-month check-up!

Addison's New Life

Mommy Got a Job!
After enjoying nearly six months of being a stay-at-home Mom, but agonizing over my seemingly endless job search - alas, my job search and life as a housewife has come to an end. This is a big change for me, with a lot of adjustments to my schedule. I've worked full-time for six years, so it's been like riding a bike! However, the hours before and after work have been very different. I've added an extra hour to my morning routine to give Addison the opportunity to nurse; as well as enjoy some Mommy time with her and get her packed up for the day.
Addison is now spending her days between the hours of 9 to 5 with her Auntie Lorie and cousins Isabella, Nicolas and Bianca. Second only to Tim or I being home with her, this is really the best arrangement we could dream of! Lorie is a very experienced mother with three children between the ages of 18mos and 5yrs! I am familiar with her parenting, so feel secure knowing that Addison is in great hands.
Addison is also fortunate to spend her days playing and watching her cousins play - which is something she did not get at home! They have plenty of toys for Addison to play with so she is certainly entertained in her time there.
My first two days back at work, Tim stayed home with Addison - which was a really great transition in getting her used to being away from me and then being away from home too. Today, Wednesday, was Addison's first day with Lorie and it went very well! She ate a bunch and stuck to her morning and afternoon nap routine that we've established over the past few weeks. She enjoyed watching her cousins play and they no longer startled her like they used to when she was younger.

We are so fortunate to have family available and willing to take care of Addison. We hope she continues to be a good girl for her Auntie and Cousins!!

(THANKS, LORIE!)

Sleep Update

The night after we ended Addison's "Sleep Training", she was snarfing up quite a bit during her bedtime story. I couldn't soothe her so after a few minutes, I just put her down in her crib for a moment and then I was going to try soothing her more. Well, there was no need to! Not even a minute after I put her in her crib, she was fast asleep!

She has only napped her crib once before - for about 30minutes. I do put her in her crib almost everyday, but she usually just hangs out in there - looking at her mobile and crib soother. So imagine my surprise that she immediately fell asleep, especially while being crabby!

I always figured the first night we'd put Addison in her crib would be a momentus occassion with a lot of build-up to it. But instead, it was just an unplanned event! She slept in her crib til about 2am when she woke up to nurse. Just having her sleep in her crib from 9pm-2am was enough progress for me, so after I nursed her at 2am, I kept her in bed with us to sleep.

And that is how it has been for nearly the past two weeks! She goes in the crib after her bedtime story around 8-8:30, then wakes up somewhere between 12:30am-2am to nurse and I keep her in bed with us. The best part, is that we were finally able to put the pack 'n play away! So now I no longer have to crawl into bed from the foot of the bed or slide the pack n play out of the way to get out of bed. Our room looks twice as big now!!!

I'm thinking this week, I will attempt to put her back in her crib after her middle of the night feeding and see how that goes.

I will admit, even though Addison sleeping in her crib is what I wanted - I was very sad to see her sleeping in there. It was like she was all grown up - and didn't need to be snuggled up against me to sleep anymore. So, I was actually relieved when she woke up at 2am to nurse.

That is the harsh reality of motherhood...you want your child to grow and mature - but when they do, you wish for those old times back.

Sleep Training

At Addison's 4-month check-up, her doctor said she should be sleeping 10-hrs a night and there's no need for her to be waking up through the night to nurse. He said if I want to nurse her through the night, it's up to me and it's fine - but just that at her age she should be able to sleep through the night. The doctor suggested "sleep training" for a few nights to get Addison to learn how to fall asleep and stay asleep on her own.

So, of course I googled it and here's the method I found!

First, wait until your baby is physically and emotionally ready to sleep through the night, usually between 4 and 6 months of age. Ferber doesn't designate a precise age at which to begin his technique, since it can vary so much depending on the child. If you're not sure whether your baby's ready, you can always give it a try. If you encounter too much resistance, wait a few weeks and try again.
Step 1
Put your baby in his crib when she's sleepy but still awake.
Step 2
Say goodnight to your child and leave the room. If she cries when you leave, let her cry for a predetermined amount of time.
Step 3
Go back into the room for no more than a minute or two to pat and reassure your baby. Leave the light off and keep your voice quiet and soothing. Don't pick her up. Leave again while she's still awake, even if she's crying.
Step 4
Stay out of the room for a little bit longer than the first time and follow the same routine, staying out of the room for gradually longer intervals, each time returning for only a minute or two to pat and reassure her, and leaving while she's still awake.
Step 5
Follow this routine until your child falls asleep when you're out of the room.
Step 6
If your child wakes up again later, follow the same routine, beginning with the minimum waiting time for that night and gradually increasing the intervals between visits until you reach the maximum for that night.
Step 7
Increase the amount of time between visits to the nursery each night. In most cases, according to Ferber, your baby will be going to sleep on her own by the third or fourth night — a week at the most. If your child is very resistant after several nights of trying, wait a few weeks and then try again.

How long should I leave my child alone?
In his book, Ferber suggests these intervals:
First night: Leave for three minutes the first time, five minutes the second time, and ten minutes for the third and all subsequent waiting periods.
Second night: Leave for five minutes, then ten minutes, then 12 minutes.
Make the intervals longer on each subsequent night.Keep in mind that there's nothing magical about these waiting periods. You can choose any length of time you feel comfortable with.

We started this on Friday night, leaving her to cry for 1-minute, 5-minute and 7-minute intervals. After the 7-minute cry-out, I brought her in bed with us, as I normally do in the middle of the night. So not much progress, but I did not nurse her so that was a huge step forward!
Saturday night, the second night, at first seemed to be more of a success! We did 5-minute, 10-minute and 15-minute cry out time. After the 5-minute cry, I put the paci back in her mouth, put my hand on her chest and she fell asleep immediately!
But then after the 10-minute cry it was very difficult to get her to settle down and once I did it only last several minutes and then began the 15-minute cry. Once we tried soothing her after the 15-minute cry, she would not settle down so I took her out of the pack n play and into bed with us. That didn't work so we tried swaddling and other soothing. Then Tim took her into the nursery and rocked her in the chair until she finally calmed down. Then he brought her into bed and she started winding up again, so I nursed her and that did the trick.
I don't *mind nursing her in the middle of the night, most of the time I can actually fall back asleep while she nurses - but like the doctor said, I don't want to HAVE to nurse her through the night. Especially if I ever go back to work, waking up for 2am feedings are going to take a toll on me. My other motivation is to be able to move Addison into her nursery at night. The pack n play has been set-up bedside for four months now and I am getting quite annoyed by it!
This will take awhile, but as long as we are making progress towards something, that's good. Baby steps!!!