Bouncy Bounce

Bouncy Bounce
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Daddy Notes

7/30-8/1/2008
Holly has been doing well. She's tolerating the medicine now, she still doesn't like it but it hasn't been an ordeal the last few days. She's been really expressive and has been grabbing everything within reach and sticking it into her mouth. She chews and chews. She's been a lot better with spitting up, too. This morning I woke up and went to check on her, and she was already waking up, just stretching and wiggling. She didn't cry at all and was just happily wiggling and looking at her mobile and kicking her baby monitor. She was very happy to see me with the bottle, though. She's very loose in the morning, but she tenses up during the day.

I'm Busy!

I'm Busy!
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 14 Thursday 7/31

Today has been a good day so far. Holly woke up and played with her granny, the usual, oceantime, aquaduck, blocks on her daddy's chair, and they walked around the kitchen. She took a long nap in the morning and then we went to my mother's group. She was very active, climbing all over me, and playing with her toys, rattle and star, and very curious looking everywhere. She was a bit cranky when we came home, but I was able to relax her some with a massage, and then she gulped down a bottle. Then she got very fussy, and i think she is teething again. Nothing would sooth her, I would put a cold teether in her mouth and it would work a few seconds then she would do her whiney noise. Finally i forced her into a nap, by swaddling her and putting her into her swing. She fought it for about 30 seconds and realized she was tired and fell fast asleep.

This evening she has been playing, she is very curious and active. She is reaching more for toys, she will grab them, and then bring them to her mouth. She is also tasting objects, she will lightly lick it, then chomp down on it when it seems safe to chew. She is also putting things to her mouth, then taking them out, looking at them, and putting them back in.

She has been very sensitive to wet diapers the last few days, she has always told us when she is wet, but recently she has been very cranky the second she is wet. I wonder if it is at all related to sensory integration issues, as other babies seem to be able to take a wet diaper longer. Sometimes i will change her 4 times in two hours, for small little tinkles, but once she is changed she is happy again.

She also has begun peeing on Joel whenever he changes her, but she does not do this to me. I can take of her diaper, clean her off, do some massage, weight her, and give her naked baby time, and she never pees. With Joel, as soon as the diaper is off, she pees again, getting the table and her cloths sometimes dirty.

So Holly had a snack at 8:15 so we decided to give her her medicine at 9:30. It was 5ml Apple Juice 25 dose 2 pinches of sugar. I puckered her lips by squeezing her cheeks, and Joel kinda squirted it into the side of her cheek. She drank it down this way much faster then usual, with her continuous upsettedness, but I think she spit up much more then usual, so I think tomorrow I will try it when she is sleeping again.

She is super teething again this evening. She is lunging forward and chomping down on things like knuckles and fingers and gnawing at them. A family friend was over, who has 4 kids and played with her, said she is blowing raspberries, I think that's when she makes little bubbles with her drool. She is indeed doing that, but I had not thought it was intentional.

Also Holly is verbalizing a lot more, everyone says she is really talkative for her age and I am starting to hear more sounds she definitely made an ah goo sound and sometimes makes a ma sound. she still does the pterodactyl screech, but there are more tones and intonations in it, and she has a little sense of humor. Not only is she laughing when I sometimes rub her feet and chest, but she laughs now when I make funny faces, not all the time, but when they strike her as particularly out of the ordinary behavior.

I put her in her bouncer again today, during dinner. This time she only stayed about 10 minutes she wanted to be at the table with us, and eventually she was actually really tired and ready for her swing. But she is bouncing more. I have to do something with the books, as she is moving them, or they are sliding off each other since there are three stacked, as she bounces. But she did entertain herself for a bit. She is sleeping in her swing now. She is such a good sleeper.

This is a link to her picture of the day page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vczdavis

I don't actually get one every day but almost, and some days I make up for it :-)

AquaDuck

AquaDuck
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 13 Wednesday 7/30

Today Holly played with her granny's in ocean time, had a story, sang some songs, tummy time with Aquaduck and then was ready for a nap. I didn't get her to sleep until 12:00 and she was supposed to have her PT at 12:45-1:00 Start, but I thought a little nap before was better then nothing. Then her PT Called and had to cancel because she was coming down with a bug. I let Holly sleep, and she stayed asleep until 4:15. It was a very deep sleep, and I think she was catching up from taking no naps the day before, also yesterday at chyhuli she had a lot of new information to process, and I think she was just tired from such an active and big day. She woke to a bottle and was thrilled to be well rested and fed.

She had a wonderful time playing in Daddy's chair. I sat her up leaning against the arm and put toys next to her. She would actually reach over to them and pick them up. She had several balls that we were playing with and i would put them in her lap between her legs. One is a hard rubber translucent ball with glitter inside that moves. It is very heavy, and with two hands she was able to pick it up, she tried to put it in her mouth but ended up just licking it. She played with her texture blocks, these are large soft cubes, with different textures on each side, and pictures, one has a mirror which she liked to look at.

We also have a soft bumpy ball that she picked up and with her hands she explored the bumps on the surface. Before I gave her the toys while she was sitting on the chair, she was exploring and feeling the seem on the chair, it is made of brown microfiber and she was looking at the different shades of brown patter from the light and texture and rubbing the surface of the chair, she did this for a few moments, and eventually went from sitting up to laying down, once she was in this position and stuck, she got fussy, so i sat her back up and gave her the toys. I had a pile next to her and she would reach for one and play with it, then eventually drop it. Some times I would hand her a new one and she would take it. It was very exciting.

I also need to cut her nails again, they grow so fast, but it seems that she has scratches on her ankles, so I haven;t seen her play independently with her feet much, but the scratches are evidence that she has been at least reaching them to scratch herself.

She was up for a while after her long nap, and had a fashion show for her grannys, today she wore 5 different outfits. She also had a bath and a very long massage. She was in a good mood for the massage, so she didn't get fussy at all, and I was able to go through my whole routine twice. Yesterday at the museum she had a very very watery poop. Today she has not gone yet., I am wondering if the apple juice is just now getting through her system, I hope she doesn't continue to be so watery, I will keep you posted.

Holly woke up from her nap and ate at 9:20, and played for an hour. She bumped her head and startled herself and cried. Daddy was comforting her and I was across the room smiling at her, so I stuck my tongue out at her and she smiled and stuck her tongue out me. It was very cute. At 10:30 she had 25 minocycline with 4ml apple juice. She took it better then usual, but still didn't like it. She sat in her little nest hugging her star for about 30 minutes and fell asleep.

Reflections - Chihuly

Reflections - Chihuly
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

7/29/2008
Holly had a busy day today. We're getting better at giving her the medicine, and it's only taking about 10 minutes, especially if we wait until she's sleepy. She's still not happy about it but she drinks it. We had family in town so we took her out to the deYoung museum, and she really enjoyed it. There was a Dale Chihuli exhibit, giant blown glass sculptures with bright colorful lighting, and she loved it, she stared at the sculptures and reached out to try and grab them. Afterwards, we left at a friends house with Granny and their sister to babysit Holly and new baby and we all went out to see a movie. Holly was well behaved the whole time, but when we got back their dog barked when we arrived, and it startled her, and she was really upset. It took quite a while to calm her down, like twenty minutes, and it was the most upset we've ever seen her other than the afternoon after getting her vaccination shots. We think she might have been a little anxious being away from home and mommy for all afternoon, and then the dog barking just really startled her. She's still as playful as ever, and she has started sticking out her tongue... not mimicking me doing so, but she'll just leave her tongue sticking out for a few minutes. It's really cute.

Everywear Rainbows

Everywear Rainbows
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 12 Tuesday 7/29

Today we are going to the DeYoung Museum to see the Chyhuli Exhibit, and then she has an evening playdate with Lucian, while mommy and daddy go on date night, her granny's will be watching her.

In the morning we had some friends in town, and they all played with Holly, took turns holding and feeding her, and she sat at the table like a big girl and chatted with everyone. She was very social. She only took a short nap. She also played with her Aquaduck, got some more tummy time and read stories with her grannys.

She loved the Museum, she was wide awake and walked along in the Bjorn, and loved the glass and colors she kept reaching out and would have loved to hold the many items if she could have. We looked at some paintings and sculpture as well, and we were there for over two hours, and except for when she needed to be changed she spend the entire time mesmerized. The museum was very crowded and she was very popular, everyone wanted to say hello to her and she was very social.

We met up with some friends for dinner, and though she had a long day, she did not want to sleep, for a bit she played sitting on mommies lap, but then i put her in the carseat and handed her her star toy and she entertained herself for at least thirty minutes, it was very low key, but she was not sleeping.

At Lucian's house she had new toys to play with, one was a playmate with hanging animals, and when you pulled them they made noise and played music, she pulled it and startled herself but soon found this to be a fun game and continued to play with them.

She liked having different seats to sit and play in, and fell asleep in the swing.

She woke and was a little disoriented, and not very happy to be in an unfamiliar environment, and not see her mommy, but she was given a bottle and was ok. Then there dog started barking and this was something she never heard before, she was very startled, and basically freaked out. We had just gotten home, and she cried for at least 30 minutes before she would calm down to a whimper, and be soothed. I of course felt terrible, and hope that leaving her at day care is nothing like this.

When we got home I made up her medicine for her, it was 4ml Apple Juice, 25 Minocycline and two pinches of sugar, as she still does not like the taste. It ended up being around 1:00 Am before she drank this. Same as the night before, she would suck a sip, make a face, then I would give her the pacifier (Joel actually this time) then slip it in again, suck a bit or two, then taste it and realize she didn't like it, and make a face, ect.

Very Cherry Girl

Very Cherry Girl
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 11 Monday 7/28

This morning she played with Granny, and rocked in her swing. She did not want to take a nap, and woke after 5 minutes, so granny brought her to Mommy and after singing songs for about 20 minutes she took a nice nap, to rest for her Therapy. She woke and ate just in time to play with Katie. She was very focused on holding and playing with her tongue and didn't want to do much else. She did do several good arm stretches, bared weight on her legs, followed and grabbed for toys, and looked at her feet some, but not a lot. We have a new tummy time toy with is an "aqua duck" it fills with a thin layer of water that she can then press on and it squishes around moving the toys inside. She seemed to be very intrigued with this, and stayed on her tummy to look at it for a long time, and did some pushing with her hand with help. She however really loved activating her feet and using them to step and kick at the toys and feel the different type of ground / surface underneath. So she had a lot of fun with this. While feeding her a second bottle, Kattie was able to get her to relax some more and do some really good stretches and she was reaching up with her left hand well.

She walked around the backyard today, and read books, and sang songs. She is pretty tired from her session and a bit cranky and took two naps so far this afternoon. I am still in awe that she will recognize me from across the room, and watch my every move. When she woke up today she was grumpy and her daddy brought her into the living room, and as soon as she saw me over on the couch she had a big smile. Then later when playing with Katie, she kept looking over to make sure I was there, and when I walked into the kitchen she watched me go, and waited looking at the door for my return. I am slightly worried about leaving her in day care, as she has been missing her mommy when i don;t spend every minute with her. Today she was angry and was fussing, then as soon as i took her she cried and yelled. I told her to get it all out and tell me how upset she was, a few moments later she was happy and hugging my arm. I may be reading too much into things, but it felt like i was a safe person for her to express her emotions, and then she was comforted. Is she old enough for this type of complexity?

She had a very fun afternoon playing in ocean time, and playing upside down baby. She giggles whenever I do this and has a blast. She also played in her bouncer. She chews on the side of this and drools all over it, I will have to put something on it, or a bid on her until she is bigger in it. She entertained herself for about 10 minutes, she looked at the toys, and bounced herself a little bit, but was not too active. She was very tired today, and she ate at around 6:30 and fell asleep in her swing around 7:00. We were just sitting down for dinner, then we played a game. before we knew it it was 10:30 and she was still asleep. So we woke her up and fed her a 4 ounce bottle. Then at 11:45 I gave her a 25 dose of Minocycline in 4 ml of apple juice. I tried a little less thinking it would be less to make her drink. She was asleep and woke up and didn't like the taste of it. It took me about 20 minutes to give it to her and she cried and fussed the whole time, half asleep, I kept giving it to her, squirting it in, or having her suck it, then she would taste it, cry and fall back asleep. I think tomorrow I will go back to the 5ml and maybe even add more sugar. I have to find a balance that the taste is desirable, to her otherwise she will spit it up and not get any medicine.

Waiting at the Airport

Waiting at the Airport
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Holly's great granny irene is coming to visit today, and Holly was at the Airport to meet her.

Day 10 Sunday 7/27

Holly was very playful this morning. Her granny reports that they had tummy time, ocean time, and they also walked around the back yard. She was very talkative when she met her great granny this afternoon, and we went out to lunch and shopping again, she was very curious looking at all the things at the stores. i got her a new bouncy ball full of glitter that spins and makes cool swirl patterns and she really likes it. her granny got her some number flashcards but we haven't played with them yet. She has been chewing on things a lot, her fingers always and she has begun to actually grab her tongue with her hand, so she gets lots of oral stimulation. We sang songs, read stories, and played with the shakers.

She has been very smiley and playful and talkative, even to new people when she first meets them. She has been standing on her full weight, but not balancing yet, she has also been sitting with some back support. She seems to recognize the camera, and it is almost as if she poses when i am going to take a picture. She also 100% knows her bottle, and will stop fussing when I begin to make it for her, she has been trying to "help" feed herself, and her granny isn't very good at feeding her, because when she helps she often pushes the bottle out of her mouth, so she has been eating often short snacks, and her sleeping pattern is all off due to the visitors, she doesn't get her long morning nap as usual, so she is a bit more cranky during the day when she doesn't get her need met right away, so I am going to try and get her back on schedule, but not stress about it until after the visitors leave.

I have been trying to do the imitation game, but Holly has not really been reciprocating. We gave her food at 7:30, and she took her Minocycline 25 dose at around 8:45 with 5 ML of apple Juice. She didn't like it but she did drink it all down. I was able to get her to sleep within an hour, and she stayed asleep until 5:00 am ish.

Double Giraffe Twins

Double Giraffe Twins
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Daddy Notes:

7/26-7/27/2008
It's still tough to give Holly the medicine, even with the apple juice, but were getting better. Last night it took 45 minutes and she was very resistant and crying the whole time, tonight it went much smoother, only took a few minutes, though she wasn't happy. I think it makes it tough because we have to give it to her between feedings, and she's not really hungry.
She's had a busy weekend, her granny is visiting and her great-grandmother as well (my grandmother). She's been very playful and well behaved. I don't think she's sleeping any more or less than usual but her sleep schedule is getting all jumbled up, partly because of all the activity with the visitors. She was very playful this morning, and yesterday we put her in the bouncer seat (it's too big for her but we put some heavy books under her feet so she can reach the "floor"). She likes that because she can be upright, but it supports her weight and her head somewhat, so she doesn't get tired. She played in there for almost a half hour before she wanted attention.
We've also been reading to her often, she really pays attention to the pictures and reaches out to grab the pages. But she will be still and focused while I'm reading the page, and then vocal and playful while I'm moving to the next page. She does get bored after about one and a half books (about 8-10 minutes) and we stop and do something else.

Tie Died

Tie Died
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 9 Saturday 7/26

Today we had a fun outing, but made sure holly stayed in the shade. She liked walking around the farmer's market and looking around. Then we went to lunch where she sat on the table and reached down to look at and play with her toes. It was a hot day so when we got home we took a cool bath, and she had fun splashing in the water. Then she had a nice long and complete massage.

Tonight was very hard. Holly ate at around 7:15 and I was afraid that she would sleep through, so I moved her from her swing at 8:15 to give her her medicine 25 . This woke her and she was grumpy, she did not want to drink at all, she would give me a yucky face, so I tried a normal bottle of apple juice to see if she would drink that with no medicine. She took a few sips, so I decided to add the medicine into it, but this was far too much juice, and she was not hungry, so it was 10:00 PM before she would drink it all, and me was unhappy the whole time. Then she fell asleep, but woke up at 10:45 Hysterical and "starving" so we gave her a bottle even thought it had not been a full hour, but she had last eaten 3.5 hours earlier, so she was very very hungry.

In the evening we read her stories from a new picture book made by her Granny that has photo's of all her relatives and she seems to recognize some of them, like her oma and opa from when they were visiting, and was even helping us turn the pages. She played in her bouncer during dinner, and used her left arm to reach for some of the toys.

Fly Away with Me

Fly Away with Me
Originally uploaded by vczdavis

Day 8, Friday 7/25

Holly had a great day so far. This morning she played quietly, sang songs, and took a nap with Mommy. When she woke she was very energetic and smiley She was holding her bottle more and bearing weight on her legs. In her nest she was sitting and playing with her star and Galaxy toy, and I placed them on her left side and she was picking them up from that side, but doesn't extend that side as much. We also did some stretches this morning.

We went to swimming in the afternoon, and she did very well today. For some reason when I leaned back to dip my hair into the water, and then lifted back up to look at her she would laugh, perhaps it was like a peek a boo, but I would do it over and over and each time it made her laugh. She was very kicky in the pool, she was very chewey as well, and looked at other babies. we splashed and went under water twice, and jumped several times. at the end when the floating toys come out she reached for them, and grabbed a lobster with both of her hands and chewed on its claw. Paige, our playdate was two and she would hand holly little fish toys which she would reach for and take. She was mostly quiet today, until the end, but she was much more smiley then usual, she is typically very thoughtful when at the pool, and today she looked very comfortable in her environment.

She was chewing on her toes with mommies help and grabbing them and pulling them to her mouth on her own. This week her granny is visiting, so she was up late going to the airport. She ate at 9:30 and had a 25 dose of Minocycline mixed in 3ml of Apple Juice at 11:00 PM. She didn't like this as much as the night before, as she was more awake and had to actively drink it, so was riled up from seeing her granny, who has not seen her since she was a week old. She didn't want to go to sleep. I tried putting her into the crib awake with sleepy eyes, but she kept fussing and fighting it off, so after about 20 minutes I had to get her. She did eventually fall asleep in her swing.