tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38180663842562209942024-03-21T15:33:27.803-07:00Fiona AshleyJ.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-23236482530329115422011-10-18T04:35:00.001-07:002011-10-18T04:43:56.420-07:002 years oldI really want to get back into blogging about my girl because I'm forgetting exactly when Fiona has started doing things :(. I'm going to really try & post again..even if it's just 1 line. I'm gonna try & update quickly...it might be all scattered.<br />
<br />
At the moment Fiona is talking up a storm. She started a few months ago saying 2 or 3 words together & soon after she's saying sentences. She talks so much. <br />
Around 22 months old she knew all the alphabet. You'd ask her what letter something was & she would know the letter. <br />
She knows how to count things & count in general. I've heard her go to about 15 or 16. <br />
She's got a great memory & remembers names. <br />
She recognizes types of cars. She knows I have a Nissan, daddy a Ford, nana a Mercedies & Goggie a Volvo. If she sees the logo somewhere she'll say "daddy's car". An example is while watching the Yankee game the Ford logo will be on wall in back & she'll scream "daddy's car". Same with the Subway Sandwich logo.<br />
She's very outgoing & friendly to other kids. We've started MyGym classes & she loves it. Anywhere we go she gets right in & starts to participate. Sometimes she gets shy but most of the time she responds. Like at My Gym classes we sit in a circle & when we go around the room the coach will ask her name in front of the group, she has no problem announcing her name in front of everyone.<br />
It's pretty early & I can't think of anything else at the moment. As the day goes on she'll probably do something & it'll remind me to blog about it. Crossing fingers I'll remember to blog again J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-38049205112472065722010-12-11T06:52:00.000-08:002010-12-12T11:02:54.550-08:00Word count at 16 months oldFiona started talking somewhat late (according to her doctor at her 12 month appointment because she didn't have 3 words at that appointment) but once she started, she started which was around 14 months old with 5 words (old post: http://fionaashley.blogspot.com/2010/09/first-words.html).<br /><br />A thread was started on a July 2009 baby board on BabyCenter.com about how many words your little was was saying so it got me thinking. I voted 9-12 words but after started writing them down I got 12 in a matter of a few seconds and I knew there was a bunch more. Some of the words aren't completely clear but I heard somewhere that the words should be ones that the parents understand & I do understand.<br /><br />So here's my list:<br /><br />1. Mama<br />2. Dada<br />3. Shea (our dog)<br />4. Oso (Special Agent Oso)<br />5. Mouse (Mickey)<br />6. Cup (sippy)<br />7. Banana (sounds like nana)<br />8. Apple<br />8. Up<br />9. Puffs<br />10. Cheerios (sounds like Oh oo's)<br />11. Phone<br />12. Hello<br />13. No<br />14. Hat <br />15. Hot<br />16. Shoes<br />17. Socks<br />18. Cream (sounds like keem)<br />19. Binkey (key key)<br />20. Gum<br />21. Thank you (tha yee)<br />22. Keys<br />23. Ball<br />24. Pool (which she hasn't said lately b/c it's winter)<br />25. Elmo<br />26. Phone (sounds like fo fuf)<br />27. Yes<br />28. Uh oh<br /><br />These are the words she says on her own. There are words she tries to repeat after I say them that I didn't include. I'm sure I'm missing a few but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. (As the day goes on & I think of others I'll be sure to add them)<br /><br /><br /><br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-91067032244720917202010-11-14T10:07:00.000-08:002010-11-14T10:08:31.154-08:00Mama!Finally! Fiona is saying Mama! She's got a ton of other words which includes the dog's name & dada but she didn't say mama. Actually about a week ago she didn't even know who mama was! If you'd say a word she'd look at it (dada, Shea, ball, binkey, bed, tubby....) but say mama & she'd look around clueless. No one ever said it, not even me. The other day my husband tried to teach her. Then here & there the last few days we'd say it. Now she knows & when we ask her "who's that?" to me she says "mama". She's picking things up so quickly now. It's so exciting!<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-72855592418477326442010-11-04T08:47:00.000-07:002010-11-04T08:47:00.641-07:00Walking all overShe's been walking all over the place for the last month. She still gets Early Intervention for low tone but she's getting stronger & stronger every day.<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-29671637976568244422010-09-25T04:54:00.000-07:002010-09-25T05:27:51.975-07:00Lots of stepsFiona has been taking a lot of steps these days. She'll go from 1 side of the room to the other but her preferred method of transportation is still to crawl (or the bunny hop which is what she does). She LOVES to stand up all by herself (which she does really well) in the middle of the room & walk to me. As she's standing up a huge smile goes on her face as she looks at me...the look is like 'Ok mommy, I'm gonna do the thing you get so happy about' haha. Most of the time she gets so excited with her arms in the air which makes her wobbly & she falls...but she gets back up in the same spot & will continue her walk. Then there's sometimes she's really cautious & she'll catch herself from falling. <br />I'll try & get a video asap. <br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-34799167897483973872010-09-23T05:09:00.001-07:002010-09-23T05:09:06.344-07:00First wordsAt Fiona's 12 month well baby visit the doctor was a bit concerned that she wasn't saying 3 words. I told her she was saying mamama & dada/daddy but not exactly to us. She told me to call her back in a month & see where she's at then. She's known what a lot of words mean for a while now & when you'd say them she'd go get them, but she wouldn't say them on her own. Last week it really started.<br />One morning I was walking past the kitchen table & she points & says "gom". I had no idea what she was saying. She's been saying the word "go" for a while so I thought that's what she meant. When I looked at what she was pointing to it was the gum, for some reason she loves my pack of gum. I thought it was so funny. She's also been saying ba for ball, poo for pool, tha tha or tha chew for thank you & tees for keys. She also tries to repeat a lot if things I say to her but so far those are the words she says on her own without even hearing me say it that day. I love it!<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-76644103267945904142010-09-14T18:50:00.000-07:002010-09-14T18:50:00.237-07:00Took a couple stepsMy girl took a couple steps today between me & my mom. I think having these Stride Rite walking shoes are really helping her with walking. The physical therapist from early intervention (for the "low-tone" in her legs/calves) takes her walking so I've been doing the same. Today she took about 3 steps all alone....not much but a big start! I'm so proud of my Fiona!<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://picasaweb.google.com/Jen4t25/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNSPz4KjpqOmXw#5516950008218857634'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3a9ExvoqaATOjxXI-o5DfKitQZBIVh1YzBc4gwW_rr-7aE-wF4eAei249rSV_HOna4BxV958z-ZCTMPeYsizaL8kPtnBM1iiu04pw7RgxiFNdTjE6q1kHIjXRThzjNHAb_swp24NCY8/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='209' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-37018633403164797642010-09-03T05:52:00.001-07:002010-09-03T05:52:58.837-07:00Bye-Bye Baba<br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/03/695.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/03/s_695.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Fiona is no longer using a bottle or drinking formula! She's all cow's milk in a sippy cup. It took almost a month but we did it. After I got a different sippy cup than the Avent one we had it made things much better. I'm not sure if it was because the Playtex and the Take & Toss ones have a hard plastic spout but she took to them very well. <br /> I started by giving 1 sippy a day (the afternoon) until I saw she was drink it well. Then I started giving her a sippy at night before bed. The hardest one I thought was going to be the morning one. She seems to wake up really hungry & she's used to just biting down on the nipple & the formula pouring out, but with the sippy she has to work for it. Surprisingly she did well. It's been about 5 days & no bottle!<br />With the formula I started by giving 1/2 milk & 1/2 formula. After about a week I'd give her 1 afternoon sippy with just milk depending on how hungry she was. Every few days I would give 1oz more of milk than formula until we were down to only 2oz of formula in her morning bottle. For the last week the only reason I was giving it to her was because I wanted to finish what I had.<br />During all this I was trying to give her more solids. The pediatrician said to cut down on the milk so she'll eat more. Before starting all this she was taking about four 8oz bottles of formula. The pedi said to give her only about 16oz of milk. She's still taking about 20oz of milk but once she starts eating & liking table food I'll give her less. At the moment I'm trying to give her table food but she's just picking here & there...I still give her the jar baby food as her meals. I think at some point soon she'll start eating our table food but I'm not going to rush her into things.<br />So at 13 months old Fiona is bottle & formula free! That's my girl!<br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-86315827695454394042010-09-02T10:35:00.000-07:002010-09-02T10:36:42.765-07:00Macy's catalog<br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/02/1258.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/09/02/s_1258.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Not sure if I mentioned this on here before but I take Fiona on modeling auditions.<br />Here Fiona is the ladybug on the right. This was a catalog/circular for Macy's Labor Day sale. It's always exciting to see my boo in ads.<br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-73223088632335870212010-08-19T06:35:00.000-07:002010-08-19T06:37:05.133-07:00Bottle to sippy & formula to milkTrying to stop the bottle & use a sippy cup instead is harder than I thought. I didn't think she cared about the bottle it self, I just thought she wanted what's inside & to not be hungry anymore. At her 12 month well baby visit the doctor told me to give regular milk & start using sippy instead of the bottles. As simple as that sounds it's not. I tried just giving the sippy cup & it wasn't working. I didn't really have a plan on how I was gonna do it, I was just going to give the sippy & that's it. Well, that didn't work well for me or her. Some feedings I gave her all milk, 1/4 milk, 2/3 milk, some would be bottles, other times sippy...I had no idea at the end of the what I did. Besides her not being happy, I was unorganized. After a few days of being unsuccessful I'm getting organized.<br />For 2 days I gave her 4 oz of milk & 4 oz of formula all in a bottle. In between I'd give her water & juice (the sippy cup in general is new to her too so she needs to just learn to use it). Now that she's realizing her formula is tasting a little different I've started taking away the 1pm bottle & put her 4oz milk & 4oz formula in just that 1 bottle. It's been about 5 days & she's doing awesome! The 1st day it took probably almost 2 hours to drink it! Good thing it was hot that day so we had the air conditioner on full blast. Each day got better & now she drinks practically the entire thing within 15 minutes! This morning I gave her 5oz of milk (took the chill out of it in the microwave this time since there's more milk) & 3 oz of formula in the bottle. I plan on doing this all day & tomorrow give the sippy cup for the 4pm bottle. I'll probably continue with the morning & bedtime bottle for another month until she's 100% on formula. <br />Being organized seems to make things go smoother. She's never had any kind of schedule with anything but now it seems like we need one now that she's getting older.<br />I'll continue to update on how things are going.<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-79685663610367521542010-08-10T05:58:00.000-07:002010-08-10T05:58:00.745-07:0012 month doctor visitFiona had her 12 month doctor's visit yesterday. It seems like I can't leave there 100% relieved. At her 6 month is when she was diagnosed with tortillas and low tone & needed early intervention. Then 9 month they asked me to come back each month to remeasure her head because she wasn't following the growth chart curve. Of course I freaked because these are the months she's learning to pull up & move around so she's bumping her head more often. I'm thinking her head is swelling or something. Now it seems like she's back on track & on a different curve. <br />Now at this 12 month visit they're telling me she should be saying at least 3 words & they must mean something. She says "dada", "mama", "baba" and her new favorite word "go". She knows what the words mean along with binky, sippy cup & ball but she doesn't say it to get our attention. I've heard her say dada when he'd walk away or something but doesn't say dada or mama when she wants us. She doesn't say baba or binky when she wants it. This seems to be a problem to the doctor. She now wants me to really pay attention to this & call or go back in a month. <br />She did 2 shots (pneumococcal conjugate & varicella) & did well. They wanted to give her MMR but I asked to hold off for the moment until I read about it more...I was unprepared. I do plan to give her all her shots but since this is the one linked to autism I wanted to read up on it a little. When I go back next month for the 3 words update I'll most likely have them give it to her then.<br />Her height is 29.5", weight 18lbs 8oz & the (big) head measurement is 46.5cm.<br />She told me to start giving whole milk now & basically stop formula. I'm not gonna just stop like that so I'm giving half formula & half milk for a little while (even tho that means I have to buy another can of formula). She also said that she only needs 2-3 bottles of milk (instead of 4 of formula) so she'll start eating more food. That's gonna be tough because Fiona prefers a bottle but we shall see.<br /> <br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-39791779608430491502010-08-10T04:51:00.000-07:002010-08-10T04:51:00.930-07:00More teeth!Fiona started getting her teeth at 4 months old & by 10 months she had 8 teeth. A month ago I noticed her back left 1st molar out when she opened her mouth. I'm just used to her always shoving things in her mouth so I never really check her mouth any more. Yesterday at the doctor's she was really trying to shove her hands in her mouth...I thought it was just a nervous thing since the doctor was talking to us. Well, last night I noticed a point on the bottom left canine so I decided to check her mouth. She's got the top 2 molars coming out too...she's got 3 teeth coming out at the same time! <br />So at the moment she's got top and bottom of the central & lateral incisors, bottom left canine, and three 1st molars to make it a total of 12 teeth! My little munchkin! She's so good about it all too! <br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-63723965091913083792010-08-06T17:31:00.001-07:002010-08-06T17:31:43.159-07:00Sippy cup & climbing(I've totally skipped a few months & milestones so I'll have to update a post with all that....but since I haven't it's been screwing me up & I'm getting backed up even more. I'm gonna try & add from today on as it happens & hopefully go back & update the crawling, standing, cruising & stuff like that.)<br />She drank out of a sippy cup! I've tried giving it to her here & there but she never sucked. She's always Bern bottle fed so all she did/do is squeeze the nipple & formula comes out. Yesterday I gave it to her again after a long time of not & she did it right away! I was so happy. <br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/08/06/2092.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/08/06/s_2092.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Also yesterday as I was sitting on my iPhone not paying attention I looked up at her & she was standing on her table! I have no idea how she got on it but she was standing straight up! She must've used the play yard to pull on but what did she step on? There were no toys close by. I know she loves to climb stairs but this was shocking to me. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/08/06/2093.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/08/06/s_2093.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-68567224776753749062010-05-27T07:28:00.000-07:002010-05-27T07:28:00.567-07:00Teeth 7 & 8Fiona's 7th & 8th teeth are finally through (one on top & one on bottom, to make 4 on top & 4 on the bottom). These 2 teeth have been the worst yet, they've really been bothering her. She's been drooling, cranky & chewing on her hands & everything else like crazy. <br />Even though they seem like they are all the way through the gums & they just have to grow out, she still seems like her gums are hurting her. I'm wondering if more teeth are coming through like a molar which according to some websites molars are supposed to come next before the canines. I was really hoping she'd get a little break but I'm not so sure.<br />Teething stinks!<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-909236494691128482010-04-29T05:23:00.000-07:002010-04-29T05:39:25.493-07:00Army CrawlI've never been good with putting Fiona down for tummy time. As I mentioned before she hated it! As soon as she'd start crying (which was right away) I'd pick her up. For a little while I've been trying to put her down little by little to get her used to it but I wasn't being consistent. After reading that basically all babies her age are crawling I had to get on this! I went & got one of those puzzle blocks from Toys R Us that go on the floor so I can leave them in the living room. I kept putting her down more & more. The other day she rolled or hopped off the blocks & was on the hard wood floor. (I never let her on the bare floors because I'm a bit of a germaphobe & between us walking with shoes & the dogs it's gross to me. Lexi sheds a lot! I just ordered a cordless stick vacuum because I'm gonna have to vacuum every single day, maybe even twice!) I noticed she could slide so I put her on the bare floors more often during the day. She also liked being there, I guess it's a change to her. Once she noticed she can move easy she started doing this more & more. It hasn't even been a week yet & she's sliding all around the little area in the living room! (My living room isn't big & its filled with furniture but she has a spot.) She does her little army crawl to get her paci or a toy. She'll spin in a circle to follow Shea (our little dog). It's just amazing how fast she picked this up! If I would've put her down sooner she probably would've been crawling already. Now I really have to get a gate for the stairs! She's still pretty slow & I'm right there next to her but I need to get it before she does! I'll be at Toys R Us today!<br />I'll add a video asap!<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-14150388211500012742010-04-24T14:41:00.000-07:002010-04-24T14:43:31.152-07:005th tooth!Lately Fiona has just been so miserable! She's always been such a happy baby until lately. At first I figured it was because she was getting her top teeth but then the bitching didn't stop & the top teeth where all the way through the gums....<br /> Today I looked in her mouth again & a 5th tooth is coming through. It's on the top on the left & only a speck is through so far. My poor little baby! She got her bottom teeth fast at 4 months old, then went 4 months with no more teeth & now bam! 3 more teeth in a row...2 came in at once & those aren't even fully grown & a 5th has to come! Even though it's nice to just get them over with, it would've been nice for her to get some break.<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-26649355190889594882010-04-08T08:54:00.000-07:002010-04-08T08:55:07.392-07:00Top teethFiona's top teeth are coming. The other day I did notice a tiny speck on top where her top-middle-left tooth was coming. I looked this morning and both top teeth are coming out. She gives me a really hard time when I try to look so I'm most likely not gonna get pictures for this milestone. I am able to get a quick look at them and I can feel them tho. Other than having moments of being cranky you'd never know she's teething. She's not drooling, her cheeks or chin aren't rashy and she's not putting things in her mouth any differently than she usually does, no runny nose. When she got her bottom teeth she had all those signs & symptoms. Both top teeth look like they're completely through the gums, they just have to grow. <br />It just goes to show you how all babies are different. She had her first 2 teeth by 4 months old. About a week or two of seeing her 1st tooth her 2nd bottom popped up. Now its 4 months later & we're just getting the top 2 and they're coming at the same time.<br />My little munchkin is gonna have 4 teeth!<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-35353490477321715742010-04-08T05:09:00.000-07:002010-04-08T05:17:45.521-07:00Playing in the GrassYesterday was beautiful! It hit 87 degrees here in New York and it's only the beginning of April! We have a small patch of grass in front of our apartment (that's in a private house) so I put her down and had to grab the camera. She really liked it. She'd rip it out & dump it on her head or try & put it in her mouth....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtstitches/4500773253/" title="DSC_0879 by JT Stitches, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/4500773253_e754f9b9dd_m.jpg" alt="DSC_0879" height="240" width="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtstitches/4500774201/" title="DSC_0898 by JT Stitches, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4500774201_97da615a5f_m.jpg" alt="DSC_0898" height="240" width="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtstitches/4500773937/" title="DSC_0886 by JT Stitches, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4500773937_68dee0e9a2_m.jpg" alt="DSC_0886" height="240" width="159" /></a> <br /></div><br />Then I had to get in on a shot with her & she had to stick her little tongue out<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtstitches/4500772975/" title="DSC_0861 by JT Stitches, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2724/4500772975_a1e1f243fb_m.jpg" alt="DSC_0861" height="240" width="160" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div></div>J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-37502561221224524742010-04-04T06:31:00.000-07:002010-04-04T06:45:59.860-07:003rd toothHer 3rd tooth is now poking through - it seems like it took so long even though I know she was just really early getting the other 2. The first 2 bottom teeth came so fast when she was only 4 months old so I was kind of thinking the top would've came sooner. I look often & about 2 days ago I noticed the smallest white speck on her top gum. When I felt for it I could just barely feel it, but I guess since it wasn't through much yet it wasn't sharp. When I felt her other teeth when they were first coming through they felt like razor blades. Today you can now feel it & it's getting sharp. She didn't have the symptoms she had the last time (drooling like crazy or red cheeks & chin) but since I noticed it really early they still may come. So far the crabbiness has started. She's just been so unhappy the past 3 days. I try giving her cold teethers & Tylenol but they don't always help. I feel so bad.<br />I'll will try & get a picture when it comes through more.J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-45930806872552851122010-04-04T05:03:00.000-07:002010-04-04T06:31:37.614-07:008 Months OldI can't believe I haven't done a post in a while! Actually, yeah I can. I hate writing long blog posts because I hate reading long posts (and I usually don't start reading them if they are long) but since it's been a while I think this will be pretty long....<br />Fiona turned 8 months a couple days ago (on the 31st) & I can now say the time is going pretty fast! I always hear people say "enjoy her, the time goes by so fast" & a couple months ago I thought it was actually going by slowly. Now I hear what they're saying! I guess because she's doing things now where as before she was just there. I haven't blogged in a while so i guess this will be for both her 7th and 8th month....<br />She grabs everything! If something is put down anywhere close to her she'll reach where her entire body will stretch grabs for it & it goes straight into the mouth. I'm such a germaphobe so this drives me nuts & I'm cleaning her toys all the time between throwing them in washing machine or wiping down with Lysol wipes (then plain water after of course).<div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4481582166_b6329f4c2e_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 171px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4481582166_b6329f4c2e_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div>She has her moments with strangers. If a stranger talks to her she'll sometimes cry. If I'm in the supermarket & she doesn't see me when a stranger comes to talk to her, she starts crying. I'm not crazy about it but it does show that she's learning faces & people. Other than that she's great with family even if she doesn't see them much with is the most important.<br />She's getting better with tummy time. She'll definitely last longer these days but she still hates it. I can maybe get her to lay on her tummy for maybe 10 minutes before she gets frustrated & that's really good for her. Her arms lift her upper body pretty well so that's a start.<div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2797/4474019738_58af50fc3e_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 198px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2797/4474019738_58af50fc3e_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div>She's still not crawling but maybe she'll just skip over crawling. I have been noticing that when she's sitting she'll lean all the way forward & put her hands on the floor. Or when she's on her belly her legs bend like she's trying to crawl.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2735/4489084223_76bef4dcd0_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 200px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2735/4489084223_76bef4dcd0_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">She has been standing well with support. At Christmas time we got her a jumper thinking that will help strengthen her legs but it actually screwed things up so we took it apart & put it away. I remember at her well visits in the beginning the pediatrician would check if she would "stand" if you put weight on her legs. It seemed like she would do this until we got her the jumper. Once we got the jumper she'd jump every time we would stand her. When Early Intervention (this is another story which I need to post) came for an evaluation she said a lot of doctors tell parents to not get jumpers because of this very reason. She said the exersaucers are better for this. So the next day I went onto Craigslist & found one for $15.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4428622317_b48eee3571_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 180px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4428622317_b48eee3571_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div>The thing I liked about it was there were no toys on it so cleaning it was easy (germaphobe thinking) & we can put our own toys. It was really old but in very good condition. Once we got the thing cleaned & set up I noticed she was able to jump somewhat. It wasn't anywhere close to the jumper but there where springs. What's great about paying $15 you don't mind if it breaks so my husband took the springs out. At first she tried jumping but now she'll actually stand when you put her on her legs. We'll give her back the 1st jumper when she starts cruising but for now no jumper. After about 3 weeks she will stand supported & not jump like a nut! She only did this for a second but it's a start!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4442389162_9c2a746700_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 152px; height: 203px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4442389162_9c2a746700_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I got her a new bath tub. I hated her 1st tub since the beginning but now now she's bigger and can sit by herself so I needed a new tub. She loves it! She's loved getting a bath since the beginning so I give them to her very often, sometimes every day. This blow up duck tub is great.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4436688093_964d428167_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 145px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4436688093_964d428167_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4437464426_a3f1126e4a_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 145px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4437464426_a3f1126e4a_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Because we have hardwood floors, a small apartment with basically no large open spaces & 2 dogs it's hard for me to put her down and let her play on her own. Before she'd be either in her Bumbo, swing or I would hold her. When Early Intervention came she told me how important it was for her to explore on her own. This was the main reason she doesn't turn much or any other milestones that would come because she's never really given the chance. Now I got her the puzzle blocks for the floor & let her play in the Pack & Play - that way if she's sitting up & falls over she won't get hurt. This really got her sitting alone very strong to where she rarely tips over and she's reaching in all directions to get her toys.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4437465122_431e42267c_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 160px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4437465122_431e42267c_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2789/4436688425_e5a2a32dee_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 159px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2789/4436688425_e5a2a32dee_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br />If she's sitting or laying down in her pack & play, crib, Bumbo or anywhere else and you go to pick her up she'll put her arms up to you so you can grab her. Even if some one's holding her & you put your hands to take her she'll lean towards you with both arms wide open.<br />She drops stuff on purpose. This drives me CRAZY! You hand it to her then 2 seconds later she'll drop it. If you don't give it to her she'll start whimpering until you do...grrrr.<br />All part of being a baby I guess and I love her like crazy. No matter how annoying she can be I look at her & I'm so thankful to have this beautiful little girl!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4473878366_028999b6e6_m.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4473878366_028999b6e6_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">At the moment that's all I can think of. As the day goes by & she does something I'll think "oh yeah I forgot about that. I need to add that to my blog post" and I'll probably forget.<br /></div></div><br /></div></div></div></div>J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-9744651425845563482010-02-27T05:22:00.001-08:002010-02-27T05:22:59.491-08:00Where's Shea?Fiona knows our little dog Shea by name. No matter what's she's doing, even if she's crying and you say to her "Where's Shea?" she'll look around for her. She knows where Shea is the most & will look there. If you're holding her she'll lean over & look on the floor. If she's in her Bumbo she'll look over on the couch then on the floor. <br />My husband noticed it last week when we were at a restaurant & she was having a bad day (she's always happy so we were almost unsure what to do that day). He was holding her in the lobby & he says "Where's Shea?", she stopped crying and looked to the ground. Now I do it all the time & she looks. I showed my dad yesterday & he was so surprised. <br />Now I'm doing it all the time with my husband.... "Where's Dada?"<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-6466328657582694132010-02-24T05:22:00.000-08:002010-02-26T08:24:19.807-08:006 months & 3 weeks oldI would normally blog when she's 7 months but since I'm so bad at blogging I might as well do it now since I can. She's a week away from 7 months & growing so fast. <br />Here are some things she's doing now...<br />While shes having her bottle she likes watching her hand & moving it around, closing & opening it.<br />Saying Mama & Dada but not to us yet. It's funny because when she does her fake cry (and a real cry) she says "Mama Mama" while she whines. <br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mhkRFshBzkQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mhkRFshBzkQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />Sitting really good now. Before she'd sit on the couch or another really soft spot but now she can sit good on a hard surface. I wouldn't let her do it unattended yet but she lasts a good while & catches herself from falling.<br />Eating Gerber Stage 1 organic food good & rice cereal really good. Basically everything I've given her so far she's liked: Rice Cereal, Sweet Potato, Applesauce, Peas, Peaches, Prunes & Carrots. We're doing 1 new food every 3 days of the Stage 1. She has her normal bottles during the day & eats 3 times a day, usually 1 hour after a bottle. I started with 1/2 tub/jar of food daily, then twice a day & now a full tub twice a day. She has fruit in morning & veggie in afternoon. At night before bed she has the cereal (and sometimes in the morning) because I noticed if I gave her food at 8pm she'd wake up during the night.<br />She's making all sorts of noises & makes funny faces. My last blog post is a video of her doing it. <br />Has been playing with toys for a while now but she really enjoys them now. If she drops it she'll try & reach to get it. If it's a little too far but she can reach it with the tips of fingers she'll try & tap it towards herself until it's grab-able.<br />She reaches for you to pick her up.<br />She's always grabbing for my phone or the remote control. If there are 2 new bright fun looking toys and the plain boring remote control sitting in front of her, she'll grab the remote. I had to take my necklace off because when I would pick her up she would move my shirt out of the way to pull on it.<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-89503485567500454552010-02-23T16:33:00.000-08:002010-02-23T16:34:09.726-08:00Noisy BabyShe's been saying Dada for a while but not to him. Lately she's been saying mama a lot but not to me. <br />She's one noisy baby & it's so cute!!<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2QOmTQ-3LUU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2QOmTQ-3LUU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-77971179926334246412010-02-01T05:03:00.000-08:002010-02-12T20:25:07.579-08:006 months old<br />Been a while since blogging but that's mainly because there haven't been any major milestones to blog about until now...<br />She's eating food. I started giving her Gerber Rice Cereal. Her doctor said that at her 6 month appointment we'd start her on it. Well her appointment is only a couple days away on Monday so we had started a week early. The reason we started was because she was ready. When she watched us eat her mouth would be moving with us as we ate like she could taste what we were eating. Also when I was eating ice cream or (the milk from my) Raisen Bran cereal, I'd give her a very tiny taste on tip of the spoon. She'd open her mouth & knew just what to do so I knew she was ready. We figured her appointment was only a week away so why not. <br />She's doing a great job. She'll open her mouth & swallows most of it. I've only been feeding her once or twice a day & only takes about 1 to 1.5 oz (of the 2 oz formula with 2 tbs of cereal mixture) but it's a start.<br /><br />Even though I'm terrible with laying her down on her activity mat or anywhere else she did roll over once. As I mentioned before she's either in her Bumbo, swing, jumper, sitting on the arm of the rocking chair with me or sometimes on the Boppy pillow. There aren't a crazy amount if times she's laying down except at night when she's sleeping. The past few days I am putting her on the activity mat & last weekend she rolled from her back to her belly. I didn't get to see her actually do it but she did. She has been almost rolling over but she's usually laying on her belly on her arm so she'll turn back.<br /><br />There haven't really been any other major milestones yet but the things she was doing before got better/stronger in the past 2 months since I last blogged...<br /> She loves playing with her toys. She has a swing that have 2 stuffed animals hanging off by Velcro & as soon as I put her in the swing she pulls them right off. She twiddles & spins the things on her jumper. Anything you hand towards her she will grab. She will also grab everything that's close by like my glasses, my cell phone, the remote control & even pulling my hair. Everything goes in her mouth & I'm wondering if she's teething. She's so close to sitting unattended. She can sit on my lap without me holding her but not good on a straight surface. She makes this high pitched noise & if you do it back she will have a "conversation" with you. She's a little better with tummy time especially when I use the Boppy pillow.<br /><br />She has a great schedule. We always woke her up to feed her because in the beginning the doctor told us she must eat every 3 hours & can have one 5 hour stretch. Even after we stopped doing that I always woke her at 10pm to feed her before putting her to bed. Since 6 weeks old she's slept through the night.<br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3818066384256220994.post-80237164940071528542010-01-02T19:28:00.000-08:002010-01-02T19:53:35.569-08:00Fiona's Best FriendFiona loves my little Yorkie Shea (my big dog Lexi & Fiona don't pay any attention to each other). Shea is like a 2nd pacifier to Fiona, if Fiona is in a bad mood just put Shea right in front of her & she'll make her happy. Fiona will be in her jumper & when Shea walks past her Fiona will just laugh & laugh, it's so adorable! I was actually very worried about how Shea was going to react to Fiona when we brought her home from the hospital because Shea acted like she owned me & I treated her like a baby. Shea was great with her. At first she was curious, always following & sniffing her but didn't do anything bad. Now Shea doesn't do that anymore & doesn't pay too much attention to Fiona but seems to understand she's a baby. If Fiona is kicking her legs & kicks Shea, Shea will turn to see what's hitting her, sniff Fiona's foot, lick her foot & will just stay right there being kicked. I have a feeling Fiona & Shea will be buddies. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtstitches/4238744991/" title="Fiona w/ Shea DSC_0036 by JT Stitches, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2721/4238744991_1837dce871.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Fiona w/ Shea DSC_0036" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtstitches/4239519702/" title="Fiona w/ Shea DSC_0040 by JT Stitches, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2769/4239519702_6f14b7f524.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Fiona w/ Shea DSC_0040" /></a>J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04494010110123756033noreply@blogger.com1