Ellie: Stats

Ellie had her 9-month check-up on the 20th.
Now that we have relocated I had to find a new pediatrician. I like this new place enough...I guess...OK...maybe not so much.  It was loud and noisy and I waited a really long time just to see the doctor and nurse for 15 minutes. 
So I'm not too impressed, but I'm willing to give it another shot. Maybe Friday mornings are just bad news. Or maybe it's always a gong-show. Time will tell!

Here's how Miss E measures up these days:
Weight: 18 lbs 4 oz 
Height: 28 inches
Head Size: 44 cm 

This new pediatrician's office vaguely goes over the percentiles with you, but doesn't write it down for you like the previous one. (Boo. As you can tell, I'm a little biased.) BUT, as per usual, my baby is very average and sits in the middle of the pack for just about everything. Height she was in the 70's somewhere, but the doctor suggested that perhaps gravity wasn't working on her today. Very scientific.

But hey. She's a beautiful, happy baby. She's healthy. And she's loved.
Those are the most important things, right?

This picture is from our weekend adventures. I'll update you on that shortly!

My Voice

A few weeks ago, after I had completed my write-up of all that is new and exciting with Ellie, I proceeded to roam the blogging world, catching up on creeping friends and strangers I find interesting. And, unfortunately, I started to feel lame. About me. About my blogging ability. About what I have to share with the world.

I'm not as witty as some.

I don't use all the cool fonts that make posts more exciting to read.

I don't really have all that much to say.

Nothing uber-unique.

I just live life and brag about my cute kid. And the cute kid I placed.

So I felt sucky about that for a little while. And then I realized (after finally deciding not to totally over-haul my blog to copy-cat others' awesomeness) that I have my own voice. We all do. And maybe I don't have too much to say. But I should say it anyway. I need to. For those I love that are too far to visit often. For myself (hello, free therapy). And for those who might need it.

I do have some cool stories. I am a birthmom after all. And that's pretty neat. And hopefully I can help one other person contemplating placing a child, and help them see life rolls on, beautifully. Perhaps I can shed some light on birthparents for a couple hoping to adopt. And maybe I'll make one friend smile, giggle, LOL or even talk directly to the computer screen (I do it all the time. No big deal.) because of something silly I remember or share.

Maybe I can do those things. And maybe I won't.

But I don't have a chance if I don't try.

So here I am. Via blogging. I'm going to try harder to blog more often and to blog true-to-character, without worrying so much about what all the other cool blogs are doing. 

I'm just me. And I only have my voice. So I'll just use that.

I encourage you to do the same. You'll rock it. I can already tell.

AND, just a plug for a dear friend, if you want to check-up on someone who is going somewhere in the blogging world, check this out.

Ellie: Eight Months

The last month has flown by. Ellie is still a wonderful little human being. Some days are long, and some days are hard, but her little smile can perk anyone up in an instant. (Cue every elderly person in Wal-Mart.)

Here's a few things that have transpired in the last month.
Ellie:

• is [still] toothless. I swear for the last month or two she has been teething. Tons of drool. Fussiness. Waking up at night. Chewing on everything. But no teeth. I'm sure they'll pop-out when I least expect it.
• can crawl! ...OK... Just army crawl. But man, if she wants something, she will wiggle her chunky little self over to it and attack. The PlayStation remote has been a repeat victim. We are trying to teach her "no no" and distract her with other things, but we've had limited success.
• loves other babies. She will look at them and chatter, laugh and screech. She also loves herself. Pictures. Videos. She thinks she's pretty great.
• is a talker. All sorts of noises, sounds, mouth movements, she loves them all.
• is a tiny dancer. (Couldn't help it.) She will break-it-down with a little encouragement, AKA failing around like an idiot. I'm sure she just gets involved out of sympathy for me. I've been trying to catch it on video, it's pretty cute.
• is getting attached. When I leave the room it goes one of two ways: A: She doesn't care. "Fare thee well, Mother."   B: The world is over because I left her alone. How dare I.   It can be a struggle, that girl has a set of lungs, but we manage.
• is interested in food. My food. She still has 5 feedings a day, three with baby food, but mushy food for babies is pretty limited (and boring), but I don't feel comfortable giving her things that require chewing as she is toothless, so she's kind of stuck in a rut for now. Hopefully we can figure something out and some teeth decide to show up so we can move on to new things!
• is learning about object permanency, so going to bed has been a bit of a challenge. The last month or so I have given her a bottle right before bed and she usually drifts off while finishing it off (as per usual), but then she would wake up at 4am all upset and I'd get up and go help her, but when I left the room she would start up again. No fun. So I did a little bit of research (thanks, Google) and decided to start putting Ellie to sleep while she is still somewhat awake and aware of her surroundings. So she drifts off to sleep in her crib and when she wakes up she knows that place is familiar and safe and is can put herself back to sleep. It's been about a week and it has been going really well. She still wakes up some nights, and I go up to help her, but then when I leave if she cries a bit I just wait it out and she calms down and goes back to sleep. I know there are mixed feelings on the Cry It Out method, but it has helped us thus far.
• naps. And boy is that heavenly! She regularly has two naps, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon, and they can be from 1-2 hours. That's prime showering time!
• usually doesn't cry when she wakes up (from a nap or nighttime sleep), she tends to play and blabbers to herself until someone comes to get her. Going in to her room is a treat, she is just so happy to see you, it makes me laugh every time.

Ellie: We love you oodles and oodles. I know you never want to sit still for photos, and that's OK. You are beautiful inside & out. 

We are so blessed to watch you grow a little more every day. 

xoxo

Hungry? Lazy? Look No Further!

While in my crazy nesting phase I was on the hunt for some quick, easy, cheap dinner ideas.
And this, my friends, is one of my favourites.

It originally comes from Six Sisters' Stuff, so huge props to them. You can find their post about it here but I'll include everything below too. Along with my comments. Lucky you!

It tastes a-maz-ing. You'll have most (if not all) of the ingredients in your pantry anyway. And it doesn't even need long in the Crock-Pot.

Umm. Hello. No brainer.

Slow Cooker 8-Can Taco Soup

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I skipped this one because I didn't have them on-hand)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained (I used a can of diced toms with jalapenos to keep it spicy! Think Rotel. And I threw it in with all the juices. No harm done.)
1 15 oz can sweet corn, drained
1 12.5 oz can chicken breast, drained
1 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 10 oz can green enchilada sauce (or make your own! I've done it both ways. Yum & Yum.)
1 14 oz can chicken broth (I used a broth base & water and just measured it out in an empty can.)
1 1 oz packet taco seasoning (or if you're like me and buy the Costco-size Taco Seasoning, 1/4 C if I'm recalling correctly)

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
Dump all ingredients into slow cooker and stir together.
Cook on low heat for 2-3 hours.
Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

EASY-PEASY!
And freaking awesome.
These are some of my favorite leftovers. I could eat it for days. I have. And I will again.
Happily.

Eat Up, Lovers.
You can thank me after your tummy is full of deliciousness.

Ellie: Six Months

Whoa.
Seriously.
Did half a year just go by?
When did that happen?!

True. Some days feel horribly long. And some nights too. But I swear our little monkey was just born!

Ellie is wonderful. A lot of things are the "same old," just more of it, but there are some new developments too!

• She (still) has blue eyes. I will admit defeat and say they aren't changing to green any time soon. And that's OK. They are beautiful. 
• She is no longer bald! Yippee! Although she only has enough hair to do a mini mohawk or a comb over. Sorry, hair accessories, your time will come. 
• She eats real food! She started eating Rice Cereal at 5.5 months.     **Caution - TMI**     Over the last few months I have noticed that my milk supply is drying up, and despite efforts to increase, it is gently tapering off. That had me concerned that Ellie was getting enough to eat. That and she would nurse, quit, still seem hungry and refuse more milk. So we hit the cereal. And she has been loving it! Currently she is eating rice cereal, oatmeal cereal and we are just starting sweet potatoes. (Although she is definitely not sold on those yet!) It has made for some awesome new experiences on the change table.

First Time with Cereal

• She rolls! Currently she rolls from back to tummy, most often to the left side, although I have been trying to get her to practice on the right as well. We are also working on getting her to roll to her backside, right now she'll get on her tummy, get frustrated and fuss until someone comes to save her. Silly baby.
• She continues to babble all the time. To herself, me, basically anyone or anything. She's also very good at "motorboat" noises, and thinks my sneezing is funny, but coughing is scary.
• She has a great attitude. She is rarely cranking or fussy, and will crack a smile for just about anything.
• She will try to eat anything. A toy. A washcloth. A bottle of lotion. A cell phone. My grocery list. Everything is in.the.mouth.
• She loves TV. Seriously, if she knows it is on and she can't see it, she will contort her whole chunky little body to try to get a glimpse of it.
• Her Soothie is still her BFF (other than me). But she is able to hold it, rotate it, and put it in her mouth alone. If I hold it in my mouth or hand she will snatch it from me with no mercy.
• Her nails grow like crazy. I trim them once a week. If I don't, she scratches herself. And pinches me. Jerk.
• She has a stable schedule. We have 5 feedings a day with three of them including food. She has her nighttime bottle at 8pm and will wake up between 7:30-8am. It is wonderful to get a good sleep. Sometimes she will wake up in the middle of the night, usually if she's stuck on her tummy or can't reach her Soothie, but other than that she's a champ!

Ellie, quit growing!
Wait. You need to grow, I already bought clothes for when you're two.

But don't grow up too fast.

You are the sweetest thing.
We love you!

Oh What a Night

And not as in a good night.
It was a terrible night.

Last night I attempted to give Ellie a bath as part of her evening routine: bath, lotion massage, quiet time, bottle, bed. Sounds like a stellar plan, right? I even bought some Night Time lotion during my shopping trip, so I was sure it would be a success.

Well, it went like this:
bath. lotion. scream. scream. bottle. scream. scream. scream. attempt to bathe off whatever was causing the atomic explosion. scream. scream. scream. cuddles with mom in bed. scream. scream. scream. and so on.

To be fair, Ellie did have what seemed to be a small rash (more like some associating dots) on her belly, so I'm not sure if it was the lotion on the rash, or just anything on the rash, but that was it. And it went on for a solid two hours. I am positive I have lost a significant amount of hearing due to the pitch of Ellie's crying.

And then just like that, it was over. She fell asleep on me, I put her in bed, and that was it for the night.

Jeeze.

Needless to say, that lotion is going back to Wal-Mart. It was Johnson & Johnson so I'm surprised, so much for paying top-dollar for a sure-thing! 
Guess I'll be trying something else in the future. 
Or nothing at all. Ever again. Just to avoid that traumatic event.

**Update** SO I have tried the lotion since this post was written, and Ellie did not have a freak out. I don't know if it was just a bad night, or if her skin was irritated due to something else... 
But I should be fair and not completely blame the lotion (although I do not dare put it on any sensitive areas, just limbs & tummy area)

A Little Less Wise

Me right after coming home from the dentist

Well. I finally did it. I had my wisdom teeth removed.
They have never really bugged me. I felt like a giant baby when they all cut through, but lucky for me they all came in straight (more or less) and didn't cause any problems. 
I've always wanted to have them removed, but every dentist that reviewed my 3-D x-ray wasn't comfortable pulling them out and would recommend me to an oral surgeon. And no offence, but I don't have money for that business. So they have just hung out with me for the last handful of years.
But then one sprouted a cavity. Rude. And guess what, it was more to fill the cavity than to have the tooth pulled. So I finally lucked out and found a dentist in Perry (shout out to Perry Dental!) who was willing to yank all four of my giant teeth out, so that's what we did on January 3rd! Nothing like ringing in the New Year by getting your wisdom teeth removed. I'm a party animal like that.
I didn't go under. I just had them numb me real nice, and they gave me some gas, which was fine, the contraption was annoying on my nose though. And yank, yank, yank, yank, gone. They didn't even show me any of them, and that made me a little sad. No teeth under my pillow for cash. Jerks. I bet they kept it for themselves. Dentists getting rich every which way!
Thus far everything has been fine, and I'm sure it will continue to be fine as I dine on soup and smoothies and watch movies from our stockings over Christmas. Everyone makes dry socket sound like the devil, so I'm doing everything I can to ensure I miss out on that. I'm taking some pain medications, which means I am pumping and discarding my milk while Ellie survives on previously frozen goods. She is a champ. I'm so glad she will sit around and cuddle me as I recover.

Also. Look, Ma! No hands! No smile either, but hey, conquering bottle-holding is hard work. Love my whiz-kid.