Night Owl Post

by Julia 2/24/2007 12:15:50 AM
At the mall, enjoying her surroundings

If you noticed the time on this entry, and if you're a mommy, you might ask yourself what type of mother blogs at 11:15pm. Well, to be honest, I am only up this late because it's Matthew's night to feed the baby!! Haha. Yes, Matthew has been very good at taking over the Friday and Saturday night feedings, while I do weekdays. Isn't he a great husband? I know many husbands wouldn't bother, accounting this responsibility to be exclusively the mom's job. Blah. Well, anyway, it's not all that bad for either one of us because Natasha has been sleeping from 8:30pm till 4:30-6:00am which is fantastic! For five months that's a big deal because I know that plenty of babies this young still wake up every 2-3 hours and demand their food. So I guess we can be proud of that.

Something else weird that's going on is the way Natasha is eating. Both formula and solids - she eats like a pro! Now, why is this weird, you ask? Well, because when I plug-in her weight stats into a growth percentile calculator, she is under the 5th percentile... And I find this to be radiculous! She eats some good 150-180ml every 3-4 hours during the day, which is exactly how much a baby her age should be taking in; on top of that, she consumes 1/2 a cup of rice or oat cereal mixed with fruit or veggie each evening and she hasn't even disliked any food I introduced her to yet... She loves it all. Then why is she under the 5th percentile weight wise??? Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just that it's a bit confusing to me, that's all. Her pedi isn't too concerned either, so for now I will let it be. I am just so happy that she's such a good eater, and I guess as long as she's a happy, well-nutritioned baby, that's all that counts. Right?

Today I received a package from Pampers. The colorful caption on it stated 'many free coupons inside!', but there were only two. They also included one size 3 diaper which is pretty useless considering Natasha is still in size 1's... Blah again. Oh, and of course the free package I requested from Huggies, which was supposed to include a backpack with many goodies is about two months overdue to be delivered. Great. I guess you can never rely on anything that is "free", BECAUSE NOTHING IS FREE! lol. Ok, I am done with my daily vent now. You have a good night.

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5-Month Progress Check

by Julia 2/19/2007 4:19:01 PM

Our baby girl is growing up - yesterday she turned 5 months. In light of this, I thought to do another developmental progress check; it's so exciting to see her achieve all these baby milestones!

5-Month Progress Check:

Green font - Natasha has accomplished this milestone
Orange font - Natasha is beginning to accompish this milestone
Red font - Natasha has not yet accomplished this milestone

Most babies should be able to . . .

  • Roll over
  • Do small mini push ups
  • Pay attention to small objects held in front of his or her face
  • Reach out for objects
  • Grasp a rattle or toy

Some babies will probably be able to . . .

  • Hold head level with body when pulled to sit
  • Make razzing sound
  • Turn to new sounds
  • Recognize own name

Some babies could possibly be able to . . .

  • Get upset if you take a toy away
  • Pass object from one hand to the other
  • Pull up to standing position from sitting
  • Try to get toy or object that is out of reach
  • Sit momentarily without support
  • Repeat sounds like ma-ma-ma-ma or da-da-da-da
  • Separation and stranger anxiety may begin

I'd say that based on the above, our baby is on track. Each baby at their own pace, right?
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White Valentines? Ick.

by Julia 2/15/2007 10:17:40 AM
Valentine's Day Snow storm

So we've been hit with a white Valentine's Day last night. Yes. Christmas, which happened almost two months ago, was not white at all, but Valentine's Day on the other hand, was blessed with 20cm of snow. Yay. I mean, not yay. This isn't funny one bit; today in the morning CP24 News reported a wind-chill of -28c and freezing icy sidewalks, so the idea of going outside today is not appealing to me at all. Yesterday, for instance, my mom and I planned on taking Natasha to get her ears pierced but obviously the plan was cancelled due to the amount of snow and the cold, so now we have to wait another 3 weeks for several weird reasons. Well, Matthew, on the other hand, is somewhat happy with this outcome because lately he's been feeling sorry for Natasha's earlobes being pierced with a needle, but I am sure he'll get over it once he sees how beautiful she'll look after. I simply cannot wait for the spring months to arrive and being able to take the baby to the park once again as I did back in September and October. Those two hour walks would really do some good to her.

Anyway... I am in the process of convincing Matthew to buy an ExerSaucer for Natasha. I've been noticing lately that she's no longer in love with the swing as before and gets bored with it very quickly; she's rather at this phase now where she likes to touch things, to explore new textures and observe different colours, and I think the ExerSaucer will be perfect for this. And at the same time, it will allow her to practice standing on the tip of her toes, listen to different tunes, and basically stimulate her baby-mind. So I think all this justifies the cost, but if you know my husband Matthew, he's the biggest cost vs. benefit analyzer in the world, so it will require some convincing on my part, which is fine by me.

Unrelated, but wanted to add that feeding Natasha solids have been going very well. So far she's only had sweet potato and green peas, but she galloped down both jars without a problem. We've also stocked up on carrots, squash, peaches, and pears; today I will start her on peaches which sound way better than peas, so I am assuming she'll love those too. I've also started her on a new schedule: she has rice or oat cereal every morning for breakfast (I've read they need their grains in the a.m), and 1/2 a veggie/fruit jar before her last bottle in the p.m. Having veggies for dinner fills her up and she sleeps longer at night which is great! We've generally been very lucky with our baby - she's out and sleeping by 9pm each and every day and doesn't wake up until 4-6am for her next feeding. This allows us for at least 7 consecutive hours of sleep which I know many new parents don't have the luxury of. Maybe we have an easy baby? (yeah yeah, I know... once she starts teething our schedule will become all wacko, but for now I am going to brag!)

Natasha Eating Green Peas Natasha Eating Mashed Potatoes
Eating Solids (green peas / sweet potato)

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All is Good, All is Well

by Julia 2/9/2007 12:41:01 PM
Happy kiddo

Just a quick update to note that Natasha's ultrasound results were great! Her loose hip issue appears to have corrected itself and there does not seem to be a problem any longer. Of course we were both very relieved; the orthopedic surgeon suggested not making any more appointments as things are going very well.

Next Wednesday, my mom and I are taking Natasha to People's jewellery to get her ears pierced. Finally. I've been delaying due to the weather and also wanted to wait past her 4-month shots, but since now that's been done, I think we're ready to go. I hope she doesn't scream too much, but of course, that's expected. And I am also planning to get a 3rd piercing myself; I currently have two holes in each ear, and want to get a third. Matthew thinks I am crazy, but what else is new? :D

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Postpartum Blues and More

by Julia 2/6/2007 8:26:04 AM
Waving

My hair is still falling out like crazy. Matthew is fascinated with the fact that I haven't gone bald by now, and honestly speaking, I am surprised I haven't gone either. Judging by the amount of hair I see on my pillow each morning, and not to mention every other place around the apartment, you'd think I needed a wig by now. But then I read that scientifically it's impossible to completely go bald. If you don't already know this, during the nine joyful months of pregnancy, normal hair loss (and I'm speaking on average 100 hairs a day) stops while new hair still continues to grow. Therefore, pregnant women often brag about thick, shiny hair. Now, once you give birth, all that hair that remained in your head for nine months begins to fall out at once. How many hairs is that? You do the math.

On a different topic, I've been avoiding taking Natasha outside due to cold, freezing weathers. The temperature in the past few days went down as low as -13C and -18C with wind-chill. I am afraid her little face might freeze, although I do see many women with strollers outside, regardless of this. Cold air is also good for little babies - they both eat and sleep better after a walk outside. Tomorrow, however, I have no choice but to take her out. We have an ultrasound scheduled downtown - for Natasha. When she was born, the hospital pediatrician suspected she might have a loose hip and sent her for several ultrasounds already. The one-month u/s confirmed this, but surprisingly enough, the second-month u/s gave us the all-clear. Apparently Natasha's problem has fixed itself and the u/s indicated that everything was fine. At that time we also visited an orthopedic surgeon, who after confirming all was well, advised us to make another appointment when she's 4-months just to see if anything changed. Well, tomorrow is that 4-month checkup. Naturally, I am very nervous because like any other mother, I want my baby to be perfect and healthy and not have any medical problems. But if there is a problem, we also want to treat it as soon as possible, too. She's still young, and the younger the better. So we have to drag the poor thing all the way downtown tomorrow - hopefully, all we be fine. My mother is coming with me to help out.

Unrelated, but lately Matthew and I have been amused at the amount of squealing that comes from Natasha. It seems she's discovering her vocal cords and testing their abilities; at times, the squealing is so loud it sounds like an off-cue violin, or if someone is scratching their nails against a wall. Know what I mean? Of course, it's cute and makes us laugh, but it's just not very friendly towards our poor ears. It has also become a lot easier to make her laugh; she now dissolves into giggles when we make a funny face, a funny sound, or even just tickle her. And all I can tell you is that it's the best sound in the world.

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AUTHOR

  • profileI am Julia, 24, a stay-at-home mommy to two beautiful girls, Natasha (born Sept '06) and Veronika (born Apr '08), and wife to Matthew, 27, who developed this wonderful website for me.


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