December 07, 2009

Penelope is Five Months Old! (Plus 12 Days Or So, Oops!)

I never would have thought that a 5 month old could be called "high energy," but I believe it now after having her drum her heels on the changing pad and squirm around so much I can barely hang on.  I think I could probably get a diaper on a wild dingo at this point.

It is becoming increasingly athletic to keep her entertained.  She stays awake for about two hours at a time, and then we get about a thirty minute rest.  She is making tons of cute noises.  Squeals of varying pitches and lengths, weird gurgling sounds in the back of her throat and the latest where she presses her lips together and goes, "bmmm bmmmmm bmmmm." She is also totally convinced that she can fit her entire fist in her mouth.  Those of you on facebook can see the video there, I couldn't figure out how to get it posted here :(

We got her a jumper to keep her contained and entertained.  First, we started with a Fisher-Price Precious Planet Jumperoo that I found at Once Upon a Child.  It took me a while to figure out how to adjust the height and it was really just too big for her overall.  Her feet didn't reach the floor and it looked like she was sitting in a five gallon bucket.  The top of the seat came up to her armpits.


After adjusting, she could reach one toe to the floor if she stretched, but still couldn't really reach the toys.  Not the best for us, but I did like that you could flip a switch so music would play whenever she bounced.  And it made monkey noises, which is awesome.


Now we are borrowing Finn's Baby Einstein jumper from the Ress family.  With some adjustments, her feet now reach the "floor" (those are shelves from our entertainment center).  She was gnawing on the seat just before this picture was taken, but I missed it.  Still a funny face, though.


Composing the next great 4-note symphony.


She came home from school one day and stuck her tongue out and made noises around it all evening.


We tried beef...


Wore some old man pants...


Pooped out in the old man pants...


Squeeze you?  Don't mind if I do!


All in all, it was a great month.  Next?  Christmas!!!

November 13, 2009

Feng Shui, My Way

After four and a half months, I finally realized that Penny's room needed a change.  Since she was sort of sprung on us a little early, we just put the rocker wherever it would fit.  At the time, that was in front of the closet.  Then we added a side table.  I always felt like it was awkward, but it never quite formed into a coherent thought.  Finally, it gelled and we (meaning Doug and Jason) shuffled things around a bit.

The rocker is now in the sunny corner by the window.  Very nice.  BTW, the little dog picture is a paint-by-number that I did about 20 years ago.  I mean, it's an original (shifty eyes).  Yeah, totally off the cuff...



Now, the hamper and diaper pail are by the changing table.  Where they actually make sense!  Four months of walking across the room with the dirty clothes or diaper!  Someday my brain may function properly again.  I hope.

Also notice the lovely butterfly in the green "square."  It was purchased months ago and buried in the closet only to be found again when I made Doug take everything out because Dozer thought a mouse was in the closet.  No mouse was located, but it was a good excuse to organize her closet a little better.



Best of all, the closet is now unobstructed.  I can't tell you how many times I almost broke the little man lamp trying to hang up clothes or get something out.

November 10, 2009

Weekend Update

Hiyo, Bug here!

I had a great weekend.  We had a few friends over for Daddy's birthday on Saturday.  Mommy made too much food as usual, and did silly things with vegetables.  She said it was a Pepper Devil, whatever that is.



I helped Mommy do laundry.  It was coming out the top of the basket, so I packed it down for her.  I guess I got a little tangled up while I was at it.



I made Daddy a card at day care on Monday.  I write pretty well for a baby, hey?





I did something really exciting this weekend, at least Mommy thought it was.  I rolled over!  I rolled from my back to my tummy and then back the same way.  I've been trying to roll to the left for a week or so now.  I usually kick my legs up, fall to the left side and get stuck there. I try and try, but all I do is rotate widdershins.  Then on Sunday I finally did it!  I did it again on Tuesday night, but I was too fast for Mommy to get a picture of the actual rolling.  I let her take one of me on my tummy since I was all nice and clean from my bath.  I made sure I had a cool, "oh, this?  I do it all the time," look on my face when she took it.  Really, I hate tummy time, but keep that on the DL.



Bubba was excited, too.  I wonder if I smell different now that I can roll over?



Bubs is still trying to catch the last mouse (or more?).  He apparently thought one was behind the shelf in the laundry room, so Mommy took everything out so he could check it out.  A mouse had been there, but not just then.  That Bubs, he is so silly!  Especially when he scared himself, jumped and hit his head on the shelf!  That was funny!



Thanks for listening, everybody.  I hope you have a great week!

Love and Bug Hugs,
Penny

November 09, 2009

Why I could never raise a baby on a desert island

1. Sea-Band anti-nausea wristbands.  Whether they actually work or not, I don't care.  I thought they were working and I felt better.  I have since found out that there are cuter bands, but this was what I wore for about two months straight.  I also wear them when I have to ride in the back seat.
http://www.morningsicknesshelp.com/seabands.html

2. Palmer's Organic Cocoa Butter lotion.  A little more expensive than the standard lotion, but it smells better and I think it rubs in more easily.  I still got a few stretch marks, but who knows what would have happened without.


3. The Bella Band became my best friend.  It hides when you have to leave the button of your normal jeans undone.  It holds up maternity pants that are too big.  It covers the gap between pants and the rising hem of your shirts.  It holds up the maternity pants again after you've stretched them out with your giant belly and still can't fit in your regular jeans.
http://www.ingridandisabel.com/bellaband.html

4. A comfy rocking chair and a Boppy (with multiple covers).  It really helps to have a free hand while feeding the babe.

Tip:  if you have to wash the actual Boppy pillow, it might help to put some towels or something in first and the pillow on top.  I washed my Boppy by itself and now it has a weird dent in the middle from the agitator.


5. LOTS of burp cloths.  I like the ones Grammy Linda made for us out of cloth diapers, they are very absorbent.


6. A well-stocked changing table.  Coordinating baskets are optional, but extremely helpful.  Thank you Grammy Linda.


7. Tons of diapers and wipes.  In fact, never let a diaper or wipe coupon go unused.  I once bought 7 packs of wipes at once because they were on sale at Target and I had a bunch of coupons.  And always have some of the next size diapers ready to go.  You never know when the change will occur.

All diapers function pretty much the same.  I don't like Huggies only because they don't fit Penny's body.  We've used Pampers the most.  I really like the Swaddlers, but the Baby Dry are a little cheaper.  Luvs are cheaper than Pampers and are pretty much identical, except that they are Blues Clues instead of Sesame Street.  Speaking of characters on diapers, I am disappointed that Oscar the Grouch only appears on the Newborn size of the Swaddlers.  There was something oddly theraputic about putting an Oscar the Grouch diaper on a cranky baby.  Target diapers are the cheapest of all, but they seem to run a little big.  I'll use those as transition diapers.  We are still in Size 1, but you see the giant box of Size 2's ($7 dollars in coupons, oh yeah).


8. A giant bottle of hand sanitizer.  Pump top is definitely a plus.  For some reason, Penny thinks it's funny when I use this and rub my hands together.  Who knows?


9. A good diaper pail.  We stayed away from the Diaper Genie because of the special bags it requires.  This Diaper Champ is the only one I've used, but I like it.  It doesn't perfectly contain odors, but I would be surprised if any diaper pail did.  This one uses regular trash bags.  You just drop the diaper in the top, flip the handle and the dirty diaper goes away.  No dogs allowed!  And I just noticed it kind of looks like a robot when the handle is in front.  "FEED ME POOPY DIAPERS!!  MEEP! MEEP!  MEEP!"


10. A baby bathtub and a small bin for toys and washcloths.  This particular tub has a reclining seat for newborns until they can sit up.  Then you put them in the other end so they can splash and play.  The bottom is made so you can put it over a kitchen sink.  I've always bathed her on the bathroom counter until we recently had to move to the tub within the tub method to contain splashings.  I just got the bin at the dollar store.


11. Moisturizing Baby Wash, any brand.  Penny's skin is still pretty dry, but not as much as it used to be.  This helps (especially if you can't manage to get lotion applied after the bath).  A pump top is helpful, but not required.  The Bedtime Bath is nice.  It may or may not calm your baby, but it smells nice and makes YOU feel better.  Bonus!


12. All Free and Clear detergent and dryer balls.  Any detergent without dyes or perfumes will do and will probably be way cheaper than any specialized baby detergent.  The dryer balls help fluff the clothes, soften them and dry more evenly (so they claim) since you aren't supposed to use dryer sheets on baby clothes.  They also work to keep pillows and Boppies from coming out too lumpy when you have to wash pee or spit-up off of them.


13. Bottle drying rack and dishwasher basket.  These are both by Munchkin.  My only complaint is that they don't really work with the Soothie bottles that we like.  However, they work perfectly with standard bottles like what we send to daycare.


14. Soothie products.  These are pretty much the only pacifiers she likes, and we really like the bottles.  The wide opening makes it really easy to get the formula in and the nipples are shaped like the pacifiers.
http://www.learningcurve.com/soothie?xcid=usb

15. Baby swing.  It took a while to get her used to it, but she likes it now.  She seems to prefer the ones that go side-to-side, but we don't have one.  This one was borrowed from the Ress Family.


16.  A bouncy seat.  I've mentioned this in a previous post, but it's so wonderful I'll mention it again.  This one is by Bright Starts.  It doesn't have all the bells and whistles some other brands have, but the price was right: $22.50 at Wally World.  You can hang different toys from the bar, and there is a loop on the harness that you can attach a toy to as well.


17. Jumper.  This one is the Fisher-Price Jumperoo.  It is going back to the store, but only because the Ress Family is generously letting us borrow their Baby Einstein jumper.

Did you notice a theme with the last 3 items?  SOMEWHERE TO PUT THE BABY!  You can only do so many things one-handed and eventually you have to shower.  Or pee.  Alone.


19.  "Easy-entry" clothes with buttons all the way up the front (see picture).  Much easier than trying to get a squirmy baby's head through a neckhole.  Carter's makes a lot of these, but they tend to be short.  Their "wiggle-in" bodysuits are good for Penny because they are long and skinny like her.  They get too tight around her belly before they get too short, which is rare for her.


20. Coffee.  Oh, Mr. Coffee, we lost touch over the years.  But like a true friend you are there for me when I need you without judging me.  In return, I promise I will clean you.  Someday.  Maybe...


21. And finally, great friends and family.  Who else will let you borrow baby gear, buy your kid super cute clothes, look at all of your pictures and listen to all of your stories.

Thanks to everyone, we love you!

November 01, 2009

What Birds and Halloween Have in Common

Thanks to the Target $1 section, Penny had nearly a weeks worth of holiday outfits.  We started with the pumpkin T-shirt, which apparently had negative effects on her behavior.  Hello little birdie!



Then she wore the one Uncle Harry and Aunt Danielle got for her.




Thursday she wore her actual Halloween outfit.  A bit early, but I was planning to wash it so she could wear it again on Saturday.  We got an early start on Thursday, so she fell asleep before I could get pictures.  I know the hat is a pumpkin, but I can't help but think it looks like a carrot.



Friday was the ghost shirt and another little birdie.  So serious about it, too.



Then I made sure to get plenty of pictures of the Lil Pumpkin suit and the hat from Uncle Harry. 


 
 This one is accompanied by lots of "gaa gaa gaas" and other interesting sounds.



Aaaaand, we're done.




October 31, 2009

Puree Torture

Now that Penelope is 4 months old, we are trying some solid foods.  This is the first time when we tried some carrots.


Since then, we've tried butternut squash and rice cereal a few times.  I keep catching her when she is tired, so it doesn't go very well.  So, after we got up on Saturday morning, I seized the opportunity.  Here are the 10 A's of eating:

1.  Anticipation


2.  Apprehension



3.  Acceptance


4.  Aversion


5.  Anger


6.  Anguish


7.  Atrocity


8.  Alleviation


9.  Abatement


10.  Again