Learning a Lot

As a first time mom I've learned that no matter how many questions I ask of my more experienced mommy friends we still have to stumble through most of this parenting thing on our own. Ella Kate is growing, learning, and changing by leaps and bounds, and we are struggling to keep up with her!

• She's babbling all the time in a very distinct foreign language all her own (I swear sometimes it sounds like French and then the next Japanese) I guess my dad, the linguist, has been teaching her a little on the side! I really think she said belly button tonight in the tub, she definitely calls the dogs "bop-bops" and "mama" and "dada" come out all the time, but I don't really know if they refer to us. She signs for milk, more, bye-bye, kisses and mimics us with sounds and movements. She points out other babies and says something that kinda resembles the word "baba."
• When asked, she points to her belly button, her nose (ok, finger goes in the nose and then she tries to put it in mine), and sticks out her tongue.
• Tonight she did the cutest thing after she got out of the tub: I had my hands on her knees as she sat on top of the potty holding a bath toy fish whose tail moves when you wind him up. When he stopped flapping his tail she kept holding him then she took my hand off her knee and put the toy in it. I handed it back to her, so she did the same thing with my other hand-- that's when I realized she was trying to tell me to wind him back up, so I did and she giggled with joy.
• She's a daredevil and thinks everything should be done upside down; I'm starting her at the Little Gym next week and I know she'll love it.

On our front we're learning things, too, like, how to read exactly when she needs sleep and how not to dare go past that point. She doesn't like the car seat-- rides do not calm her down unless she's extremely tired.

She's almost finished up with another round of antibiotics for a mild double ear infection-- Augmentin this time. If you or your children have ever been on this one you know the side effects include diarrhea-- and should always be taken with good starchy food. Easier said than done with a finicky baby. Ella Kate is very prone to diaper rash-- thankfully only when on antibiotics, but it usually gets really bad. This time we tried to prepare by loading up on yogurt, Keifer (a probiotic type yogurt/smoothie- thanks Kristen), Triple Paste, and looked up home remedies for diaper rash. The Triple Paste certainly helped, but the Augmentin was fighting against us causing her to have loose bowels at almost every changing. I don't know if the Keifer helped or not, but probiotics can't hurt, right? We also gave up wipes in place of a warm wet washcloth. The rash didn't look so bad, but it must've really hurt b/c every changing was a true struggle-- tears and screams-- you'd think she was getting shots, but she doesn't even cry for those! We found suggestions for at home remedies including Maalox, and Melissa had used it on one of her boys, so I thought we'd give it a try. Mixing it with Aquaphor was really quite a challenge, I mostly ended up with Maalox floating on top of the Aquaphor-- no matter, Mel said she just poured Maalox straight over the bottom and it worked like a charm. So, we tried it and, truly, it has helped tremendously. Tonight Chris successfully mixed the two, it took lots and lots of stirring- I'm sure his arm was tired after that, but he made a beautiful paste that we will cherish! I don't know why a company has not manufactured this on a large scale! hmmm.... maybe that's an idea....

Feeding is another challenge. So I've landed on a few must haves -- they have become staples around our house and if you'd like any of the recipes please let me know, I'm happy to share! The first is mini muffins either of banana bread or applesauce bread made with whole wheat flour. I make a huge batch and freeze half so we always have some on hand. Every morning we start with a sippy cup of milk, a mini muffin, and about 1/3 of a banana cut into chunks. This morning I created a new one that will be added as a staple and might be made in batches and frozen, as well. It was eggs, cheese, some Heart Healthy Bisquick, and milk all mixed together and baked in a muffin tin. Worked great b/c it wasn't messy and EK could carry it around and bite off it- just like a muffin!
We've moved her booster seat/high chair to the floor so that she can get in and out at her leisure-- I guess this give her some independence-- and also keeps me from having to constantly pick up things that she throws on the floor.
Some dinner items we've found to be a hit are :

• grilled cheese with either broccoli or spinach
• cheese quesadillas with mashed black beans and spinach
• flat croissant rolls with mashed black beans, spinach, and ricotta cheese
• mac-n-cheese with broccoli
• crustless quiche (a Vinson household fav!!!) I add cheese, chicken or turkey, and a veggie. This one has also been great for her to learn to use her fork. I cut the quiche into little cubes before I heat it then when I put it on her tray she can still stab at it and get it to her mouth. This is also the best way I've found to get her to eat at meat and veggies.
• turkey dog (white meat only, less sodium and fat than the "franks") cut into little tiny non-chokeable bites.
• cheese cubes
• spiral pasta made from veggies (tomatoes and spinach) with a little olive oil and salt (thanks, Haley!)

New fav snacks include:

• Mandarin oranges
• graham crackers
• cheese bits (you know, those little square crackers) they're great b/c they crumble easily keeping them from being a choking hazard, but not keeping them from being a terrible mess in the living room.
• Goldfish
• applesauce

The dogs love cleaning up after her, but she is getting better at feeding herself and keeping a lot of it in her mouth or on the tray.
She amazes us daily with something new she's learned and we are pretty amazed with ourselves for adapting to life with a toddler. Today we bought a treadmill b/c I just have to face the fact that I can no longer be a gym junkie. So, life is good. She even slept till after 10am this morning (Chris gave her a sippy at about 7:15 and amazingly she went back to sleep). It was a very nice treat for us all.
On a side note, if you read this on Monday scroll on over to Kristen's blog for some updates on Baby JuJu. She's got an appointment with an immunologist at St. Jude's and should actually have some answers by the time they leave in the afternoon. I will be eagerly anticipating the results of their very long day.