Saturday, December 22, 2018

Stella is 10 Months Old!

Sweet Stella,
I literally just wrote your last post . . . but that was because I was way behind.  Hehe!  You are so much fun and I can't believe you are 2 months away from turning 1 year old!?!?!

Stats
At your 10 month well baby BVC appointment you weighed 7.84 kg (17 lbs 4.5 oz) which was in the 27th percentile. You were 70.5 cm long (27.7 inches long) which was in the 37th percentile.  Your head was 44.2 cm (17.4 inches) around which is in the 50th percentile.

A little blurry but we finally caught a smile. You are NOT a fan of taking pictures in this box.
 Sister shenanigans.
 You love Sophie!

How you actually feel about these box pics!

Eating
You would like all of the table food, all of the time.  Baby food is for babies and you are a big girl apparently.  Ha!  I struggle with knowing what I should and shouldn't give you because I know you should have limited amounts of salt and you can't have eggs.  At home, it isn't a big deal because I know if something has eggs but if we ever eat out I just bring food for you instead of asking the restaurant if anything contains eggs.

For breakfast, you still have yogurt with some fruit pureed baby food.  I've also given you some of my multigrain cheerios and you are a fan of those!

Lunch and dinner continue to be leftovers or canned veggies (peas - which are disgusting, green beans, and carrots).  You love cheese and eat it fast than we can refill your tray.  You would really like to eat dinner around 5 pm but I've barely started dinner at that point.  So I've been trying to give you a little snack to hold you over.

You are still nursing 4 times per day.  The morning session is 4 minutes on the first side and 2:30 minutes on the second side.  The rest of the day it is usually 2:30 minutes on the first side and 1:30 minutes on the second side.  You are efficient.

Sleeping
Oh, sleep.  I've been looking back at my five-year journal and I think you are a way better napper than Linnea was.  You used to nap from 9-10:30 (I'd wake you up at 10:30) and then again from 12:30-2:30/3:30.  I've been making your morning nap a little shorter so it is closer to 9:15-10:30 and then your afternoon nap is 12:45-3/3:30.
You are not as good of a night time sleeper as Linnea.  Once she started sleeping through the night she slept through teething, colds and whatever else.  At least, that is what I remember.  I know your dad went in to hold her occasionally but not as often as it seems you need us.  Maybe it seems like you need more help in the middle of the night because I'm currently living in that state or because now there are two of you who could potentially need us in the middle of the night.  Either way, you seem to wake up once or twice a week needing help (sometimes more if you are teething or sick).  Help can sometimes mean your dad goes in to comfort you but sometimes that just will not work. It has to be me.  But here's the deal. I cannot hold you and sleep in the chair.  As soon as I'm awake my mind is going 100 miles per hour. I can't get comfortable, etc.  Once we do get you calmed down then it is a guessing game as to when to lay you back down.  It usually takes more than one try.  One night last week your dad tried to comfort you and he wasn't cutting it.  So I came in and you immediately stopped crying but then as soon as he left you started crying again.  Apparently, you needed both of us.  Spoiled much?

Clothes
You are in size 68 and 74 clothes plus 9 and 12 months clothes.  Your pajamas are 12 months. You are wearing size 4 Libero diapers.
You are wearing opposite seasons from Linnea which can be a little tricky but thankfully apartments here are pretty warm so you don't need too much on in the winter when we are inside.  Once we go outside you have lots of choices of things to keep you warm (fleece overalls, outside pants, coats, rain pants, rain suits, fleece lined snowsuit, etc)
You haven't quite figured out how to move around in your snowsuit.

Seriously mom?
Playtime
We used to have 'your toys' and 'Linnea's toys' but now they are both of your toys.  You are more interested in her toys and less interested in baby toys.

You like playing with the stacking cups, scarves, balls,  and puzzles.

But your favorite toy is probably a book.  Which just makes my teacher heart so happy!

Our Days
I know I am going to miss our days together but I've sort of hit a wall.  I have been doing the same things (cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, naps, etc) for 11 months and I'm a little burned out of the mundaneness.  I like when we have things on our schedule but the cold weather and gloomy days make me want to stay inside.  It is a hard balance to figure out.



Activities and Outings
We celebrated 2 Thanksgivings this month which friends which was great.



You had your second ER visit. Ugh.  You woke up on a Sunday with some grunty breathing.  We went to urgent care at 7 pm on Sunday night.  Your blood levels were a little higher than normal so they gave you some medicine and two breathing treatments.  You were still grunting so they sent us to the Children's ER. We were there from 9:15 pm to 3:45 am! They did a chest xray to rule out pneumonia and eventually landed on an ear infection that the first place missed.  We got home at 4:30 am and slept until 10:30 am!
 

You think I should be sleeping just because it is 10:30 pm?


After screaming for several minutes you finally fell asleep at 1:50 am!
 Burger King Dating Anniversary tradition.  Your dad and I became boyfriend and girlfriend 17 years ago after we had dinner at Burger King.
Christmas cookies with friends!
Firsts and New Skills
You are starting to crawl over and under things which is fun to see.  You like to pull your knee up like you are going to crawl onto something which always freaks me out.  You've face planted a few times but you are quickly learning to put your hands down to catch yourself.

Look Ma, no hands!

 So proud of yourself!
See that little knee. You just want to climb!
You kept trying to look at where we were going in the stroller and you bumped your face a few times so we turned your seat around and you seemed to like it.



I wanted to get you a flu shot before we traveled to the US and that was a little tricky.  Since you are allergic to eggs and the flu vaccine is live I had to convince the shot clinic to give me a flu vaccine and then walk it to the allergy doctor so they could give it to you there.  They first did a prick test with it to make sure you didn't show any signs of allergy to the shot and then they gave you the shot.  We had to wait 30 minutes after the shot before we could leave.  Thankfully everything went well and hopefully, you are protected from the flu this season!

Blinking
Sister Moments
I've caught your sister reading to you which is just the sweetest.  She likes to encourage you and she does it in the highest pitched voice.  I'm sure she hears us talking to you like that but it is so sweet.  I can't wait to see Linnea cheer you on even more as you get older.
Playing doctor.  Linnea is so sweet with you but sometimes she doesn't realize you are so little. Like when she starts hitting you in the head.


You look thrilled!
Linnea New Skills
Linnea did a somersault for us one night and then 'taught' Jake and I how to do somersaults.  It was really cute and made me dizzy!


Reading, in Swedish, at the library.


Wearing Daddy's pants


Recently if Linnea naps then she has a really hard time falling asleep.  She gave up napping at preschool once she started back this August (when she was 3 years old).  We still try to get her to nap on the weekends so we can have a break during the day.  One Sunday she napped and then stalled her bedtime until 10:22 pm.  We went to bed at 10:30 that night.  She came out of her room multiple times.  She wasn't being bad she just couldn't sleep. I felt bad for her but I caught one attempt to get out of her room on video.


Jake was in Romania and Germany for work so we made this video for him to watch while he was away.

Linnea Funnies/Quotes
At school, Linnea did an interview about either her mom or dad.  She picked her mom ;).  They asked her all kinds of questions and one was about my age.  I didn't know this until later but one morning at breakfast Linnea asked: "How many år (years) are you?" I told her I was 35.  Her response: "Mama, are you joking?" Ha! No sweet girl.  We often joke in our house and apparently, she thought I was joking. In the interview, she said I was 4 years old.
Jake was in Germany and Romania for 4 days this month.  One night Linnea woke up at 2:50 am and said there was a shark in her room. I scared it away and then she told me there were 'actually 3 sharks' in her room.  She's a funny girl.
Walking to school with her walking stick.

After Jake got back from Germany and Romania I had a spa day with this friend. It was THE BEST. I can't wait to do it again!

Linnea started sleeping at night without a diaper. She had a few accidents but not nearly as many as I was expecting.  Woohoo for being out of diapers!
Linnea started showing signs of another eye infection like she had two months ago.  She woke up int he middle of the night crying saying 'Mama, I want to go to school. I want to go to school." I realized that she knew if she was sick she couldn't go to school.  She stayed home one day and then was able to go back to school again.  She has also started putting up a fight to leave school.  Apparently, she loves it there which makes us so happy!

Linnea had to miss out on a Thanksgiving get together with our friends since she was sick.  So Jake and Linnea had a date night. I think they both thoroughly enjoyed it!







Remember
One night I was rocking you after you had woke up. I was a little frustrated because I wanted to have some down time before going to bed but then I realized you will never be this little again.  I am rocking my second baby in our apartment. An apartment that is safe and warm.  You are in a family that loves you very much and you are safe. We have food, clothes, and shelter.  We are not going to sleep wondering if we will be bombed while we sleep.  You are not yelled at or hit or anything else that just breaks my heart thinking about it.   As I sat there rocking you I just thought about how thankful I am that you are in our family.
This was from the ER after you finally fell asleep.

I want to remember the excited squeal and look I get from you when you see me.  It could be first thing in the morning or after being apart for a few minutes. I really need to get this on video.

I want to remember what it is like to be someone's very favorite person in the whole wide world.  I remember babysitting babies as a teenager.  I loved holding them but if their mom was an option they would choose her.  I remember wishing I knew what that feeling was like to be loved more than anyone else.  To be someone's very favorite.  And now I have that again for the second time (although Linnea's favorite flip flops between me and Jake).

You are one loved little girl.
Love,
Your Mama
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Saturday, December 1, 2018

Stella is 9 Months!

Dear Sweet Stella,
Broken record here but time is flying by.  You are fun, happy and content.  You have been mobile this whole month and I feel like it is a game changer.  You can interact with Linnea and also get into ALL THE THINGS.

Before I get into what you've been up to this month I wanted to talk a little bit about postpartum fog.  The biggest change this month was probably with me.  I feel like some postpartum fog that honestly I didn't know was even there lifted.  Once it lifted I could definitely recognize that I hadn't been myself, like truly myself since probably before I was pregnant with Stella.  My pregnancy with Stella was hard.  Significantly harder than with Linnea.  I was sick, throwing up multiple times per day for over half of the pregnancy plus the exhaustion of growing a child and taking care of a toddler was hard.  I barely had enough energy to get through the day so being silly and creative with Linnea just didn't really happen while I was pregnant.

After Stella was born I felt so much better.  I could eat food again without fearing I would throw it up minutes later.  I had more energy and I could move around so much better.  I thought I was back to 'normal' but Jake would make comments occasionally about me still not being myself.  He didn't say them in a rude way, just more an observation and to see if we could talk about it to fix it.  I didn't know what to tell him. I thought I felt like myself.  I couldn't pinpoint anything that wasn't 'normal'.  I mean, I was tired and overwhelmed by taking care of two kids and feeling like this newborn and toddler stage would never end but that was normal right?  The transition to two kids was harder than I thought it would be but I wasn't crying all the time or anxious.  I was definitely crankier than normal but 'normal' was 18 months ago and maybe I've just always been this cranky ;).

Once the 'fog' lifted I realized I wasn't my normal self before.  I had the energy to dance, sing and be silly with Linnea again.  I wasn't so frustrated or overwhelmed and it didn't feel like I was just dragging myself through the day until 7:30 hit and they were both asleep.  I don't know exactly what changed but Jake and I have both felt the difference.  I think a big factor is that I am working out more consistently for the first time in about 2 years.  It isn't even a super hard workout but it is apparently enough to make a huge difference in my energy level and attitude.

Over the last 9 months (and probably the 9 before that when I was pregnant), I was jealous of Jake and Linnea's relationship.  He had so much energy and creative bandwidth and I didn't. I liked seeing how close they were but it made me feel like I would never have that closeness with Linnea again.  Like he had 'won' and I needed to just face the facts and move on.  I was the boring parent so why should I even try.  Then I realized how incredibly depressing that was considering she is only 3.

I listened to a great podcast about 'checking in' with your kids when you are wanting to 'check out'.  She talked about using all 5 senses to engage with your child.  Having that as a guide to reconnect with Linnea has been so good.  I think there was a snowball effect with working out, my energy coming back, the fog lifting and being more intentional to check in with Linnea.  It has made a huge difference.

Just hoping that if I share this someone might be able to relate.

Back to regular programming.  Here is what you have been up to this month sweet girl:

Stats
I have no idea how much you weigh or how long you are.  I could weigh you but since I'm typing this sentence 1 day before you turn 10 months old it wouldn't be that accurate ;).  I'd guess you weighed about 7.65 kg (16 lbs and 13 oz).
This little stinker was stingy with her smiles this month.


  

Seriously mom. Enough is enough.
Eating
You have been eating more table food this month.  Linnea was 11 months old before she got her first tooth and I naively thought she couldn't really eat table food until she had teeth.  After she got her first tooth I realized babies chew with their gums in the back of their mouth so having teeth isn't essential for eating table foods.  You LOVE feeing yourself.  It keeps you entertained and you get fed so win-win!  It does make a HUGE mess on the floor but that's the trade off I guess.

You love sweet potatoes, peas and pears.  I used Jake's sous vide machine to make chicken this month and you loved it.  It was super tender and easy to eat.  You are also a fan of slow cooker carnitas.

You usually have yogurt and fruit puree for breakfast.  Then for lunch, you either eat something I am eating if it is soft enough or have some baby food.  You don't care for baby food with chunks.  Apparently, if it is going to be chunky you want to feed the chunks yourself.  Pureed food is fine on a spoon though.

When we nurse first thing in the morning I'm usually just wearing a t-shirt and not a nursing tank top so you can see my belly.  You love playing with my belly button.  You will actually lift my shirt up to find it.

While you are nursing you also like to rub your hand all over your head.  You do this mostly at night during the last nursing session.

Now that you are really good at crawling you will crawl to me when I tell you it is time for some milk.  It is so cute!




Sleeping
You are doing fairly well in the sleeping department.  There were a few nights in a row where you would wake up between 8:30-midnight and have a panicky cry.  I would go in to hold you but if I tried to hand you off to your daddy you weren't having it.  You would lose your ever-loving mind!  Then when I would take you back you'd almost chuckle.  Turd.

I do not know how this is comfortable.
Waking up is hard sometimes
Clothes
You are wearing size 4 libero diapers this month.  Your clothes are mostly 9 month with a few 6 month tops and 12-month sleepers.

I had a great time dressing you in Halloween clothes even if your dad wasn't a fan.

Playtime
Playtime this month is 'let's get into all the things'.  You've found cords, your sister's toys and you LOVE the broom and dustpan!  Since you are the second kid I already know how to 'discipline' you by making a little noise to indicate that you can't play with it (instead of saying 'no no') and then I move you to somewhere else.


The drain is so fun!

Problem-solving skills


Our Days
I feel like our days haven't changed that much but I know it is easy to think I'll remember them forever when I won't.  So maybe next month I'll do a 'Day in the Life' post so I remember what it was like staying home with you.



I love riding on the metro!
Activities and Outings
I got up the courage to host a rhyme time with friends this month.  I LOVED going to rhyme time at the library when we lived in Olathe.  It was fun to learn new songs and rhymes but I also just enjoyed getting out of the house and seeing other adults during the day.  After going to a few rhyme times with Linnea I noticed two moms with little girls similar to Linnea's age.  I got up the courage to ask if they wanted to hang out sometime and we hit it off.  Even though we live an ocean away we still keep up on Instagram and I'm so thankful for their friendship!

I was hoping to do something similar with you.  There are rhyme/song/story times at libraries here but I felt like all of them were right in the middle of your nap and that just wasn't going to work.  So I decided to host my own!

I have a huge stack of rhymes from rhyme time in the US and a great resource which the Johnson County Public Library shared with me which is jbrary.  They also have a YouTube channel with all their songs and rhymes.  I went to both places and started planning the first rhyme time.  We've had 2 of them so far and they've been so fun!  I've typed up song sheets and handed them out at both get-togethers.  I realize that might be over the top but I love it!

Both of you got sick this month.  Ugh.  It was NOT fun.  Linnea came home from school on a Monday with green discharge coming out of one eye.  It was going around the school so we had to keep her home from school.  Of course, I did my best trying to keep you two apart but that is so hard now that you can crawl.  By Thursday or Friday of that week, you started having green discharge.  It took 2+ weeks for Linnea to get over it.  It was viral so we had to let it run its course and keep her home until it cleared up which was 8 school days.  I got sick with a head cold shortly after Linnea got sick.  It was HARD taking care of two sick girls when I was also sick.
Sharing her paci and boycotting her nap.
A little smirk even with swollen, goopy eyes.

The first day the head cold was really bad I wanted Jake to stay home.  He didn't and later that day he told me he left so I could 'rally'.  Really?  The next week we thought Linnea was better so we sent her to school only to have her sent home again because she was scratching at her eyelids and they were starting to bleed a little.  I told Jake if Linnea was staying home he was too.  I eventually lost my voice for almost a week and had a terrible cough which is still kind of hanging around.  Jake also got sick but not too bad.  It was a LONG month of sickness.



I love fall.  I love all of the leaves and the colors.  I took a few pictures of the girls in the leaves and we also had family pictures taken.
I love her fist full of leaves and her little tongue sticking out.
Pictures by my coworker Barbara Kucera.


 Her tongue facial expressions!

We celebrated Halloween this month.  Trick or treating isn't that popular yet but it seems to be getting more common.  Linnea did get to dress up for school.
She wanted to be Lava Man from Moana but her school said no scary masks. When Jake dropped her off he noticed several kids had masks and face paint so they laminated her mask but she didn't wear it much. It was too large and too tight to her face.

They had a great day celebrating Halloween!

We did go downstairs to trick or treat at one neighbor's apartment and then they came up to us as well which was fun.

Firsts and New Skills
Your dad claims that you pulled up to your feet but I was not there to see it so it doesn't count ;).  You so badly want to walk/stand but the way you try isn't very efficient.  You basically straighten your legs and stand on your feet but with your hands on the floor (like a downward dog) or a bear crawl.  Ha!



You started clapping this month just after you turned 8 months old actually.  You don't do it very often but you like to bang two toys together which is pretty much just like clapping.

Sister Moments
Linnea is having to learn how to share toys with you now that you can actually get in the middle of whatever she is doing.  I don't like when older siblings take a toy from a younger kid and give them something else.  I want her to learn that even though you are little and may not care we don't take toys from someone who is actively playing with it.  For the most part, she is still very sweet to you.  If you start fussing she will either bring you a toy or start clapping and making faces at you.  She even shares her beloved Alix with you.

When your sister tries to make sure you have something to play with . . .




Linnea earned a baby doll for Stella. It was so cute!
Sisters are so much fun!
Monkey
Swinging


Don't mind me, mom, just pushing Stella into this box . . .

Linnea New Skills
Linnea's school has been working on numbers for the past 7 weeks.  Linnea can count in English and in Swedish but sometimes she gets confused if you ask what is 6 in Swedish.  I can tell they are studying bigger numbers as well because she'll throw out numbers like 45 (which was her go-to favorite number for a while).  She is starting to be able to read bus numbers and bus stop signs which is fun.


Seven
Finding numbers on the way home from the store.
Speaking Swedish to Emma.
Loopy Moana singing
Going on a walk with Alix

Slide or Stroller ramp?

Linnea Funnies/Quotes
Linnea has been learning about numbers at school so we've been hearing lots of:
"I want 6 cookies."  "Let's count to 7."  "Can I have 6 cookies?  How about 5?  I want 11 cookies."  "I want you to set a timer for 6 minutes."  I want you to lay down with me for 7 minutes."
Since Stella was on the move so much this month Linnea was constantly asking "Can Stella have ____?" to know whether or not we should take it away.  She knows plastic bags are a big no-no for Stella.
We don't let Linnea sit on our laps when we eat but after we are done eating she can sit on our laps at the table.  One night she said, "Daddy, are you done eating? My hands are clean."  Aka, can I sit on you?
Remember
I want to remember what it felt like when the fog finally lifted.  Like I could see again or breathe deeply.
 Jake's caption for these picture through Stella's eyes: "This is my mama!"

I want to remember what it feels like to hold your little hand.



I want to remember watching you play with Linnea.  You love her so much it actually hurts . . . like when you pull her hair.

Love you Sweet Girl!
Your Mama
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