In which the girls get glasses

As part of the preparations we're doing to get ready for the baby to arrive, we've been running around tying up lots of loose ends. Got new tires on the car, refinanced the house for a lower rate, purged a bit, and took the girls for annual eye exams. I took Stasa in last year before school started and she was borderline with needing glasses. The doctor had suggested we monitor her and bring her back again to be retested. Lexi's daycare held a free vision screening which she failed. At a parent teacher night that same week her teacher mentioned that Lexi had been favoring one eye and seemed to have a hard time seeing during circle time.

I made a last minute appointment for both girls with the eye doctor for this past Saturday. I honestly thought that we would be in and out, but instead we wound up being there for a couple of hours. Stasa went first and did great during the first part of the exam. I was worried about Lexi cooperating since she refused the vision test at her annual physical exam. She actually did better than Stasa did.

Then we went back with the doctor. Stasa hopped up in the chair and had a bit of trouble focusing at first. We finally got her to understand the importance of being honest about what she was seeing and to try her hardest. She has a slight astigmatism in both eyes and is just slightly nearsighted. The doctor wrote out a prescription for glasses and mentioned that Stasa would likely only really need them in school.

She hopped down and then it was Lexi's turn. Lexi knows the alphabet, so I was confident that she would at least be able to get through the exam. After working through most of the exam, we paused and the doctor gave her some strong eye drops to dilate her eyes. Since it was going to take about 20 or so minutes for them to work we went next door to the Lenscrafters to let the girls pick out their frames and to get Stasa's glasses started.

The girls tried on nearly every pair of frames in the kids section and immediately settled on what they wanted. Not surprisingly Stasa chose pink plastic Ray Bans and Lexi picked out purple Ray Bans. Both much nicer than my first pair of glasses - something I pointed out to them when Stasa was a bit upset that she had to get glasses.

After that we went back to the doctor's office to finish up Lexi's exam. She actually did great and once the doctor found the right lenses for her she was able to identify most of the letters. Unfortunately her right eye is considered lazy. The doctor said she could only get it corrected to 20/30. She asked us to come back in six months to have her vision rechecked and to give the prescription a chance to help her eye get stronger. If when we come back her eye can't get to 20/25 with corrected vision, we'll be sent to see a specialist to discuss the possibility of patching. The doctor also suggested we have Stasa wear her glasses all of the time to make it easier for Lexi to keep her glasses on.

And with that news we took Lexi's prescription over to have her glasses made and went home to get Tom and Tommy before picking up their finished glasses. They've both been diligent about wearing their glasses since we picked them up. We also bought both of them cords to help keep the glasses tight on their faces. Stasa complains now and then about wearing them and not wanting the cord on her glasses, but I haven't given in because even with insurance glasses are pricey and I don't want them falling off of her face while she's playing outside or at school. Lexi, on the other hand, hasn't complained once. Not once. She carefully takes them off at night and for baths and puts them on first thing when she wakes up. We think she is seeing the benefit of having them (no pun intended). We've also pointed out all of the people in our family and who we know who also wear glasses. Luckily there are quite a few in our family who do and there are a handful of kids in Stasa's class who wear glasses and her wonderful teachers made a big deal about how awesome her new frames are.

And they both look absolutely adorable in their frames, don't they?

Party like a rock star

Ever since our little man was born we've called him Tommy and Tom and the girls often sing part of The Who's Tommy to him. So when it came time to start planning Tommy's first birthday party I immediately knew I wanted to do a rock n roll theme. I originally wanted to get him a Tommy shirt, but actually get around to looking for one until the week of the party and by then all I could find were $25-40 shirts and really, does a one year old need a $40 shirt for a one-time wear? Thankfully we already had a few different classic rock band shirts for him and eventually settled on Led Zeppelin. We kept the decorations simple with black and silver/grey streamers and balloons and tablecloths. I made a couple of faux speakers with boxes and black tablecloths. I had bought the girls some punk rock gloves and wound up repurposing the cardboard hands from the gloves to use as sign of the horns decorations. ROCK ON!



It's hard to see in that pic, but I made a birthday banner using a tattoo-style font.



I also printed out a bunch of classic rock album covers to hang as decorations.


As for the birthday boy himself, well, he felt like being a true mama's boy that day and broke down every time I left the room without him. But you know what they say, it was his party and to hell if he wasn't going to cry if he wanted to.


He knew *just* what to do when it was time for cake and grabbed his cupcake and focused on (somewhat) quietly eating it. I say somewhat because he would pause, look over and cry, then go back to his cupcake. Rinse and repeat. He finally calmed down after gifts were opened and settled on playing with a sturdy box one of the gifts came in.




Happy birthday, Tommallama!
Now. His first year well check.
Stats:
24 lbs, 87th percentile
31 1/8" long, 92nd percentile
19" head, 96th! percentile

He checked out well and wound up with three vaccinations and one prick to check his hemoglobin. Turns out his iron levels are still on the low side, so he'll be getting a daily vitamin with iron and we'll recheck him in a month. He's also had a newish development which seems to have happened overnight. He's been taking steps here and there, but not really walking - just cruising around. But this week he's just walking all over the place. I'm sure it won't be long until he's keeping up with his sisters.

38, 39, 40 Weeks Old and some 9 Month Stats

My baby is already nine months old. I know I say this with every milestone and monthday, but seriously. How is he already nine months old? He's now been an outside baby longer than he was inside.

Tommy is still the happiest baby I know. He's cruising everywhere and holds on with just one hand, but isn't quite ready to try standing on his own. He crawls insanely fast and gets into things the girls had zero interest in. And now he's reached that "fun" age where I say no and he laughs hysterically and does the thing anyway. He basically eats whatever we eat now, which has made meals so much easier, though the little man can make a giant mess when he eats and often winds up in the sink for a quick bath.


He's still in nine month clothing, but he's slowly busting out of them. Before his well check I guessed that he would be pretty high on the height charts and somewhere around 20 pounds - at least that's what he feels like when I carry him. His official nine month stats:
Weight: 20lbs 7oz, 64th percentile
Height: 29 3/4", 94th percentile
Head: 18 1/4", 85th percentile

Our little man is just getting bigger and bigger and before we know it he'll be ONE.

26 weeks old and 6 month stats

Oh, boo boo. I really need to start taking these weekly pictures earlier in the day when he's happy and not right before bedtime. Mom fail.

So much has happened this past month that it's been hard to keep track of it all. Tommy started solid foods, and loves them, really loves them. He gets upset when he finishes a meal, but I know there's no way his little stomach could hold any more food than what we gave him. He also loves sitting at the dinner table with us and happily smiles and coos at everyone. So far he's had avocado, banana, cereal, plums, pears, peaches, sweet potato, a couple of winter squashes, and mango. Up next are the green veggies and adding in some herbs. I'm thinking that we may just puree whatever we're having for dinner (but not meats) and then just feed him that. I gave him a bite of my skillet potatoes the other day and he loved them - spices and all.



Tommy also started sitting up on his own and is army crawling all over the place. I was putting Stasa's hair up this morning and had the tv remote on the floor next to me and all of a sudden Tommy was by my side swiping at the remote. He slugs his body across the floor fast. He gets up on his knees and rocks, but hasn't quite figured out how to crawl, so he resorts to moving like a slug.



He's been drooling up a storm and a couple of weeks ago I felt something sharp in his mouth and poked around and discovered two teeth buds emerging. They've finally fully popped through his gums and the doctor checked his upper gums and said we've got awhile before those come in.

We took him for his six month well check this week and the doc said he looks great. His stats are so close to Lexi's and Stasa's at that age. He wound up getting all but one vaccination and his flu shot. The one vaccine will be delayed since we opted to get the flu shot.

	Weight	Height
Tommy	16 lbs 5 oz	27.5”
Lexi	16 lbs 3 oz	27”
Stasa	16 lbs 10 oz	26.5”

Four month stats

We took Tommy to his four month appointment today. Little man is growing in height, but has gotten a little leaner lately so we'll be upping his intake. He's hitting all of his developmental milestones on time (and even a bit early!) and got quite a few vaccinations today.

Tommy's four month stats:
Height: 26.5" (94th percentile)
Weight: 14lbs 8oz (28th percentile according to Baby Connect, but the nurse said it was more like the 45th)
Head: 17" (89th percentile)

And for comparison, here were the girls' stats at that age:

	Stasa	Lexi
Height	23” (5th percentile)	26.5” (99th percentile)
Weight	13lbs 9oz (37th percentile)	13lbs 13oz (40th percentile)
Head		15.75” (29th percentile)

Now that I'm looking at the girls' stats I don't feel like he's that small. For some reason I thought Lexi was 16 pounds at four months, but that was at her six month appointment. 

At four months, Tommy is rolling over from back to belly and belly to back. He's a tummy time master and can really reach his head up, even the nurse was impressed with his head and neck control. He reaches out for and grabs toys, self soothes with a pacifier or his fingers. We're starting to hear more and more babbles from him and he turns to find us when we talk to him. He really really wants to sit up and gets so upset when he's reclined and often uses all of his strength to lift up as much of his body as he can. 

Now with the rolling over. I'm excited that he's doing it because it's a step toward him being able to scoot around, but I'm not so thrilled about the fact that he's doing this in the middle of the night. He'll be dead asleep then somehow rolls over and wakes himself up, so so mad that he's now on his belly so we go in and put him back and soothe him back to sleep only to have him do it again and again and again. And again. Let's hope for all of us that he either figures out how to get back on his back or learns to love belly sleeping. Otherwise I'm going to begin sleep walking permanently. 

The little man is home with me now and is juuuuuuust about to fall asleep. Fingers crossed he gets a good nap in.

2 Week Well Visit

We took Tommy in for his two week well visit this morning. We stripped him down to his diaper only to find that he needed to be changed and then he peed all over the place. Good thing there were two of us - we quickly cleaned up the mess and got him into a dry diaper and ready to get weighed. Here are his two week stats:
Weight: 8 lbs 2 oz (33rd percentile)
Height: 21.25" (73rd percentile)
Head: 14.25" (32nd percentile)

So he's back up to his birth weight, although I really thought he'd be a little heavier since he literally eats around the clock. He's been nursing about every hour and a half lately and then ups it to every hour from 4:00 to 9:00 pm and then gives me a good stretch of sleep and usually wakes up around midnight or 1:00 am. Sometimes he eats twice at that hour, but either way he sleeps until about 4:00 or 5:00 am and then gets up again around 6:30 am. Obviously a lot of nursing is going on which also means there's also a lot of pooping going on.

The past two weeks have flown by and I can't believe that Tom will be going back to work on Monday. I've been trying to let him sleep during the night since I have to be up to feed Tommy anyway. Plus that way he can run interference with the girls when they're home and I can relax with the baby. I'm planning on getting in to a routine with Tommy once we're on our own. Ideally I'd like to fit in a decent walk every day especially if the weather is nice. I think I might try to keep the girls home for one-on-one time every now and then, too. Tom and I kept Stasa home today and she's having a lot of fun just hanging out in the playroom and having all of the toys to herself. We'll be keeping Lexi home tomorrow and having some one-on-one time with her.



We've also been doing tummy time with Tommy to work on strengthening his muscles and head control. He doesn't seem to mind tummy time too much and sometimes gets bored and falls asleep in the middle of it. But he's been able to lift his head and turn it before he gets too annoyed. And he's able to really lift his head and move around when he's laying on one of us.

We've also been taking bets on what color his eyes will end up being. Tom goes back and forth on the color, but I think he might end up with blue eyes. We'll just have to see if they keep getting lighter or if they take a turn towards brown.

One week later

Tommy is now a week old. Yesterday was his due date and I still can not believe that he's already been with us for a full week and yet it feels like he's been with us forever. I love having a boy in the house and ::knock on wood:: this kid is so chill. He cries when he's hungry or when he pees, but for the most part he's content to just hang out on us for a nap or lounge in his swing. He tolerates his big sisters mauling him and forcing him to take his pacifier, but that's a whole post on its own.

We took him to the pediatrician on Monday for his initial check up and he weighed in at 7 pounds 7 ounces, down from his discharge weight of 7 pounds 15 ounces. Of course my milk hadn't yet come in at that point so we weren't too concerned about the weight loss since he was nursing around the clock and was still having plenty of meconium poops. Tom was worried about Tommy's color and thought he was a bit yellow, but the doctor said he looked okay and just to keep feeding him and take him out in the sunlight when we could.

We went back in for a weight check on Friday and he gained 6 ounces! Back up to 7 pounds 13.5 ounces and his color was much better and she said there were no jaundice concerns. His circumcision is also healing nicely and as soon as that gross umbilical stump falls off we'll be able to give him a proper bath, which he desperately needs - the sponge bath isn't cutting it.

Maybe it's because this is our third time around or maybe it's just him, ::knock on wood:: but Tommy is a great nurser and sleeper. He eats anywhere from every hour and a half to every three hours and sleeps in between. I feel like I've come such a long way with breastfeeding when I look back on my initial experience with Stasa. I'm so happy that I stuck with it because I learned so much about proper latch and ways to increase my supply. Although even with his good latch my poor breasts are cracked and in pain and the round the clock feeding isn't giving them enough time to heal, BUT I replaced the lanolin I was using with coconut oil and OMG it's made a huge difference. Not only does it smell amazing, it soaks into my skin faster and is helping heal the cracks fast. I also got another new product to help catch the milk from the non-nursing side at each feeding. I have always needed to wear breast pads since my breasts never seem to get the message that both don't need to letdown when the baby is eating. And since I letdown on both sides at each feeding my pads were getting soaked with wasted milk. I happened across this new product, Milkies, and thought what the hell, let's try it. I'm so glad I bought it because I've been catching one to two ounces of milk at each feeding - just from letdown!

I definitely wasn't looking forward to the sleepless nights, but don't feel as exhausted as I thought I would. Of course having Tom take over during part of the night and naps in the middle of the day help me feel more rested. And we haven't yet faced the first growth spurt and I definitely remember how awful it was during the six week spurt. But for now I'll celebrate the sleep I do get.

I'm happy that we came home a little early from the hospital because it let me dive right back into our routine with the girls. I've been pretty active since coming home and have even managed a couple of short outings with the boy and Tom. My bleeding has gone down a lot, but I'm still having sporadic post-partum contractions during feedings and OMG those suckers are PAINFUL this time. The first few days I literally had to breathe through them all lamaze-like just to get through the pain. I finally stopped taking ibuprofen a few days after being home, but those first few days I was counting down the hours until I could get my next dose of meds, even though it seemed to do nothing.

I'm trying to remember my pre-pregnancy weight and I think it was around 155 or something, but I know I weighed in at 163 pounds at my first appointment for this pregnancy. I stepped on the scale today and was 172. Not too terrible for a week out. I've been eating relatively healthy foods, sticking to Greek yogurt and berries and spinach smoothies for breakfast, a lot of salads and fish for lunches and dinners. But I've also had my fair share of unhealthy foods- a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry's, pizza dinner, and Wendy's for lunch. Once my milk supply regulates I'll be rejoining Weight Watchers since I was successful last time using that to lose the baby weight. And after I get the all clear at my six week check up I'll start up with the elliptical and ab ripper again. For now I'm just trying to eat as healthy as I can, but still allowing myself treats and am going to start taking some longer walks with Tom and Tommy next week.

Here's me at one week post-partum. Not too bad, though I still look four or five months pregnant. I did pack away my maternity clothes yesterday because I don't want the temptation to wear oversized clothes and need some motivation to get back into my regular clothes. I'm still wearing yoga pants or leggings every day, but am back in my regular shirts. I'll eventually try squeezing myself into a pair of jeans, but for now I'll stick with my stretchy pants.

2 Year and 4 Year Well Visits

We have big girls. Literally.

I took both girls in this morning for their annual well visit. Both girls were excited to go to the doctor this morning and I had already warned Stasa that she would be getting shots, but told her to think of all of the cool bandaids she would get after the shots. Lexi doesn't normally enjoy going to the doctor and having people poke and prod her, but she was so well behaved today and I think it's because Stasa was with her.

Let's start with stats.

Stasa
Weight: 39 lbs (73rd percentile)
Height: 41.25" (71st percentile)

Lexi
Weight: 29 lbs 4 oz (80th percentile)
Height: 37" (99th percentile)
Head: 19" (70th percentile)

Stasa had her eyesight checked and it was perfect. Not surprising at all. The girl can see the tiniest airplane in the sky waaaaaaaay before I'm able to spot it. She's also got seasonal allergies, which is why she's just recently been sneezing and coughing. Poor thing. I was hoping none of the kids would suffer from allergies the way Tom and I do. Stas ended up with four vaccines, but only three shots. She looked a little worried about the shots, but sat on the nurse's lap, watched the shots go in, and didn't even flinch. Not a single tear. She was so proud of herself and loved every bandaid she got. She even thanked the nurses after her vaccines.

Lexi is TALL. They marked her down as 99th percentile for height, but really she's off the chart. The doctor recommended that we take her to see an allergist since her face breaks out after eating something tomato based. And she's ready to start dentist visits, too. I completely forgot to ask about her fear of the dark, but I did order a new night light that displays stars on the ceiling so we'll see if that helps. Lexi only got one shot and wasn't happy about it at all, but stopped crying the minute she got her Clifford bandaid.

Both girls were thrilled with their bandaids, but got even more excited when they were allowed to choose a toy from the big treasure chest. I really love our pediatricians and the nurses at the office. Everyone is so nice and the girls love all of the staff and doctors and the fun themed patient rooms. Next appointments will be in a year!

Lexi's 18 month appointment

This kid is getting so big too fast. First, stats:

Weight: 26 lbs 14 oz, 83rd percentile
Height: 34.75", off the charts
Head: 18.5", 63rd percentile

We knew she was getting taller and kept saying to each other "wow, look what she can reach!" But man! She grew just over 5" in six months!

She got two regularly scheduled vaccines and the flu shot and will get a few more at her two year check-up. Everything else looked good and the doctor had no concerns. I started counting her words on the way to the appointment, but kept thinking of more and losing count after 20, but over 20 words is great, so I didn't need to list all of them.

I'm happy she's healthy and happy and growing well. Next up: Stasa's flu shot and then eventual four year check-up.

The Stas at three years old

Weight: 36 lbs 2 oz: 86th percentile
Height: 40.2": 95th percentile
Head: 19.25"

We took Stas for her three year check up, a couple of months late. She ended up with one shot and actually thanked the nurses when they were done. Probably because they gave her a pretty Barbie band aid and band aids are like gold in this house.

The doctor told us it was time to have the "stranger talk" with Stas and mentioned something I hadn't even given thought to. He said usually parents tell their kids to find a policeman or policewoman when they're lost, but that doing that isn't always the most practical thing since there aren't cops literally everywhere. He said we should tell our kids to find a mommy because there is probably at least one mommy anywhere you go. He said to focus on looking for mommies since most predators (especially those snatching little girls) are usually men. Yes, that's a huge stereotype, but in my opinion it's largely correct. So when we're out and about we should point out mommies to her and tell her why they're a mommy; they have a stroller with a baby, they're pregnant, they have kids with them, etc. And then once we've done that a couple of times we should start pointing out mommies and then asking Stasa to tell us why she's a mommy. So we'll tell her to look for either a mommy or a policeman or policewoman if she doesn't see either of us. We also need to take her to our local fire department so she can see a fireman in his/her full gear since kids are generally scared of them if they haven't seen them before.

She's ONE

Last night as a "baby."


Happy birthday, baby!


I know, I know. It's belated, but I've been too tired in the evenings to blog. And I don't even have a lot of pictures from the big day, but it was fun. We went with a carnival/circus theme for Miss Lexi's first birthday. The decorations were mostly just brightly colored tablecloths and balloons and little hangy down guys for the ceiling.



We served a lot of "carnival" fare: sausages, chicken-on-a-stick, corn dogs, popcorn, caramel apples, candy, soft pretzels...I really wanted to have cotton candy, but that seemed like a mess to deal with, so we ended up with a candy bar and cupcakes. Speaking of cupcakes, Lexi didn't seem to mind at all when everyone sang to her and just sat patiently with her eye on her own cupcake. As soon as we placed the cupcake on her tray she dug in. Quietly and slowly eating every bite. So different from Stasa's full on meltdown at her first birthday.




I love celebrating the girls' birthdays in a big way because I think birthdays are so special and it's fun to have a whole day just about you (of course I have a whole month for me, but what are you gonna do?). I was shocked that we didn't get a single repeat book or toy and Lexi loves every single thing she got. It's interesting to see Stasa with Lexi's birthday gifts - she knows that they're Lexi's and knows that she has to ask to play with them. We're trying to teach her to share and that not everything is hers - I know, tough world, right?

So, what's next for the Lexifer? Well, she's officially on cow's milk during the day and I nurse her at night. I was going to try to plan out a weaning schedule for the night nursing, but I think she'll just wean naturally so I'm just going to go with the flow. We are working on getting her used to a sippy instead of a bottle and she's not too thrilled with that. At all. In fact, if I'm in the room she throws her sippy at me. But then she gets thirsty enough to pick it up and drink from it. I win.

We took both girls in for their annual check ups together and here are Lexi's one year stats:
Weight: 22 lbs 9 oz: 78th percentile
Height: 29.5": 62nd percentile
Head: 18": 68th percentile

Getting to be a big girl.

Finally, a regular doctor visit

Regular, as in, previously scheduled, as in, well baby visit. No more sick visits. What's that noise? Yeah, that's me. I'm furiously knocking on wood.

Back to the well baby visit. We went in for Lexi's 9 month check-up and all is well in Lexi-land. Let's start with her stats:

Weight: 19.6 lbs (58th percentile)
Height: 29" (85th percentile)
Head: 17.5" (57th percentile)

She ended up getting one vaccination and took it like a pro. They did a toe-stick, too, to check for anemia and apparently she's slightly anemic, which isn't too surprising since 1. I usually test as slightly anemic (and am a definite anemic when pregnant and probably while breastfeeding, too) and 2. the iron she's getting from my breastmilk usually depletes around the 9 month mark. They told me to add rice cereal to her diet and they'll retest her at her one year appointment. So, there you have it. She's healthy and won't go back until she's one. ONE!

The Sick Attacks...aka why we've been MIA

It's been a little chaotic around here the past week or so. Stasa woke up one night coughing so hard she puked so I took her in to see the doctor the next day. And let me note - she had no other symptoms beyond a slight runny nose that just started and the cough. No fever. No whining. No appetite loss. Nothing.

She tested positive for RSV.

So she stayed home and we started nebulizer treatments every 4 hours during the day and every 6 at night and were told to come back in a couple of days so they could check her lungs. We were also told to monitor Lexi since RSV spreads fast and that we shouldn't be surprised if she ended up with it. Which she did. Between both kids, we've gone to the doctor for follow-ups every other day. Seriously. So many visits to check their lungs. And we're finally getting out of the woods. Both girls were cleared for daycare this week and we're weaning them off of the nebulizer. Just in time for Christmas.

Needless to say, it's been a looooooong week home with both girls. Thankfully Tom and I were able to tag team so we could both get some work done, too. And during that week, Lexi mastered a new trick. Standing Baby. She can stand all by herself for about half a minute and she's cruising like it's her job. Little sister is FAST.

I'll leave you with these pictures as I have to frantically clean the house before guests start arriving. Oh yeah, and wrap presents.





TEETH!



"I'm workin, Mommy. I work with Daddy."


Baby cruisin':

27 Weeks Old and some stats

6 month stats:
Weight: 16 lbs 3 oz, 50th percentile
Height: 27", 90th percentile
Head: 16.5", 50th percentile

4 month well visit

What a nice day, even if it was a bit muggy. Stasa even got to play outside like 3 or 4 times at school and we took her out again after dinner.


Both girls were exhausted by 7:00, so much so that Lexi fell asleep while we were blowing bubbles.


And speaking of Little Lexi, I took her in for her 4 month well visit this morning. She was in the best mood and put on quite a show for Dr. Cooper. Let's start with her stats:
Weight: 13lbs 13 oz (juuuuuuuust over the 50th percentile)
Height: 26.5" (95th percentile!)
Head: 15.75" (juuuuuuuuust under the 25th percentile)

She got a few vaccinations - 2 shots and an oral and took them like a champ. She showed off her rolling skills and once she was on her belly she was scooting all over the place. Dr. Cooper thinks she's going to be an early crawler and should be sitting up soon with her good back control. While we were there I mentioned Stasa's hitting and biting and told her how we put her in time out, for how long, and where and how we try to keep from yelling. She reassured me that we're doing everything right and that she should eventually grow out of this phase, but that she's not surprised that she's being the aggressor at home since she was bitten at daycare. So all in all a great appointment.

2 Month Well Baby Visit

I took Lexi for her 2 month well baby visit this morning and the little darling decided to scream the entire way there and through the whole appointment. She was surprisingly quiet on the ride home - probably so tired from all that lovely crying.

Anyway, here were her 2 week stats:
weight: 8lbs 12oz
height: 21.5"
head: 14.4"

And today's stats:
weight: 12lbs 7oz
height: 24"
head: 15.25"

She L-O-N-G and is above average on the growth charts. She's still not sleeping through the night, but I don't expect her to for a few more months. Hopefully she starts sleeping longer though. Last night, or rather this morning she was up at 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, and 8:00.

Lexi also got her 2 month vaccines: 3 shots (DTaP, Hib, Polio, Hep B, and PCV) and 1 oral (Rotavirus). She doesn't go back until she's 4 months old.

When I told the doctor I was planning to drive to Chicago with both girls (and that Lexi hates her car seat) she laughed at me and said I was crazy. LOL

2 Week Well Baby Visit (and a sick visit for Stasa)

birth stats:
weight: 7lbs 14oz
height: 20.75"
head: 13.75"

discharge stats:
weight: 7lbs 4oz
height: 20.75"
head: 13.75"

today's stats:
weight: 8lbs 12oz!
height: 21.5"!
head: 14.4"!

Obviously Lexi's eating well and growing fast. The doctor was quite impressed with her growth and said she looks great. She's been congested and sounds like Darth Vader when she eats, but the doctor said that was completely normal for newborns and to put the humidifier in her room.

Stasa woke up this morning around 3:00 to have her diaper changed. Tom put her back in bed and around 4:00 she vomited allllllllllll over herself and her bed. I woke up hearing running water and found Tom cleaning up Stasa and her room. She wasn't crying and was just walking around talking to Tom while he cleaned. Of course at that point we were all wide awake (except for Lexi - miracles do exist!) so we took Stasa into the play room to watch some cartoons and relax. During that "relaxing" period she puked a few more times. Last night's lasagna was everywhere. As soon as she was done throwing up, she was totally fine - no fever, no crying, nothing. I called the pediatrician's office as soon as they opened to see if they could see Stasa while we were there for Lexi's well baby visit. Thankfully Dr. Cooper could see both girls at the same time. She did a strep test which came back negative, so she said it's most likely a 24 hour stomach virus. We've just got to keep her hydrated with Pedialyte, Gatorade, or flat gingerale and feed her crackers or toast for the next 24 hours. As soon as we got home Stasa passed out. I'm hoping she gets a long nap in since she was up so long this morning. And here's hoping she feels better soon.

Alone, for now

Tom left this morning for Jersey City to attend a friend's wedding. Our original plan was for me and Stas to go, too, but that was before I realized I would be 37 weeks pregnant and before my doctor said no more travel. So, it's just me and the Stas until Saturday afternoon/evening. We'll more than likely be laying low because I'm quickly running out of energy each day, but on Saturday we've got plans to meet Lauren and Audrey at Port Discovery in Baltimore. It's a giant (and I mean GIANT) indoor play space with 3 separate levels. 


I have my next appointment tomorrow and will probably get an internal/cervical check even though it really doesn't mean anything since you can be a fingertip dilated one day and deliver the next or be 3 cm dilated for weeks. But I'm impatient and want to know if I've had any progress at all. I think the baby dropped this past weekend because my heartburn isn't nearly as bad and I have to pee every 5 minutes. I'll be 37 weeks this Saturday which makes me officially full term so I'll definitely be getting my hospital bag together just in case. Hopefully this baby decides to stay put until at least Sunday - I would not want to have to call Tom to have him rush home from New Jersey. Of course I've probably jinxed myself already and this baby won't come until I'm a week overdue. 

2 Years Old

Stasa turned 2 on the 15th and went to her first annual check-up today. 


Stats:
30 lbs (75th-90th percentile)
34" tall (50th percentile)
19" head (75th percentile)


All in all a good sized little girl. We got the green light to switch her to 2% milk, so now we only have to buy one type of milk (yay!). Tom also asked about her refusing dinner some nights and the doctor said it was okay as long as she's getting a good breakfast and lunch. Tom said she was showing off a bit and talked through the whole appointment. 


I do have some pictures from her birthday brunch and will post those soon - I've been a bit lazy about downloading pictures this week.

Happy 1/2 birthday, Stasa! (aka 18 months old)

Today Stasa is 18 months old. 


We went to her 18 month appointment yesterday; wanna know her stats?
28 lbs (95th! percentile, yes, you read that right NINETY-FIFTH, as in only 5% of little girls her age are bigger than her)
33" tall (75th percentile)
18.2" head (50th percentile)


I really think she's going to be at least 5'8" or 5'9" as an adult. They say you can double their height at 2 years old and get a good idea of their adult height. 




Part of my conversation with Dr. Hunter:
Dr. Hunter: Does she scribble?
Me: Oh, boy does she scribble.
DH: Is she drinking from a cup?
Me: She's been drinking from a sippy since 9 months and she can take a few sips from a regular cup.
DH: Can she point to her body parts?
Me: She can point to her nose, head, belly and feet. We're still working on the other parts.
DH: Does she have at least 7 words? 
Me: Yep.
DH: Which ones?
Me: Mommy, daddy, duckie, doggie, yes...wait, does it count as a word if she says something that's not a real word, but does have meaning?
DH: Like what?
Me: Like she says "bah-boo" and totally means ball or says "bee" for her bears.
DH: No, those don't really count.
Me: Well, she definitely has at least 7 words.
DH: Okay...can she climb into a chair?
Me: Psh, she's part monkey. She can climb up on most anything.
::laughs::
DH: Is she eating okay?
Me: Well, she's picky, but not like picky-picky, just toddler picky. She eats a lot.
DH: What's a lot?
Me: Well, most days she eats the lunch we pack and then also eats 1/2 of someone else's lunch.
DH: She really doesn't need to be eating more than 1 lunch.
Me: So, when do you think we can say "what's on your plate is it for dinner"?
DH: She's big enough you can say that now. 


Poor Stasa, she needs to put down the fork. She also got 3 shots, but I've already forgotten which ones (bad bad mom) and she won't need any more vaccinations until she's 4. I was told over and over again how healthy looking she was. And Dr. Hunter literally laughed when she saw Stasa's little potbelly. 


Stas was not at all happy with getting shots, but cheered right up when her favorite nurse let her choose a toy. She chose a little plastic Spongebob and a Highlights magazine. 



So all in all, it was a good appointment. We don't go back until Stas is 2 years old. 


Oh and yesterday evening, after I told Tom about the vocabulary discussion, we counted up her "real" words: mommy, daddy, duckie, doggie, yes, i did and then we forgot the rest. But then this morning we both looked at each other and were like "SHOE"! If you count her Stasa-language words that have meaning, she has a much larger vocabulary. I guess we'll have to work on enunciating more and practicing with her.