Busy weekend!!

We made a quick trip to Edmonton this weekend for a big Birthday bash. Carson and Sydney shared a B-day so the whole family could be there. We finally got to see our nephew Robbie again so that was great, what a cute little fella. The highlight of the entire trip for me was seeing the two babies interacting and playing with fridge magnet letters. They were so cute together. I forgot my camera so I wasn't able to capture the two of them playing and I am kicking myself. I will have to get some pictures from Heather or my Mom and post them. Kailey was thrown into a situation that I knew would be difficult for her based on past experiences. She is quite sensitive and seeing a room full of people that she didn't recognize spooked her and she cried for the first 10-15 minutes or so, but she got over it and was a very good girl for the rest of the day/night. She turned 8 months old on Saturday & she got another tooth(bottom left). Since being home she is playing with her solids again....grrrrrr. Blowing raspberries with a mouth full of food seems to excite her unfortunately.

The outfit in the picture is one she got from the Dog Club baby shower. I have been waiting patiently for her to fit into this one as it is one of my favorites. Thanks Dave and Dianne. :-)

Last, but not least, is a video I took of Kailey laughing. I thought it was funny and may brighten your day.

http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p220/sjrugg/video/?action=view&current=2a9a0e33.flv

Chicken Breast a Success!!!

I introduced K-Bear to chicken this afternoon. I wanted to see if she would take it 'straight' and to my shock she did. Her first bite she was shocked and was trying to figure out if she should spit it out or not, but she then made the mmm mmm sound and ate the full cube (2 TBSP) and was disappointed when the veggies were up next. All it was was baked plain chicken breast blended with water...boring.

this is her first bite - do I spit it out or not she says?!

Marley shares Kailey's ride.

This evening I took Kailey and Marley for a walk. She is cutting her second tooth so she is a tad grumpy and this made her happy. Marley wanted to come so I thought I would try him in her basket since he cannot walk because of his heart condition. He loooved it. He fit perfectly in there and when we were moving he just curled up and relaxed with his head hanging out. He jumped in with no problem and when we got back home he jumped out and headed for the front door. What was funny was this little girl was out walking with her Mom and she screamed from across the street, "look Mommy a puppy!". The Mom quickly corrected her and told her that was a baby not a puppy. I told her there was a dog on board and she cracked up. The little girl was maybe three and was short enough to see Marley. Too Funny.

I am wondering if the yogurt is making her Eczema worse. I am going to take her off it for a few days and see if the redness goes away. She is totally flared up right now and I think it is starting to bother her. :-( I know the Pediatrician said that it is not diet related but it is worth a try to see if it calms down. I wonder if teething is contributing to it...hmmmm. She doesn't have the diaper rash but I wonder if this is part of that. I didn't really notice it until lately (the last couple of weeks).

I made up a tray of pureed chicken breast for her to try tomorrow. Like a fool I tried it...why do I do this? It, of course, was rank. Not sure what she will think of this because it was such a strange consistency. I will let her try it on its own and failing that, I will mix it with something yummy.

Kailey's Appointment

Kailey had her appointment this afternoon with the Dr. from the Stollery. He thinks she has Acid Reflux, or a form of it so he gave us a prescription to fill and use when her symptoms start up. She will be on the meds for a week only and then I am to report back to him how it went. Failing that, he is suspecting migraines. She is 20 lbs 8 oz and is a extremely tall (I forgot the exact number but she is wayyyy off the chart for height and is in the low 90th for weight). She is basically built like Tyra Banks...she has a booty just like her too. hahaha. She had a blast at the appointment and charmed everyone she saw. Trying to get a weight on her was tricky since she was kicking like mad. He looked at her flat spot and said it is fine and pretty minor compared to most he has seen. He said that this generation will be full of 'flat-headed' people because of the back to sleep rule. So the only ones that seem concerned are a couple of the Health Nurses here. He also mentioned that she is at the age that she can start to have what we are having for supper just blended up. (within reason as we like a few 'bad' things). If we have lasagna for instance it is fine to blend that up (so it would appear that I need to start cooking because I cannot remember even cooking lasagna ever...maybe early in our relationship when I was trying to impress Jack with my culinary skills I may have made this). He said salt and sugar are the bad spices but anything else is fine for her....weird. She is not to have even a taste of Homo milk until after a year old because of the milk allergies in my family. The bad news is her eczema. He figures she will have problems with this in her toddler years and will hopefully grow out of it. :-( It is the hereditary type and not related to diet or contact eczema (phew, I thought maybe it was the dogs). I guess he can tell this by looking at the spots. She has a few spots on her shoulders, in the folds of her arms and legs and on her chest. He gave me a prescription for a cortisone cream that I am only to fill if absolutely necessary. He said that the worst thing that we can do is let her air dry after a bath. While she is still damp we need to slather cream on her to act as a moisture barrier. Funny thing is her bum is totally clear, even after cutting a tooth. I know she wakes up from her naps and in the morning pretty sweaty so that can't be helping much.

After the appointment I took her to work to see where our new offices are, she thought that was pretty cool. She was trying to help Chris 'fix' a computer. She thought it was so neat to see her Dad there too. She cried at first when Brad had her on his lap but she got over it and then wanted to taste test his glasses. She loves to go cruising that's for sure.

Parker and the binky...

I just had to share this one with you all. Kailey chucked her binky clear across the living room and Parker claimed it as his. He was downright mean to the other dogs if they even looked at him while he had it.

Say What?!

So here is one for you all!? Kailey preferred her bottles to solids yesterday...go figure. Carrots and apple and blueberries were on the menu and she basically blew raspberries every spoonful until I just gave up and left the solids alone by mid afternoon. She sprayed me, the wall, herself, the dogs and the highchair was covered in multi-colored dots and if it wasn't a gift, I would have burned it rather than clean that colossal mess (that is a little extreme I guess). So frustrating. She started today off trying that business again so I ignored her and put her food in the fridge when she would do this. I had to do this a few times before she would take a bite like a good girl. She got a big praise for her normal bites and now she is back on track. So what the heck was that about? Thank God I have tons of dog training experience - I know how that sounds, but positive reinforcement techniques apply to all situations. ;-) I took her to The Woof Inn to pick up a Halti for Zoe and Jackie couldn't believe how tall she is now. She is one tall chicky that is for sure. She is really lean and lanky right now (except her booty - that is still chunky hahaha). We spent a couple of hours at the Marina again too.

The picture of her in the stroller was taken yesterday. I just got her belted in and the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up so she was in the stroller for a total of 2 minutes, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of her because she was so happy to be out and then I crushed her when I had to put her back in the car right away. There were some tears shed so I took her to the mall and we went to Sobey's to pick up some produce. Note to self and all the other novice Mom's: Do not park the stroller where babe can reach a piece of fruit on the bottom of the lovely produce display because a fruit 'Niagara falls' will occur and you will be so embarrassed that your face will turn as red as the fountain of apples cascading to the ground...lovely lesson learned. :-(

K-Bear is feeling better!!

She was pretty pumped that we went to Wal-Mart this afternoon. I think she has a major case of cabin fever between her being sick and then the horrible weather we have been couped up in the house for the past few days. Yahooooo, Wal-Mart rocks!!! Whatever. She ran out of oatmeal and I needed to pick up some formula before they ran out again (that is always good for a panic attack). I found her some Farley teething cookie things that were a hit right away until she leaned over the high chair and 'gave' it to Zoe who loved it as well. She wasn't happy when she pulled back her hand and it was gone. Maybe she just wanted to show Zoe what she had. Yeah....total mess these things are that is for sure but they are hard enough that she cannot get chunks off of them and apparently these are ok for babies that are able to tolerate wheat cereal. I thought I would try one to see what all the fuss was about and that was the most boring cookie I have ever had...yuck. Zoe got my cookie as well. ;-)

Kailey's first tooth!!!

I was bathing her just now and was wiping her face when she grabbed my hand and bit me and to my surprise I felt something sharp. She cut her first tooth sometime within the last 12 hours because I checked her before bed. It is her bottom right. Yahoooooo. I noticed in the last couple of days she has been relentless with shoving anything (even Zoe's tail...yuck) in her mouth and biting down hard & now I know why. Thankfully she has no diaper rash, but she does have a rash under her chin. So some of her cold symptoms may have been exaggerated by teething symptoms. On another note....The Stollery called us and she is seeing the Dr. Monday afternoon so I am excited as this has been a long time coming. I am anxious to hear what he has to say that is for sure.

Kailey's Nan visits!!!

I cannot believe how fast the weekend went. Mom came Friday afternoon and left this morning. It was great to see her and Kailey totally remembered her too so that was awesome. Kailey was really 'performing' for her. We took Kailey to the Marina and to the beach so I could show Mom how she loves the swings but, of course, by the time we walked there she was sawing logs. She is feeling a ton better but still has some coughing episodes that sound horrible and a ton of snot is still pouring out of her. YU-UCK!! Mom asked if we needed anything that she could bring from Edmonton that we cannot get here so she came loaded down with organic baby food (66 jars) and 4 massive boxes of wipes from Costco. Kailey tried some beans and brown rice today and she loved it. Basically, this kid will eat anything we put in front of her so long as there is no nipple involved. Trying to get her to drink is a real challenge right now especially with her stuffy nose. Here are some pictures of Kailey and her Nan. I miss her already. :-( So does Kailey.

update

Kailey slept 11 hours last night so she is obviously on the mend. I could hear her coughing off and on all night through the monitor, but when I would go in to check on her she would be sound asleep. She woke up happy and drank her bottle ok so I am thinking the ear tugging was just her being tired rather than an infection. She still has a nasty cough and a runny nose so I am keeping an eye on her. She is down for her nap already so I guess she is fighting this by sleeping it off. Wouldn't you know it....Wal-Mart ran out of her formula (the concentrate) so we bought the powder to try and she doesn't like it. Maybe she was just tired and wasn't hungry, but I doubt that considering she ate half a jar of pears in record time instead. I have three bottles left made with the concentrate so Jack is going to check Wal-Mart again today to see if it is in. Lesson learned: do not wait until you have one can left before buying a new case. I am so glad she changed channels on her 'new, not improved' eating technique. She has been really studying us eating and now she thinks she needs to chew, as in chew for the entire feeding duration. The minute I would set the bowl down she would start chewing so you would have to aim the spoon just right and time it perfectly...annoying. She is back to normal with that one...phew. What she is still doing the odd time though is blowing raspberries with a mouth full of food and then examining the 'dots' she just made on the tray and the wall beside her. When she is done poking them she then takes her open hand and rubs them away...what a mess.

Kailey says 'Mum'

Not that she really knows what she is saying, but I was totally pumped when I heard her say 'Mum'. I guess you can say that it was a bright spot on a rather crappy day. :-) Everyday I have been saying to her, "say Mom..mom..mom". Very cool. Click the link below to hear for yourself. You will have to disregard the runny nose.

http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p220/sjrugg/video/?action=view&current=MVI_3653.flv

I may be taking her to the Dr. tomorrow as she was starting to tug at her one ear tonight - maybe an ear infection. I sure hope not the poor thing. She sometimes tugs on her ears when she is really tired so it might have been that. I am hoping she wakes up feeling a ton better. I am prepared for another sleepless night, but maybe she just needs some major sleep to get over this. She took three massive naps today and woke up happy for the last couple, but within minutes it was like a faucet was turned on...eyes and nose dripping.

C'mon...you've got to be kidding me!

**12:50pm - update**
-If I thought Kailey hated her bottle before, try shoving a ton of snot up her nose and see how much she likes to suck on the bottle. This will be a loooong day. I ended up giving her some formula in a cup (an regular drinking cup) and mixing as much as I could with her squash so it would stay on the spoon. Still only a fraction of her bottle got in her. I know I need to keep fluids in her, but what they didn't mention is how the hell I am supposed to do that. Are Moms given some sort of special powers that make them hang on when all seems lost? Jack was ready to snap after two and a half hours with her last night so I could take a bath, do the dishes and prepare the next days bottles *sigh*. What is it about Moms? We are certainly blessed with some superhuman powers aren't we?

I think it is time that Kailey and I get a break. She now has my wicked cold/flu thing. She started to cough and had a runny nose last night and then the big 'boom' happened and 10pm...massive crying/screaming, tears and mucus running down her face. She is sick. She was up every hour crying and coughing for at least 20 min stretches. I mean every hour from 10pm until wake up time this morning at 7am. To say I am tired is an understatement. Between her eating problems and now this...when can I just sit back and enjoy her? She has been through enough I think. Whoever is in charge of this universe can maybe cut us some slack anytime...that would be great. So what was that massive vomiting? was it part of this flu? I do know that all the other times I thought her eating/throwing up issues were a result of her having a cold I was dead wrong. This is definitely her first cold/illness. Thankfully the Tempra is working and she is having a nap right now. She doesn't have a fever and she did drink most of her bottle this morning and whatever she had left I made into a soupy oatmeal/banana mixture. She spent an hour in the hip hammock snuggled into my chest. Anytime I would show her a mirror she would start to cry. I feel so sorry for her. :-(

Cute video

I made this video of Kailey eating some of my apple a while ago...thankfully before this flu thing. I think from here on in I will be cutting her a piece just to be safe. I am a tad worried about her. She woke up from her nap with a really runny nose and a cough so I am wondering if she has allergies. She is better now but it seems after every nap she coughs and rubs her nose and eyes for about an hour or so. hmmmm.

http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p220/sjrugg/video/?action=view&current=MVI_3594.flv

Is there anything harder?

Is there anything harder than being totally ill and having to look after a baby. OMG. I have been feeling crummy, but this morning topped it all. I was barfing non stop and trying to look after her at the same time. It got so bad that I was feeding her in her chair with one hand and holding a bowl with the other. There were several times that I ended up having to put her in the crib. AWFUL doesn't quite cut it. I am feeling better but I am very weak and scared to carry her anywhere for fear of dropping her. She feels like she weighs 100 lbs. today. I can kind of laugh about this now. While I was getting sick she was kind of mimicking me and laughing her chubby little but off. Like I was doing this all for her pure entertainment. hahaha. Luckily she is in a wonderful mood and has been spending a lot of the time sitting and playing with her toys. I cannot imagine if this happened a few days ago when she was so ill. I am pretty sure that this bug is what she had. I guess I will play it by ear and see how she does in the next couple of weeks. She is enjoying her bottles right now. While she is sucking she is rolling her eyes back and rubbing her cheek with a blanket. She is taking her sweet time finishing though so I am thinking maybe the nipple is a little slower on this bottle than the Avent ones. She has only a fraction of the gas that she usually has by the end of the day so I am definitely going to stick with these for now.

I put her in a cute little onsie and despite being sick I just had to take some pictures. She looks like a little Easter egg in it.

She is back...for now.

I haven't posted in a while because since the last post life has been totally awful. She has been in pain worse than I have ever seen. Basically crying all day with little 5 minute breaks of silence. Luckily she slept through the nights as per normal, so at least I had that. I am not sure if this was in fact a bottle issue, or if this was a flu/cold. Jack and I are sick as dogs right now with very sore throats so this would explain the refusal to drink. I know that I do not want to even swallow air...ouch. I have her on a different set of bottles and I am happy with the outcome so far. They are the playtex drop ins. I feel like I am doing something when I can actually hear the air being squeezed out before I feed her and the other plus for me is that I no longer have to wash bottles...yay. The liners are sterilized and are not like the older bag system that are a royal pain to fill. This is sac with a rigid ring that catches on the bottle rim. She took to the nipple right away which also surprised me. She is also eating solids no problem and has yet to refuse anything that I have put in front of her (oh yeah, Rice she hates). She is almost back to normal so I took her to the Marina and the beach today and she was having a blast people watching. I got myself an Ice Cap and sat on the patio and she drank some water from her straw cup and she was chatting about life....hahaha. It was pretty funny. Like the two of us went for coffee. I guess I will have to wait it out to determine if this was related to her formula before I try the Hypoallergenic brand. AHHHHH!!! When will this end? Maybe the specialist will call by the time she is 18...then again maybe not. I am so desperate that I am even considering trying to re lactate. Not sure why I think that this would work this time when I failed the first time. If I could have predicted the future I would have tried 'harder'?! I don't know. I guess I am grasping.