Monday, August 10, 2009

We're moving!

In two ways!

We found a bigger place here in Wichita- it's a duplex, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, with a backyard (not fenced in, unfortunately) and a garage (!!!!!!!!!!!). We're signing the lease at the end of this week, and D-husband's parents are coming to help us move.

I also found a new site for us to post updates, photos and videos. It's called Shutterfly, and here's our link:

http://midwestlegers.shutterfly.com/

This site will still be up, of course, but I'll be posting there from now on! Sayonara :)

Monday, July 27, 2009

I'll have whatever you're having.

H-bear the drool-machine has been super interested in whatever we're eating or drinking, we recently gave her her first taste of rice cereal. She really seems to enjoy it, but still has trouble swallowing any of it. Babies have a very strong reflex to spit things out of their mouths, but eventually she will outgrow that. We've been working on it a little everyday.

The video of that first feeding will be posted soon. We took about 7 minutes of video, and you don't need to watch all of it so we're editting it down a bit.

Like I said, she's also been very curious about things we're drinking. I gave her a cup to play with, which she really enjoyed. Check out the tongue...


A few weeks ago she started rolling over from her tummy to her back. That was pretty easy, and she's gotten pretty quick with that.

She just recently started going from her back to her tummy. That took a little work. The arm kept getting in the way. For a few nights in a row, she woke us up crying and we found her rolled over part-way, and too tired and frustrated to go back to sleep on her own. Within a few days she got the hang of it, and now she is sleeping all night again, and most mornings we find her sleeping on her tummy.



She has come a long way recently in sitting up. She can sit up unassisted now for 20-30 seconds or so before she falls sideways or backward. As long as she has a toy or something in her hands to occupy her attention, she does pretty well.

I gave her a new toothbrush to play with the other day. I'm not sure if she liked it or not.


We bought her first shoes the other day! Two pairs, actually. Before she was born I always thought it would be pointless to buy baby shoes before they can walk. Well, having a baby changes your opinion on a lot of things...and they're so cute!



Not much else is new. She continues to surprise us with her strength and curiousity, and her ability to show preferences for certain things. We'll get that video up soon!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

4-month measurements

Height: 25 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 14 lbs. 4 oz. (61st percentile)
Head circumference: 17.5 inches (99th percentile!!)

H-bear did very well, and showed Dr. Arensdorf how well she can hold up her head, and bear weight on her legs. Then she got her second round of shots, and didn't like them any better than the first. :(

We got the green light to try some rice cereal, but nothing else until she gets used to swallowing solid (or at least mushy) cereal. So no more peaches for awhile.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

4 months and 3 days

H-bear was so cute this morning. I was in her room refilling the humidifier (she's not coughing anymore, but we're still using it as a preventitive measure) as quietly as I could, and she kind of halfway opened her eyes. I said, "Hello, H-bear! Good morning!" but then her eyes slowly drooped closed again and her mouth curved into a little smile, and she was asleep again.

I was thinking about the first few weeks of her life. When she couldn't do anything but eat and poop, and squint her eyes at the cold air and bright lights. She couldn't smile, or babble to us, or grab a toy and chew on it, or do any of the things that make up her little personality. She was a little stranger who needed every minute of our attention and love. Now she's starting to tell us her likes and dislikes, and show that she wants every bit of independence she can get. It's only been 4 months, but it feels like years. Yikes!

She can grab her feet while laying on her back now...and even get them into her mouth. It's pretty impressive!


She is not sitting up on her own yet, but I got out our high chair the other day, just for fun. She can sit in it by herself by holding onto the bars (with the tray removed). She seemed to like it. :)








We have been letting her sample a little of our food lately. Very carefully, of course. We hold onto it, and make sure she can't chew off little pieces or anything. The first few things, I think they were cucumber and watermelon, which she did not like at all! She gave them both a little lick, and just grimaced. Apple slices she liked a little better, but peaches were the big hit.

Unfortunately she also showed a lot of interest in D-husband's bottle of beer. She could just smell it from the the top of the bottle, and seemed very intrigued (and tried to eat the bottle).

Here are some other new pictures:



Sitting up in the Boppy pillow



Yes, they're baby sunglasses. :)


I tried to get a picture of her yawning, but I just got the very end of it. What a goofy face!

Big smile!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Warning: Sticky subject

There has been an abrupt change in H-bear's poop habits. She has gone from pooping two or three times per day to pooping every other day. We expected this as a normal part of her developement. Of course, the amount of poo every time she goes has increased significantly. WOW.

In my online wandering I found this remedy for diarrhea that I just wanted to keep for my own future reference:

The "BRATTY" Diet
Bananas
Rice
Applesauce
Toast
Tea
Yogurt

Thursday, June 25, 2009

A few quick updates

H-bear has been changing in quite a few little ways lately...

She is very close to sitting up on her own. We sit her up in her Boppy pillow, and she can now hold up her upper body very well, and just bounces off the sides a little. She also leans forward from this position to look at her feet. She hasn't tried to grab them yet, but she definitely likes to look at them.

I think she really enjoys this, too, but recently she seems to like sitting in her pillow more than sitting in my lap or D-husband's. Whenever we hold her for too long, even with toys or something to entertain her, she whines and squirms until we put her in the pillow or on her tummy. She is so anxious to be mobile!

She is well on her way to crawling. When she's on her tummy she does a sort of "caterpillar crawl" by pulling her legs up under her and scooting her upper body forward. She can't do this while holding her head up though, so she doesn't go too fast. This photo is a little blurry, but you get the idea.



I'm pretty sure it's too early for her to be teething, but she has gotten more interested in putting anything and everything in her mouth. Number one favorite at the moment: mommy and daddy's fingers. Must taste better than her own, though she still loves her thumb. She likes to gnaw on her toys, too, but gets a little frustrated when they don't fit into her mouth.

She is becoming more vocal and making new noises, too. She babbles quite a bit now, especially during diaper changes. Just this morning, actually, she started trying out a new sound. She presses her lips together and says "mmm"...she's still doing it now, in fact! She's really close to laughing, too, which is very cute.

She also just had her first little cold (we think). Sometime last week she started coughing a little- a very dry, raspy cough. It wasn't very often, just a few times a day. We took her temperature evey few hours, and the highest it got was 99.5. She didn't have a runny nose or anything else to be worried about, but after the coughing lasted a few days we decided to call the doctor's office. We spoke with a nurse, who told us that a humidifier in her room should help, and to call back if she got worse, got a runny nose or fever, or refused to eat. We went out and bought a humidifier, but as luck would have it, she stopped coughing that day, so we haven't bothered to use it.

She is doing very well in her crib, sleeping 10 to 12 hours every night....which is wonderful! Still taking a few naps during the day, of course. She is always is such a great mood when she's well-rested. Mornings are the best time of day...she smiles so much!

Here's a few new pictures:

She obviously doesn't need us anymore. :(



Turn up your volume for this video...the audio is essential :)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Trip to LC, the cousins finally meet, and baptism!!

Our trip to Lake Charles this past weekend was great! What a whirlwind trip.

We arrived Friday night, and H-bear had a really rough time going to sleep. We figured it was a combination of getting up early that morning (to drop D-husband off at work), the two flights, and all the new people waiting at the house. She was pretty wound up, and not happy about it. :(

On Saturday, we had to wait patiently for H-bear and J's awake times to coincide...H-bear woke up just as J was taking her morning nap, and just as she woke up, H-bear decided it was time for hers! Finally they were awake at the same time. J is almost nine months old now, while H-bear is only about three, so the interaction was pretty one-sided. Still very cute to watch though.

We got Darrell's for lunch, and afterward at the house we spent the rest of the afternoon with visitors and family who stopped by. H-bear got a little overwhelmed at times by all the attention and new faces, but mostly she seemed to enjoy it. After Mr. Gatti's pizza for dinner, D-husband and I, and some friends, went to Lauberge casino. Had a great time, but stayed out a little too late.

Sunday afternoon we headed to church for the baptism! We still can't believe how well H-bear did...the whole time the deacon was speaking, she just stared at him, and when he poured the water over the top of her head, she just stuck her thumb in her mouth and looked at something on the ceiling. Lots of friends and family in attendance...so lots of picture-taking afterward!

After that, we all went to D-husband's uncle's house for barbeque. It was nice to see everyone and get a chance to catch up, and let H-bear get passed around a little. It's tough for me not to have her all the time, but she does really well with it, and I'm sure it's good for her.

That evening D-husband and I went to a movie, and then got to eat the top of our wedding cake, which his parents had been saving for us in the freezer! The icing was exactly the same, but the cake was a little dense. Not bad though!

We're back at home now, and once again settling back into our routine. Wichita is getting hot! Three days this week are forecasted over 100 degrees...yuck. More news later!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Trip to PHX, new sleeping arrangements, and 3 months!

Our trip to Phoenix was great! H-bear did SO well on the plane…slept through take-off and landing, and only fussed a little (when we changed her diaper). It was overcast and rainy when we arrived…perfect AZ weather!

We paid visits to all our favorite restaurants and places: In N Out Burger, Filibertos, Native New Yorker, etc. We rode the lightrail (it opened just a few days after we left last year!), visited my high school band director, went to a game night, and saw Star Trek. H-bear got through all of this very easily. I was initially worried about how she would handle all the new faces, but she seemed to enjoy all the attention so much that by the time we left, I was afraid she’d be bored going back to our old routine in Wichita!

I had also wondered how H-bear and my old dog, Duke, would react to each other. Duke gave her a little sniff the day we arrived, and didn’t pay anymore attention to her after that. H-bear never really noticed him at all. :)

Out of the five nights we spent in Phoenix, we only had to put H-bear to sleep for two of them. We definitely took advantage of the free baby-sitting to spend some evenings with our old friends. Thankfully she didn’t give my mom any trouble, and slept through all five nights without a hitch.

I guess it's kind of old news now...she's been sleeping through the night for almost a month! She figured out how to suck her thumb, and because of that, literally "overnight" she was able to sleep eight hours! Now when she wakes up in the middle of the night she can soothe herself back to sleep without me. For the record, that first night was Friday, May 8th. :)

It was great to see everyone, and seeing all of you again made us feel (more than we did before) that Wichita isn’t the place we want to live permanently. We need to be closer to friends and family, or at least a more familiar place. We’re happy in Wichita for the time being (make that: happy that D-husband has a job!), but we feel a little isolated.

So, now we’re back home. H-bear and I have fallen back into our daily routine, with one exception: she’s sleeping in her own room! So far we have had her in a bassinet next to our bed, but since she has been sleeping through the night for a few weeks now (not to mention she’s out-growing that bassinet), we figured she’s ready to make the big move. So far she’s handling it beautifully. She only had a problem one night…she stuck her foot out through the rails and couldn’t turn it to pull it back through. I felt awful! I was sure she would refuse to sleep in the crib ever again, but she seems to have forgotten the incident.

H-bear will be three months old this week! Since we don't have another doctor's appointment for a while, I took her in to be weighed: 13 lbs, 3 oz!

Here are the latest new photos:


Four generations!


Duke - I miss you!

This is the enormous box the crib came in.




Almost done...


Test drive (we did put an actual sheet on it later, I promise)

I think she likes it!

Tummy time with her new favorite toy.

Nap time

Friday, May 8, 2009

2 month update

We (just H-bear and I) went in for her first round of immunizations yesterday afternoon! Wow. After we saw the doctor, two nurses came in and gave all three injections at the same time- two in the left leg and one in the right. H-bear has never screamed like that before...it was awful! :(

Here are her updated measurements:

12 lbs., 5 oz.

22 and 1/2 inches

H-bear has really been working on getting her hands into her mouth. At this point she can keep them there for a few seconds and suck like crazy, but then she always loses control of them. I also tried putting up the mobile in her bassinet the other day, and she actually looked at the animals, and eventually reached up at one of them! She couldn't close her hand on it though. She just batted it with her fingertips, and mostly just stared at it. Awesome!




Just in the past couple weeks or so she has started vocalizing a little. She makes little goohs and gaahs, usually accompanied by smiles...it's really cool!

Another new developement- she has gotten used to sleeping in the carseat even when she's not in the car. It's nice because we can take her into church or the grocery store in the carseat and she will just stay asleep in it. Sometimes even when she wakes up she just looks around and doesn't seem to mind.

Her acne has cleared up completely, but she still has patches of dry skin on her arms and legs. I had been using Johnson's baby lotion on her, but it's not making much of a difference, so Dr. Arensdorf recommended some other brands that I can try: Lubriderm and Aquaphor.

She sleeping patterns have been changing quite a bit. Right around six or seven weeks she had trouble sleeping for a few nights in a row, and we figured it was a growth spurt. Then for the next few nights, she slept for a full six hours! It was quite a treat for me, but unfortunately it didn't last. She went back to waking up every 2 or 3 hours, and just the past few nights she has gotten up to 4 or 5.

She has moved up a size in her clothes! Or rather skipped a few. We decided her clothes were fitting her a little tight, so I went out and bought a pack of 3-6 month size onesies. We tried them on her at home, and they were too small! We figured the brand just ran small, so I took her with me and went out again. We found that, depending on the brand, she currently fits in clothes sized for 6-9 months and even 9-12 months. Oh baby!

Here's some pictures:



I love this picture, but I have a feeling she won't like it when she's older.




This is how she turns her head to watch TV while I'm holding her.


And again!

Friday, April 17, 2009

All smiles!

We took H-bear in for her check-up at 6 weeks, and she now weighs 11 lbs., 1 oz. and is 22 inches. Everything still looks great! She's got a little baby acne but its completely normal. It just looks like regular adult acne but it's all over her face, chest, and a little on her head as well. Her skin is also a little dry, especially on the tops of her hands and feet. Doc said we can put a little baby lotion on it. None of this seems to bother her, thankfully.

She is still sleeping very well at night, waking up on her own about every 4 hours. However, last night she slept about 5 1/2 at one time! She will still occasionally stay asleep all day and then have trouble staying asleep that night, but that's getting less frequent...maybe once a week. She seems to sleep pretty well after we bathe her...another reason to look forward to bath nights. She has also gotten very good at getting back to sleep all on her own after a noise or bright light wakes her up. I've heard a lot of babies struggle with this, so we consider ourselves VERY lucky!

Her sight is definitely developing. She is not cross-eyed at all anymore (for the first few weeks she could only focus on things up close), and she is able to focus on our faces much better. I've tried showing her a few little toys, and she'll glance at them, but she's not interested yet. She's still only doing a few minutes of tummy-time, but we'll keep at it. She's slowly getting stronger in her arms and legs.

But the best part is...she's smiling! We're pretty sure they're not just gas, too.

Monday, April 13, 2009

More miscellaneous pictures...

This is me sleeping on the changing table.


This is me getting my very first bottle!


This is me deciding if I like the carseat or not. (Not)


This is me sleeping in the Boppy pillow.

This is me with a onesie on my head.



This is my focused face.




This is my suspicous face.


Yaaaaawn...

Easter 2009

Sorry it’s been so long! We have had a great Easter weekend.

Earlier last week, D-husband’s mom gave me a call. She said that they would like to come up and spend Easter with us, but that we should keep it a secret from D-husband until they arrived. I kept the secret from D-husband all week, and decided to make some plans for us to go out by ourselves while we left the grandparents home to babysit. I wanted us to go to the Old Town Warren, a really cool movie theater downtown where you eat dinner while you watch your movie. Unfortunately I had to buy the tickets in person, and this meant I had to take the car one evening without being able to tell D-husband where I was going! D-husband hates secrets and surprises, so this was pretty frustrating for him.

Then D-husband suggested that we dye Easter eggs on Saturday night. At that point I had to tell him that we would be busy, and we better do the eggs Saturday afternoon instead. Now that he knew we were going somewhere, he asked if H-bear would be coming with us, or if I was planning on leaving her with someone. I didn’t answer, so he got pretty nervous and wanted to know who was going to be taking care of her. I didn’t give him any answers, just told him to trust me, but I think that just made him more upset. He really doesn’t like this sort of thing, and I felt bad but I really didn’t have a choice.

The Legers were going to be arriving in Wichita on Saturday evening, and the plan was for us to make a run the grocery store and just run into them there. But then at the last minute D-husband said he would just go to the store by himself, because we just needed a few things, and there was no reason for all of us to go. He was already in a bad mood, so I just let him go. Unfortunately the Legers’ drive took longer than they thought, so D-husband was already home before they got into town.

We had just finished putting away the groceries when they knocked on the door. I told D-husband it was probably the babysitter. He went to the door and looked through the peephole, but they had covered it up. He ran around to look through the bedroom window, and I heard him yell “No way!”

He was really happy (and surprised!) and forgave me for keeping secrets. We went out to the theater (we saw “I Love You Man”) and had a great time.

The next morning we went to church, and as soon as we got home we started cooking. We had a ham, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and rice dressing, and it all turned out great. H-bear even obliged us by sleeping through dinner sitting in her Boppy pillow.

Here are a few pictures…









I don't know how the Desitin got in this one...




















Pocking eggs! (sp?)