we've been busy. we just got back from a palm springs vacation (more on that later) and we're headed to mammoth tomorrow. here's a recap of baby's first christmas.
we went to my parents house for a homecooked italian-themed christmas lunch. believe it or not, the picture below shows only half the food. there was also chicken parmesan, corn casserolle, braised short ribs (korean style), and salmon. my mom always creates an over-undulgent, but delicious menu every year. she's never been one to do anything simple.
it's been fun shopping with alison this year and it makes me excited to have many more years of grandmother-mother-daughter-sister shopping to look forward to.
since having a baby, there are subtle things about shopping i've noticed this year that i hadn't noticed before. like why does baby gap (and all other baby clothing stores) have such poor space planning? my stoller is either running into a clothing rack or in a traffic jam behind the other strollers in the tiny space. also, why is the muzak so loud and jumpy in these baby stores? a sleeping baby is such a relief but then i have to worry she's going to wake up when we enter a store. that's probably me just being an anxious mom. i have found that i love shopping at nordstroms not only for obvious reasons but because they have nice, clean nursing rooms so i don't have to nurse in a random bathroom or a changing room. i also notice the "elevator" sign in every department store now.
but i'm ALL DONE! no more christmas shopping this year and i still have a week left.
here are a few pictures from a pre-christmas dinner this past sunday with my parents. my dad is holding her in the pictures incase you're wondering why the hands are super dark.
alison is interested in all kinds of trees. when we go for a walk through the park, she mostly looks up at the trees.
here is alison trying to squirm her way off my dad. it sort of captures her current personality: all over the place. you can also see her 2 bottom teeth that made their appearance last week (5 months 2 weeks).
this is basically an update to my previous post, but i felt that it deserved it's own post since things are better now.
of course she still has the eczema and she still itches like crazy. and every time she looks at me, she has this look of despair like "please make it stop." it does look somewhat better today but i had to sleep with her for the first time ever last night so i could hold her down since she was so restless.
but i'm glad i went to the pediatrician because he basically said that nothing over the counter would've relieved her type of eczema (if there are even different types) and he gave me 3 prescriptions, 2 of which cost over $100 WITH insurance since there was no generic available. we downgraded our insurance plan thinking that none of us would get sick this year and it only covers name brand drugs at 50%. ugh.
embarrassing story while i was at the doctors office~ the ped's office was packed when i got there so i thought it would take a while for ped to come to my room so i decide that i'm going to feed her. like 30 seconds after i start, he knocks at the door and just comes in so i quickly pull her off, tuck my breast pad in my jeans pocket and pull my shirt down. but then i felt it... the let-down. i felt that tingle then my shirt slowly getting soaked. good thing i was wearing a cardigan.
no pictures today, i'm not at home right now.
i guess it's true... when you become a parent and you see your child suffer, your heart hurts. i mean it's physically hurting now. alison has battled eczema since she was 6 weeks old. she's had a couple of eruptions here and there but i thought i had it under control by restricting soy and nuts out of my diet. but today, there was a major eruption all over her body and even broken skin from where she itched it while i was changing her. her skin literally feels like a lizard's skin and looks like she has thick red patches of skin. so sad.
she keeps on moving her arms up and down when she's in her carseat to itch it along the sides and she's been really fussy today. so sad.
i guess the only bright side is that the doctor is staying late to see her. so i get to go in after i leave the shop early today. i hate seeing her suffer and it's just itchy skin. i can't imagine how i'm going to feel when it's something much worse.
my sister sent me this picture today of her kicking the bouncy. i think she's going to be a tomboy, kind of brute and rough and tumble kind of girls.
..but not with baby foods just yet.
since she is grasping everything and anything these days, i've been putting some dog treats in her hands and the dogs will come up and gently pry it out of her hands. i tried to capture it on video tape, but failed... this is the closest i got.
now, every time they see her, they start frantically sniffing each of her hands back and forth. but it works out since she is so interested in touching their faces.
here's a picture just for fun and 'cause i thought it was cute (can you tell we're going for the whole hot pink and green theme lately? i need to buy more clothes).
happy 5 months alison!
some milestones (and bad habits) this month:
- razzing
- whining
- recognizing and wanting to "dance" to music
- makes noises to get our attention, then fake cries when she sees us
- cries real tears
- bears weight on legs and always wants to be in the standing position, which will explain why she...
- ...started to hate tummy time
- this morning, dean said he was laughing at her and she would giggle
back. but she didn't do it again when he tried to show me. i have yet
to witness whether she really did giggle so i'll save this milestone
for next month. ha.
weight 14lbs 0oz (30th percentile)
height 26.0in (85th percentile)
OMG, in one month, half a year will have gone by since i pushed her out!! they grow so fast and makes me think about how life is just so short.
i always feel compelled to add a picture or video to make my posts less boring... so here's one from when we first got her the jumperoo when she turned 4 months old and a picture of alison playing yesterday.
hope everyone had a good thanksgiving!
no major happenings, just getting the routine down so i guess i'll just ramble a bit....
husband is beginning to really help out a lot! i never expected that, with dean as a first year law school student, he would be so helpful. he's always been as helpful as he knew how, but these days, he almost jumps at the chance to take care of alison since she is so interactive. plus dean just feels more confident as a caretaker. i have so much more freedom.
i'm back to drinking a glass of wine every night with dinner now since i know alison will consistently sleep for at least 6 hours before she needs to eat. i am trying to babywise her, but she still can't sleep through the night but follows the other routines... wakes up happy, naps 3 times a day, wake-feed-sleep, etc. what am i doing wrong? or what more could i be doing? at least i don't feel the need to nap during the day (with the help of a cup of coffee) so i am getting enough sleep.
i started feeding her 1 - 6 oz. bottle of formula every day because i can't produce enough milk. i guess this is the result of my damned period. i had to upgrade to level 3 - fast flow nipples cause the formula doesn't come out fast enough for her.
it's getting harder to get her to sleep since she knows how to use her hands and pulls the pacifier out. i'm waiting for the day she can put it back in. there are like 6 pacifiers waiting in her crib for when she finally learns how.
i think alison's lop-sided head is getting better. i learned from the insurance company that it might cost close to $3,000 to fix it since we got a new insurance and i haven't met the deductible yet. that got me to buy a special sleep positioner but i think her sleep is less restful now since she is essentially sleeping on her bad side. the dr. says 6 months is the "must-get-a-helmet" deadline so i have a month and a half to try and re-shape her head.
she's gotten big enough to use the ergo. so much easier than lugging around 24 pounds of baby + car seat weight. my arms were perpetually sore from carrying that thing around and the bjorn was beginning to hurt my back and it makes me and her sweat.
she's beginning to sit! she can sit for like 10 seconds (a start!) before she topples over.
i'm ready to have another baby. it'll take a lot more effort convincing dean.
just having a little fun with some leftover costumes from the grooming shop.
a little off the topic of motherhood, but when people say "every vote counts," it really doesn't.. at least not in terms of the presidential race since it's based on electoral vote. i only voted because of the propositions and put down my vote for obama, but he's going to win CA anyways so it didn't matter if i voted him or any one of the other 5 candidates running for president. now i just wish the presidential race were closer so i could actually have something exciting to watch on tv. i look forward to it because it only occurs every 4 years, but this time there's no surprise.... painful and boring. at least 8 years of B.S. is coming to an end!
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