10 months

Brooke is nearing that 1 year mark and while I love seeing her grow and watching her personality develop, it is a bittersweet feeling. I honestly cannot believe 10 months have flown by. I must sound like a broken record every month, but it really does go by fast. I feel like I have a toddler already...

Brooke turned 10 months on July 4th. So we wore red, white and blue all week leading up to Independence Day! She was a happy little camper in her red chair at Grammy's...until Thursday (when Grammy wasn't there)!

B has 8 teeth, and probably more on the way; she has been drooling excessively lately. She especially enjoys fruit in her mesh teether - banana, kiwi, etc. We have been gradually introducing more solids too. She still eats 3 meals per day, but most of the solids come in as snacks or while we are sitting at the table eating our dinner; she tries a bite or two of what we are eating. This past weekend she tried a stage 2 baby food with kiwi, pear and spinach. It was dark green (and mommy wasn't a fan), but she loved it! I was so impressed since she HATES peas and green beans as baby food. On her 10 month birthday, she also tried a peanut!!! Not by choice, of course, did we give her this; she found it on the floor. You really have to be so careful of little ones, as they will pick up anything! At first, I thought it was food she had stored in her cheek from the dinner she just finished, but I had an immediate impulse to check it out. I reached in her mouth, much to her dislike, and discovered a hard peanut. Looking back, I may have impulsively overreacted at the moment. However, she is already prone to food allergies and the AAP suggest waiting until well after a year to introduce nuts. She soon turned red around her mouth, but luckily since we noticed it so soon, it went away within minutes. I am so grateful that I noticed it in her mouth when I did, because she could have easily tried swallowing it or could have led to a worse reaction. Lesson Learned - Don't turn away for a second!!!

Then on the way home...was scare #2 of the day. Brooke has gotten really good with using her hands and has also learned to put the wrong end of the paci clip in her mouth (rather than the pacifier, she tends to suck on the clip end). Sitting in the front seat, at a light on Highway 6, I hear a scream. I immediately unhook my seatbelt and go flying to the backseat like a ninja. She managed to unhook the clip from the strap and clip it to her tongue. Obviously that hurts, and she was crying her eyes out! I was worried she cut it off or at least drew blood, but she wouldn't open her mouth for me. She finally opened her mouth to suck on the pacifier (the right way) and eventually stopped crying. My poor little girl. Who knew 10 months would be so fun??? She really does enjoy putting anything (and everything) in her mouth!

Other than scaring her mother half to death, Brooke also enjoys bouncing, walking with her activity walkers, the ball drop on her red car, playing with the blinds/strings, bath time with daddy, rubbing her face on her bunny play mat (we play "get the bunny") and pulling books off the bookshelf (to Daddy's dismay).

She does very well drinking water from her sippy cup, and loves it so much so that she must think it's a treat. She also is blowing raspberries again...and using her finger to make a "bubbbubbuu" noise. I haven't a clue what you call this - it's like a motorboat noise? I heard it a week ago on the way home coming from the back seat and it was the cutest thing. She is so proud and does it all the time right now!

She has learned how to open and close doors (not using the knobs) and has even shut me out of her room once or twice (hoping that's not a sign of the future). I have to sneak her headbands on and immediately distract her or it comes right off. And she has 2 pairs of sandals that I try to coordinate into outfits occasionally, but she really is not a fan of shoes either. However, she does love her closet. She will swing the door open and crawl right in. She pulls on hangers, clothes, stands up, looks around, plays with socks...and will just sit in there. So while she doesn't currently love her headbands and shoes, there is still hope of a little fashionista somewhere in there!

She surely is developing her personality. I love watching new traits come out and seeing how she is similar to Michael and I both!

She eats 3 meals per day. Breakfast is around 8 - 3 tablespoons of cereal and a jar of fruit. At 10 am, she has a 7 oz bottle and goes down for a nap. At noon, she has 1 1/2 jars of food. Around 2, she gets another bottle before her afternoon nap. At 5, she gets another 1 1/2 jars of food for dinner. Around 7, she gets her bath and another bottle before laying down in her crib, where she sleeps 12 hours through the night. She thrives on routine and I am so grateful that we have such a good one in place. It makes things so much easier on all of us. She knows when it is time to eat, and she knows when it is time to sleep. Additionally she gets solid foods ("our" food, Gerber snacks, small pieces of fruit, etc) to snack on in between meals and bottles. Yes, she has 8 teeth, but we are in no rush to give her solid meals. She is prone to food allergies, because of my history and she is doing really well on Stage 2 baby foods. The Stage 3 "meals" we have tried, she doesn't care for...at all! There was a Chicken Orzo one that I thought tasted delicious, but she gagged at the first bite. Literally, she gagged it up and spit it out! She has no shame in letting you know she doesn't like something (can't imagine where she got that from!). Stage 2 or Stage 3, homemade solids or Gerber, Brooke is doing just fine. She is a great eater!

We are all learning to tell her no when she does something she shouldn't. We explain her why she shouldn't be doing what she was and remove her from the situation. At her age, she might not understand no or why she can't play with the electrical outlet, but slowly she will learn to recognize that tone of voice and accept "no" for an answer. In regards to babyproofing, we also finally got latches on all of the cabinets in the house. In the kitchen, she has her tupperware container full of straws, and that is all hers. She loves making a mess with them, then it's even more fun watching mommy pick them all up!

Everyone keeps telling us not to rush walking. And we aren't. Brooke was holding her head up on her own the day she was born. She has been straightening her legs pushing up since she was a newborn. And she started crawling by 7 months. We have a very strong little girl. I honestly thought she would have been walking by 10 months, but I am not fretting it. She will do it when she is ready. We are encouraging her motor skills and development all along the way. As for now, she is cruising the furniture, getting more brave by the day. Letting go of one couch to get to another. She squats down and stands up very well. She crawls so fast, mommy can barely keep up! And she loves using her Stride-to-Ride Puppy and Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker to cruise the house. I just love watching her little feet step one in front of the other... She's no longer a baby, that's for sure!

I feel like I am holding her a little longer at night and hugging her extra tight before she goes down in her crib. I am so in love (some may even say obsessed) with my little angel. She is the greatest gift God could have given us. I know in just two more months she will be one and then time is really going to fly by. I truly cherish every moment we have together. And as much as I am dreading that milestone birthday, I am in full planning mode for her first birthday party! It is going to be quite the celebration. August 23rd...mark you calendar!

Motor Skill Videos

June 28, 2014

We often say "Get the bunny" and Brooke hugs her bunny mat and rubs her face in it (it's so soft!). Then she came crawling across the room to knock over the tower of blocks.

June 30, 2014

Practicing motor skills with her red car/ball drop. She was using her left hand and often went for the blue ball over the green and purple.

Look who's talking now

April 25, 2014

Brooke found her singing voice before she was talking. She would squeal and sing in a high pitch, and it was music to my ears!

May 5, 2014

Brooke was saying "dada" by 8 months, along with a lot of other babbling.

She makes lots of other sounds such as "ga", "ba", "tttuh" and "duh". She said "momma" all morning on June 22, but hasn't said it since. She will remember though, and when it happens there will be a video documenting that precious word coming out of her mouth! :)

Momma's First 911 Call

Yes, I am a new mom. And no, I do not have all of the answers. Babies do not come with a manual, therefore everything is trial and error. And you can only hope that each time there is a lesson learned and that something can be taken from each incident to prevent it from happening again.

It was a regular weekday night and Brooke was at my parents all day. We joined my parents for dinner after work. Brooke typically eats her dinner at 5, while we eat later than that. So we all sat down for our meal and Brooke was given some Gerber puffs to snack on. She has mastered the pincer grasp so she is very fast at eating bite sized pieces now. After we were all done, we headed home (Michael was going by Walgreens in his truck to pick up some pictures I had printed). I got Brooke out of her car seat and we playfully ran to her room. I sat her on the ground to crawl around while I finished putting her laundry away, waiting for Daddy to get home and start her bath. As she crawled towards her toys, she started making a weird noise and slowly turned back towards mommy. She had what looked like vomit coming out of her nose. She started crying, which made her inhale the spit up, which led to coughing and gasping. She was turning red and crying more than I have ever seen her. I didn't know whether she needed the Heimlich or not! In that moment, I was a scared mother, not knowing what to do for her child who needed her.

Of course, I scooped her up right away and cleared her nose and pat her back. She was crying and coughing, which meant she was breathing. However, I was unsure if anything got into her lungs. I have recently heard so much of Secondary Drownings, and was not sure if something in her lungs could cause asphyxiation later. Michael was not home yet and I was trembling, I panickly called 911. Not sure exactly what I was hoping they would do, but they surely offered me no help. "Ma'am, if you do not need an ambulance or fire-truck, I can't do anything for you." Based on what I have seen in movies, I guess I was thinking they would calm me down and provide some sort of guidance... Not quite.

Within minutes, Michael, both my parents and I were surround little Brooke still unsure what was going on. My guess is that she had too much too eat and I possibly jumbled that around when we got home. As she was crawling, the vomit came out of her nose rather than her mouth and it scared her more than anything! The taste and smell in her nose, plus the scare of choking up spit up was fearful for her. We got in touch with the nurse at the pediatrician's office and spoke with her and the doctor on-call. They were encouraging us to visit a 24-hour urgent care, and while waiting for our appointment (yes, this 24-hour urgent care facility requires appointments!) Brooke fell asleep. Close to 9 pm, 2 hours after her normal bedtime, and no bottle, Brooke was passed out. I was nervous to let her sleep, because I wasn't sure if she needed medical attention, but I know she was worn out. After a lot of discussion, Michael and I decided to monitor her through the night and reevaluate in the morning. We watched the baby monitor and physically checked on her about every 5 minutes for the first hour. It was at least another hour or more that I was able to finally lay down and close my eyes. Grammy agreed to watch her on the internet monitor until 1, because she was just as nervous as I was. 

We spoke with the doctor's office first thing in the morning, after Brooke woke up more chipper than usual. They said it sounded like we did the right thing and thought that based on her lack of symptoms, it was not necessary to bring her in. We monitored her closely the following day and saw nothing unusual from her typical behavior. We were so fortunate!

In hindsight, I think she got emotionally shaken up by the surprise upchuck, and Mommy was probably even more scared than her (calling 911...). It's just moments like that, as a parent you think you will know exactly what to do, and when they really happen, especially for the first time, it honestly scares the sh*t out of you! I tried not to let Brooke see the tears of fear and concern roll down my face. I tried to be calm and comforting for our daughter. But until this point, in her 9 months of life, I had never been so scared! It is moments like this that truly make you appreciate your family and all of your blessings. 

It is is too often lately that I hear about coworkers or friends having infant relatives pass away in their sleep, or the stories you hear on the news of babies that were accidentally left in the vehicle. It breaks my heart. I can't even fathom that loss. Yet, I do not think that the parents of these children are bad parents. They are human. Had something happened to Brooke the other night, I do not know what I would have done. I was right there with her the entire night, from the time she put the first puff in her mouth to the time she was gasping for air. And thank the heavens, we were fortunate that it was not more serious. However, often parents are not. I thank God every day for our little bundle of joy and I am grateful for every moment that we have together. You are never guaranteed tomorrow and therefore today is merely a present. 

Lessons learned. You can never be too careful with little ones. We are going to make sure Brooke does not have too much to snack on and more so, that she is not too active after eating. There is no telling exactly what it was that caused this - was it the amount of puffs, or too much water, were we too rough too soon after eating... We won't know for sure. We can just assume it was one of those and be extra cautious from here on out. 

Is this the only time I am going to freak out and call 911? I'm not sure. Is this the first time, we will make an appointment at a 24-hour Urgent Care for our daughter? Probably not. As a parent, the life of another human being is in your hands and you will do everything in your power to prevent something from disrupting their perfect and precious world. Sometimes, however, there are instances that you cannot see coming. You can only hope and pray that they are not severe and that the previous situation has made you a stronger and more experienced parent to tackle the next thing coming. 

My prayers today are for all of my fellow parents who are just trying to figure it out.

Father's Day

I can't believe it was just 9 months ago that Michael became a father, but from the moment he found out he was going to be a dad something changed. I have watched him grow into the most loving and nurturing person to our sweet pea. It truly melts my heart watching the two of them together. 

Daddy's first official Father's Day was a weekend full of fun. Saturday, Mamaw and Papaw came over for a Mexican fiesta, my parents joined too. You would think we were feeding an army, not 6 people. Sausage queso, guacamole, pork and chicken tamales, beef and chicken fajitas, sauteed peppers and onions, Mexican rice, beans and chocolate cake in a jar for dessert. Everything was delicious! 

Brooke, of course, was the center of attention. It was great being together with both of our parents and our daughter!

Sunday, we had a relaxing morning at home. Brooke gave her Daddy a custom frame filled with pictures of her D-A-D photo shoot. It was so cute, I decided I had to give myself a belated Mother's Day gift! I am grateful for the adorable model in the pictures, she makes my job easy. Clearly, I gave myself too many options and had the hardest time trying to decide on which pictures to put in the frames. And while she may get her baby blues from her daddy, I would have to say she gets her facial expressions from her momma!

  

We enjoyed dinner with the Bayer side of the family and were in bed early. Great weekend celebrating the dads in our lives, especially to my father, the first man I ever loved. And Michael, for being the best daddy to our little girl!

Father's Day 2013 (7 months pregnant)

First dip in the pool

We planned on putting B in the pool for the first time over Memorial Day weekend, but got rained out. So we dressed patriotic and stayed at home. We have contacted the place I took swim lessons at as a child (it's still around...and just down the street from us) and will for sure have her signed up for classes this summer.

This past Saturday we celebrated a friend's birthday and Brooke finally had her first dip in the pool. At first she was clinging on to my arm and fussed when I tried putting her in a baby float. However, after a short while, she was in the float, laid back and relaxing with some toys. She was totally content in the water with everyone. I didn't take my hands or eyes off of her for one second, especially not after reading about Secondary Drownings (fellow moms, beware of this now that summer is upon us). Next thing you know she is sitting on the top step (next to mommy) splashing in the water, playing with toys and trying to take off crawling. Before getting out, I pulled her up out of the water and over my head, then back in the water again...and she LOVED it. She was laughing and smiling from ear-to-ear. Daddy pulled her out of the water and wrapped her up in her monogrammed towel (from Auntie Jen, of course) and everyone just thought she was cutest thing ever. We are so proud of our little girl and just ecstatic that she loves the water as much as us!

  

  

   

    

   

9 months

Our little Brookie is 9 months old! She is in the 90th percentile with a weight of 22 pounds 6 oz, height of 29", and a head circumference of 17.72". She has 6 teeth and can now wave "bye bye". She eats 3 meals and has 3-7 oz bottles daily, plus 2 naps. Daddy gives B a bath every night and is in bed by 7:30 (or 8 at the latest). She still sleeps through the night, waking up between 7:30-8. We are beyond blessed with this little girl. She stole our hearts 9 months ago and we fall more in love with her everyday. 

Taking our monthly pictures is becoming more of a challenge than it was a few months ago. She wouldn't sit still, stole my cell phone (looks like she is trying to get a selfie), took off her 9 month sticker, ripped off her headband, got distracted by the window...but nonetheless, another memorable photo shoot!

 

Her personality continues to shine through. She started saying "dada" at 8 months and is mumbling all sorts of other syllables getting close to "bye bye", "bah bah" and "mama". She loves to swat and bang things to make noises or rattle toys. She is so observant and often very serious. She loves to laugh at silly noises and funny faces! She loves the plug-in outlet lights, but is starting to learn that they are off-limits by hearing "no". She is crawling faster than the speed of light and attempts to climb everything (whomever is holding her, crib bumpers, etc). She often crawls with one knee down and one foot down. I think this originated from her dress getting in the way of her moving, but I think it's just one step closer to her being on both feet. It won't be long before she is walking!

She holds her own bottle during feedings and has started using a sippy cup for water during the day. She LOVES water! She must think it's a treat, and therefore, I do not see juice anywhere in the near future. They say it's in the same "food group" as soda, because it's so full of sugar. No thanks! She has also started trying more table food - bananas, ham, peas, etc. And she loves her mesh teethers which we have put frozen fruit in. I am sure it feels good on her gums and she loves her fruit! Plus she puts anything she gets her hands on right in her mouth.

So that's that. Our Brookie is growing like a weed, eating like crazy, sleeping like an angel and very attached to her parents! I love her more than I thought was humanly possible and am so grateful of every minute we have together! Happy 9 months baby girl.

Mommy & Daddy's Weekend Away

I must have taken about 100 photos of Brooke before leaving town last Friday...

   

   

   

   

Michael and I attended a friend's wedding in Galveston last Saturday and decided to make a weekend out of it. It was our first time away from Brooke; let me rephrase - it was the first time for mommy to go an entire day without seeing her baby! Michael traveled for work and while it was not easy, he had done it before. I, on the other hand, have never been away from Brooke for more than a day's work or for a night's sleep (like when we moved in December). 

Grammy and Grumpy watched her at our house, and I knew she would be fine, as they watch her during the week when Michael and I work. It was me I was worried about... However, I did better than I thought. I called when we arrived to the hotel and watched her on my phone after she went to bed (through her monitor internet). I watched from 7:30 - 8 am both mornings and saw Grammy and Grumpy get her up. She was so happy to see them! I may have teared up when I heard another baby cry at dinner and when saw a little girl Brooke's size at the wedding. Michael and I had a great time though; it was just what we needed. Honestly, we ate and slept 90% of the weekend. We slept in past 7 am and even took a couple naps. I wanted to be more active (maybe even get my toes in the sand), but especially with the rainy weather on Saturday morning and the opportunity to sleep in a comfy, cold hotel room, we couldn't resist! We ate at 2 of our favorite restaurants and even danced the night away at B. Jiggers after the wedding. 

Greek Lollipops at Cajun Greek

McIllhenny-Jones Wedding at Hotel Galvez

Photo prop fun with the bestie

Brooke had a fun weekend with her grandparents, got to see her great-grandparents Pa & Ga, and even went to Carters (like her closet isn't full enough)! All in all, it was a great weekend for everyone. However, nothing beats coming home to our doll baby!