Moley. Moley. Molars.

     Teething is definitely not fun, but an integral part of growing up. I had thought canines were next, but after asking her to "show me your teeth" yesterday, it was confirmed that molars were in deed next.
     So far, it's been clingy and not sleeping though the night. Not wanting to spend time with her Dad, unless I leave the room. Thankfully so far, not many tiny terror days (but they're there). I've heard that molars are the worst, and it will get worse. We will see.

17 Months old

     Three days shy of 17 months, little miss grew 3 teeth. I'm a few days late with this post, but she still only has 3 teeth.

      When it comes down to words, we are lacking. She makes more sounds, and we pretend they are words. She makes it perfectly clear if she wants something and if we get it wrong.

      Getting her to sleep in her own bed is the same struggle. She spends from about 11pm-3am in it before waking up and not settling herself. There are some nights where I don't remember getting her, but there she is in the middle.

     We were in a wedding on Saturday (07/12/14) and she took it like a champ. She was a well behaved flower girl.

     She refuses to stack blocks, preferring to knock them down. She does love to nest and line up objects.

First sighting

     Hello half tooth! I name you Terrence. At 16.5 months old, your appearance is welcomed. Here's hoping your friends come join Bite Club very soon.

     Teething, besides being long, has been.so-so. There are days where she's super clingy and nights where there is no sleep. There are the teething poops and the fist eating. There is randomly crying and nothing I do helps. However, through the bad days, the good days are Good Days!
    
      Time will only tell how long teething actually takes, but I am thankful that I did not have to try brushing a baby's teeth!

     A week's tooth progression:

First Dentist Appointment

     Today was the day. First dentist appointment.

     Kaelynn and daddy played with toys while I filled out paperwork. A dog came out the back room and baby was all "ooooooooh" and excited, as long as it stayed away. We were brought back to the piggy room.

      She was curious about the room and wanted to touch all the things while we waited. We placed her in the chair and she was playing with the spit sink.

     The dentist came in and put on her glove. She tried to place her finger in her mouth, and succeeded. She managed to feel angled bumps that are different than regular hard gum ridges. She said that hopefully this means teeth will be here soon. She left after saying bye bye to the dogs, getting a hand balloon and walking off with a Dixie cup.

     We were in the area and she was a good girl, so we got a banana milkshake before the bus. I feel like little miss drank most of mine.

     Depending on how her teeth come in, we will have to go back and they will give a referral to a pediatric dentist for xrays.
Despite having teeth, Dr.Ross said she looks like a happy and healthy girl.

Keep Calm and Crawl On

 

  We've entered the stage of randomly screaming at the top of her lungs. Not just any type of screaming either, high pitched, making the cats' ears go back, screams. These, on top of teething screams, are making this a deaf household.

     Today was a horrible teething screaming morning. 15 mins (I know, I know that's not a long time) of inconsolable scream/crying while trying to get ready to go to the park. I managed to get her all ready and with J's help we put her in her wrap. Snuggled in close, she fell asleep a block from home. Once we got to the park, she woke up. We played with my friend and her new dog, and everything was right as rain. Back in her wrap for the walk home and she was out again. Today was the first time I had managed to pee while baby wearing. NOTHING SHALL WAKE THE BABY! I did need help removing my sandals though.

 

 The other night in the bath tub, we had lots of snuggles. Seeing how big she is getting is making me sad and proud at the same time. She's doing SO much. She's growing SO much. She's getting SO much hair. I have a feeling I will be one of those moms that cling on and hug extra long. The embarrassing kind of mom that everyone hates but loves at the same time. I kiss and squeeze her so much, and as often as possible. People say their spouse is their true love, wait til you have a child.

     I have also realized that I had taken her not moving for granted. This morning I was making tea and heard the coin candle holder jingling. I thought she was just playing with it. I look out the door way and YELL at her. She had pulled herself up onto the TV holder and was trying to get the XBOX charger station. Our TV center is one of those cubicle kinds from IKEA, I still see little finger prints in the dust by the XBOX. J asked me why I was yelling at her. He said from now on she's not allowed in the living room unsupervised and has to be put in the Ring of Neglect (exersauser) or brought along for the ride wherever we're going. I have a feeling as she grows older and more adventurous, he is going to be the super worried type. I am already "as long as she's not going to lose an eye or limb, she can try it out" type.

     As for crawling, I have a feeling she is going to skip that all together. When she is getting super fussy, just hold her up in the middle of the room, or flip a laundry basket so she can stand by herself and she is happy. According to Grandma L, J skipped crawling. Crawling is for chumps!

6 months old

      Happy half birthday kiddo! Time feels like it has gone by so fast! You're getting bigger everyday and you're learning so much! I look at you and wonder "where did my little baby go?"
      You're able to blow raspberries, half attempting to crawl (sometimes), and always attempting to stand. You've got your moods and are now refusing to sleep in your crib, but I am taking all the baby snuggles I can get before you're "too old".

There are no signs of teeth yet, still a little tooth nub that is causing Kaelynn to eat her fists all the time. Even toothless, she is enjoying food. So far, peas, carrots and squash have gone over well. Next we have avacado and zucchini.

 

     Some favourite games are being a Baby Hat. Kaelynn is placed on top of someone's head and while bouncing, someone says babyhat over and over. Hands placed properly, once she's flipped upside down, it's a giggle fit. She's starting to use her Sophie like a teether and has been taking a soother more often. She's gotten into reading her own books and playing with flyers. She will turn the pages and help.

   On Monday, she has her 6 month shots, so her stats aren't too far behind this update. This is convient since on Saturday we are going to the zoo. I hope she enjoys it. (reminder: check Toronto weather).

 

     Today, we gave her a first taste of lemon. She loves garlic pickles, so I was unure about how she would react. Of course, I had to wait for Daddy to come home.





First road trip

     Yesterday was our first road trip as a family. A few friends were going to a water park in Quebec with their boys & had invited us along. It was interesting to say the least.

     We get picked up & hit the road. She slept most of the way there, after staring at the boys for a while. We have a pit stop to stretch & I feed her the travel bottle I packed. Back asleep she goes.

     We finally arrive & change into suits. There was a children's splash pool that we waded in for a while. Lots of feeding due to being in the sun/ watching Daddy and the boys run off for the bigger slides. At one point, a mother and her daughter approached me. With everything that's been going around about breast feeding in public, my mind automatically went to they were going to tell me off. Instead, they offered to let me borrow their beach chair, but I was more comfortable sitting on the deck. (What got me was all the little babies around, there was a lack of breast feeding going on). After a feed, Kaelynn just passed out - to the point that I just placed her in her big girl stroller all bundled up to keep warm/sun free.

     One of the dads was unable to go on any slides. He was okay with watching a sleeping baby while I went on some slides - I paid admission, I should have some fun.
     I went down with my brother's girlfriend on most slides. We went down Black Magic a few times - an enclosed slide. Than Jake, a friends son, Kaitlynn and I went down Tornado Alley. The whole time I was screaming "I NO LIKE". The funnel spun it so I was backwards, plus it was dark.

     Jake deserves some sort of medal for being a baby wrangler. He spent most of the day riding with the younger boys or at least following them to where they wanted to go. He made sure an over zealous 3 year old didn't drown in the wading pool.

     We stayed at the park roughly 5 hours. Going home was a whole other story. Grumpy baby. 5 year old in the back, yelling to the front (then complaining about the screaming baby). We had to stop and get something to eat and feed/change her. Once on the road again, nothing seemed better. I gave her crinkly things to play with, fingers to suck. Nope. In the end, I had to creative nurse her. Lesson learned: for our zoo trip in 2 weeks for my bday, bring my battery powered pump.

Pass The Peas, Please

     Kaelynn is 5.5 months old now. She seems to have a strong interest in our food, so this morning she got some Baby Bulleted peas and breast milk.

     She was unsure about them. She would open her mouth for the spoon, but once the food was in her mouth, she decided she didn't want it- I didn't force them upon her. We're going to try again later this afternoon. It could just be she wanted what we have when we have it. She LOVES licking food juice off our fingers.

     Throughout the day, I fed her more peas. Peas after I had lunch, peas after I had dinner. It got to the point where she was opening her mouth for them. I haveno real idea how much I should feed her, but the jar she polished off only had about 2 tbsp worth of peas in in. I figure all day she must have had 1-1.5 tbsp of peas.

      A video from her finishing off her peas for the night.Notice she grabs the spoon to shove it in her gob & keeps lookimg towards her pea pot?  I'm thinking she likes them.(I'm also hoping I don't sound as silly in person as I do in video).

Blurbs from the boyfriend:

"But it's SO watery"

"Think about what she eats on a daily basis.."

"She Should....."

     I like to think that we have a strong willed baby (much like I am). I like to think I am capable of asking for help if I need it. We've been going along great up until now when people want to voice their opinions on how to "help". These people have never had children, nor do they spend a large amount of time around Kaelynn.

     "she should learn to take a soother so she's not on your boob all the time"

"she should learn to self soothe"

"she should learn to sleep in her own bed"

"she should learn to use teethers"

 

     Yes, she should learn, but she is only 5.5months old. She is too busy learning more usefull things, plus trying to come to terms with painful things trying to burst through her gums. She chews on her Sophie sometimes, on frozen icepacks, and on warm teethers - all are sometimes and none are by free will.

    

     When it comes to sleeping, she is back in our bed. We put her in her crib, and sometimes she will sleep for about 2 hours and then be awake and wanting to party. At this point,there is nothing I can do to put her down - unless I want to stay awake for hours. Once brought to bed, she wants to play for a bit, but because it's dark and quiet already she's able to nurse herself to sleep. This way, it's bonding time for the whole family and we sleep (roughly) hours at a time.
     Talking with people about her sleep habits (because they asked), we got the advice to let her cry herself to sleep. Jake replied that she will cry for an hour and just keep going. "Oh, let her keep crying, eventually she will fall asleep". No thanks. Early on, we let her cry it out mainly because she was just whining and not really crying. Now with teething coming in, she SCREAMS. I can't just let her scream and be alone in her crib - if she is just whiny and rolling around, she stays.

 

      I've heard that it takes a village to raise a baby, but in the end, it's my baby. I'm the one who is there for her 24/7. Unless you're willing to care for her for about a week - to see ALL her moods- than helpful hints are not welcome.