So much in So Little Time

Well the past few days a lot has happened. Saturday we went to get our Family photo, Christmas and Winter photos. It was such a long long day too. Our appointment was at 11am and we didnt get in to get our pictures done until almost 2pm. Kaitlyn started to get tired towards the end of the photos but she did a fabulous job and smiled and laughed in every one! All of our pictures are posted in our Fuchs Family Shutterfly collection as well as many pictures from Thanksgiving and our visit to Michigan a couple weekends ago.
I dont think the pictures of us as a family came out too bad! The ones of Kaitlyn are amazing! She is so beautiful and I was so proud of her for posing and smiling and being so good even though she was tired!

Kaitlyn is getting even more independent than ever! She sits up like a pro now and has been for a couple weeks now. Since she started sitting for only a few seconds at 4 months to now where she can sit for minutes at a time playing with her toys. She sits on the couch and sits on the floor she sits anywhere. She really wants to get going too. She isn't the best at rolling around, but she can roll over. She doesnt put herself in a sitting position from laying down but she will get down on her belly from a sitting position and then roll to her back.

Kaitlyn is really trying so very hard to crawl. She will get down on her belly and pull her knees up and pull herself forward with her arms. She is very active and get so very frustrated when she cant get where she wants to be fast enough! I think it will be happening very soon she can not sit still at all! She wont lay still anymore after eating, she has to roll around the couch or sit up and play.

Kaitlyn also chooses which toy she wants to play with. She picks them up and changes hands with them and she knows which parts are the teething parts and everything. She is very smart. Today she was hanging toys on her feet.I kept giving them to her and she would toss them on the floor. I would pick them up and give them back... we did this over and over until I realized she only threw one on the floor so I gave it back again and when I looked at her she had the toys hanging off of her foot. I got a picture and of course I have to put it in here.
She's such a cutie!

Let's see what else is new... the foods Kaitlyn has eaten now are Apples, Pears, Bananas, Squash, Sweet Potatos and YoBaby Apples & Cereal. Next week we might try peas again or Carrots. We're still staying away from Peaches for now but perhaps soon we'll get back into those. Kaitlyn loves her foods now. She even cries when it's time to have some! We've even tried some mixed things and she likes them so far. She had some Apples, Pears and Bananas mixed and we have a jar of Apples and Cherries to try too soon!

Kaitlyn is getting very helpful with her bottle as well. She has been trying to hold it and was holding it for a bit with help but now she holds it for a few seconds by herself. I think the Dr Browns bottles are a little long and harder for her to keep up. They always seem to fall down while she is holding them. She's having fun practicing though!

I'm sure she'll get it in time. She really loves practicing all the things she is learning. I'm sure there are more things to come too!

First Thansgiving!

Kaitlyn had celebrated her first Thanksgiving at her Aunt Donna's house in Ronkonkoma, NY this year. Everyone was there, Mommy, Daddy, Kaitlyn, Grandma Lois, Aunt Michelle, Aunt Donna, Uncle Charlie, Cousin Nancy, Cousin Tom, Great Aunt Janet and Great Aunt Marilyn. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Donna's kitty Jack was there too of course! She had a great time visiting with everyone. She did get tired and had to nap but overall it wasnt too bad of a day for her. She isnt used to being around large groups of people yet so she got a bit overstimulated and was fussy, however, we all enjoyed the day very much.

Kaitlyn got to try a couple of new foods that day, she got a very tiny piece of turkey, a spot of mashed potatos and a tiny bit of turnips. She only really swallowed the piece of turkey and spit everything else back out but I'm hoping she got a taste of it anyway.

As for new foods we started Kaitlyn on some new foods! So far she has been eating Butternut Squash baby food and she really likes it. She also gets her fruit during the day too. Not to mention the fact that she is eating more solids now at each feeding. She is still only eating her 4 bottles a day which have dwindled down to only 4 or 5 ounces each but she is eating 4oz Stage 2 jars of baby food 2-3 times a day as well! She does puke a lot of it up but she is still eating it.

Once a week now I also give Kaitlyn some YoBaby yogurt. She has only had the Apple & Cereal flavor but she seems to like it. I don't give her much as I think she has a bit of a sensitivity to dairy but she seems to be able to handle a little bit once a week or so.

Our next goal is to try more veggies now so we can get her into eating more of a variety of foods.

The only other "new" thing is that we finally got Kaitlyn a sippy cup, which she loves to put up to her mouth and chew on. She loves that she can hold it and move it around but she hasnt quite figured out how to actually drink from it yet.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Longest Short Trip ever

Well Kaitlyn got to take her second trip to Michigan this past weekend. Overall it was a great trip and seeing Grandma and Grandpa was wonderful.

On Friday when Jon got home from work he took a little nap after dinner and we left that night right after Kaitlyn's last bottle and she slept the entire 10 hour drive there. We got to my moms (where we were staying) at 8am Saturday. Jon was tired from driving most of the way and took about an hour nap or so, I stayed up and fed Kaitlyn and visited with my mother for awhile. My mother went over and got Kaitlyn's cousins Derek and Kinsley and at 11:30 we went to JCPenny and got some Christmas photos of the three kids together. When we got back I got ready quick and we drove 45 mins to the other side of town to my Dad's birthday party. We had a great time at the party and we loved seeing Grandpa!! I probably had tears in my eyes the whole time because he looked so happy and he told me just having me there was the one thing he wanted most for his birthday! Jon kept trying to get Kaitlyn to take a nap at the party because all day she had not slept but maybe 10 mins here or there. She desperatly needed a nap. He tried everything, even taking her out to the car and she would not sleep. She was SOOOOO overly tired. Anyway, we left the party and drove another 45 mins back to my moms and Jon went to bed. I fed Kaitlyn her last bottle and tried everything to get her to go to sleep but since she was so overly tired she couldnt sleep. I was so incredibly tired myself since I hadn't slept since Thursday night. I thought maybe if I took Kaitlyn in the bedroom in the dark and rocked her she would fall asleep. She DID! I was so happy, I went to put her down in the Pack N Play (not hers - one my mom put up for her) and she laid there for about 5 mins and woke up screaming. We went through this about 5 times before I finally decided since she was sleeping just fine in my arms that I would just leave her there and let her sleep with us in the bed. So her and I got a few hours of sleep after all that trying to get her to sleep. I think she just didnt like the pack n play because she wasnt used to it or something. I was extremely grateful about my mother being so nice as to let Jon and I have the bed and she and her hubby slept in the living room. It was great, after driving so long, to have a comfortable place to sleep!!

So we got up Sunday morning (I got up at 6:30 and woke Jon at 730), my mom made us breakfast (Thank God hahaha she makes good food!), we visited for a bit and we left at 8am just after Kaitlyn's first bottle. She did really well in the car on the way home until we got to New Jersey (I HATE THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE!!!!). She was so sick of sitting in her seat so I did the worst thing ever and while caught in traffic at the GW Bridge I took her out of her seat and let her look around and stuff... She was crying and fussy by then and who wouldnt be after being in the car seat for 12 hours?? We finally got home at 9pm and when she went to bed I could see how happy she was to be in her bassinet!! Hahaha

Anyway, it was a good trip besides all the driving and Kaitlyn is finally getting back to herself.

Besides the trip, Kaitlyn tasted mashed potato for the first time Monday night and gagged on them. We also picked up some YoBaby yogurt and she seems to like it. We got the Apples and Cereal kind and she ate it. It seems to be a little thin for her but at least she likes it. I'm only going to give her one or two a month for now while she is still young. We picked up more fruit for her and we also got her a couple of mixed jars too. They have Apples, Bananas and Pears in one and Apples and Cherries in the other. We'll see how she does with them after we give the yogurt a few days. She also tried Butternut Squash yesterday too which she didnt seem to gag on but she was crying while eating it. We'll try that again a little later today and see how it goes.

Oh my mother also got Kaitlyn some beautiful clothes! I havent decided which outfit she is going to wear for Thanksgiving but it's a toss up between two of them! They're adorable. She got her some larger ones too that I cant wait til she fits into. She got her a really cute Christmas dress too that hopefully she will fit into by the time Christmas comes and when we go home to Michigan again in a few weeks. It's a 6-9 months so it will probably be big but hopefully she can wear it.

We're going Saturday to get Kaitlyn's Christmas/Winter pictures done too. I cant wait to see how beautiful she will be in her little outfits. We're going to get a family picture done too, which will be our first one since she was born. Then later in December we're going to take Kaitlyn to get her first picture at the Mall with Santa!

Well I've got laundry to do if Kaitlyn is going to wear one of these outfits tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Tomorrow should be an exciting day!

Damn Those Shots!

Well Monday Kaitlyn had her shots and Tuesday she had a 102 fever and was miserable all day. She was crying and crying and crying and just felt horrible. She slept a lot and she was puking and just having a rough day... poor girl.

Tuesday and Wednesday weren't terrible, actually besides all the puking, but today is a whole other story. She has been miserable just about since she woke up. She's been crying and fussy all day and she was up about 5 times last night screaming and I had to get her back to sleep. I hate how she does that... she must get so freaked out... I know I would if I kept getting woken up by something causing me to scream and cry. I wish I could stop it for her. She's been doing it all day today while napping too. Her reflux is bad today, she's been coughing and choking and spitting up and puking from the time the bottle is done and leaves her mouth until she either falls asleep or eats again. Although she is still refluxing in her sleep because she gets woken up by it and chokes and coughs and starts to cry.

It's really terrible that this poor tiny defenseless girl has to deal with this everyday of her life. I hate it for her... I hate it for me... I hate it for all the babies!

5 Months Old Now

We went to see the Pediatrician today who says Kaitlyn looks wonderful and healthy. She was a whopping 14lbs 13oz and 24 1/4" tall. Kaitlyn even thought it was funny when she farted at the Doctor while she was examining her! The Doctor also complimented me on how well I am doing as a parent. She said I have come a long way especially when having to deal with a baby with reflux. As far as Kaitlyn's reflux goes, she is doing very well... the Pediatric GI Dr increased her dosage of Zantac to 1mL 3x's a day now and since she did Kaitlyn hasn't needed Maalox much at all and has really only been whiney because of her teeth. She got two shots today too so I'm sure she will be crabby and have a fever for the next couple days. Thats ok though... thats what they make Tylenol for!

The Dr also said since Kaitlyn doesn't like the baby food veggies that we can start to let her taste whatever we're eating!! If we have veggies, we can smoosh 'em up and let her taste it. She said we can let her try anything we want... even meats. Of course they have to be chopped very very tiny but she said even just to get it in her mouth so she gets the taste is great. She gets to try a sippy cup soon too!! She's getting so big I can't believe it. I think it's time to put her in her highchair finally... still looking for a place to put the darn thing though! Hahahaha

I think we're going to take a big step too and put Kaitlyn to bed at night in her big girl crib. I think 5 months of sleeping in her bassinet next to mommy is long enough. It just means when she wakes up screaming, mommy's gotta run up the stairs to get her!! Oh well, I need the work out! She hasnt been waking up much lately so I think she'll be just fine! I think I'm the one that will miss her being there most!! hahahahaha Yeah mommy has some attachment issues but how could I not be attached to someone so amazing and beautiful?? I'm sure I'll be writing about how thats going down the road but we'll see how it goes.

Coming up this month Kaitlyn has 2 trips to go on!! This coming weekend, November 18th is Grandpa's 70th birthday so we're taking a trip home only for one day to see him for his birthday and we're going to see Grandma Debbie too. It's going to be so nice to see them and they can see how much Kaitlyn has grown. We're also going to be taking a trip again to Michigan in Dec to see Grandma Debbie for her birthday too! While we are there we are going to get together with Great Aunt Sheri and Uncle Glenn and Cousin Lindsey to have dinner and celebrate Christmas. We're very excited about that and can't wait to see everyone!!

We're going to take Kaitlyn to get her Christmas photo's done and a family photo. YAY! My very first family photo! It's just too bad we can't get the kitties in the picture with us... I'll have to put them in it with a picture editor!! hahahahaha

Well I'll add a picture of Kaitlyn in her Christmas dress when we go get the photos done. That's all for now!

Mastered a New Trick

Well Kaitlyn has been doing raspberries since the one she did out of the blue earlier. She had no prompting today at all other than the past week or so we've been doing it to her to try to get her to do it. She didnt seem to have any interest in it... then out of no where tonight she does it and she has been doing it all night long!!! She's got it just about mastered!

Kaitlyn continues to amaze me with how she seems to instantly start doing things. I just love it... she made me so incredibily happy tonight by doing this. I cant help but laugh when she does it because it is so cute!! I'm so glad I got video of her doing it!!

Well... now on to the next thing... "saaaaaaaaay Mmmma mmmma!!!!" :)

Raspberries

Today Kaitlyn finally tried doing a "raspberry" today!! She was doing her favorite things as of late and flipping out of her boppy pillow and laying face down in the couch. She ended up on the couch right side up and she was ptttttttth-ing while laying there. I have been trying to get her to do it for about a week now. She just now started to try it!! I hope she can get it, it's so cute when she does the things I teach her!! Like her screeching!! hahahaha it's great!!

Now she is standing on Daddy's lap and screeching in his face. She's so beautiful!!

Ok I'm off to play!

Things I've Noticed...

There are things I have noticed about Kaitlyn and her growth that I'm not sure I have mentioned here. I just want to make sure I take the time to write them down.

For the past few weeks or so Kaitlyn has been doing so well eating. Even trying her hardest to help hold her bottle and feed herself. Although most of the time she is ripping the bottle out of her mouth and making a mess of her face.... she is still trying!! Most of her bottles are 6 ounces now and she gets about 24 ounces total a day. There are a few days here and there that she only eats 20 ounces but still most of them are 24 ounce days. She also loves her fruit, Bananas, Apples and Pears being her most favorite. She has been eating about 2 full Stage 1 jars of fruit twice a day. We're actually going to start buying the Stage 2 jars since she is wanting to eat more and it is more quantity for about the same amount of money as the Stage 1 jars!!

We recently found out that we may be able to get some help with Kaitlyn's formula through our health insurance company. We're working with the Pediatrician now to get it all worked out so they can help us pay for it. It's so very expensive... we figured it to be about $50 a week just for her formula. That doesn't include the cereal and baby food she is eating as well... so she's a bit of an expensive kid but worth every penny and more!!

Kaitlyn has been able to spend more and more time on her back and tummy lately and I'm grateful! She's really learning to roll over quite well and she's trying so very hard to get moving!! I got some wonderful video of her playing with her "soft" books and of her trying to crawl!! She's working on it and getting there but she does have a lot of fun playing with her toys on the blanket! She's really getting mobile even though she isn't crawling! I can put her on the floor and go do dishes and turn around a couple minutes later only to see her 3 feet from where she was!! She's a very good inch-wormer! hahahaha Today she was even laying on her tummy with her small monkey pillow under her chest and she push that along under her as she moved on the blanket. She probably moved better with it since it's a soft satin-like nylon material!! She never stays put, even in her boppy on the couch... she used to lay in it or sit up and play with her toys but now she goes rolling out of it, ends up laying across it sideways and practically flips over on her belly in it. It's great!! She's getting so big so fast!

She's very chatty as well, not really saying anything in particular but trying to get the constants sounds now. She loves to make this growling-like throaty sound and her and I do it back and forth to each other all day. She loves to screech and squeal and giggle. I even MADE her laugh outloud at me yesterday! Sometimes she will just giggle on her own at things but I was playing with her and she looked right at me and laughed out loud! It was great and it made me feel all gooey inside!

I've noticed too that Kaitlyn is very into touching things now and feeling new textures. I went and got some toys for her from a lady I know with kids and a few of them are soft blocks with texture on them and she likes to feel them. She feels my pants, the pillows on the couch, the blankets and our shirts. She just puts her little hand on things and slides it up and down and scratches her nails on it and is really trying to learn about the world around her. It's amazing to watch her grow into this little person.

Well she just woke up from her nap and is screeching in the monitor, I guess she wants out! It's time for some fruit anyway!!

She's almost 5 months now so that big update will be coming up soon!! I'm going to look into Baby proofing materials and getting out the instructions for the baby gate for the top of the stairs!!

Miles of Stones

Well it seems everyday Kaitlyn is getting bigger and getting better at everything she does. Lately Kaitlyn has spent more time on her back and belly and she is working on mastering rolling over from front to back and she also pulls her knees up under her. She really wants to get going and gets frustrated when she can't. It's so cute to watch her as she figures out what she can and can't do. She has so much fun lately playing with her "soft books" on the floor. She has a set of Sesame Street books that each make a noise and we also got her a "My Kitty" soft book which she LOVES to chew on.

Kaitlyn is GREAT at night, when it's bed time she goes in her bassinet and she will play for a few minutes with her baby doll, who we call "Baby" and then she will go to sleep on her own. She wakes up and doesnt cry either, she is all smiley and when she sees me come to get her she kicks her legs and flings her arms. She even did VERY well with her nap yesterday. She went to sleep in her crib and woke up a couple times but fell back asleep and had a good 2 hour nap in her crib. I was so proud of her! She's really getting to be a big girl.

Kaitlyn has been feeling a lot better lately. The increased Zantac seems to be helping a lot. She has only needed to get Maalox one time since we started the bigger dose. She gets it three times a day and it seems to cover her all day now. She's still spitting up but not in pain when it happens so thats a good thing. Her rash is completely cleared up and she is a happy little baby again!! She's been eating 20-24 ounces of formula a day still and eating 2 whole jars of fruit!! Sometimes she wants more than that too but we dont want to push it. If she starts getting more she starts throwing up the food. She loves her fruit though!

We did try to do veggies and she continues to gag and puke on them and spit them out. We're going to give that a break for awhile and concentrate on the fruits for now since she enjoys them so much. Kaitlyn even lets me know when it's time for fruit. She cries at about 11am and 7pm and thats "food from a spoon" time!! :) She's so much fun and she loves to eat like mommy and daddy. She's very interested in what we are doing.

She's been teething a LOT lately too. It's a pain because sometimes it makes her reflux worse and she is cranky a lot too. Sometimes I wish she would just get the teeth already to give her a break. If it's not puke or spit up or pain from reflux it's teething pain. I wish for her to have just a normal happy day as a baby. She's getting there though. She's a lot happier these days and a lot more happy than she is cranky so thats a relief!

She still loves to grab her foot... I say foot because she really only sits there with the left foot in her left hand. She doesn't do anything with her foot, just sits there holding it. Ah well, I'm happy she is discovering her parts! :) Although I've noticed one of her favorite "toys" is my hand. She loves to look at me open and close it and he loves to hold it and move my fingers around and chew on them.

On Nov 18th, which is Grandpa's 70th birthday, we're leaving to take another trip to Michigan. We're only going for the day to have lunch with Grandma Debbie and then have a Birthday dinner with Grandpa. It's going to be a long weekend but it will be great to see my dad and for Kaitlyn to get to see Grandma and Grandpa again.

I Can Touch my Toes!!

Well we figured out that Kaitlyn had to have had some kind of virus for the last two weeks. The Dr's think it might have been Fifths Disease or something but they dont know. That is where the rash, extra reflux and puking and miserableness came from. Kaitlyn is feeling better and her rash is pretty much gone. She has a couple dry spots on her cheeks but hopefully they will go away soon. Her puking has subsided a bit so thats good for her and us!!

Kaitlyn went to see the Pediatric Gastroenterologist (Dr. Hample) yesterday and she increased her Zantac to 1mL THREE times a day now to see if that helps in giving her all day coverage. It seems we were using the Maalox more throughout the day between doses so hopefully this will help some. They also weighed Kaitlyn there and she was 14lbs!!! She's getting so big now!

Kaitlyn tried carrots for the first time last night and didnt like them all that much. She kept gagging on them and spitting them out but she ate 3/4 of a jar after awhile. She also ate half of a jar of pears too which she REALLY liked! So far I will have to say that Apples, Pears and Bananas are her favorite. I think thats just because they are smoother and sweeter and easier to get down... although they do taste yummy!! :) hehehe

The other thing Kaitlyn has started doing is sitting herself up now and grabbing on to her feet. She knew her feet were there before but never really bothered with them, now she sits up and holds them or falls back and holds on to them!! :) It's so cute to watch her. She did this for the first time last night and it was neat... now I just hope she doesnt start chewing on them!! hahahaha

Kaitlyn has been teething something fierce too!! She's drooling like a faucet and sometimes her teeth/gums are bothering her so much she is a little "fusser butt." She's starting to get a little bumpy rash on her chin from all the drool. She chews on her fingers so much that she makes them all red. We try to give her toys and she will chew on them for a minute or two and then it's right back to her hands... they are the perfect size I guess. I just wish she could get all of her teeth at once, all this teething stuff does is make her miserable and make her reflux act up.

It just amazes me that she seems to do things and discover things overnight. Like playing with toys or her feet or anything... one day she does nothing but stare at things and the next she is playing with them like she has been doing it for weeks. I just love how smart she is... now I'm just waiting for her to say Mama or Dada!! Everyday we sing the alphabet a few times and I say Mama and Dada over and over and try to get her to say it. I'm sure THAT will happen overnight too... one day she will just come out with Mama! I think I might just cry! :)