Sleeping Standing Up

Yes, she fell asleep standing up tonight.  Roberto and I are trying to teach her how to put herself to sleep... for real this time.  It's so hard but all the books I've read and pediatricians and friends I've talked to reassure me that  this will help her teach herself to put herself to sleep which is an important skill.  So...we had the monitor on, she went down in the crib just fine, but woke up about an hour later...Roberto started the gradual extinction approach where he would wait 10 minutes, then soothe her for 10 minutes, then again and again..well this went on for 2 hours.  We were confident this was behavioral and not because something was wrong.  So we then waited 15 minutes this time and she kept crying and crying until all of a sudden- SILENCE.  I looked down at the video monitor expecting her to be laying in a little lump fast asleep.  However, to my shock, she was far from being horizontal.  She was standing up in her crib (which she has done a few times in the last few weeks) quiet as a mouse...I looked a little closer because it was the weirdest thing seeing her standing there so still, not making a noise or moving an inch...and then I saw it.  Her head moved to the right, and I realized..she was nodding off!  She continued standing there and nodded off again, and then again.  Roberto and I decided to take action right away so the poor thing wouldn't completely fall asleep, fall and hit her head on the crib.  I ran upstairs and gently laid her down in a normal sleep position, and she continued sleeping safe and sound.  Too cute.  Roberto and I can't stop laughing about it...it was very cute and maybe reveals a  little bit of a stubborn personality =)
Besides standing up in her crib, she is crawling 90 miles an hour and tries to pull herself up on everything imaginable.  She is brave (or naive!) and will let go and standing completely by herself for a couple seconds before returning her hands to the surface in front of her and banging them wildly up and down.  Isabella is also the social butterfly when we are out in public.  Whenever we are in line, sitting somewhere, or I'm just walking around holding her in the store,  she will end up flashing a big happy smile to someone around us throughout our outting.  It's very sweet and I appreciate how happy she can make other people, even if I don't have a clue who they are.  It's funny how a baby smiling at you can make you feel so special.  A lady in line at the Starbucks the other day told me that Isabella can sense who the good people are and will smile only at them.  It's comforting to think that that's true.
As long as Isabella isn't hungry or tired, she is really easy-going and seems to light up around people...especially other kids.  She loves Addyson, my friends' daughter, and Paisley, a little girl who is at the babysitter's with her, and when she sees one of them goes crawling towards them full speed ahead shrieking with laughter.  Anytime hunger or sleepiness strikes however, Mommy better get her act together right away or she becomes very unhappy.  But, give her her bottle or snack, or get her ready for bed & all is well.  I guess that's the same for most of us adults too though we may hide it better.  Some things never change.
She has been quite the mommy's girl lately too.  Poor Daddy.  She does like to be with Daddy and he makes her laugh quite easily, but I guess it's me who she wants those times she wants comfort.  I keep reassuring Roberto she will be a Daddy's girl in time.  He is way more fun to climb on, cuddle with and laugh at then mommy is...but I sure am enjoying her special attention in the meantime =)  Makes me melt.

Downward Dog...with a tooth!

Yes, her latest move, as of yesterday, appears to be the Downward Dog move from yoga, which is basically when she is face down, pushing up on her hands and back on her feet, so that her legs are straight and off the ground...if I'm describing it correctly?  And this afternoon, on the way to the mall, I once again did my "Any teeth in there yet?" check, to feel if there were any bumps, and long and behold, at 8 & 1/2 months old, there is more then a bump in there- there's a sharp jagged edge in the lower right front spot and you can see the tooth coming up!  Very exciting.  She has been whiney this weekend and the babysitter Miss Diane said she was fussy and she couldn't figure out why...well perhaps we have solved the mystery. Hopefully she won't have a really hard time.  So far she seems to be handling it pretty well.

Did she really just say that?

I need to document this...she said "Mama" for the first time last night!  Of course, this was in the kitchen while Aunt Jackie and Uncle John were holding her, and I was in the living room out of site, but I like to think she was calling for me =)  Roberto also swears she said "Dada" on Saturday night when he walked in the room to give her her pacifier.  He actually might not be wishful thinking, as Isabella was talking away today with her "mamamama" and "dadadadada" loud and clear- she seems to be speaking louder and clearer lately.  Amazing how these things just happen over night.  She is so amazing.

My Little Monkey

I am amazed at how much Isabella can move now, and she's not even technically crawling yet.  She just turned 8 months on September 19th, and she is rolling this way and that way, scooting backwards and a little forwards, climbing and pushing on me with her legs and her arms like I'm a tree she's tackling.  Once we help her stand up, she puts her hands on the couch and can stand there by herself- she smiles too like she knows she's a big deal.  No sign of any teeth yet.  She is eating Happy Melts little yogart snacks, feeding herself, while I'm trying to teach her signing for "more" every time I give her one..not sure how to teach that lingo but I'm giving it a shot.  Since I last posted she has eaten a couple more new foods...organic baby food jars Stage 2's like turkey & vegetables, chicken & rice combo, fruit medley (blueberries, beats combo), mangos. We've given her watermelon that Farmor (Roberto's mom, Farmor is paternal grandmother in Swedish) cut up, and Pop-Pop & Aunt Jackie ave her a little bit of cut up Gelato last week, and we've given her pieces of cheerios that she likes.  She still loves when I sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" to her, with hand motions of course.  And Daddy's Donald Duck voice makes her smile all the time.  I let her watch Yo Gabba Gabba on Netflix when I'm cutting her nails, and she LOVES that show.  The cutest thing has been her raspberries she gives at random moments throughout the day...she just sticks her tongue out  half-way and spits everywhere- it's especially fun when she's in the middle of eating lunch or dinner =)  One thing that's new too is she is not into nursing anymore.  She started losing interest around 6 months, and then it's dwindled from there. I think she doesn't like it because it limits her from being able to look around and eat at the same time, like she's trying to tell me, "Mommy I have too much to do to be doing this."  So I continue to pump for her bottles for the nutrition (planning on going until she's a year) but that's it.  She will hold her bottle, but will let go and put her hands behind her back any moment- she knows not to let go too soon of the spa treatment =)

...and Eating and Sitting

Also wanted to mention, Isabella is eating 2 "meals" a day now...she has rice cereal with breastmilk or oatmeal cereal with breastmilk and a veggie or fruit from the following list: baby food peas (likes them okay), green beans (seems to like them), pears, prunes, peaches, apples, sweet potato, carrots (loves the last 6) and tried bananas a couple of times and she made the worse faces I have seen yet & refused to continue- (communicated to mommy with a sealed shut mouth, furrowed brow and unhappy cry) so bananas can be listed as the first food she's eaten that she clearly dislikes.  She's sitting up by herself now- 25 minutes the other day while playing with toys on her lap.  The popular activity she's doing lately is  giving us the raspberries with her lips...slight spit spray included...very cute.  Happy 7 month old birthday tomorrow sweet sweet!

Gabbin' & Grabbin', Lookin' & Laughin'

I can't believe I haven't posted since May!  Well actually I can believe it but still...
As the title implies, Isabella Marie has been a very busy girl these last couple of months.  She probably weights about 14 pounds by now- she just turned 6 months July 19th, and is more fun then ever.  Her coo's have turned into 4 primary sounds.."Ahhh", "Eye-yi-yi", Ga" and "Bbbb" (almost a raspberry but not quite there yet, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for "Mmmm" next).  And while she is talking up a storm, she likes to grab anything in site, and bring it right to her mouth.  She will grab with one hand and pass to the other but whether she is intentionally doing this yet or not, I'm not sure.  Grabbing her feet and little toes has also been a recent hobby which is the cutest thing ever.  It's also a treat to hear her squeal with delight- we now can make her laugh on cue (well...usually unless a mood sets in which can happen in a nano second!).  Excuse me, let me clarify, Daddy can make her laugh on cue, Mommy tries and has about a 75% success rate.  We do dances (one called "Jellyfish" from "Yo Gabba Gabba" that Daddy found for her) and tickle fights.  She is still sleeping on her back, and will roll to her side, just about on her tummy, to look at anyone coming into the room.  When she is on her tummy she brings her head up high and presses up with her arms.  She can roll back to her tummy but does not often do that- doesn't interest her right now I suppose. She can sit up for about 2 seconds on her own, and for more then that needs my one finger on her back to prevent any teetering over or nose dives.  Izzy girl also loves to look, look, look at everything...she acknowledges everyone who walks in the room, doggie or human with a look and does the complete range of motion both directions...it's the funniest thing to see.  We want to eat her chubby thighs and little cottage cheese bottom every day for breakfast.  Six months later and still, when I look at her, I am amazed that she is mine, and so thankful.  Don't get me wrong, as all parents know, lots of work and little sleep but wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  Thank you God.

"The Marilyn"

I did well with posting last month within a month of the month before that..but not so much now that I'm back to work!  A little trickier to find the time =)  Speaking of work, I am suprisingly doing better then I thought I would.  I miss Isabella all day but fortunately I really like my job, and the day goes by fast, and since my hours are now 6:30am to 3pm, I get to look forward to seeing Izzy girl everyday by 3:30ish and I love our reunions.  In my pre-baby life, getting to work at 6:30am would have been ludacrous to me, but with the Isabella alarm clock sounding between 4 and 5am nearly every morning, I'm already up and might as well start the day so I get home that much faster...It's amazing how much babies can change even the most unlikely ever morning person like myself!  Now if my sister becomes a morning person someday after she has a baby, that'll be the next big miracle because she's even worse then I was =)
Little girl is now almost 4 months old, and there are definitely new things to report...first of all she has been doing this hilarious glamorous pose lately, where she puts one, if not two, hands behind her head while she eats.  It's so funny because she does it nearly every time, if not every time.  We call the pose "The Marilyn" because it's almost like the Marilyn Monroe pose.  She is also smiling a lot more often, reacting to faces and/or noises we make to her, which has been a lot of fun.  Isabella is also able to sit and "chill" for longer periods of time this month compared to earlier months.  The other day I went to take my car in for a tune-up, and we ended up sitting there for at least an hour and a half...the whole time Isabella sat quietly sucking her pacifier in her carrier, sleeping or wide awake, she didn't make a peep.  I think she was content just watching out the window of the store, curiously watching the people who happened to walk by.  Amazingly she is much better about going into her carseat and taking car rides now- no rap music required like before.  She's also coo-ing and ahh-ing and squeeling more, and LOVES her playgym that she lies on and looks up at the mirror and other hanging toys.  She enjoys making all kinds of faces at herself- too cute.  She also makes more sounds when she cries versus just a cry...for example, she says, "ahhh..Ga" a lot...I wonder if Grandma or Grandpa will end up being her first word at this rate.  We are enjoying her and look forward to seeing what she'll do next!

The secret to a quiet car ride...rap music!

I can't believe it's been another month already.  Right now sweet girl is nursing/sleeping combo (her favorite hobby) so I have a moment to do my monthly entry...First things first, Isabella has grown!  Her Daddy used to call her pinky finger her "matchstick" because it was so tiny, but matchstick pinky no more.  She is just over 10 pounds and to me, feels like a solid little tug.  Her eyes have been beautiful blue lately..we'll see if that's her official color- the doctor said we'll know by 8 months, and she hasn't lost that full head of dark hair!  Very fun for bows and headbands.  She still loves her baths although once she is taken out of the bath, her mood does a drastic 180, as she does NOT like the transition from warm water to air no matter how many towels mommy wraps around her little body.  She continues to discover her voice..although sounds are not much different then the one I described a month ago, just more frequent...and definitely more frequent smiles.  The best is when she wakes up in the morning- if I catch her before she starts to realize she's hungry- and she is so smiley and happy and I just want to eat her up.  She does have her fussy periods during the day, and I am trying to figure out if this is just normal baby fuss versus maybe something I am eating bothers her stomach since I still am full-time nursing her?!  Each day I will get closer to knowing for sure.  No matter the fuss though, she is consolable when I rock her or bounce on the gym ball (what a work-out!).  She also likes to be on Mommy's hip as I walk around the house doing things- one-handed of course- and she gets to look out at the world.  She continues to prefer to surprise me with her unexpected peeing during diaper changes, sometimes making her kissy face during the event and sometimes not.  She loves when her Daddy sings to her- especially at night when he is soothing her to sleep in the glider.  Her feelings towards her car seat and riding in the car appear to be on the negative side so far..although when Mommy & Daddy play Mommy's girls weekend c.d., the rap music songs out of all things- such as "The Choice is Yours" by Black Sheep... Isabella likes to jam.  Mommy must look like a crazy mother riding through the neighborhood with a baby in the back listening to loud rap music!  But whatever works to make baby happy!  I also wanted to document all of her nicknames over the past 11 weeks created by both Mommy and Daddy (if I can even remember them all):  Lil' face, bugaboo, sweet sweet, pumpkin head, sugar plum, lumper, and I know there is a dozen more that I can't remember (sleep deprivation x 100).  And another newsflash..she is definitely getting stronger.  Last night Daddy put her in her crib on her back to sleep, and a few minutes later Isabella let out a big cry.  When Daddy returned to see what was wrong, he discovered his tiny daughter had flipped on her side and she was NOT liking it.  We figured the slanted mattress (we had elevated the head of the mattress with blankets underneath to help her digestion, per doctor's recommendation) was adding to her ability to breakdance so the blankets are out now.  Can't wait to see what she will do next.  Mommy is going back to work next Wednesday- April 13th- and will miss little Izzy very much!  She will be in good hands though as Daddy, Miss Suzanne and Grandma watch her a day each that week, and then Nonni, Pops and Aunt Sally will be here!  The following week Farmor, Auntie Mi and Grandma will be watching her on a regular basis.  And soon, Great Aunt Deni, GG (grand-grandma) and Uncle Casey will visit for Mother's Day weekend!  She has lots of people who love her and will take good care of her while Mommy and Daddy are working...and we look forward to snuggling and kissing her at the end of the day everyday when we get home.   For now, we are enjoying our days together and getting ready for the spring.  Mommy loves you with all of her heart sweet girl!

Future gymnast?!

First of all, I have to give a warm welcome to Isabella's new BFF, Stella Jean Timek, who is Meredith's new daughter, born today and was 6lb8oz, 19.5 in long.  Meredith sent me a picture and she so reminds me of Isabella- tiny with dark hair!  I can't wait to meet her.
Ok, back to blog business...it's been exactly a month since I posted- oops.  Needless to say, I haven't had the time or energy to post sooner although I've thought about it & wanted to at least 1,000 times.  I learned from the lactation consultant at Isabella's 1 month pediatric appointment that I wasn't holding Isabella the best way when I was nursing, so now the new way I hold her is better as far as she latches on better, but this position leaves me often with 1 hand free at best, despite my use of pillows..or the way the pillows are positioned even if I do have 2 hands free I can't reach the computer comfortably...so that's also been a blogging barrier =) But the nursing is going well, Isabella is gaining weight and that is such a relief.
Speaking of gaining weight, at her 2/22/11 one month appointment, she weighed 7lbs 15oz, which is almost 2 pounds heavier since birth.  I know she has to be at least another pound by now (she is 7 weeks tomorrow already!) because she feels more solid to me and her cheeks are a little chubby.  I call her my lumper- sooo cute.  Here are some exciting events that have taken place since my last post a month ago:

---As the blog title suggests, we may have a future gymnast on our hands.  The night of Izzy's one month doctor's appointment, 2/22/10, I put her on her tummy for some "tummy time" in her crib.  She was picking up her head and shoulders and moving her legs in a way that looked like she was about to roll to her stomach...the occupational therapist in me jumped in and assisted her hips just a tad in moving the right direction and waalah!  She rolled onto her back.  Of course, one cannot overlook mommy's assistance in that feat.  However, here's the amazing part: I put her on her tummy again and this time, a minute later, without mommy's assistance (except for cheerleading, naturally), she did it again- totally on her own!!!  She proceeded to roll independently- no help at all- from her tummy to her stomach 2 times the next day, once the next day, etc.  I remember my friend Melissa telling me over the phone with so much excitement about her daughter's motor skill accomplishments, and I remember thinking, "That's cool!" But now that I am a mom myself, I can't explain the excitement and pride that came over me when I saw Isabella do this by herself.  I was in awe.  Now I truly understand how Melissa felt, and realize how much I underestimated how mom's feel, when their babies accomplish things.  If Isabella doesn't beat or even hit every text book milestone I won't think anything of it but it was just exciting to see her do something so unexpected and cool (besides ya know, the eating/pooping/peeing/sleeping...and that's about it =))
---Another exciting event has been Isabella's new "Awe-Ahh!" talk that she does about once per day, usually while I am changing her.  I love when she does this sound and wish she would do it more often.  It's high pitched and so cute.  Seems like she is discovering new things her voice can do, and I can't wait until she has a whole range of coo-ing she'll be shouting out.  Will keep you updated!

Well I have to go- I feel like there is so much more to say and so little time...someone is waking up and wants to eat.   I was very naive and gun-ho when I first started the blog a month ago thinking, "I'll do a blog a few times a week at least." Um...a bit of a lofty goal there...so now my goal is at least once per month.  I learned one of my first mommy lessons already!

Here we go...

So my friend Kory used this blogger site a few years back to regularly journal about her daughters from the time they were born...I thought that was such a great idea and now that I have a daughter (wow- still can't believe I have a daughter!), I thought I'd do the same thing...this blog is a way for family and friends to read about daily Isabella moments (Aunt Deni, I think you especially will enjoy this a lot =)) if they wish to, and a way for me to document details Isabella during my journey of motherhood. I plan to share this journal with this little one someday.

Right now it's 2:21 am, and Isabella is 6 minutes away from being officially 3 weeks old already!  She is doing her favorite activity right now...eating...which I have a feeling she will be doing almost every time I am on here blogging since nursing her usually means either computer time or writing thank you notes for me.  It's taken me 3 weeks to finally get on this blog and get it started, and in the meantime I jotted a few thoughts down that I wanted to make sure I included on this blog.  I wanted to write down some cute "getting to know you" things that I've noticed about little Izzy thus far:

- During Isabella's first few days of life, I noticed she liked to turn her head left when she's swaddled and sleeping in her pack-n-play.  I thought this was interesting especially since the nurse practitioner who saw me when I was 36 weeks pregnant described Izzy's position in utero as, "her legs are here, her bottom is here, her elbows here, and her head is right here, looking left!"
- Weeks before Isabella was born, her papa and mom's first time parent anxiety was slowly building, and as a result, were having anxiety dreams.  Funny enough, both of us happen to dream the same dream- that we were back in college again, in the middle of realizing we had been missing class all semester!  For Roberto, it was always Science class.  For me, it was always my graduate school class with my professor Virginia..the dream always went that I realized I had been forgetting to go to Virginia's class all semester and then when I showed up, realized I hadn't done the reading to prepare for class and Virginia called on me to answer questions about it.  These were recurring dreams for both Roberto and me- funny we both happened to be dreaming about missing class!
- One of my most favorite things about Isabella so far is watching her take her bath- She LOVES getting her hair rinsed under the faucet, followed by brushing it.  Her entire disposition changes from squirming around to sudden stillness, with this look of bliss on her face and sometimes pierced lips, as her papa rinses her hair under the warm water.  We first learned this about Izzy just minutes after she was born, when the nurses gave her her first bath.  Ever since, all of her baths at home appear just as relaxing for the little babe.  So sweet!
- Her father and I also learned pretty quickly how sweet Isabella's cry is...I had assumed it would sound a certain way, like the cry you hear with babies on television.  However, Izzy's cry sounds more like a little lamb.  It is so precious.  Also her favorite noise seems to be the "eh eh eh eh" which I can hardly describe in words on here but she does this quite often...usually throughout the night when her mommy and daddy are trying to sleep =)  It almost sounds like she is clearing her throat over and over again like she is about to give us a speech or something.
- Another funny thing, and the last one I will blog about tonight, is her cannon balls while we are trying to change her.  She likes to wait until we are in the middle of changing her diaper to pee, which we learned the hard way =)  And then if she's not quite done with #2 yet, she decides to do that full force also when we are in the middle of changing her- we have to make sure there is plenty of sheet saver at least a foot out in front of her as she does go quite some distance, which we also learned the hard way.  Can't help but laugh every time she does it because for a little 6 pound baby she sure has a lot of butt power!

Isabella is about done eating so time to burp her and pray she'll go back to sleep....love you Izzy girl.
-