Today Layla and I both had follow-up appointments with the D.O., which I have posted about before. I wanted to update on how it's going.
It's going great!! After seeing the D.O., Layla has gotten her full range of motion back in her neck. It took a few months of regular visits, in which she behaved progressively worse and worse... but the doctor was tolerant of her increasingly loud screaming and managed to work his magic anyway. Now, finally, we don't have to take her back until the end of the summer! I have been going pretty regularly too, and since I behave much better than Layla we made a lot of progress on my problems in a short time. My low back has a lot of issues - mostly it's mad about some bad posture and tight hip problems I have - but it has released it's reign of terror on my knees and I've been able to start back up running pretty regularly again. The great thing about the D.O., I've realized, is that the adjustments hold really well. After many years of chronic problems, I am finally seeing some results. I'm so lucky to have found this guy!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Mother's Day
Today I celebrated my 2nd Mother's Day. This year, I wanted to spend some time with the little lady so after breakfast (pancakes, not in bed, but in my robe), the Studly Hubby took me and our little lady out to a spring plant/bake sale in our neighborhood near a spectacular playground and let me spend our last dollar on cookies and pie (don't worry, there's more in the bank, we just haven't had time to go!).
We also got some really good-quality nap time today, since Layla was exhausted from transitioning to the toddler room last week. She slept an amazing 90 minutes this morning and another 2 hours this afternoon. It was mind blowing - although on Friday she had a 4-hour nap at daycare, which altered our reality. We actually came home Friday wondering if we still lived in the same house and were the same people as before. With awesome napping comes awesome free time and I took advantage. In the morning I took a nap of my own, and then in the afternoon I sat on the deck and soaked up the sun and read my favorite magazine, the Oprah magazine. That was a rare opportunity even before Miss Layla took over our lives, and I really enjoyed it.
We took some pictures today but they haven't made their way from the camera to the computer yet. So, I will leave you with another picture of an equally fun time we had last weekend hiking around Discovery Park with some friends.
We also got some really good-quality nap time today, since Layla was exhausted from transitioning to the toddler room last week. She slept an amazing 90 minutes this morning and another 2 hours this afternoon. It was mind blowing - although on Friday she had a 4-hour nap at daycare, which altered our reality. We actually came home Friday wondering if we still lived in the same house and were the same people as before. With awesome napping comes awesome free time and I took advantage. In the morning I took a nap of my own, and then in the afternoon I sat on the deck and soaked up the sun and read my favorite magazine, the Oprah magazine. That was a rare opportunity even before Miss Layla took over our lives, and I really enjoyed it.
We took some pictures today but they haven't made their way from the camera to the computer yet. So, I will leave you with another picture of an equally fun time we had last weekend hiking around Discovery Park with some friends.
ORNERY little girl!!!
We have an ornery child on our hands. She was sweet as a sweet pea until about 3 weeks ago, when she started showing her ornery side. Here are some of the wonderful ways our child now expresses herself:
- hollering at the top of her lungs from Green Lake back to our place (~1 mile) because she wanted to WALK HOME BY HERSELF (except, in the wrong direction, and in the street, and with frequent stops at every parked or moving car she saw to try to open the car door).
- shoving a 3-year old friend off of a slide - her friend's slide, at her friend's house. Clearly making friends isn't as important as going down the slide.
- stealing another friend's hat, binki, socks, snacks, and bottle when he was nice enough to share his red wagon with her. Fortunately he was quite tolerant and didn't kick her out of his wagon.
- making quick escapes out from under us while getting her diaper changed - very risky business for her, us, and the floor (we abandoned the changing table due to the height hazard).
- throwing fits over everything, especially anything we say 'no' to... which led to us having to leave a restaurant before ordering food for the first time today.
- refusing to ride in the stroller, the baby-carrier, or in the car in preference for WALKING everywhere, except in unusual circumstances (fortunately she's still good if we're going someplace interesting, or we give her lots of her favorite snacks).
While I find it a bit overwhelming, the Studly Hubby actually likes this new stage because while Layla is getting more ornery she is also developing into a more interactive little person. She can understand and respond to a lot more, and seems to be making a more real emotional connection with us - she even every once in a while will give us some hugs and kisses, all on her own. She has also gotten to be a much better sleeper, both at night (mainly because she hasn't been sick in a whole 3 weeks), and also during the day (she's switched over to 1 nap a day and often sleeps a marathon 90 minutes or more... a drastic increase from her previous 30-min naps). So, I guess it's a trade-off.
- hollering at the top of her lungs from Green Lake back to our place (~1 mile) because she wanted to WALK HOME BY HERSELF (except, in the wrong direction, and in the street, and with frequent stops at every parked or moving car she saw to try to open the car door).
- shoving a 3-year old friend off of a slide - her friend's slide, at her friend's house. Clearly making friends isn't as important as going down the slide.
- stealing another friend's hat, binki, socks, snacks, and bottle when he was nice enough to share his red wagon with her. Fortunately he was quite tolerant and didn't kick her out of his wagon.
- making quick escapes out from under us while getting her diaper changed - very risky business for her, us, and the floor (we abandoned the changing table due to the height hazard).
- throwing fits over everything, especially anything we say 'no' to... which led to us having to leave a restaurant before ordering food for the first time today.
- refusing to ride in the stroller, the baby-carrier, or in the car in preference for WALKING everywhere, except in unusual circumstances (fortunately she's still good if we're going someplace interesting, or we give her lots of her favorite snacks).
While I find it a bit overwhelming, the Studly Hubby actually likes this new stage because while Layla is getting more ornery she is also developing into a more interactive little person. She can understand and respond to a lot more, and seems to be making a more real emotional connection with us - she even every once in a while will give us some hugs and kisses, all on her own. She has also gotten to be a much better sleeper, both at night (mainly because she hasn't been sick in a whole 3 weeks), and also during the day (she's switched over to 1 nap a day and often sleeps a marathon 90 minutes or more... a drastic increase from her previous 30-min naps). So, I guess it's a trade-off.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Best baby books
In our baby group meeting today, the subject of baby books came up.
There are a lot of books out there, but each baby seems to have favorites (and the parents too), so after a few million reads you start looking for some new book ideas.
Here are Layla's favorites:
This book was given to Layla by Grandpa M., and has a lot of fun stuff to play with
This was a shower present, and I thought it was goofy but it ended up being great for little tots who like to touch and feel and appreciate a (very) simple story
This was a present from Layla's cousin B, who I think loved this book as a child growing up in England. It's extremely cute and has a nice rhyme and very busy pictures that will capture her short attention span for many many reads.
This was also a gift from cousin B, and is also extremely cute. It has a short simple story with lots of pretty drawings of babies laughing and playing and one baby at the end gets kisses which Layla likes to contribute to.
This is another book about babies, given to Layla by her Grandpa L. She LOVES the baby pictures and I like to sing her the song and go through all the body parts (which she is starting to get).
Layla is no literary snob, and loves baby elmo as much as the rest of them. This is actually full of all the things she's been doing and thinking about (it's supposed to be for 6-12 months, but I think it's more like 6-15 months). Baby Elmo eats a banana, plays peek-a-boo, points to his nose, and at the end there's a big pop-out Baby Elmo surprise, which is her absolute favorite part.
I think our group is going to do a favorite book exchange, so hopefully we can mix it up some more soon and I will have some more recommendations. I feel like my knowledge of baby books at the moment is very limited. Maybe some trips to the library are on the horizon as well.
There are a lot of books out there, but each baby seems to have favorites (and the parents too), so after a few million reads you start looking for some new book ideas.
Here are Layla's favorites:
This book was given to Layla by Grandpa M., and has a lot of fun stuff to play with
This was a shower present, and I thought it was goofy but it ended up being great for little tots who like to touch and feel and appreciate a (very) simple story
This was a present from Layla's cousin B, who I think loved this book as a child growing up in England. It's extremely cute and has a nice rhyme and very busy pictures that will capture her short attention span for many many reads.
This was also a gift from cousin B, and is also extremely cute. It has a short simple story with lots of pretty drawings of babies laughing and playing and one baby at the end gets kisses which Layla likes to contribute to.
This is another book about babies, given to Layla by her Grandpa L. She LOVES the baby pictures and I like to sing her the song and go through all the body parts (which she is starting to get).
Layla is no literary snob, and loves baby elmo as much as the rest of them. This is actually full of all the things she's been doing and thinking about (it's supposed to be for 6-12 months, but I think it's more like 6-15 months). Baby Elmo eats a banana, plays peek-a-boo, points to his nose, and at the end there's a big pop-out Baby Elmo surprise, which is her absolute favorite part.I think our group is going to do a favorite book exchange, so hopefully we can mix it up some more soon and I will have some more recommendations. I feel like my knowledge of baby books at the moment is very limited. Maybe some trips to the library are on the horizon as well.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Our big toddler
We found out yesterday that Layla will be moving up to the toddler room at her daycare next week. They spend two weeks transitioning (she's already 'visited' quite a few times) and then she's a big toddler!! We can hardly believe it. I'm very conflicted - on the one hand, it's nice to have her grow out of some of the things that are hard, like waking up super early, drinking from bottles (so many bottles!), unpredictable napping, etc. But on the other hand, I'm going to miss her being my BABY!!!
At home, she's making big toddler changes too. She's becoming VERY demanding and throws fits all the time. Today she threw a fit because we wouldn't let her wander around outside all evening (it was raining! and cold!!). She LOVES going outside because when it's nice out we do all sorts of fun things.
Here she is driving her 'car' that we inherited with our rented house. She LOVES this car. I love it because it's tall and easy to push around.
She is also learning new big toddler things like how to get dressed. She can't really put on pants or a shirt yet but she can put things around her neck and over her head. She is particularly attached to my old YWCA staff badge which she wears around the house all the time. It makes her look like she's about to go to work. She also found my old heart monitor and likes to put that around her neck too, and her binki strap. Below she's got all three.
In the toddler room, they wear outdoor shoes and play on the playground, they follow a schedule for eating and napping, and they have a whole new set of toys and activities for big toddlers. I think Layla will love it, although she will miss her friends from the baby room. She likes to cuddle the babies and tell the daycare staff when they need milk or a binki (which she often steals). We might go visit the baby room and say hi for a while until she gets used to her new big toddler room.
At home, she's making big toddler changes too. She's becoming VERY demanding and throws fits all the time. Today she threw a fit because we wouldn't let her wander around outside all evening (it was raining! and cold!!). She LOVES going outside because when it's nice out we do all sorts of fun things.
Here she is driving her 'car' that we inherited with our rented house. She LOVES this car. I love it because it's tall and easy to push around.She is also learning new big toddler things like how to get dressed. She can't really put on pants or a shirt yet but she can put things around her neck and over her head. She is particularly attached to my old YWCA staff badge which she wears around the house all the time. It makes her look like she's about to go to work. She also found my old heart monitor and likes to put that around her neck too, and her binki strap. Below she's got all three.
In the toddler room, they wear outdoor shoes and play on the playground, they follow a schedule for eating and napping, and they have a whole new set of toys and activities for big toddlers. I think Layla will love it, although she will miss her friends from the baby room. She likes to cuddle the babies and tell the daycare staff when they need milk or a binki (which she often steals). We might go visit the baby room and say hi for a while until she gets used to her new big toddler room.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Sleep!
We've been struggling a lot with sleep, especially since about last November... the onset of the worst of all our colds this year. When Layla's sick, she doesn't sleep well, and if there are good nights between the colds we aren't always well ourselves. Plus she's been waking up SUPER EARLY (5 am ish) which may have been because of the colds or may have just been her insane internal clock. The 5 am wake-ups were the worst - I've learned that my 'power hours' at night are from 4-6 am, and constant 5 am wake-ups really wrecked me. Plus, our house is small so it was difficult to sleep while Layla tore the house apart under the care of the other parent in her early-morning vigor.
Well I'm tentatively excited because Layla's been sleeping a little later lately, even sometimes until 7 or 7:30. So far the Studly Hubby and I have been ecstatic and sleeping in to better enjoy the amazing and sublime change of schedule. And we're still going to bed quite early (9:30) so that means we're getting LOTS of sleep... which is SOOO wonderful. I think I could do this for another 2 weeks or more before I finally got caught up on all the sleep we've lost over the past year. Already after just a week of this I feel like a new person - I make sense when I talk, can walk in a straight line again, and I think I'm standing up straighter. Wow!
Well I'm tentatively excited because Layla's been sleeping a little later lately, even sometimes until 7 or 7:30. So far the Studly Hubby and I have been ecstatic and sleeping in to better enjoy the amazing and sublime change of schedule. And we're still going to bed quite early (9:30) so that means we're getting LOTS of sleep... which is SOOO wonderful. I think I could do this for another 2 weeks or more before I finally got caught up on all the sleep we've lost over the past year. Already after just a week of this I feel like a new person - I make sense when I talk, can walk in a straight line again, and I think I'm standing up straighter. Wow!
Layla on the stairs
Layla has been practicing going up and down stairs lately. Actually, until today, she just sat on the bottom step and cried, wanting to go up but not knowing how. But today, she completely figured it out - and crawled all the way up the deck stairs!! Here she is right before the big adventure.
Layla finds the skill very useful. After her bath tonight, she crawled out of the tub (with a little help from her dad) using the very same skills. And at the park, she will now be able to crawl up the stairs to the slide, which she has been dreaming about lately.
We don't have a fence around our backyard and I can't help but worry that my little girl is going to escape me and run someplace dangerous (and fall down the steps to the backdoor, or get knocked over by the neighbor's dog, or find a thorny vine in the driveway...). So, I hover over her like a worried hen and make her hold my hand all the time. Probably as the summer sets in I'll have to work out a better plan and baby-proof the yard. Or maybe I'll just make her keep holding my hand as long as she's willing, because it's so darn cute when she does.
Layla finds the skill very useful. After her bath tonight, she crawled out of the tub (with a little help from her dad) using the very same skills. And at the park, she will now be able to crawl up the stairs to the slide, which she has been dreaming about lately.
We don't have a fence around our backyard and I can't help but worry that my little girl is going to escape me and run someplace dangerous (and fall down the steps to the backdoor, or get knocked over by the neighbor's dog, or find a thorny vine in the driveway...). So, I hover over her like a worried hen and make her hold my hand all the time. Probably as the summer sets in I'll have to work out a better plan and baby-proof the yard. Or maybe I'll just make her keep holding my hand as long as she's willing, because it's so darn cute when she does.
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