18-MONTH STATS

(I know I'm not keeping up the blog very well, but here are the recent highlights anyway.)



HGT: 33 inches

WGT: 27 pounds

NEW TRICKS: Loves dancing, finally uses crayons/markers as they were intended, loves play-d*h, "helps" in the kitchen, follows many commands (e.g., go get your bunny), can point out people (including herself) in photos

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: "Helping" in the kitchen, going down slides, reading, art projects, anything related to music (singing, dancing, "playing" instruments), looking at family photos

FAVORITE FOODS: Hmmm, this is a tough one. It changes daily. Things she pretty much likes consistently include palaak paneer, israeli couscous, any combination of rice and beans (especially lentils), expensive brands of chicken nuggets from Wh*le F**ds, most fruits, cucumbers, Cheeri*'s, yogurt, and many snack foods (including M-Ms and chedd*r bunnies)

LEAST FAVORITE FOODS: Pretty much anything kids usually like including pizza, hot dogs, noodles, hot cereal, sandwiches, the list goes on...

WORDS SHE SAYS: She says tons of words that we don't know. In addition to her previous set she says please, cheese, rice, cookie, outside, slide, meow, moo, juice, here you go, bunny, kitty, yes. She still signs milk instead of saying it and is working on signing/saying cracker. I'm sure there are more that I am not thinking of right now.

THINGS SHE DISLIKES: Nothing in particular except being told she cannot do/have whatever she wants to do/have at any particular moment. Telling her she cannot do/have something might result in any combination of (somewhat amusing) behaviors including: crying, throwing an object, flopping down into a sitting position and then if very mad sliding onto her stomach. Luckily all of the above reactions can usually be quelled by picking her up and/or providing a distraction.

That's all I've got for now. I'll try to update a couple times before she is two!

14-MONTH POST
Sorry for my absense. I have been super busy/distracted transitioning Julia to her new daycare. Craig and I are both excited about this place but it has been a r-o-u-g-h transition. It seems we are on the other side now. She loves the art activities. We have our first finger painting of hers on the fridge! Here's the latest on our busy, busy 14-month old:

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT: Don't know b/c she doesn't go back to the doctor until 15-months, but she is tall and skinny. Since it's summer and long pants aren't required, she is still wearing 12-18 month or 18 month clothes.
NEW TRICKS: She's officially a toddler. She toddles all about the house. It is so cute. We have to post video. She also loves to kiss and can pretty much feed herself with a spoon and fork.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Walking, walking and more walking. Kissing. Reading. Playing with the phone. Pulling tissues out of the box. Pushing strollers and mini grocery carts.
FAVORITE FOODS: Cheddar crackers, string cheese, all fruit especially berries, Italian, Mexican and Indian foods, sometimes hot dogs, yogurt with baby food vegetables in it, ice cream.
LEAST FAVORITE FOODS: Whatever she loved the day before. Spicy foods.
WORDS SHE SAYS: She regressed with her language development a little bit when was working on walking but her repertoire includes hi, hello, bye, woof, mama, dada, possibly read and play and allegedly (according to her daycare teacher) hooray!
THINGS SHE DISLIKES (STRONGLY): Having her hair washed, walking on sidewalk grates and sewer covers, when we use the d*st b*ster.

I posted new pictures on flickr, so take a look over there --->

Woof!
That's what we're counting as Julia's first word. However, we think she probably says hi and tries to say dog and possibly cat. Here's her stats from her 12-month appointment:
Height- 31 inches; 90%-ile
Weight- 22 lbs, 15 ounces; 75%-ile
Height for Weight- 50%-ile

Other 12-month tidbits:
Whole milk- Has been met with disgust every time so far
Favorite foods- Ch*erios, Ch*ddar Bunnies, strawberries, kiwi, yogurt, string cheese
Least favorite foods- A-N-Y baby food (i.e., in a jar) that comes with lumps/texture, all baby cereals, all adult hot cereals
Mobility- Loves crawling, giggles when she gets going fast; stands by herself on occasion; cruises the furniture pretty well; no discernible independent walking yet

We'll be working on the whole milk and cups instead of bottles over the next few weeks.

Part 4: The Aftermath (Okay, there's 4 parts, not three)
Once we got back to the room, we began to realize that they had no plans to let us have you in our room that night. They told us that the pediatrician would be in at 8:00 a.m. to assess cardiac function and that you had to stay on the monitor in the nursery until then. I was incredibly disappointed that I had waited 37 weeks and 5 days, pushed for 3 hours and was not holding a baby and wouldn’t until the next morning. Also, I was so worried about you down there in the nursery all by yourself. I made Daddy go check and you and talk to you and rub you a few times. Finally, about 8 p.m. you got hungry and one of the nurses got the bright idea to call said pediatrician and find out what they were supposed to do about that (since I had planned to BF you) what with the immobile monitor and all. THANKFULLY, the pediatrician thought they were a little nuts to leave you on the monitor all night long and said to bring you to our room. I was still recovering up in labor & delivery so they brought you up, I BF you and you promptly fell asleep. We finally had our little muffin all to ourselves. Daddy brought you in your bassinet when they moved us down to the maternity floor. It was kind of that the nurse who taught our birthing class was on duty and helped move us down to maternity. After that, you stayed with us, except for a fair bit of testing and a few hours that night when they insisted that we sleep, for the rest of our 4 day stay.
A few funny little things that we remember about you those first days:

• Your nose was squished to one side and bruised from your head being stuck in the birth canal, your leg was also bruised from being stuck and the bruise was recorded as a birthmark and you still had your lanugo (dark, downy hair that protects the skin in utero) in several places but the most fun was on your ears.


• You were a bit stubborn from the very first day. We know this because once you sampled a bottle (mandated by the doctor every three hours due to your jaundice), you did “the plank” every time we tried to get you to BF. You seemed to think the extra work involved in BF-ing was highly overrated. And you were teeny weeny, itty bitty.


• Daddy changed all your diapers during those first four days. The nurses ordered him all around waiting on the two of us. Daddy and I were so tired, most of the time we just shared my hospital meal rather taking the effort to go get take out.


• We called Catherine, the daycare provider we had interviewed Saturday morning, from the hospital in a panic on Monday morning to reserve the infant spot since we had nothing else lined up that point. We also had to have the nurse fax in my maternity leave paperwork and line up someone to do some data collection that I had scheduled for work that day. I guess you could say we were a little surprised that you arrived when you did!

But we enjoyed every sleep deprived, baby crying, mommy in pain minute of it because we were so excited that our 37 week, 5 day wait was over and you were finally here! Below are pictures of you in your B*ppy at 5 days old and 1 year, 5 days old. Over 12 months, the baby who loved to sleep quietly in her B*ppy has grown into the baby who is angry at her Mommy for daring to request that she lay in her B*ppy for a 30 sec photo op!

Part 3: The Real Action
So, a C-Section it was. We were terrified but we knew it was the best thing for you because they thought your heart rate was not recovering as well as it had been after the contractions. The worst part was that Daddy wasn’t allowed in the room for what seemed like forever while they prepped me for the procedure. I think it actually took about 15 minutes but it was incredibly scary in this too bright, too loud room where lots of people were doing things to me that I couldn’t see because they blocked my line of sight with a gown. Also, I hated the anesthesia. So, I was left with the not-so-friendly resident, the one who placed my epidural, for comfort and his very difficult to understand (due to broken English) boss. The resident pulled out what seemed to be his best comfort tactics but they consisted of patting me on the head. His boss took over by holding one of my freakishly shaky hands and telling me about all the other women who had C-Sections before me. Let’s just say I was hugely relieved when Daddy came back and I think I about broke his hand. The only down side to Daddy’s return was that he looked scared. And on top of that, he looked like he was trying to hide that he was scared.

During the procedure I didn’t feel much of anything, not even the pulling sensation some women describe. I think they had me super-drugged because I was so scared of having surgery. However, as I mentioned, I hated the anesthesia—it was too weird that I couldn’t feel my body and it made me nauseous. So there was more vomiting and some very expensive oral medication (anesthesia boss mentioned the cost prior to administering it) to help nausea that I promptly spit out. Thankfully, it was not very long before we got our reward.

The room had been fairly silent and suddenly (at 4:52 p.m.) we heard a good cry. You were here! I remember the doctors saying two things: “She looks surprised.” and “There’s no way she would have fit through there.” They rushed you over to the work area where they did your Apgar tests (they were good by the way—8 and 9) and started cleaning you up. Before they were finished, they called Daddy over to see you. He had been so worried about making sure that I was okay, that he forgot to rush over. He took pictures but didn’t realize that he probably could’ve held you. He often mentions that if he could do it all over again, he would have cuddled you up right away.

They finally finished with their testing and brought you over to me, all bundled up and sleepy. The nurse basically just brought you by my face and let me kiss you and then dashed you off to the nursery. They were all in a twit about getting you on a cardiac monitor because of Daddy’s WPW. Daddy then stayed with me while they finished the procedure, which felt like it took longer than the birth part. This picture shows what you looked like by the time I got to see you since I couldn't get up and go over to the work area.

Part 2: The Action (Or So We Thought)
It was 3:00 a.m. when they took me back into a triage room. They checked things out, told me that I was not in active labor, started my IVs (being GBS positive I needed 4 hours of IV antibiotics before you were born) and told me they wanted to induce labor. I asked if we could wait a little while and see if things would progress naturally and they said I could have until 7:00 a.m. We snoozed as we could until then. Except they wanted to check to see if you were breech. I explained that I had just had an ultrasound the previous Thursday and you were head down as you had been for weeks, but they insisted. They proceeded to take F-O-R-E-V-E-R with this old portable machine to decide that you were indeed head down. At 7:00 a.m. there was no further progress so I was moved to a labor room and pitocyn was started.

From this point, I could only have ice chips and popsicles. I ate one grape popsicle—we have the photographic proof (below). Very shortly, the contractions began. I made it 2 hours before yelling to Daddy that I needed the epidural. I have blocked out most of those 2 hours, though I do remember that it hurt A LOT and there was vomiting involved (deteriorated state shown below). When they came to check I was more than halfway dilated. It didn’t take long for them to come and place the epidural. The chief resident did it under the supervision of his boss. He did a very good job but was not very friendly. The nurse was very nice and talked me through the procedure, which required me to stay very still (even through contractions) and for Daddy to go away. Once the epidural was placed, I felt MUCH better and was pretty much fully dilated without much discomfort by 11 a.m. They asked me to rest awhile to prepare for pushing around 1 p.m. By the way, I was already super thirsty and the nurse had chastised Daddy once for giving me too many ice chips when I really wanted him to pour a gallon of water down my throat.

We rested the best we could until 1 p.m. By then we were really excited because they told us you would likely be born within about a ½ hour. Daddy and the nurse were helping me push by holding my legs, counting and general cheerleading. The contractions were fairly close together, so I was pushing regularly once we got started. During the first hour, you progressed quickly to the point where everyone (except me) could see your head. During the second hour, you did not progress AT ALL. We tried a few different positions for the pushing to knock you loose and nothing. Towards the end of the second hour the first murmurs of a C-Section between the doctor and the resident began. During one of these conversations (which did not yet include us), the nurse chimed in that she thought there was still a shot that you would progress further and we should try for one more hour. The doctors agreed that I could have one more hour of pushing if I agreed to an internal monitor for you, but that they would cut it off at 4 p.m.

Well, I REALLY wanted to avoid a C-Section, so I pushed like crazy for that hour. Unfortunately, no progress was made and after 3 hours of pushing—the last hour with all my might—I was completely exhausted. So the doctors conferred and said they would try vacuum aspiration for 2-3 contractions but they didn’t recommend it because you were not in the ideal position for it to work. The only other option was a C-Section, which they preferred. I thought it amusing that they offered a solution that they didn’t recommend. As if I was going to say, “Yes, let’s do that strange procedure that you don’t think will work and don’t recommend!”

Your Birth Day for Your Birthday
Hi all, I wrote Julia's birth story in honor of her first birthday. It's in 3 parts which I will post over the next few days. Enjoy!
Part 1: The Prelude
On Saturday, April 29th, Daddy and I had a busy day preparing for your arrival. First, we interviewed a potential home daycare provider named Catherine. We were fairly happy with her but felt that we were just at the beginning of our search. We had only interviewed at one other place in person. I should point out that this appointment was at 11:00 a.m. and was the very first thing we did that Saturday. Little did we know that it would be last morning for a very long time that we got up just in time to eat and shower for an 11:00 a.m. appointment!

Right after that meeting we had an appointment at a place about 30 minutes away in Needham where you make 12 dinners in 2 hours for freezing and later consumption called Dream Dinners. I was starving so we stopped at Rosie’s at Inman Square and I had a German Chocolate brownie and milk that I had to eat in the car. I was grumpy about that.

When we got to Dream Dinners, the greeter exclaimed, “Don’t have that baby in here!” and I wholeheartedly assured her that I wouldn’t be having the baby for another couple of weeks. We made our food and rushed it home to the freezer. After a late lunch (which I honestly can’t remember), we spent the afternoon/evening on baby prepping chores. We searched the Consumer Reports website for the air conditioners we needed to buy and called around to local merchants to locate them. Then we made two important lists: the Things To Do Before Baby list and the What To Bring To The Hospital list. We left the hospital list unfinished. To be clear, the Things To Do Before Baby list contained some pretty important items. For example, I had just received the signed maternity leave paperwork from the OB-GYN in the mail THAT day, so on the list was, “turn in maternity leave paperwork.”

It was getting fairly late by this time so we decided to relax for the rest of the night. Neither of us was hungry since we had a late lunch, so we ate peanut butter toast. This decision was one I came to regret for the next 3 days. We then retired to the living room to watch Good Night and Good Luck on DVD. I was very tired and snoozed on and off throughout the movie, but Daddy said you were kicking and bouncing around like crazy in there. We ended up going to bed about 12:30 a.m.

It was taking me awhile to fall asleep and just as I started drifting off, I felt a gush of warm water on my legs—my water broke! I woke up Daddy and immediately called the doctor reporting the items they told us to keep track of during our childbirth class. They told us to get packed up, shower and go to the hospital. The next hour was complete chaos, I remember shouting to Daddy, “Do you realize that when we come back here we will be bringing a baby?” I also remember Daddy running around with a duffel bag with nothing in it. We finally got a hold of ourselves and remembered that our pregnancy book had a generic list for hospital packing—I think we had temporarily forgotten about our half-finished one. We used that to pack a bag, showered up and left the house about 2:30 a.m. The picture below was taken during that chaos.

I'm Back
Things are settling down for us after my grant submission and the holiday. Pictures to come. For now, I want to see if our video posting works. At this point, I am providing links to videos in the body of posts. I have two other solutions in the works that are a little more sophisticated.

At any rate, this video demonstrates what Julia thinks of the very expensive, frozen baby food we buy her. This one is Pl*m Organics. She much prefers the 50 cents a jar Be*ech N*t variety. Go figure...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1uEBDtzGe4

FRIDAY NIGHT MUST-SEE

This Friday night at 8 pm (ET) on NBC try to watch the game show 1 v. 100. Two of the Harvard professors are two of the people I work with-- Gary and Betsy. Gary is my secondary mentor.

I can't wait to see it! Here is a link to the promo: http://www.nbc.com/1vs100/

PS- Video is coming soon to 'Now We Are Three'. Craig and I just have a couple more kinks to work out. Stay tuned!

Stomach Flu Round 2



Well, it has been quite a month in the Harley House: a big move, stomach flu episode 1 for all of us, a loss in our family, and NOW for our gastrointestinal pleasure-- stomach flu episode 2 for Julia.

The poor, little munchkin came down with it again yesterday afternoon. She's doing a bit better today but has absolutely no appetite and no patience for anything but being carried around/held by one of us. Craig and I are hoping against hope that we are not going to participate in this round of flu. But just in case, we have been strictly limiting our diet to bland foods just.in.case.

In other news, I never had a chance to post her 9-months stats:
Height: 29.5" (no, that is not a typo)
Weight: 19.5 lbs.

She is around the 90th %-ile for height and around the 75th %-ile for weight. She is right on target at about 50th %-ile height for weight which is theone that checks to make sure you are proportional.

Here's a cute picture in our new place shortly after SF1: