Our 7 month cutie

Sierra is 7 months old today.  I swear I just wrote her 6 month blog.  She's our chunky little giggle box.  She's still such a happy girl, but has had some issues lately.  She's still allergic to dairy, which we found out when I accidentally ate cheese in a sandwich, she cut her first bottom tooth at 6 1/2 months and is on the verge of a second on the bottom which is causing many sleepless, restless nights.  She seems to be always going through a growth spurt, nursing nonstop, but totally uninterested in eating more than a couple of tablespoons of solid foods.  We had to go back to the drawing board where that was concerned because of a really really bad diaper rash, so we're back to only eating rice cereal and applesauce.  She's not really into the avocado and we think it might've been the sweet potato that caused the reaction.  We took her to the ophthalmologist because of her droopy right eyelid, but he said there is nothing wrong and probably as her face grows the skin will stretch and it will be hardly noticeable.

She's sitting quite well these days and has become pretty adept at getting from her butt to her tummy, but hasn't mastered getting back yet.  She's also getting closer to getting on all fours.  All this practice has made for many face plants.  She's pretty good at getting around by rolling and squirming and bouncing on her butt but becomes very frustrated and desperately wants to crawl.  She's making all kinds of vocalizations now, mamamamama, squealing, grunting, blowing raspberries.  She waves to imitate you but hasn't done it spontaneously yet.  She's playing with the shape sorter and the stacking rings now.  Mostly she just chews on them, but she loves to hold a shape or ring in each hand and bang them together.  She also loves to hit the peg board with the hammer.  Trying to get Peyton to let go of these toys and let her play with them has been pretty difficult.  He has no interest until she's playing with them and then he steals them.  For the most part she takes it pretty well, but every once and a while she screams bloody murder.

Speaking of screaming bloody murder, she's gotten better at that.  She used to be so even keeled, now she screams when she can't do what she wants to do or get what she wants.  Boy does she have some lungs on her.

Sleeping has not been going well.  Everything affects her sleep and, in turn, mine.  Teething has been awful and on top of that she has her second cold right now.  Hoping this one doesn't turn into an ear infection too, but if sleeping doesn't improve by next week, another doctor's visit may be in order.

7 months flew by.  Before we know it we'll be celebrating a birthday.  Love that sweet baby.  

1/2 a year old!

Sierra went in for her 6 month well baby visit today.  Wow, how she's chunked up in the last month.  When she went in for her ear infection just a month ago she hadn't even crossed the 15 pound mark.  Now she weighs in at 16 lbs 8 oz!  She's also supposedly 27 inches long (putting her in the 85th percentile for height, which I have a hard time believing).  I guess adding solid foods packed on the pounds.  She's actually not eating a ton of solid food, probably a 1/4 of a cup a day or less, but she definitely was ready.  We started at about 5 1/2 months because she was desperate to eat everything we were eating.  So far she will eat rice cereal, applesauce, avocado, and sweet potatoes or any combo of them.  She likes to sing while she eats, making "nom, nom, nom, mamamamamama" noises.  It's so adorable.

She's sitting well on her own now, can roll from her tummy back to her back so that makes her modestly mobile.  This means I can't just lay her down in the living room anymore and leave since she can roll and wiggle her way to things she wants.  The jumperoo and sitting her on the floor are my saviors now (or a big brother who yells for Mommy any time anything goes slightly wrong with Sierra).  If I sit her down she can't gently let herself down to laying, so she'll just sit there.  It's only a matter of time though.  We're almost ready to come up with a new sleeping arrangement.  The co-sleeper mini is almost too short, but Peyton is still using the crib as a daybed and I'm not ready for them to be roommates just yet since she doesn't sleep through the night and probably won't for a long time.  I'm guessing the Pack-n-Play will become her nighttime home here soon (along with our bed because we do still co-sleep once she's woken up at least once at night).

She's got so much personality now with her constant babbling.  You can see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to figure stuff out.  She's sweet and cuddly at times and extremely squirmy and independent at other times.  I hope that is an indication of her personality down the road.  She had her first Christmas.  Santa brought her her first baby doll and she got a couple of books and a tea and cook set.  Obviously she can't use them yet, but she likes to chew on them.  That's all she wanted to do Christmas morning too, eat the packaging.

We are making an appointment with the ophthalmologist after her well baby visit today, just to check to make sure everything is right with her eyes.  Since birth one eyelid had drooped more than the other and it hasn't resolved.  Hopefully this is just a visit to put our minds at ease that nothing is wrong.  Better to be safe than sorry.  Developmentally and weight wise she is doing so well we hope that is indicative of nothing major being wrong.

Overall we are looking forward to the next 6 months of her growing as a person.  I look at her and her brother and can't believe how quickly time flies and how soon we won't have babies anymore, just kids.  As I think about that I squeeze her a little tighter, kiss her sweet chubby cheeks some more, play with her tiny baby feet and blow raspberries on her tummy.  

5 months-Smiles, giggles and ear infections

Our little sweet pea is 5 months old and getting cuter by the day (I didn't think that was possible).  She is becoming more fun now that she enjoys playing with toys and is so entertained by her big brother.  She giggles at everything, loves being tossed in the air (not too high yet), and is super smiley.  In the last month she has started sitting for short periods of time on her own.  She still throws herself over backwards or tips over when she tired, but can sit for up to 10 minutes, which is good because she doesn't want to ever be on her back.  She still can't figure out rolling back over from her belly to her back, but has now discovered airplaneing and doesn't mind being on her belly for long periods of time now.  She's even starting to push up with her arms.

She weighs in at 14 lbs, 14 oz.  How do I know since she doesn't have a well baby visit this month?  Because she has her first ear infection and had to go to the doc and be on antibiotics.  We can't wait for her to be done because they are really upsetting her stomach, even taking a probiotic.  I've never changed so many poopy diapers a day in my life (and poopy clothes, she's a master of getting poop out of her diaper).  The good news is that she seems to be doing much better than she was.  She's not nearly as stuffed up and can breathe through her nose again.  She's also not spitting up from the sinus drainage anymore.  The illness began the day before we went to Florida for Thanksgiving and she was miserable on the flight to Florida. She cried for about 3 of the 3 1/2 hours, probably because her ears hurt.  We learned and gave her some benadryl to dry her out and tylenol on the way back and she was much better.

Speaking of Florida, she got to spend some time on the beach and go in the pool. She seemed to enjoy it as best she could being sick.  The weather was fantastic so we really got to enjoy the outdoors.  She looked so darn cute in her little bathing suit.  I can't wait until next year when she'll be able to play with her brother in the sand and ocean.  She's also had her first Halloween (no costume this year) and her first Thanksgiving.  This year there was one thing that stood out above all others for us to be thankful for...our healthy, beautiful angel, Sierra.

Four months old, all smiles, giggles, and a bit of chunk

Today was not only Sierra's 4 month birthday and her first snow, but her 4 month appointment at the doctor's office.  She weighed in at 13 lbs, 7 1/2 oz, nearly a pound less than her brother at that age.  Her growth curve makes more sense now with her smallish parents.  She's now 50th percentile across the board, weight/height/head circumference.  We decided to only give her one vaccine today because of her awful reaction at 2 months to having 3.  She vomited twice and hardly ate for days after.  So this time we decided to spread them out.  If she tolerates this one well, we'll go back in a couple of weeks for another, etc. etc.  So far so good, but she is fussy today, but was before her doctor's appointment.  I don't know what her deal is, the change in barometric pressure with the snow, a cold, or just not wanting to sleep, but I think she's cried more today than she has in weeks.  She's generally a very happy baby, very giggly and super smiley.  She still can't quite roll from her stomach to her back (but can easily roll from her back to her stomach and gets so mad when she can't get back) but I think it'll happen soon.  She now loves sitting in the Bumbo and is so much more interactive with the world.  She smiles at her brother every time she sees him and gets upset when left alone.  She's so close to sitting propped on her arms and now loves being in the Moby wrap facing out so she can see the world.  She's also finally playing with toys, especially soft ones she can gnaw and droll on.  Lovin' my baby girl more by the day.

14 weeks-what a change

I just had to blog about the changes I've seen in Sierra in the last week or so.  Suddenly she is Miss Personality.  She giggles when I tickle or kiss her neck, she watches every move her brother makes.  Every time I come into view I get a big smile.  She loves batting at her new play gym and sitting in the Bumbo, but still doesn't like to hold onto toys and play with them.  She's SO close to being able to roll back from her tummy to her back.

The biggest reason I'm blogging is she is definitely going through a growth spurt.  My God, the child is eating nonstop!  She seems to have doubled in size in the last several days and I've cleaned her closet out of size 0-3 month clothes and have pulled out all the 6 month clothing.  She's getting so big so fast.  Speaking of "so big" she giggles with that and if I play pad-a-cake with her.  She's having a relapse with her reflux with this growth spurt, probably due to overeating, spitting up and being overall fussy if laid on her back after eating.  She's also on a nap strike.  Today I couldn't get her to nap more than 10 minutes at a time to save my life.  The last two nights are the first time since giving up dairy that I had to try to get her to sleep at night.  Most nights she's such a good baby she goes right to sleep when Peyton does and sleeps through the night.  She's also waking up at night making for a very tired Mama.

Love my big baby girl.  Sweeter by the day.

12 weeks old and on a roll

First Gator Game at the San Diego Gator Club

Sierra and Braylen

Pretty Girl

Getting good at this Bumbo thing

I love the camera and the camera loves me

First time at the beach-Pacific Beach, San Diego

Tummy time!

Sucking her fingers, it's either this or the thumb

A day before turning 12 weeks old, our sweet baby girl rolled herself right over from her back to her tummy and was not happy about it.  She continues to rely on sucking for comfort and has been seemingly going through a growth spurt with nonstop eating and a return of a bad tummy.  She has started sucking either on her middle two fingers or her thumb, but either way finds it easier to roll onto her side and bringing her head to her hand instead of bringing her hand to her head.  She started sucking so intensely that she got closer and closer to her stomach until, all of the sudden, she was on her belly and shocked.  She did this over and over again yesterday, but wouldn't do it again today.


I swear she is growing and chunking up before our eyes.  The last 5 days or so she has been an eating machine, even waking more at night to eat.  Part of the night waking was due to getting her first cold.  The day after we got back from our trip to San Diego, both Peyton and Sierra came down with stuffy noses.  It's only now, a week and a half later, that they both seem to be almost better.  We don't have a well baby appointment until 4 months old so we don't have a new weight and length, but I really think she's gaining weight as I look at her now.

Sierra took her first airplane ride this month.  We went to San Diego to visit Linnea and her new family.  She was really good on the plane, sleeping the whole way to San Diego and only crying briefly on the way back.  She was such a good baby the whole time we were there.  She rarely cried and slept really well and seemed to have little issue with her stomach.  The same can't be said for now.  I haven't eaten any dairy but for the last several days she's been acting like I have.

She's become such a smily, giggly little baby.  She watches her brother intently and often finds him funny.  We are in the process of trying to establish a bedtime congruent with her brother since I go back to work next week on Sundays and Mondays and she's going to have to go to childcare with Miss Lisa on Mondays.  We went and met with her last week and Sierra was initially fussy, but soon became comfortable in her arms and went to sleep.  That should make me feel better, but I have an anxiety attack and start to cry every time I think about leaving my little girl with someone else for a whole day, even if it is only one day a week.  I didn't relinquish Peyton to her until he was 13 months old and she'll only be 3.  In the long run, it'll probably be easier for her to transition this young, but it's harder for me.

8 weeks old, Miss Personality

Our baby girl is already 8 weeks old.  Hard to believe, but she's growing like a weed and becoming more smily and personable by the day.  Now that I've stopped eating dairy, she's not miserable with gas pains or spitting up constantly.  She still spits up, but not in the copious amounts she was.  I'll try to reintroduce dairy at about 3 months old to see if she'll tolerate it, but for right now, it's a small price to pay for a happy, pain free baby.

She is responding with huge smiles to her mommy, daddy, and brother.  Her eyes are bright and she's completely interested in everything going on around her.  She's able to roll onto her sides and can lift her head to about 45 degrees when laying on her tummy, but she hates it.  I try to give her tummy time daily, but it has to be in short spurts because she gets so mad, possibly due to her stomach problems, it may be painful.  She's sleeping about 6 hours straight at this time and waking up only once or twice a night to eat, which is nice for me.  Maybe she'll sleep through the night before a year and a half, which is when Peyton finally started doing it.  She's ahead of the norm in her development, but not nearly as far ahead as her brother was, but I have a feeling she'll be a much earlier talker.  She tries to hard to communicate already, imitating sounds you make and vocalizing a lot when she's happy.  She also sucks to sooth and the pacifier may soon be a thing of the past now that she's discovered her thumb.  It'll be easier once she has more control of her hands and fingers, right now it's kind of luck when she gets it in there and gets really mad when she can't.  

We've been camping with her twice now, once at 7500 feet for one night and once at over 10,000 feet for two nights.  She does great as long as she's kept warm.  She's also getting well travelled.  We spent a day in Copper for Daddy's Warrior Dash, and are going to Steamboat this weekend.  Next week we will be going to visit Linnea in San Diego so she'll get to go on her first plane ride.  

Yesterday she went to her 8 week appointment and weighed in at 10 lbs 9 oz (best guess because she was so wiggly on the scale they were having a hard time getting a reading) and is 23 inches long.  That puts her at 80% on the height curve, which I find weird and 35% on the weight.  She's a chunky little thing, so I'm not sure that's right.  The doctor's office just started using Ipads and I don't think they quite know what they are doing yet.  She had her first shots and did well with actually getting the shots, but had a really bad reaction to the dTaP later on in the day, screaming bloody murder and projectile vomiting in the bathroom at Buffalo Wild Wings.  I hate that shot, Peyton didn't respond well to his first one either.  Once she slept it off she's been absolutely fine today.  It was no easier to deal with the second time around.  It's so hard to see your baby miserable.  She loves the bath, though, so we got in when we got home from dinner and she was happy as a clam.  She will definitely be a water lover.

I forgot how fast they grow...can't wait to see what she's doing next month.