A girl, her thumb, and a blanket..

I started sucking my thumb as a baby and had to have my pink blankie with the satin edge to rub between my fingers while I did it. I had a white blanket identical to the pink one, but refused the white one and HAD to have the pink. Around when I turned 5, my parents I guess decided it was time I stopped. They came up with the plan of cutting it smaller and smaller until there was pretty much nothing left. LOL. It worked!

Fast forward. Ryan sucked his thumb here and there, but never really got attached. He went back and forth between that and the pacifier and around a year old, he ditched the thumb and strictly took the pacifier. Around 18 months, he started getting the binky only at naptime and bedtime and we took it away at 2 years old with NO problems. It was like he didn't even miss it!

Fast forward again. Brooke has been sucking her thumb for awhile now. More and more as the days go by. She will now put herself to sleep by sucking her thumb, which admittedly is nice that she is able to soothe herself. I try not to worry about her getting too attached and not wanting to give it up. Who knows how it will play out, but for right now I think it's good for her. Makes it nice too because she can't lose it vs. a pacifier that you can constantly be searching for.

Well, this last week or so Brooke has really taken to laying under her activity play mat during the day. I started laying a blanket over the mat on it in case she pukes (I plan to try to resell it when she's done with it, so I'm trying not to ruin it, lol). So anyway, the past few days we've noticed her grabbing a hold of that blanket and holding it while she sucks her thumb to go to sleep! She has frequently put herself to sleep this way (my next goal is to be able to put her down awake at night, but first we need to get her crib up...and room to put her crib...but that's a whole other post). Even before we noticed her using the blanket this way, I would notice her grabbing her bib or clothes to hold on to while sucking. LOL. Soooo, I think I'm going to get her a small blanket that she can...get attached to...I guess you'd say. My twisted theory is that if she gets to the point where she doesn't want to stop sucking her thumb (I'm talking at like 4-5 years old) and she HAS to have the blanket to do so (like I did) that we will be able to "wean" her from her thumb by only giving her her blankie at naptime and bedtime and then eventually taking it away. It's okay, you can laugh at me. LOL.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday of her "in action". I have a couple more, but Photobucket was being a butt and wouldn't upload them : P.

LOL!! She grabbed the blanket and rolled over.

You can also sort of see...she was *almost on her belly! After I took this pic, I pulled the blanket away and tried to coax her the rest of the way over. Her arm was stuck under her and she got SUPER ticked off. LOL. So I ended up helping her out. It won't be long until she's doing it on her own!

I don't get it...

Friday night, Brooke drank her last bottle for the night around 10pm and went to bed around 10:45 and was back up at 2 (that's a short stretch for her)! Then slept from 2:30 to 7. Last night she finished her last bottle around 9:15 and was sleeping. I figured she be back up by 10:30 to eat again before going to sleep for the night, but she didn't. So around 10:30, I took her up to bed and she didn't wake up. I woke up around 5am for a potty break and had a heart attack because she hadn't woken up yet. She was fine, lol. I went pee and laid back down, figuring she'd have me up w/in a half an hour, but she slept until almost 8:00! Almost 12 hours! HOW can I get her to do that every night?? LOL. I'll settle for even 8 or 9 straight hours....EVERY night, lol. I wish I could figure out the trick because for the most part, her schedule is the same. I just cannot figure out what makes her sleep longer and why she varies so much on her sleep pattern at night. Maybe I'm expecting too much...Ryan wasn't sleeping through the night until he was 8-9 months old. It's just been SO long....I definitely feel rusty when it comes to taking care of a baby again! LOL. It's almost like being a first time mom again!

Happy 6 Months, Brooke!

(Posted One Day Late)

I took these pictures yesterday, but never got around to posting them. I really cannot believe my baby is 6 months old already! Time goes by way too fast when you're an adult (and even faster once you have kids).

This month I'm going to throw in the previous months pictures for comparison....

Look at her sitting up! : )

Her hair is really growing in!

I think this is one of my all time favorite pics of Brooke...and I think it's even better in black and white.

She was sitting there so nicely! She sat there for the longest time watching Ryan play with his bowling set on the floor.

Brooke isn't due for tracking from Early Intervention until early November, unless I were to call and request it sooner. It seems to me that developmentally she is about in between her actual age and her adjusted age (3 months). She's getting close to sitting on her own. She can roll belly to back and rolls side to side all the time, so it's just a matter of time until she rolls back to belly. She is enjoying tummy time more and holding her head up a million times better than a month ago and even holding her chest up at times. She is really starting to bat at toys and reach for them and can even grab them a lot of the time now! Brooke really enjoys laying under activity mat and is able to pull the handle on the little flower that's on it and make it play music.

I'm sure you remember me venting on here before about the difficult times I was having with her being so fussy and needy. My mom kept telling me to give her time and she would probably outgrow it, but I was worried she wouldn't. Turns out I was worried for nothing because she is turning in to a mostly pleasant little baby, instead of a mostly fussy one, lol. She really enjoys hanging out under her play mat these days. She definitely has the self soothing thing down courtesy of sucking her thumb! The other day she layed under her mat and put herself to sleep by sucking her thumb THREE different times. LOL. That night I tried putting her to bed awake, but it wasn't happening. Hopefully eventually she will go down awake. I still have her sleeping in her Boppy pillow inside the bassinet due to her reflux, but I don't think I'm going to be able to do that too much longer. I think she's already getting to the point of wanting to roll around and be freer. I'm sort of afraid to have her lay down to sleep with the reflux, even though it's remarkably better. I'm afraid of her choking and not hearing her. I know they make the crib wedges, but the problem is at the moment we have nowhere to put her crib. Plus, it doesn't seem to me that she would just eventually end up rolling right down the wedge. LOL. Maybe some night I'll try just laying her in the bassinet and see how she does.

Well, that's my little update on my now 6 month old! Thanks for reading ; ).

Picture Catch-up

picturesI've been slacking with pictures again...so here are some recent ones of Brooke. Bad Mommy didn't get the ones of Ryan uploaded yet!

She's sitting so well in this now!

Look at those spit bubbles!

She's holding her head up very well on her belly now!

I think she looks HUGE in this pic!

She found her feet. They haven't made it to her mouth...yet. LOL.

"Go Steelers!!"

(Too bad they lost this week.)

I sat her down in the corner of the couch and went to grab her bottle and found her like this, lol. She was trying to get her thumb in her mouth and apparently had to lean over to do so!

Photo editing courtesy of Photobucket ; ).

She is ADDICTED to her thumb : X.

Crabby, tired baby.

She's looking pretty huge here, too! I ordered this diaper cover (it was a custom) while I was pregnant and it came while I was in the hospital...the day I had her, actually!

This photo editing stuff is addictive : X.

MIA

Sorry I've been MIA for the last week. I haven't really felt much like blogging, but I'm starting to get the urge again. Quick update....Yesterday I took Brooke for a WIC appointment and she was weighed and measured....12lbs. 2.5oz. and 23.5in.! The length I know is off, though...my mom and I measured her on Saturday (very carefully, I might add) and got 24.25in., which I think is more accurate considering she is on the verge of outgrowing her 3/6 month sleepers already!

I was wrong!

Yesterday it was terrible trying to get Brooke to take her bottles. She would act starving, but when I would go to feed her, she would scream. I'd finally get her to drink, she would stop to burp, and then scream again when I would try to feed her. But she was acting hungry. She'd never done this before. she was also only taking 2 ounces at a time instead of 3 or more. She was also a lot more fussy than she has been...just screaming at times. Finally about 9:30 last night I started thinking maybe she had an ear infection, especially with her just getting over a cold. So I packed her up and took her to the ER, not wanting to chance her having an infection and waiting until today and it getting much worse. Well, her ears are clear! So who knows why she was being so crabby and not wanting to eat. Her cold is almost completely gone. I guess I'll just chalk it up to really bad gas. We got home a little before 11 last night and she drank a couple ounces and then went down for the night, back up at 4 and drank almost 3 ounces, and then slept again until almost 8:30 (of course Ryan was up at 6...GRRRR). Then when she got up, she drank almost 4 ounces and is now napping. So hopefully whatever was bothering her yesterday is gone today.

We have taken Ryan to the ER many times in the past due to me suspecting something was wrong that needed to be addressed ASAP and my intuition was always right! We've taken him in for pnuemonia, bronchitis, dehydration, and ear infections (he's only had 2 of those, both double ones). So this was my first time going in for nothing. There goes $35 (co-pay) out the window, but at least I got some peace of mind. I'm still learning this little girl, though...so that's my story and I'm stickin' to it ; ).

Sitting Pretty With the Sniffles

Ryan was so very kind enough to share his cold with Brooke : P. He started with it Wednesday evening and she started yesterday morning. So far she is just sneezing and has a tiny bit of nasal congestion. She's still eating pretty good, just smaller amounts more frequently. Still her mostly happy-go-lucky self, too : ). I'm not sure if I ever said on here about how much easier and happier she has been the last few weeks, but she's like an almost completely different baby than a month ago even. She used to be very fussy for no apparent reason. Now she only cries/fusses if she's tired, hungry, bored, or needs changed. Now that she's getting older, she's happier to just hang out in her swing, in her bouncy, or just laying on the couch or the floor. And she's working on a new skill....sitting up by herself! She's still pretty wobbly, but I think she'll have this mastered soon...hopefuly by the time we get her 6 month pics done at the end of the month : ). Look!

I would try leaning her back against the Boppy pillow and she would struggle to sit up again! LOL. She's stubborn (and nosy)!

Ryan didn't sit without support until he was 11 months actual/7 months corrected age! So this is just awesome that she's doing this at 5 1/2 months actual/2 1/2 months corrected!

Food For Thought Friday

I just made this Wednesday night. It is SOOO yummy and a total comfort food. I always double this recipe!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 strips of bacon

1 1/2 lbs. potatoes, cut in to 1 in. cubes

1-10 3/4 oz. can condensed chicken broth

2 c. milk

1-8 oz. package Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 Tbsp. chives

1/2 c. sour cream

Directions:

Fry bacon, then crumble and return to pan.

Add potatoes and chicken broth and boil/simmer until potatoes are soft.

Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon and place in mixing bowl. Add just enough of the milk to mash the potatoes.

Return potatoes to pan with the chicken broth.

Blend in remaining milk and cheese and heat until cheese melts. Add sour cream and chives.

Enjoy!

Sad day

I dread this day every year. I can still remember the events unfolding as if it were yesterday. I had just gotten up to get ready to go to work at the pizza shop I was employed at. My mom happened to have the TV on to one of the local stations, but she was upstairs cleaning the bathroom. I was getting ready to go up and shower and happened to walk past the living room and saw that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At that point everyone thought it was an accident. Then everyone saw the 2nd plane hit and everyone knew this was no accident. I yelled for my mom and she came down to watch. I saw those buildings fall and it took a couple minutes to register that there were people still inside :*(. When the plane slammed in to the Pentagon, I started getting really nervous and scared. On my way to work was when I heard on the radio that a plane went down in a field less than an hour away from where I live and then it REALLY hit home.

I got to work and my boss and my aunt (who worked there as well) were both in a frenzy. We were all scared and my boss decided to just close down the shop.

Much of the day was spent watching the news. I thought maybe this was the end of the world. I had never experienced such a huge tragedy. I didn't know what these terrorists were capable of doing. I felt very vulnerable...like ANYTHING could happen at ANY moment. That afternoon my mom sent me down to the store to get buns...we were having hamburgers for supper. There were people just standing around everywhere, talking about what had happened. And I will never forget what a beautiful, fall day it was. The sky was crystal blue with white puffy clouds and the temperature was perfect...not too hot, not too cool. How could such a beautiful day bring such tragedy??

I did not know anyone that lost their life that day or that was in any of those buildings or airplanes. My heart aches for those that were lost and who lost loved ones. I cannot imagine what those people on Flight 93 felt or what was going through their minds, knowing what they were about to do. Or what any of those people on those flights must have thought/felt as they realized what was about to happen. I will never get that image of the 2nd plane hitting the WTC or those buildings falling out of my mind.

For months after 9-11-01, I watched CNN right before going to bed and as soon as I woke up (and sometimes if I woke in the middle of the night), just to make sure nothing happened while I was sleeping. I lived in fear for a long time. Sometimes I still get scared when I think of what they could do or try to do next, but it doesn't run my life. I can't stop them.

Seven years later...sometimes it feels longer than that, other times it feels like it was just yesterday...

Never forget.

Wordless Wednesday

WHO exactly is the baby around here?? LOL.

Rewind

Sometimes I really wish life had a rewind button.

~*THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY BEAUTIFUL KIDS*~

That's all for today.

Post of Pictures

Tummy time on the Boppy pillow. She does better on here than just on the floor.

My aunt and uncle got her this seat off my registry for my baby shower. Still has a little ways to go on head/neck control, but she does pretty well in it for a little while and as you can see, she loves it : ).

She's doing more and more of this lately. If it's not her thumb, then it's her fist or fingers. Ryan sucked his thumb for a little while, but it didn't "stick". He got more attached to the pacifier.

Off-centered, but SO stinkin' cute!

Another gummy grin.

Watching big brother play with his bowling set.

"Cheese!"

Chillin' in the bathtub.

I sat her up in an attempt to get her to wake up? Does it look like it worked? ; )

And here's a few of Ryan.

His first homework assignment ever!

Getting help from Daddy.

Playing with Daddy's remote control truck that I got him for Christmas like 6 or 7 years ago, lol.

Thank you, Brooke!

Brooke gave me a great gift last night by sleeping from 10pm to 7am! Woooot! This was especially awesome after a few not-so-great nights/early mornings. She didn't nap a whole lot yesterday, so that probably helped her sleep so good. I woke up this morning to pee and was shocked when I looked at the clock and saw it was 5:30 and she hadn't woken up yet. She'd only been sleeping 'til 3 or 4 the last few nights for some reason, after sleeping until about 5 for a week. I'm hoping she's going to stay on the 10-5 schedule, at least the bulk of the time.

I have some great new pictures to put up sometime. Hopefully by tomorrow : ).

Sucky (early) morning

I finally took Brooke up to bed at about 11, for the 3rd time and she stayed asleep. (The first time I took her up about 9:45 after she drank her bottle and she woke back up and was wide awake. Then Doug took her and got her to sleep and took her up at 10:15 and she woke up again. So we put her in her swing and that knocked her out and she stayed out.) But then she decided to wake up at 3am after sleeping until 5 or later for the past week. Grrrrr. She stayed up until 4 and then was back up to eat (just a "snack") at 5:30. Then she did sleep until about 20 'til 9 (and so did Mommy...Doug is off today so when Ryan woke up at 6 @@ I sent him down to Doug, lol). Nights like that are so hard after she's been sleeping so well for so long (okay, a week isn't *that long, but it sure felt like a long time). I really really really hope that was just a fluke and she goes back to her 10 to 5 tonight!

I twisted my ankle yesterday getting Ryan off the van. OUCH. It actually didn't bother me that much last night, but today it is. It's not swollen or anything and I can walk without really limping, but if I turn it the wrong way, look out! I was at the mall with my sister last night, so all that walking probably didn't help it too much, though like I said, it didn't bother me last night!

Holly: Nope, I am not breastfeeding Brooke. I could not get rid of the stupid thrush and decided to stop pumping about a week before she came home. She was on Neosure at first, but now she's on Similac Sensitive.

I'll end this post with a picture ; ).