Lorelai Fourteen Months Old

Fourteen months old...oh, baby girl. Lorelai is one busy lady. And uncharacteristically ornery as of late. Seems to be teething pretty badly. Drool and snot have accompanied her gnawing on everything and biting down on Mommy (and she is still nursing...ouch!).

She had her first illness- the stomach flu- at the turn of the month. It was a 24 hour puking thing. No fever. For this, she was quite mellow. We did not even see it coming. She was tired and clingy, but not crabby. Since I was giving her slobbery kisses just hours before this erupted, a few days later, I myself was laid out with the pukey stomach bug thing, the same night as Ben. Kurt and possibly Abby escaped the whole thing. It seems Lorelai brought it into the house- I suspect she picked it up at a neighborhood play date two days prior where there were at least a dozen kids. Otherwise, it was Abby who brought it in the house and had much milder symptoms herself, if it all.

Lorelai is up to 19-20 pounds. She seems to be a bit pickier of an eater now. She does not like to sit in her booster seat often times. She seems happier without her tray, at the big table. She continues to make a big mess wherever she eats. Some days she LOOOVEs bananas, for instance, and the next day she refuses them. It is kind of unpredictable. Some meals she does not want to eat at all. Especially after she was ill and then when she was teething, she preferred just to nurse mostly. She has added cashews, almond butter, oranges and raisins to her diet. We have successfully avoided giving her anything with sugar yet.

Lorelai and Abby have begun to fight. Most conflicts are around blankets or other coveted items. Usually one doesn't realize they want the desired object until the other one has it.

Lorelai loves to climb. She also loves books and is not very gentle with them. She has wrecked some perfectly good books. She LOOOOVES her blanket. She loves dogs and cats and dolls. She does not love Santa.

Her naps are in transition. Some days she will have two naps, and other days she will just take one, at the middle of the day. This has not been very conducive to scheduling our day. Hopefully, she will move to one nap, at 1 PM, stretched out to two plus hours. Usually, the naps are 1-1.5 hrs. She will still cry sometimes before falling asleep. At night, she sleeps from 7:00/8:00 PM to 6:00/7:00 AM, usually still waking once around 5 AM to nurse.

Lorelai is so cute and will dance if you put some music on. She loves to be chased, cuddled and tickled. She loves to pick up our phone and put it to her ear. She gets into EVERYTHING. Everwhere she goes, she leaves a trail (a mess). She does like to pick up/put things away, when shown. I even witnessed her grab a rag from the kitchen like I would, and attempt to wipe up her mess of food on the floor after a meal. Other times, her version of clean up is to find the food pieces that fell to the floor and try to eat them before Mom has a chance to clean them up or swat it out of her hand.

Lorelai understands a lot. I have called out, "time to put on your shoes" and Lorelai will run to the closet and attempt to put on her own shoes. She can identify some body parts, including her nose. When I say, "How big is Lorelai" she loves to throw up her arms in the air for "so big!"

She says mama, dada, hi, teeth, moo (for cow), cheese, kitty, nana (for banana).

As per tradition, we celebrated the anniversary of Lorelai’s Baptism with her Godparents, Lisa and Scott, this past month. We lit her Baptism candle and enjoyed Pumpkin Lasagna. She sure is blessed with such attentive and involved Godparents!

Thirteen Month Old Lorelai

The months continue to fly by, and how our little girl is growing! She is now up to 18.5 pounds (home scale).

She had her first dental appointment (11/6). She has six teeth. She barely cried. Lorelai loves to brush her teeth. When we tell her it is time to brush her teeth, she immediately runs to the bathroom and points to her toothbrish and says "teeth!"

Lorelai has added a couple new words to her vocabulary (which was Mama, Dada, and Hi): teeth, cheese and (I think) more. She can understand a lot more than what she communicates and follows simple commands.

Lorelai has added red peppers, brussel sprouts, pumpkin seeds, coconut milk, pork, walnuts, quinoa and coconut oil to her diet. She accepts most all foods and eats independently. She drinks from a glass pretty well (though will spill). Her beverages have been limited to breastmilk, water and a little coconut milk.

Lorelai was a cute duckling for Halloween this year, thanks to Aunt Lisa!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart: Lorelai at One Year

It is hard to believe we are here already. There were so many times over the past year I wished I could have hit "pause" and savored the moment a little longer, knowing full well how quickly and surely you'd change and grow and how fleeting it all is. I never knew how much I could love one little person sooo much, let alone three.

And here you are: one year.

Weight: 17 pounds, 13 oz. (about 5-10%)

Height: 29.25 inches (about 50-60%)

Head size: 45 cm (50%)

Teeth: 5

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Blue

Our cute little peanut.

You have been walking for a month now, first steps a little earlier than that. You are quite good at it. You love to climb...up and down the steps you go, loving every minute. You even climb our kid slide on the deck and slide down by yourself. And the slide at the park. Wow, you are a toddler!

You talk a lot. No one really knows what you are saying, for the most part. Your words are "Hi", "Mama" and "Dada", and have been for some time. You can communicate when you want something though, and you understand a lot more.

You like to go outside on the deck, open cupboards, look through the trash (even try to eat an old banana peel in there), put everything in your mouth (though not as much as you have before), and plop in your lab with a book (for a few seconds, and then you are off to get another and do it all over again). Favorite foods include banana, cheese, peas, watermelon, beans and yogurt.

You do not like diaper changes, being corralled, or when Mommy leaves.

This past month, you added egg whites, cod liver oil, pumpkin and soaked oats to your diet.

Sleepwise, you have slept through the night (to 5 AM), although not consistently. You take two naps, 1-2 hours at a time. You do not like going to bed before your siblings. Hearing their voices will surely make you less than happy about being put to bed. You have not become attached to any particular object, stuffed animal or blanket...as of yet. You have not used a sleep sack for a few months. You do not suck your thumb and haven't taken a pacifier since your early few months.

You are very much loved, sweet girl!

Eleven Month Old Lorelai

Lorelai is eleven months old already!!!

She has five teeth (three on top and two on the bottom).

In the past month, she took her first steps. She pops up and often will take a few steps to get to something and plop back down. She mostly still crawls though to get from here to there. I witnessed her take about 5 steps in a row at her best. She is very agile, sturdy, coordinated. She gets around easily and does not have a lot of accidents. She loves to climb. Especially up onto Abby's bed. She loves the stairs. She likes to climb onto the rocking horse, the rocking chair, ride on toys, etc. She follows us all everywhere.

She continues to exhibit stranger anxiety, especially around adult males she does not see too often.

Lorelai has put blocks together.

She is very opinionated. If she wants to be held, upset about a toy being taken away, forced to sit still for diaper changes, etc., she will voice her discontent. She is communicating when she wants something (ie. the cheese you are eating).

Most exciting is her new interest in books (reading, not eating them!)....finally we can sit through a book together without her grabbing to put it in her mouth. She communicates her favorites and bounces excitedly when she is read a book she is interested in. She will hand it to you and plop in your lap. She especially likes Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle and Good Night Moon.

Lorelai is falling asleep easily on her own. She takes two naps a day- 1-2 hours each, in her crib, with a blanket and her music. She does not need the sleep sack anymore but sometimes we use it. It does not look like she will be a thumb sucker. She sleeps about 10.5-11 hours a night, with a bedtime of about 7:30-8:00 PM (it is hard to get her to bed before Ben and Abby- she KNOWS when they are still up!!!). She will usually wake up once during this period (around 5 AM).

Lorelai is still nursing. This will be hard for me to give up.

On her 11 month birthday, she developed a little cold- possibly her first? She may have had a runny nose once before in her second month? It does not seem to bother her and no one else in our family has it, so we are not sure where she picked it up.

Speaking of picking things up- she still likes to pick up a lot of little things and put them in her mouth. We are constantly fishing in her mouth to find what she got faster than we could stop her. This is one small aspect I won't miss!

She is eating mostly finger foods. Here are her top picks:
1. Cheese
2. Carrots
3. Black Beans
4. Bananas
5. Avocado
6. Raspberries
7. Grapes

In the past month, she added bell peppers, cucumber, grapes, potatoes, eggplant, and cooked tomatoes. She has an obvious dislike to hard cooked egg yolks, but will eat pretty much anything else.

This past month, she went to Madison for a day, to Green Meadows Petting Farm for the first time, and back to Foxbrook Park beach, among other adventures. She travels well.

I'll have to take her measurements tomorrow- she's a little peanut! (UPDATE: 17-17.5 lbs)

Ten Month Old Lorelai

At ten months, Lorelai weighed about 17.5 pounds and measured 27.5 inches tall. She had three teeth (two lower and one upper tooth). The first two teeth came in rather uneventfully, the third tooth was more disruptive. She still wore mostly 6-9 month clothing, when she wore clothes at all. No new words this past month. She continues to be very happy.... laughing and clapping a lot. She also started to point. Lorelai stands up without support in the middle of the floor easily and often. She seems very coordinated. She easily gets around and climbs up on things. Recently she has taken to climbing on the trampoline and jumping on it like the older kids! She also can be found climbing onto the kid's picnic table, up on the couch when Ben or Abby has pulled a cushion off onto the floor, and, of course, on the stairs. We finally have the gate up on the bottom of the stairs.

Her favorite toys are ride on toys or walker/push toys. She also enjoys the wooden blocks...she uses them as teethers.

Lorelai clearly notices "strangers"... she is visibly upset in the presence of unfamiliar people, especially males. Lorelai is super excited when Daddy gets home and becomes upset if he does not come to greet her immediately!

Lorelai LOVES following Ben and Abby and attempts to get involved with whatever toys they are playing with. Lorelai's dislikes are sitting still and having her diaper changed (again, she wants to keep on moving!). Lorelai is a busy gal these days!

Lorelai is eating three meals a day consistently. New food introduced over the past month include black beans, cheese, cantaloupe, tahini, kiwi, garbanzo beans, blueberries, raspberries, cinnamon, lentils, flax seed, and spinach. She enjoys feeding herself. The cheese, black beans, kiwi, raspberries, banana, avocado, and chicken pieces make great finger foods for her at this age. She still takes in about 12 oz of pumped milk in my absence and nurses about 4 or 5 times in a 24 hour period when I am home. I will sure miss nursing her once she has weaned.

Lorelai continues to one super healthy little girl. We are thankful.

Sleepwise, she has slept through the night for a period consistently, but then her teeth pain seemed to disrupt the streak. She retires around 8 PM with Ben and Abby (she does not want to miss anything if she knows they are awake!) and wakes around 7 AM. She takes a nap about 9 AM and then again at 1 or 2 PM- each time for about 1-2 hours.

This past month we went to Green Bay and Madison. Lorelai was a good traveler- slept easily through the majority of our travel time.

We thank the good Lord for our beautiful blessings: Lorelai, Abigail and Benjamin!

Nine Month Old Lorelai

Lorelai is pictured here in the same outfit Abby's 9 month photo was taken in. Lorelai weighs almost 17 pounds & has two teeth now (bottom center). She mostly wears 6-9 month clothes. She laughs a lot, claps a lot, waves and says three words: "Mama", "Dada" & "Hi!" She is a proficient crawler, pulls to a stand, cruises along furniture, and can climb up stairs. She can stand alone for a few seconds at a time. She still has to put everything in her mouth. This past month she has exhibited stranger anxiety.

She is eating three meals of solids per day for the most part. She added broccoli, chicken, watermelon, beets, cauliflower, applesauce, beef, and onions to her diet in the ninth month. The meats are carefully chosen to be from grass-fed, antiobiotic-free, hormone-free, pasture raised, cage free chickens and cows (all I need are images from Food Inc. to remind me it is worth the added cost!). Since we are delaying grains until after Lorelai turns one, we introduced meats now to ensure she is getting enough iron. Lorelai got to sample the delicious goodness of organic strawberries as well this month when we ventured to Jen Ehr Farms on Father's Day to pick strawberries. Lorelai is still nursing and taking pumped milk in my absence. Her intake of Mommy's Milk has decreased as solids have increased. She takes about 12 oz of pumped milk in my absence on workdays. She nurses about five times a day when I am home.

We have not discovered any allergies as of yet, thankfully. She may be sensitive to egg yolks, or maybe was not ready for them yet, as she seemed to spit up a little more when she got them...so I am treading lightly with egg yolks.

Lorelai has been a healthy little peanut. She barely has had a cold in her nine months of life. We are really really fortunate.

Lorelai seems to have turned a corner with her night-time sleeping. She has slept through the night (8 PM to 6:30 AM for her best) without her usual 1 AM or 3 AM waking more consistently recently. She naps twice a day, usually for 1-2 hours at a time. Often her morning nap is taken on the go. I can usually lay her down drowsy, but still awake, and she will not fuss. She usually sleeps in a sleeveless sleepsack and drifts off with a lullaby music CD in her room. She hasn't used a pacifier in months and does not suck her thumb. Her bedtime and naptimes have not been all that consistent since our schedules are often dictated by whatever activities Ben and Abby are occupied with and Lorelai has been pretty flexible and adaptable with this. We are very lucky!

Ben and Abby sure enjoy her. Although not encouraged, Ben will be caught picking Lorelai up and carrying her to another location. He's not just trying to keep her out of his toys- he does not want her to get anything she could choke on! Lorelai will laugh on cue when Ben and Abby dance for her, make silly faces, or just smile at her. She loves them to pieces. And we all sure love her!

Eight Month Old Lorelai

Lorelai hit the eight month mark this past week. She weighed in at the pediatrician's office the week before (since we were there for Ben & Abby's annual check ups) at 15 lbs, 13.5 oz. She is long, though we did not take measurements. Still a little peanut!

Development-wise, she is a more proficient crawler. She pulls up to a stand. She has even stood alone for a few seconds before falling. She claps a lot. She continues to try and explore everything with her mouth.

Her appetite has grown. She added carrots, peaches, mango, zucchini, plain whole milk yogurt, pears, parsnips, apricots, asparagus to her diet in her eighth month. Yogurt and carrots seem to stand out as favorites (besides Mommy's Milk). She seems to prefer to feed herself with her fingers than be spoon fed. She nurses about 5-6 times in a 24 hr period. She continues to take about 14-15 oz of pumped milk during the workday in my absence. Still no visible tooth!

Her sleep patterns are pretty consistent. She typically takes two naps a day and sleeps about 11-12 hours at night, with bedtime anywhere between 6:30 PM and 8:00 PM (inconsistent due to our other activities with the kids, Wednesday night softball, etc.). She adjusts/adapts fine. She is a content little baby. Very easy going. Very happy!

She loves to follow her siblings around and adores their attention- offering many squeels of delight and giggles in response to their attention. She is willing to play in her pack n play outside while I supervise Ben and Abby playing with our neighbors. Lorelai is such fun!

Seven Month Old Lorelai

Another month has flown by. Our little sweetie pie is now crawling!!! It is amazing to witness the progression. She was sitting well and then began to lunge forward to reach a desired object. And then she was up on all fours. Next, she mastered her coordination to move forward on all fours. She finds her way back to the seated position periodically.

Lorelai has gone from smiling 24/7 to having this determined look in her face 24/7. She is so busy. She won't sit still!!! Lorelai is definitely keeping us on our toes!

According to our home scale, Lorelai weighs about 15.5 pounds. She weighed the same one month ago, according to my last post; however, at her recent pediatrician appointment (at 6.5 months), she weighed 14 pounds, 8.5 ounces...so we might be off a bit.
Lorelai has tasted hard cooked egg yolk, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocado, green peas, butter, green beans and squash in her seventh month. Egg yolks do not agree with her. She does not eat very much so far, about 1-2 Tablespoons per day between 1-2 meals. She nurses 5-6 times per day. She takes about 15 oz of pumped milk between two bottles on the days I work.

Lorelai usually takes 2 naps per day, from 1-3 hours at a time. She has fallen into a much better rhythm in her sleep patterns. She goes to bed around 7 PM and rises at 6 PM, with 1-2 wakings per night most nights.

I can feel the bottom of some teeth- up top and center; however, still no visible tooth!

Ben and Abby can make her laugh and squeel with joy so easily. Lorelai loves to be tickled and snuggled and sung to. She appears to mimic us when we clap. On a few occasions, I thought she repeated "mama" and maybe even "dada" tonight. She is really fun and sweet!

Introducing Solids

We celebrated Lorelai's 6 month birthday and then introduced her to her first solid food the next day: mashed hard cooked egg yolk.

If you ask her pediatrician, egg yolks are not a good choice to introduce at her age, due to the fact that eggs are a common allergen. While I appreciated his perspective and acknowledge that fact, neither Kurt nor I (nor Ben or Abby) have any known allergies and since egg yolks have a lot to offer nutritionally, we went for it.

I cannot say how much of the yolk actually went into her mouth, as the novelty of the spoon was more interesting to her. She mostly played around with the bowl and spoon. As expected, it was pretty messy. Day 2 on egg yolks has come and gone and so far no reactions.

Next week, we will probably try sweet potatoes and then bananas.

Six Month Old Lorelai

The first half of Lorelai's first year has flown by! I can still recall my impatience waiting for this little miracle to happen (in mid to late 2008) and the thrill of discovering we were pregnant with her in January of 2009....Then the fear of losing her. And finally the joy of meeting her face to face for the first time in October of 2009.

Here we are, six months later, and she has almost doubled in size. On our home scale, she weighed 15.5 pounds on her six month birthday. Her 6 month well-check appointment is not for another week and a half because I was not on the ball with scheduling it. I did not try to measure her length, so we will get her stats at the 6.5 month mark.

Sleepwise, this past month was not the best... Lorelai falls asleep nursing and does not want to part with her latch on Mommy. She does not take a pacifier but essentially Mom is her favorite pacifier. So we are working on finding a different comfort measure for her. She sleeps well on her own for several hours after retiring in her crib around 7 PM. She will nurse around 2 PM and sometimes does not make it back to her crib. Her Mom and Dad could do better with this; we have been pretty lax. Lorelai naps 2-3 times per day, with one of those naps being a good one, for about 2-3 hours. The transition from the swaddle to sleep sack has been a struggle.

Lorelai is a happy baby. She rarely cries. When she does, it is because she is in her crib and does not want to be. Lorelai laughs a lot, especially when watching her big brother and sister. She is completely engaged when she has their attention.

For her first six months, she has been exclusively breastfed. She loves to nurse. We began to introduce her first solid food this week.

Developmentally, she is on track. She sits well independently and she enjoys her view from the sitting position the best. She rolls both ways, but being on her tummy is still not a position she enjoys being in very long. She does a strong push up. Lorelai manages to move around to reach a desired object, but does not actually crawl yet. She babbles and screeches. Everything she reaches for and grabs goes in her mouth.

Still no visible tooth. She has been teething since the beginning of January, yet no tooth to be seen. Her outfits are continually soaked with drool, as her Mama is too lazy to keep her in a bib. She's had a rash from the drool for the past month.

Healthwise, we continue to be blessed. She had the one day fever over a month ago, mentioned earlier, and nothing since.

In this picture, Lorelai is six months to the day.

"C" is for Celiac

Our dear sweet Abby has experienced months of GI issues. We have finally found the "culprit": Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder. It is a permanent sensitivity to gluten (gluten is found in wheat, oats, barley and rye). Unlike an allergy, you cannot outgrow it.

Up until the end of last summer, Abby had no symptoms. She was growing well and we never noticed a reaction to any foods we introduced. She had her first solid foods at five and a half months of age. I made her Super Porridge from whole grains like brown rice and millet from the Super Baby Foods book by Ruth Yaron. Her baby food was all homemade organic fruits, veggies, beans and meat, with the exception of store-bought jarred organic prunes. We did not notice any reactions to any of the foods. Her growth always hovered around the 70% for height and 20% for weight.

Sometime in late summer 2009, when Abby was at least 2 1/2, her bowels became loose. At first, we dismissed it as a little virus. We were not concerned because she was otherwise healthy. When it continued to persist, we took her to the pediatrician. He weighed her and examined her. She appeared healthy and growing normally. He was unconcerned. I called when we continued to see no improvement and he suggested taking her off dairy and any supplements (she took fish oil and probiotics). We tried that for a month, but I was not satisfied.

We took Abby to a chiropractor who does food sensitivity testing. She suggested that Abby is sensitive to dairy, egg yolks and fish (including fish oil). So we continued to keep her off dairy and fish oil, stopped feeding her egg yolks, and gave her a rice protein vitamin shake (as we were concerned about her calcium intake since she wasn't consuming dairy), probiotics and flax oil. We did this for a month and felt there was some improvement; however, she continued to have GI issues.

I called her pediatrician's office again. I requested that Abby be tested. The nurse asked if we wanted to schedule an appointment. I said "no" as I knew he would just weigh her and tell me what I already knew: she was not losing weight. I was concerned that she was not absorbing the nutrients from her food as I often could see whole food pieces that she never digested. We also could see that she was distended. I called again a few days later, spoke to another nurse, who was more sympathetic and who was able to get the doctor to write the order for bloodwork (CBC and celiac panel among others) and stool samples (to test for parasites).

A few days later, our pediatrician called with the results: it looks like she has celiac disease.

The good news was the CBC was fine. She was not anemic yet. Also she had not lost weight (May 2009: 26.5 lbs, December 2009: 29 lbs, March 2010: 29 lbs). He recommended us to see a GI specialist at Childrens.

I was frustrated at that time, because I felt that he had originally minimized my concerns and only tested her after I was persistent and pushed him to do so. I was frustrated because, in addition, he advised us to put her on a gluten-free diet right away. This advice was wrong. Luckily, my good friend has a background as a PA in a pediatric GI clinic and explained that we should not change her diet until she has an endoscopy, or it will affect the accuracy of the results.

Another friend responded to my Facebook inquiry for a recommendation on a peds GI specialist at Childrens. She recommended Dr. Josh Noe and was able to get us in sooner that the scheduling department at Childrens was booking (5 days vs 1 month).

The same night we learned the results of Abby's bloodwork, I had already ordered two books off Amazon. Luckily, they arrived in time for us to read most of them before our appointment with Dr. Noe.

We have learned that celiac disease is relatively common: 1-2% of the population have it. It is terribly underdiagnosed/misdiagnosed. According to many sources, about 97% of those who have it are unaware of it.

Dr. Noe strongly encouraged the endoscopy to confirm the blood test results. While the blood test results are 98-99% in terms of accuracy and specificity, the only confirmation of celiac is the biopsy of the small intestine. It is a 10 minute procedure and would require that she go under anesthesia....but because the impact of the celiac diagnosis is so great, requiring a lifelong change in diet, a definite diagnosis is highly recommended.

We are blessed that this disease is treatable with a change in diet. We are blessed that it was caught relatively early. We are blessed that we can afford the alternative food choices. We are blessed that we have access to so much information, resources and food choices/substitutes and that awareness of celiac disease is so much greater than in the past. We are blessed to have a store like Good Harvest Market nearby, with its great gluten free selection and labeling. We have the tools to heal Abby.

We are so especially blessed to have our little girl, Abby!!!

Five Month Old Lorelai

Weighing in at approximately 13.5 pounds, Lorelai hit the 5 month mark this past Sunday! She is a sweet, smiley baby.

Her siblings have a ball with her, as Lorelai is such an attentive and responsive audience for them. Ben loves to make Lorelai laugh... he tickles her, he makes faces, dances and sings for her...these efforts are often rewarded with Lorelai's smiles and giggles which continue to encourage him! Abby loves to hug and kiss Lorelai.

Lorelai is an easy napper (for her mother anyway). She will sleep about 2 hours in the am and 2-3 hours in the afternoon on the days I am home with her. Nighttime lately has been a different story. She will go to bed rather easily around 7:30 PM. The early part of the evenings is easy/smooth...then around 11 PM or so, when Mom is ready for bed, she often makes her first plea for attention. The night is a bit of a blur and morning usually finds Lorelai in bed next to Mom. We wake between 6 and 7 AM. At least Lorelai starts out in the crib...it is improvement over her carseat! She did sleep better in the carseat.

We have tried to put her to bed in her sleep sack, without being swaddled, several times so far. It has not been very successful yet. She still sleeps better swaddled.

She does not care much for the pacifier...Mommy is a better pacifier these days.

She gets a bath before bed every three days or so. She has a good time in the bathtub now, kicking with excitement as soon as she realizes she is in the water.

Lorelai is still exclusively breastfed or offered pumped milk. We will start her on solids at 6 months old. She feeds about every three hours during the day (on demand). When I am at work, she usually takes about 15 oz between three bottles.

Lorelai continues to roll from front to back. She still is not very interested in being on her tummy. She rolls to both sides and grabs her feet to stick in her mouth, but won't make the conscious choice to roll from back to tummy.

Her spit up is minimal, but the drool is constant! We change Lorelai's outfit 2-3 times a day, basically because Mommy is too lazy to put a bib on her. She loves to be held, sung to, and tickled. She puts everything in her mouth and reaches for Mom's food.

Lorelai had her first fever on March 1st (100.1), but fortunately, it lasted less than a day and did not require treatment. We are thankful that Lorelai has been blessed with good health these past five months.

Four Month Old Lorelai

Our precious baby girl is 4 months old (officially 9 days ago...). She had her well check appointment today. Here are her stats:

Height: 25 inches (75%)

Weight: 12 lbs, 6 oz. (25%)

Head Cir: 40.8 cm (50%)

She has been a pretty content little girl. She breastfeeds about every three hours. When I work, she takes in about 5 oz at each feeding. She will go 8-9 hours without eating at night. I will admit that we have not gotten her to sleep well in her crib yet. She spends a lot of her naps and night sleeping in her car seat (swaddled). Lorelai, Daddy and I will have to work on that this month. And while she has napped during the day up to 5 hours straight, that is not typical. She takes 2-3 naps a day. This past month I have noticed that she does not sleep as much during the day. Some naps only last 30-45 minutes these days. She is definitely awake more now.

Over the past month, she has been chewing on her hands whenever she gets the chance. She has been teething, though none have shown themselves to date. Her spit up has subsided, but in its place has been plenty of drool. Her hands in the mouth stage has also been accompanied by loud noises, sometimes like screetching, sometimes like moaning. Just noisy. It is kind of cute but not at 4 AM.

In January, she had her first chiropractic adjustment.

She smiles and giggles a lot. She is very ticklish. Lorelai loves faces, the mobile, mirrors and breastfeeding. Baths are even growing on her now. She reaches for and grabs onto objects. She is quite enthralled by her siblings who love the audience.

Both her chiropractor and her pediatrician have commented how strong she seems for such a little peanut. She started rolling over from tummy to back about 3.5 weeks ago and has become quite good at it.

Lorelai continues to wear cloth diapers but since returning to work, her mama has become more lazy about it (keeping up with the laundry). So now she wears them about 50% of the time.

Lorelai has been a healthy little girl. She did develop her first cold in January thanks to siblings who share. Lorelai fared well and to date has never had a fever.

We are sure blessed; Lorelai has sure added a lot of joy to our lives since her arrival!

2010 Goals

January has come and gone and I am only now identifying my 2010 goals. I realize my list is lacking in goals surrounding my faith and having an impact in my community...something I plan to improve upon in 2011. Right now I am starting small, knowing these things I can reasonably accomplish with three children five years older & under and a part-time career.

1. Make a date night at least once a month with my husband.
2. Make chicken stock from scratch.
3. Soak beans instead of buying canned beans.
4. Incorporate baby and child massage into our nightly routine at least once a week.
5. Fit into my smallest pre-pregnancy clothes.
6. Lose 5 inches to my waist.
7. Make a Burie Family Recipe Book with the kids photos for their grandparents.
8. Stress less.

The last one is difficult to measure. I plan to accomplish this through practicing yoga, prayer, getting regular massage, sticking to a fairly regular bedtime, and utilizing running as an outlet. If available, I am interested in taking a class on Emotional Freedom Technique that I have seen offered in the past at Good Harvest Market. Dr. Mercola also endorses it.

Ben Turns Five Years Old

It is hard to believe our first born boy is already five years old! It seems like just yesterday that Kurt was shoveling us out of our driveway in a big snowstorm (resulting in 9 - 13 inches) to get me to the hospital that Saturday morning after my water broke. We have learned a lot since that day we held our baby boy for the first time. Ben, you have been a great teacher!

Just like on Abby's big day this year, both Kurt and I had to work. Grandpa and Grandma brought Ben his first birthday present when they came this morning, a wristwatch, which was the highlight of his day. Ben went to preschool in the morning and spent the afternoon with his loving grandparents. Ben got to pick his birthday meal for dinner; he chose beef tacos. He opened a present from Kurt and I: art supplies and a button & badge making kit. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Scott made a spontaneous visit.

From four to five...how our Benny has grown and changed! He grew 3 inches and gained 5 pounds. From 4T to size 5/6 clothes. He learned to tell time. He gained another sister. He learned to use our computer to play games. He doesn't need Cow, his lovely, like he once did. Even more imaginative than before, Ben is always acting out scenarios he observed and playing a role of some sort (ie. a fireman, police officer, a doctor, a builder, etc.).

And still some things remain the same... I would still describe Ben as observant, empathetic, cooperative, curious and imaginative. He still attends Christ the Life Preschool, but now three days a week (vs. two). He has a great memory. He still will eat just about any food we serve him. Ben likes his routine and knowing what to expect. He likes to help. And he LOVES his sisters.

Back to Reality

Well, it was inevitable. My maternity leave could not last forever. Truth be told, I am pretty lucky to work as a part-time recruiter for a large health care organization. Still, nothing beats being home with my family and, in an ideal world, I would be a stay-at-home mom. My three months home with Ben, Abby and Lorelai were wonderful. Hard work, sure. But rewarding, most definitely. And it went by all too fast.

Monday, January 4th was my first day back, but it wasn't until Friday that the tears came. Perhaps it took that long for reality to set in...I missed my babies. And work cannot hold a candle to time spent with them.

We are truly blessed though. Grandma and Grandpa Burie love our children, their grandchildren. And they have made many changes for our children (like moving to Waukesha) and to accomodate our wishes for them (like organic food). If I have to be absent for 30 hours per week from our home, who better to care for them than their grandparents who also love them to pieces and only want the best for them. Grandma and Grandpa have a lot to offer Ben, Abby and Lorelai that they may not necessarily get from one of us (Kurt or I). The memories they are making with their grandparents are special; I am sure they will have many fond ones as they look back in the years to come.

So I am back to work. And as they say, "It is what it is."

Here is one of my favorite pictures from my maternity leave. Just another "lazy" day at home, no specific plans or anything to run off to. Just hanging out together.

Life is already moving faster. There are not enough hours in the day. Our kids, our family... there is nothing more important. I hope, in all my words and actions, that I demonstrate that to them each and every day. With love.

Abby Turns Three Years Old

Our sweet middle child is three years old already! Abby turned three years old on Friday, the week I returned to work from maternity leave. Unfortunately, I did not have any PTO to take and had to work. But Abby spent the day with some wonderful people who also love her to pieces: Grandma & Grandpa Burie. Her birthday was also the day we learned Ben had "virus induced asthma". That evening, Kurt and Ben spent two hours at the pediatrician and came away with an inhaler and a prescription for albuterol. Both Kurt and I felt bad that we were unable to make Abby's day more special, so we extended her birthday into Saturday. Her and I ventured out alone for a lunch date. I also took Abby to Target and allowed her to pick out something from the clearance section. We had given her a book of mazes on her birthday. We also plan to take both Ben and Abby to the Dells in February as their birthday present. And, of course, we are throwing each of them a party. Still apparently guilt from the day before got the best of me; she picked out a Snow White barbie-like doll. We enjoyed a nice lunch together at (you guessed it) Good Harvest Market. Then it was off to Eli's birthday party for some t-ball fun at the YMCA. The party started at 2:30 PM and so we took a chance skipping naps. By 4:00 PM, Abby was adopting the "its my [friend's] party and I'll cry if I want to" attitude which was our cue to leave. Too late for naps, we allowed Abby to pick a movie from Blockbuster. She chose Peter Pan.


From two to three...how our little girl has grown and changed! She gained about 4 inches and 4 pounds. She went from 2 T to 3T clothes. She moved from the crib to a bed. Her vocabulary has multiplied from the 200 words she knew the year before. She doesn't really need a lovely (unless you count her thumb). She has a new room. And a new sister.


Yet some things remain the same... She continues to twirl her hair and suck her thumb. Ben is still her best friend. She still loves to read her books. I would still describe Abby as sweet, opinionated and animated. And a complete joy.

Three Month Old Lorelai

Our sweet baby girl has been with us three months today! She has already brought us so much joy! Weighing in at roughly 12 pounds, she wore her first 3-6 month outfit today. Lorelai is a laid back, easy going baby with no shortage of smiles for us! She gave us her longest sleep stretch at night this past week, 9 hours, which impressed and delighted us! She mainly sleeps swaddled in her carseat (for the sense of confinement and the incline). The pacifier helps facilitate her transition to sleep. She is quite a talker. We have long conversations where of course neither her nor I can understand what each other is saying. It is wonderful. Lorelai now has a good grasp and can hold an object for a period of time. She recently (for about the past two weeks) has been going to town sucking on her hand. Her outfits are often soaked from either spit up or drool or a combination of both. Though we swaddle her tightly at bedtime, she still manages to wiggle her hands out and suck her fingers. She blows bubbles. Lorelai loves to look at herself in a mirror. She loves to kick. She can turn her body on her side. She is not fond of being on her tummy nor does she enjoy her baths. Thankfully, Lorelai has been a healthy girl. She had a slightly stuffy nose for a bit in the past month but it did not seem to interfere with her eating, sleeping or mood. She also has had a bit of diaper rash but that easily healed with more frequent diaper changes and some Shaklee diaper cream. I had to return to work this week, so she has gotten several bottles (of pumped breastmilk) and taken them fine (despite only taking two bottles in her first twelve weeks- one when I had my haircut around 6 weeks and one when I went to the Orthopedic hospital to see Kurt after his back surgery when Lorelai was 2 months old). She currently drinks 3 bottles a day, 4 to 5 oz each, while I am at work. Lorelai seems facinated watching her brother and sister. Ben and Abby ask to hold and kiss her. We all love her to pieces!