"Nah, I'm cool."
"Just kidding! I love bath time!"
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Getting Ready for a Bath
"Parker, are you ready for a bath?"
"Nah, I'm cool."
"Just kidding! I love bath time!"
"Nah, I'm cool."
"Just kidding! I love bath time!"
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Hanging Out with Daddy
What should we do, Parker? I know! Let's walk on the table!
And fly in the air!
And file our taxes!
There's never a dull moment around here!
And fly in the air!
And file our taxes!
There's never a dull moment around here!
Friday, February 18, 2011
4 Months!
I know that I say this every month, but seriously…how is Parker four months old already?? We had a pediatrician appointment on Friday and Parker is now 15.4 pounds (75th percentile) and 25 1/2 inches (90th percentile)! I believe that size 9 month clothes start around 16.5 pounds, so it looks like I'll be pairing up all the summer dresses I bought for her with cute little sweaters!
Every time we go to the pediatrician I’m reminded of how lucky we are to have found such an amazing doctor for Parker. Even before I got pregnant I worried about finding a doctor who would be open to a delayed immunization schedule. And I just didn’t want someone who would be fine with delaying immunizations, but someone who genuinely believed that the CDC schedule overloaded our little babies with too many vaccines too early. I knew that I probably wouldn’t find a doctor who would say outright that the CDC schedule could use some major tweaking, but I knew that I would be able to tell their true feelings in they way they practiced medicine. I searched the internet for vaccine friendly doctors and spoke with a few friends to get recommendations and within a few weeks Kris and I had picked three doctors to interview.
The first doctor two doctors we interviewed had a very easygoing approach to vaccines. We talked with them about the vaccine schedule we had decided upon and while I was happy that they were fine our plan, I was surprised that we weren’t met with any suggestions on how to make it better. I am by no means a doctor; Kris and I figured out our schedule by reading unbiased articles on vaccines (which are far and few between), took into consideration the fact that Parker would be in daycare exposed to many germs, and came up with a plan. I would expect our plan to have some flaws, but apparently I should have went to medical school because it seemed to be perfect ;)
Then we were fortunate enough to meet with Dr. Mavani. When we told her how we were planning on spacing out the vaccines she too was fine with it, but had suggestions for us on how to make it even better. What a nice change from the other two doctors! Dr. Mavani has a young son who she has on a delayed schedule so I knew that she truly believes that delaying vaccines is best if that is what she is doing with her own child. We were really impressed with her at this point, but we liked her even more when we found out that she is not only board certified in Pediatrics, but in Holistic Medicine as well. Having a background in Holistic Medicine was huge for us because it creates the much needed balance between traditional and alternative medicine. And we definitely liked her even more when she told us that she left her previous office because they would not disclose the vaccine ingredient list to patients who asked for it. I can’t believe going to a doctor who wouldn’t let you know exactly what they are injecting into your child! In order to keep her practice from getting too large, Dr. Mavani only accepts new patients from June to October so thankfully we made the cutoff!
We have been extremely fortunate that Parker has not had any reactions thus far to the vaccines. Granted, we're really spacing them out, she's reaping the benefits of breastmilk, and we have her on Vitamin A before and after any vaccines, but you still never know. She had one shot at her Friday appointment and not only is she feeling fine, but she didn't even cry when the nurse gave it to her! What a tough babe!
In other news, this fourth month has brought about a lot of changes with Little Miss Parker. She is officially a chatterbox. She has been cooing and caaing a lot but her talking really took off when she started daycare. Whether it’s the daycare environment that’s encouraging her language or just where she is developmentally I’m not sure, but it’s amazing to have her communicating with us. I truly believe that baby cries and babbles are a form of communication so when Parker talks I talk right back to her. I must sound crazy when I hold a conversation with Parker, especially now since she doesn't stop talking, which means I don't stop talking either! When I drop Parker off at daycare in the morning she is all smiles and starts cooing away at all the other babies. Both the daycare teachers and Dr. Mavani are surprised at how vocal she is! And if that's not enough to make our day, Parker is smiling constantly now too!
This month Parker's personality has really developed. She seems more mature, which sounds silly when we're talking about a four month old, but it's true. Gone are the days of constant crying. Parker is much more calm now and understands that we are here to meet her needs. She barely even cries at daycare which is a shock to me...I thought that she would be a mess! But she is a genuinely happy baby all the time. She seems to be very social too with everyone she meets!
Baby laughs have appeared with full force! It's fun to sing songs or make silly facial expressions just to hear those giggles. Those little laughs are contagious. Parker starts laughing and then I start laughing and can't stop!
We also now officially have a back sleeper! Parker is still bed-sharing with us (love cuddling with her all night!), but she's graduated from only sleeping on our chests to sleeping on her back right next to me. We never tried to force Parker to sleep on her back because we knew that if she wanted to sleep that way she would choose to do so in her own time, and that's exactly what happened.
Parker is also great at sitting supported now. She can even sit up for a few seconds at a time on her own!
What another incredible month of developments in our house! Looking forward to each and every day!
Every time we go to the pediatrician I’m reminded of how lucky we are to have found such an amazing doctor for Parker. Even before I got pregnant I worried about finding a doctor who would be open to a delayed immunization schedule. And I just didn’t want someone who would be fine with delaying immunizations, but someone who genuinely believed that the CDC schedule overloaded our little babies with too many vaccines too early. I knew that I probably wouldn’t find a doctor who would say outright that the CDC schedule could use some major tweaking, but I knew that I would be able to tell their true feelings in they way they practiced medicine. I searched the internet for vaccine friendly doctors and spoke with a few friends to get recommendations and within a few weeks Kris and I had picked three doctors to interview.
The first doctor two doctors we interviewed had a very easygoing approach to vaccines. We talked with them about the vaccine schedule we had decided upon and while I was happy that they were fine our plan, I was surprised that we weren’t met with any suggestions on how to make it better. I am by no means a doctor; Kris and I figured out our schedule by reading unbiased articles on vaccines (which are far and few between), took into consideration the fact that Parker would be in daycare exposed to many germs, and came up with a plan. I would expect our plan to have some flaws, but apparently I should have went to medical school because it seemed to be perfect ;)
Then we were fortunate enough to meet with Dr. Mavani. When we told her how we were planning on spacing out the vaccines she too was fine with it, but had suggestions for us on how to make it even better. What a nice change from the other two doctors! Dr. Mavani has a young son who she has on a delayed schedule so I knew that she truly believes that delaying vaccines is best if that is what she is doing with her own child. We were really impressed with her at this point, but we liked her even more when we found out that she is not only board certified in Pediatrics, but in Holistic Medicine as well. Having a background in Holistic Medicine was huge for us because it creates the much needed balance between traditional and alternative medicine. And we definitely liked her even more when she told us that she left her previous office because they would not disclose the vaccine ingredient list to patients who asked for it. I can’t believe going to a doctor who wouldn’t let you know exactly what they are injecting into your child! In order to keep her practice from getting too large, Dr. Mavani only accepts new patients from June to October so thankfully we made the cutoff!
We have been extremely fortunate that Parker has not had any reactions thus far to the vaccines. Granted, we're really spacing them out, she's reaping the benefits of breastmilk, and we have her on Vitamin A before and after any vaccines, but you still never know. She had one shot at her Friday appointment and not only is she feeling fine, but she didn't even cry when the nurse gave it to her! What a tough babe!
In other news, this fourth month has brought about a lot of changes with Little Miss Parker. She is officially a chatterbox. She has been cooing and caaing a lot but her talking really took off when she started daycare. Whether it’s the daycare environment that’s encouraging her language or just where she is developmentally I’m not sure, but it’s amazing to have her communicating with us. I truly believe that baby cries and babbles are a form of communication so when Parker talks I talk right back to her. I must sound crazy when I hold a conversation with Parker, especially now since she doesn't stop talking, which means I don't stop talking either! When I drop Parker off at daycare in the morning she is all smiles and starts cooing away at all the other babies. Both the daycare teachers and Dr. Mavani are surprised at how vocal she is! And if that's not enough to make our day, Parker is smiling constantly now too!
This month Parker's personality has really developed. She seems more mature, which sounds silly when we're talking about a four month old, but it's true. Gone are the days of constant crying. Parker is much more calm now and understands that we are here to meet her needs. She barely even cries at daycare which is a shock to me...I thought that she would be a mess! But she is a genuinely happy baby all the time. She seems to be very social too with everyone she meets!
Baby laughs have appeared with full force! It's fun to sing songs or make silly facial expressions just to hear those giggles. Those little laughs are contagious. Parker starts laughing and then I start laughing and can't stop!
We also now officially have a back sleeper! Parker is still bed-sharing with us (love cuddling with her all night!), but she's graduated from only sleeping on our chests to sleeping on her back right next to me. We never tried to force Parker to sleep on her back because we knew that if she wanted to sleep that way she would choose to do so in her own time, and that's exactly what happened.
Parker is also great at sitting supported now. She can even sit up for a few seconds at a time on her own!
What another incredible month of developments in our house! Looking forward to each and every day!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Bookworm
Parker loves this cloth book that she got for Christmas! If I try to read it to her, she grabs it and will turn the pages and then, of course, shove them in her mouth :)
What an expression!!
Bored with that page. Onto the next one!
What an expression!!
Bored with that page. Onto the next one!
Yummy Thumbs
Up until a few weeks ago Parker had no interest in sucking her thumb. It was either all of her fingers in her mouth or none at all. Then she finally discovered her thumb and thought it was the best thing for a couple weeks. Now she goes back and forth between her fingers and thumb depending on her mood:) I always thought that thumb sucking was something you never wanted a baby to do, but I read up on it and was happy to find out that it isn't so bad at all--it's a way for baby to self soothe. Now if Parker is ten years old and still sucking her thumb then we may have a problem ;)
Her thumb can only satisfy her for so long when there is a plush apple to be tasted!
Parker in one of the many dresses that I planned for her to fit into this summer. Little did I know how fast she would be growing!
Her thumb can only satisfy her for so long when there is a plush apple to be tasted!
Parker in one of the many dresses that I planned for her to fit into this summer. Little did I know how fast she would be growing!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day
What a big week it has been in our house! Sadly, my wonderful 16 weeks of maternity leave came to an end which met it was time for me to get back into the swing of things and for Parker to start daycare. I cherished every day of my leave. All I did every day was devote 100% of my attention to Parker. We played, cuddled, napped together, and got to know each other. There was no cooking or cleaning being done during the day; that waited until Kris got home. I'm glad that I focused on what was really important, and I plan to do just that every evening, weekend, and day that I spend with my little babe.
I had a hard time in the weeks leading up the end of my leave trying to imagine how I would be able to leave Parker at daycare and how we would even function with a baby and two full time jobs. I questioned whether or not I really even wanted to go back to work, even though that was always my desire before Parker arrived. On Monday when Kris and I dropped Parker off at daycare I was still questioning myself and I cried the entire drive to work. But once I was in the office I realized how much I actually enjoy working! Don't get my wrong, I miss Parker like crazy and called into daycare to check up on her, but it was nice to be doing my job again. But as soon as that clock hits 5:00pm I'm racing out the door to get home to my family :) And that by far is the best part of my day.
As far as Parker and daycare goes, she has transitioned amazingly well. I was really worried that she wouldn't be able to nap in that environment with all the activity and noise and while she still won't sleep in a crib all that often, the teachers are letting her nap in the bouncer and swing. I'm so glad they are doing this rather than trying to force Parker into the crib. I was also concerned that she would be miserable and cry all day but she isn't being that fussy at all and when she does cry, she's very easy to soothe. Shouldn't she be missing her mother more???!!! Just kidding ;)
The teachers in Parker's room are great. Ms. Sherry is in her fifties and was a stay at home mom to one daughter. She started working in daycares once her daughter was a teenager. One day we somehow got on the subject of OU and it turns out that she has a lot of family in that area. What a small world! Ms. Adriana is in her thirties and has two daughters who are three and seven and she's taking college classes in the evenings...can you say supermom?! I love the way they just doll over Parker and treat her like one of their own children.
I'm really happy with our decision to have Parker at daycare. The social interaction she is getting is so valuable. It's much more than I could ever offer Parker by staying at home! Plus, the teachers are great with the activities they have lined up for the kids. Just this week we got our first piece of artwork from Parker! The kids did finger and foot painting--check out that adorable little footprint! My heart melted when I saw it :)
Parker loves "talking" to the other kids at daycare and Ms. Sherry and Ms. Adriana are impressed with how aware Parker is of everything that's going on. You can't imagine how happy I am to hear that she is having fun and doing well!
Here we are the morning of our first day of daycare! Please don't mind how awful I look. Going from sleeping ten hours each night on maternity leave to maybe six here will do that to you!
Sidenote: Parker is getting so big! I am in shock at how fast she is growing!
Life working, while enjoyable for me, is definitely more exhausting than my maternity leave. No more naps, no more daytime TV (which wasn't that good anyway!), no more shopping trips, and no more sleeping in. It's getting to bed late, getting up way too early, and trying to fit everything into a work day before I go home, drop everything, and snuggle with Parker. I've been getting up before Parker does to get ready so that when she wakes up we can play together. I love this morning routine because it starts my day off on the right foot.
And here are some early Valentine's Day pictures! Thanks to my Mom and Dad for the adorable outfit that Parker is wearing! She is going to be the cutest thing in her daycare class on Monday!
Little baby girl tutu and leg warmers :) Oh how I love having a little girl to dress up! And Baby Legs are seriously the best baby clothing item out there. I can't get enough of their cuteness (and practicability)!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope you have a wonderful day with your loved ones!
I had a hard time in the weeks leading up the end of my leave trying to imagine how I would be able to leave Parker at daycare and how we would even function with a baby and two full time jobs. I questioned whether or not I really even wanted to go back to work, even though that was always my desire before Parker arrived. On Monday when Kris and I dropped Parker off at daycare I was still questioning myself and I cried the entire drive to work. But once I was in the office I realized how much I actually enjoy working! Don't get my wrong, I miss Parker like crazy and called into daycare to check up on her, but it was nice to be doing my job again. But as soon as that clock hits 5:00pm I'm racing out the door to get home to my family :) And that by far is the best part of my day.
As far as Parker and daycare goes, she has transitioned amazingly well. I was really worried that she wouldn't be able to nap in that environment with all the activity and noise and while she still won't sleep in a crib all that often, the teachers are letting her nap in the bouncer and swing. I'm so glad they are doing this rather than trying to force Parker into the crib. I was also concerned that she would be miserable and cry all day but she isn't being that fussy at all and when she does cry, she's very easy to soothe. Shouldn't she be missing her mother more???!!! Just kidding ;)
The teachers in Parker's room are great. Ms. Sherry is in her fifties and was a stay at home mom to one daughter. She started working in daycares once her daughter was a teenager. One day we somehow got on the subject of OU and it turns out that she has a lot of family in that area. What a small world! Ms. Adriana is in her thirties and has two daughters who are three and seven and she's taking college classes in the evenings...can you say supermom?! I love the way they just doll over Parker and treat her like one of their own children.
I'm really happy with our decision to have Parker at daycare. The social interaction she is getting is so valuable. It's much more than I could ever offer Parker by staying at home! Plus, the teachers are great with the activities they have lined up for the kids. Just this week we got our first piece of artwork from Parker! The kids did finger and foot painting--check out that adorable little footprint! My heart melted when I saw it :)
Parker loves "talking" to the other kids at daycare and Ms. Sherry and Ms. Adriana are impressed with how aware Parker is of everything that's going on. You can't imagine how happy I am to hear that she is having fun and doing well!
Here we are the morning of our first day of daycare! Please don't mind how awful I look. Going from sleeping ten hours each night on maternity leave to maybe six here will do that to you!
Sidenote: Parker is getting so big! I am in shock at how fast she is growing!
Life working, while enjoyable for me, is definitely more exhausting than my maternity leave. No more naps, no more daytime TV (which wasn't that good anyway!), no more shopping trips, and no more sleeping in. It's getting to bed late, getting up way too early, and trying to fit everything into a work day before I go home, drop everything, and snuggle with Parker. I've been getting up before Parker does to get ready so that when she wakes up we can play together. I love this morning routine because it starts my day off on the right foot.
And here are some early Valentine's Day pictures! Thanks to my Mom and Dad for the adorable outfit that Parker is wearing! She is going to be the cutest thing in her daycare class on Monday!
Little baby girl tutu and leg warmers :) Oh how I love having a little girl to dress up! And Baby Legs are seriously the best baby clothing item out there. I can't get enough of their cuteness (and practicability)!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope you have a wonderful day with your loved ones!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Hand Eye Coordination
Parker's new thing to do is pick toys out of her toy basket. Kris holds her next to the toys, she looks around, then grabs onto one. It's so neat to watch her hands and eyes work together. We put small toys within her reach because while she loves to try and grab the bigger toys, she gets mad when she's not able to pick them up!
Hmmmm...there are a lot of cool toys in here...what should I grab?
Pay no attention to the range in the background, haha! We got a new range last weekend and this one is hanging out until it's sold on Craigslist.
Brown bear is the perfect size toy for me to grab!
Got it!
Parker looks like she's giving her toys some attitude!
Hanging out with Kris in the Rock n Play!
We absolutely love the RnP! We originally bought it in hopes of it being a place for Parker to sleep since the co-sleeper was not working out for us. It got rave reviews on Amazon from a ton of parents who said their babies wouldn't sleep flat on their backs but loved the RnP since it has an incline. But in true Parker fashion, she decided that the RnP was not for sleep, but for playing. And she was right! We'll put Parker in it and read books to her and play with toys. It's been one of the best baby related purchases we've made.
I'm not sure what Parker likes more, her hands or the book!
As much as Parker loves the Rock n Play, she's starting to kick her way out of it. When we set her down she straightens her legs and pushes herself up. Uh oh! We're going to have to pack that thing away before we know it!
Hmmmm...there are a lot of cool toys in here...what should I grab?
Pay no attention to the range in the background, haha! We got a new range last weekend and this one is hanging out until it's sold on Craigslist.
Brown bear is the perfect size toy for me to grab!
Got it!
Parker looks like she's giving her toys some attitude!
Hanging out with Kris in the Rock n Play!
We absolutely love the RnP! We originally bought it in hopes of it being a place for Parker to sleep since the co-sleeper was not working out for us. It got rave reviews on Amazon from a ton of parents who said their babies wouldn't sleep flat on their backs but loved the RnP since it has an incline. But in true Parker fashion, she decided that the RnP was not for sleep, but for playing. And she was right! We'll put Parker in it and read books to her and play with toys. It's been one of the best baby related purchases we've made.
I'm not sure what Parker likes more, her hands or the book!
As much as Parker loves the Rock n Play, she's starting to kick her way out of it. When we set her down she straightens her legs and pushes herself up. Uh oh! We're going to have to pack that thing away before we know it!
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