:(

VI and I have a pretty good bedtime routine. Depending on naps, I usually start her bedtime routine between 8 and 8:30 p.m. (Baths are at 7:00). First we have nude time where I take off all her clothes and she rolls around and plays on a special blanket. Then, I give her the acid reflux meds, change her, put on diaper rash cream, and pj's. Then she has 1/4 c oatmeal with 1/3 babyyogurt followed by 6 oz of bottle. We usually rock her and feed her the bottle and she turns her head and falls asleep immediately. We rock another 10 minutes, put her in her crib, turn on her fan and leave.

Lately, during/after the bottle she wants to sit up and play, but yet is whiny and tired. She cried and fussed and wouldn't settle down. THen I had something in the oven and had to set her down. We tried re-rocking, but wouldn't work. I put her in the crib and put on her crib toy and she immediately started bawling. I came down and took care of the oven, and checked back on her and she was so, so upset. I took her out, rocked her while I was on the phone, and put her in the crib sleepy. She started crying as if her little heart would break. Mine did. I rubbed her back but didn't pick her up. Everytime I pulled my hand away the sniffles would start. Finally, after 10 minutes, she was out.

I checked in the baby book and she is the prime age for sleep anxiety. Poor baby.

Vi is moving!!!

Last week we had our nine month "well-child" visit (yes, I did know she was 10 1/2 months old....). A resident being supervised by Vi's ped spent a great deal of time with us first, so we ended up being in the room over 2 hours. However, he was very nice, thorough, and a good listener, but Vi was immediately suspicious of him. She pushed away the stethoscope with both hands and it was so cute it made me laugh out loud. Her ears were clear which was great because a she keeps pulling on them. The resident said it is either due to teething or she is using it as a way to self soothe. She had a "viral exanthum rash" which I knew about, but no fever.

Vi was scheduled for an MRI this Thursday to evaluate the 'white matter in her brain' and check for any hydrocephalus. Due to her age, this would necessitate undergoing general anesthesia which would involve intubation. Needless to say I was not too keen on it. The ped's concern was that her head circumference had increased to 80% at the last visit quite rapidly and she had the gross motor skill delay. She is a big girl however, and I don't think they were taking that into account. She was 20.5 lbs at the visit which is 57% and 70 cm which is 88% for her age and sex. I spoke with the ped and we decided to put it off for two months on that basis that her head had not increased in the last 1.5 months and that she has made progress in her gross motor skills. The ped's concern is that she has mild CP. Ugh. But I think she is going to be fine!

Speaking of gross motor skills, Vi is moving all over the house! She is now sort of crawling, hopping, and slithering forward. She also is able to sit up from laying down, and go from a sit to laying down. She is trying to pull up, but not quite yet. She can stand if you hold her fingers and I am working on getting her feet to move. I'm so thrilled at the progress she has made! She is due for an eval with a PT next week, so I am very interested to see what she says!

Vi' new pool.

It's been quite humid and hot here lately. I was at Babies R Us last weekend and pools were on sale for $6.99 plus I had a coupon making then $4.99. So I bought one for Vi. Tonight we decided to try it because it was humid and warm, but not sunny. I put her in it and she wasn't too thrilled. Usually she loves the water and splashes and laughs. We'll try it again tomorrow.

10 months old!

Vi is now 10 months old. It seems like she has been my baby forever. How blessed am I to have her in my life? Seriously. I wait every day to run out from work and kiss her little cheek and to see her wave her arms and become excited that "mommy" is here. My heart had such a dark void and she has filled it in. The sappy stuff now over, Here is Vi's latest -

- Trying to get Vi to drink from a sippy cup. She seems to prefer the one with the hard spout vs the soft spout. I can get her to take some water from one, but she mostly wants to chew on the spout.
- The teeth are here. The bottom two are almost in and I can feel one hard bud on the top center. She's been teething and drooling like crazy so hopefully they will make an appearance soon.
-she is not really liking food with textures. She doesn't know how to mash food with her jaws. Any ideas for teaching this to her?
- Daycare is going very well. The other children are a source of amusement and entertainment for her. She likes being there. WHen they scream and cry, she puts her hands over her ears and looks around like hey - "Can someone shut this kid up?"
- When we went to visit my mother's the new environment + new toys + constant attention = increased movement. She is turning on her belly and rolling and moving from sit to belly. Beyond that - not so much. She loves to stand when you hold her fingers, but trying to get her to move her feet is difficult.
- She speaks a lot. Mama, dada and now ma-mee, da-dee, nanananan when she wants something. She will also say "hi" all drawn out.
- Her stranger anxiety is becoming a bit better. She's terrified of the daycare owner that she sees every day. She puts her arms over her eyes and peers out warily. That's her shy face (I have to get a picture) and it's just adorable.
- She can hold her own bottle, but just needs to tip it more at an angle.

blah blah blah blah

I haven't been blogging much. So much to blog about, less time to blog, less motivation and general blahness. Can I do bullet points? Bulletin points is a cop out I guess.

1. P left for Boston for the summer last Saturday. V & I are pretty much on our own. I hate doing drop off in the morning. P did drop off. I haven't made it into work on time once this week.

2. I"m home sick today. My throat is on fire and I feel generally crappy. I dropped of V at school, came home, climbed into bed and slept from 8 - 11:50 a.m. I still feel crummy. I'm getting a Dairy Queen tonight for my throat darn it!

3. Someone at V's school has been diagnosed with the Swine Flu! The health department recommended they not close the school since it was near the end of the illness and the child would be kept out for a week. But still!

4. I didn't get V's 9 month professional pictures taken and now she is 10 months old yesterday. I'm such a slacker. Everyone is asking for new pictures and sorry folks, not done.

5. Need to book a flight to Boston to see P from July 15-July 31. No progress. Sigh.