Happy 20 Months Baby J

WOW! Yesterday Baby J turned 20 months, we are 4 months away from 2 years old.   Time goes so fast.
It has been a rough month and we have both been very ill.   I can't get over whatever I have and am on my second round of meds (which have helped some) and baby J is now on more meds.
This last week we went back to the doctor again and this time the doctor diagnosed her with Reactive Airway Disease, which basically is a general diagnosis.  She is now on an everyday steroid inhaler and has a rescue one of abuterall.  She also went back on a liquid steroid short term medicine.   FINALLY she is starting to improve.   I'm a little frustrated because the doctor never seems to really check her.  I'm pretty sure she actually had RSV, but her meds

are helping for now.   The everyday one she will use during the winter months.  I"m concerned that they already have her on this as a baby, especially since it will stunt her growth--but supposedly she will catch up later.   I'm also concerned that she hasn't gained weight which the doctor has not spoken about.  She is literally only 3 lbs heavier than she was at 11 months.  Today she went back to check iron levels which were ok today.  She has gained a pound in the last week---but she's also had more sugar than she's had the first part of her life this week.     I rarely let her have sugar yet.  We still have the hormone doctor visit in a couple weeks.  The medicine she is on now must be helpiing some as she is sleeping a little better at night---thank goodness.

In other news Baby J is doing pretty well.   She is adding to her vocabulary daily and goes around copying almost everything I say.  She has finally started to use words at daycare and at school with me.   In fact she has been interacting with my students more and more.   She climbs on everything and likes to make known what she wants.  She is now talking in complete sentences and telling stories---though I can't understand most of it.  Still loves to brush her 5 teeth and has gotten picky on what she will eat- though she usually eats something one day and not the next day.   She is still overly attached to me and that does cause challenges, but I'm sure she will eventually blossom into an overly outgoing child.  It always amazes me how nothing really scares her, but she can't tear herself away from me.

We have been out enjoying the weather some when we are both feeling up to it and have gone to the park with a friend, hit the library (we are trying to do the 1000 book challenge), and gone to the zoo.  Baby J loves the zoo and we spent almost half an hour with the goats last time.  She refused to leave.

The biggest accomplishment this last month is that we have been working on controlling anger and outbursts.   Baby J has crazy mood swings and she also can throw epic tantrums.   We have been working on asking "help, please" which is usually just 'please', but she does and it has cut down on tantrums immensely.  However we are now learning that saying 'please' does not alway mean you get your way which is such a hard lesson for baby girl and momma. This work has cut down on crying in the store as much which is nice.  She loves to buckle the seat belt, but can't undo it.  The other day she even waited to ask till I was done talking to someone.   It's the little things people.

This past month has been rough as a single mom.  Being sick

myself and her being sick has presented a lot of challenges.   Especially since I"m running out of days I can be off from work.   I've had a few moments of being overwhelmed but we made it through.     I have a great family that helps out, of course though everyone has been sick.   Today someone asked me a question about if I wanted more kids.  I know it's crazy to think maybe so.   I always go back an forth on whether it would be nice to have another.   I don't think being an only child will be such a bad thing, but at the same time i'm depriving baby J from having someone to fight and love with.   I also love kids, but they are also expensive.   I've had sets of two prior to this and unless they both can't walk, it's not a whole lot different with two than one.   Of course I couldn't ever adopt the way I did this last time, that was costly.  And it would make things tighter financially and maybe stupid as a single person, but honestly I wouldn't mind another someday.   And YES i know that is totally crazy.   Honestly I plan to go back into foster care, I'm just waiting a little longer before I do and considering financial items is really the only thing that would stop me from other kids, though I'm not sure that would.  :-)  I never intended to be a single mother or single period, but that is the way life has worked out--but I still deserve a family.

I'm so ready for the summer and all of us being better not to mention time to spend with baby J.  I hope in this roller coaster of weather changes everyone is staying well and healthy

Quirks of a 19 month old

Last week Baby J turned 19 months.  I LOVE seeing her grow and learn.   Everyday I'm amazed at her.   I can't even begin to describe how blessed we are.  I am on several preemie Facebook pages and every day I read about little tiny miracles and every day I read about potential problems we could have faced (though not totally out of the woods yet) given her beginning and all the challenges she had.    It's amazing how well she is doing and I thank God every day for giving me a happy almost healthy baby.

She fell in the tub while trying to get some toys

Overall Baby J continues to be on track with everything and overall healthy.   She have a constant cold we can't seem to over come, but did have about a week where she felt really good.  Some of this is from teething I think (finally a 5th tooth popped through today) and some from an underdeveloped respiratory system and teeny tiny airways...Though she has been on antibiotics for it and a round of steroids, we haven't seen much worse.  I especially know how lucky we are since we do not hibernate and she is exposed to everything and has been since day 1 at home.  Baby J is still scheduled to have her iron checked again and still has an

not a pacifier (gave that up at 7 months)
it's a music symbol.

appointment with the hormone doctor.  She does have some emotional control issues at times and does have some sensory overload issues.  Our most difficult moments is at night time, but tonight she went right to sleep and early.   We have been really focusing on asking for help instead of throwing tantrums.  She is doing really well too even after only a week of really working on it.   She will acting say "help please", though most of the time it comes out as just "please."

I love this stage of childhood.  It's so much fun watching her gain her personality and she learns something every day.   Her vocabulary is soaring though she still doesn't show much of it outside of our house...Lately she has been copying the end of every one of my sentences.  Today she even said "Cover me up" at nap time.  She also is still climbing on EVERYTHING.  And she can get out of every seat belt except for her carseat.  So some fun quirks and personality bits about Baby J.


-She is obsessed with trying to get her shoes on and we spend at least a half an hour every night trying.  I always have to eventually just put them up.
-She gets mad if I don't let her help me unload the dishwasher.
-If I would let her, I believe she would brush her teeth all day long.
-She loves to feed and play with the puppy.
-She insists that she get to take her dirty diapers to the trash.  
-She absolutely loves to sing and dance
-She can now reach the doorknobs well and locked me out of the house today -thankfully 1 of our 3 doors was unlocked.  Unfortunately it was the back door and it's pouring out today and cold.  

I had some cute other things but now can't remember them.

Happy New Year!

our first time being in the snow

turning and falling down is the new game 

Well it's a new year and it was Baby J's 2nd New year---which she stayed awake for again.  In fact while she did take a later nap yesterday---she was up until we got home at 2:30am this morning.   The rest of the family kids were out not much after midnight but not baby J.  

we tried this at the store..it did not go well

Playing with cousin's toys

I was so proud of her last night.   As many know, she loves me very much and often cries when I'm not the one holding or playing with her.   Part of that is sensory overload I think in social situations...but last night she was social with everyone, played with her cousins, and interacted with everyone at some point.  This is a huge leap from what she has been doing lately and I was so very excited that she was showing the family what she truly is like most of the time.  She didn't use all her words but she babbled and did use many.   A lot of that is because she is finally feeling better.  

Playing more and more with the dog

Poor Baby J has had a pretty constant cold for a couple months.  We

1st popcorn (and yes I know
she shouldn't have it)

went again to the doctor and this time she found ear infections and ok'd more for the nebulizer.   After a couple days of antibiotics, we did start her on some sort of liquid steroid.  Finally I'm starting to see my fun crazy little girl.   She has even been showing off for others.  I hope we can avoid starting the cold over in the coming weeks, but I'm sure it's inevitable for her to get it again..I'm just glad the doctor gave us stuff this time.   I wish she would understand my fears of not letting the breathing problems get to far...we have stayed out of the hospital and getting anything too severe and I would like to keep it that way (and yes I know anyone reading this is probably thinking...haha you are never home to keep away from illnesses and I know)  She is majorly chewing on things again so maybe she will get another tooth - we currently still only have 4.

loves trying to put on shoes

Baby J's vocabulary is skyrocketing and especially when at home says a lot and copies almost everything.  And we barely cry or fight being dropped off at daycare now and is quite chatty when I pick her up.   I've kept her in there during part of break so we don't have to start over...and it was honestly nice to do a couple of things on my own...I even got to spend time with some friends without our kids.  I haven't really spent much time away from Baby J unless it's for work and a couple of times to go see a play and one night my parents kept her over night so it was awesome to have some non school work time.   And I still had over a week with her with the weekends and days the daycare was closed...not to mention the evenings.   We have my nephews here this weekend and we have been having a lot of fun with them.  Which by the way my daughter is CRAZY in the pool....every time she gets braver and braver.  Yesterday she was jumping in from the side and now climbs the play set and gets on the slide on her own...which is a little scary - especially when she flips down wrong though not much scarier than her climbing over EVERYTHING!

 

Not a fan of Santa

So 2017 is off to a great start and I'm so lucky to have another year to start with my baby girl.  I'm looking forward to this year and watching her grown more and more and to see how much closer she gets me to a permanent place at the loony bin.  I hope everyone else has a lovely start to the year and that you each get all you want and need as we face this year.   PS don't forget to use my amazon link. :-)

 Christmas Time!

 

1.5years...How did this Happen?

I'm not sure how we got to this point, but Baby J is already 18 Months and so much has changed in just the last month.   It always amazes me how fast babies learn and Baby J is no exception as she is learning at record rates.  And perhaps it amazes me more so since at one point we didn't even know if she would be around or what problems we might face.   Please don't take me talking about my child as bragging or in anyway saying she's better than others...I'm just always so amazed by her and I use these blogs to do her photo books from since I'm never up to date on them...though I am caught up to August on those (that is a brag)

playing in the puddle

So at 18 months, baby girl weighed 20lbs even today, 31.7 inches tall (which is like 86% for her adjusted age) and is developmentally where she should be for her real age, if not even further on some things.  She is now in 12 month clothing...mostly because of height. This month she started extreme climbing on everything, dancing every time she hears music, loves doing patty cake and itsy bitsy spider (which is so cute) and even says part of patty cake now.   Today she figured out how to use the microphone on her toy piano at my parents house--she loves playing the piano.  Her language has exceeded any expectations and I was curious last week so I started a list of words she can say well and has said consistently and came up with 30+ words and she repeats a lot more and mumbles even more than that.  She even has a few phrases every once in a while.   She absolutely LOVES the word Puppy and is about the only word you are guaranteed to always hear.  Some books are "puppy, puppy, the puppy, puppy" even if there is no puppy in it.  And yes she does know what a puppy is.   It's fun hearing her say it.  She also is very good about saying Thank You and rather enjoys saying that as well.  She also is starting to say please when she really wants something.  She still very much loves books, but would much rather read it herself.

Baby J still loves the pool and blows bubbles -now very loudly- every time she is in the water and has even started to put her head down under on her own .   Last week she discovered how much she loves the slide at the pool as well.  I'm pretty sure the lifeguards worry I'm trying to let my child drown.   She also loves pop/water bottles.   She likes to take the lid off and put it back on...well actually she likes doing that with any container but the bottle is her favorite.  She tries to figure out how things work and go together....especially belts which can not hold her in anything but the carseat now.

Helping cook Thanksgiving lunch

Baby J has now been in her new daycare for a little over a month
and she seems to be doing pretty good.  I hate that it is so chaotic in the morning there and they are a little disorganized, but over all things seem to be going well.   I have noticed that she is more willing to play with other kids...but that may be her growing up too.  Unfortunately she has landed ill again an has been sick most of the last month and is miserable this week, but currently still a cold this time around. Winter is going to be long.  My daughter is extremely adorable and I love being around

Getting pretty good at using a fork,
and insists on using one for everything

her...well when she is in a good mood and happy, but night time has become a nightmare.  Her poor legs bother her so much at night, like screaming and crying pain and nothing seems to help.  Being sick and not being able to breath is making night time even worse...so for the past couple weeks I haven't really gotten much sleep and neither has she.  The doctor says its just growing pains---despite the fact she has them every single night and has actually had problems since she was little.  I figured out it started to get worse once we removed the formula and since she has been anemic before and Iron could cause it, I requested today that her iron be checked and after being told it was just checked 9 months ago and fine, it was still checked and it was low and under normal range.  Why does it seem like going to the doctor only works if you self diagnose before going...they seem to have no real interest in actually helping anyone figure out true causes to anything.  It's very frustrating.  Hopefully a multivitamin with iron will help solve some of her problems...we still have an appointment in February to check hormones too.  Next week she goes for her NICU follow up so that will be fun.

We survived another show together (thankful for family that helped out especially when while Baby J was really sick the week before the show.   yeah its going to be a really long winter).  We love our new place still and someday I may get it all unpacked and organized.. I got part of that done during Thanksgiving break, but still have a ways to go.  Baby J is still as adorable as ever and has quite the personality.  She is very sassy and enjoys being silly and doing opposite of what is asked of her.  She follows instructions well when she isn't being silly.  Her laughs make me laugh and I love watching her grow up.   I'm excited for Christmas this year with her and have even decorated some.  She really likes the Christmas trees.  I hope we can find a place and a warmer day to go look at lights as she likes them so much and gets so excited.  We can't really drive through them as I'm not sure she can see them from her seat --she is in a bigger seat now, but it still doesn't really give her much view out the window.

thank you to everyone who has continued to support us in all sorts of ways.  Please keep Baby J in your prayers over the winter to stay healthy enough to avoid major illnesses and patience for me as we deal with no sleeping and sick moods.   BTW if you are shopping at Amazon, don't forget to use the link on the side as I still get a small percentage from the website and I am still paying off thousands for the adoption.    Baby J and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and get to spend time with your own families.
Below is how Baby J believes the high chair should be used.  I want to take it down to be a table and chair which it can be, but right now my dog is to mean at meal times so that will happen when I finally get my dining room table here-it's in the back of a shed- then Baby J can sit at the table and this will be her table/chair for playing at.  Silly girl, I do try to get her to stop.

 

She's been blowing bubbles (also one of her favorite words) in the tub

Happy 17 months! Baby J

It's a day late, but Baby J is 17 months (aka 1 year 5 months) and technically 1 year 2 months adjusted.   She is growing up so fast and is a learning sponge.  She still only has 3 teeth, now weighs around 21 lbs --according to the scale at the Y, and is wearing 9-12 month clothing.  Mostly 12 month due to her height.   But those are just numbers...her personality is what makes her an amazing little girl.  She has a huge vocabulary that she is adding to daily.  She understands even more.  
Baby J has so many different facial expressions and laughs that she keeps everyone on their toes.  She is still a massive climber and climbs things that I'm not sure how she isn't falling off.   She loves being at rehearsal most nights and playing with the kids and has really started to dance when she hears music.  She is still singing often too.  Sometimes she helps me yell at the kids too.
In the past month she has also started to 'help' me...for instance she loves to help unload the dishwasher--she hands me the silverware.  I tried to let her hand me a small plate, but she fell backwards and that broke.  Her balance has been a little crazy lately.   She still loves the animals and is very excited to see the kitties when they come over.   For a couple weeks everything was a 'puppy' until she learned what it was.   She still loves to say puppy and find them in pictures, around her, and sometimes she is just saying it.   She has started to do the motions for Itsy Bitsy Spider and it is the most adorable thing ever.
This past week Baby J started at a daycare facility.  She survived the week.  Each day they said she ate well and she actually napped- that was my biggest concerns.   She cries in the morning when I drop her off, but they tell me she stops pretty fast.  Usually she is playing and seems happy when I pick her up.  They said she has done a good job overall transitioning.   She talks a lot after daycare so I figure it must be going pretty good.   I enjoy the shorter drive and it has helped immensely.  
Poor Baby J is having a hard time sleeping the last week.   She is teething again and has come down with a cold.  I hope she feels better quickly.  Thankfully my parents have watched her some so she doesn't have to keep the same busy schedule i have.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the things that she has accomplished this month, she is so much fun and most of the time is the best baby ever.  Bedtime isn't fun and while she's not feeling good, but that's about it.  Hopefully we will make it the next two weeks and then the show is over.  Yea!

Happy Halloween Baby J

Unlike most Halloween nights, I had this evening free and Baby J and I got to experience trick or treating.   We went to a cousin's and went out with her.  Baby J had a blast.  In fact we spent most of the evening literally chasing after her- she has really started to run well and fast.   She thought this evening was great and thoroughly enjoyed it.   I've noticed she is getting true joy out of so many things lately.  Last night she went to a skating party with me and people took her out on the rink in her stroller all night and she loved it, I even put her in way to large skates and went around with her once.   It's so much fun to see her having true joy in the things we do.  
Baby J is becoming little Miss Independent and she will soon be a huge handful, but I wouldn't change it for anything.  She is talking all the time and we are hearing sentences from her.  She has started to really reach the stage where she repeats what she is hearing.  Most things are called "puppy" until she is told what they are.   Puppy is her favorite word and she goes around saying it.  It's amazing how fast she catches on to things.  She was calling a bird a puppy the other day and I told her it was a bird so she repeated back  "Ird."   And now she calls the birds birds instead of puppy.  She also now keeps going to the tub and saying "ubbles" aka bubbles.  She is climbing everything and takes off to other rooms and areas now.  
Today Baby J started daycare at a center...I'm glad for the closer drive, but really liked where she was.  I was worried we would be starting over with the crying like she was doing, but they said she did very well.  She cried in the morning some and a little later, but she played, took a nap even, and did not even have her blanket all day (which is HUGE).  I didn't even let her take her best bud in this morning...which by the way is her cup.  I guess she loved trick or treating with them as well this morning.  Hopefully she will do as well tomorrow without all the halloween distractions.  

1st day in new seat.