Weekly Update - Clinging/Drinking/Family

Hierarchy of Cling. Jessica has been really clingy lately. Maybe it's because of teething, maybe it's the beginnings of a cold (her nose was runny all day today), or maybe it's just be part of her current development. Whatever the reason, we're enjoying some extra cuddles with our baby. What's funny is that she's very predictable as to who she will cling to. If I'm in the room, then there's no doubt about it -- she'll want me. If I'm not there, then Steve is who she'll want to be with. If neither Steve nor I are there, then it's hit or miss whether she'll be content with the next person or whether she'll bawl her eyes out until we come back.

Drinking from a Cup. Jessica is already learning to drink from a cup! She's only done it a couple of times and there are always spills, but we're so impressed with how quickly she's learning. It took Emily another 10 months before she drank from a cup by herself!

Family Time. The girls have been spending some quality time with family this week. There was the trip to Grammy's on Wednesday, a nice visit with the cousins on Saturday, and my sister's birthday celebration on Sunday. Now we're really looking forward to a visit from Auntie Kirtie tomorrow!

Cousins Roger and Emily

Steve and his brother on the swings

 Cousins Colin and Jessica
"Give me a high five, Colin!"

To Waterloo and Back

Our impromptu trip to Waterloo went very well. We stayed at Steve's mom's house in Cambridge which is about 3-3.5 hours from Kingston. The girls did well in the car for the most part; there were just a few 30-minute stretches right before a rest stop where I had to work extra hard to keep everyone happy.

Here are a few more notes about our travels.
 
- The evening before the trip I ran to Toys R Us and got Emily a few new things to keep her entertained. I'm glad I did because her travel-size Magna Doodle and two new musical books kept her happy for long periods of time. We spent the last hour of our drive to Cambridge playing "pictionary" (I would draw something and she would guess what it was).

- Jessica's favourite in-car toy was a cup of markers. She spent so long taking the markers out and putting them back in (luckily she hasn't learned how to remove the caps yet).

- Emily was so excited about our little adventure. I wrote her a book about it to prepare her in advance. All throughout the trip she would say things like "We going to Waterloo!", "We driving for long, long time!", "Waterloo is very far, far, far, far, FAR away."

- Given that Emily loves to have "rests" in her bed, she loved the sound of a "rest stop". She especially loved them because there were fries.

- Poor Jessica cried for 20 minutes before falling asleep on our way to Waterloo. That was definitely the toughest part of the whole trip. Thankfully she fell asleep without a peep on the way back.

- Emily loved Grammy's house! There were bookshelves full of books, lots of rooms to explore, some fun toys, and a kitty to play with. Emily especially liked her very own pink room.

- John's funeral went well. It was nice to be able to say goodbye and to see all of my old co-workers/UW staff.

- While I was at the funeral, Steve and Grammy took the girls to the park. When I got back I asked Emily how the park was and she said "lot of poop." Apparently there were lots of geese and they left not-so-nice things all over the park. She still had fun though and they ended up going to two parks (the other one was poop free).

- Both girls slept so well at Grammy's. Emily fell asleep without a peep and slept in late. Jessica slept for 10 hours straight. An unexpected treat!

- Before heading back home we stopped at the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory. Emily had a blast. She ran around with her arms out, so excited about everything she saw. Then near the end a butterfly grazed her hand and she freaked out. She didn't cry, but she was extremely nervous about anything that moved after it happened. We left soon after that :).

Jessica wasn't too impressed

- It bothers me that you can't get much healthy food on the road, so I always pack tons of healthy foods and snacks. So even while travelling, Jessica had yogurt, cheese, and fruit for lunch and Emily had tomatoes and cucumber with her fries.

- Overall it was a very successful trip and it gives me confidence for going on a few adventures this summer (zoo? beach?).

Thanks Grammy!

Interview with (11-Month-Old) Jessica

Nathalieland: Hello Jessica! Sorry I'm late for your interview.
Jessica: No problem, I was in Waterloo the day I turned 11 months.

N: Can you believe it? You'll be ONE in less than a month! Any thoughts on your birthday party/presents?
J: Nope.

N: You better start planning! So tell me about your 11-month-old self.
J: I crawl everywhere and I climb on anything that is less than a foot tall. I'm curious about everything I see and I want to explore it all. I love to giggle, watch TV, and pull up to standing.

N: Excuse me, did you just say watch TV?
J: Yep. My parents were pretty strict with Emily's TV watching, but they're really slacking with me. I love Sesame Street and I dance every time I hear the theme song or see any of the characters (I even dance when I see Sesame Street toys/books around the house).

N: I see. What's your sleep like these days?
J: Don't even ask. I'm a mess! Some days I nurse to sleep, some days I cry to sleep. Some days I wake up three times a night, other days I sleep 10 hours straight. Lately I especially like to fight sleep at night (I won't go to bed before 8-8:30pm even though I'm tired). I'm down to just one nap a day so maybe I'm overtired... Or maybe it's just teething again.

N: More teeth coming in?
J: Yep. Mommy saw my first molar coming in on the bottom.

N: Well I really hope things get better soon. Has your eating improved?
J: I'm slowly but surely getting better with finger foods. I can eat bigger chunks and enjoy trying new things. I'm able to feed myself, but I still prefer to be fed. I still like pureed foods (oatmeal cereal, vegetables, and fruits), but often I need to be distracted by something (like a toy) in order to eat them. I refuse to drink milk that is not from my mommy's boobs.

N: So you're still breastfeeding?
J: Yes, but I get the impression my mommy is getting ready to wean me. My weight gain is not great and her supply seems to be getting low. Also, I'm not a very gentle nurser -- I constantly scratch, pinch, pull hair, and leave nice teeth marks when I nurse. I think she's getting a bit tired of that ;).

N: Ouch! Sounds like you're a bit of a spunky girl.
J: I am! I love to pull hair even when I'm not nursing, no matter how many times my mom says no. And now if you try to pick me up when I don't want to be picked up, I'll arch my back and tilt my head back in a let-me-go kind of way.

N: So funny! Emily never did that. What would you say are your best features?
J: I have the sweetest smile -- it'll melt your heart. I'm an easy-going traveller and a good independent player. I think my mommy's favourite thing about me is that I love to cuddle. The other day I just sat on my mommy's lap and snuggled right into her while she chatted with Grammy. She loved it, and I loved it too.

N: Have a great 12th month, Jessica. I'll see you when you're ONE!
J: Night night.

Back to Regularly Scheduled Blogging...

I'm a bit behind on my blogging because we just got back from a quick (36-hour) trip to Waterloo for John's funeral.

This evening there was lots of unpacking, cleaning, and reading to do, but I'll be back to my regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow! Coming up next are Jessica's 11-month interview and a post about our trip.

Weekly Update - 23/04/23

Well That's Strange. Snow outside our window this morning! April 23rd!

Lost Post. I totally meant to publish this post on April 15th, but April 15th came and went and I completely forgot. It only made sense to post it on that day because that's when the pictures were taken, so although I published it on Saturday, I made the time stamp say April 15th. Anyways, in case you missed it, here it is: Three Years Ago Today.

Milk Issues. I'm not sure if Jessica is trying to wean herself or if my supply has taken a turn for the worse, but Jessica's just not showing much interest in nursing. Her feeds are short and not as frequent as I would expect them to be. Her diapers are pretty dry and she's not gaining much weight either. I'm totally fine with weaning her to milk or formula at this point, but the problem is that she hates formula and refuses to drink it, and cow's milk seems to be giving her a major diaper rash. We've only given her cow's milk in very small amounts (in cereal, a few sips in a cup) and it's always resulted in a bad rash that takes a week to heal. Looks like a trip to the doctor might be in order!

Thank You, Nasonex. Allergy season has arrived, and for me that means constant itchy, watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, itchy palate, and terrible sleep. I avoided my usual nasal spray (Nasonex) while pregnant, but now I'm back on it and it makes a world of difference. The best part is that my sleep has significantly improved since I started Nasonex (which means a lot considering Jessica still wakes up 1-3 times a night).

 

Losing a Boss and a Friend. I just found out on the weekend that an old boss and friend of mine passed away on Friday. John was a big part of my university life/co-op job, teaching me a lot about business, connections, and life. He gave me the best advice that I still think of every time I host a dinner party: do as much prep/cooking as you can before the guests arrive so that you can spend your time with your guests instead of in the kitchen. John was a great boss and mentor, always bringing humour and generosity to his work. He will be missed.

Me and John on my 21st birthday

Sandbox Flop

While we were waiting for Steve to get home from badminton yesterday, I thought it would be a fun idea (and a great photo op!) to take the girls outside to play in the sandbox. What I didn't realize was that it was just going to be a big flop.

Within five minutes of being outside, Emily got sand in her eyes and Jessica fell face-first onto the deck. Despite a small bloody nose, Jessica cheered up so the girls went back to playing.

Jessica didn't last very long in the sandbox and I realized it was probably because she was hungry. It was close to supper time, but there was still no sign of Steve, so I grabbed a high chair, some cereal, vegetable, and fruit, brought it all outside so I could feed Jessica while Emily continued to play. All that effort was basically a waste; it made a huge mess and she was done after two bites.

Meanwhile, Emily kept getting sand in her eyes (note to self: add water to the sand to make it heavier and don't play in the sandbox on a windy day!). She decided to get out and play in the garden while I continued to try to feed Jessica.

Things were finally starting to calm down, but then Emily bonked her head on the corner of the barbecue and started crying, which caused Jessica to cry too. Emily's cries turned into meltdown-mode screams, probably out of frustration and hunger. At this point all I could think was "I hope the neighbours aren't hearing this!" The outing ended when Daddy walked through the door to see his two crying babies and a worn-out Mommy.

Getting supper ready was a whole other struggle, but thankfully once we sat down to eat, everything was back to normal...

Movie Night

If you can believe it, Steve and I have only watched a couple of movies since Emily was born (back in 2009!). A 2-hour commitment just seems like so much right now; the most we can handle is a 1-hour TV show in the evenings. Anyways, I got two movies for my birthday so we decided it was finally time to sit down and watch one. It was fun! Although we did end up splitting the movie into two nights because the girls kept us up late. :/