tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30313650540620816372024-02-18T21:38:50.744-04:00La Famille ChapmanThe tales of a growing familyLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-22871913264058682682015-03-27T21:18:00.000-03:002015-03-27T21:18:23.595-03:00The one with the three month update!Well, I'm terrible at updating. Obviously I did not get the seven week update in time ... and now my baby boy is three months old!<br />
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What to say about three month old Myles?<br />
He is a pretty big guy. I had him to the doctor yesterday and he weighs 13bs7oz. For someone who doesn't eat, that's pretty good! ;) He is happy and healthy and that's all that matters.<br />
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His eating and sleeping is still nutty. He doesn't have a whole lot of interest in eating. He is still only drinking maybe 4oz at a time, every 3-5 hours. Once in a while, he'll surprise me and eat 5-6oz but that doesn't always happen. Thankfully, though, he is still growing just fine and has not fallen off his growth curve so I guess he's just doing okay with a small amount of milk. <br />
He goes to bed around 7pm and usually sleeps until around midnight ... and then it varies from there. Sometimes he will be up again at 3, sometimes he will sleep until 5. Sometimes he'll go right back to sleep after he wakes and eats, sometimes he just wants to party. It is a struggle, for sure. I like my sleep and he, apparently, does not. I am hoping that as he gets older, he will start to sleep better. Please, Myles?<br />
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He is a very happy and smiley little guy. All you have to do is look at him and he grins. He is so sweet! He loves getting undressed and every time I start taking off his clothes, he starts giggling. I love it. He has the most adorable little baby voice and I love when we have conversations and he just coos. So so cute. <br />
He enjoys hanging out on his play mat, smacking the dangling toys around. He is starting to reach for items more and will occasionally grasp toys. This morning, he was playing with a toy and brought it to his mouth! Exciting times!<br />
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He loathes being on his tummy and just sort of sky-dive poses and screams when I try to put him on his tummy. I'm not too concerned, though. He can hold his head steady when I'm holding him upright. He will like being on his tummy more when he is able to roll there by himself. He will sit in the Bumbo sometimes but prefers to sit on someone's lap and look around. <br />
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He still adores his big sister and will stare at her, smile and laugh, and talk to her. They are adorable together :)<br />
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That's all for now! Let's be realistic and hope for the next update before he is six months old :)Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-12814640539640314582015-02-08T09:30:00.001-04:002015-02-08T09:30:42.944-04:00The one where Myles is six weeks oldWOW. Six weeks. Again, it's that magic number ... once you get over the six week hump, things tend to settle down. I can't believe how quickly it has gone by this time around. I guess because we are already in a routine and have an older child, time just tends to speed by.<br />
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Our sweet little Myles turned six weeks old on Wednesday (and yes, it is now Sunday ... remember what I said above about time speeding by? Yeah.) I really can't believe how big he is getting! We have not had a doctor's appointment or anything for a while, and we don't own a scale in our house, so I really do not know how big he is right now. There is a Public Health clinic in town next week (every second Thursday) so I think I will bring him in just to get weighed. He is for sure over 10lbs, maybe even close to 11lbs now. When I look at him, I feel like he's HUGE. He is fitting into 3 month clothing and even a few 6 month pieces. His hair is still light and has fallen out on the top so he has an awesome "old man" ring going on. I also remember Charlotte having a similar hairline at this stage ;) His eyebrows are so blonde you can't even see them and his eyes are still a dark blue. I'm wondering if they will stay that colour! Will he be our little blonde haired blue eyed baby? Who knows!<br />
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We are still trying to figure him out with regards to sleeping and eating. This last week has been a gong show and I'm chalking it up to the six week growth spurt. He has been going to bed around 7:30 at night - he gets his bath before Charlotte - and would sleep until around midnight(ish), then again until around 3(ish), and sometimes would wake up again an hour later ... it's been kind of nutty. Last night, though, we were out a bit later so he went to bed around 8pm and slept until 4am!! I could get used to that. He had a hard time falling back to sleep, though, and then woke up again at 6, and then again at 7:15 for the day. Now it's 9:15 and he's asleep in his swing. Normally, he loathes our swing with a burning passion of a thousand suns, but this morning I decided to rock him in the rocking chair upstairs until he was asleep and then I transferred him to the swing. Success! For now...<br />
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His eating has been all over the map. Sometimes he will only take 2oz, sometimes he'll want 5-6oz, sometimes he'll gulp it down, other times it's a fight to get anything into him. It's a bit stressful and I'm actually thinking he might have silent reflux. He always makes noises that sounds like he is clearing his throat or like he is congested, he doesn't spit up often but when he does, it doesn't actually come OUT but just into his mouth, and I think that may have something to do with how fussy he can be. I don't think it has anything to do with his formula because he was like this when he was breastfed too. When he has his next doctor's appointment, I am going to bring it up. I may even bring it up with my doctor when I go to see her next week for my six week postpartum check (it had to be rescheduled because of all the storms we've had here lately - my car was frozen in my driveway!)<br />
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He is still super smiley and is becoming more and more focused on the world. He enjoys the play mat quite a bit now and will kick and move his arms around when Mr. Sun is singing. He is starting to grab at items - he's grabbed hold of some of the toys dangling from the play mat and he gets a surprisingly good grip on my necklaces or the ties on my hoodies. He likes he hold my fingers when he's eating :) He smiles a lot at Charlotte and he likes when we make silly voices or when we clap his hands together. He really likes bath time and kicks and splashes around. I got him a little bath seat like Charlotte had when she was a baby but I actually find it easier just to put him in the big tub with a small amount of water and wash him that way.<br />
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So funny - he always had his hand up by his face in utero too and when he's in the tub, it always goes right back up! I wonder if the warm bath reminds him of the inside ;)<br />
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That's all for now! Let's see if I can do the seven week update on time!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-59705105761699032222015-01-28T16:33:00.000-04:002015-01-28T16:33:54.196-04:00The one with the five week updateBig five week old boy today! What is new with five week old Myles?<br />
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He seems to be (finally) settling into some natural rhythms this week. Over the last week, I've discovered that he enjoys being swaddled so I have been wrapping him up to sleep and it's made quite a difference. He has been going to bed between 8:30-9:00 at night after getting a bath and a nice big bottle. He will sleep until anywhere between 2am-4am to eat, will go back to sleep, and wake up around 7ish. His naps are still iffy, but he does sleep relatively well during the day. Today he slept for three hours in the pack n' play (we are at Grammie and Grampie's house) and he's conked out again in the swing.<br /><br />He has been eating better as well. I decided a few days ago that we were finished with breastfeeding and he is 100% on bottles now. I was tired of fighting with him to stay latched, it was uncomfortable, and exhausting. Had he been my only child, perhaps we would have continued longer but I have another child to take care of as well and I couldn't spend hours at a time nursing him, only to have him start rooting 20 minutes later. It just wasn't working for our family anymore and I am okay with that! He is doing great on formula and doesn't seem bothered in the slightest. He is eating about 6-7 times in 24 hours. Most times he will drink 4oz but sometimes he will want 5oz or even 6oz. I always make a 6oz bottle for the last one before bed, but he usually only drinks about half of it. <br /><br />He is starting to get a lot more interactive this week. He has been super smiley all week, giving the little smirks and the big gummy smiles. He focuses on us a lot more and will "talk" to us, moving his mouth to imitate us and makes a lot more noises besides his usual grunts and groans.<br />
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He isn't too bothered by tummy time, usually (although - I'll be honest - I don't do it much because it's not a very natural position for babies to be in ... I prefer carrying him upright or holding him to strengthen his neck muscles) but today he got so angry about being on his tummy, he actually ROLLED from belly to back! I couldn't believe it. He was determined, haha! Normally, though, he just lays there and puts his head down, and watches the world.<br />
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He is definitely getting bigger and bigger every day. I'm not sure exactly what he weighs now, but I weighed myself and then myself + him this morning and the difference was 10.6 on the scale. So 10lbs now? He is wearing 3 month clothing (still a little big on him, but 0-3 is too tight). His hair is still a dark blonde(ish) colour and his eyes are still blue! I wonder if they will change...<br />
<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-43911828176298402432015-01-21T11:55:00.001-04:002015-01-21T11:55:54.280-04:00The one with the four week update<div>
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I know, I know. We missed the three week mark. Oops!<br />
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Myles is four weeks old today! He will officially be one month old on Saturday. I must say, it has gone by pretty quickly. He had a weight check up on Friday and he was 9lbs even. He is doing well and does not have to go back to the doctor until his 2 month check up, unless we have concerns before then. He is bright and chunky and seems to be growing well! His eyes are still a dark blue but are lightening a little bit around the inside. His hair is still fuzzy and a lighter colour - kind of blonde in spots, but a little darker toward the back. I'm really curious to see what colour it will be as it gets thicker! His eyelashes have gotten longer. He still isn't producing tears yet (yay!) and has what appears to be a birth mark on his right eyelid. We thought it was bruising from birth, but it hasn't gone away yet so we're thinking it's a birth mark. He has some of the same red marks on the back of his head as well.</div>
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He still does not seem to have much of a pattern emerging yet for sleeping and eating. He is kind of all over the place, which makes it a bit difficult for me because we all know that I like predictability and routine. We were told to wake him up to eat every three hours at his two week check up so I think that has kind of messed with his natural rhythms and he hasn't had a chance to establish a pattern yet. We've stopped waking him and will let him sleep and eat whenever he needs to, so I am hoping that we will see some patterns emerging in the next few weeks. He is still doing well with breastfeeding and he switches between breast and bottle just fine at the moment. I generally nurse him during the day and he gets bottles (either formula or pumped milk) at nighttime. He usually nurses for about 30-45 minutes (both sides) and will drink about 3-4 ounces from a bottle at a time.</div>
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He has periods of quiet alert time where he likes to look around at all the high contrast stuff around him (like the pictures on the wall and the lamp shades in the evening when the light shines through). He is starting to enjoy laying on the play mat, watching the singing sun, but he seems to prefer looking toward/out the window instead. He is starting to get used to being put down in the bouncy seat or the swing. Today was the first time he actually fell asleep in the swing while it was swinging. Progress!! He tends to get quite gassy and grunts/growls a lot but, thankfully, that is something that he will outgrow soon enough. He is just still trying to get used to this whole "digestive system" thing ... but I do look forward to the day when the noises he makes are not just grunts, groans, and growls. More coos and gurgles please! :)</div>
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That is all for now! I will update next week!</div>
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-64619683471079330892015-01-10T14:06:00.000-04:002015-01-10T14:06:22.522-04:00The one with the two week updateWell, two and a half weeks. We run a little late here these days.<br />
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Myles turned two weeks old on Wednesday. I remember the first two weeks dragging when Charlotte was a baby, but these last two weeks have gone by pretty quickly! <br />
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So far, Myles is doing really well. He is back up to his birth weight of 8lbs 7oz and we go back to the doctor on Friday to weigh him again for his three week check up. He is already starting to outgrow his newborn clothing and he's quite round with a double chin so I think he's doing pretty good ;) He is still nursing relatively well. He has a bottle here and there, sometimes formula, sometimes pumped milk. He takes about 45 minutes to an hour to eat sometimes and usually eats about every three hours during the day and goes longer stretches at nighttime. He has never had his days and nights mixed up, which is very helpful. Last night I tried putting him in his cradle at nighttime - he had been sleeping on my pillow all night - and he did pretty good. He slept soundly from about 10pm until around 3am but then was up almost hourly until about 6am. He didn't eat very much at 3am so I think that was the issue. If he had had a nice big feed, he probably would have gone back to sleep right until morning. Regardless, I'm happy that he seems to have taken well to the cradle! Hopefully that continues because I slept a lot better as well.<br />
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He is starting to focus on people and things. He really likes to stare up at the pictures hanging in the living room - I think he likes the contrast between between the dark frames and the light walls. I like sitting with him on my knees to chat and he will look at me. He will lay on his play mat and look around but doesn't like to be on the floor for too long. Charlotte really likes when he is on the floor, though, so she can talk to him and tell him all about the world. <br />
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He is a pretty chill little guy, but will complain quite loudly when he needs something. He absolutely does not like to be wet or dirty (whereas Charlotte never really seemed to care if she needed a new diaper), if he's tired he will yell about it, and when he's hungry he'll protest (and then take forever to latch, the goose) but as long as everything is okay in his world, he's happy :)<br />
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That's it for now! Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-33175635014513469452015-01-01T18:05:00.001-04:002015-01-01T18:08:11.397-04:00The one with the baby v 2.0Yes, BoJu has arrived! It has just been a busy week and I did try to update the blog a couple of times last week but it just didn't pan out.<br />
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So, apparently BoJu must have read the last blog post and thought "ha! I'll show her!". I felt nothing out of the ordinary until about 10:30 at night on the 23rd. Boyd and I were watching A Christmas Carol on TV and I was feeling some strange pains right in the front of my uterus. They didn't feel like contractions, really, but it hurt and I just wasn't really sure. I tried timing them but there was no real pattern so I told Boyd I was going to go upstairs and have a bath. I walked up the stairs and the pain intensified so I told him that he should probably give his mom a call to come watch Charlotte so we could go to the hospital.<br />
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We got to the hospital around midnight. The nurse checked me and told me I was dilated 8cm. I said <i>"I'm WHAT?"</i> Needless to say, I was admitted. I laboured for about an hour or so longer, my water broke, I pushed for 40 minutes and <b>Myles William Raymond Chapman</b> was born at 2:18am on December 24 weighing in at 8lb 7oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.<br />
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It was a quick whirlwind but a much better experience than last time. My recovery has been night and day from my last experience. I am up and moving and there's no pain happening. Nursing is going well - he gives me a hard time when I try to latch him on the left side but my milk is in, he's not ripping me to shreds, so that's a plus!</div>
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So far, we are still adjusting to the new family. I don't really remember the first week of Charlotte's life so I can't really compare, but every day seems to be improving. He is slowly figuring out life outside the womb. He's eating well, his diaper output is great, and he is getting good stretches of sleep in. He generally eats about every 2-4 hours, depending - sometimes he will inch closer to 5 hours between feeds but not often. He is starting to spend a bit more time awake and taking things in, allowing us to put him down without fussing too much.</div>
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He had his first doctor's appointment on Tuesday. He lost about 5% of his birth weight and was back up to 8lbs. He is pink and healthy and everything looks great! He goes back again this Tuesday for a two week check up and hopefully he will be back up to his birth weight by then.</div>
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Charlotte is absolutely in love. I think she is adapting better than I am! I wish I could bottle up her coping skills somehow. She likes coming in to help when I change his diaper and likes sitting and watching him while he eats. She talks to him, sings, rubs his belly, and is very protective of him. It's absolutely sweet to watch and I'm really happy she is doing so well. I've talked to her about how it is okay if she feels sad or is not happy about how things have changed now that there is a baby in the house and she told me <i>"no, I'll always love him"</i>. She's an amazing big sister.</div>
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That's all for now! I will try to keep updating more now that Myles has arrived :)</div>
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-66305537515602657622014-12-23T16:37:00.001-04:002014-12-23T16:38:13.128-04:00The one with the due date...It appears that BoJu is following in his big sister's footsteps and choosing not to come before or on his due date (although there are still 7.5 hours left in this day...). Due dates given to me were December 21 (Sunday, that was from the ultrasound) and today (from my cycle). No real signs of him showing up anytime soon! I have been having contractions basically all week but they amount to nothing. Otherwise, nada. <br />
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Now, if he's going to be late, he's going to need to be quite late. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and then it's Christmas Day! Wait for a little bit, BoJu! <br />
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Of course, like last time, the fun emails that I get detailing the baby's growth are now congratulating me on my newborn baby so I have no real updates there. Here at home, we are pretty much ready for him. I have my bag packed and waiting by the door. His room is mostly done - it is functional, like Charlotte's was, but there are still a few decorative aspects I need to finish up. His clothes are all washed and put away and all his diapers are clean, dry, stuffed, and ready!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah they all fit so perfectly!!<br />
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The next update will be a birth story, I'm sure! :)Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-56384250615641710162014-12-09T20:34:00.000-04:002014-12-09T20:34:19.291-04:00The one with two weeks left...Two weeks left until BoJu's due date, can you believe that? It has certainly been harder to keep up with the blog this time around but I have been trying. <br />
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I hit 38 weeks pregnant today and I'm really looking forward to meeting my little boy. I feel massive and I'm uncomfortable so I'm ready to get him outta me for those reasons!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">37 weeks with Charlotte vs. 34 weeks with BoJu</td></tr>
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I feel a lot bigger this time around and I have been measuring ahead at a few appointments. I haven't gained as much weight this time (I think I'm at around 24lbs now) so I think it's just the way he is sitting. Charlotte was stretched out - I remember writing about "so much for the fetal position" - and he is all curled up in a ball in the front. I can feel his little heel or elbow or something pointy sticking out all the time. He has been head down for months now (yay!) so I'm hoping he's getting himself ready to come on out. He is sitting quite low and I can sometimes feel him just burying himself into my pelvic bones. So so comfortable, I love it. NOT.<br />
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I finished work last week (November 28) on doctor-ordered sick leave prior to starting maternity leave. Because of the way he is sitting and how my belly is, I've been in so much pelvic pain and have had shooting pains and numbness going down my leg. Simple things like driving and walking had become unbearable so I was written off work early. I'm very grateful for that because I can rest my body now and prepare for labour and delivery. Now when I'm hurting, I have the option of changing positions, laying down, sitting on the exercise ball, etc. whereas I did not have those options at work. It has definitely helped. Now I am just home, trying to finish getting things ready, and wait for my son to arrive!<br /><br />We are still working on getting his nursery all set up. We let Charlotte choose the theme for his room and she decided on robots. LOVE! We have his crib, dresser/change table, and rocking chair in the room already. It is getting painted tomorrow (a blue-grey colour called "gentle sea") and I plan to spend Thursday putting everything away and decorating as best I can. Charlotte is visiting Grammie and Grampie for the week so I am trying to take advantage of the extra "alone" time that I have to get these things finished up. I will definitely post some photos when I'm all done! Right now, it's just a mess and will be an even bigger mess tomorrow when it is being painted :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of his room decor I got at Target :)<br /><br /></td></tr>
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So now that we know what is going on with me, let's find out what's going on with him! What's in the <b>baby update</b> this week?<br />
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BoJu was officially full term last week, so now he's just sort of hanging out in there, putting on a bit more weight, and waiting to come out. He is shedding his weird fetus hair and cheesy white goo in preparation to come out and be all cute ;) All of his organs are developed and ready! Here we go, little bud - you're ready so come on out!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-42370650438530751212014-10-19T22:17:00.000-03:002014-10-19T22:18:20.057-03:00The one where time flies...There has been so much happening these days and just no time to really get it all written down!<br />
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Our sweet Charlotte turned 4 on Tuesday. Can you believe that? Our little lemon, our sweet little Ladybird is now four years old. I can't believe it. <br />
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We spent the day together on Tuesday and had a great time. I made her a special birthday breakfast, we went to The Play Box (an indoor playground), and out for lunch at Boston Pizza. She had a great birthday party the Saturday before - a dinosaur party! Roar!!<br />
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Four year old Charlotte amazes me every day. She is incredibly sweet, kind, and caring. I can't even explain her compassion and kindness. She makes my heart swell. She is so bright and will be starting school next fall. We are hoping to put her into French because she is pretty well ready for school now and we don't want her to be bored. She can perform basic math concepts in her head (i.e. "Mommy, when Baby BoJu is 1, I'll be 5. And when he's 2, I'll be 6."), we <i>think </i>she might be able to read but has a bit of a stubborn streak, and she's printing, loves to spell, and play rhyming games. <br />
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She is fully into 4T clothing now and wears a size 8 shoe. She is still in the 30lb range, sometimes hitting 31 or 32 depending on what she's wearing and what she's eaten ;) She's getting more independent every day. She still has some trouble getting certain articles of clothing off and starting her zippers, but she's just turned 4 so that's understandable! <br />
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She started ballet in September and she is doing great! We got to watch her class last week and she made me so proud. She was focused and paid attention when she was supposed to and had lots of fun running around and dancing during the free time. She can do first, second, third, fourth, and fifth position with her feet and knows how to pirouette. She's awesome.<br />
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Here are a few of 4 year old Charlotte's favourites!<br />
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<b>Book</b>: For her birthday, she got The Snail and The Whale and we have read it every single night at bedtime since her birthday party. She loves it!<br />
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<b>Activity:</b> She still loves playing with her cars and her wooden blocks. That hasn't changed at all! She also enjoys playing with her baby dolls, Charlotte Bunny (of course), and creating imaginary friends that visit us for a short period of time - so far, there have been three children whose names I can't remember, Charlotte Turkey, Isabella the tiger, and Charlotte the Dinosaur. She cracks me up.<br />
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<b>Food:</b> Broccoli chicken and "crunchy" (raw) carrots.<br />
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<b>Toy:</b> Charlotte Bunny will always be number one. But she's also really loving her doll that she got for her birthday (she named her Lilah) and her Ana and Elsa dolls.<br />
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<b>Colour:</b> Purple, pink, and red.<br />
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So, that's the Charlotte news. And how about Baby BoJu?<br />
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I will be 31 weeks on Tuesday (what?!). Things are going very well. Everything is perfect at my check-ups, according to my doctor. I had my glucose test at the end of September. I do not remember the drink being so disgusting - I remember drinking it when I was pregnant with Charlotte and thinking it just tasted like orange pop. This time, it was GROSS. I had a hard time choking it down. Thankfully, my sugars are great and I don't have the baby diabetes. I'm measuring perfectly, my blood pressure is great, my blood work came back perfect (even my iron levels!! So weird.), and at my 26 week appointment, I had only gained 14lbs. I didn't ask this time around. I have my next appointment on Wednesday.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">25 weeks, 2 days. Getting belly pictures this time around is hard! </td></tr>
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The pregnancy is going well in that regard, but <i>I'm</i> another story. I am pretty much in constant pain. Everything hurts all the time. I can't sleep. I get really sore and stiff if I stay in one position for too long, but moving around hurts too so it's kind of a catch 22. Do I get up and walk around, hobbling in pain, or do I stay put for a while? I get really weak - not tired, just weak - so I was convinced that my iron or my blood pressure must have been low, but nope. My doctor just told me that's the way it goes in the third trimester with a four year old. Work has also been really busy so there's just no rest, it seems. I'm really looking forward to being on maternity leave for a couple of weeks before BoJu arrives.<br />
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He is moving around but not as much as Charlotte did. He tends to really like quiet times - he is especially wiggly when I am tucking Charlotte into bed each night. Tonight, he was moving around like crazy so Charlotte spent a good 10 minutes or more just giggling and talking to him. She is very excited to be a big sister and I can already see how much she loves him. She came home from daycare the other day with two pictures of snowmen that she drew for him. Tonight, she told him that he has a "really nice family out here, your grandparents, me your big sister, Mommy, and Daddy that are all excited for you to come out". Bless her heart. <br />
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With that quick update, let's see what BoJu is up to in there!<br />
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BoJu is about the size of a pineapple now and is definitely running out of room! Kicks and bumps have become rolls and pointy elbow jabs. All five of his senses are working now and he's going through some major brain development. He is starting to plump up and get that adorable chubby baby look.<br />
<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-88340145728224485282014-08-15T22:10:00.002-03:002014-08-15T22:15:25.168-03:00The one with the big revealWe had our appointment at 3D Miracles this morning and we now know for sure what Baby Beans is...<br />
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*drumroll*<br />
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Yep, little BB is a little boy! <br />
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The ultrasound this morning was great. He was still all curled up and had his hands up by his face most of the time. The nurse said he's probably going to be a snuggler (which is great because Charlotte was definitely not a snuggly baby - she was born wanting to get down and walk!). We did get a few cute pictures of him, though. It's really neat to see the difference between the ultrasounds - this time, I'm almost 22 weeks and he definitely looks less Skeletor-like than Charlotte's ultrasound at 20 weeks. Amazing the difference two weeks makes!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening his mouth</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, he is a boy.</td></tr>
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He just looks so snug and comfy in there. It was funny to watch the nurse jiggle my belly to try to move his hands away from his face and I could watch him kinda bouncing around on the monitor. It really reminded me of Look Who's Talking (remember that movie?) and I just imagined him thinking "woah, what is going on here?!" in Bruce Willis' voice.</div>
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Now, of course, since we gave Charlotte a silly in-utero nickname, this little guy isn't going to get away without one! So, we've decided from here on in, our BB will be nicknamed "BoJu". Why, you ask?</div>
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Boyd Junior, haha.<br />
We love you little BoJu! We can't wait to meet you :)<br />
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Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-39267082498961056062014-08-09T11:03:00.000-03:002014-08-09T11:03:27.654-03:00The one with the 20 week ultrasound...This pregnancy is flying by! I hit the halfway mark on Tuesday and we had our 20 week ultrasound on Thursday morning. Unlike the ultrasound with Charlotte, Boyd was allowed to be in the room right from the beginning so he was able to see everything. That was really nice :)<br /><br />I hadn't heard good things about getting ultrasounds done at the hospital we are using, so I was a little nervous about what the experience would be like. We had an amazing sonographer who did not stop talking and describing exactly what she was seeing and measuring. It was so wonderful. I was thrilled to get to see our little Baby Beans in there. I have not been feeling as much movement as I had with Charlotte, so I was a little concerned. However, this time around, I have an anterior placenta - which basically just means the placenta attached itself to the front of the uterus rather than the back, so Baby Beans has about a three centimetre thick cushion in addition to all my skin and belly fat to kick through ;) The movements I do feel are more stretching and wriggling type of movements; not the big thumping kicks and punches Charlotte threw. But, we got to see little BB in there, squirming around, opening his/her mouth, spreading his/her fingers open, waving hi to us ... and my absolute favourite was the shot the sonographer got of his/her little legs crossed at the ankles, as if BB was just chillin' in the hood. Loved. It.<br /><br />As you have noticed, I am using he/she rather than telling exactly what sex BB is. Boyd and I were convinced we knew after the ultrasound was complete, but the report we got at my doctor's appointment a few hours later was the complete opposite. So, we are not 100% sure what to think. We are going with what the ultrasound report stated, but we are not announcing it publicly yet because we want to make sure. I have an appointment on Friday, the 15th, at 3D Miracles to find out for sure. I am also excited to go so Charlotte can come too. She was not allowed at the hospital appointment and I know she would get a big kick out of seeing her baby brother or sister on the screen. As well, it will be really nice to have a picture of the baby like we did with Charlotte.<br /><br />With that, I will leave with the baby update for this time around...<br />
<a href="http://scmedia.thenest.com/~/media/E22F9CDFB3264F94BCFAD27BB9330DDE.ashx" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://scmedia.thenest.com/~/media/E22F9CDFB3264F94BCFAD27BB9330DDE.ashx" /></a><br /><br /><br />
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Baby Beans is the size of a banana! Our ultrasound tech said he/she weighs about 12oz so right on track. BB's tastebuds are now working and he/she is swallowing amniotic fluid, getting the digestive system up and running. His/her sensory development exploded last week and we're hoping he/she can hear us through all those layers of placenta and Mommy chub ;) Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-50635589680787761132014-07-01T21:24:00.000-03:002014-07-01T21:24:11.224-03:00The one with the second little Chapman orangeThat's right, Chapman Baby #2 will be arriving in December!<br />
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We found out just before Easter! Yeehaw! I am 15 weeks today and the baby is due December 23. I am hoping for about a week late, though, as it's no fun having a birthday so close to Christmas (I can say that, as a December 19 baby myself). <br /><br />So far, the pregnancy has been a bit different than the first time around. I started feeling sick immediately around 3 weeks and I'm just now starting to feel a bit better. Nausea was 24/7 this time around and eating sometimes made it better, but not always. I've had a lot of aversions instead of cravings - baby doesn't like ham or tea, how very sad!! - but I have been able to eat more than I did the first time around because I found that eating made the nausea go away most times. I was absolutely miserably exhausted for the first couple of months. Being pregnant and taking care of an older child is way more difficult than being pregnant and able to come home and nap whenever you want and eat whenever you want and basically do nothing if that's what you want to do. It was a rough couple of months, but that fog is starting to lift and I'm definitely getting my energy back.<br /><br />I am starting to show already and I've felt the baby move a couple of times already (just tiny little thumps and flutters). I'm looking forward to getting some maternity clothes so I can feel comfy again! <br /><br />Our ultrasound is scheduled for August 7 and I'd like to set up an appointment for a 3D ultrasound again. We can find out what the sex of the baby is at the hospital but Charlotte is not allowed in the room for the ultrasound and I really want her to be there when we find out if she will have a little brother or a little sister. I haven't set up that appointment yet but I will!<br /><br />For now, I will leave you all with a <b>baby update</b>!<br />
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<a href="http://scmedia.thenest.com/~/media/3C4395710229443AACEE63E9AAA27844.ashx" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://scmedia.thenest.com/~/media/3C4395710229443AACEE63E9AAA27844.ashx" /></a><br />
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Baby Beans (as he/she is affectionately known as) is about 11cm long and is rolling around, hiccuping, and testing out his/her joints. Limbs akimbo! BB is about the size of an orange and getting bigger every day. :)<br /><br /><br /><br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-14083767800773227442014-04-15T22:27:00.000-03:002014-04-15T22:29:53.169-03:00The one with the THREE AND A HALF year update...I know, right? Three-and-a-freakin-half. Where does the time go?<br />
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She may be getting older but she is still the kind, sweet, hilarious little person she has always been. She finally hit 30lbs recently (even up to 31lbs sometimes!) and wears 3T bottoms and has moved into 4T tops. She wears a size 7 shoe (just like Mommy!). She can put on her own coat and can zip it up as long as someone helps her get started. She is really getting more and more independent every day.<br />
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She loves to paint and draw lately. She can write her first name and can write out other words if we help her spell them. She loves drawing rainbows and people and, occasionally, submarines. She still loves to play pretend but her play situations have gone beyond simply imitating daily life and she creates more complex scenarios and characters. Her favourite, thus far, is playing "neighbour" wherein I am the neighbour, she is my neighbour, we live in different houses (sometimes it's the snow bank in the back yard, sometimes it's the dining room, sometimes it's her bedroom, etc.) and the entire thing revolves around us saying things like <i>"Oh hi neighbour, my name is Mommy, would you like to come visit my house and stay for supper?"</i> ad nauseum. She's really good at staying in character, to the point where I ask her to please call me Mommy in the grocery store so people don't think I am some weirdo with the neighbour's kid.<br />
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<i>Playing in her "snow bedroom"</i><br />
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<i><br />She created all these buildings for her characters (left to right) Mommy, Daddy, Charlotte, and Cole's (?) house, the fancy neighbours house, the hospital, the police station, and Grandma and Grandpa's house in the middle.</i><br />
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She still attends the same daycare and has recently moved from the toddler room to the preschool room. She LOVES it. She is always so excited to tell me about the things she has done that day and who she played with. Her teachers are great and there are always really neat things going on. She has a few friends that she plays with consistently and has been to a few birthday parties already.<br />
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She's had a few more illnesses and incidents this year than ever before in her life. She was very sick with a virus in October and was sick almost the whole month. She fell in June and needed to get stitches just above her lip. And in March, she experienced her first febrile seizure and I experienced my first 911 call and ambulance ride. She is one brave and resilient little girl, though, and she is no worse for the wear at all. <br />
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She still speaks like she is about three years older than she is. Her vocabulary and pronunciation are outstanding. She has recently started loving puzzles and can easily put together a 12-15 piece puzzle by herself. When she has the patience, she will also put together some 20 piece puzzles by herself. She still loves reading and we think she is starting to read words herself, but it's hard to tell because she has a stubborn side and will not cooperate if she doesn't want to. ;) She has moved on from simpler stories and really enjoys longer picture books like The Berenstain Bears, Franklin, Robert Munsch books, Clifford, etc. We have relented a bit and let her watch some television. She really likes Thomas, Sid The Science Kid, and The Wiggles. We have watched a few movies together (The Little Mermaid, yay!!), and we are hoping to bring her to see the new Disney "Bears" movie for her very first movie theatre experience.<br />
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Here are a few of 3.5 year old Charlotte favourites!<br />
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<b>Book:</b> She has a few go-tos that she likes: Mud Puddle, Going On A Bear Hunt, The Highway Rat, and Mouse Soup are a few current ones that we read a lot.<br />
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<b>Activity:</b> Playing with her cars. She brings out her car mat, sets it up, sets out all her cars in their specific "houses" on the mat, and then they interact with each other like people. It's really interesting and it's usually the very first thing she does after breakfast.<br />
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<b>Food:</b> If you ask her, she will tell you that broccoli chicken is her absolute <i>favourite</i>.<br />
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<b>Toy:</b> Charlotte Bunny is still her baby. She also loves her cars, specifically her "black Pontiac".<br />
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<b>Colour:</b> Still purple, but with pink and red thrown in occasionally.<br />
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<b>Word/Phrase:</b> <i>"Are you serious? Are you kidding me?" </i> haha<br />
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I love this sweet girl more and more every day. Every age gets better and better!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-57547440220671605642013-06-07T22:59:00.001-03:002013-06-07T23:04:12.674-03:00The one with the random mid-June update ;)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool dudette!</td></tr>
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Update time! Yippee!<br />
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My sweet little Charlotte is now closer to three years old than two years old. Eek! Where does the time go? She is already talking about her birthday party and has asked me probably 5 times today if it was fall yet... (granted, it was freezing out so that may have had something to do with it ;))<br />
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Every day, she continues to amaze me. She is about 27 lbs now and I think around 34 inches tall. Still teeny and I think she always will be. She wears mostly 2T stuff and mostly size 6 shoes. She has all her teeth and had her third hair cut about a month ago. She is fully toilet trained (except wears training pants at nighttime) and can do the whole routine all by herself. She can put on her own jacket. She can go up and down stairs with ease. She can climb up into her booster seat at the dinner table. She uses her forks and spoons very well. She can do a somersault. She just keeps getting bigger and more independent! *sniffles!*<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the mall after her third hair cut<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The hairdresser gave her a little braid. She was so proud of her "purple braid"!</td></tr>
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<br />Charlotte started daycare at the beginning of April due to some confusing no job/new job circumstances that ended up with our regular sitter finding new employment. We were very VERY sad about the change, but Kelsey is still in our lives, and Charlotte is really enjoying her time with other children. I am so happy she was able to spend the first two and a half years of her life at home and now she is at the age where she craves social interaction. She is loving daycare and tells me all about her days, who her friends are, who she played with, which children spit, which children talk at naptime, and so on and so forth haha. I love hearing her sing new songs and talk about her friends. My heart melts when I pick her up and she hugs her friends goodbye. Love love love. Unfortunately, starting daycare also meant her first ear infection. Boo!! But we made it two and a half years with no antibiotics ever, so that's pretty good! <br />
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Last month, Charlotte went on a trip to Calgary with her Gram for 5 whole days! She went to visit Auntie Rochelle, Uncle Paul, and her cousins Isla and Lucas. She had a wonderful time and still asks if we are "going to go to Calgary today". She really enjoyed the plane rides and even got to visit the flight deck on her way home. Apparently, she walked into the flight deck, looked around, and said "I think this is an airbus" (it was). Cracked the pilots right up! :)<br />
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She is still as funny as ever and as sweet as ever. She certainly has the two year old attitude down pat, but her sweet, kind, loving nature still shines through. She loves to spend her time rocking her dolls and her bunnies. She has one bunny that she got for Easter who she named Charlotte Bunny and Charlotte Bunny is HER baby. She rocks Charlotte Bunny and pats her back. She feeds her and hugs her. It is all very sweet. This morning, when I told her we were staying home from work/daycare because I didn't feel good, she told me <i>"It's okay, Mommy. I will hug you all better."</i> One day, she told me <i>"Maggie (our cat) can't play with the toys because she has no hands. I'm going to go to the store and buy her some hands so she can have a turn." </i>She is a darling. I truly hope she never loses that kindness and compassion.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mommy and Charlotte ice cream date</td></tr>
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<br />Here are a few of 2.5 year old Charlotte's favourites:</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Book:</i> Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch is a big favourite right now. We have read it every day for the last 3 weeks since we bought it.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Activity: </i>Pretend play - she loves acting out life's little moments with her dolls and stuffed animals. She is always feeding them or putting them to bed and copying pretty much everything <i>I</i> say to <i>her</i> during those routines. Makes me feel pretty good when I see her hugging her bunny saying <i>"goodnight, sweetie, sweet dreams, I love you". </i>She also loves playing with her Crazy Coupe outside - filling it with dandelion gas and going to Superstore for groceries ;) Her imagination is amazing and she comes up with some really fun ideas every day.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Food: </i>I don't know if she really has a favourite. She eats peaches n' cream oatmeal every day for breakfast at her request. She really likes apple slices and peanut butter as a dip for snack. She is still a great eater and enjoys a wide variety of foods.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Toy: </i>Charlotte Bunny (although I don't know if I count her as a toy but rather an entity in her own right) or her doll that has snap on clothes that she has named Susan.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Colour: </i>Purple (mine too, and I'm pretty sure that's why it's <i>her</i> favourite ;))</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Word:</i> Why? Why? Why why why? WHY? ;)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My little ladybird</td></tr>
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Even though she is really starting to exert her independence and test boundaries, she just makes every single day a little brighter. Her smile lights up the room. Her laugh is infectious. She is soft and snuggly. She is brave and strong. She makes funny jokes. She is smart. She is social. She shows empathy. She is kind. I just love seeing what new things each day brings!</div>
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-76544314147326778672012-10-20T22:14:00.000-03:002012-10-20T22:24:31.795-03:00The one with the two year update!Oh, faithful readers (are there any of you?) ... I apologize. I'd like to say I haven't forgotten about this blog, but truth be told, I kind of have. I suppose "forgot" isn't quite the word. Life just gets in the way and I don't feel the need to update as often.<br />
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That being said, the little lemon that began this blog has turned two! <br />
That's right, the big two years old.<br />
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What can I say about two year old Charlotte?<br />
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Let's start with the physical. She had her two year appointment on Monday (Oct 15) and is a "whopping" 25.4lbs and 33.5 inches tall! Still my little pixie and I adore her. She has all her teeth except her bottom two two-year molars. Her hair is getting longer - it's almost time for a second hair cut - and still has curly bits. Humid days are my favourite because her hair goes curl-crazy. Her eyes are brown and she's wearing a size 5 shoe (possibly moving up soon). She loves to dance and has been attempting to jump/hop. She can go up and down stairs and can climb up and down easily on furniture. We are working on potty training/learning and she's making some progress. She is aware of her functions and will sometimes tell us if she needs to go but it's not always consistent and sometimes when she tells us she needs to go, nothing happens. It'll all come in time, though, and we both agree that it will NOT happen until she's ready so why push it?<br />
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Charlotte continues to amaze me every single day. At two years old, she currently knows the entire alphabet, what sounds all the letters make, how to spell "mom" and "dad', recognizes/reads the words "mommy", "daddy", and "Charlotte", knows all her shapes and colours, remembers the words to favourite songs, speaks in full sentences (averages about 6-8 words at a time), identifies countries on the globe, identifies planets, recognizes tunes and can identify them, and picks up new information SO quickly it's frightening. Her current favourite game is "spelling" (she gives us a word and we spell it for her). My favourite part about all of this? We taught her NONE of it. Exposed her to it? Absolutely. But she's the one who wants to play spelling, she's the one who wants to "do letters", she's the one who asks to play shapes. You should have seen the look of sheer joy when she opened her birthday present from us and it was the Leapfrog Word Builder jet thing that goes on the fridge. Crazy kid ... she just retains information like I've never seen.<br />
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She is still as sweet and empathetic as always. She loves to hug all her dolls and animals. She thinks the washer and dryer are friends. She pushes two objects together and declares them "family". She is very easy-going and loving. She loves other children and really likes spending time with her cousins. She has started to exhibit some typical two year old behaviour (whining and tantrums) but so far we're just ignoring the behaviour and acknowledging the positives. No point in getting into power struggles. She is extremely funny and KNOWS it. She's always got a good joke for us :)<br />
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We moved her into a toddler bed the weekend of her birthday party (Thanksgiving weekend) and she is doing fantastic! She fell out once and got out once when she was down for a nap but wasn't tired. Otherwise, she stays in the entire night (and nap time) and only gets out when one of us goes into her room to get her. She loves her "big girl bed" and loves "crawlin' in and crawlin' out". I'm kind of sad there's no more crib in our house but I'm so proud of my big girl. <br />
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A few Charlotte favourites:<br />
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<li><b>activity:</b> watching the washer and dryer (we recently moved and now have front-loaders - excellent toddler entertainment!) and pushing her doll stroller around</li>
<li><b>song: </b>Bruno Mars' "Marry You" (she knows almost all the words and we watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_v7QrIW0zY">this video</a> about a million times a day)</li>
<li><b>food:</b> I think her current favourites are spaghetti and cauliflower (separately). She is still not a picky eater and generally eats whatever we put in front of her.</li>
<li><b>book: </b>she always wants to read from her book of Bible stories that Auntie Rochelle, Uncle Paul, Lucas, and Isla got her last year for her baptism</li>
<li><b>toy:</b> currently, I'd say her doll stroller, her kitchen, or her letter magnets</li>
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And that's our girl in a nutshell! Not a baby anymore ... I can't even believe it.<br />
Hopefully I will update again before she turns three ;)<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-91170931659131722452012-08-26T22:29:00.001-03:002013-06-07T23:07:24.426-03:00The one with the car seat 101As Charlotte nears two years old (side note - what the what?!), car seat questions seem to be popping up more and more. We have made the decision to rear-face Charlotte as long as she fits in her seat which will likely be for a few more years yet. Extended rear-facing isn't very common in our circle, it seems, so the fact that we didn't immediately turn her around when she turned one is puzzling.<br />
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There are few things that I am hardcore about when it comes to parenting. I consider myself pretty easy-going, but car seat safety is the one thing that I think I'm "crazy" about. If my daughter is in a vehicle, I am going to keep her as safe as I possibly can. Every step up in a car seat is a step down in safety. I am in no hurry to move her through the stages of car seats when all it does is make her less safe in the car. So, with that, let's answer some commonly asked questions about our current car seat arrangements!<br />
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<b>Why didn't you turn her around when she turned one? It's the law!</b><br />
The current law in Nova Scotia states that children must be one year old and 22lbs before they can be turned around forward-facing. New legislation in January 2012 also recommends that children must be walking sturdily before being turned forward. This law is the <i><b>minimum</b></i> safety standard. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children rear-face until at least 2 years old and Child Safety Link here in NS recommends that toddlers remain rear-facing as long as possible according to the limits of your car seat. So, yes, she is technically legally allowed to be turned forward-facing but it is not the safest option. I'd be surprised if she has hit 25lbs at this point. She's small. Her car seat can rear-face up to 45lbs and will keep her harnessed until 65lbs, provided she does not outgrow the seat by height. Many seats on the market now can easily rear-face children up to 4 years of age.<br />
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<b>How is rear-facing safer?</b><br />
Rear-facing for young children is safer because of the way the seat cradles them in the event of a crash. I recently attended a car seat safety workshop where it was stated that the force felt from a crash at 50km/h is the same as being dropped out of a third story window. As a family that is on the highway, driving 110km/h, VERY often, keeping Charlotte as safe as possible is priority.<br />
When a child is rear-facing, their head and spine are cradled in the seat. When a child is forward-facing, their body is harnessed tight but their head and spine are not protected.<br />
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The image above shows a forward-facing child and a rear-facing child at the same point of impact during a crash test. Notice how the child forward-facing is thrown forward. Now imagine the force of the crash on the child's spine. Young children have large, heavy heads in relation to the rest of their bodies and their spines are not as developed as an adult's spine. These factors combined with the force of a crash can SERIOUSLY injure or even kill a child even if they are strapped tightly into their seat. Simply Googling "rear-facing vs forward-facing crash test" will bring up videos of crash tests where you can see the ways in which the seats restrain the child. Rear-facing is the safer option.<br />
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<b>But she's too tall! Her legs are touching the back of the seat!</b><br />
A child outgrows their rear-facing car seat when the top of their head is less than 1" away from the top of the shell of the car seat. Legs have <b><i>nothing</i></b> to do with outgrowing a rear-facing seat. A child's legs are allowed to touch the back of the seat. Safety is not compromised in any way. There are actually more reports of broken legs in forward-facing children as their legs are thrown forward in a crash and not cradled as they are in a rear-facing seat.<br />
Most children do not sit with their legs straight out as adults do. Watch a young child at play. How are they sitting? Most children sit with their legs tucked up. The "lack" of leg room with a rear-facing seat is not an issue. Most children will sit with their legs bent at the knee, cross-legged, stretch their legs up, or simply toss them over the sides of the seat. Again, this is not a safety issue and does not compromise the safety of the child in the seat. The purpose of keeping a child rear-facing is to protect the head and spine. As one quite sombre catch-phrase goes: <i>"broken leg, cast it - broken neck, casket"</i>.<br />
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Note how she bends up her knees. This is a comfortable and natural position for her. In fact, she often kicks the back seat with glee, exclaiming <i>"kickin' seat!!"</i> or she will push against the back of the seat to make her car seat "rock" (i.e. rebound - a totally normal and necessary feature of rear-facing) and she will laugh and laugh. She enjoys the position and has never once complained.<br />
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Another thing to note about height is the height of the harness straps. In a rear-facing seat, the harness straps should be AT or slightly BELOW the shoulders. This keeps the straps nice and snug around the shoulders. If the straps are above the shoulders, there is more room for the child to move up in the seat in the event of a crash and may be ejected from the seat. A child has not outgrown a rear-facing seat if their shoulders are slightly above the harness slot. This is correct usage of the seat. The chest clip should be at nipple/armpit level to ensure that the straps stay put on the shoulders. The chest clip is simply a place holder and will break in the event of a crash. Keeping it at nipple/armpit level ensures that the straps stay in place and do their job.<br />
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<b>But she can't see anything! Wouldn't it be more enjoyable for her to see out the window?</b><br />
She <b><i>can</i></b> see out the window. She can see out the back window and both side windows and will often comment on the things she sees. This is not an issue. Besides, she doesn't know there's another option. This is how she sits in the car and she doesn't know that she even has the option of facing forward. What she does not know does not cause any problems! <br />
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<b>Yeah, rear-facing is all well and good until you want to have someone sitting in the front seat! Rear-facing takes up too much room!</b><br />
Rear-facing infant seats (aka "bucket" seats) take up a ton of room, yes. However, convertible car seats actually take up less room rear-facing than the buckets do! In addition, as your child gets older, the seat no longer has to be at the 45 degree angle. This angle for newborns is due to their inability to hold their heads well and sitting at a higher angle can cause their heads to flop forward and close their airway.<br />
We currently have Charlotte at the 45 degree angle simply because that is what the manufacturer of her seat has recommended. However, we have her in the middle and her seat does not touch either front seat. I can push the passenger seat all the way back and recline it all the way down and it does not touch her car seat.<br />
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I hope this has answered any questions about <i><b>our</b></i> decision to rear-face Charlotte and about car seat use in general! For more information about car seat safety and proper car seat usage, I highly recommend <a href="http://childsafetylink.ca/toddler-safety/car-seats.html">Child Safety Link </a>and <a href="http://atlanticcarseatsafety.wordpress.com/">Atlantic Car Seat Safety</a>. There is a lot to know about proper car seat usage at all stages but once you know, it is information that can literally save your child's life. <br />
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Her seat was uninstalled due to switching it between cars and she LOVES sitting in it! She asked to be buckled in, haha. That is one happy little toddler in her car seat!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-328981403704744212012-07-30T21:57:00.003-03:002012-07-30T21:58:14.680-03:00The one where Charlotte says funny thingsAh, my most favourite of ages ... the age of "kids say hilarious things".<br />
A few Charlotte-isms to brighten your day!<br />
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<i>Me: "Okay Charlotte, when you're all done supper we'll go down and get you in the tub"<br />Charlotte: "One hour?"<br />Me: "One hour? No..."<br />Charlotte: "Two hours? FIVE hours?"<br />Me: "Five hours?! No way, that's too long to be in the tub."<br />Charlotte: "Three minutes?"<br />Me: "Yes, that sounds like a much better idea"</i></div>
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<i>Charlotte: *covering herself with her blanket* "Where's Charlotte?!"<br />Me: *playing along* "Where's Charlotte?"<br />Charlotte: *still covered by the blanket* "Under."<br />Me: "You're under the blanket?"<br />Charlotte: "Yeah."</i></div>
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<i>(kinda defeats the purpose, kiddo!)<br /><br />----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i></div>
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<i>We are at a parade and a man with neck tattoos and full sleeves walks by. Charlotte stares and you can almost smell the burning as she's trying so hard to process what she sees. Finally, she blurts out:<br />"Painted!! Man neck, painted! Man arms, painted!"</i></div>
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<i>I tell her yes, sort of, that the man has tattoos. She breathes a huge sigh of relief and repeats "tattoos" as if she solved the world's greatest mystery.</i></div>
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-66783783233364894762012-05-31T21:05:00.000-03:002012-05-31T21:29:09.907-03:00The one with the importance of playCharlotte loves to help me cook. Every time she sees me get ready to cook, she starts to drag a chair over to the counter, saying <i>"see! see!"</i> Tonight we were going to make shepard's pie, so she dragged her chair over, and began to watch me peel potatoes.<br />
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Well, peeling potatoes is only interesting for a short while so after about two potatoes, she lost focus and started playing with the small bit of water in the dirty dishes in the sink. I gently removed the dishes and started filling up the sink with warm water, a squirt of dish soap, and tossed in a couple of measuring cups. The scene was set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPP8ypEbkuu3-nCnz2Fzj5X2sezyBONehpYkBe0YrNd58ENULeI_XKIDjx1QP0d8KYQMdhSYZB7v2PG4H09mV6kb-XWL8X9yYjzULGsNEzr6ziBv3hPgT3mw8hFFE4gtxKdV1JBywEzvs/s1600/005+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPP8ypEbkuu3-nCnz2Fzj5X2sezyBONehpYkBe0YrNd58ENULeI_XKIDjx1QP0d8KYQMdhSYZB7v2PG4H09mV6kb-XWL8X9yYjzULGsNEzr6ziBv3hPgT3mw8hFFE4gtxKdV1JBywEzvs/s400/005+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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First, she spent some time scooping the bubbles and only the bubbles. She would scoop them gently with one measuring cup and dump them into another. She did this over and over until she made a hole in the bubbles and saw the water below the sudsy layer.<br />
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She stood at that sink for a half an hour while I continued to cook supper. She scooped water. She poured water from one cup to another, from a cup to the sink. She slid her arms in all the way up to her elbow and said <i>"cold, cold, BRR!"</i> She waved her hands around and watched the water swish. She stuck her hands into the flowing tap. She smooshed the suds in her hands and said <i>"washing!"</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7gnAk0iDpQeqqmMvIlj0J7OKjrJp799-GU8qCaqAQBuCGOAgC5HeP_RvUI7bPxHTfkA2ahJZJxOToQWuZUoW_s5J_7KoRtoL3dmxuSiJHWm8fxXLyBqYX8mhjvb3QBfuZt3dJDME_Pg/s1600/014+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7gnAk0iDpQeqqmMvIlj0J7OKjrJp799-GU8qCaqAQBuCGOAgC5HeP_RvUI7bPxHTfkA2ahJZJxOToQWuZUoW_s5J_7KoRtoL3dmxuSiJHWm8fxXLyBqYX8mhjvb3QBfuZt3dJDME_Pg/s400/014+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a><i><br /></i><br />
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As I watched her, the early childhood educator in me came out full force. I watched my toddler completely engrossed in what some people would discourage - playing in the sink, making a mess, getting water everywhere. Instead of scolding her, I encouraged her. This was a prime learning opportunity and I was not about to squash it. Learning? What learning? <br />
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Well, let's see. During the half hour of water play, Charlotte (19 months) said the following words (many times):<br />
<i>bubbles</i><br />
<i>water</i><br />
<i>cold, cold, brr</i><br />
<i>happy</i><br />
<i>warm</i><br />
<i>cup</i><br />
<i>on</i><br />
<i>off</i><br />
<i>in </i><br />
<i>sink</i><br />
<i>Gram</i><br />
<i>soap</i><br />
<i>washing</i><br />
<i>oh no!</i><br />
<i>dripping</i><br />
<i>cloth</i><br />
<i>big</i><br />
<i>fun</i><br />
<i>WOW</i><br />
<i>tall</i><br />
<i>heavy</i><br />
<i>towel </i><br />
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This play experience encouraged an explosion of language! She had so much to say about what she was doing and had the opportunity to let the words flow freely.</div>
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Not only did the experience encourage her language development and help increase her vocabulary but she also learned about a whole slew of concepts:<br />
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<i><b>force</b> -- she felt the difference in the water flow when I turned the faucet on full blast vs having the faucet gently drip water into the sink</i><br />
<i><b>temperature</b> -- she noticed the temperature of the water ("warm!") and played around with the concept when she said the water was cold ("cold, cold, brr")</i><br />
<b><i>wet/dry </i></b><i>-- the kid was soaked by the end of it ;)</i><br />
<i><b>space</b> -- she filled her measuring cups and dumped them; she moved the bubbles and noticed the water underneath; she swished water around and watched it ebb and flow<br />
<b>size</b> -- she noticed the size of the tea towel that she put into
the sink near the end of the experience and shouted "big!"; she looked
at a mountain of bubbles and said "tall"<br />
<b>density</b> -- as she squished the bubbles in her hands, she
experimented with the density of the suds; she also explored this
concept as she deliberately scooped ONLY the bubbles when she first
began to play<br />
<b>weight</b> -- she filled her measuring cup and said "heavy"<br />
<b>relationships</b> -- as she played in the sink, she made many
mentions to "Gram" - she often sits and bathes in the sink at her Gram
and Grampie's house<br />
<b>emotions</b> -- throughout the play experience, she exclaimed "happy! happy! fun!"<br />
<b>self-control</b> -- she wanted the faucet on all the time but I
could not leave it on the entire time or the sink would overflow - she
played on despite this - she also kept the water in the sink quite well<br />
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</i>All this from playing in the sink? You bet!<br />
Sometimes those things that you think are messy, annoying, frustrating,
inappropriate, a pain-in-the-neck, or purposefully meant to drive you
nuts are the things your babies really <b>need</b> the most. Let them
play. Let them learn! Trust their abilities to learn and let them
explore their world. Messes only last moments; lessons last a lifetime.<b><i> </i></b><br />
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<i><b>"Be careful what you teach; it might interfere with what they are learning" <br />~Magda Gerber</b></i></div>
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<span id="goog_1320383964"></span><span id="goog_1320383965"></span>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-82811987829198112412012-03-19T20:37:00.009-03:002012-03-19T21:48:26.985-03:00The one with the even longer overdue updateWell, here we are for my semi-annual update. I certainly didn't intend for this blog to fall so far behind, but (no offense to my lovely readers) it's kind of low on the priority list. However, since I have a spare moment or two right now, I figured I would update! Hooray! Aren't you thrilled?<br /><br />Life is busy and wonderful these days! <br />Charlotte turned 17 months on the 14th and she is beyond amazing.<br /><br /><a href="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/423688_624634566488_132702808_33618724_541637022_n.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 415px; height: 276px;" src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/423688_624634566488_132702808_33618724_541637022_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She has exploded with words since the last blog update and she's coming up with more and more of them every day. She probably has about 30-40 words, a couple of two-word utterances, and has added "thank you" to her sign repertoire. She recognizes all of her colours, can distinguish between shades, and will name them when asked (or when not asked - she LOVES pointing out colours). She can also recognize and say all of the letters in the alphabet. Right now, these are two of her favourite activities. If you want to keep her busy for a while, just ask her to go get all the blue magnets off the fridge or read her "LMNO Peas" by Keith Baker and she will be happy as a clam. It's gotten to the point now where she no longer cares about what things <span style="font-style: italic;">are</span> but rather what <span style="font-style: italic;">colour</span> they are.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lEMtDJ_Z1spKwRiSdYbzOjLP0RVwtKydVd_K7kSltDRjkRzWVHh0zNY-U6vQAt_P1IEgRHvD2WVgZuCaexWgg8ltgMR-fYMl8Xi7C74L4oFWmFEOoaEK-Vv8NcsnACEBr034rtOq26o/s1600/020.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lEMtDJ_Z1spKwRiSdYbzOjLP0RVwtKydVd_K7kSltDRjkRzWVHh0zNY-U6vQAt_P1IEgRHvD2WVgZuCaexWgg8ltgMR-fYMl8Xi7C74L4oFWmFEOoaEK-Vv8NcsnACEBr034rtOq26o/s320/020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721760795312931298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Oooh, letters!<br /><br /></span>She has 12 teeth now and is only missing her four canines and her two year molars. We had her weighed about a month and a half ago and she FINALLY hit 20lbs! She was 20lbs 4oz to be exact, haha (although she was wearing her clothes, so that most likely accounts for the 4oz). She's still a teeny little thing but she fits well into her 18 month clothing. She's in a size 4-4.5 shoe. She's graduated to a booster seat at the table and no longer eats off a high chair tray. Her hair has grown quite a bit in the last two months and we can now put it up into adorable little pigtails :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L8bdNaETM3vpNH-6wWM5wRI2KAE8DDalnF_vtGYUuLyd9AcjHPKiFgzBl12_vDlh5xO_unUbLDyNMmD2I32ZxLAkXhXRsE9gCwwUtAwoQu9k5GUNn9xuE4zNgByvVxteSVZlCSyJ1DQ/s1600/031.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L8bdNaETM3vpNH-6wWM5wRI2KAE8DDalnF_vtGYUuLyd9AcjHPKiFgzBl12_vDlh5xO_unUbLDyNMmD2I32ZxLAkXhXRsE9gCwwUtAwoQu9k5GUNn9xuE4zNgByvVxteSVZlCSyJ1DQ/s320/031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721762781939728690" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She still loves loves loves her books but has started to branch out into some new activities. She's discovered how awesome balls are and loves to throw them. She also enjoys playing with her kitchen set and her building blocks. She enjoys colouring and we keep a piece of paper taped to the coffee table with her little box of crayons so she can colour as she pleases. She's also started loving to dress up. She wants to wear her outdoor gear ALL THE TIME. If her hat is anywhere nearby, she wants it on. She wants to wear her coat around. She loves her scarf. She runs around wearing her shoes. I think it's time we invest in a tickle trunk!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ73cM6m6hBdm3BcXPwUJ-D7L03iWqVPmwCgwxFK3RH6glb8C8QGyy93v0NddRfMsGdTpieIhSoX50G2c3Sw9LGVJvPUWRgRx01ZRKnact_CqXAOBFbKSHmnCGwSaaCUFhkq1GlzA7Kv0/s1600/charplay.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ73cM6m6hBdm3BcXPwUJ-D7L03iWqVPmwCgwxFK3RH6glb8C8QGyy93v0NddRfMsGdTpieIhSoX50G2c3Sw9LGVJvPUWRgRx01ZRKnact_CqXAOBFbKSHmnCGwSaaCUFhkq1GlzA7Kv0/s400/charplay.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5721770084388256482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She's hit full-on toddlerhood but she doesn't really act like a toddler. She doesn't throw tantrums and if she does have an outburst, she's very easy to talk to and calm down. She really seems to <span style="font-style: italic;">get it</span> and we're able to explain things to her and reason with her. She's kind, sweet, and very easy-going. She signs "thank you" without prompting. She pets Maggie softly and gently. She is so very pleasant and I adore her more and more every day. She has a great sense of humour and her little giggles are music to my ears! She's so funny and when I tell her she's a little turkey, she runs around saying <span style="font-style: italic;">"turkey turkey turkey turkey!"</span><br /><br />Aside from Charlotte and her awesomeness, life has been good. We took a trip in January to go to Calgary to visit Rochelle, Paul, Lucas, and Isla for the babies' baptism and to Winnipeg to visit friends and family. It was a very short but wonderful trip. It was so nice to see everyone and it made me want to get back to Winnipeg as soon as possible! I wish we could have stayed longer (or, ya know, move back..........).<br /><br /><a href="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/420147_616679618268_132702808_33584510_991800619_n.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 367px;" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/420147_616679618268_132702808_33584510_991800619_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I have also found myself a new job that I start on March 30! I am leaving the field of Early childhood education (somewhat) and am venturing in a new(ish) direction. I will be coordinating and facilitating child and family programs at the local Military Family Resource Centre. I will be making more money and working less hours which is SO unbelievably important to me so I have more time to spend with my daughter. I am terrified, nervous, and very very excited. It allows me to use my ECE diploma and skills but I will no longer be working as a front line ECE. I knew working directly on the floor was not something I wanted to do or could handle once I had my own children and spending the last six months working back in the field has solidified the conclusion that this is no longer the career for me. I love my work as an ECE but it's MUCH too physically and emotionally demanding for me at this point in my life. I know my limits. I'm very excited to start something new and see where it takes me! And, incidentally, my first day is my Daddy's birthday so it must be meant to be :)<br /><br />That's all the news on our end these days! We're all really looking forward to summer coming and simply spending more time together as a growing family :)Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-88979583259286830432012-01-15T21:34:00.009-04:002012-01-15T22:15:02.157-04:00The one with the LOOOOONG overdue update!I know, I know! I swear I didn't intend for Charlotte to turn one and then the blog suddenly stops. Things have just been busy - nothing special, really, but just life.<br /><br />We had a wonderful Christmas and even though I only had two days off work (four days total since Christmas was on a weekend) we still managed to see both of our families and have our own Christmas time. It was busy and a bit stressful but we made it work. Charlotte was very excited about Christmas morning. She didn't really know what was going on but she danced around and ate cinnamon buns in the living room and got new toys, so she was happy. She was absolutely enamored with snowmen and Christmas trees and I'm a bit sad that the season is over. Granted, she was the same way with pumpkins around Hallowe'en so I'm sure she'll find something new to obsess over ;)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwPSXzgAHN-lQmLwAbjO24OsKjWHwQSMh5H5kbC3yf0-KrXV1B4FbQZzpDNmOovLGCsTTD3rnbxusW2BXfsUj6Bv0-RvcrkoSQ31erQ1ezcNTrF0cB2_-bh2EOlFNZqRGO7BuntS1LBg/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwPSXzgAHN-lQmLwAbjO24OsKjWHwQSMh5H5kbC3yf0-KrXV1B4FbQZzpDNmOovLGCsTTD3rnbxusW2BXfsUj6Bv0-RvcrkoSQ31erQ1ezcNTrF0cB2_-bh2EOlFNZqRGO7BuntS1LBg/s400/016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698038473646378146" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She turned 15 months yesterday and continues to amaze me. She still doesn't talk much but she understands so much and picks things up so quickly that it's almost scary. She points a lot and she'll point to something if you ask her (i.e. "Charlotte, where's your humidifier?"). She currently signs "more", "all done", "sing", "milk", "I love you", and "toilet". She knows what a horse, cow, sheep, cat, dog, duck, lion, and Santa say. When she asks to sing, she will choose songs herself (for example, she'll smack her lips together if she wants "Pop Goes The Weasel" or will say "E-I-O" if she wants "Old MacDonald"). She recognizes letters (has a fondness for "O" and will walk around, carrying her "O" magnets going "Ooooo") and can recognize some colours. Her comprehension is outstanding and I often forget just how young she actually is.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUA8Pcpye_k_wm0f23LX_ckdm3SfdTh-ypB00rO0xR9U-ofGRZ_GuPQB3HsW9gUfXl2IkKp6Xx9iZ0MA-k5dZgrcJcsjfE8LwCyBs6SAWl_rTTwVF9EzwxWXR9EGoFspnRr1hidVyhDo/s1600/164.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUA8Pcpye_k_wm0f23LX_ckdm3SfdTh-ypB00rO0xR9U-ofGRZ_GuPQB3HsW9gUfXl2IkKp6Xx9iZ0MA-k5dZgrcJcsjfE8LwCyBs6SAWl_rTTwVF9EzwxWXR9EGoFspnRr1hidVyhDo/s400/164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698040758860411986" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She's still teeny and probably always will be. I'm not sure how big she is, but I imagine she's hit 20lbs by now. She just went through a growth spurt and finally fits into the 18month clothing she owns. She has 11 teeth - four front, three bottom, two top molars, and two bottom molars. Her hair is growing longer and her curls are adorable. She's started to change her looks and I get told she looks a lot more like me now. It's nice to hear :) I did birth her, after all...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTC2qzaSvHLBlV4WoDUPngd7BB8PfdU6bDKhJruJqGXJWs9WsqKUfsnSzPJHnzQy8kmlzhhygSxFneJQ8NGmdyEVrBMALwy86-6c2YamjH_wwre66C0-DJp43MRd9SMD9QqIwZ6EMUYE/s1600/061.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTC2qzaSvHLBlV4WoDUPngd7BB8PfdU6bDKhJruJqGXJWs9WsqKUfsnSzPJHnzQy8kmlzhhygSxFneJQ8NGmdyEVrBMALwy86-6c2YamjH_wwre66C0-DJp43MRd9SMD9QqIwZ6EMUYE/s400/061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698042169275922290" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She still loves her books and reading is still one of her favourite activities. She got a kitchen for Christmas from Santa and has been enjoying "cooking" there and feeding us her concoctions. She also got a lion from Santa and LOVES it. She runs around the house, hugging it, and saying "roar!" She has a couple of dolls and enjoys feeding them, brushing their hair, and patting their backs. She just loves pointing at things and figuring out what things are. Right now her current obsessions are the ladybugs on her blanket and Maggie's toy mice. I can't quite tell if she likes the mice or hates the mice, but she'll walk around the house with a toy mouse in each hand, following Maggie, attempting to give them to the cat. If she sees a cat toy on the floor, she points at it and kind of yells. Maybe she's mad that Maggie doesn't clean up after herself.<br /><br />She has little traits that make me chuckle. She likes to put her cup in the cup holder of her high chair tray when she's done taking a drink. If it doesn't fit, she puts it on the table. When she's eating snack, she'll put something (a cracker, a piece of fruit) back in the bowl before taking something else to nibble on. She's developing her little personality more and more every day and she's certainly a character!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YfjsgWka2-Aywr_RzdUYrzHWZoNB8zJK6Bfbpsa15kX-w94tUB46BE1ncF-KzIDrwzBIZ7HXM5_aJQX6YK8WLxG7x_pOeerOI498kKrXgaluAION7_BvuxEFeSEuwChYP2y1MsiPhkQ/s1600/059.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YfjsgWka2-Aywr_RzdUYrzHWZoNB8zJK6Bfbpsa15kX-w94tUB46BE1ncF-KzIDrwzBIZ7HXM5_aJQX6YK8WLxG7x_pOeerOI498kKrXgaluAION7_BvuxEFeSEuwChYP2y1MsiPhkQ/s400/059.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698044199515947538" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She's still doing great with her eating and sleeping habits. We've finally, FINALLY, rid ourselves of bottles! Hooray! She's doing perfectly fine without them and doesn't seem to miss them one bit. She's eating three meals and two snacks a day and, usually, sleeps 10-11 hours at night. She has one after-lunch nap that is usually 2 hours on average, but can sometimes be as short as an hour and a half or as long as today where she slept for FOUR hours. Nutty. It's usually 2, 2.5 hours though. She doesn't eat as much in one sitting as she used to (which makes sense, because she's not growing as rapidly as she was in her first year) but she still eats well. She still loves all her usual favourites: pasta, meats, potatoes, corn, peas, english muffins, toast, crackers, grapes, bananas, blueberries, waffles, etc. There's not really a whole lot she won't eat as a whole - somedays she'd rather have one thing over another, but as a whole she eats a really well-balanced diet and loves her healthy foods.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVNfP6MUZVGb3mDv38EMZ_nUR5fvBj3pQB4qkbBTmO1Ze-RMA1-bfRaBwQKeDJLiaHHGlf4i9Es1URZdHAJbxQ60uOl1Pg_bsIjxj8hl79sMQxQNYyk2C2uN3AG79Y4hSb5P13lZNTmI/s1600/091.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVNfP6MUZVGb3mDv38EMZ_nUR5fvBj3pQB4qkbBTmO1Ze-RMA1-bfRaBwQKeDJLiaHHGlf4i9Es1URZdHAJbxQ60uOl1Pg_bsIjxj8hl79sMQxQNYyk2C2uN3AG79Y4hSb5P13lZNTmI/s400/091.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698046218512632098" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She's just the light of our lives. She has a very sweet, caring, pleasant personality and is so very easy-going. Charlotte, we love you!<br /><br />I promise to update again before she turns 2 ;)Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-21410824811030473482011-10-25T15:26:00.010-03:002011-10-25T16:07:14.618-03:00The one with the one year update!I know it's coming late, but it's been a busy week(ish)! With birthday parties to throw and attend and then Baby's First Stomach Bug, it's been hard for me to really get a chance to sit down and update the blog.<br /><br />Can you even believe it's been a whole year? A whole year! It feels like just yesterday, I was sitting at my mother's kitchen table, updating about how I was going to have to be induced. And here we are - a whole year later and I have a sweet, loving, hilarious, brilliant little toddler girl.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi512Gmg_MWcW-UJYlEmSJmxMk_oid-pAkdG3uV-XvEJQUYDaXEkZKiKiNVJPTMxZGryq3RfIRQRCjDBAbs7YqnOmBuolz0wfa2WjMyfrBhQPl_TKoq_d1W91u4PPsjayQpTzFUq04UHe0/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi512Gmg_MWcW-UJYlEmSJmxMk_oid-pAkdG3uV-XvEJQUYDaXEkZKiKiNVJPTMxZGryq3RfIRQRCjDBAbs7YqnOmBuolz0wfa2WjMyfrBhQPl_TKoq_d1W91u4PPsjayQpTzFUq04UHe0/s400/005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667498648006487746" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />First, we'll start with some stats. She had her one year check up and vaccinations and she is now 19lbs 9.5oz and 29 inches long. Tiny little pixie! (To put that into perspective, my 4 month old nephew is 15lbs and 27 inches long, LOL!). She didn't triple her birth weight but hey - she's still growing and gaining and that's all that matters to me. Someone has to be on the lower end of the growth chart, right? Right. She's fitting into 12-18 month clothing a bit better now - they're not as baggy on her as they were last month.<br /><br />She continues to amaze me every day with the things she learns and the things she knows. Every so often, she will do something that shocks me. Yesterday, for example, her pants were falling down a bit (stomach flu = disposable diapers = her pants don't fit anymore) and I said "Charlotte, come here and let me fix your pants". She tugged at the waistband of her pants, snapped it a couple of times, and giggled. Now when I ask her "where are your pants?" she grabs at the waistband. I had no idea she knew what pants were! She will also stick out her tongue if you ask "where's your tongue" and will point to eyes and hair if you ask where those are. Today I asked her if she wanted some water and told her to go to the fridge and I would get her some. Up she went and walked right over to the fridge. Smarty pants.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tIn8JabbffSglmBu1MyXRCYwunPrLpJ2nF0uaz5xQwXdRbT59bM2XcBokBz3BOTSTSQ0_TcAeWc_OhjvEGoSXMh7SUGO5D0_rCy1EZt2z6e-dL2wiaA8OlKugzpNJQ8ZFoXmAd0eigg/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tIn8JabbffSglmBu1MyXRCYwunPrLpJ2nF0uaz5xQwXdRbT59bM2XcBokBz3BOTSTSQ0_TcAeWc_OhjvEGoSXMh7SUGO5D0_rCy1EZt2z6e-dL2wiaA8OlKugzpNJQ8ZFoXmAd0eigg/s400/011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667501307287276562" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She's been learning a bit of turn-taking as well. If she has something in her hand and you ask "can I see?" she will gently give it to you. We've been encouraging this and will go back and forth with the same item doing the whole "my turn/your turn" thing. She's still too young, I think, to really <span style="font-style: italic;">get</span> it but there's no reason we can't expose her to it now! She's gotten back into signing "all done" consistently after having a bit of a signing stand-off recently. She still won't sign "more" for us, even though she knows how. She'll just point at whatever she wants. Silly goose. Lately, she'll sign "all done" in the bath tub when I drain the water - last night she even signed "all done" before I drained it and started to pull the plug herself!<br /><br />She's moving from the "baby" toys to more "toddler" toys now. She still adores her books, of course. Her current favourite items right now are her books, her Peek-a-Block train, her wooden xylophone, balls, her Sock Monkey, and balloons (left over from her birthday party!). And, of course, walking around, playing peek-a-boo, and pointing at things saying "da". I'm pretty sure she's asking "what's that" when she does it. In fact, we had a pretty funny "conversation" last night:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte:</span> *thrusts a shape at me from her shape sorter* "Da!"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me:</span> "You found a shape!"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte:</span> *gently places it in my hand* "Da."<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me:</span> "Mommy's turn? Thank you."<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte:</span> *points at it repeatedly* "Da!"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me:</span> "It's a shape!"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte:</span> *continues pointing* "Da!"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me:</span> *counts the sides* Uh, it's a hexagon!"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Charlotte:</span> *removes it from my hand and walks away*<br /><br />Apparently, "shape" wasn't a good enough answer for her!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhbZQBR83rvOm8mGKhp8d-2iXcHWYRrpnleJl15SRbjGVfMaalOJffT-__27YjFEjDW6N7BWQQeKb9aa6rU7F_OlSYtMnp0qQ-9kqZxGoTpIgkN0gnakjjJqglpXms50mKYTzJOggFc4/s1600/DSC04788.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhbZQBR83rvOm8mGKhp8d-2iXcHWYRrpnleJl15SRbjGVfMaalOJffT-__27YjFEjDW6N7BWQQeKb9aa6rU7F_OlSYtMnp0qQ-9kqZxGoTpIgkN0gnakjjJqglpXms50mKYTzJOggFc4/s400/DSC04788.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667503879049761618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvvfnh5U6UZLF2YCLvgNn-z5XOUILz6F-Gjl6AXf8W3hLlQtwkjbYz343ZTrJ5BZd9DysHmLFq0JjDESLzHDbsMnh13KfgLH8fBtW29bxr39tyXDQWpTW5fDLVV3i3GVI9MEk-t9ZD6M/s1600/DSC04855.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvvfnh5U6UZLF2YCLvgNn-z5XOUILz6F-Gjl6AXf8W3hLlQtwkjbYz343ZTrJ5BZd9DysHmLFq0JjDESLzHDbsMnh13KfgLH8fBtW29bxr39tyXDQWpTW5fDLVV3i3GVI9MEk-t9ZD6M/s400/DSC04855.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667506328807772418" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She has recently upgraded from eating food off her highchair tray to eating food out of dishes. She was starting to protest at mealtimes and kept pointing to our plates/bowls. It only took two nights of gentle reminders, but she no longer attempts to lift her plate or bowl up or throw it or anything like that. We have a couple of "baby" dishes for her, but otherwise she just eats off of one of our smaller plates. We're still attempting to transition her onto whole milk but she's not overly enthusiastic about it. At this point, we're just trying to get her to drink ANYTHING that isn't water out of her cup. If it's not water, she looks at the cup with a puzzled look on her face and just lets the milk dribble out of her mouth. We're working on it. I'm really looking forward to getting rid of bottles. Right now, she's down to one - maybe two - bottles a day. She has one when she wakes up from her nap and one at bedtime, depending on how much dinner she ate and when she ate. Most times she hardly drinks any from her bedtime bottle anyway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztJ24uobmhhK95XEPuepqfaRElDaBuxhHl33fcvcAmBA0uRNnT6zwwM58sMVJgGrtjgdo8S2gteUfdt6-2tdwqwH1Vew-Cj8hLotQNFkZRVroSyia_BDT9oRcMk8iNdaTU6SHegQW22I/s1600/DSC04780.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztJ24uobmhhK95XEPuepqfaRElDaBuxhHl33fcvcAmBA0uRNnT6zwwM58sMVJgGrtjgdo8S2gteUfdt6-2tdwqwH1Vew-Cj8hLotQNFkZRVroSyia_BDT9oRcMk8iNdaTU6SHegQW22I/s400/DSC04780.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667505370531839842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She is also, on normal days, down to one after-lunch nap a day and sleeps for a good few hours (right now, for example, she's been asleep for almost 2.5 hours - she should be up soon!). She goes to bed a bit later now that I'm back at work but also sleeps in a touch later as well. She goes to bed around 7:30 and usually sleeps until 7-7:30.<br /><br />I still can't believe she's a year old. What a whirlwind of a year it has been! I am so lucky to have my beautiful little baby girl. She is the light of my life, my everything. My best little friend. I can't wait to see what the future brings for us. I love watching her grow and learn. She is my entire world. I love you, Charlotte!!<br />(...and she's awake, I just heard her turn her music on! Ha! My kid!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5QrhX9Hmet1yCPvyJMaLgHiSGORy1OgGexUBlxxneWgjdZ5BkBB_df0MNj6HdZU8BHlSC8z6lMQLcM_1hBz4D_Zdn_cGuy-DavABvRuQ3RrOuX5rDztiupJPYDCNZjeDZwt-AK1w1AE/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5QrhX9Hmet1yCPvyJMaLgHiSGORy1OgGexUBlxxneWgjdZ5BkBB_df0MNj6HdZU8BHlSC8z6lMQLcM_1hBz4D_Zdn_cGuy-DavABvRuQ3RrOuX5rDztiupJPYDCNZjeDZwt-AK1w1AE/s400/007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667507694542308450" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzzFyO1jhymx7GZ8c0l5tlqVErgAXgmvlyIg4QDFp9jm5ZmXTpBOj_HbNUtestogprIkyO1eItrwl9won0V8DunGqSwWHTsBDdkRtm28Sj_AaiAdgm2sflPeXIZJqsTNcvlreJUbMrTc/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzzFyO1jhymx7GZ8c0l5tlqVErgAXgmvlyIg4QDFp9jm5ZmXTpBOj_HbNUtestogprIkyO1eItrwl9won0V8DunGqSwWHTsBDdkRtm28Sj_AaiAdgm2sflPeXIZJqsTNcvlreJUbMrTc/s400/008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667507336407937634" border="0" /></a>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-10283708533685445482011-10-14T09:24:00.002-03:002011-10-14T09:30:01.825-03:00The one with the first birthdayHappy birthday my love!<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxwZGOS2nUP9hgwxkCMXIa3ePJUgnUD72-z7RAPajdzws_2XIv9L9viwWi5_nOistPD4OrJz5dLq9dYx1BZig' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-36581253099027747792011-09-23T22:11:00.009-03:002011-09-23T22:37:06.404-03:00The one with the eleven month update!Well, eleven months and a week... oops. Things have been extra busy around here as I started back to work on Tuesday and just hadn't had the chance to sit down and update the blog. But now it's Friday evening and I'm sitting with my Pepsi and GSN and figured now was the time!<br /><br />I can't believe it but my baby girl turned 11 months old on the 14th. 11 months. She's going to be a year old in the blink of an eye. Wowzers!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcgrd8829ArtjE5LZFolRNqPkCO97Z_Q-u0Dc9j_G5e7CPcAfa1bG3qCIkwoaCkWPaDPfYQKr0F1hzp8PNcX_M3sIzBkPccDXYWmsD953_b9-r5BZBot8fldrGcOKCr0RmyXWjOVHy7k/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcgrd8829ArtjE5LZFolRNqPkCO97Z_Q-u0Dc9j_G5e7CPcAfa1bG3qCIkwoaCkWPaDPfYQKr0F1hzp8PNcX_M3sIzBkPccDXYWmsD953_b9-r5BZBot8fldrGcOKCr0RmyXWjOVHy7k/s400/040.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655728064094029266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So what is new in the life of 11-month-old Charlotte? Well, this kid is mobile!! She's not only walking now but she's practically running. I'd say she's walking about 90% of the time. She really only crawls now if she falls down and has to pull herself back up to be able to walk. She's still not able to just stand back up without assistance but she'll get there in time. She's a walking pro and it makes her SO happy! She was born wanting to walk and now she's finally achieved her goal :) Thankfully she's not the type of kid (right now) to get into everything so her walking isn't a big deal. She loves walking around the corner and playing peekaboo with whoever she finds on the other side. She just likes to walk around, usually carrying a pompom or a puzzle piece, and is just happy to be moving - she doesn't care about destroying the house! She also LOVES to climb the stairs and is really good at it. She likes opening and closing cupboards but hasn't really shown any interest to what's inside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9Z5XAUaZ-Id5kn8n_qvRGtYkSuNiXnUL96nQTjtqZriy7lZxGX4Ho8iQXobkKDB7MBnKeI6nnJa8HyMv-peYIphoJ4aRj1bjw3m2GLh1fwplYmqPpXbW43AcANqBZE6xmq3gpIDUZCQ/s1600/027.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9Z5XAUaZ-Id5kn8n_qvRGtYkSuNiXnUL96nQTjtqZriy7lZxGX4Ho8iQXobkKDB7MBnKeI6nnJa8HyMv-peYIphoJ4aRj1bjw3m2GLh1fwplYmqPpXbW43AcANqBZE6xmq3gpIDUZCQ/s400/027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655731701559335314" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She has four teeth (bottom two and top two) and her eye teeth seem to be coming in. Her hair is getting longer and curlier at the bottom. She's sort-of talking - mostly things that only we understand. She knows what sound a duck makes and will "quack" (cough) when we ask her what the ducky says. She also likes to wave at us when we ask "where's the baby?" or "where's Charlotte?". She says "dad" ALL the freakin' time, "mum" occasionally (sounds more like "ma'am" haha), "duh" for dog sometimes, and is working really hard on saying "fan" and "fish". She can make the "f" sound but that's as far as she gets. Boyd heard her say "bird" this morning as they were watching the birds out the window. I love love love hearing all the new things that come out of her mouth! I can't wait for the "I love you, Mummy" :)<br /><br />She's outgrown all her 6-12 and 9 month clothing and is now in 12-18 even though it's slightly too big. I'm not sure her stats as we don't have another doctor's appointment until October but I think she's close to 20lbs now and people tell us that she's tall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPhUv5yI0-IIQqOm8Y7tGX5mL3fJbtTdmijhYTqcG5Sn0eTYqsYx_R7BwQohic-Qezt7iGzmjY3g7zn3zEZcZiv_zFSie5grGF8gfHbo6fyvY-r4T26rfAsarw_Sin5NQeXQF4VrisPY/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPhUv5yI0-IIQqOm8Y7tGX5mL3fJbtTdmijhYTqcG5Sn0eTYqsYx_R7BwQohic-Qezt7iGzmjY3g7zn3zEZcZiv_zFSie5grGF8gfHbo6fyvY-r4T26rfAsarw_Sin5NQeXQF4VrisPY/s400/010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655732562701484082" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Charlotte is ALL about the social games lately. She adores peekaboo, pattycake, and anything that we can do and giggle together. She's still loving her books and will sit quietly and look through them ALL. She empties out her whole bookshelf and then picks through them. She loves the pompoms, her space puzzle, and her PeekaBlock train. She's also started kicking her ball and will chase it all around the house, giggling.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBvzYM0LD0bMyrD1OBP1bgDobQ0W6oAbKok_GYRKQAqKnqPEu0b0meGcYNTfoBtQu3ArerjdbHNkW3726K3EhSqFsYpPEIkhSNOoeOBevInPgMe7PEAXmbvSA3u6Vz5zge3795-BQUvk/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBvzYM0LD0bMyrD1OBP1bgDobQ0W6oAbKok_GYRKQAqKnqPEu0b0meGcYNTfoBtQu3ArerjdbHNkW3726K3EhSqFsYpPEIkhSNOoeOBevInPgMe7PEAXmbvSA3u6Vz5zge3795-BQUvk/s400/008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655731308369174114" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />She's still eating and sleeping extremely well. Her bottle intake is going down pretty significantly. She's down to three bottles a day and quite often she doesn't finish it - she'll pull it out, look at it, say "da", point at it, etc. We're hoping that the transition off bottles will be an easy one since she really doesn't care about them much at all. There's definitely no bottle attachment! She's a pro with her sippy cup so it should be an easy switch.<br /><br />I still can't believe the next Charlotte update will be her birthday update. Where did this year go?! Wow...Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-26661443792328954722011-08-15T20:38:00.008-03:002011-08-15T21:38:41.024-03:00The one with the ten month update!Well, this is it - double digits! Eep! Charlotte turned 10 months yesterday!
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnquonmd7t8PvUHGkEw3ZpcRVxisXov-Qu2fSXlou0xqM3hLu67y37iygSWwgDO7Sk4amC6GUab2_RLdOt6ggb9Y37J-tfocAFaY23kunoWpXA6xqsi0qIyiKcEOgtnEvRuW0YbXqL2tk/s1600/023.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnquonmd7t8PvUHGkEw3ZpcRVxisXov-Qu2fSXlou0xqM3hLu67y37iygSWwgDO7Sk4amC6GUab2_RLdOt6ggb9Y37J-tfocAFaY23kunoWpXA6xqsi0qIyiKcEOgtnEvRuW0YbXqL2tk/s400/023.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641231969790139074" border="0" /></a>
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<br />Days here are certainly not wasted when it comes to her learning and growing lately. She took her first steps on Tuesday and she was so proud of herself. She's continued to take steps and she really just wants to run! I think as soon as she realizes that she needs to hold her body up straight and slow down a bit, she'll be walking everywhere. She looks so adorable walking around! She has also learned how to climb stairs which is certainly a lot of fun when we're visiting Gram and Grampie's house - all she wants to do is climb the stairs from the family room up to the kitchen. She hasn't been overly interested in toys lately because she's too busy exploring the world. We have had some success with homemade toys like pompoms in an empty cream cheese container :)
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<br />We are still signing with her. She signed "more" a couple of times and will still sign "all done". However, in typical Charlotte form, she'll only do it when she feels like it. She waves if we have to her. She claps. I think she may have said some words but I'm not totally sure. What amazes me most lately is that she appears to have quite a bit of self-control. I've watched her at least three or four times already start to do something that I've told her not to and stop herself (i.e. I told her to keep her hands away from the fan and she reached for it again but stopped herself mid-reach). She's a surprisingly good listener for being a baby.
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<br />She still absolutely adores books. She will crawl over to her bookshelf and pull out books to happily sit and read by herself. We read a TON throughout the day. Her favourites right now are <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Kisses Kisses Baby-O"</span></span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">"Peas and Thank you", "I Like Fruit", "The Ways I Will Love You"</span> and any of her first word type books that have faces to look at. She even notices if certain books are upside-down and will turn them right-side-up before she continues on with the book. So cute!
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAFXzDwxk8QWBz_kBl-_CNYX-t7pG9DiGnYksskcQwqQQBhYQCsHutAW55b14RNTgoeiTAVI0sC8dYgD0X9Vl9CCzhx-CuewcwgsY94QTnGvf2L7r2ZDwOUyr0L0Uu8S4D_m-RLKxc2o/s1600/038.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAFXzDwxk8QWBz_kBl-_CNYX-t7pG9DiGnYksskcQwqQQBhYQCsHutAW55b14RNTgoeiTAVI0sC8dYgD0X9Vl9CCzhx-CuewcwgsY94QTnGvf2L7r2ZDwOUyr0L0Uu8S4D_m-RLKxc2o/s400/038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641239456707878882" border="0" /></a>
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<br />She has no new teeth yet but her top two are on their way. Her top right looks like it is going to pop through any day now and the top left isn't going to be far behind. She's officially on three meals a day of solids and still takes four bottles. She's been drinking less and less from her bottles lately, though. She's still a GREAT eater and is all business when there's food in front of her. She really loves grapes and mango lately. Fruit, pasta, and meat are definitely her favourite foods.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4ew6I3xjq3UONQzfxRYNRR24erW9G3dElKVQWHy7HCojbOpcNPt-4-m_4SBw-EFm9kLZMTVy5HE0Gg3NshPjfqYJhI_BNHdMgXy_4UqsnB_USzEJmU6ERCNbyYeixpW4EF7_T6N6AZ8/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4ew6I3xjq3UONQzfxRYNRR24erW9G3dElKVQWHy7HCojbOpcNPt-4-m_4SBw-EFm9kLZMTVy5HE0Gg3NshPjfqYJhI_BNHdMgXy_4UqsnB_USzEJmU6ERCNbyYeixpW4EF7_T6N6AZ8/s400/007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641243234354064898" border="0" /></a>
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<br />And that's ten-month-old Charlotte in a nutshell!
<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3031365054062081637.post-69487558201408952422011-08-11T10:57:00.004-03:002011-08-11T11:55:29.796-03:00The one with the overwhelming feeling of relief and closureAs most followers of this blog know, Charlotte and I were never able to sustain a breastfeeding relationship. As outlined in <a href="http://the-growing-chapmans.blogspot.com/2010/10/one-where-things-get-personal.html">this post</a>, we struggled with severe pain and damage on my end and latching problems on her end. She was evaluated for tongue-tie a couple of times and it was found that she was fine. We had no real explanation for why she had such a poor latch, why she would jerk her head around until she had a shallow latch, why she couldn't latch onto a nipple shield, why she drank from bottles and left the nipple bent when she was through.
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<br />A few weeks ago, I came across a blog posted in one of my formula-friendly Facebook pages from a breastfeeding mother desperately seeking help. Her blog brought me to something that I had never ever heard of before: <a href="http://www.kiddsteeth.com/maxillaryfrenum_and_nursingfinal.pdf">abnormal attachment of the maxillary frenum</a>. I read about it, looked at the photos, and a light bulb went off in my head. In the very early months of Charlotte's life, I clearly remember looking at her smiling and asking Boyd <span style="font-style: italic;">"do you think she's going to have a gap between her front teeth because of that bump there?"</span> That "bump there" is where her maxillary frenulum connects to her gums and goes all the way back to her soft palate. We all have upper and lower frenulums, but it's how they're attached that makes a difference. Just like some babies are tongue-tied (i.e. their lower frenulums are too tightly attached) there are some babies who have an upper lip tie (their upper frenulums are too tightly attached). And I was positive my baby was one of them.
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<br />I immediately made a dentist appointment for her to have her checked out. I brought her in, the dentist and nurses oohed and ahhed over the cute baby, stuck a finger in her mouth, and proclaimed her fine. <span style="font-style: italic;">"See you when she's three!" </span> Mother's intuition kicked in and I really just didn't think she was "fine". Perhaps if they had spent more time examining her rather than cooing over her, I might have been able to accept their diagnosis. But I didn't. I didn't really know what else to do until I came across a "Contact Us" form on Dr. Lawrence Kotlow's website. Might as well go directly to the source, right? This is exactly what Dr. Kotlow specializes in. I sent him a request to have a look at Charlotte's mouth and hoped that he might take the time to do it.
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<br />I sent him this photo that I was able to quickly snap one day:
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcLUUdGZQc41KdI5KyKQ4VSrV3qtxKtauOX1_hOFxLVbG-MagN4J9YbYuVueZ-eCshL6osE65JD2ut5GrDh3K129E02bv3gV6Y_4uv5cKyW8paMugv2ZNon_NuQsRy8xAzXLwd9HP8AA/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcLUUdGZQc41KdI5KyKQ4VSrV3qtxKtauOX1_hOFxLVbG-MagN4J9YbYuVueZ-eCshL6osE65JD2ut5GrDh3K129E02bv3gV6Y_4uv5cKyW8paMugv2ZNon_NuQsRy8xAzXLwd9HP8AA/s320/003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639600923451590418" border="0" /></a>
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<br />and I immediately got the following reply:
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Without a doubt according to my criteria a class 4 lip tie which can cause breastfeeding problems due to a poor latch. Dr.K"
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>The emotions that I'm feeling right now are overwhelming. A strong mix of relief and anger all at once. Until you're a mother who has "failed" at breastfeeding, you can never understand the feelings that come along with that. Thankfully, I've done my own research these last nine months and I have a very different outlook now regarding infant feeding, but it's still very difficult to hear things like <span style="font-style: italic;">"everything about your baby is unnatural" </span>or <span style="font-style: italic;">"you're too selfish to give your baby the best"</span> and not feel bad about yourself and your ability to be a good parent. Even though I know that we made the best decision we could, I would still often wonder in the back of my mind whether or not we had "given up" too quickly, would it have gotten better as time went on, would we have been successful had I stuck through the pain?
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<br />The answer, as I know now, is no. <span style="font-style: italic;">No.</span> Unless someone had discovered this when Charlotte was a newborn and we had had it fixed, no. Her latch would not have improved. Every feed would still have been torturous. She would still have been ripping my nipples to shreds every time she ate.
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<br />There's nothing that can be done now. Had I known about this nine months ago, things would have been very different. The thing is, I had no idea this was even a thing. Upper lip tie? Not even on my radar. No doctor, nurse, midwife, public health nurse, or lactation consultant<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span> ever </span>made mention of it. Googling it brings up a handful of results. Even <a href="http://www.kellymom.com">kellymom.com</a>, one of the best breastfeeding resources online, makes ONE mention of it in the "tongue-tie" section (<span style="font-style: italic;">"This story is about a child who had a tight </span><em style="font-style: italic;">upper</em><span style="font-style: italic;"> (labial) frenulum, which can also cause problems."</span>) It's not well-known as a possible breastfeeding issue but it is a very <span style="font-style: italic;">real</span> issue. So even though I sought help in the early weeks of Charlotte's life, no one helped me because it seems no one knew.
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<br />I'm just happy that I have some closure now. I know, without a doubt now, that we did what we could. I know that there was a very REAL, physical reason that my daughter could not breastfeed. It wasn't because I was "lazy" or "selfish" or too stupid to not fall for some "booby trap" like some lactivists like to believe of all formula feeding mothers. I recently posted my story to one of my favourite blogs, the <a href="http://fearlessformulafeeder.blogspot.com">Fearless Formula Feeder</a>, and what the author wrote of my story is so very very true. She wrote:
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<br />"</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lisa's </span>FFF Friday submission is superbly written (her last paragraph is one of the most beautiful things I've read about formula feeding), but beyond that, I think it speaks powerfully to the common misconception that women who "fail" at breastfeeding were simply lacking support, motivation or information. However, there's a caveat to Lisa's story, which I have included, and this suggests that the biggest booby trap might be a refusal of the medical profession to acknowledge rare, but very real, breastfeeding difficulties.</span><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span>
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<br />Our breastfeeding struggles boil down to a mother that wanted to but a baby that couldn't. I'm happy to finally put an end to the emotional turmoil this whole thing has caused and I really wish that, in the future, all babies have their whole mouths examined when breastfeeding issues are present. I'm sure it would save some women out there a whole lot of heartache.
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></span>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410668008411660785noreply@blogger.com7