Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Another reason to avoid chldren's fever reducers...
I was looking at the ingredients for Tylenol and motrin - both of the standard children's formula's have Red Dye #40, which we try to avoid, in them, so I was trying to find a dye-free one. We don't typically use either of them, but with flu season coming, and Nora not nursing anymore (yes, I'm a bit nervous because this is my first winter with a non-nursing child), I wanted to make sure we are prepared. Well, turns out Children's motrin and tylenol both have sucralose in them! Sucralose is Splenda, and I have a big sensitivity to the stuff (nasty migraines). I have no idea if my kids will have the same reaction, but I would imagine they could, and might not be able to tell me. I would feel awful if they got a migraine because I tried to lower their fever! I think we'll try and stick to natural remedies!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Time Flies!
The last few weeks have really flown by. I've been adjusting to life with two little girls. We are keeping busy - both to make sure Nora gets out (or, more to the point, worn out!) and to make sure I don't turn into a hermit! It's a trick some days to get both girls ready and out. Once I've fed and changed Elizabeth, get Nora's shoes and coat on and get Nora in the car and buckled in (all of which she does herself, for the most part), Elizabeth is sometimes looking for food or a diaper change again. Car rides have been a bit of a trick as Elizabeth really likes human interaction and dislikes the car. She needs to have a full belly and a dry diaper, or she just doesn't tolerate the car - unless we are driving down a dirt road at 45 mph, which doesn't happen all that often!
Elizabeth has been doing great. She gives us big huge smiles on occasion - and smiles at her big sister quite often. This is great because her big sister loves her - almost too much. Nora starts every morning and each afternoon (upon waking from nap) asking for two things - dad and to hold Bet-Bef ("Nora hold baby" and "Nora take care baby" are often heard in our house). So far, we have had very few bad encounters. Once when Elizabeth was crying in the swing, Nora unbuckled her, picked her up and carried her to me - and then unfortunately dropped her. Not sure what hurt Elizabeth worse, getting picked up by the two year old (who usually picks up her baby dolls by the neck) or getting dropped (fortunately, onto a big padded blanket). Now, if I need to use the bathroom, I put Elizabeth in the moby wrap. It's the only way to keep her safe.
Nora has been doing really well. She, obviously, loves her baby sister and has really grown in the last few months. She can recite numbers to 10, although sometimes she needs help with 5. She can count to 4 - and actually seems to understand the concept of counting a bit. She knows many animal sounds (crows, birds, cat, dog, bear, cow, goat, pig, duck, chicken, snake...) and she knows many of her colors. She's also starting to show some humor. If you point to something orange and ask what color it is, she will say "Blue" and then laugh - with a kind of fake laugh. She uses almost the same laugh when adults are laughing and she doesn't really understand why. She seems to get really clingy in large groups (go figure, look at her parents). She can be pretty attached to mommy, especially indoors, if we are in a crowded room. However, outdoors or around just a few people, and she loves to explore! Nora has mastered the art of opening and closing doors (opening being the slight problem right now). She's also really trying to do everything herself - get dressed, clip the buckles on her car seat...it's both amazing and frustrating at the same time - especially when we have to be somewhere early in the morning!
To keep Nora entertained, we have signed up for two parent-child classes for the fall. Autumn Walks, held at the Beaver Brook Association in Hollis and Children's Garden at the Pine Hill Waldorf School. Both started this past week, and Nora loves both of them! The Autumn Walks class starts with circle time and a story to learn about nature, then we go on a hike. After the hike, we do a craft project. Nora had a great time. We did Children's Garden last year as well, and it's a great class. The littles get some free play in a Waldorf environment while the parents do handwork and talk about children's development. Then, we have a yummy snack and sing songs (circle time). Nora loves the Children's Garden program and feels right at home in the classroom at Pine Hill!
Here's some photos we've taken recently of the girls.
Nora showing off one of her Lego towers before she knocked it over.
I think this is a sweet photo of Nora watching Elizabeth.
Nora hamming it up for the camera
Nora loves to hide in our kitchen cabinets.
Nora walking on a trail at Beaver Brook.
My little Zen baby!
An adorable close up of Nora.
Helping mommy make scones for breakfast.
One month old and already growing a lot! Plus, now I have my own teddy bear! Thanks Great Uncle Dennis!
Daddy getting some cuddles from two very sleepy little girls. Dad is pretty sleepy as well.
Nora doing her favorite thing - holding baby Elizabeth!
Elizabeth has been doing great. She gives us big huge smiles on occasion - and smiles at her big sister quite often. This is great because her big sister loves her - almost too much. Nora starts every morning and each afternoon (upon waking from nap) asking for two things - dad and to hold Bet-Bef ("Nora hold baby" and "Nora take care baby" are often heard in our house). So far, we have had very few bad encounters. Once when Elizabeth was crying in the swing, Nora unbuckled her, picked her up and carried her to me - and then unfortunately dropped her. Not sure what hurt Elizabeth worse, getting picked up by the two year old (who usually picks up her baby dolls by the neck) or getting dropped (fortunately, onto a big padded blanket). Now, if I need to use the bathroom, I put Elizabeth in the moby wrap. It's the only way to keep her safe.
Nora has been doing really well. She, obviously, loves her baby sister and has really grown in the last few months. She can recite numbers to 10, although sometimes she needs help with 5. She can count to 4 - and actually seems to understand the concept of counting a bit. She knows many animal sounds (crows, birds, cat, dog, bear, cow, goat, pig, duck, chicken, snake...) and she knows many of her colors. She's also starting to show some humor. If you point to something orange and ask what color it is, she will say "Blue" and then laugh - with a kind of fake laugh. She uses almost the same laugh when adults are laughing and she doesn't really understand why. She seems to get really clingy in large groups (go figure, look at her parents). She can be pretty attached to mommy, especially indoors, if we are in a crowded room. However, outdoors or around just a few people, and she loves to explore! Nora has mastered the art of opening and closing doors (opening being the slight problem right now). She's also really trying to do everything herself - get dressed, clip the buckles on her car seat...it's both amazing and frustrating at the same time - especially when we have to be somewhere early in the morning!
To keep Nora entertained, we have signed up for two parent-child classes for the fall. Autumn Walks, held at the Beaver Brook Association in Hollis and Children's Garden at the Pine Hill Waldorf School. Both started this past week, and Nora loves both of them! The Autumn Walks class starts with circle time and a story to learn about nature, then we go on a hike. After the hike, we do a craft project. Nora had a great time. We did Children's Garden last year as well, and it's a great class. The littles get some free play in a Waldorf environment while the parents do handwork and talk about children's development. Then, we have a yummy snack and sing songs (circle time). Nora loves the Children's Garden program and feels right at home in the classroom at Pine Hill!
Here's some photos we've taken recently of the girls.
Nora showing off one of her Lego towers before she knocked it over.
I think this is a sweet photo of Nora watching Elizabeth.
Nora hamming it up for the camera
Nora loves to hide in our kitchen cabinets.
Nora walking on a trail at Beaver Brook.
My little Zen baby!
An adorable close up of Nora.
Helping mommy make scones for breakfast.
One month old and already growing a lot! Plus, now I have my own teddy bear! Thanks Great Uncle Dennis!
Daddy getting some cuddles from two very sleepy little girls. Dad is pretty sleepy as well.
Nora doing her favorite thing - holding baby Elizabeth!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Like night and day!
Elizabeth is now a week old! It's really amazing how fast the first week flew by. Much of it was very similar to the first week we had Nora. Tired parents, messy house. However, Elizabeth and Nora so far have been like night and day. Maybe it's because one was born during daylight hours and one was born in the middle of the night! Elizabeth is much calmer and a much better sleeper than Nora was. She also seems to like being swaddled - which Nora didn't like right from the start! I can't complain though - since having two around is a lot more work.
Nora has been adjusting quite well to her new roll as big sister. She loves to hold, hug and kiss Elizabeth and really wants to help as much as possible. We have been encouraging her to take care of her own 'babies' while mommy takes care of Elizabeth, and so far that's been working very well.
Here are photos that we've taken over the last week. I had a hard time picking just a couple, so there are quite a few photos here.
Nora trying on the XS sized pilot cap.
We got a beautiful new blanket from Aunt Chris. Here is Elizabeth showing off the blanket.
Elizabeth next to Nora's teddy bear. She looks so tiny!
Nora and Elizabeth sitting in the chair together. Nora put on a big cheesy grin for this photo!
Nora's Grandma Piper made her a baby carrier that looks just like one of her moms. Nora likes to carry her babies in the carrier.
Elizabeth right before falling asleep.
Nora has insisted on testing out all of Elizabeth's baby gear. She likes to sit in the car seat and rock. We've been working on having her put her babies in the carseat instead.
Nora looks so big next to her little sister. Here is a close up of the hands and feet.
Nora has been adjusting quite well to her new roll as big sister. She loves to hold, hug and kiss Elizabeth and really wants to help as much as possible. We have been encouraging her to take care of her own 'babies' while mommy takes care of Elizabeth, and so far that's been working very well.
Here are photos that we've taken over the last week. I had a hard time picking just a couple, so there are quite a few photos here.
Nora trying on the XS sized pilot cap.
We got a beautiful new blanket from Aunt Chris. Here is Elizabeth showing off the blanket.
Elizabeth next to Nora's teddy bear. She looks so tiny!
Nora and Elizabeth sitting in the chair together. Nora put on a big cheesy grin for this photo!
Nora's Grandma Piper made her a baby carrier that looks just like one of her moms. Nora likes to carry her babies in the carrier.
Elizabeth right before falling asleep.
Nora has insisted on testing out all of Elizabeth's baby gear. She likes to sit in the car seat and rock. We've been working on having her put her babies in the carseat instead.
Nora looks so big next to her little sister. Here is a close up of the hands and feet.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The First Few Days
Elizabeth has been such a joy to have. She's such a mellow baby, for the most part. She has had some issues with gas, but as soon as she's filled her diaper, she will calm right back down into her mellow self. Such a change from Eleanor - who was a needy and loud little one! Nora is doing pretty well with the transition. She loves to hold, kiss, hug and rock baby Bet-Beth, but doesn't necessarily like that she has to share mommy and daddy.
Elizabeth's Birth Story
Elizabeth's birth was very different from Nora's. I was really only in labor for about 2 hours (had lots of prodromal labor with Elizabeth though). With Nora, I had back labor for 15 hours, which was really not fun. With Elizabeth, I did not have back labor and progressed really quickly. Despite the differences, I have been blessed to have 2 fantastic birth experiences!
For those who are interested, here are all the details!
Starting on Wednesday, I was having prodromal labor. Every evening - Wednesday Thursday and Friday - I was having contractions (similar to Braxton-Hicks) just about every 7-10 minutes from dinner time until midnight. They were annoying - and prevented me from going to bed early, but they didn't hurt. On Saturday, I continued to have prodromal labor for most of the day. It came and went, and I started losing my mucus plug. Saturday night, I called my chiropractor and made an appointment for Sunday. She has magic hands and I knew that an adjustment would either put me into active labor or give me a nice break from the prodromal labor. After the adjustment, the contractions stopped completely for a few hours. I went home, took a nice nap and relaxed for the early evening. Around 6pm, I started to feel some contractions again. This time, they were more like real contractions - but still didn't hurt at all. They were 7 minutes apart, but only about 30 seconds long. We paged the midwife on call to give her a heads up that we thought labor was starting and she said to give her a call if the contractions got stronger or closer together. We then called Andy's mom since she was going to help with Nora during the birth. We thought it would be better to have her head down sooner rather than later, because we didn't know what the night was going to bring. Andy, Nora and I ate dinner and we put Nora to bed. Andy's mom arrived around 9pm and I decided to take a nap. Andy was filling the birthing tub with water when I went to bed. When I laid down, the contractions slowed up, and I was able to sleep for a few hours. I woke up a few times with contractions, but nothing really painful. Then, a little after 1am, I had a contraction that woke me up and I had to think about breathing through. I told Andy that I was going to have to get up soon, and we timed the next two contractions - they were 5 minutes apart, and pretty intense. I got up and the contractions went from 5 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart! We immediately paged the midwife and she left (both the midwife and the apprentice had a long drive). I went downstairs and decided to use the bathroom. My water broke on the toilet (how convenient!). Andy gave the chiropractor, Dr. C (who was attending my birth) a call as well. Dr C arrived first and helped me through a pretty intense contraction. Shortly after, the midwives both came in. They listened to the babies heart rate and asked if I wanted them to check my progress. I had never been checked before, but thought it might be nice to know if I was far enough to jump into the birth tub. At this time, I didn't quite believe that I was in transistion, and wasn't sure how I would survive much longer with the contractions. I got the all clear to enter the birth tub (found out later that I was actually 8cm and the babies head was descending). As soon as my belly hit the water, I really started feeling pushy. About 2-3 more contractions later, Dr C had to tell everyone that the head had already come out! I was trying to tell people, but was in total labor land and could not form the words. We had just sent Andy to get me a cold washcloth for my forehead and the midwives were in another room doing paperwork and unpacking their gear. Elizabeth was born at 3:01am.
For those who are interested, here are all the details!
Starting on Wednesday, I was having prodromal labor. Every evening - Wednesday Thursday and Friday - I was having contractions (similar to Braxton-Hicks) just about every 7-10 minutes from dinner time until midnight. They were annoying - and prevented me from going to bed early, but they didn't hurt. On Saturday, I continued to have prodromal labor for most of the day. It came and went, and I started losing my mucus plug. Saturday night, I called my chiropractor and made an appointment for Sunday. She has magic hands and I knew that an adjustment would either put me into active labor or give me a nice break from the prodromal labor. After the adjustment, the contractions stopped completely for a few hours. I went home, took a nice nap and relaxed for the early evening. Around 6pm, I started to feel some contractions again. This time, they were more like real contractions - but still didn't hurt at all. They were 7 minutes apart, but only about 30 seconds long. We paged the midwife on call to give her a heads up that we thought labor was starting and she said to give her a call if the contractions got stronger or closer together. We then called Andy's mom since she was going to help with Nora during the birth. We thought it would be better to have her head down sooner rather than later, because we didn't know what the night was going to bring. Andy, Nora and I ate dinner and we put Nora to bed. Andy's mom arrived around 9pm and I decided to take a nap. Andy was filling the birthing tub with water when I went to bed. When I laid down, the contractions slowed up, and I was able to sleep for a few hours. I woke up a few times with contractions, but nothing really painful. Then, a little after 1am, I had a contraction that woke me up and I had to think about breathing through. I told Andy that I was going to have to get up soon, and we timed the next two contractions - they were 5 minutes apart, and pretty intense. I got up and the contractions went from 5 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart! We immediately paged the midwife and she left (both the midwife and the apprentice had a long drive). I went downstairs and decided to use the bathroom. My water broke on the toilet (how convenient!). Andy gave the chiropractor, Dr. C (who was attending my birth) a call as well. Dr C arrived first and helped me through a pretty intense contraction. Shortly after, the midwives both came in. They listened to the babies heart rate and asked if I wanted them to check my progress. I had never been checked before, but thought it might be nice to know if I was far enough to jump into the birth tub. At this time, I didn't quite believe that I was in transistion, and wasn't sure how I would survive much longer with the contractions. I got the all clear to enter the birth tub (found out later that I was actually 8cm and the babies head was descending). As soon as my belly hit the water, I really started feeling pushy. About 2-3 more contractions later, Dr C had to tell everyone that the head had already come out! I was trying to tell people, but was in total labor land and could not form the words. We had just sent Andy to get me a cold washcloth for my forehead and the midwives were in another room doing paperwork and unpacking their gear. Elizabeth was born at 3:01am.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Elizabeth is Here!
Elizabeth Rose Piper is here. She was born at home in the water at 3:01am on 8/10/2009. I'll post the birth story shortly, but here are the vital stats and a few photos.
Weight: 8lbs 12oz
Length: 23 inches!
Head Circumference: 14 inches
She's a beautiful mellow baby!
Weight: 8lbs 12oz
Length: 23 inches!
Head Circumference: 14 inches
She's a beautiful mellow baby!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Nora's favorite things
Favorite Books:
The Lorax
Blueberries for Sal
Make Way for Ducklings
Snuggle Puppy
Red Hat, Green Hat (oops!)
Favorite Toys:
Her kitchen and her learning tower (so she can play in mom and dad's kitchen)
Anything she can hammer
Stacking toys and blocks
Her Bilibo's
Her babies
Favorite things to do:
Play outside - especially if there is water or a swing involved
Stories
Sing
Favorite Songs:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Old McDonald Had a Farm
Favorite Color:
Orange! (I think it might be the only color she knows right now).
Favorite Food:
Blueberries, strawberries, watermelon
The Lorax
Blueberries for Sal
Make Way for Ducklings
Snuggle Puppy
Red Hat, Green Hat (oops!)
Favorite Toys:
Her kitchen and her learning tower (so she can play in mom and dad's kitchen)
Anything she can hammer
Stacking toys and blocks
Her Bilibo's
Her babies
Favorite things to do:
Play outside - especially if there is water or a swing involved
Stories
Sing
Favorite Songs:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Old McDonald Had a Farm
Favorite Color:
Orange! (I think it might be the only color she knows right now).
Favorite Food:
Blueberries, strawberries, watermelon
Friday, July 24, 2009
37 weeks!
I'm 37 weeks along with baby #2 now! It's amazing that sometime in the next 5 weeks, Nora will become a big sister! She loves babies, but I'm still a little concerned about how she'll react. We've had a lot of big changes lately, and she's struggling a bit, but adapting well. I have stopped working for the chiropractor - which was a great place to meet people - and for Nora to see lots of babies! I think we are both going to miss the job, but I'm sure we'll find other things to fill our time!
So far, this pregnancy has been pretty easy. I'm tired and have definitely slowed down (I have a hard time catching Nora when she runs off outside now). In the last week, I have started having problems sleeping, but overall, I've been feeling pretty good, no major complaints! At my 36 week appointment, the midwife estimated that this baby will be just about the same size as Nora (about 10 pounds, with a big butt!). At least I'm consistent!
So far, this pregnancy has been pretty easy. I'm tired and have definitely slowed down (I have a hard time catching Nora when she runs off outside now). In the last week, I have started having problems sleeping, but overall, I've been feeling pretty good, no major complaints! At my 36 week appointment, the midwife estimated that this baby will be just about the same size as Nora (about 10 pounds, with a big butt!). At least I'm consistent!
21 months!
Nora is 21 months old! It's really hard to believe how much she's changed in the last 3 months! She's much more stable at running and climbing, she can go up and down stairs without much help (she uses the railing or a wall). She still loves books! Her current favorites are Snuggle Puppy, Click Clack Moo - Cows that Type, and any book with Kitty Cats in them. She loves to play outside - rain or shine. I'm very glad I got Nora rain paints this year, we have made use of them very often to go stomp in puddles. Her vocabulary is really coming along, she speaks in phrases up to 5-6 words now, and often surprises us! We have to be careful what we say in front of her as she has hit the parrot stage. She also has started singing songs - row row row your boat and rock a bye baby are the two she sings the most. She asks us to sing a lot now as well. It has been such a joy to watch her grow.
Fingerpainting!
In the past, whenever Nora and I have fingerpainted, she would stick one finger in the paint, swirl it on paper and then ask for her hand to be cleaned before touching another color. She typically does not like having dirty hands. Well, today, she started off that way, but then decided it was fun to get paint all over everything. The problem came when she decided she was tired and rubbed her face/eyes! Straight into the tub we went!
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