Saturday, March 31, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Look who can feed herself!
Last weekend we went to the mountains. Over the weekend Ana finally mastered holding her own bottle!
Here she is trying to stay shaded in the sun (with daddy's floppy hat)!
Here she is trying to stay shaded in the sun (with daddy's floppy hat)!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
On the move
Ana is finding all kinds of unique ways to get around these days. She can spin 360 degrees on her tummy, so she has developed a method that involves rolling and turning, rolling and turning. She can also scoot herself backwards (even though she is trying to go forwards). She is very funny in the walker because she can actually navigate it and get where she wants to go. She shoots across the room chasing the cats and investigating things.
It looks like crawling will be next on the agenda. She gets up on her hands and one knee and rocks. but keeps her other knee tucked under. Every so often she pushes off her tucked knee and shoots forward and face plants into the ground. It doesn't phase her much though.
This shows her backwards method
This shows her rocking style (until I distracted her)
It looks like crawling will be next on the agenda. She gets up on her hands and one knee and rocks. but keeps her other knee tucked under. Every so often she pushes off her tucked knee and shoots forward and face plants into the ground. It doesn't phase her much though.
This shows her backwards method
This shows her rocking style (until I distracted her)
Good news!
Today we went to Children's Hospital in Atlanta for Ana's head evaluation. Good news - she doesn't need a helmet! The day didn't begin too well - Ana pooped on the way and I went to change her and discovered her had pooped all up her back. I looked in the diaper bag and.....no wipes! Eeek. I tried to wipe her up with tissues but it didn't go so well, then I took off her clothes to discover the poop was all the way up to her armpit and down her arm. I was in a public restroom at the time so I was pretty stuck, so I picked her up and put her in the sink and rinsed her back. Two women came and went as I was doing this - one (obviously a mother) gave me a smile and a look of pity, the other (much younger) looked suitably horrified and scuttled out without even washing her hands!
Anyway, the evaluation itself went pretty well. The Dr asked us some questions about Ana's birth and history of torticollis and looked her over then took a scan of her head. Ana had to wear this white cap that looked like a balaclava (ski mask) - she was SO cute. The scan showed that she has 9mm of flattening at the back. Normal range is 6mm, and they consider mild plagiocephaly to be 10-15mm, moderate 15-20mm and severe over 20mm so she was not bad at all. We saw a kid in the waiting room who was pretty bad - he looked like someone had sat on his head!! The front of Ana's face shows no asymmetry and her ears are in alignment so the overall verdict was no helmet. What a relief!
Even better she slept the whole way there and the whole way home - even as we trawled through I-285 traffic at rush-hour. What a good baby.
Anyway, the evaluation itself went pretty well. The Dr asked us some questions about Ana's birth and history of torticollis and looked her over then took a scan of her head. Ana had to wear this white cap that looked like a balaclava (ski mask) - she was SO cute. The scan showed that she has 9mm of flattening at the back. Normal range is 6mm, and they consider mild plagiocephaly to be 10-15mm, moderate 15-20mm and severe over 20mm so she was not bad at all. We saw a kid in the waiting room who was pretty bad - he looked like someone had sat on his head!! The front of Ana's face shows no asymmetry and her ears are in alignment so the overall verdict was no helmet. What a relief!
Even better she slept the whole way there and the whole way home - even as we trawled through I-285 traffic at rush-hour. What a good baby.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Fun Facts
Ana is 219 days old!
Ana's birthstone is Peridot or Jade (Married Happiness)
Ana's Astrological Sign is Leo
Ana's Flower is Gladiola or Poppy
Ana was born in the Chinese Year of The Dog
Ana will start kindergarten in 2011
Ana will be old enough to drive a car in 2022
Ana will finish high school in 2024
Ana will graduate from college with the class of 2028
This time last year I was 20 Weeks Pregnant!
Ana's birthstone is Peridot or Jade (Married Happiness)
Ana's Astrological Sign is Leo
Ana's Flower is Gladiola or Poppy
Ana was born in the Chinese Year of The Dog
Ana will start kindergarten in 2011
Ana will be old enough to drive a car in 2022
Ana will finish high school in 2024
Ana will graduate from college with the class of 2028
This time last year I was 20 Weeks Pregnant!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Eggstreme curiosity (groan....so lame)
Ana tried egg yolk today. She is so funny with anything new - she has to thoroughly inspect it, which usually involves squeezing it and putting it in her mouth. I love watching her curiosity develop. She is a budding little scientist!
Computer Addicts
Ana and James are equally fascinated with watching a trailer for God of War 2 (a playstation game) on the laptop. Oh boy - two geeks in the house!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Tally update
We had a great time in Tallahassee (of course)! The weather was great so Ana got to play around outside. She came very close to crawling. I think she'll be there in a couple of weeks
We also had a good time at Henry and Mary-Anne's wedding. It was great to hang out with the old crew (they are usually working when we visit). I am not at all drunk on the second picture!
Ana was a real hit. Here she is eying up Mike's beer and later taking a few tips from her mum on how to act at a party!
We also had a good time at Henry and Mary-Anne's wedding. It was great to hang out with the old crew (they are usually working when we visit). I am not at all drunk on the second picture!
Ana was a real hit. Here she is eying up Mike's beer and later taking a few tips from her mum on how to act at a party!
Friday, March 09, 2007
Off to Tally....
We are off to Tallahassee (our favourite place in the world) for a few days! As you can see Ana is packed and ready to go.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Mama and Dada
So Ana says Mama and Dada now! Yay!
This makes me wonder - did these words evolve because they are the first sounds a baby naturally makes? It seems like in most languages the name for mother and father is some kind of simple vowel-consonent combo (dada, papa, nana, maman, etc), same for baby (baba, bebé, etc). So I wonder did a baby make this sound and some delighted caveman parents thought the baby was referring to them? Or did we pick a word that the baby would find easy to say, thus delighting it's caveman parents sooner?
This makes me wonder - did these words evolve because they are the first sounds a baby naturally makes? It seems like in most languages the name for mother and father is some kind of simple vowel-consonent combo (dada, papa, nana, maman, etc), same for baby (baba, bebé, etc). So I wonder did a baby make this sound and some delighted caveman parents thought the baby was referring to them? Or did we pick a word that the baby would find easy to say, thus delighting it's caveman parents sooner?
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Ana is going to be a vet
Ana loves all our animals and giggles hysterically when she sees one! She is especially fascinated with Smudge, which is funny because Smudge seems the least interested in her!
Check me out!
So I decided to take a belly pic to check my progress on the way back down - and I was astonished to discover that I'm actually thinner than I was pre-preggo. Here's the first photo I took when I found out I was pregnant and then my photo from today.Now don't get me wrong - I'm not claiming to look like Kate Moss here or anything, I am actually a tad mortified to be posting belly pics on the internet now I'm not pregnant anymore, but I thought I ought to be pretty proud to have shed all that baby weight (and then some) already
p.s. Sorry for the dirty mirror - James has a habit of splashing water in a 6ft radius every time he uses the sink! Grrrr
Issues....sorry long hysterical post
Well Ana is mostly healthy right now - but we still have many things to worry about!
1. Torticollis. Ana has had this since birth, it is much better now but continues to be a problem. I got some information and found that this is caused by babies getting stuck in one position in utero (like Ana did)
Quote: "The infant with torticollis has spent a number of weeks with one side of the head pushing on the ipsilateral shoulder. As a result, the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle may have become fibrotic, shortened, or injured. The trapezius and small strap muscles in the neck may also be involved. The tightened SCM muscle causes the head to turn and tilt so that the ear on the affected side is drawn to the ipsilateral shoulder and the chin is turned toward the opposite side. In utero, the tipped head settles down into the mother's pelvis, and the maternal bones then compress the head. The intrauterine position of the fetus and the degree to which the fetus is constrained will determine the severity of any deformity to the baby's features. Mothers of these infants relate that the baby felt "stuck" in one position during the pregnancy and that the baby's back was always on the same side. They may have already noticed that the baby prefers to keep the head turned to one side (Figure 2). Some of these infants have breastfeeding problems related to their inability to turn their head to nurse"
As you can see Ana looked exactly like this for a while!!
When she was 3 months old we were referred for physical therapy to a guy who was useless and didn't seem to know what he was doing, and charged us $60 a visit for the pleasure! We are supposed to stretch her at home but we've not been as strict with it as we should be because she screams when we stretch her, and also we are not with her during the day when she should also be getting stretched. We have made a lot of progress with her though just by trying to keep her head straight and force her (with toys etc) to look to her right. I think I will try to find a better physical therapist so she can go in weekly. One thing that often happens with torticollis that that babies heads get flat on one side because they always lie facing the same way. This leads me to issue 2!
2. Plagiocephaly (i.e. a funny shaped head). Our pediatrician has diagnosed Ana with moderate plagiocephaly and referred us to the Children's Hopsital in Atlanta to see about getting her a helmet (like this one).
We have many reservations about the helmet. We don't want to do it for purely cosmetic reasons, although our Dr said there are a number of issues with her head shape that are beyond cosmetic. She tells us (and I went to a different Dr for a second opinion yesterday and she said the same thing) that it can lead to problems in the future with things like her sinuses, it also will give her some degree of facial asymmetry - obviously not Quasimodo style but maybe something like a deviated septum or misaligned ears :( Here are some pics of her head - what do you think? I think she looks ok, except she's a bit flat in the back. Obviously I'm not a Dr but she seems to be rounding out to me. I really don't want to put her in a helmet :(
3. Breathlessness. I have noticed that when Ana laughs or gets excited she pants and gets a bit out of breath - this usually leads into a small cough. I took her to the Dr about this yesterday but she didn't seem too concerned. She said it was probably just a bit of a cold. I wasn't buying this because she does it all the time - it has been going on for many weeks. I used to think she was just getting excited and it was cute, but now I have my concerns, especially since she got RSV when she was 3 months old. I have read the half of all children who get RSV go on to develop asthma. I suppose it is feasible that she has had a persistent cold (damn daycare) but I'm just not sure. Here is a short clip of what I am talking about.
So anyway - sorry for the paranoid post! Please let me know if you think these are some genuine issues I need to pursue or if she looks just fine to you!
1. Torticollis. Ana has had this since birth, it is much better now but continues to be a problem. I got some information and found that this is caused by babies getting stuck in one position in utero (like Ana did)
Quote: "The infant with torticollis has spent a number of weeks with one side of the head pushing on the ipsilateral shoulder. As a result, the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle may have become fibrotic, shortened, or injured. The trapezius and small strap muscles in the neck may also be involved. The tightened SCM muscle causes the head to turn and tilt so that the ear on the affected side is drawn to the ipsilateral shoulder and the chin is turned toward the opposite side. In utero, the tipped head settles down into the mother's pelvis, and the maternal bones then compress the head. The intrauterine position of the fetus and the degree to which the fetus is constrained will determine the severity of any deformity to the baby's features. Mothers of these infants relate that the baby felt "stuck" in one position during the pregnancy and that the baby's back was always on the same side. They may have already noticed that the baby prefers to keep the head turned to one side (Figure 2). Some of these infants have breastfeeding problems related to their inability to turn their head to nurse"
As you can see Ana looked exactly like this for a while!!
When she was 3 months old we were referred for physical therapy to a guy who was useless and didn't seem to know what he was doing, and charged us $60 a visit for the pleasure! We are supposed to stretch her at home but we've not been as strict with it as we should be because she screams when we stretch her, and also we are not with her during the day when she should also be getting stretched. We have made a lot of progress with her though just by trying to keep her head straight and force her (with toys etc) to look to her right. I think I will try to find a better physical therapist so she can go in weekly. One thing that often happens with torticollis that that babies heads get flat on one side because they always lie facing the same way. This leads me to issue 2!
2. Plagiocephaly (i.e. a funny shaped head). Our pediatrician has diagnosed Ana with moderate plagiocephaly and referred us to the Children's Hopsital in Atlanta to see about getting her a helmet (like this one).
We have many reservations about the helmet. We don't want to do it for purely cosmetic reasons, although our Dr said there are a number of issues with her head shape that are beyond cosmetic. She tells us (and I went to a different Dr for a second opinion yesterday and she said the same thing) that it can lead to problems in the future with things like her sinuses, it also will give her some degree of facial asymmetry - obviously not Quasimodo style but maybe something like a deviated septum or misaligned ears :( Here are some pics of her head - what do you think? I think she looks ok, except she's a bit flat in the back. Obviously I'm not a Dr but she seems to be rounding out to me. I really don't want to put her in a helmet :(
3. Breathlessness. I have noticed that when Ana laughs or gets excited she pants and gets a bit out of breath - this usually leads into a small cough. I took her to the Dr about this yesterday but she didn't seem too concerned. She said it was probably just a bit of a cold. I wasn't buying this because she does it all the time - it has been going on for many weeks. I used to think she was just getting excited and it was cute, but now I have my concerns, especially since she got RSV when she was 3 months old. I have read the half of all children who get RSV go on to develop asthma. I suppose it is feasible that she has had a persistent cold (damn daycare) but I'm just not sure. Here is a short clip of what I am talking about.
So anyway - sorry for the paranoid post! Please let me know if you think these are some genuine issues I need to pursue or if she looks just fine to you!
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Great week
Well, I hope I won't jinx myself here but we have had the best week with Ana. She has been just so happy and giggly. The ladies at daycare have commented every day how great she has been. She's also almost at 2 weeks without getting ill!! This must be some kind of a record for us, and we are so relieved. The only downer is that she is not sleeping through the night, at all!! Right now she is getting up around midnight, 3am, and 6am - ughh!! I'm EXHAUSTED. She stopped sleeping well when she was sick and now I think it has become a habit. I think this weekend we will declare war and try and straighten her sleeping habits out.
Chocolate lover!!
So we have been searching for another food that Ana likes besides sweet potato. We've been blending things that we eat - like green beans, carrots and apple but she screws her face up and rejects them all, then gives us this accusing look like "are you trying to POISON me?" Well last night I was eating chocolate pudding (still on my soft food diet) and she was intrigued by it so we gave her a taste and she went nuts :)
Now don't judge me for giving my child chocolate pudding - it was just a taste and won't form the bulk of her diet or put her on a slippy slope to childhood obesity or anything, but it was hilarious so here she is.....
Now don't judge me for giving my child chocolate pudding - it was just a taste and won't form the bulk of her diet or put her on a slippy slope to childhood obesity or anything, but it was hilarious so here she is.....
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