[11/12/2000 12:26:40 PM]
I am really hating Blogger right now. It looks like it swallowed all my entries from the 14th through the 22nd. I suspect those that aren't gone yet, will disappear shortly. I am seriously considering moving this journal to Pitas. I never have any problems with it. I am seriously ticked off and just not in the mood for bullsh*t today considering how sick my baby is.
[11/12/2000 12:21:55 PM]
Brenna is very sick today. It started on Thursday I think, or it could have been Wednesday actually. That is the day I noticed she was having smelly gas. It got worse Thursday night, it smelled so bad but no diarrhea at that point. That came on Friday. Through Saturday things progressed to full blown watery diarrhea and she seemed a little off. Then last night she threw up in bed, not once but twice in addition to have two huge diarrhea accidents flooding her pajamas and the sheets each time. It was a rough night for all of us. So far today she has thrown up three times. She can't even keep water or breastmilk down for very long. There isn't a fever though, thank goodness. We got her some Infalyte (better and more natural than Pedialyte, yuck) and hopefully that will help prevent dehydration. I am just so worried about her. She never gets sick so I am a nervous wreck. I hope she improves by tomorrow.
[11/8/2000 10:49:14 PM]
I meant to post this last Friday but Blogger was having problems so I finally gave up for awhile.
Brenna did the cutest thing last Friday. We were shopping at Flat Irons mall with two other mom friends and their babies. We stopped by a candy store on the way out because they also sold Beanie Babies. I was desparately looking for the The Zodiac Rat. They didn't have it. Anyway, we then left the mall and as we got outside, my friend says something like "That is a cute cat you got her." I looked down and to my horror and amusement, Brenna was holding a large squishy stuffed black and white Ty cat! She had it hugged to her chest with the happiest look on her cute little face. I didn't have the heart to take it away from her, seeing how much she loved it. So we went back inside to the store and I paid for it. I am amazed no one saw her take it. I am even more amazed I didn't notice she had it until we had gotten outside. So that is the little story of Brenna's first shoplifting experience!
[10/29/2000 5:33:19 PM]
New photo entry. Brenna in her Halloween costume.
102900.html
[10/26/2000 9:00:56 PM]
Today we went to the Butterfly Pavilion. It was a meeting of moms from an online group I participate in. Seven of us showed up and it's always fun to meet new moms. The Pavilion itself wasn't that awesome or anything, but I have to admit the area with all different types of butterflies flying around was pretty neat. Sometimes it was as if they were teasing us. I kept waiting for one to land on me but no luck. The other rooms with icky yucky creepy crawlies didn't do much for me. The gift shop was very cool. I loved everything in there. I bought some beautiful butterfly themed holiday cards, poscards, a towel set as a gift for my mother-in-law, cute little plastic purse for Brenna and some chocolate covered crickets and larvae as gag gifts for whoever. They look pretty disgusting.
[10/26/2000 1:32:24 PM]
A new photo entry.
102500.html
[10/24/2000 12:57:13 PM]
Today I was contacted by Compleat Mother for permission to post Brenna's birth story on their site! Yay!
Right now she is conked out taking a nap. We had Gymboree this morning, then stopped by Tom's work to say hi although he wasn't in the office, then headed home for lunch. She got a bit cranky around 1:30 and she then fell asleep in my lap. She usually does take naps after Gymboree, which is so great for me. She never hardly napped during the entire first year of her life! So I could really get used to this napping thing!
We had a playgroup yesterday, but were late because she was napping. I am trying to keep track of the times of day she is most likely to sleep hoping to catch a pattern. Lately, it seems like 1:30 is the usual time.
[10/20/2000 10:26:24 PM]
Two new photo entries.
101900.html
102000.html
[10/19/2000 8:38:15 PM]
I am becoming increasingly frustrated with Brenna's picky eating habits. It seems to be getting worse. For awhile there she would refuse to eat almost anything except her rice cereal (she won't eat any other kind) while in the highchair. Then we noticed that she ate better out of the chair. So we started feeding her from our plates while sitting in the tv room. Generally, it's downhill as the day goes on. I can usually feed her breakfast okay in the chair. Usually breakfast is cereal and half of a banana, cut into pieces. By lunchtime things are getting a little worse. I try her out in the chair first to see what happens. Some days she will eat there, others she won't. By dinner time she almost refuses to be in it at all.
She's never been a very experimental eater. I have never successfully gotten her to eat vegetables. She rarely has any. Yes, this concerns me. I am not sure what to do about it. She catches on to my attempts to hide them. I have tried everything. Not even the expert advice works. The only fruit she will eat is banana. That is it. Sometimes, I can get her to eat a few bites of jarred baby food fruit.
Let's see. Her diet consists of rice cereal, banana, cheese slices, grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, ravioli (occasionally, some days she refuses), Cheerios, graham crackers, ice cream, any kind of bread usually, Gerber Graduates granola bars, banana cookies and fruit snacks. Every day we introduce her to whatever we are eating even if she won't try it. I keep hoping this phase will pass soon. I am starting to wonder if it's a phase or if she will always be this way. She won't even drink juice or any beverage except water.
I am such a good eater and love all kinds of foods. I was hoping my child would turn out the same way, but I guess she is more like her dad. Tom isn't much of an eater either.
Sometimes she will sample things from my plate like a bite or two of peas, potato, veggie burger, veggie dogs, etc but it's not a significant amount. Thank goodness she is still nursing or I would be even more worried. I am considering a vitamin supplement and will look for one soon at the health food store.
I'm not posting this looking for advice. I am just venting a little. I had a particularly hard time giving her dinner this evening. I felt like pulling my hair out and tossing her out the window. Well, not literally. I'm sure other moms understand. Believe me, I have tried everything. I have read websites about picky eaters, tried suggestions from veteran moms, read through picky eater books......none of it works on Brenna. She is a very strong willed little girl who isn't easily fooled.
[10/18/2000 2:46:29 PM]
I posted photos from our excursion to the children's museum this morning. We met up with my friend Jen and her daughter Abby, and a new mom I met online named Jinx and her 8 month old daughter Xoe. :-)
101800.html
101800b.html
[10/17/2000 8:37:46 PM]
I took some pictures of Brenna tonight with a digital camera that Tom borrowed from a friend at work.
101700.html
[10/16/2000 9:46:09 PM]
We participated in a new playgroup today. There were 6 of us moms, and 7 kids ranging in age from 10 weeks to 18 months. Three of them are close to Brenna's age. It seemed like she had a lot of fun. Actually, it was the first time she appeared to *interact* with other kids instead of just *react*. I noticed several times she was laughing while playing with Abby and Brandy. The three of them looked so cute together. Jenny is a part of this group and we already knew each other. In fact, she was the one who put this group to together for the most part. There will be another mom joining us I guess, which will make 7 moms. It's a large group but that is okay because it ensures the group will have better chances of continuing. At least this way if some of us can't make a meeing, there will still be enough members to make it worthwhile. We are meeting every Monday from 2-4 and rotating homes. Everyone seemed really nice and I even met another homebirth mom like me. :-)
[10/15/2000 10:17:52 PM]
Brenna's grannies from Wyoming came down for a visit this afternoon. As they were leaving Brenna waved and said goodbye for the first time today. She had her arm outstretched, her little hand opened and closed as if she were grabbing something and she said "buh". It was darling!
[10/14/2000 10:20:02 PM]
I finally got around to scanning some photos tonight. And put up two pages from her birthday and birthday party, and another page with 2 other photos.
090600.html
091000.html
091100.html
enjoy!
[10/11/2000 10:39:51 PM]
Brenna did an amazing thing today. I had my back turned doing something for a minute on the computer. I heard her shuffling the kitchen chairs around which isn't unusual. She likes to drag them around the room. It's annoying but she has a good time and it keeps her occupied so I let her do it. Anyway, all of a sudden I no longer hear the chairs. I get that instinctive motherly flash to whip around and check. I see Brenna ON TOP OF the kitchen table, pleased as punch that she found the graham crackers I put up there earlier. She smiled at me and I felt bad taking her down. She kept climbing up there the rest of the afternoon. I was simply in awe. My little monkey is climbing the furniture already. Yes, I am proud. I can't help it. I suppose every mother feels this way no matter what their kid does and when. She is growing up so fast that I can barely stand it. It hurts me to watch her just as much as it gives me pride and joy.
[10/2/2000 11:01:17 PM]
I just changed this journal over to a Blogger, so bear with me while I feel my way around. The first two entries have conflicting dates because I can't change the default ones by Blogger, so I typed in the actual dates of the events underneath them. I hope it isn't too confusing! Hopefully from here on out things will look better.
Sept. 20, 2000
I recently found out that a local children's museum has a toddler hour on Wednesday from 9:00-10:00. Best of all, it's free up until babies are 15 months old.
I decided to check it out today, and my friend Jenny wanted to go with us. We met outside at 9:00 a.m. which was right before it opened.
I liked the look of the place right away. It's really large with many neat things for little kids to explore and play with. I'm not sure who was more excited about it all, us or the kids!
There were so many different things there that it's too difficult to list them all. Some of the highlights included a make believe grocery store complete with plastic produce, boxes and cartons and little shopping baskets. A little house furnished with a kitchen, living room and patio area. A huge ship with a top deck, stairs for adults and small kids but a rope ladder to the top for big kids. Under the ship is a cool cave to explore. A prairie dog "tunnel" and a lookout on top, which Brenna seemed to like the best. (She kept climbing the steps to the top and hanging out up there.) A realistic looking cave. A stage with dressup clothes. A dance floor complete with big mirror, tap shoes and tutus, all too big for our little munchkins of course. A really neat sandbox with a castle facade. A music room with hand instruments and a piano. A train inside a huge case that works with the push of a button. Play areas for legos and blocks. And many other little things for kids to interact with. The place even has a little cafe area so you can bring your own lunch and snacks. I was so impressed with it all.
I'd like to take her every week now. The museum also offers music classes. I am going to call tomorrow to see if the one I want is still taking signups. It's a six week class for ages 1-3.
Brenna had a great time there today. It's so fun watching her run around to look at everything, with that look of excitement in her face. It's precious beyond words.
Sept. 19, 2000
I took Brenna to Gymboree today. I felt a little stupid because I got lost trying to find it and was late. I missed half the class but it was a free trial so I guess it was no big deal. I met my new mom pal there, Jenny, and her daughter Abby who is about 14 months I think.
Brenna was a little out of it because she'd been sleeping for 45 minutes in the carseat before getting there. Thanks to stupid ol' mom getting lost. But it seemed like she had a fun time anyway.
I signed up for a 10 week session, and from now on we'll be going every Tuesday at 10:30. I see on the schedule that membership includes an open playgym on Thursday from 1-3 so maybe will do that too. I think Brenna enjoys running around on the equipment more than the actual class itself, but maybe not. She seems pretty happy and smiley during the songs and stuff too. It's just that when I picked her up to leave, she started screaming, kicking her feet and shaking her head no. It was sort of funny. Thankfully her little temper outbursts are usually shortlived.
