In attempt to keep on top of Karis' rapid development, I'm going to skip ahead to mostly weeks 34-37 and then return (hopefully) to recap our Sac/SD trip in another post. There were just way too many pictures to tackle all at once!
RSV
Of course during our trip to Cali we really pushed ourselves physically to be able to hang out with people and make the most of our time. This resulted in late nights (on top of our bad sleep because of Karis adjusting to the time zone and new accommodations) as well as constant socializing and not a lot of rest; the perfect storm for getting sick. In addition, with multiple parties and hangouts Karis made contact with a lot of people which upped her exposure to germs as well. Lo and behold, toward the end of our time in Cali Karis came down with a cold, and of course I followed suit with Greg shortly after me. Although I thought she was getting better, a day of travel exhausted both of us and the day we got back we were both wiped out and slept pretty much the entire day. Although I started to recover, Karis seemed to be getting worse and by Saturday (a week of being sick) she developed a cough in addition to major nose drainage. On Monday night she started to make a slight wheezing sound when she was breathing so on Wednesday the pediatrician fit us in for an appointment. After a quick test the doctor confirmed my fear, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
RSV is fairly common (almost every child gets it by the age of 2) but fairly dangerous, especially to those infants under 6 months because it can easily block airways and lead to bronchitis or even pneumonia resulting in hospitalization and sometimes even death. Of course I was very worried, but the doctor said the case seemed not to be as bad and Karis' oxygen levels were almost at 100%. We gave her a breathing treatment to try to open her lungs (which she hated!) and I got a prescription for ibuterol to also help keep her passageways clear and open.
Praise God they seemed to help and her wheezing and cough got better over the course of the next week! We kept ourselves incubated for the next week or so which meant skipping church on Sunday, but overall I was just thankful that it wasn't more serious and Karis recovered after a second week of sickness.
Gastro Update
As an update to Karis' constantly developing eating habits, here are the new trends. Karis definitely has strong preferences and isn't afraid to let me know what she likes and dislikes. If she likes something she will snatch it up and then ask for more. Instead of picking up on our sign language, she slaps the table with her hand and looks at me or reaches for more of the desired item.
If she dislikes something she will either spit it out, pick it up then taste it and then throw it off the table or refuse to open her mouth and shake her head away from the spoon of the offending item.
She has gotten so good at eating finger foods, so much so that I am able to scatter a handful of items on her placemat and she will pick them up one by one. It makes feeding her much easier so now we actually (kind of) have our meals together. Nonetheless, she lately has seemed to be less content in her highchair and several mealtime battles have ensued, usually ending in me just stopping the feeding and trying again later or in a different environment. Also, we have added a few items to her repertoire: noodles (fully cooked macaroni. I tried to give it to her plain but after awhile she wasn't interested, but if I add a sprinkle of cumin or her favorite cheese sprinkle she loves it. So picky already!), saltine crackers (in bits), baby yogurt (I try to get the kind that only has a few ingredients. Yogurt is definitely her favorite!!), chicken (I refused to get smelly gross baby meat so I tried out small bits of cooked chicken and it turns out she loves it. Yay!).
It is hard to tell if she is getting enough or a balanced diet, but here is our current meal plan:
-Breakfast- 2 ounces of fruit babyfood mixed with rice cereal and vitamin D, 10 cheerios, half dollar worth of bread (toast, bagel, etc. broken into bits)
-Brunch/Lunch- 2 ounces of fruit or veggie babyfood or avocado, 15-20 pieces of pasta, attempt at fresh fruit (banana or pear) or an attempt at some cheese
-Afternoon Snack- 2 ounces of veggie babyfood, small chunk of chicken, some sort of carb (rice or pasta or bread)
-Dinner- 2 ounces of fruit or veggie babyfood, small chunk of chicken, attempt at something else, I finish this off with yogurt because she generally eats the worst for dinner so I save her favorite for the end.
I'm still also nursing Karis 5 times a day, but she is a fast eater, emptying me at 2 minutes per side which is crazy fast. I'm debating on dropping a feeding, but she hasn't gained much weight so I'm going to wait till her 9 month appointment to discuss it with her ped. Nonetheless, she is generally a happy eater for which I am very thankful!
Creeper, crawler, mover and shaker!
It has finally happened!! When we were in Cali (week 32-34) Karis really had no interest in crawling, but the week we got back she decided she wanted to give mobility a shot. Around week 35 she started putting forth some major effort at crawling and would pop up onto her knees easily, but just couldn't figure out how to move her hands which stayed firmly planted. This resulted in plenty of face-plants, but she didn't seem to mind.
She also tried squirming and rolling to get where she wanted, but wasn't much of an army crawler. It was fairly hilarious to watch and I tried to encourage her with special toys or calling her to myself.
However, by week 36 (just 1 week later) she was starting to do a crawl flop where she would take two crawls and then flop on her belly, then immediately crawl two or three more times and fall again.
Finally, just at 37 weeks (8 months) on approximately March 12, 2013 Karis became a bona fide crawler. During the day she was doing her flopping action, but for some reason she seemed more coordinated and determined at night. While we were hanging out in the bedroom she started full fledgedly crawling! Greg called me over to check it out (because I didn't believe him) and sure enough, our creeper became a crawler in two weeks! Now she is a mover and a shaker and will take off when you put her down. She can clear the living room in less than a minute and is loving this new found freedom! She particularly loves crawling into your lap and pushing up on you to look around or play with you. So sweet!
Safety First
Of course with a crawler on the loose it has been imperative that I secure the house of all the things that you never think of. Once Karis started putting forth effort to move I made some house renovations that included putting in outlet plugs, moving small or delicate objects up and away and rearranging some of her toys. I also lowered her crib to the lowest setting and put in cabinet locks in the kitchen cabinets. Karis has also developed the habit of pushing against her highchair (it's a hanging kind) which means we now strap her in for dear life! Soon I plan to put in the baby gate by the stairs and secure furniture to the wall. This mobility thing is definitely a game changer!
More teeth!
While in Cali Karis produced two new teeth! Her front tooth, Central Incisor #9 came in during Week 32 followed by the bare beginnings of Central Incisor #8 during Week 33. Three of her teeth (the bottom two and the top front left) are quite large, so much so that she can look a little buck toothed!
Changing Changes
More recently (around 32 weeks) Karis started putting up more of a stink when I try to change her clothes or diapers. She would try to roll or fuss around, making for some interesting (and messy) moments. Thankfully, distraction has worked wonders and I save this take-along-tunes specifically for diaper changes on her changing table. However, at night when we are putting her in her PJs she is a huge squirmer and it sometimes takes both of us to reign her in!
New Toys
I love March because along with March Madness is shopping madness here in Louisville. There are bi-annual consignment sales of kid items and I always can find amazing deals and stock up on clothes and toys for Karis. She has really lost a lot of interest in some of her infant toys, so I set out to find some more interactive, age appropriate things. I found a great toy piano (I can still remember the one we had when I was little!), set of blocks and some tech toys.
My favorite is this ball popper which Karis loves. I even enjoy the unpredictability of it and the physics of the floating ball. However, my biggest steal was this baby laptop for $2. Pretty sweet!
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| This whole stash for $35!! Sweet!! |
Karis also really enjoys looking through translucent items and is very entertained by magnets as well.
Getting Down to Business
Karis is still helping me out a ton by going in the potty. Now she has moved from once a day to twice a day, but if I take her potty once after she wakes up and once right after dinner she will usually go for me so I don't have to wait for her signals. It has been great!
Karis-isms
Touch and Feel- Karis loves to explore and one of her prime places to poke around happens to be my mouth and Greg's mouth (especially during prayer). Perhaps dentistry is in her future!
Paper Puller- Despite all the fancy toys that Karis has, one of her favorite things to play with is paper. I will give her junk mail to crumple up and tear apart which will keep her occupied for a good 15 minutes. While on the potty she loves the reach over and grab the TP which she will tear in tiny shreds. I just have to be diligent to stop her from eating it!
Wheezer- Oddly Karis went through a 3 days stage around Week 36/37 where she started wheezing after she would be upset or fussy, especially when eating. She looked fine while doing it so I'm not sure if she was just practicing a new sound or what, but it seems to have ended, at least for now.
Hair care- Karis also started pulling on her hair, especially when tired. This has made for some fun times during meal time where she will plant a big juicy hand right on her head. Needless to say we have been washing her hair a little more often and try to stop her before she gets her food everywhere!
Until next time!
It was so much fun to see her in action, crawling, climbing, jumping... with so joy!! There's no stopping her now!:D Glad you are catching up on your blogging! xoxoxx, mom
ReplyDeleteKids... ever changing, always delighting!!
ReplyDeleteYay!! :) Miss this little girl so much!
ReplyDelete