Weekend Update

Leap 7 continues to strike fear in our hearts.  Ok, tad dramatic, but Leap 7 continues to keep life shall we say interesting at our house.

On Friday, my friend Amy brought her kids over to play with Isabella and A.  As soon as Amy walked into the playroom Isabella melted ALL the way down.  I guess she thought Amy had come to babysit:(.  So she was totally clingy (despite playing JUST FINE before they got here) until she got up from her nap and they were gone.  

Her beautiful 1.5-2 hours naps also appear to be a thing of the past.  They have now been replaced with a one hour nap and a 40 minute nap.  This is cool AS LONG AS she sleeps more at night.  Which I guess she is if you add the 2 hours of cosleeping we do when she gets up between 3:30/4:45 to eat.  After that she fidgets quietly for 30 minutes to an hour while I hold her in bed and then sleeps for another 1.5-2 hours so our new get up for the day is like 6:30/7pm.  This would be even more amazing if she did it in her crib, but I am too chicken to try it yet.

Friday we met up with some women I worked with at my last school.  Things sound like they are getting interesting over there and I may be getting more requests for references (I have gotten two so far).  The Executive Director is going to be the downfall of that place and it sucks.  That school (well the elementary school) was my first "baby".  I created it from literally nothing.  It gave me a distraction from the pain of IF.  It was far from perfect, but it was a place where the needs of kids were put first and I was proud of that fact.  It's a shame how one narcisist can have so much power and his band of merry men and women (the secondary principal and board) can be so complicit.  

Saturday we met my brother for lunch and Isabella cried when she saw him until she realized I wasn't leaving her...dang this kid has a complex!  Our couch date was writing lists.  Yep, J.T. was equally excited when he heard:).  They were top 10 lists we wrote about each other.  It actually turned out to be quite sweet.  Maybe not high on the fun scale, but I think it was something we both needed.

Sunday I discovered my baby only wants to eat if feeding herself.  Now I realized this last week when it came to solids, but drew the conclusion that this included her bottles too.  I am all for independence, but this feels nuts!  Since keeping a bottle at the ready for her to drink from as she chooses she is back to her regular amount of consumption.  She will only let me give her the very first bottle of the day and a few ounces at the end of the day.  I am finding other ways to work in my snuggles (like the co-sleeping), but I'm hoping this is just a phase.

In other big girl news, Isabella can now stand for about a minute or so without holding on to anything and can stand from a seated position.  I see a step or two coming before February is over.  Where is my baby?!?!?

Leap 7 & 9 Month Check Up

Still a big fan of the Isabella show, BUT these leaps can take a flying one!

For real, these developmental leaps are awesome.  It is amazing how this little girl grows with each one.  However, the initial stage of moodiness, clinginess, and weird sleep stuff (though not full on regression) is for the birds.   Girlfriend goes from laughing to crying within seconds.  I haven't taken any crying pictures, but here are some silly ones:

It appears this leap started on Sunday and the clinginess this go round is off the charts.  Similar to leap 6, Isabella gets upset if I leave the room (even if she can see me or hear me).  When I am in the room she is only happy if she has my complete and undivided attention.  When it is time for me to go to class-WATCH OUT!  It is meltdown city the size of which we had not seen before.  Oh, and for an added bonus our younger dog Aiden is the king of empathy and cries right along with her:(.   Tuesday she cried the whole time my friend Stacy and her daughterd watcher her. 

Last night was the first night sweet neighbor was watching her.  Brittany teaches first grade and even though I offered to pay her, she said she would be happy to do it free of charge.  Bless her; however, after last night I wonder if she regrets her spirit of volunteerism.  As soon as Brittany walked in the room Isabella started wailing.  I intentionally had her in the high chair eating Cheerios to try to mitigate and avoid a heart breaking "cling"on removal session.  Brittany put her in her coat and stroller and they went for a walk.  I texted to check on them and she said Isabella stopped crying at the end of the driveway and even smiled a few times.  However, J.T. said when he got her Brittany had to bounce her around to keep her calm when they got home.   Today I went out to lunch with a friend and her kids.  I attempted to leave the table to go to the restroom and baby girl almost blew out a lung the minute I was out of sight.  Had to take her with me!

Tonight is one last sitter for the week.  Next week I don't have to go to class on Wednesday so that may help some.  Even better, maybe we will be past this nonsense and my feisty, spirited INDEPENDENT little girl will return.

We went out to lunch after baby girl's appointment.  All is well.  Apparently I have to learn to live with the 4:45 am wake up calls until she adjusts herself which sucks, but she is healthy so that is all that matters.  She has three top teeth about to make a debut and the doctor gave some suggestions for finger foods a two-toothed child can eat in the meantime.  Her eyes continue to have difficulty draining which means they are often goopy and crusty.  I found some saline wipes that seem to be working better than other cloths we have used  and the doctor said 99% of babies have this clear up on their own.  Here's to hoping baby girl saves being a part of the 1% for something special and not for eye duct surgery!

6 Month Anniversary

Of what you may ask...well it has been 6 months since I have started my little child care endeavor.  An endeavor that both my mother and my husband were not 100% sure would be a success.  If I'm being honest I was kind of touch and go there at the beginning myself!

I have retained 2 of the initial 4 families I started with.  Poor H had to find somewhere else that he could find a way to sleep (I am assuming he did or maybe they ended up doing a nanny-I would love to know).  Then this past Friday was the last day (for this school year anyway) for the K & K siblings.  Poor baby K could not handle all the transitions that having three different sitters brings (who can blame him?!) and none of us could take him full time, so his mom had to find another sitter who could watch him five days a week.  The good news is that she will be watching him for three days in his own house and the other two at hers.  I think that is just what this little boy needs. 

His mom is still interested in having me watch them again next school year (she's a teacher) this time full time, but I'm going to have to see how this dissertations "stuff" goes over the next month or so before committing to two full time kids.  Also I am noticing Fridays creeping into the 18 month old's schedule more often so really it would be almost three kids full time which technically pulls the trigger for licensing...hmm, I'm thinking no...

Anyway 6 months in and we have as much of a groove as you are going to get with tiny creatures who have wants and needs that change as often as the wind blows.  And you know what?   Even if it WAS a disaster I am still getting a front row seat to the Isabella show each and every day.  It was well worth the 6 year wait!

Weekend Roundup

It started as a very busy weekend but then mellowed out as time went on.  On Friday, I had four kids all day (including Isabella).  We all made it through the day unscathed:).  A friend brought over her 4 year old and a friend to play for awhile so it was nice to have another adult to talk to. 

Isabella has been waking up between 4:30 and 5:00am like she has somewhere to be, so I am still going to bed early even on the weekends which kind of stinks.  But it's just a phase, right?!?

Saturday we went out for Mexican as a family and for our couch date we put together a Lego model.  Only took two grown adults with 4.5 degrees between them an 1.5 hours to do.  Betcha the 12 year olds it was intended for can get it done faster!

I was also texting with a friend of a friend who found out that she has Turner's Syndrome and feel like adoption is their avenue for building their family.  Once again I am guiding another family AWAY from our adoption professional.  It SUCKS that we have so much invested in them and are so anti-what they do:(.

Sunday it rained all day.  Isabelle must have been feeling the the gloom because girlfriend was such a fussy britches!  We went to the library and the dollar store so that kept her entertained for a little while.

I was supposed to spend a healthy part of the weekend working on an annotated bibliography but with trying to entertain a fussy baby and spend time with my husband (and let's be honest finish the current season of Hart of Dixie which I started watching on a whim on Netflix and catch up on This is Us) very few biblios got annotated.  It is due tomorrow so hopefully the little children ill cooperate and I can get it done!

One More Shot

I began reading infertility blogs when we were first diagnosed in 2011.  They served as a place for comfort and hope.  Depending on my mood I would seek tales of success or actively search for women like me who were still suffering through the throughs of the unknown.  As time went on I added adoption blogs to my repertoire.  In the beginning months of 2016 I looked for blogs written by women who used Donor Eggs and Donor Embryos as we were trying to determine our next steps. 

Maya was one of these women.

Maya and her husband Noah joined what Maya calls IF Island around the same time we did.  After attempting IUI's, IVF and IVF with donor eggs without success, they successfully began their family through the gift of donor embryos.  Their daughter, whom they refer to on the blog as Momo, was born in March of 2015.  Maya and Noah also have a gift for film making and created a documentary sharing their experience which was recently released: 

I have been looking forward to its release and was excited when I found out it was available on Netflix.  Despite my excitement, I have watched less than 20 minutes of it so far.  I could blame my hectic schedule or the fact that I have babies underfoot constantly and can't really focus, but do you want to know the truth?  I have only gotten 20 minutes in because it is so incredibly hard for me to watch

They did phenomenal work.  They are funny and the content is engaging, but the frustration, hopelessness, and pain we endured for 6 years is still so close to the surface.  Even on this other side with my beautiful daughter right in front of me, when Maya and Noah share their story my "battle scars" are reopened and the tears fill my eyes. 

All of the women I follow regularly on the other side with me--the last three through adoption and IVF in the fall.  Even with the joy we have for the children with whom we have been blessed, I believe there is still a vulnerable place in each of our hearts from the struggle we have endured.  I am sure as time goes by this vulnerability will fade or...actually, know what?   Maybe it won't.  Maybe it's there to make sure we don't take, even for once second, our time with these amazing gifts of life for granted.   Maybe this is a bonus gift the Lord has thrown in.  He can be sneaky like that.

So for now I will continue to follow Maya and Noah through the blog and watch snippets of the documentary as my heart allows.  From the blog I have learned Maya and Noah are gearing up to try for their second child. 

To read more about their story, beyond what they share in their documentary, you can visit:

Don't Count Your Eggs at http://dontcountyoureggs.typepad.com//blog/

Ugh-teenagers and a jail break

Last semester I had classes two nights a week, one online and one on Saturdays that met once a month on Saturdays.  My friend Stacy would bring her girls over and watch Isabella during the week for an hour until J.T. got home and J.T. watched her on Saturdays.

This semester was tricker because I have three classes that meet during the week and Stacy could only commit to one evening.  I was able to get our weekend sitter to do a night as well.  For the last night I went to the neighborhood Facebook page.  A high school student volunteered.  We met and I checked her references including a home daycare where she works after school.  We were good to go...until the first night.  She called about an hour before I was supposed to leave and said her car had broken down and she was not going to be able to make it.  She was very apologetic and these things do happen.  J.T. was fortunately working from home so he took an extended break so I could get to class on time...or so I thought.  Somehow I missed the memo that the class started 30 minutes before the regular start time for evening classes.  So I walked in all proud of myself for getting there at 5:28 only to find out I was STILL quite late.

Last Wednesday there was snow, so no class.  I texted the girl last week and let her know about the time change and she agreed she could come at 4:30s instead.   So 4:30 comes yesterday...no sitter.  4:35 I call her and she answers totally casual.  I remind her that she was supposed to be here at 4:30.  Her response "Oh, you're right".  FUMING!  Using what I can only guess was my principal voice I let her know that unfortunately our arrangement was not going to work out.  J.T. was working at the office.  Fortunately, Stacy had let me know I could call her if I got stuck.  Just as she was about to come down J.T. got home and said he could watch her.  I called Stacy back only to find out that the change in their evening plans caused a meltdown for her 8 year old.  I felt so bad:(.  I am also still without a Wednesday night sitter.   Ugh....teenagers, man!

The only upside to last night's cluster was that J.T. got to witness Isabella's long awaited and hard fought jail break from the playroom.  Our playroom is in a sunken living room, so while there are gates at the two entrances we usually just close them when the 18 year old is at our house.  Isabella has been trying for WEEKS now to pull herself over the step and bottom of the gate and finally succeeded.  When J.T. came out of the downstairs bathroom he was greeted with...

This little girl may never look like me, but darn if she doesn't have my what I like to call determination...others call stubbornness.   It will serve her well, though may make life interesting for her parents!

Puppies and Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Isabella loves her friends.   This was her face when I brought A down from his nap yesterday morning (Isabella had already been napping when he arrived).

He loves her right back and had the same dopey grin on his face too.  Their love for one another knows now bounds.  Interestingly Isabella expresses her love by turning into a zombie.  A zombie in that she attempts to give anyone she loves "kisses" which better resembles a zombie trying to eat brains.  She also grabs onto the things she loves with all her might.  This includes A.   He is a sensitive little boy and for the most part is not fond of being grabbed by the head or the back of the shirt (go figure).

We are working hard on using "gentle" touches and when gentle doesn't work we separate.  The tricky part is that A mimics everything that Isabella does so now I am trying to teach both of them what gentle means.  Also Isabella is a speed race crawler and I can stick her on the other side of the room and if she wants to, she can be back to him in no time flat.  

After the initial excitement of being together they do improve.  They then begin to resemble a litter of puppies in that they play right on top of each other:).

Speaking of puppies, one of our puppies is having a hard time handling the "new" addition.  Isabella has been here for almost 10 months, but since becoming mobile over the last 2 our older dog, Kayleigh, is becoming less and less of a fan.  Over the last few weeks she has begun growling if Isabella gets too close and Sunday she snapped at her when she crawled between Kayleigh and J.T.:(. 

Both dogs have been around kids their whole lives, but I think the two main differences now is that: 1)  This is the first kid who takes more of our attention than she does.

2)  This one doesn't ever leave!  

We are currently in the process of finding a trainer to come to the house.  We have spoken to two that both seem to think it is a manageable issue.  Kayleigh's behavior is absolutely NOT acceptable, but I do feel bad that her world has been rocked to the point where she feels like this is the ways she has to respond.  Time to teach this old girl some new tricks!