Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Ivy is 11 months old!

Eric, Ivy and I just arrived in Seattle last night to visit my sister and to go to the AWP conference, while my mom watches the other kids. It's the first time we've left our children and gone somewhere together. I'm looking forward to good food, warmer (if wetter) weather, lots of fun sight-seeing, and best of all one-on-one time with Ivy during the day. Thanks to all my blog readers who sent in suggestions of things to do!

She does this funny scrunchy thing with her face when she smiles

Having only one child is SO EASY in comparison to four. Only one little person to get dressed and feed and clean up after and buckle into carseats/strollers and get in and out of the car...

Ivy's fourth tooth popped through yesterday, right in time for turning 11 months. She hasn't been cranky or drooly, so it took us by surprise.


Ivy's new tricks this month:
  • She says "papa" and we're pretty sure it's intentional
  • She grinds her upper tooth with her lower 2 teeth and it sounds like she's chewing on rocks. All my kids have done this
  • She says "psssss" when I bring her to the potty or make the potty sign. She's still a bit hesitant to go pee, though. When it comes out, she startles and stops peeing and look around as if to say, "uh oh, I don't think I was supposed to do that!" 
  • She can turn around and climb down the stairs by herself
  • She loves music and starts dancing any time she hears a tune or a beat
  • Her favorite thing to carry around is a tube of chapstick. Not sure why, but you'll always see one in her hand. 
  • When she's done eating, she starts throwing her food onto the floor. Then she lifts up the tray of her high chair and throws that down, too. 
  • Sleeping in her own room
Look who got into the cocoa powder and was eating it by the fistful...


I was about to say that she's sleeping pretty well. She wakes up twice a night, usually, around 2 am and 5 am. But then I realized that I'm still getting up every 2-3 hours and that's not much of an improvement over a newborn! She does have that first long stretch, but I don't really benefit from it. Ah well...some day she will sleep all night long and I will feel amazing. Some day, right?


She's tricky to get back to sleep when I nurse her at night. I usually have to nurse for a good 30 minutes or more to get her tired enough. Even then, she often wakes up and cries when I leave the room. I may be the only parent who does this, but I often crawl out of the room so she can't see me as I leave. Yeah, the things you do when you have a baby...


Ivy's other "mama" Leilani--she and her family stayed with us for 3 months


6 comments:

  1. I just wanted to share this with you so you know you're not alone in crawling out of Ivy's room

    http://www.maybediaries.com/2011/08/evolution-of-man-flu.html

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  2. I thought everyone crawled out at some point - I sure did and I didn't think there was anything weird about it (I was just happy if I managed to avoid the creaky board in the hallway and get all the way to bed).

    Love the scrunchy face! :D

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  3. Hi Rixa! My name is Ashley. We met outside the bathroom at the DC Breech Conference and you mentioned your sister birthed at the UCSD birth center where I worked at the time as a midwife. We later sat outside at lunch together. [Do I sound like a gushing fan yet? Your blog and videos really helped prepare my husband and I for our homebirth, thank you.] We moved baby Olive from co-sleeping to her nursery crib at 5 months in preparation for my return to work. Only once I had to get in and out of bed did I realize she was nursing 4-5 times a night. Hanging a quilt over the side of the crib helped me escape the crawling scenario! When she finally got down to a 3am and 5am feed at 6 months old two weeks ago, I covered the windows with aluminum foil in desperation. That night and ever since, we only have a 4am feed. Somehow it feels much more manageable and I trust that she actually is hungry rather than waking due to the light. I hope that helps and good luck! I am so impressed with all you able to accomplish on such little sleep!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ashley, I definitely remember you! Thanks for saying hi. I, too, have (well, had) a piece of fabric draped over the side of the crib when she was in the same room so she couldn't see me. Most nights she does 3 am and 5 am wakings. Sometimes she wakes up and fusses around 11 pm or midnight, but I let her cry and she goes back down in a few minutes. I should try the tinfoil trick!

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  4. Teeth grinding can really be natural for kids Ivy’s age, especially because it's the time that they’re teething. She will eventually grow out of it, so I don't think there's a need to worry. On a lighter note, can I just say, Ivy is just too cute on those pictures? I just can’t wait to read your post about her first birthday. Haha! :)
    Thomas DeFinnis

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