Katelyn, Conner and Caleb! » November 2006 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Thu, Nov 30, 2006 2:52 PM
I'm sitting on the couch nursing Caleb right now and Katelyn is sitting next to me playing with Arthur.

We bought him some new tennis balls. They're not true tennis balls but instead look like the real thing and are stronger for dogs to chew on. He chewed his last tennis ball to pieces in days so I thought this would be a good toy.

It's fun to watch the two of them interact. Katleyn knows basic commands like "Give" and "Back. But the way she does it is funny. She sits and tells him "give" until he drops the ball (he's much faster at it now) and then stands up and says back while pushing him with her head so that he'll move away from the ball and not try to grab it back right when she's making a grab for it.

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Mon, Nov 27, 2006 2:06 PM
We just got back from a grocery shopping trip.

We've been concerned about a health issue with Katelyn. Loose stools. *Very* loose. Enough to prevent her from potty training successfully. A few things have helped. Yogurt has made a big difference. Drinking the unprocessed milk also makes a difference. But neither has been a complete solution.

I was thinking back and the symptoms started when we started cereals and cultured dairy. Knowing that cereals were pretty common allergens we had delayed introducing those until around 9 months to Katelyn. But as a first time mom I didn't think about a sudden bowel change being a cause for concern.

We do know that processed milk causes problems but we've been wondering if the cereals are contributing to the problems also. So we're trying a "Gluten Free, Casien Free" (GFCF) diet with Katelyn for a while to see if we can get some positive changes going on with her. Then we'll try adding things back slowly to see if they are problems or not.

I've discovered though that it's one thing to talk about a GFCF diet but it's a huge undertaking to actually do. For example, I was thinking purely of wheat and wheat products when I thought of gluten. Nope... I found out yesterday afternoon that oatmeal contains gluten and is a no-no. Bummer. And we'd just fed Katelyn oatmeal because it didn't have wheat on it.

Alrighty then.

So we're starting over today. At lunch. Because Katelyn ate oatmeal this morning.

Today's shopping trip was spent investigating GFCF foods. We came home with a lot of fruit. It's "safe". Meanwhile I need to do more reading and figuring out what is allowed on a GFCF diet and what isn't. And I need to prepare for things like snacks at church (no more animal crackers, goldfish crackers or cheerios for Katelyn) and how to handle Christmas and stuff like that. I've read that it can take months sometimes for gluten to get out of the system. Wow.

I'm feeling quite a bit overwhelmed right now. But I can already see that this will definitely lead to a healthier diet for the entire family.

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Mon, Nov 27, 2006 10:29 AM
Katelyn saw Conner's "applemeal" from last night and decided she wanted to eat it for breakfast. I asked her if she wanted it warmed up.

Her answer: "No Mommy, I want it hot up."

All three kids currently still have an overabundance of snot. The two older ones started the day out with a shower to get as much out as we could. It made a big difference but they're still snotty. Caleb woke up with a snotty nose again early this morning (he was breathing without any last night) so I used the snot sucker and got a lot out again. I'm amazed at how much is there. He still sounds snotty though so there is more in there.

It's no fun being snotty but that's a quick way for the body to get rid of viruses so we're working on getting as much out as quickly as we can. So far other then the dripping noses and accompanying coughs, the kids are acting fine. Caleb is sleeping more but the other two kids are on the go all day long. They can't be too sick when they have that much energy!

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Sun, Nov 26, 2006 9:09 AM
We made it through the week fine but now the kids are sick.

Yesterday before we went to our second Thanksgiving celebration, Caleb woke up in the middle of the night with a super snotty nose. We got as much as we could out of him then I held him while I stood under a hot shower. The steam loosened up more and he sounded good all day.

But then by the time we got home he was snotty sounding again. And Katelyn started coughing really badly after she was in bed. Conner woke up with the same coughing this morning. We've decided to stay home from church as a result.

Caleb sounds good this morning though. He should after all I got out of him last night and then again when he woke up in the middle of the night.

Conner is acting full of energy and except for the cough you'd not know he was sick. Katelyn is still asleep. I'm going to let her sleep as long as I can.

Yesterday was a lot of fun though. Lots of amazing food, good conversations, and laughter. We all really enjoyed ourselves.

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Fri, Nov 24, 2006 4:45 PM
We got back home late last night/early this morning. We decided that instead of sleeping at the grandparents and then driving home we'd instead drive home and sleep here. I'm glad we did. The kids (especially Conner) were so excited to be with their grandparents that they didn't want to miss anything that might go on. This meant that they wanted to stay up late and wake up early. And if their was the slightest chance that the grandparents were awake, then the kids wanted to be awake too.

Not exactly helpful for getting well rested kids.

But we all had lots of fun.

Tomorrow is our next Thanksgiving meal and I'm looking forward to it. This one will be huge - around 40 people. Including 12 kids aged 5 and under. And 3 of those kids are younger then Caleb!

Right now Katelyn and Conner are helping their dad investigate the new Star War's ships that came out this morning. Or as Conner says... "Bips". They're practicing matching like ships. There are some pretty small details that make ships different so this is a good exercise for them. And the kids are learning turn taking. Katelyn keeps wanting to "help" Conner on his turn. Which to her means finding a match for him. So while Conner is learning to look at little details, she is learning to let him do it on his own.

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Thu, Nov 23, 2006 12:43 PM
Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

My kids crack me up.

We were out to eat with the grandparents yesterday for lunch and the kids were getting antsy so I took the older two out for a walk while everybody else finished up. On the way out the door I saw a ad for a LYS. So we got directions and told everybody that we'd meet them there because we were going to walk down.

You've never seens such excited kids. Even Conner kept saying "Arn! Arn!" the entire way there. And when we got in, Oh my... they acted like they were in heaven checking out colors and everything.

Unfortunately Conner was more active then he usually is and I ended up having to put a shelf of yarn back up onto the shelf. (He's not sleeping well these last couple of days... too much going on. So his self control isn't as good. But he's also 2! He amazes me most of the time with his yarn self control!) But I made it up to them by making a purchase. I found two different colors of green in Cascade 220 superwash that I fell inlove with the colors of. And I bought a Cascade Eco? skein in off white that I just love to pet. Now to decide what to knit up!

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Tue, Nov 21, 2006 1:15 PM
It's getting super close to Thanksgiving and that has brought up a question on some of the preemie forums that I visit. How do you handle having a preemie and the nervousness about RSV?

One of the things that the NICU nurses did very well (and rightfully so) was to put a fear of RSV into the parents. RSV is very scary for preemies. It looks like a normal, mild cold in adults but because of a preemies lungs not having had long enough to fully develop, it can be a life threatening illness. To the point that one nurse I talked to (a friend who is not at the NICU here in town... she's from another state) said that she sometimes sees babies on heart lung bypass machines because that is the only way they're able to keep the poor child's blood oxygenated enough to survive. Wow.

I've also had two different friends' kids need hospitalization because of RSV. It was very scary for them to see how sick their little babies were. And both of those children were full term. Caleb has the potential to be even worse off if he gets it. His lungs didn't have as long to develop before he was born. He never needed oxygen except for after his surgery but the lung still missed out on nearly 2 months of extra development.

Some of the preemie parents have mentioned turning themselves into hermits for the holiday season. Their preemie doesn't go out of the house at all until April (the end of RSV season) and anyone that comes into the house must first wash and sanitize their hands before doing anything else around the house. Eric and I have discussed it and we've decided to take a more middle of the road approach to protecting Caleb's health.

On one hand we're nervous because we let many people hold Caleb at Conner's birthday party. No one was obviously sick but Caleb came down with a nasty cold the next day. It was bad enough and looked enough like RSV that we were grateful to have a well baby check already scheduled. Our pediatrician checked his lungs and they were clear so we were relieved. However, it showed us how very susceptible to illness that he is. However... we also see value in participating in family activities like Thanksgiving. And we do want his immune system to have a chance to be slowly challenged so that it can develop into a very strong one. But not at the risk of his developing RSV this early.

So here's what we've decided. We are going to take the family to the Thanksgiving dinners. But we (Eric and I) will be keeping Caleb close. The hope is that this way any germs he gets exposed to will also get to me. And since I'm breastfeeding him, my body will be making antibodies to those germs right away. And I'll get any exposure to any germs that Eric gets – it's a benefit of being married – so that'll work to Caleb's benefit also.

Now that you have more information than you'll ever need about RSV... You're wondering why this post. Here's why. Please help us keep our little guy safe and healthy. We may not be handing him off for cuddles but your understanding will show him even more love.

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Tue, Nov 14, 2006 5:57 PM
Conner decided to help me empty the dishwasher by putting away silverware. Shhh... don't tell him that putting away silverware is more then just putting the silverware into the drawer and that you're supposed to organize what you put away too. He's much too proud of himself right now for that additional information.

He just finished up and climbed down from the chair he's standing on and said, "I do dishes."

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Tue, Nov 14, 2006 3:51 PM
(Katelyn gets candy for going poopy in the potty. Conner had just gotten a piece of candy for doing it also.)

Katelyn: The other day at Omas house I went poopy in the potty...
Me: And you got candy there.
Katelyn: I got hard candy. I want real candy.
Me: Hard candy *is* real candy.
Katelyn: No it is.

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Thu, Nov 9, 2006 12:40 PM
It would appear that I have the same thing the kids have had the last couple of weeks. First Katelyn had it, then Conner got it, now I have it. Eric had it somewhere in there too. So far Caleb is weathering this the best out of everybody.

It's a cough with a sore throat. And right now I don't want to do too much around here. Thankfully Katelyn and Conner know how to entertain themselves (with supervision of course).

Because I didn't feel like doing something big for lunch, Katelyn made homemade pizza for us. I'd pulled out the starter last night so it was ready to go. She made the dough, put it in the pan, spread the spagetti sauce (we use that instead of pizza sauce for these unplanned pizzas) and then both Conner and Katelyn put the cheese on. I got things and directed but they did the work. It turned out really well and both kids ate a lot of it.

Today we've been watching a Panda Cam at the Atlanta zoo. When we first pulled it up Katelyn noticed that the mom and baby were sleeping and snuggling. She thought that was pretty cool because when morning came around today all 3 kids had ended up in our bed snuggling in. She decided that since the mom and baby were snuggled, the mom must love her baby very much. Aww....

After a while she woke up and we talked about mommies needing to eat and leave their baby's to nap. Then after she came back and started to nurse the baby, we talked about Mammals and what makes a mammal. All of a sudden she said, "Mommy! Giraffes are mammals!" I don't know where that caem from but it was certainly correct.

For those who don't know, we are part of a group that has gone together to rent cows and board them so that we can get the really fresh, organic milk. It's really yummy and where I used to have to fight with Katelyn to drink milk (the ped was really getting on our case about us not getting enough milk into her) she now asks for the milk. We're really happy with that.

I asked her some questions about it...

Me: Where does Caleb get his milk?
K: From Mommy
Me: Where do you get your milk?
K: From cows
Me: Where does daddy get his milk?
K: From Sam's Club

Apparently Sam's Club milk does not originate with cows. Hmmm... You have to love 3 year old logic!

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Tue, Nov 7, 2006 3:23 PM
Caleb had a fun milestone today. I sat him down in his bouncer and he started batting at the toys. I was rather impressed. He's really started focusing more on our faces too. Making eye contact and stuff like that.

Katelyn did the eye contact thing right from birth. And Conner did somewhat too but not to the exten that Katelyn had. So I had to keep reminding myself that Caleb was still within the range of normal when he didn't. But it did concern me. I'm much relieved to see that he's doing it now.

Katelyn is currently trying to vacuum the living room. When they were down for their "nap" (they don't sleep in the afternoon anymore) I did some housework so when they wanted to come downstairs I asked them what they were going to do to clean. Katelyn thought about it and said they were going to sweep. They did pretty well at covering the entire floor with their brooms but I know that the dirt and leaves were just moved around instead of picked up. It was cute watching the two of them though.

Katelyn finished that and decided she wanted to vacuum. Usually when I vacuum it's the two older kids' job to pick up toys and anything else that might be on the floor. I started that when I was pregnant so that I'd not have to do a lot of bending over when I had a huge belly. I ended up spending that time in the hospital but the plan was good. I have continued that so that the kids learn how to pick up. Today it became my job to pick up the toys and everything. I finished my part of the job faster then she did so I get to type.

Katelyn's now trying to use the tools on the vacuum. She has every tube she can attached and the brush at the end and is trying to clean the main part of the floor using the hand tools.

Oh oh... she got a diaper stuck in the vacuum and has decided that was scarey. We're snuggling now.

I think it'll be my job to vabuum again for the rest of the week.

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Fri, Nov 3, 2006 10:46 PM
I'm downloading pictures from my camera as I speak. My plan is to get some new pictures up tonight. So if you read this before I get them uploaded, check back later.

Katelyn and Conner have been enjoying their costumes all week. That's the cool part about costumes... wearing them more then just one day. They have no clue who Scooby Doo is though other then that it's the name of a dog that Conner looks like. Or rather, dresses like.

I'm glad Conner likes hats as much as I enjoy knitting them! I took the kids to Michael's last night because I wanted to try out a new yarn that they have there. A lot of people online have been commenting about how pretty the colors of it are when you knit it up. So I let the two older kids each pick a color combo and I knitted Conner's into a hat today. Wow... it turned out really well. I put it on him while he was sleeping and took pictures. I'll make sure at least one of him in the hat gets uploaded.

This morning Katelyn and Conner decided to do dishes. I'd just unloaded the dishwasher and there were some more dishes in the sink. I decided it was a pretty safe activity (nothing dangerous in the sink) so I left them to it and went to feed Caleb. I glanced up at them a few times but not as often as I should have apparently because all of a sudden they were getting the dishwasher soap out of the cupboard (Katelyn knows how to unlock it... but she's old enougth to know not to play under there) and were putting it into the dishwasher. I watched and they did everything right and a couple of minutes later had the soap locked away again and the dishwasher running.

I was quite impressed! So much so that I agreed to Conner's next request... that I bake brownies.

I add a few dishes to the washer and rearranged a couple of things (like the pile of 3 dishes that were sitting still stacked on the bottom tray) and let it go to the end of the cycle. Maybe this needs to be a chore of theirs? They worked together really well too.

It's been snowing and cold here the last few days. Since the two older kids have coughs and Katelyn's school was canceled, we stayed around the house. It was fun to see how creative the kids got. Katelyn told me tonight that it was a really fun day though.

Things to do to stay occupied when stuck at home:
Eat as much homemade yogurt as Mom will let you.
Request more.
Play in the sink (water!) and then load the dishwasher so Mom is happy with you.
Make browies.
While they're baking, test all the holes you can find around the house to see if dogfood fits inside. When mom catches you, start hand feeding the dog.
Take the dog for a loooong walk (leashed) around the house. Many, many circles...
Eat brownies.
Take blankets off the bed so you can turn them into a boat for your stuffed animals.
Eat a late lunch.
Pour water into little glasses and drink it. (this kept them occupied for an hour!)
Take a bubble bath.
Take another bubble bath.
Request another bubble bath (note: you don't have to get out of the tub between baths)
Welcome Dad home.
Collapse until mom wakes you for dinner.
Eat.
Type on the computer.
Go to bed (but protest) and fall sound asleep quickly.

This was my day. It was a lot of fun but I had to laugh at the kids so many times. I kept shaking my head in amazement at how little things (like pouring water from a pitcher) kept them occupied for so long. And laughing to!

Thankfully, very little water was spilled on the floor today and the kids were quick to wipe it up.

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Wed, Nov 1, 2006 9:16 AM
November.

Wow.

Time goes fast.

We had what I would consider a very successful halloween yesterday. There's so often a debate amongh my friends of how much halloween to celebrate. None? Some? Go all out? We chose the "some" option. We focus on the having fun dressing up and visiting with neighbors part and leave the rest.

This year I didn't even get to make costumes. I hadn't planned ahead enough this summer (gee, I wonder why. :D ) and so they just didn't get done.

But I grabbed some garb for Katelyn out of her dresser and remembered a cute Scooby Doo costume that I found last spring at either a garage sale or in a grab bag and that was Conner's costume. Both kids enjoyed it enough to want to wear their costumes to bed.

We started out the evening with the kids handing out candy. Katelyn was very specific about counting out the candy for each person. We were not the house to visit for those kids who were racing from house to house to get the most candy possible. But it sure was cute. She was pretty good about making sure everyone got some. But there was one little boy who didn't realize that when you get your candy you should leave. And she just kept counting out candy for his bag over and over and over until I stepped in.

I've been working on getting fall pictures of the kids. I really like how the fall leaves look as a backdrop so this is my favorite time of year to get good "formal" pictures of them. It's taking a while though because I"m not as good at getting superb expressions the first time around. And I wanted to get at least Conner and Katelyn's to look similiar in size and set up this year. It's working though! I'm happy with the results so far. I still need to get Caleb out there and get some of him. That's tonight's goal.

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