18 month check up and a crappy ending to the day...

Makaela had her 18 month check up on Wednesday. Can you believe she is already a year and a half old? I certainly cannot!

She is such an intelligent, affectionate, silly little (okay, not so little) girl.

Right now she is loving:

- Playing at the park or anywhere that she can run free - the more space the better.

- Holding hands ("han") and giving kisses. Kisses for mom, kisses for dad, kisses for her food, kisses for the window - you name it, haha.

- Reading. No joke, she will go days without touching a toy, but don't take away her books!

- Coloring. If you'd like a limited edition Makaela print, send us your address, hahaha ;-)

- Songs that she can act out motions to, like The Wheels on the Bus and Itsy Bitsy Spider.

- Learning! She knows all of her body parts, loves when we count or say the alphabet, and is learning her colors.

- Making decisions. We try and give her choices whenever possible, and she does a great job letting us know what she wants.

And sometimes she likes to play in her baby toys...this girl...

Oh my, how you have grown...

As far as her check-up went, she is healthy! She wasn't happy, but after a sucker, a sticker and a high five from her nurse she was willing to put their differences aside. 

Ignore the name misspelling. As we suspected, our girl is growing, growing growing (proportionally! haha). She got 3 shots at her appointment, but doesn't need anymore until she is 4 years old - woo hoo! She wanted to pick off her band-aids until I told her they were stickers for being brave, that just took the coolness level up a few notches and she isn't concerned about her "boo boo" anymore. Within a couple hours of her appointment she was at gym class having the time of her life.

So perhaps you're wondering why the title mentions a crappy ending to the day, well I literally mean there was crap involved. Mak has a little rash on her upper thigh right where her diaper rubs, of course, so we let her run around for a little bit without a diaper...you see where this is going...

Yes, the child has a fashion sense all her own...those are Daddy's socks. She's going for the toddler assless chaps look, I think. 

ANYWAY, while I was washing some dishes Makaela was playing with her guitar in the kitchen. I look over to check on her and what do you know, poop right below where she is squatting down. It was hilarious, to be honest. She had 0% awareness of the poop. Don't interrupt my jam session Mom, jeeeeeez.

Thankfully it wasn't messy, so I cleaned her up and she was back on her way...without a diaper, because I ASSUMED she was done. Boy, did I learn my lesson. 

About 15 minutes later, she was staring out the back window watching the landscapers cut a neighbor's grass, and I was in the dining room. Suddenly I hear, "kuk-ka" "mama!" So I go in to see that she has crap ALL over her foot, oozing through her toes (nice visual for ya). 

We had always taught her to just brush stuff off, like wood chips or dirt or whatever when she falls at the park, welllll that came back to bite me because now she was trying to "brush off" the poop on her foot. Yep, now her hand was covered in poop. The least of my worries was the poop pile on the floor and the poop foot prints on my carpet. 

I didn't even have the slightest clue how to pick her up without getting crap all over myself...I thought I had succeeded, until 5 minutes later when I saw my entire arm had poop smeared all over it. LOL. As "crappy" as the situation was, it really made me laugh - it was totally one of those "omg, this is happening" moments.

Needless to say, the rest of our day was spent bathing and steam cleaning the carpets.

She cleans up well, I must admit...

15 month WBC and Makaela's Dictionary

Miss Makaela is 15 months old! Crazy huh? In honor of this milestone we spent FAR too much time at the clinic, thanks to a front-desk snafu in which they didn't actually check us in, so the staff didn't know we were there. Good times.

Oh well, what can you do? We are thrilled to report we have a healthy little lady...with a giant head, for her big brains of course :)

And after filling out the 15 month questionnaire at Mak's appointment, it got me thinking about all the words she says, so I thought it would be fun to share Mak's Dictionary...a Maktionary if you will :)

I'll set it up like this:

Mak version of the word - definition/how she uses it

Hiiii - Hi and also a general filler for when things are too quiet

Dee-da! - See ya, bye bye. The girl loves sending off strangers.
Dane-doo! - Thank you! Polite little nugget.
Q-meh - Excuse me. Mostly when we tell her "say excuse me Ginge" because Ginge likes to act as a road block. 

Duh-dee  - Daddy, often combined with see ya -  "Dee-da-duh-dee-Dee-da!" always with great enthusiasm.

MeMe or Mam-ee - Mama. RARELY used. That's the way it always goes, right?

Gigi - Ginger, our dog. Most commonly said phrase by Mak currently is "Hiiiii Gigi Hiiii Gigi Hiiiii Gigi"

ErRah - Rocky, our dog. Usually said as if she is calling him, or when she is looking for him.

WoofWoof - Dog and all other furry looking animals with tails :)

Duck- Duck. And bird. And sometimes large bugs that fly. 

AyAn -  Elephant. We look at lots of animal pictures, most of the time she just looks and points, but with elephant she likes to try to say it.

Eee-Eee - Monkey. Only used when she sees a picture of a monkey. 

A-va, A-va - Vacuum. Sometimes she loves it, sometimes she fears it. 

Uh-oh! - Uh-oh. Used when something drops, OR when she purposely lets something go AND if she sees garbage of any sort, crayons, you name it on the floor at a restaurant or other fine establishment :)

Hiya - Helicopter. She loves watching for them and pointing to them, and makes a raspberry noise to combine with the frantic pointing and shouting of "hiya hiya hiya!"

Papa - Papa, phone, iPad. This started because we would ask her if she wanted to FaceTime with Papa. Now all electronics are "papa" whether she is playing a game, listening to music or actually talking to Papa.

Nuh-nuh - No. She often walks through the backyard, looks at dog crap and say "nuh-nuh." Glad she knows her boundaries on that one, haha.

All-guh - All gone! And when grapes are "all-guh" the girl will LET YOU KNOW.

Bebe - Baby. Basically used for anyone that looks under 12. But the cutest is when she loves on her "bebe" doll. Lately she even tries to change her baby's diaper, feed her, put her down for a nap, clap her hands, all of it- adorable.

Buh - Book. She will tear through her stacks of books until she finds the exact one she is looking for. 

GUUh - Go! She likes to help and tell the dogs to "GUUh" to their room when we are leaving to go out on an adventure.

Vroo-Vroo - Cars, Trucks, Motorcyles. All things that go vroom vroom, duhhhhh. 

CruCka - Cracker. This is said in a very gurgly-deep in the throat way. We think this was actually her first official word.
Haaa-Ttt - Hot. It sure is Haaa-Ttt when we get in the car.
NumNum- Yummy. Chocolate is especially NumNum.

Yaya or Yusssssss- Yes. Usually she just shakes her head VERRRRY slowly. It is the sweetest. 

HeyUL - Hi y'all. We just taught her this. She is officially a southern belle. 

Makaela really is good at communicating her needs and wants. She also gives a lot of non-verbal cues, either by pointing, signing, and bringing you or taking you to what she wants. Don't get me wrong, we still get the "ehh ehhh" whine but it's not an all day thing (THANK.GOD.)

She is also great at following directions, so it is CLEAR when she is just CHOOSING to ignore our instruction. Yeah, we're onto you smarty pants ;-) 

4 month well baby check

Makaela had her 4 month well baby check up on Tuesday. She is growing into a big, strong girl. She weighed in at 15.7 lbs (82th percentile) and 26 inches (95th percentile) and she had a check in the right box for all the major developmental milestones they look for. Ain't no stoppin' her.

This was our first time at our new clinic and things went well. Everyone was very friendly. I'm sure the TRUE test of how happy we are with the facility will be when Mak is actually sick....which we hope doesn't happen for a verrrrrry long time.

Big girl got 4 shots and an oral vaccine. She loved the medicine in her mouth, and of course was SUCH a helper and held onto the nurse's hands to guide it into her mouth. Can't trust those nurses....gotta take things into our own hands. What a little control freak.

She cried for about 30 seconds after the shots....then she transitioned to sniffles and the pouty lip...then once the nurse told her she did a good job she shot her a smile. Phew.



The nurse advised that she would probably be extra sleepy (which sounded good to me at the time) and maybe a little fussy. She was right. Mak seemed a bit restless for two days and felt warm to me, however, every time I checked her temperature it was nothing to worry about (of course I was convinced the thermometer was broken the first 3 times). She just needed lots of extra snuggles and attention. I didn't mind tucking away my to-do list to love on her. I still can't wait till the day when I can take her to get ice cream after her shots, like my mom used to always do with me. Ice cream makes almost anything better.

This video was taken the day before the doctor visit. So sweet and unsuspecting. I feel evil!

2 month well baby check

Today was Makaela's 2 month well baby check. She is NINE weeks old today. I was anxious to find out her measurements and nervous for her shots!!

Right before she got measured and weighed she peed all over the exam table. A true girl....didn't want those ounces factored into her weight!

She is 12.35 pounds, which puts her in the 75th percentile and is consistent growth based on her last measurements. She is 24.4 inches tall, which puts her in the 97th percentile and is also consistent growth with previous measurements....our tall girl!

She checked out great and even snuggled in her doctors arms. Such a good baby.

Of course they saved her immunizations for last. She got one oral vaccine and three shots in her legs...sounds like more than any adult would want to go through, am I right?! I was beyond impressed with how she handled it. No more than 2 minutes of crying and she was over it! I would have rewarded her with Baskin Robbins if I could!

Way to go Super Mak!

Can we talk about how hilarious she is....puffing out her chest and arms like she's some kind of tough girl...we just had to scribble a super woman cape on her.

I shared this photo with Shanerz last week and we may or may not have made several jersey shore jokes. GTL baby.

Infant Rash

Last week we took monkey to the doctor for some concerns we had about her skin. She had a few spots of typical baby acne on her face which didn't make us think twice, but then she woke up one morning with quite a few bumps on her arms, neck and chest. Of course I didn't think to take a picture but it looked similar to this (thanks Google).

At first we attributed it to spreading baby acne, but as the day progressed it became more red and somewhat inflamed. We decided to wait and see what it looked like the next day, because she wasn't bothered by it at all, and had no fever. In fact she was down right happy (these photos were taken while she had the rash).

Since we had record breaking temperatures here in Washington, we thought the irritation may even be related to the heat. The next day the bumps were still there and still inflamed so we decided to make an appointment. Naturally, most of the bumps cleared up before the appointment but we decided we better still go. Yep, we're first time parents....better safe than sorry when it comes to bambino though!

Turns out she had a common infant rash. Totally typical, totally nothing to be concerned about. Especially since she wasn't bothered by it. The doc prescribed her an ointment and it cleared things right up!

Oh and since we were there they basically did a well baby check and little monkey weighed in at almost 12 pounds and 22.5 inches....you grow girl....ha.

Post Partum Check Up and Suggestions Part 1

My 6 week post-partum exam was Tuesday. I've been dreading it for weeeeeeeks, but I'm happy to report I survived!

Few things in life are as awkward as a gyn. exam and I had convinced myself that the doctor would tell me my uterus was falling out or that I'd have to wear adult diapers for the rest of my life. Luckily, neither of those things occurred.

It was just like an annual exam, except we talked about breastfeeding and the baby's growth too. Perhaps, the doctor was just trying to distract me because she knows I'm a spastic freak.

We also talked about birth control. I had been given the mini-pill which has low dose hormones and is safe to take while breastfeeding. Ladies who are nursing typically don't have periods (holla!) The doctor stressed the importance of taking the pill at the same time everyday, and to switch to the "regular" pill when done breastfeeding to avoid becoming the "1 in 20 who get pregnant within a year" statistic on the pill package. Can we talk about how terrifying that would be?!?! She also reminded me that "babies as cute and well behaved as Makaela aren't good birth control" and I reminded her that disgusting gyn exams are :)

Good news is that I'm healing just fine. I think I started to feel totally "normal" again at about 4.5 weeks. I had a third degree tear, so I imagine those with less trauma would heal faster and those with more (two become one in some ladies if you know what I mean...helllllo vagectum), or with a c-section would take longer. The worst part was the first couple weeks. There was just a lot of soreness and even walking seemed to put a lot of pressure on my lady parts. Oh and there was that point at about 3 weeks post partum when I thought "wow I feel GREAT" and then I attempted a jumping jack (Jillian Michaels made me)...that moment is what led to my fear of my uterus falling out. There was also the time when I googled something along the lines of "how long does it take for a 3rd degree tear to heal?" Let's just say I'm convinced people only like to share horror stories on the internet! A peek into my google search history over the past 6 weeks would provide quite a few laughs.

For those that are curious, here are the post-partum below-the-belt care tips and products that worked for me.

1. Tucks Witch Hazel Pads.....holy heaven. Buy LOTS. They are AMAZING. Trust me. I would be a spokesperson for these bad boys if they let me.

2. Stock up on what the hospital is offering you so you have "goods" for home. I don't know about you but I certainly don't know where to buy an ice-pack maxi-pad, and they really help provide short-term relief.

3. I had stocked up on the heavy duty overnight maxi-pads, but was surprised that I didn't even need pads by the end of the first week, so I would recommend purchasing pantyliners as well in case you get lucky like I did in that department.

3. Pat or dab, don't wipe. Thank you to the nurse that told me that early on.

4. Your doc prescribed you a stool softener for a reason. Don't be like me and not take it at first out of fear. It will make that first (okay, first several) bowel movements a lot less scary. Don't force things..and remember, you pushed a baby out...you'll survive this.

5. Don't overdo it. Everything in moderation or you WILL regret it later and you WILL be counting down until it is time for your next Motrin. Spend as much time on the couch as you can; your bum will thank you.

I still can't believe I pushed a human out of my hoo-ha. The human body is cray-cray. And to think, while you're busy healing you're even more busy taking care of a newborn, perhaps learning to breastfeed and trying to figure out the next time you'll get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time.

I've certainly got more to say about surviving the post-partum period, but enough is enough for now.

First Week Home

We've officially been home a week; we've been peed on and pooped on but the good news is we are all still alive and no one is sleep deprived!! We even have a few successful family outings under our belt. Her first big outing was to Red Robin and Fred Meyer. She slept through it all. Holla!

Daddy has been wonderful and takes care of virtually everything during the day...cleaning, cooking, diap changes. I feed little one and even get to sneak in the occasional nap when she is napping....life is good! At night time I stay with her, and fortunately she is a good girl so I do get some rest. We try not to wake daddy at all so he can get a full night's rest. So far this has been a great process for us. Neither of us are overly tired and no one is cranky which has to be better for baby girl :-)

Watching the basketball game with Daddy

Makeala has had a couple of doctor appointments. The first was her 2 day follow up after being released from the hospital. And guess what? Little monkey actually GAINED weight. This is great news because it means nursing is satisfying her! Her billirubin (jaundice) levels were a little high so we had to go back in for a follow up on Saturday to have her tested again. She was a champ! Thankfully, the levels decreased so no further treatment was required. Monday, she had her hearing test and passed both ears!! We knew she would do great - she follows voices very well. Yay Makaela!

Nursing is going well and I'll write an entire post about the challenges of that later. Baby girl gets hiccups several times a day but doesn't get bothered by them at all! She really isn't a fussy girl. She is also QUITE the tooter. She has no shame grunting. But hey, better to get it out then have an upset tummy!! We love her little stink butt.

Little girl loves her pups and they sure do love her. We weren't sure how they would adjust, but after 1 day they were in love. In fact, I'm pretty sure they think she is THEIR baby. Rocky tends to be more protective, while Taylor is cautious.

Week One highlights....

Loves:

*Snuggling

*Being swaddled (with freedom to move those crazy arms)
*Music
*Her own hands

*Baby push-ups (tummy time with Daddy)

*Making funny faces
*Car rides

Does not love:

*Diap changes (modest monkey)
*Getting eye boogies wiped

What mommy and daddy love for her:

*Hand mittens
*Leggins (makes her feel less "exposed" during a diap change)

Milestones:

*Sucked thumb
*Went through 3 diaps in 5 minutes
*Umbilical cord fell off and belly button just has a small scab now

Nicknames we've used so far:

Makae Kae
Monkey
Mak
Princess girl
Pretty girl
Hunny Bunny
Punkin girl
Lil Makaela