17 Teeth and Counting...

Leah has had a few middle of the night wake-ups lately. And this morning she was up at 6:45 (a bit earlier than normal for her) and complaining that her tongue hurt. I figured maybe she bit it - either this morning or before her midnight or 4 a.m. wake-ups last night. But then when we were out and about this morning she had a finger in her mouth and was whining. I took a look and saw a bulging spot on her lower right gums - a molar on it's way in.

Then this afternoon she woke up from her nap just screaming and holding her mouth. She took an hour and a half nap, so I don't think the teething woke her up, but obviously she did wake up in pain. I got her some ice water...and asked her if I could take a look in her mouth. She obliged - and sure enough the first of her 2-year molars had emerged. It's actually about 2/3 visible - so I imagine the remainder of the top of it will break through fairly soon. Once it's all broken through it shouldn't be painful anymore. So now we'll just wait to see when her remaining 3 baby teeth decide to make their appearances - no sign of them so far.

But a little teething pain did not dampen her spirits most of the morning. We had a very fun trip to the Transit Museum with lots of friends.

The kids were very into holding hands today - here are Malia and Avery with Leah - all squealing - but at least it was a big open area to run around - not a traditional museum:
Leah was very amused as she tickled Theo:
Leah and Theo were quite happy together today...maybe she's got a new boyfriend:
She wasn't really the only girl today - just the only one in the attempt at a group shot - Piper and Malia were off and running - pictured here are Cooper, Avery, Leah, Theo, and Asher:
But at the end of the day, Leah's heart still belongs to Avery:

Early contractions

I had an eventful morning today. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning with contractions. I got up and had some water. I tried walking around a bit. I am exactly 32 weeks today - too early to have a baby! So I tried what I could to calm down and see if the contractions would stop. After about an hour and a half, I called my OB. The on-call doctor called me back about 3 minutes after I left a message with the answering service. She told me to come right to the hospital.

I woke Shafi to tell him what was going on but that he should stay home with Leah. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, got dressed, put a book and other necessities in a tote bag and headed out to get a cab. I was at NYU hospital before 6:30. The doctor called ahead so that they knew to expect me.

They put me in a Labor & Delivery Triage Room and hooked me up to a monitor for the baby's heartbeat and for my contractions. The baby's heartbeat was pretty steady around 150, which is normal. My contractions were irregular but between 1.5 and 5 minutes apart.

They checked my cervix and it was long and closed - so the contractions are not having any effect - definitely a good thing. They checked my urine - not dehydrated and no UTIs. They did a test called the FFN, which tests for a protein present before labor starts. Luckily it was negative, which means there is a 95% likelihood that I will not go in to labor in the next 2 weeks.

After ruling out the easy known causes and my contractions continuing they decided to give me terbutaline. They can give up to 3 injections, 20 minutes apart. The first one seemed to slow things down and they decided to give me a second. That one did successfully stop my contractions. But I had an unpleasant reaction to it. My heart raced and blood pressure dropped and I felt generally miserable. It was a common reaction and it went away after a few minutes on oxygen.

After monitoring me for another hour or so, they decided I could go home. These contractions could continue but still not really be labor - or they could stop. I was able to nap for about an hour and a half when I got home, but I woke up with contractions around 1 p.m. I've been having periodic contractions all afternoon, but not with the frequency I was having this morning. The contractions are fairly mild - uncomfortable but not painful.

So we're crossing our fingers that my uterus calms down. In the meantime I am taking it easy. Shafi stayed home to take care of Leah today, but if all is well, I can take her to the playground and such tomorrow. I'll just try to lift her as little as possible and stay fairly close to home.

Everybody Poops!

If you haven't been following my Facebook posts then you may not be aware that Leah had her first poop in the potty on March 6. It was more about the timing than the intent. We've been putting her on the potty in the morning. Usually she pees if we sit there long enough - and we read her books to keep her there. But that day she said she needed to poop - and she did! We made a big deal about it, clapping and praising. And we started a star chart. Leah still gets a butterfly tattoo when she pees on the potty. And now she gets a star on the chart when she poops on the potty. After 10 stars she will get to pick out a toy at the toy store.

She seems to be excited about the prospect of peeing and pooping in the potty regularly - so for additional incentive we also bought "big girl panties." We had an exciting trip to K-Mart on Monday - where we bought some training pants, some waterproof pants, and some Elmo and Dora undies. I also picked up some Pull-Ups today. Lots of carrots to dangle now - and it seems to be working.

As she was finishing lunch today, Leah made a bit of a grunting sound - I asked her what she was doing - and it seemed to strike a chord - she said, "Mommy, I want to poop on the potty." I quickly wiped her hands and face and rushed her to the bathroom. We pulled the pants down and the diaper off and got her onto the toilet - as she likes to call it, "the big potty" - using a seat that fits on top of the regular seat. She asked me to read a book and I read "Have you seen my potty?" - twice. Turns out we didn't need to rush. It took a few minutes to get things moving, but she was right - she needed to poop. And while she was there she peed too.

Once again I made a really big deal about it. She got a butterfly tattoo on her hand and a star on the chart. Next time we're going to be home for a little while without plans to rush off to a class or meet friends or something - we're going to try out some training pants - we'll see if the wetness will help Leah pay more attention to when she needs to pee too. And for my sake we'll be putting the waterproof pants on top of them!

My baby girl is 2!

I have once again been bad about posting. Leah turned 2 on February 7. We celebrated with a big party (18 kids) at the NY Kids Club. A good time was had by all - along with plenty of pizza, cake and apple juice. And Leah blew out her candles quite well all by herself.

Leah got lots of fun presents....some toys, some clothes. My parents came in for the big day. Leah enjoyed spending some extra time with them.

Since my last post we also had Valentine's Day. Leah got some cute shirts, some chocolates, and other little goodies from various relatives. And she enjoyed making Valentine's to send to Grandma and GG.

The move to the big girl bed has remained successful. After about 2.5 weeks she did figure out (this past Wednesday) that she could get out of bed on her own. When she got up in the morning she stood at her bedroom door calling for us to come get her. I knew that we were in trouble after that. Sure enough at naptime she kept getting out of bed. She would just stand at the door saying, "Mommy Mommy Mommy" - it seemed she would go on indefinitely. Several times I would go in and get her back in to bed - sometimes even just telling her to get back in bed. Finally after 45 minutes of that game she stayed in bed and took a normal hour and a half or so nap. Wednesday night we had a big talk with her over dinner that big girls stay in their big girl beds. Babies sleep in cribs because they're not ready for that. She agreed that she's a big girl and not a baby - and since then she has been staying in bed.

We also had her 2 year check up just after her birthday. We talked about it on the way there - the doctor would check her eyes and head and tummy - and it wouldn't hurt. And we brought her little baby doll, Penny, with us. I told her she could hold Penny if she felt scared. She asked for Penny pretty much right away. But she was very good for the doctor - sat in my lap and let the doctor examine her - didn't fuss or squirm at all. She didn't have to have any shots this time but she did have a blood test. The doctor thought the vein in her hand would be the best. And poor Leah's vein kept rolling - so it took a little while of digging around before she hit the vein - and then it took a little while for the 2 vials to fill. But I had the lollipop unwrapped and ready so as soon as the blood test started, Leah got a lollipop. She sat very patiently and hardly fussed for the whole thing - thanks to the lollipop. And this time Leah got to stand on the big girl scale and get measured standing up. She's 36 1/4 inches tall (yes, that is just over 3 feet!) - which is still off the charts in height. And she's 27 1/2 pounds - 60th percentile in weight. She's taller and skinnier than at her last appointment - having gained 1.5 inches and 3/4 of a pound.

Leah also had fun this month playing briefly in the snow, taking a trip to Toys R Us, decorating cookies with Grandma, taking a trip to the American Museum of Natural History, baking brownies with Mommy, playing with lots of friends and attending some other birthday parties.

Helping Mommy make brownies:
Looking a bit too guilty playing in her bedroom with Avery:
Sledding in Dumbo (this lasted approximately 1 minute...too cold!):
Checking out the dinosaurs while perched on Baba's shoulders at the Museum of Natural History:
Having fun playing with Evelyn, who came to visit all the way from Philly:
With all her Valentine's Day loot:
A rare group shot at playgroup (Malia, Cooper, Sebastian, Avery, Leah, James, and Noah):
Leah's first snowball:
Playing with her new dollhouse:
Reading Grandpa's favorite book, Madeline, with Grandpa:
Decorating Valentine's cookies with Grandma:
Very excited about her new Brobee, a gift from Uncle Alan and Aunt Rachel:
Having a blast with Tyler at their birthday party - thanks Coach Jeremy!:
Learning to ride her new scooter (thanks Grandma & Grandpa):
And always a favorite - bathtime!:

Leah loves her big girl bed!

We'll see if it lasts - it's certainly possible that the excitement and thus good behavior is temporary. Last night Leah slept 12 hours straight - 7:20 p.m. to about 7:25 a.m. - without a peep. And this morning she fussed for us to come get her just like she had been doing in her crib. When Shafi went in she was just sitting up in bed waiting for us.

She told us she slept well and liked sleeping in the big girl bed. And at naptime she asked, "Take a nap in the big girl bed?" I told her yes and she willingly had her diaper changed, put her head on my shoulder while I sang Twinkle Twinkle, and let me put her down in the bed with her head on the pillow. She picked up the dolly and puppy and I pulled the sheet and comforter up around her. It's been 45 minutes and I haven't heard a peep yet!

It was funny to see how she situated herself in the bed during the night. I checked on her around 9 p.m. and she was sleeping sideways. She had her head on the lower edge of the pillow and was facing up towards the headboard. She had one arm out straight on top of the pillow with her hand up towards the headboard, and her legs were bent up against the pillow with her feet against the bed rail - like she was hugging the pillow. The puppy was in front of her and dolly behind her. It was very cute. But unfortunately she did have a diaper leak overnight - just pee, which meant washing the top and bottom sheets, the mattress pad, and because of the way she was sleeping, also the pillow case and cover. Oh well. The single load of laundry wasn't such a big deal, but making the bed was certainly a bigger hassle than changing a crib sheet. No doubt I will have more such loads of laundry to do - she's been having 1 or 2 diaper leaks per week. But it's a small price to pay for a successful transition to the big bed.

Leah is in a big girl bed!

We have been gearing up for this momentous occasion for weeks. As per my last post, almost 4 weeks ago, I showed Leah the bed and bedding online before I bought it. She was very excited and for several days afterward she asked to see more pictures of it - "More becky bed pictures?" Since then we have been talking about the bed as her 2nd birthday present. Last week we started putting her baby doll down at naptime in the big girl bed. Leah holds the doll - aka "Baby" - with the doll's head on her shoulder, much like we hold Leah when putting her to bed, and sings either Twinkle Twinkle or Rock a Bye Baby - all this with no prompting. Obviously in Leah's world this is how bedtime works. Once she has put Baby down to sleep in the big girl bed, we put Leah down to sleep in the crib - also with a round of Twinkle Twinkle, but this one sung by Shafi or me.

I started asking Leah a few days ago if she wants to start sleeping in the big girl bed on Friday. She said yes. Every day we talked about, "Today is Tuesday and tomorrow is Wednesday and then Thursday and then it'll be Friday. Friday night you get to start sleeping in the big girl bed." And so on. Today I started asking her if she's ready - about half a dozen times I asked her if she wants to sleep in the big girl bed tonight. She always gave me an enthusiastic yes.

Shafi and I had decided that it would be a bit much to actually start it on her birthday, since her birthday party is from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and my parents will be visiting - could be an awful lot of commotion keeping her from transitioning smoothly. And we thought it would be best to start it on a Friday so that we have the weekend to adjust - and fit in naps if we have rough nights.

So tonight after getting her washed up for bed, while Shafi put her into her pajamas, I sang Rock a Bye Baby to Baby Boy (her boy baby doll - a gift from GG to help Leah practice helping with her little brother - and no this is not an anatomically correct doll - he's just wearing blue). I put Baby Boy down in the crib and put Leah's crib blanket on him. Then Leah put her head down on Shafi's shoulder and gave me a goodnight kiss. He sang Rock a Bye Baby and Twinkle Twinkle and put her down in the bed. We had her puppy and dolly ready and waiting for her - the two items she has been sleeping with in the crib. When he finished singing Leah actually said, "In the bed" - and when he put her down she put her head on the pillow and let him pull the sheet and comforter up around her.

That was at about 7:20 p.m. It's now 8:30 p.m. and we haven't heard a peep. So we're crossing our fingers that the sound of silence continues!

Leah loves babies - hopefully that will continue when we have one in the apartment. Here are some recent pics of Leah showing her love.

Playing with Asher's little brother Lio:
Holding Tyler's little brother Ethan:
Holding Malia's little sister Kaiemi:
And here's Leah testing out the new bed a few days ago:
Walking around to get the full picture:
And pretending to nap - after the rails went up:

Redecorating

Not sure if this is my nesting instinct kicking in already or just excitement about buying things for the baby, but I've been playing with different layouts for the kids' room. I think I've got it figured out. And tonight I ordered a bed for Leah - a big girl bed, that is. I chose one with drawers underneath and a coordinating storage headboard. I also got her bedding for it. The bed and bedding are going to be her 2nd birthday present. I showed her pictures this morning and she was very excited to have "beckys" on her new big girl bed. And while I was shopping (online shopping that is), I picked out bedding for the baby as well. I wanted to go with a jungle/animal theme and I found a set that is the same brand as Leah's crib bedding (CoCaLo), which has held up really well, that I really like. It's nice bold colors with monkeys, lions, elephants and giraffes.

The room will definitely be a mish-mash of the 2 decors - pink and purple butterflies and flowers AND bold primary color jungle animals. We'll leave the current Leah decor as is - her name above the changing table / dresser, the butterflies and such above the air unit. And above the crib we'll add decor for the baby - maybe we'll put his name up, maybe some sort of pictures or cut outs or something of the sort with the bold colored animals that are in the bedding. And I'll have to figure out something neutral for the remaining wall that will be above Leah's bed - maybe we'll stick with some of the current framed prints that are in the room. I think if we get a bright whimsical type of rug we can really pull the room together.

The future layout:
Leah's new big girl bedding:
Baby boy's crib bedding set - "Jungle Jingle":
Leah's new bed and coordinating storage headboard: