Upswing?

Callie seems to be coming around. She was less fussy today and starting to eat more although still particular about how she got it. At one point she ate out of the bottle then later we were back to syringe. Overall we were glad she was just eating and more often and in volume. She wore her Charger bib to support the team and watched part of the game with daddy while I took a long nap to recoup some lost sleep these last few days. She still has the rash and the heat isn't helping her out but overall she is definitely on the upswing. I'm hoping by tomorrow she will be nearly back to her happy self.
Here she is eating milk out of her syringe in her chargers bib. She is cute even when she is sick, I'm partial of course ;)

Sick Day 3

Callie is starting to recover from her virus. Her fever broke last night and has not come back. She has a mild rash today but is on the upswing. The only tough part is that she is refusing to eat and is extremely cranky with lack of sleep and not feeling well. I have been worried about her refusing to eat even though the dr warned me she may and said it would be ok. I really wanted to make sure she got some fluids so I made fresh pears which she ate and tried everything to get her to drink. She would chew on the nipple of a bottle but not suck so I put a fast flow nipple and let her play in the tub with it. That worked at first and when that failed to work I switched to feeding her with a syringe. She ate like a sick little kitty out of the tiny syringe today and barely ate less than 1/4 of her usual daily milk. I am glad she doesn't have a fever anymore but desperate for her to get better fast because I am exhausted too and it's hard to see her so miserable. We try to keep her distracted and happy but its not working well. I'm crossing my fingers she gets some good sleep tonight and wakes up at least a little better than today.

Update: after some crying at bedtime I went back and got her to eat before falling asleep for the night, phew, feeling a lot better about her fluid intake now. I know how she feels as my sore throat just won't go away either, so to make it feel better I made almond milk ice cream after she went to bed to soothe my throat. Now off to bed for me too, before 8 pm, night night.

Battling a virus

Poor Callie has been very sick with a fever and diarrhea all last night and today. She had a fever that wouldn't break at night even with Tylenol, cool baths and naked time. We had a long night of crying and just rocking and trying to soothe her. I barely slept and stayed home from work to be with her today which was more of the same and trouble sleeping.
We went for a walk to get distracted. Then when we were home and she still wouldn't sleep and was just crying and crying I went back to my old bag of tricks.... Combining the best 2 sleep tactics I know, baby ergo carrier and vacuum. I literally strapped her on and just started vacuuming the whole house. By the time I finished the downstairs she was asleep and I could put her down in her crib. Phew!
I'm hoping this is a 24 hr bug and its overdue to be done but who knows. Poor baby is pretty miserable. I'll keep jumping through hoops to try and keep her calm and happy through this illness.

Sick Baby

Callie has had a cold for a few days; it's been going around as I had it too. But just last night she came down with a fever which continued today. She is not feeling too hot and has been sleepy and subdued. She has been enjoying her swing for the first time ever. It's probably soothing to just hang out and swing. We went to see the pediatrician to check her ears and lungs and she is doing fine, so they just want us to call back with an update tomorrow. She was tearing the paper on the table and having a good old time in their office. Notice the mischievous face she has and the torn paper next to her. You wouldn't even know she was sick! So I'm hoping she is feeling all better by tomorrow and no more fever, poor baby :( this is her first fever over 100

Pull over bibs

Callie always gets her hands in her food because she alternates spoon and hand in her mouth. She then always seems to get it all over her sleeves and clothes because she puts her messy hands on it. I decided I could make a simple bib that would solve these problems, and I wanted no Velcro because that ruins everything when it gets stuck in the wash. I also wanted no fasteners and soft dark colored fabric that won't stain. I decided it should pull over her head to keep it simple. I used left over fabric from my first baby wearing wrap and left over fold over elastic from her headbands. I made the bibs extra large so they cover her shoulders and the whole front of her body. I was able to make 4 in just 15 minutes or so. It was really simple and I didn't even sew the edges just the neck.
We tried it out at dinner with some sweet potatoes and it was a success! Yeah to mommy's homemade miracles. I think we will be making a bunch more soon. Here is a photo on the table and one of it in action.

Monday Family Day

Juan was able to stay home from work today to spend time with Callie and I. We had a good day of family fun. We went out to lunch, took the dogs for a long walk and then played at home. Callie was really intrigued by my cup at the restaurant and wanted to touch t and lick it. It was cold and had condensation on the outside so she really was licking it.
Then back at home she played and practiced her independent sitting more and keeps trying to touch and play with the dogs. She is always watching them and any chance she can get her hands on them she does. We had a good day with daddy and got some errands done too. It's always nice to have an extra set of hands to help out :)

Downloading...

Nicky bought Callie this hilarious diaper cover. I couldn't help myself but to set her up for this shot. Something is always downloading in her diaper but she also loves to computer and wants to touch it any chance she gets. This really made me giggle, hope you get a good laugh too.

Crazy hair

Callie has been having some crazy hair with the heat and my pony tails that fall out. I call it party on top. The sides of her hair are short and thin, it's just the wild top that's a problem. Here she is with her football rattle, since its Sunday! Crazy kid!

Buttons

Callie loves all electronics. She wants to touch my phone allthe time and hangs up on people and recently is obsessed with the buttons on the from of the bouncy chair. She can roll over to it and then touch all the buttons. It's never on so it doesn't do anything but she could play with it for 20 minutes easily. Check her out!

5 Months Old

Today Callie is five months old! I can hardly believe it. Now that we have moved past screaming and colic episodes time seems to be going too fast. The first 3 months seemed to go so slow and now that we are enjoying her as a happy baby it's too fast! I guess you can never control how it goes you just have to enjoy every minute you can. I am so happy that I chose to work part time all year rather than stay home straight for 3 months. I enjoy being home with her 4 days a week and get to see all the new stuff she is doing. I think I would feel like I am missing out if she was doing all her firsts without me.
This month has had a lot of firsts. We started solid foods which is an adventure everyday. She is now eating quite a variety of things: brown rice, oatmeal, bananas, apples, mangos, beets, carrots, cucumbers, peas, avocados, plums, peaches, and chicken. We are excited to keep adding new foods and she loves to eat it all!
Also this month she has really advanced in her gross motor skills; she has learned to sit unsupported for about a minute or two at a time. She also started log rolling to get somewhere and is beginning to roll to push up to sitting, although she prefers to just fall to the ground. She also has learned to get into quadruped on her hands and knees and is beginning to rock herself back and forth. The gross motor seems so fast to me as I am used to working with kids who need a lot of practice to get these skills and Callie seems to learn them in few days without any help. I think she is advanced, but then again I'm one of those mom's who think my kid is the most beautiful/smartest/best/fill in any awesome word here baby.
For fine motor skills she is now able to grasp toys with ease and has good accuracy when reaching for objects. She can hold and shake a rattle and can get items in her mouth without missing, almost everything goes in her mouth these days. She can hold her own spoon and likes to chew on it when she is done eating. She learned to pull her socks off this month, although she hasn't been wearing many socks since its so hot.
She is talking so much more and her sounds are distinguishable; most of them ga and goo sounds but there is quite a variety. She has learned to identify people and places that are
familiar and is very social. She enjoys playing and watching other kids and at home watching the dogs.
Sleeping was on the upswing with only 2 night wakings until teething started and now back up to 4. Hopefully we can cut that back down soon. Callie got her first tooth this month and the second one is close behind.
Phew! Looking back on this month it's been a busy one with lots of new things. Juan and I enjoy her every minute of everyday. She is truly a blessing and I love her so much. I started this blog for all of you so you can keep up with Callie but I am realizing that it is a great reminder for me of the things we have done and having so many photos of her is great as well. I enjoy looking back at my old posts and seeing what life was like back at month 1,2, & 3. I hope I can keep up with this for years to come (although probably not daily). Thanks to everyone who follows us and sends their love to Callie from near and far, we love you all too :)

A Little Relief, First Tooth

Callie's teeth seem to be feeling better today. She hasn't needed any Tylenol and is not as fussy and has not cried at all. She still wants to eat everything and is drooling a lot but we are improving. One of the teeth is actually through the gum now and the little jagged edge is visible and sharp! Hopefully she will be comfortable as the other makes it way through as well. I bought these silicone teethers with different textures on amazon as they had rave reviews. As usual I was not let down, she loves them. She can hold it herself and just chews and chews on it. Here she is with her teethers and I snapped about 30 photos before I got a good shot of the first tooth!!! Yeah Callie! Way to be tough and hang in there.

Look Ma no hands

Callie can sit for a few seconds but she usually just wants to be rolling around on the floor. If she is calm and entertained she will try to stay sitting for a bit. Today we talked to GG and gramps on FaceTime. Callie was sitting and just watching them and smiling. She sat like that for over a minute without falling down. I wish I timed it but I had no idea she would stay sitting so long. I snapped a screenshot so you can see her sitting and talking to them. She is getting more and more intrigued by this whole FaceTime thing. Before she was uninterested but now I think she can recognize people and understands that they are interacting with her, as opposed to the tv. She was staring and smiling for a long time. Here is he screenshot, the interesting part is just Callie in the top window. I also cropped it and blew it up so you can see her better.
Also notice her first ponytail :) its warm out and her hair is getting longer and in her face. I'm training her to grow up to be just like her momma and the constant ponytail. Looks a little like Pebbles if you ask me.

Teething Times Two

Today I discovered a second tooth breaking through the gum! No wonder the poor baby has been so upset in pain. Two teeth probably means double pain! They are the 2 bottom front teeth. She seems a little better today and we keep giving her Tylenol when she seems to need it. I'll try to get another photo of her mouth tomorrow. In the meantime she is much happier overall so I think we are on the upside now. Here are some happier photos of her.

Playing with daddy

GG brought out a new hammer toy. Callie loves it! She doesn't use the hammer she just prefers to bang her hands on it. She knows how to make the noises and really enjoys it. She played with her dad for awhile with this same toy. She must have known I was taking photos as she kept looking up at me.

Puppy love

Callie loves her puppies. She wants to touch them and watches them run around. She has even tried to eat Manny's face. Here she is with the boys just hanging out and enjoying them. Lt is smart and stays just far enough away so she can't get him. She really reaches for him, notice in one photo she has his foot. Then he sniffs her face and just looks at her. I took a whole series of photos with lt because he was too funny.