Teething!

Ahhhh...the dreaded teething issue most babies go through alas we are right in the middle of it!  Poor Little Miss is pushing out 4 of her top front teeth at the same time :-( .  Little Man was 11 months when he got his first and rarely had many symptoms (normal drooling, slight fever and loose stool).  He was never irritable and never had sleepless nights.  But this poor baby is. 

It all began Friday night.  We had a play date in the park that afternoon and she was adored by an adorable but sick 2 year old boy.  He just wanted to touch her face ;-) .  That night she woke up at midnight and wouldn't go back to sleep.  We tried to see if coming in our bed would help but she just tossed all night.  No one got any sleep!  The next morning I figured it was due to her being hungry because i fed her a late snack and then she didn't want dinner (only a few ounces).  We went along with our day.  That night she ate her full dinner and still woke up at midnight screaming.  I tried everything to get her back down...she ended up having a bottle at 4 am and falling asleep on me.  I noticed a runny nose and assumed she had caught a cold from the little boy.  I also notice 2 white spots where her lateral incisors should be (the teeth next to the top front teeth - which should be the next ones to come in).  She was also drooling a lot.  I knew she was teething but the last 2 teeth did not bother her at all.  Sunday night was the same. 

Finally Monday I decided I would figure out was going on.  I was so confused maybe it's this or that...oh yes it's this oh maybe it's that!  But it all comes down to just teething!!!  I finally felt one of the teeth popping through and 2 more white spots meaning more teeth coming.  BTW a runny nose is a symptom of teething!  It's not one that you will find in those books but many MANY people say their children get them when teething.  One doctor told a mother it's true/possible even though there is no medical reason why...it just happens (same for loose stools and fever!).  Weird how our bodies react to pain.

I am basically just trying to keep her comfortable.  Feeding her as much as she wants, giving her teething toys, holding her more, giving her some tylenol before bedtime, dressing her in a onesie and sleep sack (it has gotten warm here and in Paris and no one has A/C) and if she wakes up putting her in our bed (only if we can't get her back down but trying not to make this a habit).

Last night FINALLY it worked and she slept from 8pm - 5:45am (a little early for my taste but I AM NOT COMPLAINING!)

Maybe she slept because of the tooth pushing through, maybe it was all my efforts to make her more comfortable but I am for sure going to keep doing all of them ;-)

Her is my little brave girl smiling even though she is in pain :-(

Also, she is starting to pull herself up!  She got on her feet too but I was not quick enough :-0. My husband HAS to lower her mattress STAT

Puzzles!

I was wondering the other day if Little Man was at the same or a high level than other children his age.  He is working on puzzles higher than the suggested age but I was wondering if those ages are actually lower than those who can actually do them. 

At 2 years and 2 months (August) while on vacation we needed some toys to keep Little Man occupied.  He was tired with the few toys we brought with us.  So we bought a 36 piece (4+) puzzle.  We decided to choose a more advanced puzzle since the wooden ones (or those in the 2 year age group) were boring for him.  He needed some help at first.  But within one month he was putting it together by himself (September).  Amazing my cousin who was visiting. She in turn bought him another 36 piece 4-6 year old puzzle.  He actually picked this one up in no time.  I'd say the second or third time he was able to complete it without any assistance.  2 months later (December) we bought him a more challenging puzzle a 100 piece 5-8 year old puzzle!  We normally do this one together but he could do it by himself except for the sky which is hard for us haha!  My husband then (March) bought him 54 piece 5 year + puzzle (we wanted one he could do all on his own...it is challenging even though it has less pieces). 

So what's the verdict are other almost 3 year olds doing around 60 pieces with no assistance or 100 pieces with little assistance?  The teacher at his part time daycare (In French Halte de Garderie) says this is not normal for a child his age.  We are encouraging this skill maybe he will become an architect or engineer ;-)

I have heard of these Frobel Gifts that were used by Frank Lloyd Wright...we might by them next go around.
http://www.froebelgifts.com/gifts.htm

Little Miss Update Feb - May (Present)

This is my attempt on updating everyone on Little Miss.  Sorry there are so many months to catch up on but this way you can see her grow in 5 mins ;-).  I will try to list all of her accomplishments as there were many!

February - 4 months mid month

Let's see...Little Miss was consistently holding her head up.  Waking up only once per night around 5am (9 hours).  We slowly got that down to 6am (10 hours) and then 7am + (11-12 hours) within the month!  She was still exclusively nursing.  Weight and Height 50 - 75 percentile (so not a porker like Little Man was at a whopping 97%!).

She started to roll at 3 months while in Florida.  So we decided it was time to start sleep training.  We decided to do this because she was sucking on her hands/thumb, could roll (she preferred to sleep on her belly) and she was pretty much on a consistent sleep schedule/pattern.  With Little Man we waited too long (9 months) and it was difficult.  But for Little Miss it was a breeze she barely cried (2 mins max) and was out like a light!  Even to this day (7 months old she goes out fairly easily when she is tired without any rocking, soothing etc...It's ideal when you have a crazy toddler running around the house as well ;-)

Basically she was smiling, laughing, playing (a little tiny bit), eating (a lot) and sleeping (a lot)!

4 month photo

March - 5 months mid month

Not the best pics (except for the 5 month photo love this one!) but it shows her HUGE progression this month SITTING!  YES just shy of 5 months she started to sit by holding her self upright with her hands.  She fell a lot but this was the beginning and now of course she is a pro and rarely falls (7 months).   

April - 6 months mid month

She started to eat solids at 6 months (recommendation here in France...and we didn't start with Little Man till 6 months as well).  She was slow to start but caught on pretty quickly.  I made a mistake by giving her too many bananas...trust me don't do this!  It's hard because there aren't that many fruits yet.  France really stays in season so it's hard to find too much she can eat (strawberries are not recommended until 1 years old here as well as citrus and kiwi's).  She had a sore belly for a day or so.  It was very upsetting.  But I will not make that mistake again!

She also stopped nursing.  I had trouble keeping up once she started sleeping through the nights :-(.  But glad I could do it with her as well and this time longer!

I have started to do "Photo Shoots'' with the kids monthly (some together some separate).  She is really changing fast and is getting so BEAUTIFUL (I think but I'm impartial haha!).

Sitting was easier and easier for her this month.  She was able to play more and is very interested in her big bro!  She just lights up when she sees or hears him.

She also cut her first and second tooth this month!  Ahhh...Little Man was 11 months old and really I missed out on the sleepless nights for him (because he was older and it didn't really bother him).  I was not hopeful we would be so fortunate...but so far so good.  She hasn't cut anymore since these first 2 but she was drooling quite a bit last week so I think another one is fast approaching! 

May - 7 months mid month

Finally Spring is ''starting'' to show up!  The weather is very schizophrenic to be honest...rainy, cool (not cold...40-50 highs), cloudy/gloomy then all of a sudden sunny and cool (high 60's high) and then rainy/cold again.  It is more common for weather like this in March not May.  But you take what you can get.  France is not known for it's wonderful weather.  But everybody here is desperate for the official Spring to start!

Little Miss started to Crawl!  YES 1 week shy of 7 months (Little Man was around 8.5 months when he started to do the army scoot and 9 months when he actually crawled).  She is now 7 months 1 week and she is really crawling on hands and knees (sometimes slips to her belly when she gets tired).  But I think I can officially say she is crawling!   I am assuming she will walk early (Little Man was 13 months when he took his first steps...so I'm thinking she will be 10 or 11 months walking!).  I am looking forward to it.  I really don't like the crawling phase...they get so dirty.  And I try to keep a clean house haha!  But one was not meant to crawl where people walk with dirty shoes etc...She is enjoying discovering cables and other objects she is not allowed to touch.  And consistently tries to get at them.  Her Papa has some work to do this weekend (since we were away last weekend).

Sitting is a breeze for her now.  She is not sitting up by herself yet but I expect it to occur soon. 

Here are some pics of Little Miss in the Sunshine and some of us in Normandy (it was cold and rainy...but I'm sure in sunny weather without an infant (who can't be cold or wet) it's a wonderful place ;-)

January in Florida 2012!

This is becoming a tradition or we are just becoming Snow Birds ;-)  Either way I am loving the breaks from the cold to enjoy Sunny Florida!!

Unfortunately my dad moved away from Florida recently (our last relative in this GREAT State).  But no worries we already have Florida plans for March 2013 as my sister is getting hitched there!

One thing is for sure Florida will always hold a special place in our hearts.  We have many GREAT friends who still live there.  Most who are life long friends so no worries we will make many trips to visit you all well only from November - May that is ;-)...we will NOT subject ourselves willingly to another Florida Summer haha! 

Big Boy Swing...my dad taught him a lot on this trip!

Little Miss Turned 3 months while on our trip!

First Steps in The Gulf

Where it all began...the spot of our Wedding ;-) and the house we rented for the Fete

Reenactment Photo - Husband would like to remain out of the blog...hence this is the set up shot not actual photo ;-)  but it turned out great

Cité des Enfants

Little Man and I went to Cité des Enfants with some friends. It is a hands on museum designed for 2-7 year olds (and there is also a separate one for 7 - 14 year olds as well). We have been to a few hands on museums in our home town in Florida. At first I thought this was similar to the new one we have in Tampa Glazer Children's Museum BUT after revisiting it this past January with a now 2.5 year old vs. an 18 month year old I see the Parisian one is so much better!   Below are some pictures from my Cell Phone...I was not able to capture all of it since I was alone with him and didn't want to risk him bolting ;-)  The areas were all designed by different themes: Discovering Myself, Working Together, Mazes, Experiments (with Water, Wind and Energy) and a few more that I can't seem to translate/interpret into English.  The only negative is that you are only allowed 1.5 hours to play for your admission.  But you are promised a set amount of people even on holidays and weekends (so that is a plus!).  I would recommend to order your tickets online (you can either print at home or print on a kiosk onsite).  Enjoy!

Mirrors to Capture your emotions

House of Mirrors he loved this!  And he ran into himself a few times it was hilarious

Little Construction Worker

Fastening his Seat Belt

Water Play!

Waiting his turn ;-)

Water Cannon