We've Got a Walker!

Madeline has FINALLY taken her first steps. Today, she took several steps at my grandma's house. Then, took several more at home. Photos and video to follow!

Next Year

Above are 3 pictures from our awesome Halloween party at HPC. They have absolutely nothing to do with this post, but I just thought you all might like to see them. Madeline dressed as Elmo, of course, and played with her favorite toy, the playhouse!

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We are inching closer by the day to my return to work. This caused a lot of anxiety for me, not because I don't love my job, but rather that I had no idea where Madeline would be going. I just couldn't picture her in a day care. This is the girl who had stranger danger and separation anxiety early and often. Who hates it when I leave a room. Who won't let anyone else hold her (since about 3 months!) How could she possibly be happy without me...?

All my fears were immediately kicked to the curb when I discovered Jewish Day Nursery (JDN). Although not much to look at from the outside, I was blown away by what the inside had to offer. I wanted to share with you why I chose to pick JDN for Madeline and why I am 100% confident she will be so happy there.

• The school is completely child-centered. They have the same teachers everyday and never hire subs, they use their in-building floating teachers that the child already know.
• They have bathrooms in the classrooms so that as children are being potty trained, they don't have to walk to the hall all day.
• Their playground is separated into pre-school and toddler. The toys are scaled for the size of the children and they even have the world's smallest sledding hill, a water park, and a bike path for the kids to use. In the event of a warm, rainy day, there is a large space with a covered roof so they can play games outside.
• The rooms are set up with many nooks and cranys so that the kids have a sense of calm and comfort. The school strives to help children feel comfortable.
• They don't rush mom's departure.
• They have a naturalist that comes and plants a garden with the kids and teaches them how to take care of it and pick the veggies (and then they eat them!).
• Pre-school kids learn Spanish!
• They do music and movement every day.
• They nap at her nap time. The kids get the same cot and sleep space everyday, and although it isn't in a different space, it feels private.
• The teachers eat with their students as a class.
• They provide breakfast and snacks, which will cut down on the time our morning routine takes.
• They are located VERY close to our house, and on the way to both Alex and my work, and between my mom's house and her work.
• Their muscle room isn't overwhelming.
• The director is amazing.
• They teach kids to internalize decisions and correct issues through talking, not stickers or rewards.

I couldn't be more happy with our decision!!!

Where Has the Time Gone?

So much has happened since the last time I posted. I have been so busy that I just haven't had the time to blog...

Madeline has had three seperate and distinct illnesses in the month of August. THREE! She has been sick off and on for the entire month. We started with the summer virus, which left her with a fever on her real birthday. As soon as she was better (not even a day later), she got a cold that is the deepest chest cold I have ever heard a baby have. We are talking runny nose, crabby, the works.

And now, a second virus. We had to get a chest x-ray to rule out pnemonia, but that came back clear. Dr. Hertzer informed us that we were in the house for the week. (It started Saturday).

With illness, as all you mom's out there know, comes sleepless nights. And Madeline, my power sleeper, is no exception. I am literally exhausted from lack of sleep and she appears to feel the same way. We are on her 3rd nap of the day (she usually takes two).

And with that, I will take a rest myself because who knows when I will get the chance again.

Updates Galore

1. We have added two more Elmos to the family. Alex came up with their names, "newer newer old Elmo" and "newest newest old Elmo". For Kelly's sake, I will avoid telling where the other Elmos were taken, to avoid overusing the name of everyone's favorite furry red monster.

2. Madeline was sick from Sunday to Wednesday with a summer virus. She had a high fever (up to 103.5 and was a whining, weepy mess.

3. During Madeline's illness, she woke up every 30 minutes. I am not exaggerating. And yes, of course I went in each and every time and rocked her back to sleep with songs and kisses.

4. I didn't even bother getting dressed, doing housework or cooking on Monday or Tuesday because I was so exhausted from the all-nighters, but by Wednesday, my body had adjusted nicely to the lack of sleep.

5. Madeline was able to fall asleep on her own tonight (fever free of course!) and although it took a long time and a lot of talking, she was able to put herself back to sleep when she woke up an hour later. Hopefully, she sleeps through the night tonight and I can get rid of the bags under my eyes!

Working Girl

It's hard to go from playgroup, to HPC, to kinder shabbat and still have energy to be the youngest Intuit employee. Check out my baby at the office.

Follow Up

We are up to 2 oz of milk with every bottle. She gets 7 oz. of Neocate+the prevacid+the rice cereal+the whole milk. Making Madeline a bottle is a 5 minute operation. But, hey, it's working!

On another note, Madeline came down with the summer virus that is going around. She had a fever of 103.5 today, so I called the doctor, who told me we were doing everything that could be done and it would go away. She had a very unhappy day today. Lots of tears.=(

Great Success!!!

After a trip to Dr. Paschall, the pediatric allergist, we know that Madeline is NOT deathly allergic to any of the 6 things we tested her for, which included milk, soy, carrots, strawberries, corn, and oranges.

This does not prevent her from having a reaction, but as it was explained to us, the reaction would be more discomfort than needing medical attention. We are going to attempt cows milk this week, once we have talked to the Gastro about how to introduce it slowly.

We are grateful to Neocate for the help it gave Madeline in her first year, but we are ready to cut our ties with it (and its ridiculously high price tag!).

Updates to follow...