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The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 55,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 20 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
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We’ve got ourselves another itsy bitys teeny weeny babe on our hands. Averi, 4 months is weighing in at a whopping 12 lbs. Same as her sister at 4 months.
This kid likes:
Sucking on her toes.
Watching her sister.
Eating.
Sleeping.
Her carseat, as long as it’s moving.
You guys, I still haven’t switched her to the crib. I know, I know….Seriously I am chicken. Why rock the baby who sleeps through the night -5 out of 7 nights of the week. I mean S.L.E.E.P.S the entire night…6:30 to 6:30. WHY would I mess with that? Because Kim, she needs to be in her crib! Dammit!
This ham is a creature of habit, she loves her routine and I swear she will freak the hell out if she doesn’t have a bottle in her mouth at the right time…TWSS
The doc said I can start her on oatmeal now and then veggies at 5 months, doesn’t this seem early? Im in no rush to push foods on her but it might be fun to see her reaction, we’ll see. It’s amazing how much I forgot about the baby months. I actually had to google “when do babies crawl”. Where do all these memories go?
I guess life has gotten in the way of my blogging. Not exactly sure what we have been doing with our free time but it comes and goes and then I realize I haven’t written in days.
A few weeks back Senna, my elderly kitty of 19 years had a stroke and wouldn’t leave the side of the house. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with her but she had no interest in food or water and could barely walk. My neighbor said I should take her to the vet, but I was alone with two kids with no crate, how was I going to manage that? I decided I would wait until the next morning to make a decision, it was all too sudden. But a few hours later I realized she was in misery, so I called the vet and asked what my options were and decided to take her in and have her put down. I am so thankful for my next door neighbors, one of them watched the kids while the other drove me to the vet. The vet confirmed it was most likely a stroke and that it happens in older cats. I stayed with Senna while she was sedated and then I left, not wanting to sit through the end. I was heartbroken and two weeks later I still think I hear her meowing and go to the door to let her in or to offer her chicken. She lived a long life as an indoor and outdoor cat. She traveled through California with me and probably used up many of her 9 lives battling cars, coyotes and possums throughout the years.
Last weekend was our monthly dinner party and the theme was “retro”. My plan was to make beef wellington but when I saw the price of the beef tenderloin at Costco, I decided maybe not -cha-ching! I then went back and forth on what to make and finally settled on Swedish meatballs. After staring and comparing 10 different recipes I went with Alton Browns. It was farely easy to make and it turned out great. The bowl was empty by the end of the night.
I also had my hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test. This is the same test I had when I was trying to get pregnant…oh the irony. After I had Averi the doctors had a hard time actually finding my fallopian tubes due to the mess of scar tissue left from Kaili’s delivery. They weren’t exactly sure if they were successful in their attempt to tie them so I patiently waited 3 months and then had my HSG. Two thumbs up, everything is as I want it.
Speaking of Averi, she turned 4 months a few days ago, can we talk more about that later? Someone hasn’t taken her monthly pictures yet. (points to self)
Is it really two weeks until Thanksgiving?
What can I say? Without sounding like a complete asshole, I have the best baby.
STATS-
Weight- not sure, maybe 12 lbs.?
Length-don’t know but she is getting too long for her rock N play and the bouncer.
Eats- 4 oz every 3 hours during the day.
Sleeps- Like a boss, in her own room.
Okay, she isn’t in the crib at night yet but that’s my own issue. I wanted to transition her out of the swaddle the same time I put her to down at night in the crib. But the awesome Zipadee-zip sold out faster than I expected, thanks to Shark Tank…even though Shane told me so.
Now, she is sleeping, still swaddled in her rock N play at night but napping unswaddled in her crib during the day. She goes to bed around 6:30-7:00 and has been sleeping until 4:00. I can get her back to sleep by 5:isn and then she wakes again about 7:30. Now if I could just get Kaili to sleep until 7:30 we would have a perfect world.
She is just so happy. She goes right down to sleep, she isn’t relying on a pacifier…yet, she is fine in her carseat and stroller and she only cries when she is hungry or tired. She can hang outside in her bouncer while I hot tub it with the sister and she is chill. She is just a content child.
The second hand clothes thing is working out brilliantly. Averi is fitting into all of Kaili’s 3-6 months clothes at 3 months where as Kaili was fitting into them at 6 months. Which means all the holiday clothes will be able to be used right on schedule. It’s almost like we planned it this way.
Each day with two kids gets easier and easier. I hope I can say the same at next month.
I’m sure I will be repeating myself when I say how lucky we were to have our babies at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital. When I moved down to San Diego I didn’t know how close we were to the hospital, the same hospital where I was born at. We are only 2 miles away. I also didn’t know how important having a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) would be for our babies. Thankfully, Sharp Mary Birch has a level 3 NICU and if they didn’t, we would have lost Kaili and maybe even Averi. I mean, can you imagine?
I also told you how a few weeks back Dr. Anup Katheria invited me to a Sharp Hospital event, featuring Averi, the baby face of the Life Start Bed. The research Dr. Katheria is doing has the potential to impact the way babies are delivered all over the world, it is truly remarkable and life changing work to save the most fragile of all – babies….and it started right here with Averi at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital.
The Hospital board is hoping to raise $50,000 by November 17th which is National Prematurity day. This is not a plea for your money but a request to take a look and maybe share the Every Breath Counts webpage with friends and family who might want to make a donation. “An anonymous donor who also believes in the cause has agreed to match donations dollar for dollar up to $50,000!”
Here is the link for the Every Breath Counts page featuring my baby girl. She benefited greatly from the Life Start bed and just think how many other premature babies will too.
There are some things that I will never be…a pro-lifer, a racist, a lesbian or a vegetarian. Sometimes I worry that these gluten free-vegan kids are going to turn into rebellious teenage cannibals. Do you worry about that? I read a study that said 73% of children are getting caffeine in form of soda, what the hell? I have a hard time giving my kid chocolate milk, actually she has never had it. Our Pediatrician said he preferred chocolate milk over juice, maybe that is why the percentage is so high. What happened to regular milk and water? Also Gatorade isn’t for kids, just saying.
Kaili has been waking before the sun and it’s time to put a stop to it. The husband says I am inconsistent with her in the mornings while he is gone (which is true), while he is consistent with her while he is home. ( which is mostly true) However, he isn’t up with the baby during the night, so I call that a wash. I had to throw the next door neighbors dog under the bus as a consequence. Kaili LOVES our neighbor and the dog and she has recently become really good at helping make the dogs dinner..which can I just say eats better than the guests at an Embassy Suites. Kaili also likes to give the dog treats after he shakes, rattles and rolls for her. But now, unless she can stay in her room until a decent time which is indicated by her light up alarm clock, she can not feed the dog. Harsh, I know, but seriously you guys, 5:00 am is not a decent time to wake up.
Here are some cute pictures of Kaili, notice you can’t see her face.
That is because this is what it looks like after waking up at 5:00 a.m. AKA dark outside.
Last week I got a call from Dr. Katheria. He is the Neonatologist that delayed Averi’s cord clamping while on his new warmer bed during her delivery. He invited me to a Sharp Hospital event up in Rancho Santa Fe. The event was to help promote his bed and Averi’s news clip was going to be featured so I thought, why not? It was a really nice time, hobnobbing with doctors and very wealthy housewives.
Have you guys made this recipe yet? I have talked about it many times over the years, it’s foolproof! You can use this recipe for the spice mixture and it keeps for a long time in an air tight container. The dish takes no time to prep, cook and eat.
Do I have a 3 year old or an 80 year old?
Averi is the best baby. I don’t remember Kaili being so easy…I hope I didn’t just jinx myself.
Yesterday was my 8 year wedding anniversary. I spent most of the day wiping butts, not my husbands of course. He is up at work so we didn’t get to spend that actual day together, but after 8 years and two kids later that’s the least of our worries.
Kids have made our marriage stronger, well at least I think so. It has taught me what is really important in my marriage and what I need in a partner for life.
In some of my bleakest times I can always count on him to get me to laugh. It may not be appropriate but it will be funny. He knows all of my shortcomings and what I am self conscious about but he can talk me off of the ledge and out of the downward spiral I might be sliding towards.
One of the most important things he has taught me is to stand up for myself and speak my mind. I may not do it all the time, or I may do it at the wrong time, but I know he is in my corner whenever I need him. He has the courage to tell me when I am being overly emotional or dramatic but most of the time he does it ever so kindly.
We talk through most every decision that is made regarding our lives. We have the sense of adventure to keep each other going, oh we have plans my friends. Although a lot of them will have to wait until the kids get older.
He is working is tail off to make all our dreams come true and I am raising our daughters, doing my best not to screw them up too much. He is a much better father than I could have imagined having in a husband. I am surprised by how easily he picked it up and actually find myself jealous that it came so natural to him.
Together we make a good team and 8 years ago I made a really good decision marrying him.
Happy Anniversary Love.
Three and a half years later and I feel like a first time mom but this time I am less of a worry wart. Every few nights when I am standing in the dark rocking rocking Averi, I wonder how I did this the first time around and WHY do some women keep on having babies?
This is why.
Averi Ciera, she is a darn good baby, rarely cries and just wants to be loved on, so who am I to complain? Nights are getting better. We have just started getting into a routine and she is starting to give me 6 hour sleep stretches at night, it’s great. But getting her to sleep takes a hot minute and it’s stressful, which I completely forgot about from the first time around…Conveniently.
She takes two to three naps a day. I would love to say she naps at the same time and the same place each day but that won’t happen. Kaili’s school and daily activities just won’t allow that luxury. I find myself walking a thin line between following a routine and playing it by ear. Basically I am struggling to find a rhythm. I should say that when Shane is home, things are much easier. Having another pair of hands to help with the bottles and the dishes and the cooking and the feeding just makes life a little easier. Major props to all the single parents out there!
Here is stone cold face Averi. She is giving smiles, I am just not quick enough to capture a really good one on film.
Is it really September? Somehow the the past few weeks have been a blur and I find myself looking forward to Fall. I am sure I will regret that statement by NovemBRRR.
Kaili has spent the past week in the water, swimming in our neighbors pool or the hot tub. She has stayed up late playing with friends and making pizza. We had our neighborhood block party and Kaili had her “real” first day of school. When watching her play, the three things I know she is picking up from school are, the months of the year, that Jesus loves her, and you go to time out for hitting.
The Art of Thyming 