The first: A bloody nose! Ella was crawling on the kitchen floor and took too wide a stance with her arms, slipped, and did a face plant into the floor. Fierce crying ensued and just a tiny brief stream of blood came out of one nostril. Needless to say, after much cuddling on the couch and a bottle of milk she was just fine.
The "few more" refer to more signs that Ella is using. She has been signing "more" for some time now. Recently she has added the signs for "finished" and "food/eat". Now, her signs, just like a toddler's words, are not exactly formed perfectly. If anyone other than Matt and I saw them they probably would not realize what she was trying to say, just like most parents are the only ones to understand most of their 18 month old's speech.
She makes the sign for food by bringing the back of her hand, instead of her fingers, up to her mouth.
Her "finished" mostly consists of her throwing her hands behind her back. However, once I have seen her start with her hands together before throwing them apart, which is more like what the sign should really be.
I think that we will start working on the signs for book, play, and mommy and daddy.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
walking update
I mentioned in an earlier post about a game that we play with Ella. We have her walk from parent to parent, holding on to the backs of her elbows for a bit and then letting her go the rest of the way on her own. She has recently gotten much better at this game. She is doing some things that are making her PT very happy.
She will now initiate walking from a complete stand still. She does not need to be pulled, pushed, or prompted in any other way.
She no longer always falls into the receiving parent. She will now, sometimes, keep walking upright until she hits her shins on your legs and will just lean on your chest or shoulders.
She can go farther and take more steps.
Her balance is better.
So, no truly independent walking for Christmas (I was hoping that would be my present this year), but she is so damn close. Her PT thinks that she could be doing it within the month. She says that Ella still needs to learn how to get herself down more carefully (by bending her knees instead of just falling with straight legs onto her butt). She probably won't want to walk independently without having that skill so that she can stop walking at anytime without falling and hurting herself.
She will now initiate walking from a complete stand still. She does not need to be pulled, pushed, or prompted in any other way.
She no longer always falls into the receiving parent. She will now, sometimes, keep walking upright until she hits her shins on your legs and will just lean on your chest or shoulders.
She can go farther and take more steps.
Her balance is better.
So, no truly independent walking for Christmas (I was hoping that would be my present this year), but she is so damn close. Her PT thinks that she could be doing it within the month. She says that Ella still needs to learn how to get herself down more carefully (by bending her knees instead of just falling with straight legs onto her butt). She probably won't want to walk independently without having that skill so that she can stop walking at anytime without falling and hurting herself.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Recommended Reading
One of my dream jobs has always been to write book or movie reviews.
Not something I see happening anytime soon.
On the advice of a friend, I started keeping a book journal a few years ago. Each January I flip to a new page and title it with the year. Then, each time I finish another book, I write down the title and author. Sometimes I also make other notes if, for example I am listing a book that I am rereading, or I have listened to a book on tape. Looking back at the journal gives me a sense of accomplishment. In an average year I read about 20 books.
Since I am probably never going to write a published book review, and because I know that everyone sometimes need suggestions for good books to read I am going to list my 3 favorites from this past year of reading. I hope that you find them usefull.
1. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
This has to be one of my all time favorites. It is spiritually relevant, deeply moving, and very funny. A woman travels to Italy, India, and Bali on a spiritual quest. Non-fiction
2. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
This one has been popular for awhile, so I am slow to catch on. It is a retelling of the Wizard of Oz from the viewpoint of the Wicked Witch of the West. Rich characters and an engaging plot. Fiction
3. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
This one was recently made into a movie directed by Sean Penn, but I haven't seen it. The book is great, though. It is the true story of a young man who wanted to remove himself from the trappings of society and learn how to live off the land. Krakauer is one of my favorite non fiction writers. I have also read his account of the tragedy on Mt. Everest called Into Thin Air and his amazing explination of the world of funamendalist Mormons called Under the Banner of Heaven.
Not something I see happening anytime soon.
On the advice of a friend, I started keeping a book journal a few years ago. Each January I flip to a new page and title it with the year. Then, each time I finish another book, I write down the title and author. Sometimes I also make other notes if, for example I am listing a book that I am rereading, or I have listened to a book on tape. Looking back at the journal gives me a sense of accomplishment. In an average year I read about 20 books.
Since I am probably never going to write a published book review, and because I know that everyone sometimes need suggestions for good books to read I am going to list my 3 favorites from this past year of reading. I hope that you find them usefull.
1. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
This has to be one of my all time favorites. It is spiritually relevant, deeply moving, and very funny. A woman travels to Italy, India, and Bali on a spiritual quest. Non-fiction
2. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
This one has been popular for awhile, so I am slow to catch on. It is a retelling of the Wizard of Oz from the viewpoint of the Wicked Witch of the West. Rich characters and an engaging plot. Fiction
3. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
This one was recently made into a movie directed by Sean Penn, but I haven't seen it. The book is great, though. It is the true story of a young man who wanted to remove himself from the trappings of society and learn how to live off the land. Krakauer is one of my favorite non fiction writers. I have also read his account of the tragedy on Mt. Everest called Into Thin Air and his amazing explination of the world of funamendalist Mormons called Under the Banner of Heaven.
Am I the only one who seems uninformed?
OK, so here is the sickness update.
Matt took Ella to the doctor on Saturday. It turns out that she likely has some form of flu that is going around that is close to a strain that is in this years vaccine. So, she has the virus, but she isn't getting it as bad as she would have if she hadn't gotten the flu shot.
It also turns out that some forms of the flu can cause you to become lactose intolerant. So, we stop giving her milk until the vomiting and diarrhea go away. I must say that it seems to be working. She hasn't vomited since Saturday and she is less snotty (I have known for sometime that dairy products make the body's mucus membranes produce more...well...mucus). She is still coughing quite a bit, however. We are giving her lots of yogurt because the lactose in that is already broken down by the natural bacteria in it. And we have her on the BRATY diet: Banannas Rice Applesauce Toast Yogurt.
Matt was a little taken aback by this lactose intolerance explination at first, but then decided that it made sense, and explained why he was always told to stop drinking milk when he had the flu. I was taken aback as well. When I thought about it, I decided it did make sense. However, I was still amazed that I had never heard of this phenomon before now. Maybe it is because I never drank much milk as a child and never had to worry about quitting it because I was sick. I was baffled to realize that it wasn't something that was in our baby book.
I think this information needs to be added to the minds of parents everywhere, especially because it is so counterintuitive to stop giving milk to a small and growing child. So, if you suspect your kid has the flu and is vomiting, try going without the milk for a day or so and see if it helps. Or call you doctor since I am not qualified to much more than lick a postage stamp.
Matt took Ella to the doctor on Saturday. It turns out that she likely has some form of flu that is going around that is close to a strain that is in this years vaccine. So, she has the virus, but she isn't getting it as bad as she would have if she hadn't gotten the flu shot.
It also turns out that some forms of the flu can cause you to become lactose intolerant. So, we stop giving her milk until the vomiting and diarrhea go away. I must say that it seems to be working. She hasn't vomited since Saturday and she is less snotty (I have known for sometime that dairy products make the body's mucus membranes produce more...well...mucus). She is still coughing quite a bit, however. We are giving her lots of yogurt because the lactose in that is already broken down by the natural bacteria in it. And we have her on the BRATY diet: Banannas Rice Applesauce Toast Yogurt.
Matt was a little taken aback by this lactose intolerance explination at first, but then decided that it made sense, and explained why he was always told to stop drinking milk when he had the flu. I was taken aback as well. When I thought about it, I decided it did make sense. However, I was still amazed that I had never heard of this phenomon before now. Maybe it is because I never drank much milk as a child and never had to worry about quitting it because I was sick. I was baffled to realize that it wasn't something that was in our baby book.
I think this information needs to be added to the minds of parents everywhere, especially because it is so counterintuitive to stop giving milk to a small and growing child. So, if you suspect your kid has the flu and is vomiting, try going without the milk for a day or so and see if it helps. Or call you doctor since I am not qualified to much more than lick a postage stamp.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
sickness
Ella has been coughing, vomiting, having mildly loose stools, and not eating very much for over 2 weeks now. This morning, when I was trying to sleep in and let her father live in my world (waking up at 6am, feed baby, etc. etc.) she vomited and Matt decided that it was time to call the doctor. I am sick also (cold AND an upset digestive system) so he is taking her to the doctor by himself (first time he has done this). This should prove to be an interesting weekend.
Monday, December 10, 2007
for more information...
I was going to write some of my observations/memories about Ella's appointment with the developmental specialist but Ella has now decided to take a 20 minute nap and will not fall back to sleep. So, for information please follow the link to Mental Father and read his blog on the subject.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
steps and games
One of the things that her PT has told me to try (to get Ella walking) is to have her balance with her back up against some soft furniture, then get her to lunge forward into my arms. This exercise does not work. She thinks it is hysterical every time I try it and will explode in fits of laughter while collapsing to the ground, or bending and twisting around in such a way as to avoid any attempts by me to get her to balance on two feet. While it is amusing to go through this, it isn't very productive in the "learning to walk" department.
Today, Matt and I tried something new. We have found that, if you get Ella walking (holding onto your hand) and then kind of let go while she is headed toward a much desired (and stable) object, she will take a step or two of her own to finish getting there by herself. So, we set ourselves up in the hallway, one parent at each end. One of us had her walking toward the other, who would be sitting on the ground. We would walk her to within a few steps of the other parent and then force her hands to let go and she would take two or three steps to get to the waiting parent. Then, of course, the whole thing repeats with the direction and parents' role switched. We did a couple of rounds of this. Sometimes, like I said, she would take 2 or 3 steps, sometimes she would only get in one. Whenever she collapsed into someones arms, she was ALWAYS laughing and smiling.
By the end of the exercise, she was so hysterical with laughter that she wouldn't even stand up without immediately collapsing her butt back down into Matt's lap. This, of course, devolved into her favorite crawling game that we like to call "Come and Get Me" which consists of her crawling a few feet away from you, sitting down, and waiting for you to come and "get her". "Getting her" means that you crawl toward her very loudly and with purpose. Upon reaching her you must then bury your head into her stomach and tickle her saying "I got you" in a funny voice. Laughter ensues, and the whole process is repeated. The cutest thing is that, when she starts getting really into the laughing, she will only crawl a few inches before sitting down to make you "get her" again. And sometimes she will come to "get" you, which is when I pull her on top of me, lay back on the floor as though she has tackled me, and thrash around saying, "you got me!"
Today, Matt and I tried something new. We have found that, if you get Ella walking (holding onto your hand) and then kind of let go while she is headed toward a much desired (and stable) object, she will take a step or two of her own to finish getting there by herself. So, we set ourselves up in the hallway, one parent at each end. One of us had her walking toward the other, who would be sitting on the ground. We would walk her to within a few steps of the other parent and then force her hands to let go and she would take two or three steps to get to the waiting parent. Then, of course, the whole thing repeats with the direction and parents' role switched. We did a couple of rounds of this. Sometimes, like I said, she would take 2 or 3 steps, sometimes she would only get in one. Whenever she collapsed into someones arms, she was ALWAYS laughing and smiling.
By the end of the exercise, she was so hysterical with laughter that she wouldn't even stand up without immediately collapsing her butt back down into Matt's lap. This, of course, devolved into her favorite crawling game that we like to call "Come and Get Me" which consists of her crawling a few feet away from you, sitting down, and waiting for you to come and "get her". "Getting her" means that you crawl toward her very loudly and with purpose. Upon reaching her you must then bury your head into her stomach and tickle her saying "I got you" in a funny voice. Laughter ensues, and the whole process is repeated. The cutest thing is that, when she starts getting really into the laughing, she will only crawl a few inches before sitting down to make you "get her" again. And sometimes she will come to "get" you, which is when I pull her on top of me, lay back on the floor as though she has tackled me, and thrash around saying, "you got me!"
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