What Is Happening Now...

I keep meaning to write a blog post but it doesn't happen. Same with taking pictures. Heck, how about I take a picture where I'm the one with Willa. Someday soon.  Maybe this weekend when we are in Pennsylvania visiting Daren's family.

Life is a whirlwind. I can't believe that the summer is almost over! I had glorious plans of living at the pool this summer and turning my daughter into a fish. I'm happy to say that she has worn all four of the swimming suits I bought for her, but she is no where near a fish. We have two pools in our neighborhood that we frequent. One of the pools is a bit more adult friendly and the other pool is very kid friendly. The folks with the kid friendly pool started having Friday "happy hours" and we made the invite list. Their pool has a "lily pad" area where the water is less than a foot deep and has two bubblers. This is Willa's area to hangout in her float while watching the big kids play. Also, this pool has a rock wall and waterfall. I know how you are thinking it sounds totally awesome...because it is. Here are the pictures from a few weeks ago.

Willa chilling with friends

Reaching for the bubbles

Heading to the deep end with Daddy to explore the waterfall

We are still searching for foods that Willa can eat. The latest attempt was watermelon. I think it took about five minutes before she actually brought the piece of fruit to her mouth.

Initial inspection

Wasn't so sure and gave it the stink eye

Finally picked it up and passed it from  hand to hand

The ol' two handed squeeze test

Deemed safe for consumption

As Willa is getting more and more mobile we have to keep and eye on her. For the most part there isn't a lot of childproofing needed in the large open space that is our kitchen and living room. However, there is one location where we need to keep an eye on Willa and that is the doorstop for the door heading out to our screen porch. That doorstop must seem like the perfect teether as Willa is doing a drive by crawl. I think the face below shows that she understands and doesn't like when we use the word "no".

Getting Mobile

Willa has perfected a new crawling technique. We are calling it the "double arm pull" method. This is just before bed while wearing a sleeper onsie. This kid gets a whole lot quicker when she can use her legs and toes to push off. I wish I could say Willa is super excited because she is crawling towards me...nope, she is going after my flip video camera.

We are also very happy to share that Willa has gained weight! Wednesday was her 9 month appointment at the pediatrician and she weighed in at 13lb 3oz. That is a half pound more than last week at UNC Hospital. That is huge weight gain in a short amount of time.

Household Items As Toys

Willa is like most babies...she plays with things that are not normally considered toys.

She loves the bathroom scale. She has figured out how to make it beep. This little area of our living room is her triangle of fun - she can go from the bathroom scale, to the floor vent, to a box of diapers by  pivoting. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Willa loves to chase the dry floor mop. She gets pissed if you mop super fast and she can't keep the pace. Also, Willa is fascinated by the vacuum. It doesn't matter if the vacuum is on or off...she is all over it. Here she is army crawling as fast as she can to get to Daren with all of her toys.

Finally, her newest teether is a doorstop. I'm a proud momma.

This is her "oops I'm busted" face.

How Many Doctors Did We See?

I lost track of which folks were doctors, which were therapists, and which were nurse practitioners.

Last Thursday was a marathon morning at UNC Hospital. We started the day with Willa' NICU follow-up.  Of course, before any visit, there is the measurement portion. Willa weighed in at 12lb 11oz and 26.5 inches in length. I think she might have hit 13lb if she hadn't have pooped right before being placed on the scale.

The NICU follow-up consisted of a rotating door of folks giving Willa a work up. The first part looked like fun and games. The woman used toys to get Willa to look in all different directions. Willa also had her reflexes, flexibility, hearing and eyesight tested. I think she passed this portion with flying colors.

Next up was a visit from occupational therapy/physical therapy. This was our old friend Lisa - the same one who made Willa's turtle shell. Lisa found issues with Willa's lack of core strength, balance, and muscle tone. Much of this seemed to be duplicate of what we are already working on with PT.

The third person to look at Willa was the speech pathologist. It was also about this time that Willa started to get hungry. Willa did great eating her baby food but there was some concern with her "technique" of taking the bottle. Willa eats at her own pace.  Often, she is distracted by her surroundings and loses suction on the nipple. Also, the lack of volume was concerning. We discussed her occasion spitting up and hiccups. They thought it sounded like silent reflux.  Willa is being put on a medicine to be taken twice a day. Hopefully, this will be the cure that gets her to eat more. I'm skeptical but I do hope it works.

I don't even know the title of the fourth person. It almost seemed like a big wrap up of the previous folks as well as discussing Willa's lack of weight gain. We were told that Willa might not be eating large amounts because she is fatiguing due to low muscle tone. The work done in PT should help with this. Also, we were told to stop using the excersaucer and the johnny jump up because it is creating the bad habit of not using the core for standing.

I thought the NICU follow-up was a very helpful visit. With that being said, I wish it had occurred during the normal 3-6m timeframe (as stated in the informational brochure). I just think about how much further ahead we could be on solving some of these issues had the visit occurred sooner than 9m. They want to see us back in 3 months. Also, we are to call in with weekly weight checks.

Next came two doctors from plastic surgery. We requested a consult to have them look at Willa's flat spot and potential need for a helmet. Thankfully, Willa's head is fine and no helmet is needed.

After plastics came a visit with the nutritionist. Again, we talked about Willa's eating and lack of weight gain. Willa is supposed to be drinking 24oz of breast milk a day. We are not coming close to that number. We now have the okay to wake Willa at night to get in an extra feeding. We are also going back to charting her fluid intake.

We ended the day with Dr Adamson. He is still pleased with the surgery site.  He did mention that he is unsure of what the scar will look like as Willa gets bigger. The optimal window for a potential redo on the belly button would be between the ages of 5-8.

That ended day at UNC. Willa was a champ b/c it was a long morning without a nap. So, as I said, we are back to charting her feedings and I'm fairly certain that I will be getting up most nights to sneak in an extra bottle. Please excuse me if I seem tired.

Sub One for Daycare

Daycare Sharon is out of the state watching her youngest at a swim meet in New York. Willa is just two doors down getting loved on by our neighbors. Looks like yesterday was a successful day!

Nine Month Pictures

We have a big decision to make. When do we ask to move Willa up to the next classroom at church? This morning I was very surprised to notice that the ages for her room is 0-9 months. I'm not sure I want to bump her up. The current teachers are so in tune with Willa's history. I know the teachers in the older classroom will love on Willa just like those in her current room. All the same, I think we might wait a few weeks before moving her.

We are still working on getting Willa to eat "real food". I have a love hate relationship with the puffs. Finally, Willa is starting to feed herself a puff but that is after she has tired of playing with it. Actually, the first food that she fed herself was a Mt Olive zesty garlic pickle. We've given a pickle to her three times and have not had an issue with gagging. However, from now on she will only get a pickle on bath night because the pickle juice and seeds go everywhere. That makes for a smelly baby!

Last weekend we did a photo shoot at our neighbor's with Willa. I loved her outfit and so I wanted to get some pictures.  Not only did we get the outfit from our neighbor...but she altered the top...and I took the pictures in front of her flowers. Thanks x 3!

These month photo shoots are getting more exciting. Willa doesn't sit still and I have to have Daren's assistance. Distraction is key otherwise Willa might tumble out of the rocker as she reaches for her elephant.

The Eighth Month

You can't hide things from Willa. She notices everything. She explores everything. If there is a fleck of something on the carpet, she will find it. That reminds me a lot of her Grandpa Green. I don't think carpet cleaning/inspection is one of the milestones from What to Expect the First Year. 

By eight months, your baby....

...should be able to:

• feed self a cracker Does a pickle count? 

...will probably be able to:

• stand holding on to someone or something Willa can briefly stand while we hold her. Often, it doesn't take long for her legs to collapse and the bouncing to start. 
• play peekaboo Nope and I think it is ridiculous that this is a milestone. 
• get to a sitting position from stomach Nope

...may possibly be able to:

• creep or crawl Still army crawling. Her technique has been perfected with practice. I think chasing another baby at daycare has helped.
• say "mama" or "dada"  indiscriminately Still just babbling away with da-da-da-da-da. We are trying to work in other syllables.

...should be able to:

• play patty-cake(clap hands) or wave bye-bye I'm giving all the credit for Willa being able to clap her hands to our daycare. Willa even knows the word clap and will do it command. Willa is also waving. I find it funny she waves to the bottle while eating or at you while you change her diaper. 
• walk holding on to furniture Nope
• stand alone momentarily Nope
• understand "no" (but not always obey it) Not sure about this one. Willa hears the word "no" most often while eating. I'm forever telling her - "No, we don't spit" Her sly smile makes me think that she understands but has selective hearing. 

The fall consignment sales are happening and I needed to do a wardrobe check before heading out to shop. Some of the 6 month summer items are still too big and some fit fine. Willa is wearing a combination of 3 month and 6 month clothing. Sadly, I don't think I'm gonna try and shop much for this fall. We just might be dressing Willa in a lot of layers.