Saturday's Story

I just wrote this long, beautiful post about Saturday's adventures, and Blogger ATE IT! That SUCKS!

So, you only get the short version while I try to resist kicking, screaming, and throwing things. I wanted to go see Cloverfield, but then I remembered DTTF telling me that people were being warned about motion sickness, which meant that we had to wait for the movie to come out on DVD. I get motion sickness from playing or watching others play video games sometimes, so that option was out.

On to Plan B - Barnes & Noble. I knew I had to eat first, but the prospect of eating alone was kind of depressing. I first called my friend I'd had to cancel with earlier in the week due to being sick, but I only got her voicemail. I started scrolling through the phone to find someone else and was surprised by how many people I either was not in the mood to talk to, knew they had plans, or they lived too far away. One name kept popping out at me, so I dialed the number.

Turns out she was free, so we met at a great steak place after I dropped Tree Faerie off. We had melt-in-you-mouth-it-was-so-delicious steak and wonderful conversations. After dinner, we headed over to Barnes & Noble for over-priced-but-nice-for-a-treat coffee and an abundance of books. The great conversations continued. Before B&N closed, I purchased Stephen King's new book, Duma Key. The evening was wonderful and couldn't have been planned better.

I picked up Tree Faerie and had her home and back in bed by midnight. I still hadn't received a call from DTTF, so I called and left him a message telling him goodnight. I then picked up our new book and started devouring it. I went to bed around 1AM.

As soon as DTTF had a signal on his phone on his way home Sunday, he called ant talked to me until he pulled into the driveway. Tree Faerie was napping, so we ate lunch and he made a few phone calls. He was still on the phone when Tree Faerie finally awoke. As soon as she heard his voice, she sat up and said, "Dada?" I took her into the bedroom where DTTF was sitting with his back to the door. The moment she saw him she wanted down, so I set her on her feet. She toddled over to him and made it very clear that she had missed him and was very happy to see him. He quickly got off the phone so he could snuggle with his child.

We survived our first weekend with DTTF gone. Hopefully there won't be too many of those, though, because I really enjoy having my partner right next to me!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Solitary Saturday

While Tree Faerie and I are both feeling much better, we really miss DTTF. Or at least I do. All Tree Faerie has wanted to do all day is nurse and sleep. What really sucks is that I can't just call him up.

Well, I could, but I'd probably just get his voicemail, or on the off-chance that he actually does have a signal out there, I don't want to interrupt anything. When he has to work on Saturdays, I miss him, but I know I'll see him in just a few hours. I won't see DTTF until tomorrow! It seems like forever away.

I haven't heard back from my friend I was trying to make plans with, so I guess I'm flying solo tonight for Parents Night Out. I'm actually pondering going to a movie all by myself, something I've NEVER done. Then again, I may just go ahead and go to Barnes and Noble. Another option is to wait until another friend of mine should be awake and call her to see what she's doing before work. She works 3rd shift, so I know she'll be up and probably be free beforehand. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

DTTF asked me why they scheduled two PNOs so close together. I pointed out that the daycare probably thought they'd be nice and offer one close to Valentine's Day to give parents a chance for a romantic dinner. While I don't really NEED a romantic dinner, this thought definitely makes me miss DTTF more.

And before you point it out, yes, I'm fully aware that I'm a co-dependent person. I've come a long way, but I will freely admit that I depend on DTTF for a lot of things.

Like tackling the playpen when I can't get it to work right... I woke up this morning to a very, very dirty child who had a very, very dirty bed. After I cleaned up the child, rinsed all the bedding, and started the washer, I dismantled her bed, took it outside, washed it off, and sprayed it with Lysol. I left it sitting in the sun to freshen up and dry. What sucks is that when I set the bed back up outside, I apparently did it wrong, because only one side clicks into place but I can't get it to release now that it has clicked. I figured I'll go ahead and let it soak up some sun, and later this afternoon, Tree Faerie and I can go outside and wrestle with it. If all else fails, I can always have her sleep in my bed tonight. I just don't get much sleep that way. Surely I'll be able to fix it, though.

Okay, enough rambling. I think I hear the kiddo stirring.

Feeling Better...

...but not by much. I am back at work today and seem to be mostly fever-free. As long as I remember to keep taking the ibuprofen, I should make it okay.

Tree Faerie is still not sleeping at night. She's finally keeping the antibiotics down after the nurse suggested I give her a small dose of Mylanta with the antibiotics. She's still running a fever off and on, though. At first I just thought it was because of the ear infection. Now I'm wondering if she has the same thing I have. Maybe I gave it to her. She doesn't seem to have a bad cough, or at least not any worse than the one she's had off and on since Christmas. She keeps rubbing her forehead as if she has a headache, though, and she still wants to sleep a lot, at least as long as she's on me. Sadly, that is not conducive to my need for sleep. Thankfully I was able to take her to daycare yesterday so I could go home and sleep. I think that's the only reason I made it to work today.

Hopefully we'll both be better soon. DTTF has a minister's retreat this weekend, and this will be the first time he's gone to a retreat without me since we moved in together 6.5 years ago. I've been to a couple without him, though I missed the one I usually go to because I wasn't willing to take Tree Faerie with me OR leave her at home with him. She was only 3 months old at the time. This will definitely be a new experience. Daycare is offering another Parents Night Out tomorrow night, which I will be taking advantage of. Even if I just drop her off and go hang out at Barnes and Noble to drink coffee and extend my book wish-list, at least I will be out of the house doing something fun and kid-free. I used to feel guilty for doing anything kid-free, but I don't feel that way so much anymore. Now I see the need to take breaks so I don't get burned out, because I can't quit this job if I'm suffering from burn-out.

Tree Faerie's 13 month letter will have to wait until next week because I have to try to get caught up at work.

No Wandering Wednesday today.

I have one in the works, but I have to go pick up Tree Faerie from daycare because she hasn't stopped crying since I dropped her off. Hopefully I can get her to go to sleep and let me take a nap... I feel worse today than I did yesterday. And we aren't even going to discuss the catastrophe that was the doctor's appointment yesterday.

So, until tomorrow, hope you all start feeling better.

Uproar at Daycare

After I picked Tree Faerie up from daycare last Thursday, I noticed she had a huge knot and bruise on her forehead. I didn't notice this until we got to the grocery store, which is only about 5 minutes away from the daycare. While I know kids get bumps and bruises, the daycare has always been very good about providing an incident report. Based on the size and color of the bump, I figured I had just missed the incident report or that it was still in the main office and hadn't been returned to the teacher for me to sign.

Friday morning I inquired about it when I dropped Tree Faerie off. The head teacher, Ms. J, did not know what happened but mentioned that yesterday was a rough day. The normal assistant teacher was not in the classroom at the time, so I couldn't ask her. There was a "floater" teacher assisting Ms. J, however I didn't think anything of it because sometimes teachers need to take off. Since they were trying to get the kids seated for snack time (yes, at 9 AM), I didn't stick around to find out more information.

When I went to pick Tree Faerie up on Friday afternoon, Ms. J was still there, which is unusual. Usually the assistant teacher (or floater when the assistant is out) is the one there in the afternoon. Since there weren't many kids left and no other parents present, I asked if everything was okay in that magical way of mine that says, "Please, pour your heart out to me! I'm here to listen!"

Turns out the assistant teacher left for lunch on Thursday and decided not to return. According to Ms. J, the assistant teacher was unhappy there, but not with the kids or Ms. J. What is odd is when I dropped Tree Faerie off on Thursday morning, I asked the assistant teacher if she was okay because she looked upset. She said she didn't feel good, so I left it at that.

So, now they are looking for another assistant teacher for Tree Faerie's toddler room. Meanwhile, floaters and teachers from other classes are covering the toddler room. What makes MY life a bit more difficult is that the time I normally drop Tree Faerie off in the morning is the same time the head teacher is driving one of the buses. She's only gone for about 30 minutes, but I usually drop off in that 30 minute window. Every day this week, I've had to hand Tree Faerie off to someone she's not as familiar with, resulting in an upset child. It breaks my heart! This morning I almost went back in to get her!

Because she did the same thing when I left her with DTTF last week when she was sick, I know she is not upset for long after I leave. This knowledge does not make walking away any easier, though. I'm very thankful that I can also call and check on her during the day, which I just did, of course. She's fine, and since I actually got to talk to Ms. J, I feel much better. My heart still aches for her, but now it's a dull throb instead of a wrenching feeling.

*sigh* On with my day...

Back to Daycare

Since I had the doctor's permission for Tree Faerie to return to daycare, I got us both ready and took her up there. While I was signing her in, I discovered the daycare thought they had a Rotavirus outbreak, not RSV - Respiratory Syncytial Virus. I corrected her teachers, then talked to the assistant director. I just emailed them a fact sheet as discussed with the assistant director this morning.

I wonder how big of scare this miscommunication caused? Tree Faerie has all of her vaccinations up to date, which includes the inoculation for the Rotavirus. With more and more parents choosing not to vaccinate their children, at what point will an outbreak of a commonly vaccinated disease cause panic? I chose to have Tree Faerie vaccinated because I knew if she became very ill or worse from something I could have easily protected her from, I would not forgive myself. And because we have people immigrating from countries where vaccinations are not required, how can one be sure their child will not come into contact with that virus? We live in a world where a highly infectious disease could spread to all the major populated areas of the world within 3 days. It's kind of scary when you think about it.

I remember the first time I read The Stand by Stephen King. I couldn't decide which would be better - to be one of the few immune to the disease or to be one of the many to die quickly.

On to find happier thoughts...

Over the Hump

(What an appropriate title for Hump Day, right?)

Tree Faerie's RSV seems to be clearing up. She still has some rattling and wheezing, but she slept better last night, which means I slept better last night. Of course, DTTF fell asleep on the couch, so I put Tree Faerie in bed with me at midnight, put her back in her old car seat at 2AM, then back in bed with me at 4AM. She slept pretty well next to me. DTTF said he tried to come to bed but there was no room for him. Since I'd turned off the lights at 2AM while he was still crashed out on the couch, I know it had to be after 4AM when he tried to come to bed. Thankfully he enjoys sleeping on the couch, so I don't feel too bad about us taking up the entire bed.

Tree Faerie has been sleeping in her old infant car seat for the last few nights to help keep her more upright. She could breathe a lot easier when she wasn't laying down flat. When I tried putting her in her bed a couple of nights ago, she kept waking up coughing and choking. At least when she's in the car seat she can catch her breath during her coughing fits.

I took her back to the doctor this morning as scheduled to get clearance to return to daycare. She'll be going back tomorrow since she was still running a fever last night. I really appreciate DTTF taking the time off to stay with her. He's handled it beautifully, and this has given them plenty of bonding time. He really is a great daddy.

While we were at the doctor's office, Tree Faerie was practicing toddling in her shoes. She does most of her walking barefoot, and up until this morning she had not built up the confidence to try it in shoes. When we go to the doctor, I sit in the floor of the examination room while we're waiting so I can more easily field what Tree Faerie plays with. Toys and books are okay, but I don't want her tearing up the books or playing with the trashcan or its contents. This morning I was sitting in the middle of the floor while Tree Faerie checked out the room and rearranged the books. After a few minutes, she crawled over to me and used me to help her stand. When she let go, she stood there and gave me a look that seemed to say, "Do you think I can do this? I'm not so sure about these shoes..." I encouraged her and told her she could do it. She took a couple of shaky steps, then plopped down giggling. For the next 5 minutes or so, she would hold my finger while she walked to the end of my reach, then she would let go and toddle back to me, collapsing into a giggly hug.

This is just one more thing that convinces me I really do have a wonderful daughter. I've decided I'm really not in a hurry to have another. I do still want another, but I'm really enjoying this time with Tree Faerie.

I think our next adventure will be to break out the crayons Grams got her for Christmas. I just have to find my big drawing pad. I also have a plan for broken crayons now, because I know we're going to have broken crayons. I came across this post over at Peapod Squad Stuff about melting down the broken crayons in a muffin tin and love the idea! The woman has triplet toddlers she calls the Peapod Squad - Sweet, Snap, and Split. Their antics and dialog are absolutely adorable! And they have plenty of broken crayons, of course. I'm wondering if I could melt down crayons and pour them into chocolate candy molds to make cute shapes. I'll let you know if I try.

Relaxed and Prepared for New Stress...

...or not.

Saturday morning I indulged in a bit of pampering by getting a massage when I went to pick up the gift certificate for my mom's massage. Oh, my! I love this woman! A friend sent me to her for Mother's Day, and I decided then that I really needed to indulge about every six months. I'm running a little late, but I think it will be easier to get a massage in January and July instead of May and November. DTTF watched Tree Faerie while I was indulging, and she even took a nap for him! She snuggled on the couch with him and dozed off. He took pictures because he knew I'd be hesitant to believe that she was actually asleep.

The daycare provided us with a Parents Night Out on Saturday night. The last 3 times we had a PNO, we went to the movies and saw something action-packed and stressful. This time I decided I needed a social night, so we called up some friends and headed to the Flying Saucer. I feel just a little guilty for going to a beer emporium that houses over 200 different types of beer and only getting one type, Woodchuck Amber, but I don't really like beer. I tasted several different things, but every time I ordered, it was a Woodchuck Amber.

The drink was great, the food was good, and the conversations were great! I really needed to hang out with adults. We also played a game of darts, which I love and can usually win. DTTF won, though, because I let him win kept wracking up too many points.

When midnight finally approached, we headed to pick up Tree Faerie. The daycare was only about 3 minutes away from the Flying Saucer, and as we pulled up, I could see that I was one of the last parents to pick up. Turns out I was the LAST parent to pick up! Apparently I was the only one milking every minute I could.

The teacher told me Tree Faerie was running a fever of 100 degrees, not enough to warrant a call to me but enough to take note of and keep an eye on. I gave her Motrin before putting her to bed to make sure the fever didn't decide to skyrocket during the night. She had developed a cough on Thursday after getting a clean bill of health on Tuesday.

Yesterday her fever came back and stayed around 101. I didn't give her Motrin immediately because I believe that a fever is beneficial to a certain extend. I just tried to keep her as comfortable as possible. She kept coughing and her nose was running. She was pretty lethargic, and I knew she didn't feel well. After a rough night, I went ahead and called the doctor first thing this morning and got an appointment for 9AM.

Turns out she has RSV again. Last year she contracted RSV just after I returned to work from maternity leave. We spent the weekend in the hospital because she was under 3 months old, and then I had to keep her home for a week. This time I just have to keep her home for a few days. We will go back to the doctor Wednesday morning to check it, but if everything is better and she is fever-free, she should be able to go back to daycare on Thursday. DTTF is home with her today since I have no sick/vacation time left.

The good news is that the daycare director offered a 50% discount for the week since she'll be out for three days.

The other good news is that DTTF has called me twice already, and both times Tree Faerie was doing fine. I hope my baby feels better soon. Thankfully I was fairly well-rested and relaxed, so the sleep deprivation from only sleeping four hours last night isn't so bad.

Too Busy

January is ripening up to be an extremely busy month. We're only on Day 4, and I've put something on the calendar for EVERY weekend!

This weekend is Tree Faerie's birthday. We're just going to have a small party with us and the grandparents. Saturday I'm going to get the oil changed in the car, and to make things easy, I'm going to Wal-Mart so I can shop to my heart's content pick up a few essentials, maybe a small present or two for Tree Faerie, and hopefully her big Christmas/Birthday present - her car-seat. Every time I've been to Wal-Mart and tried to get the seat we want, there were not any on the floor and I was either in a hurry or couldn't find anyone to help me and gave up. I guess I should probably call and find out if they have any before I go again, right?

Next weekend does not hold any permanent plans, however the daycare has offered up another Parents Night Out. How can I pass up free child care from people my child already knows in a safe environment while I don't feel like I'm putting anyone out by asking them to watch my child? Granted, we usually go to the movies, so we end up spending between $20 and $40 while we get free child care.

The weekend of the 18th I would like to go to my mom's. Her 50th birthday is January 20th, and while the gift she's getting from us has to be taken care of in Memphis, I figured taking her granddaughter to see her would be a great additional present. We have yet to make the trek to her house because I'm a little afraid of the 4 hour drive with Tree Faerie. Maybe with her new car seat, she'll be happier. My two best friends from high school are talking about coming down to her house on Saturday. I haven't seen one in like 7 years, and the other in 8 or 9.

The weekend of the 25th, one of my best friends from high school (yes, one of the ones from the previous weekend) will be in town. She and her new beau will be in town Friday afternoon and will leave Saturday afternoon. We are making plans to meet up a couple of times while they're here.

At some point before the weekend of the 18th, I need to get my mom's present. I'm giving her a gift certificate for a massage from the wonderful massage therapist that I got a massage from in May. When I pick up the gift certificate, I am also going to get a massage for myself. I'm way past due for one, and when I got the $100 Christmas Cash from work, I knew I was going to use most of it for mom's gift. When I told DTTF about it, he told me to go ahead and get one for myself, too. Now I just have to make time for it.

Hopefully February will be a slower month to give me time to rest and possibly get some things off of my To Do list. I'm not holding my breath, though.

Not My Place

When I entered Tree Faerie's classroom this morning to drop her off, the little girl that transitioned to the toddler room with Tree Faerie (let's call her L)was sitting in the floor screaming. I asked the head toddler room teacher, we'll call her Ms. J, if she was okay. Ms. J said she didn't know what was wrong with her and that she'd tried several things to comfort her, but nothing was working. Ms. J said when she tried to hold her to comfort her, L pushed her away and didn't want anything to do with Ms. J.

I felt bad for both of them, but I know that all babies have days like that. While I was snuggling Tree Faerie before leaving, I saw the head infant room teacher, Ms. D, looking in through the window.

Since I also know L from Ms. D's infant room, I know she has always taken a little longer to be comfortable with changes. She is 3 days older than Tree Faerie, however she's consistently hit all her milestones 2 months later than Tree Faerie. I thought that maybe L may need a bit more help transitioning.

I stopped by Ms. D's room before leaving, and Ms. D was really upset that Ms. J wasn't trying to comfort L. I came to Ms. J's defense by repeating what Ms. J had said to me when I asked, but Ms. D was still unsatisfied. She said that Ms. J doesn't like for them to peek in the windows or get involved with the care of the toddlers. From the way she was talking, it sounded like Ms. D was continually dissatisfied with the way Ms. J comforts the toddlers. Ms. D suggested that I say something to the director.

I refused for several reasons. 1) I'd much rather discuss things with the teacher first before taking it to the director. 2) I didn't actually see anything WRONG today. All babies have bad days, and Ms. J's assistant was running late this morning. Ms. J still had to take care of the other babies. 3) Since my first suggestion would be to possibly extend the transition period for L, I can't really make that suggestion since I'm not the parent.

On my way out the door, I stopped and peeked in the window. Ms. J saw me and gave me a look that I read to mean, "Is something wrong?" I gave her the biggest smile I could and waved.

I told DTTF about the encounter this morning, and he had pretty much the same perspective I had. While we were talking, it also occurred to me that part of the problem MAY BE the infant room teachers peeking in, especially in the first few weeks after transitioning. Maybe L is having a bit of separation anxiety from the infant room teachers, so when she sees them peeking in, she immediately wants to go to them. When that doesn't happen - meltdown. Part of the reason I think this may be a factor is because when Tree Faerie saw Ms. D this morning through the window, she wanted to go to Ms. D.

I will not be discussing this with the director at this point, though if I continue to see this happening with L, I may mention my thoughts to Ms. J, specifically the part about the infant room teachers peeking in. If Ms. D brings it up to me, I will definitely tell her my thoughts on it. I know the infant teachers love those babies, but when it's time for them to move on, sometimes distance is best after the child has transitioned to the new room, at least until the baby has adjusted to the new room.

Transitioning

2 DTY/ 5 DTC

Tree Faerie is currently going through the transitioning process at daycare. Next week is the last week of transition, and she'll be staying through naptime before going back to the infant room for the remainder of the afternoon.

Because the daycare is only open 3 days next week, I went ahead and brought the nap mat I bought last night in case they wanted to try to put her down for a nap in the toddler room today and tomorrow.

Please note the "in case" phrase.

So, I told the infant room teachers this morning, and they sounded like they thought it was a great idea. On my way out to the car, I stopped to talk to the toddler room head teacher because she was in the lobby. She seemed against the idea, which is fine by me, but the assistant director was also sitting there and thought it was a good idea. I proceeded to go out to the car to get the mat.

When I brought it in, the head teacher was back in the room and immediately brought up WHY she thought it was a bad idea. Her reasons for not having Tree Faerie stay for nap-time today and tomorrow were pretty much based around the toddlers that were transitioning out of her room and whether they would have room to have Tree Faerie join them for a nap.

I think I finally convinced her that I really don't care one way or the other whether she naps in the infant room or the toddler room - I was really just giving them the option. This teacher seems to be a little afraid of how I'm going to react. I can see that the next couple of months are going to be interesting while we learn to work with one another. Hopefully I can find a way of ensuring her that I understand she has a job to do and all I want is to make that job easier so she can provide each child in her room with the absolute best care possible.

Wish me luck. Thankfully she's an extremely nice person.

Thoughts on Weaning

9 DTY/12 DTC (Days-'til-Yule/Days-'til-Christmas)

I believe the weaning process has officially begun. While Tree Faerie still LOVES to nurse, she's only taking two bottles at daycare, so I only have to pump once a day now. I'm still not producing well since I had the stomach bug, so I have not had any problems with engorgement. In 16 days, I won't have to pump at all.

I won't miss the pumping, but I'm not sure what it's going to do to my supply. I feel pretty empty right now, and I'm still producing at least half as much as I was. When Tree Faerie nurses, sometimes I think, There's nothing in there! What am I going to do if she throws a fit because she doesn't get anything? Of course, she always manages to get milk.

I must admit I'm also a little afraid of the hormonal changes weaning will send me through. I'm hoping that if we wean slowly I won't end up on a roller coaster ride of hormonal fluctuations. I'm very emotionally sensitive to hormonal changes and really don't want to have that explosive, uncontrolled feeling that I usually get when my hormones change.

One of the aspects of weaning I want to focus on is night-weaning. Tree Faerie has never been a great sleeper. In fact, it's rare for her to go more than 4 hours without waking up to nurse. Usually she sleeps 2 or 3 hours before waking. Sometimes it's every 45 minutes. I know that most of those times she's just wanting comfort because I can often get her settled back down and back in bed in about 20 minutes or so. I've been practicing only coming to her when she actually demands to nurse instead of coming to her every time she whimpers.

The hardest thing about this is the fact that I DON'T LIKE CHANGE. I have to make changes slowly and prepare myself well for them. Tree Faerie has taken matters into her own hands a couple of times already when I was taking my own sweet time and she was ready for change (like refusing to be spoon-fed and now weaning herself off the bottles). I kept hoping she'd decide to night-wean, but no. She likes the boob too much. I also know that nursing is one of the ways she reconnects with me after being at daycare all day.

Because I don't like change, I tend to procrastinate A LOT. So, right now I'm working on preparing myself for the change ahead, though I'm still having a hard time taking my foot off the brake and putting it on the gas pedal.

11 Months

Dear Tree Faerie,


As always, you never cease to amaze me. You're beautiful and intelligent, plus you have a great sense of humor and love music of any kind. As long as it has a beat, you'll dance to it, even if it's just me tapping the spoon on the side of the pan while cooking! If one of us is laughing, you'll laugh, too, and try to make us laugh more. You must be the center of attention, and when you're not, you do everything you can to be so, from the cute babbling to the not-so-cute fit-throwing.



Tooth #2 finally broke through and has slowly been working its way up. It is taking its own sweet time doing so, though, so you've been chewing on everything. You have learned what you are allowed to put in your mouth and what you're not, though that doesn't necessarily stop you from testing the boundaries. Odds are, if it comes off the carpet, it's not allowed, and you're really good about opening your mouth to allow me to remove things without much of a fight.


We managed to only go to the doctor's office twice this month - once for the flu shot and once for your labial adhesion. Thankfully the adhesion should go away as you get older. The day we went to the doctor for that, though, you also came down with croup. We didn't give you any medicine for it because you were scheduled to get the flu shot a few days later. We didn't turn on the heater, and I put Baby Vicks on your feet each night to help us all sleep a little better. I was surprised at how well it worked at keeping your cough at bay!


You got to see Grams and Papaw for Thanksgiving, along with my Grandma and several other members of your extended family. I love watching Grams play with you because her face lights up just like it used to when I was a little girl. It's wonderful to hear you both laughing. You didn't want to try the banana pudding, but there will be other opportunities for you to try it later. You and I wore matching outfits - our striped overalls and red shirts - and Papaw wore his striped overalls, too.



Papaw is growing his beard back out, and you weren't quite sure what to think of it at first. He let you play with it, as I'm sure he will for years to come. He also took us for a ride in his Mule, which I call his Old-Man-Wheeler. You sat very, very still, but you seemed to enjoy yourself. I know I did!





One of your favorite things to do lately is "help" me with the laundry and cleaning. Of course, your idea of helping is by pulling all the clean clothes out of the basket or dryer and strew them around the floor to create your very own pallet.



You also enjoy wiping down different things like the window sills and the bathtub. You even 'wash' yourself when you're in the tub. I finally found a bath mat I like using, and it has saved me a lot of stress.



You are currently transitioning to the toddler room. I'm glad that your daycare transitions you slowly, however you seem to have no problems with the toddler room. They tell me you were great every day and just played and checked things out as if you belonged in there. I was the one who was nervous! But I've talked to the teachers in there, and they are both very nice. I'm sure you'll continue to have a great time!

One of the things I was worried about was that they don't allow toddlers to have bottles, only sippy cups with whole milk. I was afraid you would have a hard time giving up the bottles, but you seem to have taken that into your own hands, similar to when you stopped eating food from a spoon. The only thing I can consistently get you to take from a spoon is yogurt, which I have to feed you again because you had thrush. You've pretty much stopped taking bottles at daycare, though. I was about to take you to the doctor to see if it was an ear infection when you came down with yet another cold. I'm going to wait until after this cold is over before taking you in, because I still want to confirm that it is just your will and not something else wrong. You haven't stopped nursing, so I'm not too worried.



You seem to love your daddy more and more each day. I love how you sit at the bottom of the stairs and holler up at him when he's upstairs and you're not. You call to him quite often when he's not in the room with you, even when he's not home. He loves you so much! He doesn't cave in to you like I do when you throw tantrums, though. And it's not necessarily that I cave in, I just try to get you to stop screaming by distracting you.



You've been practicing your walking skills this month. You now only need to hang on to one of our fingers in order to walk around the house. I can see that you want to take a step completely unassisted, but at the last minute, you just plop on your butt.

On the weekend before your 11-month-birthday, I put up our holiday tree while you were napping. I got the tree put together, lit, and had about half the ornaments on before you woke up. The look of wonderment on your face was well worth the rush! After I finished decorating the tree, we put stuffed animals under the tree instead of presents. I know how much you enjoy ripping paper, so I figured you could play with the stuffed animals and we'll keep the presents elsewhere. Storm has taken over one of the stuffed animals, though. She keeps kneading biscuits on the dog wearing the Santa hat, which your daddy thinks is a violation of the dog.

As always, thank you for being such a wonderful kid. You have brought so much to our lives! I love you, Tree Faerie!

XOXO,

Mama

Stomach Bugs Are Never Fun

Sorry I was MIA yesterday. I had what seems to be a 24-hour stomach bug. It started at 3:30 yesterday morning and ended at 3:30 this morning. Needless to say, I'm feeling much better now. I did take Tree Faerie in to daycare yesterday morning so I could rest and visit the bathroom as much as necessary. While I was signing her in, her teacher told me about a remedy that a doctor she saw years ago told her about. I've posted the remedy at Fey's Tricks of the Trade. I was surprised at how well it actually worked! *Link is now fixed*

Tree Faerie hasn't been taking her bottles very well at daycare, though she's eating about the same amount of solid food she's always eaten. I'm wondering if she's weaning herself off the bottle. If she is, that's a good thing since she won't get a bottle at daycare after the first of the year. I am still a little worried about her, though. She just doesn't seem quite right. How do you call your doctor and say, "I know I'm in your office every few weeks for one thing or another, but my child is not acting quite like herself and I'm worried. What do I do?" without sounding like a jumpy, over-protective new mom? Heck, I'm on a first-name basis (meaning they know me as Andrea instead of just Tree Faerie's Mom) with the nurses!

I know I'm just a natural worry-wart. This is the reason DTTF handles the finances.

Speaking of finances, I'm dying to win this giveaway from 5 Minutes for Mom and Parents Magazine.

Transitioning

Starting next week, Tree Faerie will begin transitioning to the toddler room at daycare. The transition period lasts 4 weeks. During the first week, one of the infant room teachers will take her to the toddler room for about 15 minutes in the morning and in the afternoon. On Week 2, one of the toddler room teachers will come get Tree Faerie and take her to the toddler room for about 30 minutes in the morning and afternoon. Tree Faerie will spend an hour in the morning and afternoon on Week 3. The last week of transitioning, Tree Faerie will go to the toddler room in the morning and stay through the morning nap, then go back to the infant room.

This morning I talked to the head teacher of the toddler room she'll be moving into. The woman was very nice and personable. I was really nervous about the transition and she was able to ease my nervousness quite a bit. The toddlers only take one nap a day around mid-day, and they don't give the toddlers bottles at all, only sippy-cups. They are given regular whole milk or juice during the two snack-times and lunch. This means I won't have to pump anymore starting the first week of January. While I'm kind of happy about it, I'm also kind of sad. My baby is growing up!

So, do any of you have words of wisdom to help me through this transition? I'm sure Tree Faerie will be fine with it. I'm the one who has a problem with change. If you would prefer, you can email me at asumers at gmail dot com.

Torrential Tuesday

Rain was not in today's forecast yesterday morning, but I awoke this morning to thunderstorm warnings. The bottom just keeps dropping out of the sky at random, with mild spitting in between. Welcome to Fall in Memphis - cold and wet.

This morning Tree Faerie woke up around 5:30 very fussy. As my mind became more cognitive, I realized that she was kind of coughing/clearing her throat and was stuffy. Uh oh, I thought, another cold. I sure hope this one doesn't come with a fever.

So, I walked her, snuggled her, laid her back down, snuggled her, walked her, then finally put her in her carseat to help her breathe. We got about another hour of sleep or so that way. She was really cranky after she finally got up, and during one of her screaming fits (probably the one after I suctioned the gunk from her nose), I noticed Tooth #2 looked like it was poking through. Sure enough, it was breaking through the skin. No wonder I had a cranky baby! I gave her a dose of ibuprofen, which she took graciously. I didn't hold her down or anything! She opened her mouth, I squirted some in, she swallowed. Rinse. Repeat. I was shocked but thankful!

Once the ibuprofen kicked in, I had a happy baby again, and she didn't seem very stuffy anymore. She still coughed occasionally, but they weren't croupy-sounding. She was even dancing on the way to daycare to Prince's Let's Go Crazy! I love that kid. She is absolutely amazing!

I just called daycare to check on her, and she's still a happy baby, so I feel better. Whew!

Finally, check out this contest from Mamanista and Best Buy. You could go wireless, too!

Ball Phobia?

This morning when I was dropping Tree Faerie off at daycare, I put her on the floor like normal, and she started playing with one of the balls. This particular ball was abou the size of a softball. As I started to head out the door, Tree Faerie's teacher got out one of the big bouncy balls, kind of like a beach ball. Tree Faerie started backing up and ended up crawling under one of the cribs while trying to get away from the ball. She kept waving bye-bye with both hands at it. I was watching all of this through the window in the door, and I kept waiting for her teachers to realize that she was obviously scared of it.

They didn't seem to be catching on, so I opened the door and whispered in my best stage-whisper, "Tree Faerie is afraid of big balls!"

She is also afraid of the balls that make noise and roll around. Her Nana bought her a ball that rolls around and makes noises, and she runs from it every single time.

I must admit - I've been laughing off and on all day because my daughter is afraid of big balls and balls that chase her. I wonder how long this fear will last...

(And you know my mind is in the gutter...)

Funky Sock Friday

We finally made it to Friday, and the weather here has finally dropped below 80 degrees for the high. This morning I sent Tree Faerie to daycare in size 12 month pink corduroy pants, a size 12 month white and pink shirt that had some cute saying on it (but I can't remember exactly what it said), and PURPLE SOCKS WITH SPIDERS that in no way matched what she was wearing! So, I've now dubbed this Funky Sock Friday and hope to have started a tradition with my daughter. I wear funky socks a lot. The ones I'm wearing today have kittens all over them. I have a pair with monkeys, cute holiday socks, and I will soon purchase Halloween socks, too.

Today is going better than the rest of the week has. I took Tree Faerie to the doctor again yesterday afternoon because I was afraid she had another ear infection. Turns out it's not an ear infection yet, just fluid in the ears and a head cold. So, the doc wrote a script for amoxycillin just in case things got worse (i.e. if she continues pulling on her ears and doesn't seem to be getting any relief) and told me to give Tree Faerie benedryl to relieve some of her stuffiness. Last night was the first night this week that she let me actually get more than an hour of sleep at a time. Of course, if I wasn't aware of how bad she's feeling (clearly stated by my sunshiny baby being a storm cloud), her benedryl-induced daze might be funny.

An old friend of mine Sooj was in town last night and dropped in to see us. While I knew I missed her since she's been hopping all over the country playing shows and spinning fire, I didn't realize just how much I had missed her until I actually got to see her. Sooj is an absolutely amazing woman with an awesome voice, and her abilities on the guitar are purely magickal (spelled that way intentionally). I will always be able to say I knew her before she was famous and even get to sing with her on occasion, which I love doing and can do pretty well as long as there's not a microphone involved (I'll explain my fear of microphones another time). She has a show tonight in Missouri and one tomorrow night in downtown Memphis. Check out her website, http://www.skinnywhitechick.com/, for more information and to hear some of her music.

I also taught my first Outer Court class last night, and I didn't do too bad of a job! I even managed to breastfeed while teaching! Thankfully the group is a very open one and can handle such things. I actually rolled several interrelating topics into one class and even had time for exercises at the end. I know we will expound upon those topics again in the future, but I feel that it will be more on an individual basis so that we can help each person find what works for them.

My plans for the weekend were scrapped by someone else, so I decided to make my own. I'm still waiting to confirm the new plans, but even if those are scrapped as well, I have a Plan C as well! So, the weekend is mine to conquer!

The Sun Is Shining, But...

...it might as well be cold and dreary. I'm just having one of those crabby days where I'd love to go home, lock all the doors, close all the shades, and crawl into bed, covering my head with the blanket so that only my nose sticks out. Of course, I'd be laying there feeling guilty for leaving my daughter at daycare while I could be spending time with her, or feel guilty because DTTF would be at work while I'm at home, or feel lazy and useless because there's a thousand other things I need to be doing instead of laying in bed with my head covered.

(This post seems to be full of run-on sentences, but today I don't care.)

DTTF occasionally suggests I take Tree Faerie to daycare then take the day off to have a bit of time for myself. I just don't have the time to do that right now. I'm taking a day off in a week and a half because we'll be playing in the woods, but I hesitate to take time for MYSELF because I'm afraid that as soon as I do and I no longer have the personal time available, Tree Faerie will get sick again and have to stay home from daycare. When Tree Faerie has to stay home from daycare, that means I have to stay home from work.

I know this won't be forever. I know that as Tree Faerie gets older, I'll have a bit more time. I think right now I'm just tired and need a little break.

A First Time for Everything

I just love it when I tell someone something and they tell me in a know-it-all tone, "Well, I've never heard of that!" or something similar, then they end up telling me how right I was later.

For example, Tree Faerie refuses to let anyone feed her, whether it be from a spoon or from a finger. She wants to do it herself. If I had not tested and re-tested this theory, I would not have stated it as fact. I've only experienced one exception since she made up her mind, but there were several factors that made the experience unique. (I was eating yogurt from a regular spoon while holding Tree Faerie, and when I saw that she was intently watching me eat the yogurt, I offered her a bite from my regular spoon. She took that bite, then let me know when she wanted another bite, and she was the one who decided when she wanted a bite and when she was done.)

This past Monday when I took Tree Faerie to daycare, I explained to her teachers that she refuses to be fed but will feed herself. This was met with a very familiar, "Well, I've never heard of that!" So, I told them to try it out.

And I waited.

This morning, it happened. "You were so right! She simply refuses to eat anything you try to feed her, whether it's from a spoon or your finger! She just shakes her head no and clamps her mouth shut!"

Someday you will all learn to worship me and we will all get along much better.
MUAHAHAHA!!!