This afternoon, amongst much applause, Cecilia rolled from her stomach to her back. She has only rolled to her right, although she did it four times in a row. Each successive time she was placed on her stomach she got more and more angry - so five times in a row is pushing it. Out of the blue, she raised her left arm, threw her shoulders back, and fell onto her back. We're so proud of her! We'll try to get a video when she's not quite so upset about being on her stomach.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Cecilia' 4 month Doctor's visit
Cecilia had her 4 month check-up. She got two vaccines, Rotavirus (oral) and DTap (shot). She was upset about the shot for a minute or so, but quickly recovered and had no apparant side effects that night. Yeah! She's back on the Dr. Sear's alternative schedule for vaccines, so we'll go in again next month for the Pneumaccocal and HipB.
I don't have the charts right now, but her measurements were
height - 26" (96.29%)
weight - 15 lb 12.8 oz. (90.33%)
head circumference - 41cm (51.97%)
It appears her weight is now catching up with her length and she's in the 90+ percentile for both! She seems to have a smaller head, though :).
Other notable points from the visit:
- Leah (our doc) was impressed her belly button was an inny already because most babies don't have strong enough abdominal muscles to pull it in. That may not happen until 2 years in many cases.
- She is hitting all of her milestones and is even a little ahead on some things (I forget what they are at the moment - I guess this is "Mom brain").
- Although she could get a flu shot at 6 months, we have decided that since she is a breastfed baby who does not go to daycare and is not in a risk group due to a medical condition we will not get her a flu shot.
- We have been assured that her infrequent stooling is completely normal for a breastfed baby and she is definitely growing well.
- We will not schedule visits for 10 am again since it is before her current "wake up" time and she was very sleepy in the doctor's office.
Overall, we are reassured that Celia is growing well and developing well. Here is a quick update on her feeding. Celia has been breastfeeding less and less, now more for comfort than for nutrients. I offer all day, but she usually refuses. I have hope that she may decide to breastfeed more often again, but we've come to accept that our baby gets most of her nutrients from pumped milk. So far, I've been able to maintain my supply and I plan to do so until Celia no longer needs to nurse at all. I have visions of her choosing to nurse sometimes as an older baby and establishing a routine of nursing at bedtime at least. The most success we have with breastfeeding now is at middle of the night wakings and at naptime - all while lying in bed. If I can catch her as she's waking she'll usually nurse for at least a few minutes. While this is not what I had hoped for, we have learned a lot and hope to breastfeed more successfully if we are ever blessed with more children. We are proud that we were able to teach her to breastfeed and every day we can continue to give her breastmilk instead of formula is a small victory.
I was surprised that the information included in the after-visit summary they gave us after her check-up said that she should be eating 6-7 ounces every 4-5 hours. This implies that she should be eating 30-42 ounces a day. We feed on demand and always have milk available to her, and she eats around 25 ounces a day - sometimes less! Obviously she is growing well, so she's getting more than enough calories to thrive. I am inclined to think that some babies might eat more because they eat so much faster with bottles than with breastfeeding and still need to suck (aka the pacifier) so that parents who bottle feed tend to regulate how much the child gets instead of the child regulating the intake. I may be way off-base since I haven't studied any research, but it seems to me that we don't have a really accurate idea of how much a breastfed baby eats (I've heard up to 30 ounces at 6 months, but I don't know). The bottles we use do require suction and compression and require her to suck more than a normal bottle to eat. I wonder if the increased sucking means she's eating more slowly (we know it can take her 15-20 minutes to eat a bottle) than if we used another bottle so she is regulating her calorie intake more closely to the way a baby does when they eat exclusively from the breast. She also usually gets milk pumped within a few days unless we're freshening our frozen supply. I've also heard that the composition of breastmilk changes as the child ages, so it may be that the calorie content of milk changes to meet the needs of the baby. Also, breastmilk is metabolized better than formula, so I wonder if the baby just gets better at metabolizing the nutrients and doesn't need as increased an amount of milk to meet her needs. These are just my thoughts since Celia eats far less than what they are telling us she should and is definitely not having any problems with growth or development. An interesting discussion. Any thoughts?
I don't have the charts right now, but her measurements were
height - 26" (96.29%)
weight - 15 lb 12.8 oz. (90.33%)
head circumference - 41cm (51.97%)
It appears her weight is now catching up with her length and she's in the 90+ percentile for both! She seems to have a smaller head, though :).
Other notable points from the visit:
- Leah (our doc) was impressed her belly button was an inny already because most babies don't have strong enough abdominal muscles to pull it in. That may not happen until 2 years in many cases.
- She is hitting all of her milestones and is even a little ahead on some things (I forget what they are at the moment - I guess this is "Mom brain").
- Although she could get a flu shot at 6 months, we have decided that since she is a breastfed baby who does not go to daycare and is not in a risk group due to a medical condition we will not get her a flu shot.
- We have been assured that her infrequent stooling is completely normal for a breastfed baby and she is definitely growing well.
- We will not schedule visits for 10 am again since it is before her current "wake up" time and she was very sleepy in the doctor's office.
Overall, we are reassured that Celia is growing well and developing well. Here is a quick update on her feeding. Celia has been breastfeeding less and less, now more for comfort than for nutrients. I offer all day, but she usually refuses. I have hope that she may decide to breastfeed more often again, but we've come to accept that our baby gets most of her nutrients from pumped milk. So far, I've been able to maintain my supply and I plan to do so until Celia no longer needs to nurse at all. I have visions of her choosing to nurse sometimes as an older baby and establishing a routine of nursing at bedtime at least. The most success we have with breastfeeding now is at middle of the night wakings and at naptime - all while lying in bed. If I can catch her as she's waking she'll usually nurse for at least a few minutes. While this is not what I had hoped for, we have learned a lot and hope to breastfeed more successfully if we are ever blessed with more children. We are proud that we were able to teach her to breastfeed and every day we can continue to give her breastmilk instead of formula is a small victory.
I was surprised that the information included in the after-visit summary they gave us after her check-up said that she should be eating 6-7 ounces every 4-5 hours. This implies that she should be eating 30-42 ounces a day. We feed on demand and always have milk available to her, and she eats around 25 ounces a day - sometimes less! Obviously she is growing well, so she's getting more than enough calories to thrive. I am inclined to think that some babies might eat more because they eat so much faster with bottles than with breastfeeding and still need to suck (aka the pacifier) so that parents who bottle feed tend to regulate how much the child gets instead of the child regulating the intake. I may be way off-base since I haven't studied any research, but it seems to me that we don't have a really accurate idea of how much a breastfed baby eats (I've heard up to 30 ounces at 6 months, but I don't know). The bottles we use do require suction and compression and require her to suck more than a normal bottle to eat. I wonder if the increased sucking means she's eating more slowly (we know it can take her 15-20 minutes to eat a bottle) than if we used another bottle so she is regulating her calorie intake more closely to the way a baby does when they eat exclusively from the breast. She also usually gets milk pumped within a few days unless we're freshening our frozen supply. I've also heard that the composition of breastmilk changes as the child ages, so it may be that the calorie content of milk changes to meet the needs of the baby. Also, breastmilk is metabolized better than formula, so I wonder if the baby just gets better at metabolizing the nutrients and doesn't need as increased an amount of milk to meet her needs. These are just my thoughts since Celia eats far less than what they are telling us she should and is definitely not having any problems with growth or development. An interesting discussion. Any thoughts?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Ben's Softball Game
We've been trying to get video of Ben's softball games. On Sept. 8, I got every at-bat on video - except his home run! On 9-15, with my mom's help, we managed to get all of Ben's at-bats on video. It was an exciting game, going into 2 extra innings because of Ben's game tying, 3-run home run! The Urban Achievers ended up taking the game by one run in the 9th inning. What a game, and what a hit!
Career Change
This has been coming for months, but I (Hannah) made my career change official last week. I am going to leave grad school with a 2nd Masters of Science in Materials Science. I will not be getting my PhD. As a result, my RA (research assistant) position will end September 30. In the interim I am teaching two classes at Madison Area Technical College (MATC). I teach Intermediate Algebra I from 8:30-9:20 am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I also teach Elementary Algebra with Applications, the class I've taught in the past, from 4:30-6:50 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is a lot of work, but I am able to do it at home and the schedule allows Ben to spend more time at work. Before, neither of us were getting enough time to do our work since I needed to spend a great deal of time on campus. Generally, Celia gets up after 11 so now I am able to get home from teaching before she wakes up for the day and Ben can get to work by 10:30 or so. Then, he can come home early twice a week to allow me time to get to my evening class. The schedule is much better for the family and our stress level is much lower. I think this is for the best and we are now looking forward to getting settled somewhere for the long-term.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Ben's Birthday Celebration in St. Louis
For Ben's 30th Birthday, we went to a Cardinals game in St. Louis with his parents, brothers, and their wives. It was also Cecilia's first time in Busch stadium. We left for Missouri after my class on Friday and got to Cape Girardeau in the evening. That night, Ben went on a ride-along with his brother Nick who is a Cape Girardeau police officer. He saw the evening shift of a police officer first hand, and had many interesting stories about the people he saw. Evidently, there were a lot of intoxicated people Nick had to deal with and he used the siren a few times, which was a real thrill.
Saturday, the family drove up to STL for the big game. We stayed in the Crowne Plaza downtown, which was very nice. By the time we got into St. Louis and checked into the hotel, it was already after 3. We wanted to get to the park when it opened, so we walked to the stadium right away. There was a 20 minute or so wait to get in and then we ate in the park. Park food is not very nutrative, so everyone was still very hungry after the game - and a little sick feeling. So, we needed real food afterwards.
It was picture day, so people came out on the field and the players walked around to give people photo ops. We were going to do that, but it was really just waiting in another long line and none of us - Cecilia included - felt like doing that. I did walk down a few rows and get some pictures. The players weren't supposed to take pictures WITH fans, but Pujols started pulling people out of the crowd to take pictures with them. An announcer asked him about it and he said, "Why not? It's picture day!" in that cute accent of his. You could tell he was a real leader on the team, because one he started taking some pictures with fans everyone else did, too. We also got a picture of Molina with his arm around Pujols. See the sidebar for a link to all the pictures.
It was a great game and we got to see Holliday hit a HR. The Cards beat the Nationals 9 to 4, and Ben kept a scorecard of the game so that I could look that up :). We really love keeping stats at a game, it must be the engineer in us.
After the game we went back to the hotel room and Ben got his birthday cake. It was chocolate with cream cheese frosting. Becky baked the cake and I frosted and decorated it while Ben was on his ride-along with Nick the night before. It said "Happy 30th Birthday Ben" and my attempt at a STL cardinal. It also had 30 trick candles. Ben blew most of them out and then put out he rest with his fingers. We ordered a meal from Maurizio's Cafe Cecilia went to bed before midnight. The poor thing was all worn out. The boys stayed up late and then we all slept well.
Sunday we went to Union Station and did some shopping and had a meal. Ben got a STL decal for the car and I go some fudge. After that last bit of time for the family, we loaded up for the trek home. Cecilia was tired of driving and being away from home, so the trip wasn't as easy as we'd hoped. We all slept well when we got home. What a weekend!
See the link on the sidebar for pictures.
Saturday, the family drove up to STL for the big game. We stayed in the Crowne Plaza downtown, which was very nice. By the time we got into St. Louis and checked into the hotel, it was already after 3. We wanted to get to the park when it opened, so we walked to the stadium right away. There was a 20 minute or so wait to get in and then we ate in the park. Park food is not very nutrative, so everyone was still very hungry after the game - and a little sick feeling. So, we needed real food afterwards.
It was picture day, so people came out on the field and the players walked around to give people photo ops. We were going to do that, but it was really just waiting in another long line and none of us - Cecilia included - felt like doing that. I did walk down a few rows and get some pictures. The players weren't supposed to take pictures WITH fans, but Pujols started pulling people out of the crowd to take pictures with them. An announcer asked him about it and he said, "Why not? It's picture day!" in that cute accent of his. You could tell he was a real leader on the team, because one he started taking some pictures with fans everyone else did, too. We also got a picture of Molina with his arm around Pujols. See the sidebar for a link to all the pictures.
It was a great game and we got to see Holliday hit a HR. The Cards beat the Nationals 9 to 4, and Ben kept a scorecard of the game so that I could look that up :). We really love keeping stats at a game, it must be the engineer in us.
After the game we went back to the hotel room and Ben got his birthday cake. It was chocolate with cream cheese frosting. Becky baked the cake and I frosted and decorated it while Ben was on his ride-along with Nick the night before. It said "Happy 30th Birthday Ben" and my attempt at a STL cardinal. It also had 30 trick candles. Ben blew most of them out and then put out he rest with his fingers. We ordered a meal from Maurizio's Cafe Cecilia went to bed before midnight. The poor thing was all worn out. The boys stayed up late and then we all slept well.
Sunday we went to Union Station and did some shopping and had a meal. Ben got a STL decal for the car and I go some fudge. After that last bit of time for the family, we loaded up for the trek home. Cecilia was tired of driving and being away from home, so the trip wasn't as easy as we'd hoped. We all slept well when we got home. What a weekend!
See the link on the sidebar for pictures.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
3 Month Portraits
We got her 3 month pictures taken. She was so good and smiling a lot! You can get to them with the link Cecilia's 3 Month pictures. Use the customer name Hannah Swoboda. You can order them there.
We got her 3 month pictures taken. She was so good and smiling a lot! You can get to them with the link Cecilia's 3 Month pictures. Use the customer name Hannah Swoboda.
We got her 3 month pictures taken. She was so good and smiling a lot! You can get to them with the link Cecilia's 3 Month pictures. Use the customer name Hannah Swoboda.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Ben's 30th Birthday and Sweet Corn Fest
We celebrated Ben's 30th birthday pretty quietly. Ben opened his cards from Cecilia and I and then we went to the Annual Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie, which is close to Madison. Cecilia generally had a good time, but it was a lot of noise and commotion for the little one.
Ben opening his cards!
This is Cecilia chewing on her monkey, which is her new favorite thing to do!
This is all of us at Sweet Corn Fest! We met up with a couple of friends, Brad and Sarah, there. Everyone was so happy to meet Cecilia!
Ben opening his cards!
This is Cecilia chewing on her monkey, which is her new favorite thing to do!
This is all of us at Sweet Corn Fest! We met up with a couple of friends, Brad and Sarah, there. Everyone was so happy to meet Cecilia!
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