So Much About Sierra

Well, I have fallen off the blog wagon again...Sierra has been here for almost seven months now, and I haven't really written about her.
Sierra was finally able to come home on February 22, after I initially received the placement call on February 5, thinking she would be released on Feb 7 or 8.  Thankfully I was able to go visit with her periodically during that 2 1/2 weeks.

Her sleeping has always been difficult.  Initially she was in my room in a bassinet because I didn't want her waking Elmer in the middle of the night, but I quickly moved her to another room because she kept me up pretty much all night.  She would grunt and lightly/briefly fuss and move, often making me think that she was waking up and wanting to eat.  I soon realized that she was just a very restless sleeper and I couldn't sleep well with that.  Now at eight months, she continues to wake 1-3 times a night for comfort; and to eat somewhere between 3:15 and 5:30.

She also has had some eating issues.  Initially something was definitely not typical with her eating. She would not continue eating a bottle consistently - would stop often and would seem to struggle at times. If she was eating well and I would stop to burp her, then she would have lost interest when I tried to feed her again.  Sometimes she would only eat two ounces at once.
She had RSV shortly after coming to me, which affected her desire to eat as well.  The doctor was concerned about her weight gain, so I had to take her in for a weight check a few weeks after her two month checkup.  (Now she is probably 20 pounds and has sumo thighs - no concern about weight now!)
When I tried to start cereal at around 4 1/2 months, she gagged on it.  I pursued because some babies have a hard time at first, but she never got it.  Then I tried squash and bananas, and she gagged on those, too.  I talked with my friend who is a feeding therapist and she gave me some suggestions to have her gnaw on carrot sticks, celery sticks, and/or hard pizza crust to bring her gag reflex farther back in her mouth.  From there, I basically took a path of using baby-led weaning, and Sierra quickly began eating most table foods (except some fruits).  Now she eats better than Elmer some nights!

She has had many ear infections, and finally got ear tubes a few weeks ago.  They are still draining so I think she still has some pain with them, which may be at least part of the reason she still wakes in the night.  (She also has four teeth now, so I think teething is some of the reason, too).

She has met her milestones ahead of schedule - she rolled back to stomach at almost 4 months, got up on hands and knees at almost 6 months, started crawling at 7 1/2 months and is now pulling up to standing at everything.  She went to the NICU follow-up clinic when she was 5 months old and they had no concerns except the possible feeding issues.

Currently she is a very happy baby.  She pretty much never cries if she is being held.  (Of course, I can't hold her just anytime she wants to since I have a 2 year old to take care of, too!)  She thinks Elmer is the best and just laughs with him!  Recently he has started "wrestling" with her - sometimes I think it's too rough and try to tell him to be gentle, but she is pretty much telling him it's okay because she is cracking up, so my words don't sink in.

We have had some legal steps happen, but I think this is enough for one post, so I will make another post about all those things!  Also things happening with Elmer which I need to post about!

Elmer at 18 months

Well, Elmer is now 19 months old, but this should be mostly accurate as of 18 months since I actually made notes without writing the whole post!  I'm going to write it from the point of when he was 18 months. 

- He weighed 23 pounds (33rd %ile)  and was 32 inches (34th %ile) at his 18-month checkup.  Two hours later at WIC, he was 31 inches (9th %ile)!  I trust the WIC measurement more, though, because they used the slider measurement device, rather than just marking on the paper on the exam table.

- He is so smart! 
At 18 months, he said more than 80 words on his own, and keeps adding more every day!
He connects concepts and has a really good memory. 
One day while climbing the stairs, he picked up a piece of debris, and I said, "Oh, yeah, I need to vacuum."  Then when he got to the top of the stairs, he began grunting and motioning toward the vacuum cleaner.  The time between those two things was enough that I had already forgotten what I said on the stairs and had to take a minute to figure out why he was pointing to the vacuum cleaner!  There was also a couple of weeks that we had been to the pediatrician several times.  On one of these visits, I had pointed out the fish's big eyes on the mural in one of the treatment rooms.  Ten days later, when we were there again, I drew an eyeball on the magn-doodle and said, "eye."  He quickly turned to the mural on the wall, looking for the fish's eye!  We were in a different room with a different mural, so it wasn't there. 

- We are doing "Mommy and Me" gymnastics class every week, and he loves it!  The first class we went to, the teacher thought we were making up the class from a different day rather than it being his first time because he was so cooperative. 

- He loves to help me!  He will put the laundry into the dryer when I pass it to him, scoops out and dumps the cat's food, and throws things in the trash when I ask him.  One day he also helped me clean out and organize the pantry - he put things in the right piles as I told him, or took things to the trash can. 

- He feeds himself with spoon and fork pretty consistently, and usually does a good job with it.  Sometimes I have tried to feed him so we can do it quickly or not end up with oatmeal in his hair, but he CRIES and points to his high chair, or goes to the silverware drawer to get his own spoon.  I guess I can't hold down independence! 

- Speaking of independence, he has hit the Terrible Twos early!  When I tell him to do something he doesn't want to, he will say, "NO!" and hit at me.  He also has started throwing some tantrums.  {Thankfully by 19 months, this has improved a good bit!}

- He imitates EVERYTHING!  For example, I was vacuuming the blinds and he picked up one of the vacuum attachments and started doing it, too.  He pays attention to even the very little things and imitates - like when I licked my finger to turn some magazine pages, he did the exact same thing!  And every little movement my six-year old nephew Bop does, he does too.  Bop fell down on the floor on top of a book and rolled around kicking his legs; Elmer found a book to put on the floor and did the exact same thing.  When we were at a baseball game, Bop walked over to the fence; so did Elmer.  Bop squatted down on one knee while holding the fence; Elmer did the exact same thing. 

- He LOVES balls of all types and sizes.  Anything that is remotely round is a "ball" - eggs, a pregnant lady, my chest!  LOL  One day I got a watermelon and a cantaloupe at the grocery store.  From the minute I put them in the cart, he kept saying, "Ball!  Ball!"  He was DEVASTATED when I put them on the counter at home and wouldn't let him play with the new balls we had!  He also has quite the arm and leg for throwing and kicking. 

- I have learned when brushing his teeth that I need to give him his own toothbrush because otherwise, we are fighting over the one toothbrush.  He has gotten pretty good at brushing his teeth.

- He has started trying to jump, and occasionally gets both feet off the ground at the same time to really jump. 

- He discovered his shadow!  When he first saw it outside, I was trying to get him to make the connection that it was his body and was showing him how to wave and make his shadow move, while saying, "Hi."  He spend the next couple of weeks almost obsessively saying, "Hi" to his shadow on the floor, wall, or wherever else (and sometimes when there really was no shadow but he was expecting one). 

- One of his favorite activities these days is to sit on the curb outside and re-arrange the leaves that have gathered in the corner. 

Elmer is growing and developing so quickly.  I continue to be truly amazed at all of the things that he is able to do, and the fact that he is age-appropriate with everything (and ahead of his age for most things).  My sweet baby is such a joy!

14 months

Elmer is 14 months old now.  I often watch him play and sit in amazement at how well he is doing, considering the start that he had. 


He can spontaneously say 17 words:
Pumpkin (our cat) (pupu)
Uh-oh
Yay
Mickey Mouse (nunu)
Banana (nana)
Paci (pa-pa)
Bubbles
Diaper (piper)
Up (bup)
Sock
Mama
Ball
More
Dog
Peekaboo (pu-boo)
Bye bye
Hi


He repeats MANY more words than these. 


He can point out 5 body parts when asked:
tummy
hair
ears
mouth
nose


He knows what 4 animals say:
Cat (ow)
Duck (kak)
Monkey (aaa-aaa)
Chicken (ba-ba)


He feeds himself with a spoon fairly well.


He knows where to go to get his medicine, to go bye-bye, to get his diaper changed.


He can kick a ball and walk really fast.  He still falls a lot.


He rats himself out when he is touching something he knows he is not supposed to, by saying "no-no-no" while he is touching it. 


He drinks one bottle at bedtime and usually passes out while doing so.  He sleeps with a lovey (thank goodness he is not particular - we have four different ones and he is cool with any of them) and a pacifier (sleeping is about the only time he has a pacifier).  He goes down in the crib at naptime and puts himself to sleep without crying. 


He is becoming such the little boy lately, and is still so happy!

Those curls!!

And just for fun, almost exactly one year apart.  (Nov 17, 2015, just 5 days after Elmer arrived; and Nov 22, 2016).  I did not put him in the carrier specifically to get a picture, nor did I purposefully have the same shirt on both years!

12 Months

Elmer at One

Elmer is almost a year old, and is doing so well!  Most, if not all, of his developmental milestones are ahead of average. 

• He started standing ten or more seconds on his own and taking a few steps at a time by himself about a month ago.  Now he can stand pretty much as long as he wants, and is walking more and more around the house but still falls a lot.  I have seen him walk 15-20 feet at a time, but sometimes he falls after 4-5 steps. 
• He wants to feed himself with a spoon, and a couple of weeks ago did pretty well with feeding himself yogurt, although it was messy. 
• He can say the word "baby," but usually only does it in imitation of me saying it to him first.  He consistently signs "more" (by himself or in response to me asking him if he wants more) to get more food. 
• Even though he doesn't say much, he understands A LOT.  He knows where his shoes go (will pick one up and put it to his foot) and what a brush is for (puts it up to his head).  He can do motions just by me saying the words "splash", "jump", "boom" (bang onto stuff), and "dance."  And he will hand me his pacifier when I ask for it (without me motioning for it). 

My little monster is having a monster-themed birthday party tomorrow, and we have done it up big!  I can't wait!

11 Months

Elmer is eleven months old now!  And is such a little monster!

Sometimes

Sometimes I sit and watch Elmer playing,

and tears form in my eyes as I think about how amazingly well he is doing,

considering his start in life. 

 

Ten Month Photo Catchup

First trip to the waterpark

Middleton Gardens - up close and personal with lots of animals

We went to my aunt's lakehouse for the weekend.  Elmer stood here for at least ten minutes watching my cousins' kids playing the game.

This is an outfit that Tank wore at 5 months old, shortly after he came to me.  Elmer is 9 months here.

First tooth finally coming through just before nine months old

I took some 9-month pics of Elmer at the park.

That curl.  He's starting to get more in the back, too.

First time with red-sauced pasta

Blurry, but cute!  First Fourth of July

Getting into everything!

"Give me that camera!"

This is Elmer rolling, trying to get away from me because he knew I was trying to take a picture and wanted him to be still!

Ten months old

Bad Blogger

I have been a bad blogger lately.  I'm going to get back into it.  There is so much stuff to say.


In the meantime, here are Elmer's 8- and 9-month pictures. 

Life Just Got a Lot More Interesting

This is what has been happening this week.  

Enter, baby jail.

He's not really happy to be in the Exersaucer anymore, so I need a way to contain him at times. 

Elmer's been a busy boy this week!

What Has Elmer Become?

Elmer has been turning into all kinds of things lately! 

• Human Garbage Disposal: He is eating all kinds of baby foods, puffs, and small bites of table food.  He has liked EVERYTHING I have given him!  Except spinach.  He will bang the table and/or whine/fuss between each bite to get more. 
• Houdini: See that strap by his feet?  I was tucking the excess under the car seat so he wouldn't chew on it, since the strap touches the ground when I put the car seat down.  Well, he has now figured out how to move his feet around on top of it to wiggle the strap out, so he can lift it up with his feet and grab it with his hands to chew on it! 
  
• Wiggle Worm: He is moving EVERYWHERE!  He can get up on his hands and knees, move from the floor to sitting up by himself, and is constantly moving!
  
• Albert Einstein: He will purposefully put his bib over his face, and then pull it down when I say, "Where did you go?"  Most seven-month olds will pull a blanket off of their face to play peek-a-boo, but I think it's pretty advanced to independently put something over his face to start the game. 
• My Offspring: We were at the doctor's office yesterday, and another patient's mom said, "Aww, he looks JUST like you!"  

Meet Elmer

For anyone new to the blog, this is 7-month old Elmer. 

7-month old with a high-risk history who has just started getting up on his hands and knees, and who has just learned to purposefully put his bib up over his face and pull it back down to play peek-a-boo. 

7-month old who is now one of the most "chill" babies I have ever seen, but once was a 6-week old who was never fully settled. 

7-month old who smiles all. the. time. but whose adorable smile I can't show you.  :(

Elmer is the fifth foster child that has been placed with me.  He is the first one that has had a primary plan of adoption.  The next step is another merits hearing that will be scheduled for dad in June sometime (he has not showed up for the first two).  The caseworker thinks they will be asking for recommendation of TPR (termination of parental rights) as well during that court date.  This case is going on way too long for one where the parents aren't even being given a treatment plan.

More Growing Up

Slow Down!

Not even seven months old, and last night he rolled from his back to his side and pushed up onto his arm.  I waited to see what he would do.  He stayed in this position at least thirty seconds, and then lowered onto his elbow and rolled back to his back. 


Little one, you need to stop growing up so fast!!

Elmer is Growing and Doing New Things!

I realized that I haven't really posted much about all the amazing things Elmer has been learning. 




Between three and four months:

 He started rolling over from back to stomach!

 Lying on his stomach with cousin Bop watching TV.

Um, Elmer, let's go back to that sleeping through the night thing!!

Just a cute shot of Elmer snuggling his monkey blanket.

Between four and five months:

 He started grabbing his feet.

 He got his first Valentine's Day card,

and celebrated his first Valentine's Day.

 He started eating cereal (and was a champ from the beginning - he opened his mouth as soon as the spoon came near it!)

 and then ate more foods - making a mess of some of them!

Between five and six months:

 He started sitting up in the stroller and on the "sit up" side of the bathtub. 

 And was working on sitting up in general.

First time in the big swing.  He laughed immediately.

 He celebrated his first St. Patrick's Day,

and first Easter.

 Checking out what the Easter bunny brought him.

I feel like I'm going to blink and he will be walking!





Four Months with Elmer

I am planning to do a series of more detailed posts on the following items, but I wanted to go ahead and give a quick update since I have been a bad blogger lately. 


A couple of days ago marked four months since Elmer was placed with me, and three days longer than I have had any other baby. 


Developmentally, he is doing GREAT.  He is ahead of his age with pretty much all his milestones.  He belly laughs all the time! 


Medically, he has still struggled with ear infections and just last week, the doctor decided to proceed with ear tubes in a few weeks.


As far as the case goes, I am hoping to be able to adopt him.  Bio Mom was not offered a treatment plan, and has been to court during which she agreed to this.  Bio Dad did not show up to that court date in January, nor to the previous court date that was held before Elmer was placed with me, so he still has not had his merits hearing.  They have to have that before they can recommend termination of parental rights... I'm not sure how many times Bio Dad has to not show up before they move on without him. 


He is so happy now - always smiling.  And he is so chill - he hardly ever cries unless he is tired or hungry.  I long ago fell head over heels in love with him.  He's such a sweet and fun baby to have around, and I hope things stay that way forever. 

Friday Favorites

I'm trying a link-up this week! 



One.

First up, my Tigers!  I was so excited to see them go to the National Championship game!  My sister Red and I got a sitter and went to a friend's house to watch the game.  It was the perfect environment for game-watching - all Tiger fans, loud, 80-inch TV (among five other TV's), good food and good company.  I was hoping to "Party Like it's 1981" but those boys gave it their all and made it a great game to watch.  Nothing to be ashamed of in that performance.  And we'll be back.

Two.

Sleep!  I'm crossing my fingers that we have found the formula to getting Elmer to sleep all night.  I started giving him bigger bottles during the day, so I think he is more full to sleep at night.  (I had been hesitant to increase the bottle size with the amount that he spits up, but it doesn't seem to be any more now than with smaller bottles.)  This morning, it was glorious to see "Sleep Goal Met" (8 hours) on my F!tb!t.  Granted, it was a five-hour stretch and a three-hour stretch added up, but I can't remember the last time I slept a total of eight hours in a night! 

Three.

Meeting milestones!  Elmer rolled all the way from his back to his stomach one time this week for me, but had his arm under him and pushed himself right back over to his back.  But the daycare says he has been rolling over to his stomach a lot there.  Less than four months old for rolling is a SUPER age to meet that milestone.  Since he is high risk for developmental delay due to his history, I'm so glad that he is meeting milestones early. 

Four.

Belly laughs!  Elmer has started belly laughing, and there is no more precious sound than that.  You can't help but laugh along when it happens. 

Five.

Adoption Day!  TT got a date for Twin's adoption.  I'm so excited for the two of them!  



One Month with Tigger

Tigger has been here a little over a month and has adjusted really well.  He is so laid-back and generally only cries when he is tired or hungry.  He overall seems happier than when he got here (although he was pretty darn happy even then!) - I guess a better choice of words would be "more settled." 

He turned six months old, and now is army crawling EVERYWHERE, including into the bottom of the Exersaucer.  He will make a beeline to any shoe or cord.  He is still working on sitting - if he actually sits STILL, he can balance himself for several minutes; but he is usually trying to get some toy or wave his arms around and ends up falling over.  He still only has the two teeth he arrived with, but these are more fully grown in now.  And just last night he really discovered the fun of splashing in the bathtub!

He sat here for almost five minutes, entertained by me

moving my toes and banging my thighs to the music.

He goes to bed between 7 and 8 pm.  He wakes up one time during the night to eat, around 12:30-1:30, and then goes right back to sleep.  (He did sleep all night - until 5:45 - one time, but that hasn't happened since.)  He has started holding his bottle, but not for the whole feeding yet. 

He loves my cat, Pumpkin; Pumpkin is jealous - he often climbs in my lap while I am holding Tigger. 

He started crawling after Pumpkin, and

Pumpkin had to take shelter behind the table.

He is so attentive and interactive.  I have a board book that has real pictures of babies - each page is a baby doing a different thing.  One day, he was "talking" to the baby on each page.  He would look at the baby, smile, and make 2-3 "talking" noises to it; and then would repeat on the next page.  Something interesting was that he did not consistently "talk" to two of the babies - one that was looking down at the book so you can't see the eyes; and one that was a full-length picture so the eyes were not as obvious as in some of the other pictures. 

Cute Tiger Butt

After a little more than a week, we ended up in the doctor's office with a fever (which turned out to be just a virus), and he tore the table up!

 

 

He will grab my face and give the sweetest kisses!

 

 

He had a visit with his grandmother and aunt yesterday, and my understanding is that they are trying to get full custody of him.  He is such a good baby, and I will hate to lose him; but I am so glad that he has people in his life that are fighting to get him.  (It is so sad to me that so many of these kids have parents who can't show up to a visit for months on end, and have no one else that really cares to visit them.)