The time has come. This is the week that (God-willing) Ella is going to stop using a bottle. She's used to having one before her nap and before bed at night. I'm writing about it here to help keep me accountable to actually take it away and not cave in. I won't go into all of the things we've already tried but we're pretty sure that the only way this will work is to just take it away and yes, face the crying. Crying it out has worked for many things with Ella and it usually is a pretty quick process. So, I'll update this week about how it's going. Here's the plan:
1)Sun and Mon-less milk in bottle (to get her used to not having that "meal")
2)Sun forward-milk or juice in her sippy cups (so sippy cups are "yay!" and bottle is "eww watered down milk!"
3)Feel her out a little to see how long we should stay at this stage
4)Before next Sunday: Pack up the bottles, put them in the trunk of the car, and pray that her amazing sleeping track record is not ruined by losing the bottle (I have to put the bottles somewhere that requires some effort so I won't give in easily-I HATE being outside in the dark so going out to get a bottle in the middle of the night is VERY unlikely)
UPDATE #1
I was not really planning this but I was letting Ella open the microwave to get her bottle of milk out tonight and I asked her if she wanted to have her milk in her Elmo Cup (I had no expectation of this working-she's totally rejected sippy cups before bed in the past). I showed her the Elmo cup and she nodded wildly that yes, she wanted her milk in there. I poured it in, still glancing at her out of the corner of my eye thinking "when is she going to freak out...is she really going to drink this??" We took her "Elmo milk" into her room, she drank almost all of it while I read a couple books and then she said she was all done with the milk and I put her in bed. That was almost 2 hours ago and I haven't heard a peep!!!! I'm terrified to get my hopes up that this could actually be this easy (her nap is VERY likely to be harder and tonight could be a fluke). Regardless, she went to bed with NO BOTTLE!!!!!!! And it wasn't even "take away the bottle day" yet! I REALLY hope she sleeps through the night...I'll let you know as Operation Take Away the Bottle continues. All I have to say right now is PRAISE GOD FOR ELMO.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
17 Months
Ella is 17 months old! I can't believe it.
*Her walking is becoming smoother and smoother but it's definitely still a very cute "toddling" walk.
*She still has only 6 teeth so I guess her love of high pitched shrieking can't be blamed on teething.
*The main discipline issue is screaming for things instead of asking and she's reverted to throwing food on the floor again. She's very dramatic (big crocodile tears and wailing) when she doesn't get what she wants but we're trying to get a handle on this discipline thing (time outs, slap on the hand) and I think it'll help curb the drama.
*She's understanding so much more! It was shocking to me the first time I asked if she needed a clean diaper and she nodded, pointed to her diaper, AND she actually did need one. The same with asking her if she wants a certain food and she actually eats it rather than a few months ago when she'd throw it on the floor right after saying "yes" she wanted it. Yes and no are fabulous words for her to understand but the exciting thing to me is how many questions she actually understands also. "Yes" isn't all that useful if you don't know what "diaper" is. She can actually convey her desires on so many things...if I ask her if she wants to take a bath (and she then heads straight for the bathroom), if she wants a snack (and she starts walking to the snack drawer in the kitchen), if she wants to go outside (she goes and stands by the door and nods her head), or play with the dogs (goes right to their crates), or read a book or play with her toys or get in her crib etc. I'm so used to talking to her mostly to hear myself talk, not really expecting a real response so it's kind of amazing to me that she actually understands and responds now! When did that happen?
*Her favorite toys right now are bubbles, magna-doodle, coloring, and most things musical. She likes the playground a lot too-slides are her favorite.
*She does not like being in the car but is distracted by books, toys, snacks, and when those get old (about 5 minutes after we get in the car), she points to the radio and when I ask if I should play Ella's music she nods her head up and down which means "hello, yes you should turn on my music silly woman." She is completely content when I turn on her kid music on most any car ride. Sometimes I just can't listen to any more little squeaky kids voices singing "the wheels on the bus" and she cries until something else distracts her. I'm all about teaching her that you can't always have what you want when you want it.
*Taking her to the mall or Target or the grocery store for more than about 20 minutes anytime near her nap (really anytime if I'm honest) is usually a big mistake. (I will forevermore withhold judgment on moms whose kids are having tantrums in public as I have now joined their ranks).
*She's still a great sleeper. She's sleeping about the same as the last few months (nap from 1pm-3:30ish and 7:30pm-8am). She still goes down fine at other people's houses in her pack-n-play at night (I'm pretty sure I've never had to go get her after putting her down at someone's house because she's crying-I LOVE that she can do this-what will I do when she's in a big girl bed? Stay home after 8pm like most parents I guess).
*She's wearing a mixture of 12-18month clothes (which are getting tight/short) and 18-24 month clothes (which are way too long).
*Still has a bottle of milk to go to sleep. I know we have to get rid of it at some point but I don't have it in me to let her cry it out when I know she's hungry. It just breaks my heart. Nothing else we've tried works. Chris' mom keeps telling me that you don't see kids in kindergarten with bottles and I shouldn't worry about it. That's what I remind myself to assuage my guilt for being a wimp and not just taking it away.
Overall though, she's a really funny, sweet, curious little girl. She laughs a lot, smiles a lot and FINALLY is getting to be very cuddly! Oh, and she now says her name and points to pictures of herself and says "Ella, Ella!" She's just SO cute!
*Her walking is becoming smoother and smoother but it's definitely still a very cute "toddling" walk.
*She still has only 6 teeth so I guess her love of high pitched shrieking can't be blamed on teething.
*The main discipline issue is screaming for things instead of asking and she's reverted to throwing food on the floor again. She's very dramatic (big crocodile tears and wailing) when she doesn't get what she wants but we're trying to get a handle on this discipline thing (time outs, slap on the hand) and I think it'll help curb the drama.
*She's understanding so much more! It was shocking to me the first time I asked if she needed a clean diaper and she nodded, pointed to her diaper, AND she actually did need one. The same with asking her if she wants a certain food and she actually eats it rather than a few months ago when she'd throw it on the floor right after saying "yes" she wanted it. Yes and no are fabulous words for her to understand but the exciting thing to me is how many questions she actually understands also. "Yes" isn't all that useful if you don't know what "diaper" is. She can actually convey her desires on so many things...if I ask her if she wants to take a bath (and she then heads straight for the bathroom), if she wants a snack (and she starts walking to the snack drawer in the kitchen), if she wants to go outside (she goes and stands by the door and nods her head), or play with the dogs (goes right to their crates), or read a book or play with her toys or get in her crib etc. I'm so used to talking to her mostly to hear myself talk, not really expecting a real response so it's kind of amazing to me that she actually understands and responds now! When did that happen?
*Her favorite toys right now are bubbles, magna-doodle, coloring, and most things musical. She likes the playground a lot too-slides are her favorite.
*She does not like being in the car but is distracted by books, toys, snacks, and when those get old (about 5 minutes after we get in the car), she points to the radio and when I ask if I should play Ella's music she nods her head up and down which means "hello, yes you should turn on my music silly woman." She is completely content when I turn on her kid music on most any car ride. Sometimes I just can't listen to any more little squeaky kids voices singing "the wheels on the bus" and she cries until something else distracts her. I'm all about teaching her that you can't always have what you want when you want it.
*Taking her to the mall or Target or the grocery store for more than about 20 minutes anytime near her nap (really anytime if I'm honest) is usually a big mistake. (I will forevermore withhold judgment on moms whose kids are having tantrums in public as I have now joined their ranks).
*She's still a great sleeper. She's sleeping about the same as the last few months (nap from 1pm-3:30ish and 7:30pm-8am). She still goes down fine at other people's houses in her pack-n-play at night (I'm pretty sure I've never had to go get her after putting her down at someone's house because she's crying-I LOVE that she can do this-what will I do when she's in a big girl bed? Stay home after 8pm like most parents I guess).
*She's wearing a mixture of 12-18month clothes (which are getting tight/short) and 18-24 month clothes (which are way too long).
*Still has a bottle of milk to go to sleep. I know we have to get rid of it at some point but I don't have it in me to let her cry it out when I know she's hungry. It just breaks my heart. Nothing else we've tried works. Chris' mom keeps telling me that you don't see kids in kindergarten with bottles and I shouldn't worry about it. That's what I remind myself to assuage my guilt for being a wimp and not just taking it away.
Overall though, she's a really funny, sweet, curious little girl. She laughs a lot, smiles a lot and FINALLY is getting to be very cuddly! Oh, and she now says her name and points to pictures of herself and says "Ella, Ella!" She's just SO cute!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
What's new this week...
Ella's walking is becoming more and more fluid (a little less Frankenstein-like) and it is now her chosen mode of transportation about 85% of the time. That happened quickly! What else is new with her....she lets me put pig tails in her hair occassionally these days
she has been eating guacamole by the handful for over a week now and loves it
she tried strawberries for the first time yesterday and was not impressed
she's VERY picky about food (not new).
since she learned where her eyes are, whenever someone comments on her beautiful eyes when we're out somewhere, she sticks her finger in her eye as soon as she hears the word. Hopefully she'll just learn to say "thank you" instead!
She's also teething and pretty irritable and sometimes completely out of control crying. Hope those teeth come soon!
she has been eating guacamole by the handful for over a week now and loves it
she tried strawberries for the first time yesterday and was not impressed
she's VERY picky about food (not new).
since she learned where her eyes are, whenever someone comments on her beautiful eyes when we're out somewhere, she sticks her finger in her eye as soon as she hears the word. Hopefully she'll just learn to say "thank you" instead!
She's also teething and pretty irritable and sometimes completely out of control crying. Hope those teeth come soon!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
16 Months: walking and talking update (and cute dog story)
Ella is 16 months old and has decided to walk this month! She's taken a couple steps at a time before but started walking between Chris and me a couple weeks ago and a week later choosing to walk on her own all over! She still falls after about 10-15 steps (or 3 or 4 sometimes) but is definitively walking :-)
She also got new open fit hearing aids recently and new hearing tests that make it seem like she has a sloping hearing loss like Chris (which makes a lot more sense than what they'd been telling us before-that it was a flat loss across all frequencies). She hears speech at 25-30 which is not bad at all (2o and under are normal). The new settings on her hearing aids (not nearly as loud as before) coupled with an open fit insert (allows the sound she can hear well to get in while ear molds do not) should cause her to leave her hearing aids in more and really help her hear better than she has been. Very exciting.
Ella is starting to say more and more words! She's just beginning to really mimic a lot of what we say. She used to only repeat words she was familiar with but now she seems more interested in just saying what we're saying. She was saying "apple" today rather recognizably. She signs but does not really say "please" and "thank you." She says "more," "all done," "duck,"dog," "turtle," "bath," "up," help," "mama," "dada," and "nana." She's getting very good at recognizing people and can pick them out of a crowd (nana, grandpa, aunt amy, christopher, hannah, aunt julie, aunt holly, uncle carl, lexie and probably a few more). She really understands so much!
She's very interested in the dogs right now and always want to play with them and go outside with them. She really wanted to give Brooklyn some water yesterday and was standing by the sink with Brooklyn's cup saying "he he" (which means help). She looked so pathetic I decided to put a little bit of water in the cup for her. She then tried to walk, holding a cup that is about the size of her whole torso, back over to the dog's dish. Since she's only been walking for about a week I knew this wouldn't go well and sure enough she fell and spilled the water after about 2 steps. She looked up at me looking so sad and I told her it was ok and turned to get a towel to clean up the water. When i turned back around she was trying desperately to pick up the water in her fingers and put it back in the cup. She's SOOOO cute!
She also got new open fit hearing aids recently and new hearing tests that make it seem like she has a sloping hearing loss like Chris (which makes a lot more sense than what they'd been telling us before-that it was a flat loss across all frequencies). She hears speech at 25-30 which is not bad at all (2o and under are normal). The new settings on her hearing aids (not nearly as loud as before) coupled with an open fit insert (allows the sound she can hear well to get in while ear molds do not) should cause her to leave her hearing aids in more and really help her hear better than she has been. Very exciting.
Ella is starting to say more and more words! She's just beginning to really mimic a lot of what we say. She used to only repeat words she was familiar with but now she seems more interested in just saying what we're saying. She was saying "apple" today rather recognizably. She signs but does not really say "please" and "thank you." She says "more," "all done," "duck,"dog," "turtle," "bath," "up," help," "mama," "dada," and "nana." She's getting very good at recognizing people and can pick them out of a crowd (nana, grandpa, aunt amy, christopher, hannah, aunt julie, aunt holly, uncle carl, lexie and probably a few more). She really understands so much!
She's very interested in the dogs right now and always want to play with them and go outside with them. She really wanted to give Brooklyn some water yesterday and was standing by the sink with Brooklyn's cup saying "he he" (which means help). She looked so pathetic I decided to put a little bit of water in the cup for her. She then tried to walk, holding a cup that is about the size of her whole torso, back over to the dog's dish. Since she's only been walking for about a week I knew this wouldn't go well and sure enough she fell and spilled the water after about 2 steps. She looked up at me looking so sad and I told her it was ok and turned to get a towel to clean up the water. When i turned back around she was trying desperately to pick up the water in her fingers and put it back in the cup. She's SOOOO cute!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Weight: Birth through 15 Months
Growth!
Nov 15, 2005- 7lbs 13oz, 21 inches
Nov 15, 2005- 7lbs 13oz, 21 inches
Nov 25- 7lbs 2oz
Dec 15- 8lbs 9oz
Jan 13, 2006- 10lbs even
Feb 6-11lbs 4oz, 23 3/4 inches
April 12- 13lbs, 9oz
May 16- 14lbs, 14 oz
June 5- 15lbs, 9oz
June 29- 17lbs, 7oz (with clothes)
Aug 21- 18, 9oz
Nov 22- 20, 12oz, 30 inches
March 2007- 21lbs, 11oz, 31 inches
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