+ Fall down, go boom +
We had another Mommy Panic moment this morning. I fed you and placed you in your carseat, which was sitting on the big ottoman, while I gathered my stuff together to go to work. I was getting my lunch and I heard your incessant babbling turn to screaming. I ran in and found you face down on the carpet in front of the ottoman. I am such a horrible mommy! I didn't imagine you'd do your stiffening thing and fall right out. You cried while I held you, but really got over it pretty quickly. After a thorough examination of your legs and arms and head, I think you were just fine. Scared more than anything. When we went to actually leave, you tried to do it to me again, and I had trouble actually fastening your carseat because you wouldn't sit still.

Mommy Lesson #569: Do not place baby in a carseat without latching it, even if baby seems sleepy and content. Seems like an obvious one, but clearly I need some help grasping the obvious.

+ Twenty-eight +
Saturday was my 28th birthday! How old I am getting. :-) Really, I'm still young, but when I look at you and think about how much life you have left to live, well... it makes me feel old. That's okay, honestly, it's all a perspective thing. Daddy gave me a lovely Italian charm bracelet, with hearts for him, a smiley face for the doggie, and a cute little pink baby foot for you. It's so pretty. I think you'll really like it when you get older. I'm hoping one day to get you one too.

You were in such a good mood this morning, all kicks and smiles. Very cute. I was a little worried about you yesterday and Sunday. Sunday you started this random crying like something really hurt, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. You continued doing it off and on through yesterday evening. When I got you home, I took your temperature, and it was very slightly elevated. After investigating as thoroughly as possible and still being at a loss, I gave you a little baby Tylenol. Within 1/2 hour, it brought your temp back down and you were happy albeit a little drowsy. We did our bedtime routine and you slept great. You haven't had a real crying jag since.

This morning, I woke up and pumped the right side since it was painfully full... I got 5 ounces out of one breast! That's never happened. I probably could have gotten 6 or more, even, but the bottle would only hold 5 before the pump valve was submerged in milk and the pump stopped working. I didn't get another bottle, I just gave you what was left (plus the other side) when it came time to feed you. I wish I could have that happen every morning, but I won't count on it.

+ Amazing +
These quints were born at the same hospital where you were born. It's a very good hospital. But I'm amazed that the largest of the quints was 5 lbs. 3 oz. - that's a BIG baby for a quintuplet birth, and exactly 1 lb. less than YOU. That's really cool for them. As much as I love you, though, I can't imagine having five of you. *shiver*

+ Thank. God. +
Eight and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep. You must be drunk on sleep. Thank you, baby girl. And thank you to me for being smart and going to bed myself at 8:15. That let me have almost 8 hours of sleep too! Yippee!

+ More +
You took your first real road-trip over the Fourth of July to see your Great-Uncle David in Heber/Overgaard. Along for the trip were your second cousins Sean and Kimberly, your Great-Aunt Suella and Great-Uncle Bob, Great-Grandma, Grandpa Johna and Grandma Carol-Ann, and Uncle Chris and Uncle Mason (plus me and Daddy, of course). We had a really nice time, and you got to see fireworks for the first time. You really liked that... until you got hungry and demanded food. Nursing you in a field under a sea of fireworks was actually pretty neat. I think I'll remember that for a long time.

On that trip, I got to experience my first real mommy-panic moment. You had been fussy from being hot, so we cooled you off and stripped you down. I put you in your carseat to rest a minute, and as your Great-Aunt Kimberly was handing me your pacifier, her unopened can of Coke fell... Onto your head. Yep. You had that slow-motion baby scream that started with a look of shock and built slowly into a blood-curdling wail. I immediately picked you up, held you close, danced around lightly and kissed you over and over. You had a little bump, so we calmly went to Grandma Carol-Ann (who's an experienced nurse), and she diagnosed you as fine. The bump grew a little, and you weren't too happy, but you did calm down. We rested in a quiet room, nursed, and I held some ice water to your head. Finally, you took a pretty healthy nap and when you woke up, you were as good as new. The bump took a while to go away, but it's pretty much gone now. Thank goodness for spongy baby skulls.

Importantly, I was impressed, and so was Daddy, with how I handled it. I was calm, deliberate, and warm. I didn't panic, I didn't freak out. I'm sure that helped both of us and everyone else present to keep from overreacting. It ended up being a very minor event. But one I'll remember for a verrry long time.

+ Long-overdue update +
I feel like a horrible mommy for deciding to move servers in the middle of your babyhood. But now you have your own little corner of the Internet world, dedicated just to you. You are that special (but we knew that).

So, what's new with you? Well, I'll start and surely have to update more later. I cannot begin to list all the neat new things you know and do. You're just growing too fast for me!

Eating: You still eat like a champ. I had another pumping slump, and had another cold which is just now going away. But I spent the weekend nesting with you, feeding whenever possible (sometimes hourly). It was nice cuddling with you and I could tell it was increasing my milk supply some. But during the pumping slump, you had to have a couple more bottles of formula. It wasn't much, and you handled it just fine. And I feel better accepting reality that if we need it, you can have it. I even got to go briefly to a bridal shower at work while daddy picked you up from daycare and gave you a bottle of formula. It was actually nice that he got to spend that time with you that he normally wouldn't have gotten to do. No solids yet, still, and we're holding to that as long as possible. You are just now starting to be interested in what I'm eating, and you're getting quite used to your high chair. So I don't think it shall be long.

Sleeping: Yes, well, sleeping has been an issue. I finally had enough and started reading everything I could get my hands on (and keep my eyes open for) about sleep. Trouble was, most of the suggestions were things I was already doing. And you were still waking up every 2-3 hours, including the beginning of the night, when you used to sleep great! Well, I finally resorted to a combination of earlier bedtime (around 7:30) and a regimented bedtime routine that begins around 7:00. Guess what? It's working! The first night you still got up after 2 hours. But the second night? You only got up once, and that continues today. It's been a week. You woke up at 3:00 this morning and went to bed at 8:00. That's seven hours, little one! I nursed you and put you back down, partly awake, expecting to hear screaming. Instead, you went back to sleep by yourself and stayed down until about 6:15. Blessings!

Talking: Okay, you're not *talking* but you're chattering more all the time. Your newest sound is a gutteral grunting sound. Charming. It starts as a light squeal and ends in grunting. You still get a very puzzled look on your face when I mimic you.

Listening: You're getting very interested in new sounds. If I'm cooking and the food is sizzling, you will nearly fall out of my arms trying to get a closer look at what the sound is. If I'm running the bathtub, I must hold you in such a way that you can see the water running into the tub. If I am standing behind you in your swing, etc., you will crane your neck back and around to see me if I cough or say something. Cute.

Teething: Oh, how you are teething. You gnaw so hard on my fingers, I swear I'm going to have bruises. I have tried to give you teething toys, but you never stay interested in them very long, and cooling teething toys are completely uninteresting to you. Your favorite things to chew on are your own clothes and burp cloths. Weirdo. I'm just hoping you get some relief soon.

Crawling: No, you're not quite crawling but you're getting the idea. You push up on your hands, and instead of pulling your knees and butt up, you slide your knees out and bed your legs up in the air. It's really very cute, but not very productive. When you're mad, you actually DO crawl/scooch, but you don't realize it. Kind of like how you learned to roll over when you were mad. Interesting pattern...

Sitting: Oh, you're so very close here. You sometimes succeed, though usually you still need a little hand (or two) of support somewhere. The closer you get, the less you want to be held. You love to sit in my lap and look at TV, or out the window at the trees blowing in the wind, or at the doggie, or at daddy if he walks through the room.

Well, that's our summary for now. I'm sure there are more wonderful things I'll have to update soon. And I will. I'm not going to let this journal lag like that ever again, if I can help it. So, happy late Fifth Monthday. :-)

+ One year ago +
One year ago yesterday, I started my baby blog. Wow.