As yet unnamed!

Oops, bad blogger Mom

I seriously lose track of time and then get busy doing stuff that I don't bother updating here. Let's see, trying to remember what we did this past week. Hmm... not a lot of anything out of the ordinary. I guess Noemie has a new party trick where if you hold a toy out to her she reaches out for it with both hands. Oh, and she rolled over again in her crib and looked surprised. Don't think she particularly likes rolling though as she gets on her side and happily stays there. Oh, and she has totally found her squeal and she likes the sound of her squeal so we got to hear it non stop this weekend. Have to say it's cute coming from her but if anyone else'd kid does it I just want to duct tape their mouth shut. I'm sure I'll soon tire of the sound though!

My folks were here today so we had a few photos taken and then I got what I think is my latest fave shot of Kirk and Noemie together. They are just so cute together and it makes me so happy to see what a great relationship they have! Can totally see a LO coming on and I saw a great quote somewhere that I'll have to use. Stay tuned!

No big plans this week. Drs appt on Thursday to discuss kidney test results and then her 3rd round of jabs on Friday. If the weather is ok on Tuesday I might take her to Hobbycraft and then head up to my folks for lunch. The new stroller makes it really easy to go out in the car now. Still love the Bugaboo though, wouldn't trade it for anything.

Tall and slender

Ok not quite but she is proportionately taller for her age than weight. 7.18kg/15lbs13oz which puts her at the 50th percentile. Not bad at all considering she was at the 2nd percentile for a while and just last month was almost 25th percentile. Height-wise she is on the 75th percentile at 66.5cm/26".

The pediatrician was so pleased with her progress and I was surprised as he had actually read all the letters from our cardiologist. I figured this is the NHS so I should just be thankful we manage to see the same Drs at each visit for each thing Noemie needs so to know they go one step further and stay on top of things is even cooler! Noemie was all smiles as usual and nearly managed a new party trick of passing an item from hand to hand. We go back in April at which point we will most likely be discharged.

So, one more appointment next week to go over the kidney scan/bladder catheter results and to make a decision on the hernia. Will be great not to have to go to the hospital for multitudes of appointments. Just perhaps the health center from time to time to have Noemie weighed.

Fingers crossed she is a better sleeper tonight. She's already been up once at 8pm for milk...

Not such a good sleeper

No new photos as she didn't really do much yesterday other than fuss and cry and be a general pain in the butt! I actually don't think she was too bad (easy for me to say, Kirk dealt with her) but as she is usually so good anytime she is even a tiny bit bad it seems like the end of the world. She barely napped all day so was totally over tired by the evening and went to bed at 5:45. We figured that was it, she would be down until we went to bed but nope, she woke up an hour later for more milk. Then again at 11pm. Then again at 4am. Then again at 6:45am. Perhaps it's a growth spurt or a sign she needs more solids. She has porridge in the morning and rice at night plus close to 1 liter of milk a day. I'm meeting with a pediatrician today so will ask at what rate we can introduce stuff and how much should she be eating/drinking. She will also get weighed and Kirk has guessed she will be 7.75kg. I guessed 7.5kg. She was 6.06kg last time she was weighed which I think was 3-4 weeks ago. She has definitely gotten rounder since then. Hard to believe she is nearly 25 weeks old. She hasn't even tried rolling again, not even bothered to roll onto her side as she usually loves to do. We're waiting to see what her next party trick will be.

Busy day for Noemie

So, I've been slacking on the blog and have to admit that sometimes I just can't be bothered. I might even have to go back to updating one blog. I guess partly as I'm scrapping so much I have less time to blog and also, Noemie is getting more active so I spend more time watching her so she doesn't get into any trouble.

On Wednesday we went in for her bladder catheterization and the good news is no reflux to her kidneys. I'm meeting with her surgeon in a week or so to go over the various results but am guessing that a lot of this stuff has resolved itself as they had hoped. I don't think she particularly enjoyed having a catheter inserted though but she was as good as always and just dealt with it. Few tears but then afterwards she smiled at me through wet eyes which just broke my heart. She took a long nap in the afternoon though so must've been stressed out.

The rest of the week went by really fast. Lots of walks and lots of rubbing porridge all over her face, her clothes, bouncy chair and me. Good fun. Today she rolled over for the first time and as luck would have it I was downstairs so Kirk got to see it and all I managed was a photo of the "after roll". She hasn't done it again since so I'm guessing she was just as surprised as anyone and probably doesn't even remember how it all happened. She then got stuck on her tummy so we had to roll her back over. Fingers crossed she does it this week with intention! Earlier in the morning, Noemie went flying on her own private plane, Daddy Jet. She loves when we launch her up in the air though we haven't let go just yet. Imagine not catching her and her getting hurt! She just giggles away and thinks it's the coolest thing. She usually ends up drooling while up there and Kirk barely managed to get out of the line of fire today.

Last but not least, this evening before bedtime we were all sitting on the sofa. Kirk was petting Mimi and decided to show Noemie how. Mimi was not too sure at first and even considered getting up and leaving but then a few more strokes and she sat back down. Then I think she kind of realised that this little creature that she has been ignoring for the past few months was touching her and she kind of got a look on her face. Then she relaxed a bit, Kirk let go of Noemie's hand and she reached out and kept petting Mimi on her own. My fav photo is when Mimi looks up and Noemie looks down. It's just so sweet and I'm hoping it's the start of a beautiful friendship. Of course moments later it could've gotten ugly as we realised Noemie was no longer petting but instead had grabbed a fistful of fur around Mimi's neck. Mimi is such a good kitty though and patiently sat there until Kirk untangled them. No hissing, no biting and no scratching. SO impressed.

Time for another comparison

Figured it was time for a growth check! First pic is from June 4 when she was just about 8 weeks old, second pic is from Aug 4 at nearly 17 weeks and then last pic is from this afternoon and she is nearly 23 weeks old. Wow, nearly half a year old!!! She has totally gone rolly polly now but I love it as she looks more like a baby "should" with the round pudgy face. She looks healthy. It's only looking at these more current pics and then comparing it to an older pic that I realise just how skinny she was. In the first pic she even looks a bit blue which was the case due to her heart but we didn't notice it on a day to day basis as it was normal to us. Don't know if I'll be able to do another pic of her on this toy as it would probably pop if we put a heavier baby on it.

Busy little one!

Noemie gave me a few photo ops today so I took advantage! Finally got a cute thumbsucking shot and then she managed to grab BOTH feet today. It's been either one or the other or her leg/babygro but today she figured out how to grab both. Hope she'll stick them in her mouth next for another photo!

Passed out at 5:45

Noemie had a busy day today. She woke up at 6am, barely napped all day, sucked her thumb (she's done it the last week or so but this is the first time I've managed to take a picture) and then sent out some emails on the Blackberry. She had porridge for breakfast and then sweet potatoes for a mid afternoon snack. It was her first time and she loved the stuff so we'll try again tomorrow. I also found some baby rice with vegetables (though to me it smells like powdered onion dip) which she really loves. In fact she likes her rice and porridge so much that se often refuses her bottle until you let her have some mush first. By 5pm she was rubbing her eyes and fussing, so I gave her a quick dunk in the bath, fed her and she passed out halfway through her bottle. Kept drinking though. Let's hope she is ok until at least 6am tomorrow!

TGIF!

This is a little outfit Kirk bought last Xmas for Noemie, long before she was born! He was in Harrods buying stuffed animals for her room and found this outfit as well. I remember the box it came in... they asked if he wanted a box for it so he said yes. He paid for everything and looking at his receipt realised they were selling the box, not offering it as a means of packaging. The box cost £5 so we kept it and will give Noemie something in it each year. Only Harrods would charge you 5 quid for a box after god knows how much they charge for an outfit!!

She's clearing catching up in the size department as it's a 6 month size and at 5 months she fits it perfectly. Luckily we've had chilly weather for this time of the year so she can wear it a few times before she outgrows it. It's a nice soft velour fabric. Speaking of sizes, I bought her yet another winter coat today (3rd one in a week). It's a white faux fur type coat which will look cute over a little dress. I'll have to take photos of her coats so far as one of them is really fun. It's a Southpark "Who killed Kenny" looking coat. Just need to get her a Burberry coat and she'll be sorted I think. Well, until I find another coat that is cute. I haven't bought any new clothes for myself in a year and that was maternity stuff. Noemie is so much more fun to dress and she looks so cute so I just can't be bothered to shop for myself anymore!

Kirk, if you're reading, Noemie waves hi! She's been a good napper today unlike the days/nights when you're not around. She is out of sorts when you are not here so I think you need to let work know you can no longer travel as it's detrimental to your daughter's sleep pattern!

The last few days...

It's been a busy week! She is officially 5 months old as of Tuesday! She fussed for most of the weekend. Luckily Kirk was home and has more patience with her! Monday we met up with my friend Tamsin and went for a walk. Tuesday we went to my parent's house and Noemie was so good in the car! She babbled and then fell asleep on the way there and then coming back she slept then babbled. No crying at all. I was worried about what to do if she started howling while I was driving. We even got stuck in major traffic coming home and she was just fine. Wednesday we went to the hospital to meet with the genetic Dr who told us Noemie has no chromosomal defects and what happened to her was most likely just bad luck. So that was good news as the chances of it repeating are no different than the chance everyone takes when having a baby. Today we had a visitor though Noemie slept through it. The lady we bought our house from came over to say hi. Hopefully next time Noemie will be awake to say hi as well. We peeked into her room but as Noemie was snoring we knew there was no chance of her waking up. She's still asleep now.

Noemie has taken to waking up more, at least the past 2 nights. It sucks as Kirk was gone the last 2 nights so I'm a bit tired today. She then refused her bottle this morning but kept opening her mouth so I tried baby porridge and that was what she wanted. She gulped a lot down, had a tiny bit of milk and then refused a nap. I get the feeling she is ready to wean properly as she has really enjoyed the baby rice and porridge I've been giving her. Can't blame her, how boring must it be to suck milk 6+ times a day? I might try her on sweet potatoes this weekend.

She wore this outfit yesterday and got loads of compliments. The little dog is attached to the inside of the pocket on her overalls and she sucked on the poor thing during her walk. I swear it looked like she had a little rat in her pocket with how soaked it got.

I think this pose is her favorite. It's good for all future top models to figure out their signature pose early on don't you think ;)

Hopefully a happier day today...

I don't want to jinx us but so far this morning she seems happier than she was yesterday. Still a bit more fussy than usual but not too bad. Out of all the stuffed animals Kirk bought for her before she was born, Noemie has decided she likes the lion the best. I was changing her sheets yesterday morning and put Noemie on the floor with all her stuffed toys and when I went to put stuff back she had a firm grip on lion's tail. He also has a mane of fur that she grab onto and stick in her mouth to chew on. A friend is no good unless you can chew on them you know? Last night when I put her to bed I left lion within her reach though I did move him once she was asleep so she wouldn't accidentally bury her face in him. It was a bit of a struggle as she was holding tight to his tail again. This morning it was back to cuddling him and then arranging his hairdo. Hope she stays this smiley... but at least Kirk is here so we can take turns if she is difficult again!