Thursday, September 30, 2010

UW hospital advertisement

After I gave birth we were moved to the postpartum area of the hospital, where we learned how to change diapers, breastfeed, and I recovered from my surgery. On our last day, there was a film crew working on a video to promote the Labor & Delivery Dept at UW hospital and they chose us to be in the video!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

sleep & new puppies make everything better

Ben and I read pretty much every sleep book and they all tell you to have a schedule and not to put your baby in bed already asleep. We were not following either of these basic rules until recently.

We started having Finley fall asleep on her own in our bed recently and we reluctantly decided to also have a schedule. We started the schedule a few weeks ago and it goes something like this: wake up at 7:30 am, nap at 9:30-11:30, nap at 2 pm-3 pm and then maybe another nap at 5:30 and then bedtime at 8:30. Naps are supposed be at home, so to follow the rules perfectly, you really cant leave the house much. This does not work for me. We follow the rules as much as possible. She always gets at least one nap at home and we decided that this is good enough. When we are home we are good about following a routine before sleep time that she can get used to, for getting her relaxed. At bedtime Ben gives her a bath, puts PJs and sleep sack on, then I feed her, read her a story and then put her in HER OWN CRIB for bed time and her swing for naps.

Eventhough this whole strict schedule thing its pretty annoying and not natural for us. IT WORKS! ITS AMAZING! Last night I put Finley in her bed at 8:30, she fell asleep at 8:35 and she got up at 7:30 this morning with one short wake up at 5 am.

My only complaint was with eliminating the 3 am feeding. I have an oversupply of milk and whenever I cut out or skip a feeding, its super uncomfortable for me. Going 11 hours without feeding her, caused me big problems and led to me getting mastitis (fever, flu-like symptoms, feeling horrible). Im fine now, but have a feeling it will come back the next time we eliminate a feeding. My doctor and lactation consultant both suggested pumping in the middle of the night....NO WAY! I am sooo not doing that! I hate pumping and I hate gettting up a 3 am!




21 weeks. we missed 20 weeks while in Reno :(


Finley spends her morning in her jumperoo and jumps when she is happy. its very cute






We are working on getting Finley used to sitting at the table with us and giving her food to play with. Gotta get those family dinners started early.....


22 weeks





Oh look, Epic has a new buddy! Meet Pax! Pax is a 5 month old whippet. He is VERY different from a border collie, but lots of fun! He is moving way faster than expected in flyball training and is a star in puppy class. He will also be starting agility soon and we are hoping to give lure coursing and whippet racing a try too! We are working on some separation issues, as Im assuming he has never spent much time alone. As soon as everyone leaves the room, he starts howling!

Here are some of the summers harvests...


shallots


I made lots of pesto with garlic, basil and parsley from the garden! it will be good on meat, pasta, sandwiches or as flavoring for grains or other italian dishes!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

5 month video

I will write a real post before I leave for my trip to Indiana. For now CLICK HERE for a short video....

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

our trip to reno

First an update on our little girl.....she has had a few major growth spurts and is now wearing 9 month clothes. Lots of people comment that she is big for her age. She is eating a lot less now, probably 6 times a day. I am weaning her night feeding by a few minutes every night. As of now, she is still sleeping in our bed, but we are getting a lot more sleep! The difference is that I am not feeding her to sleep and we are doing a routine that ends in her going to bed at around 8:30. Its play, bath, feeding, story, and then bedtime. Its working! She is getting to sleep on her own. The next step is her own bed! We are following the "Sleepeasy Solution" as much as possible to guide us through this process.


In terms of development, Finley isnt sitting on her own yet, but is trying very hard. When you put her down on her back she does crunches and holds the position for several seconds. She sleeps on her stomach and is getting good at flipping herself over. Her favorite things at the moment are Indy, dogs in general, being held, floor time, toys that are easy to pick up, going to new places and baths. She doesnt like her carseat, going to sleep on her own and having her eyes cleaned.

Now about our Reno trip....for our first plane ride with Finley, we wanted to make it short. The flight to Reno is 1.5 hours, which was perfect. We had 3 seats both ways and I was able to feed her during take off and landing. She got a little bit fussy, but was very good overall. On our 2nd day in Reno we took Finley to Virginia City, an old town outside of Reno. We checked out the old-fashioned stores including a candy store and a western book store.







$1 to feed the donkey


While we were in Reno, Frances had a party so that all her friends could meet Finley. It was lots of fun! Finley was a good sport and stayed happy through the whole thing, mainly because she had a break in the middle to take a nap. Overall, it was a nice and relaxing trip and Finley got to spend lots of quality time with her grandparents!



Gran got Finley this really cool stroller from a garage sale!

Finley and Grandpa


out to breakfast at the Stone House before getting on the plane back to Seattle

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Zoo & Dahlias


19 weeks



Checking out the penguins


wild african dogs



Ben and Finley at the Woodland Park Zoo






Lunch at the North Bend Bar and Grill before Dahlia picking

The Dahlia Barn - You Pick Farm






Thursday, September 9, 2010

Video of Finley on June 16th

Wasn't that nearly three months ago?, you may be wondering. When it comes to Ben and making videos you have to take what you can get. Plus looking back at Finley when she was only 6 weeks old can make you feel nostalgic for those simpler times.
In this video we can see her starting to learn to smile, perfecting her 'stick the tongue out at Mommy' skill, strengthening her neck muscles and performing some rudimentary dance moves as taught by Daddy.

CLICK HERE