- Work was cancelled today because of the snowfall!
- Ricky notified his current employer that his last day of work there will be January 28, 2011. He will be working full-time as a freelance court reporter and transcriptionist. We will keep you posted.
- Aolani is now crawling faster than I can roll -- trouble.
- While she loves to stand in her crib, she still cannot pull herself up into that position on her own.
- We think that she might have curly hair. Here is her toothy grin:
- During our family time every night when we cuddle and read on the bed, Aolani attacks me! Our almost 11-month old can be scary. She bites any skin showing, be it cheek, lips, arm, tummy... She rams her fingers up my nose and rips them down to cause nosebleeds. She pulls my hair out. She slaps, smacks, pounces, scratches :( Oh yeah, and then she laughs. [Sigh.]
- I started giving her some of my organic plain yogurt last week, and she actually liked it! We would really like her to start eating some food by her first birthday, in addition to her nursing.
- Aolani is learning when to say uh-oh -- when she accidentally drops something, when she intentionally throws something, and when she dangles something over an edge before she lets go. Obviously, she just uses the uh-oh to get attention.
- Air-drying:
- I plan on taking a sabbatical from the computer next week. No blog, no emails, no Internet -- I will not even be turning the computer on. I am going to focus this time to rest, read, pray, and reevaluate.
- Verse to memorize this week: 1 Corinthians 2:9 ~ However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him...
Skip this post for all you menfolk!- Plugged Duct: I meant to mention that about 10 days ago, I had gotten a plugged duct (painful) in one breast. I read that changes in bras can cause this. I had slept two nights without a bra, and I usually sleep wearing a sports' bra. I put some warm washcloths on the painful area that morning, slept with the bra on that night, made her nurse on that side first all day, and the pain was gone within 24 hours!
- Biting: As you already know Aolani loves to bite, especially now that her top teeth have come down a lot. Teeth marks, bruises, cuts, blood, scabs... Horror! One thing has really decreased the frequency of her biting. I read that babies tend to bite is boredom from either being done or the milk ejection has slowed down. So, I have drastically cut the time she gets to nurse. I use to give her 15 minutes per side, 30 minutes total. Now, I give her 5-10 minutes per side, 15-20 minutes total. When she does bite, I pull her off right away and firmly say, "No bite!" I sign no and tell her that biting is off limits and hurts Mommy. She fusses and cries (telling her 'no' hurts her feelings). I give her one more try on that side to drink milk. If she bites again, I loudly say, "NO!" and either switch sides or end that nursing session.
- Position: By accident, we discovered a new feeding position that is so useful with bigger babies (she is 18 lbs and can sit alone). Aolani is so long that it was getting hard to maneuver her on the Boppy. Basically, she sits up sideways on my lap and turns her head and goes for the breast closest to her. So, I flip her the other direction when it is time to change sides. This position is so easy!
