Mila's Earrings

This morning we got Mila's ear pierced. Jorge and I have been going back and forth on this for months and we finally decided to do it. I had mine pierced when I was a baby and I'm so glad I did. So we thought we'd get Mila's pierced as well. Not to mention that our family has been asking when we're going to get it done! We finally decided to do it a few weeks ago, but then Mila got the sniffles and then she had her vaccine appointment so it kept being delayed. Finally we scheduled it for today. I'd been dreading this day for months! My mom went with me to take Mila.

Last night I barely slept thinking about it. And all morning I had a horrible pit in my stomach knowing we'd be going. Ugh.

We considered going to Claire's to get it done, mostly because they do it all the time and they had a larger earring selection. But we ultimately decided to get it done at the doctor's office instead mostly because we'd have a private room (at Claire's it'd be out in the open) and I knew Mila would be crying, so I wanted some privacy to try to calm her down without feeling like everyone was staring at us.

We left the house early to stop by CVS and pick up some Bacitracin that my friend Spencer recommended. It's an antibacterial ointment that also helps calm the pain. We ended up getting to the doctor's office half an hour early, but they let us in right away. The pit in my stomach was totally making me feel nauseous. Mila was in a good mood -- she had no idea... that is, until the nurse came in. Mila stared at her. The nurse took out some alcohol to wipe her ears and asked us to lay her down on the examining table... and that's when Mila lost it. I think she smelled the alcohol and knew what was coming.  :(

The nurse had to wipe her ears and then was going to mark a dot on each one so she could make sure they would be even. Mila cried the whole time the nurse tried to mark the dot. She knew. Poor thing! We tried sitting her up, putting her in my lap -- nothing! It was awful. Finally, the nurse had to hide behind Mila so that she could calm down. And even then -- Mila kept turning around looking for her because she KNEW she was there. We tried distracting her with her favorite toys but that wasn't really working. Finally, with the nurse crouched down hiding, she was able to finish marking the dots and make sure they were even. All that took like 15 minutes, when it could have easily taken 1 minute and no tears had Mila not been so aware. Ugh -- we should have totally done this sooner!

The actual piercing was bad but it was over in a minute. Of course Mila cried. I almost cried too. She cried for just a couple of minutes afterwards and then she took the boob. She was actually much better as soon as the nurse left! She cried more before the piercing than during or after!

I thought she might be fussy afterwards, or that it might bother her, but I put the Bacitracin on and she's had no problems at all. She took a nap just fine and even though she's a tummy sleeper, it wasn't a problem.

I'm still untying all the knots in my stomach from this morning, but seeing that she's feeling alright, I feel better. I'm glad so glad it's over with! I'm still getting used to seeing her with them, but I think she looks cute. It was rough, but in the end, I'm happy we did it. I think when she gets older she'll be happy she has them, just like I am happy I have mine.

Mila is 7 Months!

Dear Mila,

This month has been amazing! So much has happened! First off, you have teeth! Two of 'em! They started coming out a month ago and now they are totally out. You love to smile and show off your new pearly whites. It's so cute. Although what's not so cute is that now you like to gnaw and bite -- my fingers, my arms, my leg, my neck, my collar bone, your toys, your toes, your crib ... anything that is within reach is fair game. And man, those teeth are SHARP! You're my little shark! Since you nurse, people have asked me if you've bitten me and no, you haven't. At least not yet. When you nurse, your tongue covers your bottom teeth so I never feel your teeth, thankfully. Now when those top teeth come in... I don't know what will happen. Let's think good thoughts though!

Now that your teeth have come in, we're putting them to work -- you're now eating solids! We started off feeding you bananas, but now you also eat rice cereal and carrots. We were feeding you solids once a day for the first week, but then we noticed it was affecting your tummy, so we cut back to every 3 days and then every two days and now it's every other day. You're eating like such a big girl!

You've also learned how to sit up and now you don't need any help -- you've really mastered it! You've also started pulling yourself up to stand and almost gave Mommy a heart attack when I found you standing in your crib! You were too close to the top and Mommy was afraid you'd be able to jump out!! Daddy lowered your crib immediately! We lowered it to the middle setting, but we had to lower it to the lowest setting when you showed us that you could still reach. Now you're all the way at the bottom of the crib! It's a bit hard to reach down there when I put you in when you're asleep -- it's too low for me! So Daddy bought this stepper at Sports Authority and it's been working great. Now I won't have to drop you in those last few inches!

You've also just started crawling -- ACK, you're mobile! You were quite the mischievious one before you were on the move, now -- watch out! Now you're really getting into everything! You climb and grab everything... you love to attack Mommy and Daddy. We are your jungle gym:

But now that your crawling everywhere, Mommy is looking into getting you a baby jail baby gate to keep you safe. :)

The newest thing you started doing as of today, as a matter of fact, is you're not just pulling yourself up, you're STANDING! I can hardly believe it! You just started crawling and you're already standing??!! Slow down! You're growing too fast! You'll push off of the Snoogle pillow (my giant pregnancy pillow) that is your new toy and you'll stand. I could hardly believe it! You'll only stay standing for a a few seconds and then you plop down. I thought it was a fluke but you were doing it over and over again when Daddy got home. I am in awe Mila!

Your favorite part of the day (and my favorite too!!) is when Daddy comes home. Oh my goodness, it melts my heart! We're usually playing in the living room and the door will creak a little. You look up. And there's Daddy with a HUGE smile on his face looking at his little girl... "Hi, mi amor!" he exclaims.  Your face totalllllly lights up and you start giggling and laughing. Your arms will flail as if to tell him to come get you! You celebrate every time you see him... it's the most precious thing ever. You loooooooove your Daddy so much. And I know your Daddy loves you too! And Mommy loves you and Daddy as well. Our little family is awesome. :)

Great big hugs to my little big girl! I love you.

Your Mommy


7 Month Status Update:

17.8 lbs.
27 inches

Milestone: We Have A Crawler!

Mila's been scooting around for the last few days, but she's been pulling herself up and crawling a little bit. I didn't really consider it crawling unless she was able to go more than just one step, but today she was doing it more and more and even made her way to daddy! She's also starting to pull herself up! Ack! She'll be running before we know it!

Milestone: First Solids

Mila had solids for the first time today! She's been on all breast milk up until now, so this is a big change! For her first meal, we decided to go with bananas mixed with breast milk.

She didn't know what was coming!

Let's just say Mila didn't really care for it.... LOL!

"Ewwwwwww!" says Mila.

"Heeee-YA! Karate chop!!! No bananas for Mila!"

"Mommy, bananas yucky!"

"Et tu, Daddy? Et tu?"

"Whew! Glad that's over!"

So, as you can see, she totally hated bananas. It all ended up on her bib, on her chin, all over her face, in her hair, all over her arms and her table. We haven't gotten a high chair, so we fed her in the Bumbo over a plastic sheet so she wouldn't make a mess on the carpet. I got the plastic sheet at Babies R Us and it's made specifically for feeding time. Worked great! Now they need to make a tarp I can put on Mila so it doesn't get all over her! Something like the things they put on you when you go get a haircut, maybe? Haha! I had to give this girl a bath right after -- she made such a mess all over!

I love the cute little bowl that my mom got us. It's perfect, it hooks onto your finger so you don't spill it and the spoon is soft and flexible. Here's a tip though: don't wipe bananas off with anything made out of cloth! Bananas are sooo sticky and get embedded into everything! Arg! We started off using a vinyl bib, but she kept playing with it so we switched to cloth -- big mistake. That thing turned all brown. Yuck. Stick with plastic ones and the ones with the little scoop at the bottom, those are perfect!

Milestone: First Tooth!

Mila's  bottom gums have been swollen for a few days and today I FELT it! Mila's got her first tooth!!!!! Click on picture to see it close up!

Mila Moved Out! :(

Since Mila's bassinet has a weight limit of 15 lbs, and Mila is just 6 oz away from that, we've decided to move her from her Pack N' Play bassinet that is in our room, to her crib in her nursery. We also thought it was best to move her to her room before she really started noticing where she slept and then the move would be more obvious to her. So Saturday night was the big change. Mila had no problem with it all, she went to sleep like she usually does. She did wonderfully!... Not the same for Mom and Dad though! Her nursery used to be our guest room and since we have a queen sized bed in there, Jorge and I decided to sleep in her room for now. So we can keep an eye on her... you know, during this transition... to make sure she's alright. Ok, ok! So it's been harder on Jorge and I than on Mila -- we can admit it! Jorge and I were up talking about how big she's getting already and how she's moving out. Such a big step! We're going to miss having her in her little bassinet next to our bed... Gosh, if this is how hard it is to move her to her own room, how will it be when she moves away for college?! Gasp! Tears!

This weekend was also Mother's Day, and our original plan was to go down to Miami to spend it with my mom and my grandmother and the rest of the family, but since Mila's still recovering from her sniffles/cold and I'd started getting some sniffles myself, we decided to stay home. Jorge got me two beautiful Mother's Day cards, one from him and one from Mila. It was really sweet. :)

We had a sweet surprise that Cindy dropped off a Mother's Day balloon and card downstairs early in the morning (she was on her way out of town) and then my dad came by to say hello in the afternoon. Then my mom and Cathy stopped by to say hello too. It was so nice to spend some time with everyone! What a sweet Mother's Day!

Milestone: Mila Rolled Over!

Mila rolled over for the first time today! Jorge and I had been seriously neglecting to put her on tummy time. She just hates it so much! Today she seemed to tolerate it a bit more and we put her on her tummy a few times... and then she suddenly rolled over! Way to go Mila! We caught the second time she rolled over on camera for all her fans to see:



We're so proud!!!! :)

Milestone: Baby Hiccups!

27 weeks, 2 days

I'd read a few days ago that around this point in the pregnancy one could feel the baby hiccuping. I was excited to hear that and I wondered what it'd feel like... and then yesterday at work, I was feeling Baby G moving around all day. Then I felt something on my stomach that felt like my pulse -- a twitch that was rythmic and persistant. I thought perhaps I was sitting wrong and maybe my pants were causing it. But I shifted and the twitch continued... then it dawned on me that these were hiccups!! So cute! Then last night I woke up she had them again and Jorge was able to feel it! So sweet! We can't wait to meet you, Baby G!!

Jorge Felt Baby G Kick!

20 weeks, 3 days pregnant

I've been feeling Baby G kick more and more these days-- I'm sure it's her now! They feel like jabs. I was sitting at Jorge's computer today and I felt her move. I wondered if maybe I could feel it from the outside this time so Jorge could feel it. I put my hand on my tummy and waited... and then jab! I called to Jorge to come quickly! "I think I felt her move from the outside!" I heard him scramble to come. I was afraid to move thinking she might stop. He put his hand on my tummy and we waited.... and then jab!

"Did you feel that?!" I exclaimed. He smiled and nodded. We waited again... then jab! jab! "Did you feel that?!!" I said, even more excited! He nodded yes, "But are you sure that's her? It feels like a spasm." I assured him that it was her, but he was still uncertain. We're excited to think we're finally feeling her, but I think once she gets stronger and more active he'll feel more sure about it. I think he's still grasping the thought that our baby is in there, hahaha! She'll be here in just a few short months!!!

Baby Movement!

19 weeks, 1 day pregnant

Ohhhh my goodness! I'm certain I felt Baby G kick today! How exciting! It was definitely more than gas this time... more like a nudge or a twitch coming from the inside. I felt it twice in the same spot, it HAD to be it!! I can't wait for Jorge to feel it!!