Evie Update

Miracles do happen

/ Shane / Leave a comment

When we last saw our heroes, Evie was sleeping through the night but getting up very early (4:30 or so).  At first we were pretty excited about that because it was such an improvement over what it had been.  But 4:30 sure is super, super early and it started to be a problem.  We decided to make a rule that she couldn’t get out of her crib before 5:30.  This meant that before long I was back on the floor again in her room.  Usually I drifted in and out of sleep for about an hour while she alternately slept, played or cried.  Finally, at 5:30 (or a little before if I couldn’t take it) I would get her out of the crib.

So we weren’t back to square one by any stretch of the imagination, however, the more things change the more they stay the same.  We decided that at bedtime we would try putting her in bed and letting her fall asleep on her own, rather than reading or singing until she fell asleep.  I was hoping that she would at least become more comfortable to spending time alone in her crib.  I don’t care if she wakes up at 4:30 if she just plays by herself; it was my involvement that I had a problem with!

So we figured she would howl when we left, but she really didn’t.  She cried a little bit for maybe two minutes, and then she was out.  I guess she inherited her parents’ ability to fall asleep fast!  Nap time was a little bit tougher, but she never stayed awake for longer than 15 minutes and we never had to go back in more than once.

And then the most amazing thing happened!  After maybe the second day, Evie just started sleeping in!  She went to bed around 8:10 and slept in to 6:30.  This has been going on for about a week, so it seems to be permanent now.  This morning she slept until 7!  7!  That might not sound like much to you, but 7 is a long, long way from 4:30.  Even to type the sentence fills me with joy!

Clearly she learned some skills that help her fall back asleep without our help.  That was the main thing.  But I think there were also some ancilary things going on as well.  I think that she was at the right age for it.  I think, in retrospect, I also must have been something of a distraction to her.  Certainly when I was trying to read her to sleep she would be silly: playing peekaboo behind the bars, playing with her blanket, kicking the side, etc.  So I guess it works better if I am just out of her hair.

Within just a few nights, she was certainly down with our new routine.  Now as soon as I put her in the crib she says, “Door!” and points.  So, I think our new found sleeping bliss may just be permanent!

Surgeried

/ Shane / 1 Comment

We’re back from the hospital, ears freshly tubed.  Evie is fine, you would never know anything happened at all.  At first they said that we wouldn’t be able to be with her when she went to sleep, but they ended up letting Sara go back with her.

Here’s to no more ear infections!

And, as usual, a nurse said she looked like Shiloh Pitt.

Baby’s First Surgery or A Series of Tubes

/ Shane / 3 Comments

First, let me just say 😦

So, in addition to just being generally sick every week for the last year or so, Evie has been dealing with a rash of ear infections.  As you recall from my other posts, this originally started back on Halloween.  So it has been over 2 months, several antibiotics and many, many doctors appointments, and after all of that time she still has fluid in her ears.

The surgery to put tubes in her ears is scheduled for the 13th.  It is a pretty simple procedure, it supposedly only takes 5 minutes, but you always have risks with anesthesia and stuff.  Still, it really isn’t much to worry about; I myself had tubes put in 3 times when I was little.  They should fall out by themselves in about a year, so the hope is we make it through this winter and next with them.

As I’ve said, I had many, many problems with my ears when I was little, so I should have seen this coming.  But it stinks and I don’t have to like it!

 

In regards to the title of this post, I have always been enamored with the way the titles of Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes always had “blah blah” or “blah blah”, usually involving a pun or two of some sort.  Something hilarious like “Axe Me Another or Heads You Lose!” I would title all of my blog posts in such a fashion except I am not nearly that clever.  And as for the series of tubes thing, perhaps you don’t live on this planet (planet nerd I mean) and you missed the whole series of tubes meme.  Why in god’s name am I spending so much time explaining the title of this post?  Who knows.  But just so you know it is this sort of agonizing that causes me to spend hours and hours to bring you high quality posts such as this.

::sigh:: Okay, I’ll stop now.

Christmas Hiatus Over

/ Shane / 2 Comments

And a happy New Year!

Vacation is slowly winding down.  I’m still waiting for all that free time I was supposed to have to materialize.  It all went so fast and yet I hope I can still remember everything that happened.

So the main event was Christmas obviously.  Ooh boy did Evie clean up.  It took hours for her to open all of her presents. Even with a break for breakfast, by the end she was lying on the floor lazily opening presents with one hand.  My dad almost ruined Christmas because after she opened the giant Elmo from him she almost couldn’t be coaxed away from it and back into opening more presents.  We had mentioned that it would be nice for Evie to get some dress up clothes, and she got some pretty awesome stuff.  When I think back to the fun we had with our simple dress up stuff, I can only imagine how much she will enjoy her fairy wings, cape, eye patch and full viking regalia!  She got some custom-made necklaces which she insists on putting on and taking off of everybody (including her stuffed animals) about 100 times a day.

Our family room had been fairly empty, but that is not the case anymore.  There were some big ticket items down there including a slide to help us through the winter months and a kitchen set, table and chairs.  Evie just loves all of this stuff.  She used to be alright with playing downstairs, but now she positively loves it.  “Downstairs” is the first thing she says in the morning and the last thing she says at night.  She likes to send “Baby Elmo” (so designated now that she has “Elmo Big”) down the slide.  She loves to wash her hands in the play sink and make “supper” in the stove and “cocoa” in the microwave.  It didn’t occur to me that we would need dishes, etc. but it actually worked out because she had a sort of a picnic set that she hadn’t used much that had all kinds of dishes, which ended up being perfect for the kitchen.  I think it is the first time I can really say she was using her imagination and playing pretend.  It is very heartwarming to watch her “making supper” and serving it to Elmo Big at the table.

Unfortunately, all the good cheer was dampened a little bit the next day when Evie and I each got our first ride in an ambulance.  Apparently Evie slipped on the hardwood floor and fell directly on her head.  I say apparently because I was actually in the shower at the time.  I remember hearing a loud sort of screaming / croaking noise or something from Evie and thinking, “Is she upset or is she just being silly?”  Anyway, for a couple of reasons (including random vomiting) we decided to take her to the hospital.  However, when we opened the back door, we realized there had been a really bad ice storm.  After a couple of falls (including some by firemen, but that came later) and the realization that the car was a solid block of ice, we decided to call an ambulance.  To make a long story short, she ended up being fine.  But it was pretty scary for a little while there.  I can’t decide if it was scarier being in the shower and not seeing most of it and getting little pieces here and there, or if I would have actually seen everything first hand.

Anyway, we made it through all of that with no scars other than psychological (I am a lot more worried about her falling now) and next up was a trip to WI.  One funny thing that happened there was that my Grandma’s Christmas tree was on a remote control and my mom was trying to trick Evie and saying “Abracadabra!” and turning the tree on and off.  So Evie picked that up and eventually figured out how to use the remote.  She would stretch out one arm toward the tree, hit the button on the remote with the other arm and say, “Abadabra!”  The other funny thing she started doing was, whenever we put on her coat to go outside she would start insisting we were going to “target”.  I guess we shop there too much!

One fun thing we did while we were there was to go to my cousin Marci’s house.  We don’t see my dad’s side of the family all that often, but it was really great to see my cousins Marci and Aaron and their respective daughters Molly and Maggie and McKenna.  I think Evie really had fun playing with a bunch of little girls more or less her age.  I wasn’t sure if I would still have much to talk about with my cousins, but it turns out parenting can be the common denominator.

One more Evie story for the road.  She has really started picking up little things you say so you really have to be careful around her.  I learned this the hard way when she started gleefully shouting “Daddy bastard!  Daddy bastard!”  You don’t want to encourage it, but it was really hard not to laugh!

Everything’s coming up Christmas

/ Shane / 2 Comments

Christmas is getting closer and closer and I couldn’t be more excited!  We are having everybody to our house this year and I think it is going to be a good time.  Evie is very excited about all things Christmas.  We have been listening to a lot of Christmas music lately (even the Christmas station in the car) and she has many many favorites which she attempts to sing.  This usually consists of saying one term with a lot of pauses like, “Pist   Mas   Tree.  Pist   Mas   Tree.”  I guess the pauses make it musical.

She has several favorite songs, such as “Oh Oh Pistmas Tree”, “Wish you Pistmas Tree” (that’s We Wish you a Merry Christmas, but she can’t bear to say Christmas without following it with tree), “Deck the Holly”, “Sosty the Snowman”, “Reindeer Song” (usually accompanied by “Nose!”), and “Jingle Bells”.

So I think it goes without saying that she is going to be pretty excited come Christmas morning.  And all this BEFORE she sees what Santa is going to bring her!  She’s one lucky girl.  Having a kid makes you look forward to Christmas in a way you haven’t in years.