Second Opinion Success

Some time ago, I brought Kallan into her pediatric ophthalmologist and was told that she should have surgery by the time she is a year and a half.  I went home feeling uneasy and tense.  As you can imagine, the news didn't sit very well with us.

Well, we decided to do something about it, even if it meant driving three hours away to see a different pediatric ophthalmologist. Which it did.

So on Monday, we began the three hour trek. I was feeling discouraged at the time. What if we drive all this way and they look at her, and say "Yep, she needs surgery?" and then we just have to turn around and go home?? I was worried that it would be a waste of time.

But it was truly amazing. I felt put at ease immediately when we got to the eye center. There were lots of little ones, there were books, toys, a fish tank (maybe that's why I felt less stressed!). We were called in quickly and saw a resident doctor and then an eye alignment specialist. They looked at Kallan's eyes for an extensive period of time. Kallan was very cooperative (for the most part).

We finally got to see the doctor who looked at Kallan for a bit longer. She then told us that she personally would not operate on Kallan from seeing her today. One of her eyes is still crossing minimally with the glasses, and that eye is weaker than her other eye. She thought that by using a patch, 14 hrs a week, we could eliminated the need for surgery at all. She did not agree that there is a timeline by which a baby needs to have surgery, and she said if the eye is not strengthened, surgery wouldn't do much good anyway because it would not teach her to use that eye more.

This doctor was on the same page as us, wanting to try anything else before resorting to surgery. Erik and I left the appointment, a handful of eye patches, feeling so relieved and happy. Even if Kallan does need surgery, we will feel a lot better about it if that time ever comes.

So lesson learned: when it comes to your child's health, no question, no appointment is a waste of time. If you are not comfortable with something, it's okay to actively seek information. Doctors make mistakes, doctors do things differently! If you and your doctor aren't on the same page, look elsewhere. This goes for specialists, pediatricians, therapist.. whatever! We are so happy we did!

Kallan 7 Months

A little belated, but here's a 7 month update on our bebé.

Sleep: Kallan gets up once a night, at about 3 a.m. She recently cut her first tooth though, so she was up a lot for a couple of nights. We are happy to be sleeping better again!

Milestones: Kallan can now roll from front to back, so she is rolling all around the living room! Whenever she rolls, Lyla likes to lay down and roll around by her, too. She can sit unassisted now for quite some time but still with cushions and supervision. We can just tell she is growing up by the way she reaches for everything and fusses when a toy gets dropped or nabbed by big sister. She will look all around for a dropped toy!

Feeding: Enjoying some solid foods, some homemade, some not. So far, peas are the favorite. And Kallan finally will take a bottle! Hurray!!!! Personally, I think alone time is good for a mommy's sanity. Now I can leave the house for more than an hour and not have to worry about a hungry baby at home. My in-laws even took the girls for a sleepover, which was amazing, and let Erik and I enjoy some much needed "us" time!

Ups: It's so much fun watching Kallan's little personality shine through. She is quite a happy little girl who can really scream when something's wrong. Her cry is the saddest cry in the world, and giant crocodile tears appear instantly! She is a big mama's girl and a little snuggler. She loves to study new faces. I love seeing her when someone new holds her. She stares at his or her face forever, and then will finally either smile or cry when she's apparently established her opinion about that person. She also loves textures! Whenever we sit in a new chair, she will ditch whatever toy she has to feel and then attempt to eat the chair. Her sister makes her smile SO big! I can really see the sisterly love lately! When I get a chance, I've been enjoying napping with Kallan. We don't bed share, but I can see why people do it. I love sleeping close to her!

Downs: Kallan's bedtime is kind of late. I'm not strict on her schedule, and I kind of let her establish her own general sleep times. But she has been going to bed around 10pm. This isn't a huge deal, except that by then I'm exhausted and go straight to bed when she is down. Hence, no cleaning is getting done, no web is being surfed, no books are being read. Just pure tiredness. I keep reminding myself that this is just a phase of life, and someday I'll be able to do all these things as much as I want, and I'll wish my babies were still babies snuggling me half the night! Another down is the glasses!! We can't keep the darn things on her face! I spend half my days picking them up and putting them on and trying to distract Kallan enough to leave them on. We exchanged them for more goggle-esque ones. They aren't here yet, but maybe it will help somewhat.

Likes: Red square, biting, being surprised, being tickled (she's SUPER ticklish, just like Mommy!), sleeping with Mommy in the big bed, kicking, things that aren't toys (phones, remotes, paper), rolling around, playing in the high chair and smacking her hands on the tray, talking and "singing", Gregory Alan Isakov (works like a charm to calm her down in the car! It's magic! I must have listened to him a lot when she was in my belly), pulling off and eating her glasses, looking out the window in the car.

Also.... white noise!! My sister-in-law lent me a little stuffed giraffe that plays white noise. I've only had it a couple of days, but already it seems to have helped our no-nap situation. We've been calling Kallan "The Sleepless Wonder."

Dislikes: When we go out of her sight and she thinks she's alone, when her sister smacks her in the head with a toy (understandable), too much floor time, the bouncy chair, when people sneeze or laugh really loud and suddenly.

On another note, we are really enjoying this beautiful weather... finally! I wish I could know what Kallan was thinking a lot of the time... like what does she think about playing outside for the first time? What does she think of the grass? I wonder what having glasses is like for her.. maybe she doesn't even like the new clarity of her world. Babies' minds... such a mystery!

I Can See Clearly Now...

.. that my glasses are on!

Yes, Kallan just got even cuter (previously thought to be impossible) and has her first pair of specs! At her 4 month appointment, our pediatrician told us that she has prominent "epicanthal folds" which give the illusion that her eyes are crossed even though they aren't. We decided to keep a close eye on them anyway and sometime later noticed that sometimes one of her eyes, usually the right, was definitely crossing. So at her 6 month appointment, we were referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist (officially my least favorite word to spell out). We spent two and a half hours there, doing a lot of waiting and a bit of napping by Kallan (and Erik).  Finally, we were told that Kallan has accommodative esotropia, eye crossing due to extreme farsightedness. She needs glasses and will likely be wearing them for the rest of her life. 

A lot of people have asked how they got her prescription. The doctor dilated her eyes, at which point Kallan took a nap. We had to rudely wake her up a short time later. I imagine it's hard to have your eyes examined while you're sleeping. Fortunately, she forgave us and was quite content throughout the examination. The doctor reflected light off the back of her eye through various lenses to find the appropriate prescription. Pretty crazy! We had no idea that we would be getting glasses for our baby when we went in.

Getting fitted ..

Not happy - either about the glasses, the strange man touching her face, or the sudden clarity of her new world... probably a combination of the three

First time in her glasses!

She has had her glasses for about a week now. At first she seemed to love them, and she just gazed at everything. I'm sure her world completely changed. But if you have or have had children, I'm sure you know that babies LOVE to grab and chomp on glasses. Kallan has recently realized that she has her very own chew toy, sitting right on her face. The glasses hook behind her ears, but she manages to yank them off. She'll chew them and look at me with a big mischievous grin and laugh. Oh, cute little stinker! 

Funny Photo Sequence

Kallan: "Oooh fuzzy!"

Lyla: "I see you playing with that!"

Lyla: "Yep, I'll take it."

Kallan: "Uh wait.. what...."

Kallan: "Mom, seriously, did you see that?"

Lyla: "Nope, didn't do anything.. just hugging my cats."

Lyla: "Don't touch my stuff, Kallan!"

Kallan: "Hm, I need a plan. Ok, got it! Here's what I'll do..."

Kallan: "Look at me I'm so cute!!!!!"

Lyla: ignoring 

Kallan: "Really, you're not going to go for that?"

Lyla: still ignoring

Kallan's 6 month update will be coming soon!

Kallan: 5 Months

Who's 5 months old?!

Yep, this girl! Kallan Marie, nickname "The Googies"

Here's a 5 month update. As Lyla says, "Oh Kallan, you're getting big!" It's so true, she is just growing, growing, and learning new things all the time. She just loves to chomp, chomp, chomp. Here she is with her new favorite toy from Grandma and Grandpa. 

 And straight to the mouth.

Sleep: Kallan sleeps I think 8-10 hours every night. I think. It's funny how you don't keep track of every thing your baby does at every hour of the day the second time around. She is up for the day at around 9 or 10, unless Lyla gets her up earlier, which happens often. On a good day, she takes two short naps, and one long nap, but she is the lightest sleeper ever! I tried to nap her around us and noise every day to prevent this from happening.. but apparently it doesn't make a difference. Today I rustled a bag in the kitchen, and she woke up crying in our room. I guess it could be a coincidence.. but.. likely not. So far it works pretty good to play music in the room while she falls asleep and keep it on while she sleeps. Unless it's spotify, because the commercials wake her up...

Milestones: Rolling!!! Our roll-y baby is rolling every chance she gets. As soon as she's on her back, she'll be rolling onto her tummy. Even if she is tired of being on her tummy, she'll roll over anyway. She is getting pretty fast about it. She rolled over once from tummy to back, but I think it was an accident. She just kind of flung herself over, and then was like.. "What just happened?!" She is perfecting her grabbing skills and is starting to get frustrated when a toy is dropped and out of sight. Good thing she has such a great big sister there with her to help her out!

Ups: So many ups! Kallan is just a little lovey-dovey. She loves to just sit and observe with her hands on mine. When I change her diaper, she is constantly reaching for my arm, and when she gets a hold of it she brings it to her face for a little snuggle, and it makes her laugh! I think this is my favorite thing that she does lately. Everything makes her smile and laugh, it's really great to see her so happy all the time (unless she hasn't gotten a good nap in). It has been so fun to see her roll over, too, as she is so proud of herself and gives a big grin whenever she does it! I have loved watching her observe Lyla, and she always flashes her a big smile. She sometimes laughs when Lyla is laughing, but on the flip side, she'll cry when Lyla cries sometimes, too. If I have my hands full with something and Kallan starts fussing, Lyla runs over and says, "Goo gah goo gah, Kallan!!!" And Kallan always calms down. I love the smile she gives me when I get her in the morning, and the sleepy smile she gives me before going to bed. I'm the first thing she sees when she wakes up and the last thing she sees at night, and I couldn't be luckier. Ah, I could go on and on, we just love our little googies so much!

Downs: Well, still no bottle for Miss Kallan. It is quite frustrating, and we are trying every day. I think we have 7 types of bottles now, with varying speeds of nipple flow. Pacifier is still a hit or miss, too. So I am still a nursing machine, but it's ok. The hardest thing is nap time. Kallan just really doesn't like noise, and if I talk at all while nursing, she will stop, stare up at me like, "excuse me, I'm eating here." She'll do the same thing if Erik is sitting by us and he says anything. She'll crane her neck super far to give him the stare down. It's pretty hilarious, unless I'm exhausted and hoping she'll nap. With Lyla giving up her nap, it's just not really quiet enough for Kallan to take a really long nap every day, like I know she needs. I am trying to schedule Lyla's quiet time with Kallan's nap, but every day is different so it doesn't always work out. I am missing Lyla's nap desperately!

Likes: Mommy, the boob, putting her hands on us, studying new faces intently, rolling as soon as she's put down, her jingly owls, checking out her reflection, her new square teether, seeing Daddy when he gets home, laughing at her silly sister, laughing at anything, hugging Mommy's arm, getting dressed/undressed (although it seems to be getting less fun, sadly), bath, snuggling in bed, chewing on clothy objects, music - Daddy's guitar playing in particular

And making this face:

Dislikes: Bottles, although they do seem to make her laugh a bit, when she can't see anyone, when she drops a toy, too much tummy time, getting stuck on her tummy, loud noises - especially Daddy's big sneezes, when Lyla puts things on her head, being put down for too long

I just can't believe it's been 5 months already. Our littlest baby is getting so big, and more and more of her little personality is shining through each day. She is just full of happiness and giggles, often making herself laugh, but Daddy is still the funniest. She is loving and snuggly, and she seems to really like people. I think Lyla was already giving the pouty lip at this age to anybody that looked at her besides Mommy & Daddy. By the way, she can still stick out that bottom lip pretty well!

Love you Kallan Marie

Kallan: 4 Months

This happy girl is 4 months old today!! Happy 4 months Kallan!!!!!! 

Sleep: Kallan is sleeping 10-11 hours straight at night! Woo hoo! Of course, last night she was up a lot, but hopefully that is an isolated incident. She's a little night owl, and I'm lucky if I get her to bed before midnight. I don't mind it too much because we get some one-on-one time, and then I get to hang out with just the big girl in the morning.

Milestones: Kallan has started grabbing at things, and really enjoys watching her hands clasp an object. She loves to hold her hands in front of face and bring them together and take them apart.. over and over. Most of the time she just whacks toys, but she will occasionally hang onto something and bring it to her mouth. She loves to blow bubbles and make 'razz' type sounds. When she's on her tummy, she is starting to be able to push up a lot more, and today she even pulled her legs in so her butt was in the air. I think we've got a little mover on our hands! She continues to talk, talk, talk and now she has added a bit of yelling to her repertoire of sounds. 

Ups: It's so fun watching Kallan explore and study the world around her, more and more each day. I love interacting with her. She is such a happy girl, and it's so easy to make her smile and laugh. She loves to talk, and I love all our little conversations throughout the day. She has been napping in my wrap a lot, and when she wakes up, she will just stare at me and smile.  I can tell she really knows and loves me, and she is just happy to be with me. It's a great feeling, and I love the closeness I get from 'wearing' her. When she wakes up in the morning, she really doesn't make any noise, so I check on her quite a bit to see if she's awake. She is usually just in there kicking her legs and eating her hands... when she sees me, she gives me her biggest smile! I can't imagine a more perfect start to the day. 

Downs: This month we had a hard time getting Kallan to take a pacifier. I felt like all I was doing was nursing her, but it was the only thing that would soothe her. We switched back to Nuk, and now with just the right amount of bouncing, she will take a pacifier. She still won't take a bottle, although we continue to try one each day. It's mom or nothing, and it makes feel a bit trapped at home. The most I can be out of the house on my own is an hour before I get a call from home with a screaming baby in the background.  It's frustrating for me, and for Erik and anyone else who might be watching her. They can't do anything for her. When she wants Mommy, she wants Mommy! I just ordered a Nuk bottle. She likes the Nuk pacifiers, surely she'll take a Nuk bottle... right?!

Likes: Daddy.. he's the funniest. He can make her laugh easier than anyone. Lyla was the same way! 

Her crinkly dolly, getting dressed/undressed, napping in the wrap, bath, her playmat, tummy time (finally!), watching and listening to Lyla, being kissed and tickled on the cheeks, especially by Daddy, trying to eat anything that comes near her face, blowing bubbles, talking, yelling, Mommy and eating (the last two go hand in hand)

Dislikes: Being woken up abruptly by loud noises (usually coming from a certain older sister), being in the wrap while awake unless facing out, bottles of any kind (so far), being cradled like a baby (this makes me so sad!!), when Mommy and Daddy go anywhere without her

 I love this age where babies are just leaving their newborn-ness behind and becoming the little explorers they were meant to be. I can't wait to see her grow and see more of that little personality come through.

She and Lyla are starting to interact more and more, and I love how Lyla tries to include her. She is always saying, "Kallan, look what Lyla is doing!" "Kallan, Lyla is stacking the movies!" "Look what your sister is doing!" If you ask Lyla if she loves her sister, she might say no. But I know that she really does. Lyla always makes sure that Kallan gets a turn to pick a song in the car. When we pretend to put on our pirate costumes (Dora inspired), Lyla always pretends to put a hat, shirt and boots on Kallan, too.  Sometimes one of us will take Lyla out on errands, and Kallan stays home with me or Daddy, and the first thing Lyla says when she gets home is, "Where's Kallan, Mommy??" I can't wait to see their relationship evolve over the years. We are so very blessed to have these girls in our lives.

I'll try to update on Miss Lyla soon!

Big Moments

Lyla's big moment of the week:

She peed in a big potty!!!

We went to a play group at a nearby church this week. It was so fun, and it was great to see Lyla socializing a bit with other kids. I mean, she actually socialized! She and another girl played pretend at the kitchen for awhile. Lyla didn't even try to hit her (although she did have a couple of other attempts at other kids... she missed! anyway, it's an improvement!). So I let the two girls play on their own for awhile, and then I saw that Lyla was looking for me. She said, "You have to pee!" She had a diaper on and everything. So I brought her to the bathroom, stripped her down, and held her on the big potty. And she went! Just like that! I think we are well on our way to saving money on diapers.

The day after the playgroup, she kept saying, "If you see another Lyla... don't hit!" And she'd raise up her arm like she was hitting and then stop. I was very confused. But I think that she must see other little kids as Lyla's. I mean, I'd hit myself if I saw myself, too, I guess? Anyway. I'm glad we're making headway on that front!

She loves her big girl bed and sleeps great in it, but today she climbed from her bed to the crib (they're next to each other at the moment) and slept in there. Hm.. ok.

Kallan's big moment:

Sleeping 11 hours!! She goes to bed late, so I can't really take advantage of all that sleep. It's quite sad, really. She goes to bed around midnight, and then I get up with Lyla at 7 ish. Oh well, 7 hours of sleep is still something!

She is also grabbing much more intentionally now. It's amazing to see her watch her hand move towards an object.

Alright I don't know why I'm awake while everyone else is sleeping. That will have to be all for now!

Just the daily family dance party! Kallan is wondering what sort of family she was born into....

What Are We Doing?

As it's the beginning of a new year, I thought I should post a bit about what the girls are up to and see how they are different as 2013 draws to a close.

Here's Miss Kallan Marie. She is about 3 and a half months old. She usually takes 2 or 3 short naps and 1 long nap (3 or 4 hours) each day. She is sleeping 8-10 hours straight each night (hooray!).  We can tell that she is already extremely ticklish. Whenever we dress or undress her, she thinks it's extremely funny. I think the shirts that go over her head tickle her chubby cheeks! It's the cutest thing, she smiles and laughs so much! She loves to tell Daddy about her day when he gets home from work and is pretty chatty in general.

She loves to blow bubbles and "razz." Her face is often covered with drool and sometimes attracts lint from her clothes.  Pacifiers and bottles are good joke to her. Like, "Really Mom? Nice try." She bats and tries to grab at toys. She brings her hands together and studies them intently.  She seems really strong but still hates tummy time. Her favorite toy is her crinkly dolly, and she will "goo" and smile at her non-stop. Until she gets overstimulated that is. :) She absolutely loves bath and cries when bath time is over.

So far Kallan's bedtime routine is cluster feeding until she zonks out. I'm okay with this, but it's tiring. She is mostly happy but is kind of hard to console if she's tired. She really fights her sleep! I get a good arm work out in whenever I'm rocking her. We're so thankful to have gotten to meet and love our Kallan this year. Can't wait to see her grow and learn and explore!

Here's Lyla Soo! She is getting to be such a big girl now, although she will insist upon being called a "little girl" only. She loves books and reading. She is still a huge fan of Dora and Diego, but we have started branching out on occasion. She loves puzzles and coloring. She has an insanely good memory... she remembers random details from months before! She is definitely at a 'defiant' streak, something I hear is common in 2-year-olds, and she likes to do everything herself. I wouldn't say that she is a "terrible" 2-year-old. We have our days and our moments, but she is great for the most part!

She talks in full-on sentences now, and she will often repeat things we've said or things she heard on TV.  She is starting to understand "I" and "You" much better. She will often say, "Can I? Can I? Can I?" "Can I have one please mommy?" She is getting to the age where the questions never end. "Why are you laying down Mommy? ....Why are you sleepy? .....But are you tired?... How are you doing that?" I love that when I ask her a "Why" question, she says... "becaaaauuuse....." I wonder if she gets that from me. Hobbies she likes include painting, yoga, kicking balls in the hall and copying Mommy's stellar dance moves! She is potty trained at home.. just about time to try going out and about some!

She is such a bright, sweet little girl. We are so proud of her. I can't believe how much she has grown and learned over the past two years. This coming year, Lyla might even be going to Threeschool!

We love both of our girls so much! Here's to a great 2013 full of more memories with our little family!

Kallan: 3 Months

Our sweet Kallan turned 3 months on the 21st (which was, by the way, the day the world did NOT end). I would describe her as studious, squirmy, smily and extremely talkative!

Milestones:
I'm not sure when, but she started turning towards our voices this month. She had just been turning towards really loud sounds before that. She had her first laugh on 12/12/12. It was such a beautiful little sound! She had been chuckling in her sleep since she was born, so I was always trying to get her to laugh while awake. This time, I wasn't trying at all. I was just holding her, and I looked down at her and she laughed! We've gotten lots of laughs since then, usually at random times when no one is trying to make her laugh.

Sleep:
We had a bit of a 3-month growth spurt where she was getting up every 3 hours again at night. But before that she was sleeping about 7 hours and even slept 9.5 hours straight one night! That was the night before the growth spurt, so it was a bit of  rude awakening to be getting up every 3 hours. Now she sleeps 5 hours, eats, sleeps 3 more hours, eats, and sleeps 4 more hours after that. She is a little night owl. She stays up late and sleeps in! It works out okay because then I get some quality time with Lyla in the morning.

Ups:
Kallan talks so, so much. I love having little conversations with her, and you can tell she really enjoys being talked to and talking back. She has some nice conversations with her playmat and bouncy toys, too.  She is a very happy baby and we get lots and lots of smiles from her every day. It is so great to see her interacting more and more. It's clear that she loves her big sister so much. I love watching her study what big sister is up to!

Downs:
Growth spurts are no fun. I feel like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Getting up a lot at night again is not fun either.

Likes:
Talking, getting dressed and undressed (it's funny!), staring at her feet, eating her hands, facing out while being carried, bath time, her playmat, snuggles, watching big sister, lights, studying new faces, Giraffe-y the pacifier (sort of), and I think she likes her vitamin D drops!

Dislikes:
Bottles... waaah! And tummy time.

Favorite Memories:
-Kallan always talks the most to Erik when he gets home from work. I think she's telling him about her day!
-My parents took Lyla and Kallan to the pool. Kallan sat on my lap for awhile, and she was really interested! Then she started talking to me a bunch. She did get splashed on accident by some big kids, and she definitely didn't like that! She also got called a "he" a lot, and mommy didn't like that ;)
-Lyla includes Kallan in her night time hug routine now, and she always says "Love you Kallan!" before bed. Kallan gets lots and lots of sister hugs now!
-Lyla likes it when I set Kallan's bouncy next to her chair and read stories to both of them. Love story time with my babies!
-I was carrying Kallan, and she was staring intently at something on the fridge. She turns to me and goes,"goo?" I said, "Yep, that's the fridge, Kallan!" And then she gave me the biggest smile! I love our little conversations more than anything!

Sisters

I was so ecstatic when I found out that Kallan was a baby girl. I just kept picturing our two little girls, growing up together, the best of friends! 

Although having a new sister isn't always what it's cut out to be for a toddler, Lyla is adjusting great and loves her sister so much (even though she would never admit it). And Kallan just lights up when she sees Lyla or hears her voice. 

Tummy time for both my babies! Lyla likes to help out :)

Playmat playtime!

Lyla holding her little sister. Kallan is pretty happy about it.

I imagine them growing up together, sharing secrets, giggling together, fighting and making up, crying together, playing together, having sleepovers in each other's rooms, riding the bus together, painting each other's nails, playing dress up, talking about boys together (way later in life, of course). We are so happy to have two beautiful girls in our lives but even happier that they have each other! 

In other news, here's a preview of the project I'm working on!