Showing posts with label barn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label barn. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Hazel is almost 5 months, whaaat?!

Hazel is adjusting well to daycare. She's finally taking a bottle with gusto and I was immediately getting comments on how chattery she is and happy. Well, yeah, with a full belly she definitely is!  It just took some time for her to figure out that bottles still got her the good stuff.

I do have to say, when I went back to work with Kaylee I didn't need to really bother to take time and pump. She was pretty much on solids and cow milk and only nursed at night and in the morning.  This is a whole new ballgame for me with pumping! I'm constantly worried that I'm not going to make enough for the day, even though I'm really not gone long. Plus... how do you know how much to give them?! I'm used to just sticking a boob in the babies mouth until they tell me they're done. So much less guesswork!

Right after she actually ate, legitimately, from a bottle. 


Morning cuddles before we get ready to leave for the day.

Happy girl

Gwyn says "I see you're working on dinner. I can eat that dinner. Oh you left the stall door open? I didn't notice..."

Set up for a bacterial and fungal analysis of paint samples. Pretty colors! 

Not sure what this is, not what I'm looking for at least. On black agar (it has charcoal in it, typically used for isolating Legionella)

I might look ridiculous, but I did kind of miss dressing up like this from my days at BioRad.  I'm about to enter the production room at Biosan. Clean room attire required! Booties on my shoes, sterile jumpsuit, gloves and hair net.  If there was active production I'd add a face mask too. 

Hard to see, but there is roadkill over there with a Happy Birthday balloon tied to it. I was amused.


In baby news, Hazel is getting much more adept at grabbing things. Her favorites include Kaylee's hair.  She definitely communicates, it's great. She loves bathtime, especially with Kaylee in my big tub and will laugh if she sees the tub or if Eric starts getting her undressed.  She has learned other patterns of behavior. She could be crying and hungry but if I bring her to my room and lay on the bed the cry turns more into this hicupping excitement. She knows I'm gonna feed her. There's an instant mood change.  She laughs easiest for Kaylee. All she has to do is jump and Hazel is giggling. Kaylee can also soothe Hazel by singing a song. It's fascinating.

Hazel prefers being outside. Winter is going to suck. She gets bored inside. She is starting to be able to sit up on her own. I've also started to slowly introduce solid foods. I'm into baby led weaning, baby will let you know what they're ready for.  Hazel is interested in our food. She leans in and opens her mouth or will grab for things I'm eating if I'm holding her.  She hasn't lost her tongue reflex yet though so she'll automatically push things out of her mouth. That being said, I'm not opposed to food for fun and taste. It's not going to be a big part of her nutrition for a long while yet. So far she's had baby food apples, which she liked, and tonight I let her nom on a banana, which she LOVED. I doubt she's actually swallowing much, but she's learning more tastes, which is great. 

Monday, March 7, 2016

Nursery Organization plus voting plus Birth Center tour

I was a beast today getting things built. It finally warmed up so while the snow melted, I built IKEA furniture.  Here's the Trofast with bins full of all of the baby toys and board books. After I got this all nicely organized Kaylee came through and decided she needed to play with it all.

The drawer system in the closet plus all of the clothes finally organized by size. I have up through 24 months in those rubbermaid bins and anything larger is downstairs, also in rubbermaid. Left hangers have dresses. Right hangers have coats. I will not need to buy clothes for Hazel. 

As I said, the snow is melting today. It was in the mid 60s. Yesterday it barely broke 40F!!! Gwyn was taking a nap.

She did not bother to get up when we drove by in the truck. She just kind of nodded and said "Hey." I think she really likes being here. It's probably a pretty awesome life.


Eric and I went to the hospital for the birth center tour tonight. There was a definite difference in hospital culture compared to the tour we did in Washington state. There, they were quick to label themselves Baby Friendly, the label of which has significant meaning (baby doesn't go to nursery unless requested, immediate skin to skin, breastfeeding promotion, you don't move rooms, lots of natural birth pain relief options encouraged).  Here, those similar things are available, but it felt like we were being sold them, almost as though the women in this area aren't as familiar and need to be convinced, especially on the skin to skin point.

Some of the things were encouraging to hear again as being routine now, some other things I internally was smirking and going "Uh huh, we'll see if I follow THAT rule"  (no eating, a bad idea if you're low risk since you need energy!)

The nurse did make a humorous offhand comment about some women coming in with birth plans and the nurses going "Oh, THAT one."

Eric murmured to me, "You're going to be that one." We chuckled together.

Since Kaylee was hanging out with her Aunt and Uncle, we took the childfree time to go grab a quick dinner after the tour. I hadn't really felt Hazel moving all day but I had been SUPER busy and active. It wasn't until I got home and took a bath that she reassured me to her presence. Kaylee had fallen asleep in the truck on the way home so I just left her in the car while I fed the critters. Eric helped too. It was a good day. Kaylee didn't even wake up when I got her out and I was able to put her right into bed. Easy peasy bedtime!

Eric is home tomorrow since I have a ton of appointments to go to. I've got an early ass ultrasound to check on Hazel's growth, then back to back midwife/MFM appointments, which are now going to include a non stress test. I'll be going to bed very shortly.

PLUS... IT'S PRIMARY VOTING DAY IN MICHIGAN!

I fully intend to exercise my right as a citizen.

FEEL THE BERN!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Catch up in pictures

I was a bridesmaid in my sister in law's wedding at the end of October. Observe my ridiculous bulbous bouffant and make up.  (macademia... gazebo!)

Kaylee was the most adorable flower girl ever.

I got a serger and my first project was making underwear for Kaylee

Since I reopened my right ear I decided to buy earrings to keep them open. Awesome funky purple earrings.

I voted in our local primary!

Kaylee demonstrated how good of a helper she is with feeding the critters.

She got her first ear infection. 

We had unseasonably warm November days to play outside.

I went for a hike at the local nature center and enjoyed myself immensely.

I worked on my adult coloring

On chilly weekend mornings I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and watching my critters.

We totally jumped the gun and reassembled the crib for Babydos. Note the future nursery mess.

We cleaned and slightly rearranged Kaylee's room.

I started sanding a changing table for the nursery that I found on a facebook swap page.

More adult coloring from my mandala book.

Kaylee wanted me to draw our family.

The cats steal my snoogle. Also proof that they get along for when they don't.

Eric entombed Kaylee in wood blocks, much to her delight.


I've been making leotards for Kaylee.

Gwyn oversees Eric's work on some organizational modifications we're making to the barn.

Like a spot to store plastic t-posts that I don't need in the winter.

And new shelving to keep the feed room part of my tack room better organized.

I took Gwyn for a walk and just about died from the effort of hiking through sand. Gwyn enjoyed getting out with other horses for our trail 'ride' with friends.

I got a huge blister for my efforts. I suspect hiking boots that no longer fit.

I got awesome fabric to make more clothes that are all about girl empowerment in STEM fields.  This panel shown says "Experiment Like a Girl" and has a picture of Marie Curie. It will be for me. I have smaller ones for Kaylee as well as coordinating fabric.

The deer are cleaning up our windfall apples.


Kaylee fits in her locker at school.

She also insists on brushing her own hair after swimming in the 'inside pool'

We got our first snow storm of the season. Almost a foot of snow eventually fell!

Eric cleans my truck off for me.

Kaylee gives the baby hugs.

I enjoyed a cup of jesus hate (peppermint mocha, actually)

Selfies with Gwyn today

Kaylee wears her "Yeti Crab Sweater" 

Selfie with Saffron


Nommy lunch

More selfies with my fuzzy beast

New, WARM boots!

Christmas decorating today

Lights in the window