Sleeping Bug

Tori was tired after not getting decent sleep the previous 2 nights. She took a nap on the way home and still went to bed around 7 pm. She didn't wake until around 3 am. We knew she was awake when her musical toy on the end of her bed started playing music. No crying this time! She fell asleep between her Mama and I. This morning, she awoke a little groggy, but happier than she's been in the past 2 days. Ollie was already up, so we played for a little bit. She was a happy camper after that.

We may be out of the clear with the sleeping issues. At least until the next tooth appears!

Rough Night

Every couple of hours Tori woke last night. We were guessing her teeth were bothering her to no end. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep and neither did Tori. We hope she sleeps better tonight but aren't betting on it. I also forgot to warn the babysitter she had a rough night. I guess she'll figure it out soon enough. Here how we hope to see her tonight.

Outside

Tori may get another chance to go outside this weekend. It is supposed to be warm enough to be outside, but the forecasters hear are usually wrong. Last time her face and the pavement met each other. She has since learned to crawl better as well as almost cruise, so it should be an interesting time.

She has started sleeping better lately. She'll go to sleep between 7-8 and get up around 11-12 for a bottle, then she'll sleep through the rest of the night. It isn't bad, but I don't think our bodies are used to getting that much consecutive sleep yet. I'm sure by the time we are used to sleeping that much, another tooth will cause Tori problems and we'll start all over again.

Tori will cruise with help as well as walk while you hold her up by her holding onto your fingers. She isn't very graceful with it yet, but in no time, she'll be running behind her big brother. All of her little things will be put away and we'll have a little girl. It'll all come too soon.

Toothy

Tori's 4th tooth has finally come through. She has found it and is making full use of it when she grinds her teeth. It isn't all the way out yet, but it is there. She makes good use of it by chomping down on her spoon during meals as well. It is just like fighting a dog over a chew toy. You shake it until she lets go. She thinks its a fun game and smiles while she's clamping down on the spoon.

She has been eating better since it has come through and regularly eats a full jar of food at each meal. She's also into eating little snacks from the baby aisle. She eats biter biscuits and wagon wheels. Stuff that will disintegrate and makes a huge mess! Always a plus.

If she isn't chomping on spoons or grinding her teeth, she is chewing on something. She hasn't decided to try and chomp on us yet, but I'm sure it isn't far off.

Pulling herself up on things has also become a favorite activity. She'll try to climb anything. She's also experimenting with cruising and her balance by letting go once she's up. She hasn't hurt herself too horribly yet, but that is part of the learning experience for us all. She just isn't quite ready to be a big girl yet and I don't think her parents are quite ready for her to be a big girl either.

All Kinds of Stuff

With all this development happening simultaneously, it has taken its toll on Tori. She has been very for the past 2 days. She just can't sleep well with all that she has going on. Not only that, but she pooped in her sleep last night and it woke her up.



She has had a diaper rash because her teething is causing her to poop so much. Her butt was extremely sensitive last night and just wiping it caused her pain. Once she was cleaned and settled back down, she was ready for a bottle and more sleep. She awoke at 1 am again for another bottle and slept through the rest of the night. She woke up a bit groggy like the day before, but was a bit happier since her butt wasn't in as much pain.


She should be her happy self in no time. She will just have to get some sleep and get all her teeth in first. Maybe she can take another nap on the way home today and catch up on some sleep.

Explosion

Tori had just started crawling well and then the explosion came. A corner of her fourth tooth has popped through the gum. She's becoming a speed-crawler. In the past 2 days she's gone from barely getting up on her knees to "hey you stupid humans, I can pull myself up on things!".



It is just going to snowball from here. She starts doing 1 new thing another 10 seem to follow on its heals. I guess she was saving it all up to impress everyone at once.

Tori and Linda

Weekend

Tori had a very action packed weekend. She crawled and crawled and crawled some more. It was interrupted by occasionally eating and fighting her sleep. She did occasionally get in her walker and play in it. She also made a trip to Lowe's with her dad and a trip to Arby's for a french fry with her Aunt Annie. She didn't seem to mind any of it, except for the sleeping part.

She crawls with ease now and is interested in everything. She can't quite get up to a standing position, but she gets up to a kneeling position without much effort. She also sits up by herself quite a bit more now. Mostly when we aren't looking. One minute she's crawling, the next second she is sitting up. Instead of a baby gate we are using 2 heavy plastic tubs to block the stairs so she doesn't fall down them and Ollie can still get to the other rooms. She's only tried to poke her head through the space between them like Jack Nicholson did with the door in "The Shining". Luckily for us she hasn't babbled 'redrum' yet, but she is talking more. mamamamama, dadadadada and other easy to say syllables and screams constantly emerge from her. She seems mostly happy to be crawling and playing. Next she'll be running and jumping. We are in trouble when we have 2 of those in the house.

Little Eater

Tori is addicted to YOGURT!



She ate all of her Mama's yogurt last night. Then she got a nasty surprise when her Mama switched her to Creamed Corn Casserole! Not a delightful surprise. I could hear her Mama laughing hysterically at her reaction as I left for class last night.




Since today is St. Patty's Day, Tori is wearing green as per the custom. She may not be wearing green later today. She has been pooping through her clothes thanks to her teething. Fortunately, it doesn't last more than a couple of days. She also has a bad night, good night and will probably have another bad night tonight due to her teething. At least it is the weekend and we can catch up on our sleep.

Crawling

Tori has worked out most of the kinks in her crawling motion. Now she is onto pulling herself up on things. She's gotten to her knees, but hasn't figured out how to stand just yet. Last night she pulled up on Ollie's lego box and the top of his sit and spin. She ended up losing her balance while holding onto the sit and spin and bumped her head. There will be plenty more of those in the near future.

Otherwise, she is trying to keep pace with Ollie and the cats. The cats are just too fast for her, but soon enough, she'll get a handful of cat hair. She'll also get a bite in return. They cycle continues.

All Well

Tori is in good health. 50% height and weight. 75% in head size, she's got a big noggin. She's developmentally on track.



The wait was long and it took forever to actually get into a room to see the doctor. Tori crawled a little, stared at a baby sitting next to her and watched all the people go by. She was really interested in what everyone else was doing. People watching is fun for her.



She didn't get any shots this time, but they tested her for anemia. A little prick on her toe was the major poking of the day. She cried for a second, but was fine with it. She was mostly interested in the band-aid they put on her foot once she was done. Another 3 months, another round of shots and she should be good to go until she reaches 18 months. They get big quickly.

Almost 9 Months

On Friday Tori will be 9 months old. So that means she needs her 9 month well child appointment. Which is today. So she'll get weighed, measured and have her teeth counted as she grinds them together of course. She now has 3 teeth out with a 4th on the way.


Relief after her exam!

The weekend was fun for her, except for her meeting face to face with the concrete. It was nice enough out that we were all outside for awhile on Saturday. It got a little cold, so Tori didn't stay out long.

On Sunday for the first time ever (at least it seemed that way), Tori slept through an entire meal at Ruby Tuesday's. Her brother behaved and ate his meal as well without much issue. It was probably the least hectic meal out that we've had in the last 9 months.


That meal plus another nap during the day, the thunderstorm last night and impending teeth prompted Tori to wake 3 times during the night. She woke up at 9:30 for a bottle, 12:30 due to storms (it was her first thunderstorm) and was up at 4 again. She slept on my chest and beside me in our bed for about an hour and then was up for the day. Hectic life of a soon to be toddler.

Little Grinder

The little girl above had started grinding her upper gum with her bottom teeth. She is trying to help the new tooth come through. It doesn't appear to be working though.



She slept better last night and is crawling with little difficulty. She is still slow at it, but she is on her way to full mobility.



If the tooth comes through soon, she may sleep better and through the night. Not much longer and we'll have 2 of them running circles around us!

Next Up

Tori will be pulling herself up soon. This picture is a bit staged as she was helped to a standing position, but she's holding herself up once she got there. Last night though, she grabbed a hold of one of her brother's vehicles with both hands and pushed up on it so she would be higher. Next up, the couch.

She's crawling better and with more consistency and purpose. She wants to go, but still straightens her legs every so often while crawling. It won't be long and she'll be tearing down the hallway after us.

Her top tooth still isn't in, but she isn't getting up as much as she had been in the past. I guess it hasn't been too painful lately. She has been drooling more and is changed into a new outfit almost daily at the sitters because of the diarrhea the teething is causing. Not much longer and she'll really have something to chomp with, as long as it isn't chomping on our hands!

Still Not Here

The little jumperette's teeth still haven't come through the gums. They cause her the most pain at night when we are sleeping. She doesn't sleep well, so we don't sleep well. We end up caffeinated for the day and she ends up tired and a bit cranky. 9 months is when Ollie started sleeping through the night. I don't think Tori is going to make that mark, teeth or not.

Sleep Little One

After at least 3 nights (it gets a little hazy after 2) of getting up every couple of hours, Tori slept through the night again!



It was a shock to our system when we woke up at 3 am and she hadn't gotten up yet. We had to check with each other in the morning to see if the other had gotten up with her. 9 months is a long time to go without being able to sleep through the night! Tori will reach that milestone in 2 weeks! I hope she is like her brother and starts sleeping through the night for good by then. I'm sure last night was a one time deal, but we'll take it when we can get it.