First Play Dates & More

Well, Elise has now had her first two official play dates - both with boys nonetheless. Either she's going to be a tomboy or quite the little lady. Kit hopes for the former, I'm sure.

Both gatherings involved long walks, which was very nice to get out of the house. They also both involved moms/babies we met while in the NICU, which was also very nice to both catch up and to talk through all we've been through and are going through from having preemies. Oh, and I just realized that both boys came home on the same day - one day after Elise. Elise spent her whole first play date in her sling so I don't have any photos from that one. But her second play date (today) was with her buddy Anthony (whom I've written about before; his parents have become good friends of ours and were tremendous support while Elise was in the NICU). So, of course, Susan and I pulled out the cameras after our walk and took tons of pictures. They're at the end of this post.

Last Friday I took Elise to the pediatrician after she developed a bump on her gums that grew quickly and almost looked like a tooth but was soft. Her pediatrician was booked so we saw another doctor and I really like him. He thought he knew what was going on before looking in her mouth and confirmed it when he looked at the bump (which had gone down significantly). He also showed me another bump on the roof of her mouth. Diagnosis: clogged mucous membranes. I guess it's really common for babies to get them and not anything to be concerned about. The ones on the gums are called Bohn's Nodules and the ones on the roof of the mouth are called Epstein's Pearls; however, the pediatrician said they're both the same thing, just discovered at two different times in history by two different guys who didn't know at the time what they were.

On Saturday night we were in the living room watching a movie. We rarely all sit in there because Kit and I watch most of our TV online and don't get movies very often. But I had checked out a couple of movies at the library so we sat down in there. Kit ended up finding another movie on TV so we were watching that instead. Anyway, luckily we were in the room and Kit has more powers of observation than I do because he noticed that there was bubbly water filling the family room. Someone accidentally put a wash cloth in the drop sink that our washer drains into (we're honestly not sure who because neither one of us remembers setting a wash cloth anywhere near the sink recently), and it had clogged the drain.

So at that point we had the drop sink full of water and then water all over about 1/3 the living room. Kit's dad came over with tons of junk towels because ours have been magically disappearing (again, we're not sure where they're going to because neither one of us recalls taking them anywhere). He helped Kit move the washer and dryer out of the way so that they could mop up the water underneath them. We have vinyl flooring in the kitchen and family room rather than hardwoods like the rest of the house so it was a bit easier to clean up and shouldn't be a problem for the flooring, but we ran the ceiling fan in that room all night to make sure to dry up any remaining water. While this took place, Elise slept on the couch and I sat next to her - ah, the rough life of ladies.

The other day Kit brought in a package that had been delivered with my name on it. The package was from the library, and I was very confused because I don't think I've ever used my library card because we always use Kit's. When I opened the package, I was delighted to find a hard baby book inside as well as coupons for four more books (to be obtained at four separate visits to the library) and information on early literacy. I thought this was very cool and am excited to take Elise to get her books once she gets older and her immunity is stronger; as I've gotten older, I've gradually found libraries more and more disturbing as far as the germ factor and sometimes feel weird about reading library books when they are older books that are bound to be more germ-filled. I know this is probably odd, but it's gross to me so I'm going to have to be a big girl and let my little girl go to the library when she gets older and actually touch things (for now I'll just carry her in the sling once we get the go ahead from the doctor to take her out and about).

Another fun occurrence in our household took place while Elise was sleeping. Kit made homemade chocolate ice cream while I made homemade strawberry freezer jam. Both turned out delicious, and we had a great time working together on our separate projects! His ice cream tastes much like a delicious fudgecicle. And I made two different kinds of jam; one has tons of sugar and is more like a jelly, and the other has more berries and is more like a jam.

Last week I inadvertently ruined a bunch of bottle nipples when I boiled them. We've been using the hospital ones that are technically one-time-use but that the hospital staff said we could use repeatedly as long as we washed them in hot soapy water. Soon after I ruined those, a couple more of the new ones we opened looked like they were starting to crack as well and got tossed. So I knew it was time to go to the store and actually pick out nipples.

Anyone who has gone to the store looking for bottles or nipples knows there are tons of options. It's really ridiculous. So I spent quite a bit of time walking back and forth between the different brands. I had planned to just buy some nipples and figured we could still use the hospital bottles. However, Elise was already eating more than can fit in one bottle in a sitting (which doesn't matter so much when she's getting her medicine or vitamins but is a pain when she just needs milk.) And the nipples on they're own are ridiculously expensive, especially when the NICU staff said you just have to try the various flows to see what works best since all brands are a little different. In the end, I bought the Dr. Brown's bottles. They have high promises about being good for babies with their scientific technology, and the box I got came with the most stuff for my money when compared to the value-sized boxes of the other brands. So for $49.99 I got:

• 4 - 4 ounce bottles
• 8 - 8 ounce bottles
• 12 - level 1 nipples
• 4 - level 2 nipples
• 4 - level 3 nipples
• 4 - level 4 nipples

Before opening the box, I got online and read lots of reviews of the bottles. Overall, everyone seemed to like them other than the occasional leaking (which sounded like user error) and the extra parts to clean (seriously takes like 10 extra seconds). So, with Kit's backing since I think I've mentioned my fear of big purchases, I opened the box. She seems to be doing well with the bottles so I've been pleased so far. And she's using the level 2 nipples. Oh, and the special subtance the bottles are made with dries quickly, which is really nice. The nipples take longer to dry, but it's an okay trade off.

Without further delay, here are the photos I've been promising...

She's been loving her tummy time and sleeps like a log once she gets settled down.

I love to just stare at her.

When I bought the bottles I happened to notice a familiar "face" hanging from a kiosk in the store. You may recognize her as a small, rattle version of Petunia, the monster Kit bought Elise while she was in the NICU. I introduce to you PJ or Pentunia Junior.

Just had to include this photo from what I consider to be my first official day as a stay at home mom (Kit went back to work on Monday). It's my relatively clean and completely empty kitchen sink!! With no husband around to put dishes in it, I managed to keep it clean and empty all day! There's something very peaceful about an empty kitchen sink.

More tummy time.

I loved how she had her feet propped up on her little toes.

So cuddly.

Last night Kit ran to the bank to deposit a couple of checks. While he was gone Coco decided he was okay with this little creature he's not allowed to lick and cuddled up with her. I, of course, ran to grab the camera to capture this first cuddle.

How adorable is that? I didn't set this up, they were intertwined like this on their own. So precious.

And here's the play date photo shoot...