Rachel and Rachel

Lots of stuff has been going on....let me hope I can get everything updated!

A few weeks ago Jason had to be gone for about 2 weeks. My mother in law was so sweet and came up to stay with us while he was gone. I thought for sure I'd be just fine on my own, but after Jason left on Sunday I woke up on Monday feeling very overwhelmed. Thankfully I knew Geri was on her way otherwise I might have lost it. After finishing my last post Rachel began crying/fussing/screaming and it was nonstop for HOURS. She kept me up until very late, then woke up really early. (I don't like those nights, but at least she'll sleep for about 6 hours). I woke up at the end of my wits. So I kept myself sane by making a video of me changing a poopy diaper (which I CANNOT figure out how to upload here or burn to a DVD).

Geri arrived that afternoon and OH THE RELIEF!!! It was so nice to hand my adorable daughter that I love so much to someone else and say "enjoy!" We spent the next week with Geri getting in good Grandma time, Rachel getting lots of attention, and mommy getting things caught up at work just in time for an audit. It was like a well-oiled machine. Everything flowed smoothly and it was so fun. As the week came to a close I decided to travel to Evansville for a visit. Rachel's Great-Grandma Gina was finishing her last week of recovery before going in for another round of chemo treatement. They really wanted to see the baby, so it worked out well. We had a wonderful weekend together and when we took off on Sunday for our road trip, Jason left for Morton, IL. Rachel does well in the car....to a point. After about 4 hours of being in her car seat she wants out and does not want to go back into it again for a while. Can't blame the poor kid.

We arrive and it was so beautiful in Evansville! They had thunderstorms and sunshine both. Rachel got to play all day, watch tv with Great-Grandma and Grandpa, and sleep in the bed with mommy.

I love this picture of Rachel and Great-Grandpa Rogers:

They're both fast asleep. You can't see it, but Rachel's arms are above her head. It was adorable to see them like this.
I found out why I keep finding my kid has slid off her pillow and almost to the end of the bed each morning. This phenomenon has had me puzzled for a while. I've learned that as she's starting to wake up, she kicks her legs without knowing it. This causes her to slide off of her pillow and keep moving down the bed until she finally wakes up enough to fuss. I laid her on her boppy pillow on the bed with me while we were there and she was kind enough to slide into me each morning as she was waking up. Goofy kid!

Let's see....developments....I think from the last time I've posted she's becoming more aware of her hands. She will not grab toys on her own, but if something is in her lap or on her tummy, she'll put her hands around it and bring it to her face. She's also trying to put everything in her hands into her mouth. She doesn't enjoy laying on her back and playing as much as she used to. She likes to sit up so the bumbo seat is absolutely magical to both her and me!

When Geri was here I asked her to try to work with Rachel and her "tummy time". She did a great job. Each day, several times a day, she'd put her on her tummy and try to work with her. She HATED it at first. But now she can go longer on her tummy without fussing and can hold herself up a lot higher. Check her out:

We found out that mommy was making the bottles wrong. I was putting in about 1/2 the formula that I should have been using, so her bottles were really thin. No wonder she was so fussy! Once we got that problem corrected, we noticed a significant increase in happiness and sleep! So lesson learned: triple check the formula recipe before using! Thank heavens we'd been adding rice cereal to her bottles so they were a little thicker. We even tried feeding her cereal from a spoon!! Check out her first "feeding":

She wasn't sure what to think of it all. But it was just a snack, and I think she liked feeling "full". Now that we've gotten the formula issue fixed, she hasn't needed these "snacks". I am still putting food in her mouth to taste things. Take the recent broccoli adventure for example:

She also is smiling and laughing a lot more than she used to. Apparently the feeling of free falling (HIGHLY monitored!!!) and folding laundry make her giggle. She also likes it when I bounce her, or dance. (I'm glad I work alone at home most of the time so no one sees me being so silly all day!)

On Wednesday we drove back as Wednesdays are light for me and would be the easiest day for me to travel.

During these two weeks with Geri I realized that I've passed the point where I can work part time and take care of Rachel. It's just not working out. So I made the choice to ask to come back to work full time and start Rachel on day care.

This past Wednesday we made a visit to the day care. I wanted to see how she would do there, meet the teachers, and ask a ton of questions. It was wonderful. The ladies there are so nice, the other kids in the class are sweet (but not as cute as my kid!) and it's a really nice environment. I was also so pleased to learn that we are attending the first day care in Fishers to earn their Level 4! (Day cares are rated from 1 - 4, 4 being the highest level). I left her there for about an hour and a half to go meet Jason for lunch and to grab some "supplies" for her to have at day care. This way I won't have to take so much with me on Monday.

I'm excited to get back to work, let my kid be social and get all the attention she needs and to earn some independence from mommy. I think this is the right move for us and I'm really excited about it.

She's needing her pacifier less and less, which is really neat. The downside is, she really likes putting her fingers in her mouth and has discovered her thumb. Fingers crossed that she doesn't end up sucking her thumb!!!! I'd rather her enjoy the pacifier....but a kid will do what a kid will do.

While we were in Evansville I thought for certain she had started teething. One night she just screamed and screamed. Geri ran out and got her some oral gel as I didn't even think to bring some with me. However, I noticed once again that when we got home and settled in there was a night where she just screamed and screamed and I have a sinking feeling it was because she was in the car too long. Apparently upsetting her schedule sends her into orbit. Thankfully, we don't have a strict schedule, otherwise I think my child would be in constant coniption fits.

I'll add all the pictures Geri took as well as some others into the Rachel - 2 album.