Ten Months

Charlee's ten month post is a week late, but I guess that is a clear indication of how busy and full our life is with a ten month old firecracker of a small child.  Nine months was fun and ten months has just been even MORE fun!

She learned how to do fish lips!

One of her current fav toys is this measuring tape.

This month Charlee added the "ga" sound to her repertoire of words.  She is constantly chattering away, but what is even more amazing is that she really seems to hear and understand us when we talk to her.  We've gotten into the habit of talking to her all the time and explaining things to her so she knows what we are doing and I really think all the talking we are doing is paying off because this is one attentive girl we have!

I've read these two books and have been making my way through Janet Lansbury's blog and I'm loving everything she has to say about raising babies and toddlers as whole people.  Janet's concepts aren't revolutionary by any means, but simple and oft forgotten in our culture (I think).  Since reading more about Janet's child-rearing philosophy we've started adopting a few of her practices with Charlee, such as...

BABY JAIL!

Oh my gosh, I LOVE our new baby jail.  I found this baby jail on Amazon and ordered it straight away.  Charlee learned to crawl, speed crawl and pull herself up on to all things in the span of 2.5 weeks and I was going a bit crazy trying to keep her safe.  I also found I was saying "no" a lot to her, but then I read a piece by Janet Lansbury about baby jails (yes, she calls them that!) and how great they are for babies.  Baby jails tend to have a negative stereotype in our culture, but Janet's research shows how great a closed in, safe space can be for babies...a space where they can move and crawl and play freely, without having to be told "no" every five seconds.  After reading that article on baby jails I ordered one up and now we use it all the time.  Freedom restored to all humans in this house.

This is what our living room looks like on a daily basis.  Mandatory fun times.

When she's not hamming it up for the camera, Charlee also likes to...

Eat her socks.

Pat her cute tummy.

Find and eat the tags on ALL things.

Continue to pat her cute tummy.

Play peek-a-boo by herself.

Speed crawl to all destinations.

And pull herself up on all things.

Charlee had a checkup appointment in mid-August and weighed in at just over 20lbs.  She also continues to be in the "greater than 95th" percentile for height.  Our ten month old girl is wearing 18 month sized clothing across the board.  In fact, 18 month sized jammies are actually too small now (I seriously just bought them a month ago...) because of the leg length and foot size - oh the joys we are in for when it comes to finding pants for our girl!  Let it be known that in 10 months of life Charlee has grown an entire foot in length.  When I actually think about that for a second I realize how drastically important development is at this age.  When will she ever grow 30 centimeters in ten months ever again?  That just boggles my mind.

Some people have asked, "Are you sure she was born 5 weeks early?"  "Are you sure your due date was correct?" According to what the doctors said, yes and yes.  All we know is, she's blowing every single measurement statistic and "milestone" out of the water and we are so stoked on that. 

Charlee is still eating purees that I make for her.  She seems to have a strong aversion to anything remotely textured...her gag reflex is top notch.  According to my mom, Charlee's eating habits seem to be following very closely in my baby eating habits, so we will see how this all pans out.   I finally broke down and bought some iron fortified organic oat cereal (originally I wanted to avoid this at all costs).  Charlee's doctor mentioned she needed to be getting more iron, even though she's consuming approximately 30-35oz of iron fortified formula every day.  The doctor suggested we try some Baby Led Weaning tactics, so we started with egg yolks.  We tried  and it didn't work very well.  Granted, we only tried for two days and I know that's not enough time, but when Charlee chokes on even the tiniest chunk of anything she projectile vomits everything everywhere.  This has happened four times now (choking on a small chunk of food when offered, projectile vomits, huge mess).  In my mind this kind of defeats of the purpose of getting food IN to her system...so for now I still puree fruits and veggies and we've added in two tablespoons of cereal per day, as well as full fat Greek yogurt.  She is clearly growing and thriving, so I don't think we have any problems there!

And with that, our girl is awake from her first nap of the day.

Here are a few more photos to close the 10 month update.  Enjoy!

xxk&j&charlee rae

Ode to SeaWheeze

I feel the need to start this post off with a disclaimer.  I do not intend for this post to be prideful or boastful, even though it is definitely going to sound that way.  I find so many people use social media as a platform to brag and/or show off and while I've certainly fallen victim to that trap multiple times (and still do every now and then) this post has not been written for the reason of "showing off".  I plan to turn Charlee's blog into a book for her first birthday and I want this post to be part of the book because the musings I've written here have been part of our first year together.  So there you have it, consider yourself warned!

 Allow me to begin very honestly: the last year has been the hardest year of my life.  I feel guilty even admitting this because compared to billions of other people in the world, I am right up there at the top with the few who have it very, very good. I know I've got a very good thing going on for me.  I know that.  But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be real about my personal struggles, and let me tell you, there have been times in this past year that have totally sucked.

The lead up to, and experience of, Charlee's birth was tumultuous and I've written about it pretty extensively.  I still stick firm to my conviction that I never want to go through a birth like that ever again.  I have cried a lot of tears in the last year, probably more than I've ever cried in my whole life combined.  This time last year all I could think about was how badly I just wanted to go for a run.

Running.  Four and a half years ago I was not the person who would be itching to go for a run!  I hated running up until four and a half years ago and the only reason why I signed up for a 5k race was because I decided that anyone could run 5k and I might as well try to get over my hatred for running.  So I registered for the race, didn't train at all, did the 5k (it sucked) and then...kept running.  I kept running after that race was done because I wanted to see if I could do more.  I did a 10k race, a mini triathlon, a few more races here and there and then I was hooked.  When I found out I was pregnant with Charlee I was ten weeks into training for what was supposed to be my first half marathon and I decided to stop running because I suffered a prenatal hemorrhage.  I took a week off work post-hemorrhage and pretty much sat on the couch the entire time.  I was terrified to move.  Before I found out I was pregnant I was in the best shape I'd been in since I quit rhythmic gymnastics at age 16.  It was glorious.  I felt incredible.

Fast forward to November 2014, Charlee was born safe and sound (thank God), but my body was a disaster zone.  I had some crazy pre-eclamptic blood pressure going on and was on drugs until the New Year to control it.  I was fearful I would never run again.  My mind, spirit and soul were also kind of messy.  I felt completely betrayed by my physical body that had essentially developed an allergic reaction to being pregnant (I asked my midwife if describing my experience as a weird allergic reaction to pregnancy was a good descriptor and she said it was).  In 35 weeks I gained 35 pounds and I looked fabulous when pregnant...but not so fabulous when no longer pregnant.  This is where all the mamas reading this are like, "Yeah, girl, we sooo know!" I lost 25 pounds immediately after Charlee was born and then by the time she was two months old I had gained it all back and then some.  That whole, "Keep breast feeding and you'll drop the weight!" thing just did not work for me (surprise, surprise, that would be way too easy!)  Guys, I had back rolls.

But bless those back rolls.  Realizing those back rolls on January 4th, 2015 was a turning point for me.  I had vowed to Joel in the hospital, among my IVs, staples, stitches, gargantuan tummy, bruises and blood that I would never let Charlee hear me bash my body.  Never.  Yes, I want her to know about my eating disordered past and how unhappy it made me for years, because that past is a major part of how far I've come today.  I remember sobbing (so much) in those early days after Charlee's birth, saying to Joel, "But I have come so far!" as I started to feel the disappointment and shame surrounding my body roll on in.  Little did I know, losing weight is very hard.  I've never had to deliberately lose weight before and I had no idea what was in store for me. 

It's been almost ten months since Charlee was born and eight months since I started to "run" again (I put run in quotations because it was actually a walk with a few ten second intervals of very slow running).  I've lost 22 pounds and have 13 more to go to get to my pre-Charlee weight, but guess what?  As it turns out...I'm the strongest I've ever been in my whole life.  My physical body might not completely show off that strength yet, but I can feel it.  I just ran 21 kilometers!  And I worked so hard to get here.  I feel like an athlete again, which I now realize is something I was desperately missing.  I've also been working on overhauling my nutrition and that has worked wonders for me.  

Ten months ago I knew I'd be running a half marathon, but I didn't know how much work it would be to actually get to the finish line.  I now feel like I can conquer anything and that feels sooo good.  Of course, I couldn't have achieved my reclaimed state of body-appreciation without the help of a few key players.  My mom watched Charlee for me so I could run back in February and March, when it still got dark at 6pm, so after work hour runs were out of the question.  My sister introduced me to her gym and convinced me to get a membership there and now we go crush some serious fitness goals twice a week in spin and cardio burnout (and when my sister works out she gives it her all...it's terrifying to be on a bike next to her!).  My friend, and fellow mama, Daylinn has been my accountability partner since September 2014 when we decided to register for SeaWheeze together and then continued to update one another after every single workout.  And of course Joel is among the key players.  Joel has dealt with me passing off Charlee to him as soon as he walks in the door from work, so that I can head to the gym or hit the pavement.  He's dealt with my really long Saturday morning runs.  He's encouraged me to eat more protein, literally kicking me off the couch sometimes to go make a protein shake.  All in all, he's been an incredible support during this whole journey.  And my Charlee girl.  Words cannot express the gratitude I feel toward you, sweet girl.  The song I sang you while pregnant, while hospitalized, and on nearly every car ride we've had together since then came on my playlist around kilometer 17, when I had just mentioned to Daylinn that I was starting to "feel it".  We were about to head under Lion's Gate Bridge and I pointed out to Daylinn where you were born and suddenly the music for our song came on.  I stopped dead in my tracks,  sobbing, and then continued running with tears streaming down my face.  What a divine intervention - having our song come on as I ran past North Vancouver, on a run I was led to do because of you.  I put my hands up in the air (while running) and singing "You make me brave" along with the music.  I was so proud of you in that moment and all you endured in order to arrive safely in the world.  You do, indeed, make me brave every single day.

I'm not at the weight number I want to be at yet, but all of my pre-Charlee clothes fit again.  I don't cry every few days about our horrific birth story, but I still find myself bursting into tears occasionally (sometimes seemingly for no reason).  I don't blame my body anymore for how things ended up, but I still am terrified of ever getting pregnant again.  This year has been crazy in all kinds of ways.  I couldn't have done SeaWheeze without my people.  This whole experience was a tremendous healing opportunity for me, thanks for being there by my side the entire time.  Love you guys.

 xxk

Taking part in the massive yoga class the night before SeaWheeze.

Warming up together!

Pre-run!

Post-run celebration brunch, Daylinn and her sweet girls.

My own sweet girl, waiting for me at the end.  She even skipped her nap so she wouldn't miss out! How kind of her!

9 months

And our girl is 9 months! A good friend of mine has been telling me since the moment I met her that a 9 month old baby is a baby at the most magical and fun stage...ever.  Now that we have our own 9 month old baby I am starting to believe her!  Charlee has become more and more interesting during the last two months and I feel like we are on the brink of a neuron explosion when it comes to her learning and our amazement.  Joel comes home from work more often than not mentioning that Charlee "looks different" or bigger or...what they say is true, babies really do change overnight.

In the last few weeks Charlee has started making multiple syllable sounds in her own language.  We, of course, respond.  This is how the conversation goes:

C: Bla da da da MA!

Us: Mrah mrah bla?

C: Da da da da da da

Us: Da da Ma ma Pa pa Na na  (obviously trying to get those more meaningful sounds in there - ha!)

C: La la na na na na

Us: MEOW!

C: (laughs...because cat sounds are the best)

It is a sweet and simple life people, but these are the things that fill my days.  I LOVE chattering away with Charlee...sometimes I even initiate the conversation just to get her going because it is sooo darn cute.

In addition to her new sounds, Charlee also has taken her motor skills to a new level.  She's not crawling yet, but it seems that every day she gets closer and closer.  She can go go from sitting to getting on her hands and knees, where she rocks back and forth screaming until she falls on her belly.  I can literally see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to figure out what to do with her hands and knees once she is up on them.  I don't think I've ever said, "You can do it!" so much in my life. 

Last week Charlee's problem solving skills blew me away and made me laugh so hard.  I piled her puzzle pieces far enough away from her so she would have to get on her hands and knees and really reach for them in order to get them.  She sat there looking at me, looking at her puzzle pieces sooo far away, and then pulled on the quilt until it bunched up enough to bring the pieces to her.  I sat there like, "Are you kidding me child!? Did you actually just figure that out on your own?!"  I didn't even care that she didn't try to crawl because her method was 100% more genius.  Guys, we have a baby genius.

Ha ha.

Some other interesting things going on for Charlee right now:

-It is a rare occurrence for her to finish a bottle when I feed her, but when Joel feeds her she finishes it every. single. time.  This is not annoying at all. 

-Shall we just say pureed prunes for the win!?

-She loves cats.  LOVES them.  Granted, we pretty much do anything we can to help her love cats.  I buy her any piece of clothing that has a real looking cat on it, same with books, etc.  It helps that we have two cats and when they walk into the room she lights up with joy. We are starting to teach her how to pet the cats nicely (with our extreme guidance and supervision, poor Franklin has suffered two massive tail pulls now).  We also meow a lot to her...is this weird? Ha.

-I have no idea how she gets into some of the positions we find her sleeping in, but I tell you, this girl is one crafty sleeper.

-She loves outside (still).  If she is ever having a fussy moment we bring her outside and she is instantly calmed.  I love this about her.

-We do art together now! So far we have done four paintings.  We are working on Picasso status up in here.

-One of her favourite toys is a weird looking cat toy (see!?!) that we got for free from the hospital when she decided to roll off the change table dresser and had to do a trip to emerg.  She's hated having her bum changed on that table ever since, but I think the plastic cat toy is a good trade off, don't you?  Another more recent favourite toy of hers is a used juice bottle that Joel filled with water.  She bangs on it like a drum.  We do provide our child with toys, guys, but I don't know if buying them is worth it since she likes the free and recycled versions more.

-One of her favourite foods continues to be zucchini.  I still don't get it.  This kid eats one large zucchini over four meals.  It's insane.

-Still no teeth.  Not even a single hint of a tooth.  This means no crunchy, weird baby cracker foods for her yet since all those packages state your child needs to be crawling and have teeth before they can eat the cracker-y things.  I am 100% okay with this.

And now photos!

This is what we like to call "The Charles Face".

I don't think we have many side profile shots, so I like this one.  You can see her hemangioma (clustered blood vessels on her head) is starting to shrink quite a bit.

Eyes!

Learning her pirate face early on.

Her incredible eyes.  Strangers comment on her eyes almost every time we are out.  I think she has similar eyes to my sister.

Preparing to jig on the rocking chair.

This photo is a bit misleading...she isn't actually standing on her own yet, but she can apparently balance on one foot!?

xxk&j&charlee rae

A Child's Pace

I came across a phrase on one of my newest-most-fav blogs today: "Childhood is not a race".  (Check out www.howweelearn.com for tons of amazing art, craft and play inspirations).  

I'm going to tweak that phrase a tiny bit and say "Babyhood is not a race".  For many years now I've firmly believed in doing things with children at their own pace.  Granted, sometimes you just need to get somewhere quickly and the child's pace might be just a bit too slow, so you have to hustle...but at least once a day it's important to slow down to the child's pace.  Even if you're an adult sans children it's important to slow it down.  Slowing down helps one appreciate the simplest of things, I think.

Sometimes I get caught up in all the ideas I have for Charlee.  Her future elementary school, the German play group I want to enroll her in, dance lessons, volunteering in Cambodia with her...the list goes on.  Once my mind gets going I start getting really excited about all these fun things we can do with Charlee and then I remember she's only a baby.  We need to appreciate this time NOW.

People like to compare and contrast children.  Before I had a baby, even though I am an educated teacher and should know better, I was one of these people.  I'd be like, "Well Jonny can do this hard math, but Jennie can't even add yet, but they are the same age and Jennie is taller than Jonny so she should be able to add and what am I supposed to do!?"  Now that I have Charlee, my wise little teacher, I realize that's just how it is.  I also know that height has nothing to do with one's mathematical abilities, obviously.  While out and about these days I get asked these questions, once we establish the boy or girl thing:

1) How old is she?  (Almost nine months).

2) Crawling yet?  (No). 

3) Teeth?  (Nope).

My answers to their questions set off a cacophony of something along these lines:

Really? Not crawling? But she's almost 9 months! No teeth? Really? My daughter's best friend's sister's baby is only 6 months old and already has FIVE teeth and is pulling herself up on couches!

I'm sure you fellow mamas have all experienced these types of interactions at some point in your wanderings with your own babies.  Most people finally come to their senses and end our brief encounters with the agreement that "all babies grow at their own pace".  Yep, they sure do!  The way I see it is the longer Charlee takes to learn to crawl, the longer my sanity will stay intact.  She will do things at her own pace.  She won't be this little forever, and just like she learned to sit up on her own literally overnight, she will learn to crawl just as quickly.  Then walk.  Then run.  Then ride a bike.  Then go to school.

So for now, we are doing things at her pace and it's perfect just the way it is.

Charlee's first art project - elephant hand prints.

The Summer Life of Charles

When I was pregnant my dad called the baby "Sabrina" (he was guessing a girl from day one) and as soon as she was born he started calling her "Charles"...needless to say, we call Charlee Rae "Charles" quite often.

And what a sweet first summer our Charles is having! Cue the iPhone photo essay!

I recently sold all my older lulu clothes and bought new runners for SeaWheeze.  Charlee was the first to try them out!

Every morning once Joel heads off to work we sit in a pile of toys to play, learn and caffeinate.

Just learning her colours in English and German, no big deal.  Sometimes I sing her the most annoying song on the planet to go along with this game...but only sometimes.  PS - this abacus was mine when I was her age!

We managed to sneak a brief lake trip in - Charlee's first!

As you can tell, she simply adored her first boat ride.

Let's get a closer look at that first boat ride excitement, shall we?

Oh but THIS was fun! She spent over an hour just chillin' while we floated her around.

How to occupy a baby on the beach.

But then you can't do anything except for try to keep said baby from eating rocks.

Post swim snuggz.

Just watching Carter and Jaxen play "BC Ferries".  Lake life is so awesome for these lucky kids!

She is in awe of how sweet lake life is :)

We did our usual walk to Margaret Falls.

Her fav spot to chill these days.

Just being a little ham while playing peekaboo.

Lake life is exhausting when you play hard.

 

 

On our drive home she taught herself to hold her bottle.  Now we just need to work on the whole tilt thing...

This week marked my 10th week of half marathon training.  The last time I was 10 weeks into a half marathon training program I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant with this munchkin and I stopped running because of a pregnancy related hemorrhage.  This time around I'm about a minute slower in my average pace, but if I think about all my body has endured in the last year I think it's safe to say I'm pretty stoked on how far I've come in such a short time!

Seriously so stoked on picking blackberries!!!

We went for a walk in our neighbourhood the other night and these chickens questioningly eyed Charlee from afar.

Frankie the Sheep, however, was very pleased to eat blackberries.  Clearly Charlee loved it.

Joel just brushing up on his German vocab.

Charlee's favourite vegetable is zucchini, which amazes us because we both could kind of care less about it.  The Baby Bullet is probably the greatest baby gift ever (thanks mom!) and I make all of Charlee's food.  Here we have local, organic zucchini from Haliburton Farms, just across the highway from us.  Two medium sized zucchinis made ten meals for Charlee and cost me a whopping $2! Love it.

Yes folks, it is indeed a pretty sweet summer in the life of Charles.

xxk&j&charlee rae