Isabella's 1st Christmas

Thursday, December 28, 2006

It's finally over. This year we decided to "host" Christmas mostly because it's so hard putting Isabella to sleep at other people's houses. She hardly sleeps during the day as it is. My sister and nephew, Merah and Jack, spent the weekend with us. Merah did most of the cooking and took care of Isabella a great deal too. Thank goodness for family. It was like taking a vacation from holding Isabella all weekend long. I got to play with her, look at her, but didn't have her attached to me 24/7. Jack is such a great cousin. Even though he is 8 years older he loves taking care of her. He was so tender and loving. He took her to her play gym, gave her a tour of the house countless times, helped with bathtime. If only he knew how to change diapers...maybe we can work on that one. After a few short days he learned very quickly what she did and did not like. On Christmas day, he told grandpa how to make her happy. "No grandpa, she likes to walk around the house."

I feel terrible that I didn't take many family shots this year. My computer is down...AGAIN. And all of my pictures are on it. I will post them when it gets fixed. I start work next Tuesday. I have constant mixed feelings about it. One day I feel great about returning and the next I am dreading it. I feel pretty sure that I will cry on the first day. My goal is to put my mind on work and leave it there when I leave for home. That's one of our pet peeves. For the past 6 years (for Ed it's been 8 years), Ed and I lived and breathed Oakley. Well, those days are no more. We now have committed to living for ourselves and our new family, sorry Oakley.

My friend, Pearl, had her baby girl on December 14th by C-Section. Her baby arrived at the start of her 28th week of pregnancy. Her baby is at CHOC hospital in Orange. She was born 1 lb and 13 oz. Though she dropped a five ounces, she is back to her birth weight which is terrific. Her and Tom named her Cammie Noelle. Ed and I are going to meet the little miracle tomorrow. What's with all the early births lately?

On Isabella's development
This past week has been huge in her development. She went from batting at her toys in the play gym to now grabbing them. She will hold objects that are put in front of her. On Christmas morning she started talking a great deal more than usual. I love hearing her little voice. It sounds so animated. She's so fascinated by everything and easily distracted, which has proven to be frustrating when she's supposed to be eating. I'm hoping this phase will quickly pass.

Pictures to come. Sit tight.

Cheap diapers

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

This really goes out to all the mommy's and daddy's out there that are forking over money left and right for diapers. Someone referred me to 1800diapers.com for cheap and easy way to purchase diapers. So I purchased a huge box tonight and will see how long it takes to get here. The shipping is free for purchases over $45. I purchased the economy plus size of Pampers Swaddlers, which has 184 diapers, for only $37.87. Trust me...this is actually a good price. Diapers are so stinkin expensive. Since I've signed up I received a $2 coupon code for new referrals. Just type in: LYKR1491 when you sign up for your account.

And they also sell those adorable diaper cakes for all those baby showers coming up. I always think of an episode of Sex in the City.

Random pictures

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Here's my hand at some creative holiday pictures. I took these after I ordered my christmas cards, but at least I get to show them off here. BTW, I stole the ideas from some mommies I met through a baby bulletin board so I can't take all the credit.


Somehow, we've started a collection of stuffed giraffes. So my latest purchase was a standing giraffe that I bought on craigstlist for $6. Isabella's a little too small for it yet, but with a little help she entertains us with it. Ed's parents are sending us a 5 foot giraffe. Don't know where we'll put it, but it'll add height to the collection.


One day I asked Ed to watch Isabella while I made a trip to the grocery store. I came home and she had passed out on his chest. She looked so cute and peaceful. And no, Ed wasn't drunk. He ALWAYS looks like that in pictures.

New Video - Isabella rolling and smiling

As you can tell I got my computer back and I have a new video. This morning Isabella showed us that she has mastered the art of rolling from her tummy to her back. I made some edits to the video and used a higher resolution than the last so sorry if it takes a while to view it on your computers.



Please leave a comment if you can't view it. I have a lower resolution version of it.

Oh the stages of pregnancy

Friday, December 08, 2006

I thought it would be fun to chronical the stages of pregnancy with pictures. I forgot how big I really got in the final weeks. Most expecting mothers have 40 weeks of pregnancy, but since I only got to 37 weeks. Imagine if I delivered at 40 weeks, or worse what if I was late! Yikes! I loved all stages of my pregnancy. I grew a bit attached to my growing belly. The best part of it was feeling the baby move, squirm and kick. Although, I have to say that I never quite figured out which body part was what. Was that her elbow, knee, head, arm, butt???

After the delivery, I was aware that I would look like I was still pregnany, but I still wasn't prepared to see how big I still was. By the 4th day post delivery I had lost 20 lbs. At first the belly that I was left with freaked me out. I'm so happy that it is now getting back to normal. The line on the tummy is disappearing and the loose skin is no more. Thank god! What no one ever tells you is how your body will change. I'm about 7 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight, but my body is still very different. I have love handles!!! Yuck! Most of my pants don't fit the same and a lot of my fitted shirts don't fit either. I was hoping that I could bounce back like Heidi Klum, ha ha ha...ya right.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Yeah...it's my favorite time of the year. I am so excited to be home the entire month and enjoy Christmas with my favorite people. I haven't begun Christmas shopping yet. Yikes! I'm starting to get a little nervous about that. I can't wait for Isabella to experience her first Christmas. I know she's tiny, but I will make sure to take lots of pictures for when she is older (so that she can see how cute she was as a baby and to remind us of how cute she when she enters the snotty teenage years). Here's a few shots of Isabella in her pre-Christmas outfit. I also got her a cute little Christmas sleeper, but it's a little too big still.

This week has started out a little rough. She has been fussy again. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the growth spurt that usually happens around the 3 month mark??? What's funny is one minute she is all smiles and laughing (without sound) and the next minute she is crying. It's really Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing. She hasn't rolled over since the first time last week. I still haven't gotten my computer back from Apple yet. I have a few video's but they need editing before I post them on the blog.

First family photos

Sunday, December 03, 2006

We got our photos taken by a hobbiest photographer this weekend. Hobbiest meaning, she is not a trained professional photographer. Overall, I think it was worth the $70 that we spent. The pictures didn't turn out bad. I wish I could say that it was a good hair day, but alas it wasn't as you will see in the photos. I found her on Craigslist and the pictures came out okay. I wish there weren't 500 pictures to look through, but I guess that is what you get for $70! If you have the patience to look through the 402 pictures (I slimmed it down...a little), then follow the link to my Shutterfly photo album. www.lydiakremer.shutterfly.com

Side note: you'll see pictures where I have Isabella in the air like Superman. I did it so many times that she eventually spit up. The horrible part was that it landed on my face. Funny, that of the 500 pictures this wasn't captured. That would have made for a funny picture.

Another root canal

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Geez, I've had a toothache lately and went to the dentist this morning. I need another root canal. This is almost a little embarrassing to admit, but I have had seven root canals already. By the time I'm 40 I won't have any real teeth left!!! By February 2006 I had already spent $5000 out of my own pocket (we're talking after insurance coverage...which by the way is only a lame $1500). So I have scheduled an appointment with my endodontist tomorrow. Thankfully I have a really good doctor. She makes it painless and is relatively fast (considering my first root canal took 6 hours at some awful dentist...thanks mom). Wish me luck. I just wish I could wait until the new year when my insurance is full again. Dang it.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Sunday, November 26, 2006

This afternoon during tummy time Isabella rolled over from her tummy onto her back all by herself!!!! It was so exciting to watch and Ed's dad was there to witness it all. Ed, however, missed it because he had to run to the grocery store. Tomorrow, Ed's mom's flying in for the week. She say Isabella when she was just four days old so I'm sure she will marvel at the difference since then.

Since we have been working on Isabella's sleep routine she has been so much more pleasant during the day. She is such a happy baby when she is well rested. She goes down to bed around 7:30pm. At her bedtime we've chosen to let her cry it out. We've been doing it about for two weeks. And now after about 20 (sometimes 30 and sometimes 10) minutes she's out for the night. It was very hard to do the first few times, but it has gotten easier to deal with. We just try to escape to another part of the house where we can't hear it. It pains Ed's dad to hear, but it is the decision that Ed and I decided to make together and it's been working for us.

Biggest Blowout on Black Friday!!!

And I'm not talking about the sales at the mall. Isabella has had a few bouts of explosive poopies that come up the back. But this one takes the cake. I was feeding her and felt and heard the explosion. This is not at all abnormal. She does this at least once a day. But suddenly I felt my hand (that was holding her bum) get warm and moist. Low and behold we had a blowout of monstrious proportions. Even my pj's got stained. The sleeper she wore went immediately in the washer. I had to wash it two times to get out the stain. I thought it was a goner for sure, but Shout got it out.

What's new

My Powerbook is still getting repaired, so I'm using my work computer to keep you all updated. So if I'm a little slow to add, it's work computer's fault. It's stinkin slow. Isabella has become so curious to her surrounding. She loves to look around the room. She loves starring at the ceiling at lights. Our favorite time of the day is in the morning when she first wakes up. She is all smiles and happiness. She will sit and star at your face with a cute curiousity. My favorite is when I stick out my tongue and she tries to mimick me and sticks out her tongue. I will try to capture that on video one day.

Here are some random pictures of Isabella this past week.

Sleepy time. Her favorite place to take naps is in the swing. We love the swing!

Tummy time! Isabella doesn't like tummy time for too long. She'll tolerate it for about five minutes.

And if you wait too long, the waterworks begin. Gosh mommy's mean.

Just lounging...

Happy Turkey Day

We had Thanksgiving at Merah's house this year and boy was it a full house. Here are some pictures of the family...

Isabella met Deda (Grandpa Kremer) for the first time.

After dinner, the tryptophan really kicked in. (Two seconds before this shot was taken Ed's Dad, Leo, was also asleep...though he claims he wasn't. Sounds just like Ed.)

The Aftermath

Saturday, November 18, 2006

It has been one full day since Isabella has had her shots. Overall, she was really very good. When we were at the doctor's office the nurses checked her vitals, weighed and measured her. She is now 11 lbs. 12 oz. and is 23 1/4" tall!!!! The doctor says that compared to other girls her age she is in the 75th percentile for her weight and between the 75th to 90th percentile for her height. What a big girl we have.

So the nurse gave her 5 shots and one oral medication. The oral medication was easy to swallow, for me that is, but the shots...I nearly cried as I held her hands. It was a cry I never heard before. When it was over I was happy to see the little munchin fall right back to sleep. There were very short periods of crying pangs, but she mostly slept all night. In fact, she slept from 7:30pm to 3:00am. Yikes! But, boy was she hungry at 3am. And then she fell right back to sleep. So far, she has been an angel this morning.

Two month appointment

Friday, November 17, 2006

Isabella is due for her immunization shots!!! Yikes. I don't know if I'm prepared for this. Ed can't come because of a meeting conflict. So I'm braving it alone with Izzy. I hear the shots aren't so bad; it's the aftermath that's terrible.

On Isabella's development
She smiles more and more everyday. She is most fun to play with in the morning until around 2pm. When 3pm hits, it gets a little grizzly around here. But everyday is a little different. Some are better than others. My Apple computer is down at the moment, but once it is fixed I will post more videos and pictures.

Last Tuesday, she fell asleep a little later than usual with nighttime fussiness, but she slept an entire seven hours straight. After going to bed at 9:20pm she didn't wake up to feed until 4:45am!!!! Woo hoo! There hasn't been a repeat of that performance yet, but I am hopeful. Lately she has been sleeping at 8:30pm and wakes up at 1:30am, then at 5:00am, then around 7:45am. But it is so much better than every two hours like the early weeks after birth.

Well, we're off to see the doctor. Wish us luck.

The Language of Babies

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

I was watching Oprah yesterday and she had a segment called "The Secret Language of Babies" and it was fascinating. She interviewed Priscilla Dunstan who claims she has a photographic memory for sounds and has learned what babies (0-3 months) are trying to tell us in their cry regardless of race or ethnicity. The five sounds and their meanings are:

Neh
Meaning: "I'm hungry!"
Where it comes from: The noise made when a baby pushes his tongue to the roof of his mouth because he wants to eat, "neh," is an infant's sucking reflex with sound added to it.

Eh
The word: "I need to burp!"
Where it comes from: When a big bubble of air is caught in your baby's chest, the sound you hear is "eh," as your baby tries to get the burp out.

Owh
The word: "I'm tired!"
Where it comes from: An audible yawn, you can spot the word because your baby's mouth will be in an oval shape as he says it.

Heh
The word: "I'm uncomfortable!"
Where it comes from: Your baby's response to a skin reflex (the same one that governs sweating) signals irritation -- a wet diaper or an itchy bodysuit.

Eair
The word: "I have gas!"
Where it comes from: If a burp doesn't make it out, it moves through your baby's digestive system -- "eaire" is the sound you get as the muscles of the intestine and stomach tighten to force the air bubble out.

You can see a short clips of the show on Oprah's website or watch the rerun on Sunday night on ABC. It is scheduled to be on again at 10pm (PST).

http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200611/tows_past_20061113.jhtml

Priscilla Dunstan is coming out with a new video later this month titled "Dunstan Baby Language".

Just passing along some helpful tips to other new mothers out there.

Playtime home video

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Everyday we spend time playing with the Baby Einstein baby gym that we got from the baby shower. Izzy just loves looking at all the animals, lights and mirrors. Not sure if she can see color yet, but she enjoys all of the interesting patterns and lights.

Check out this new video of Isabella that I loaded onto the site.

Here are the most recent photos...

Frank meets Rita

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Well...not quite.

Last Friday was the first night without Isabella. In fact, it was the first time without her for more than two hours. Friday night was Ed's sales conference party...this year's theme was Old Hollywood at The Highland in Hollywood, of course. I borrowed a few things from my sister Merah -- who incidentally has a themed outfit for any occasion -- and together we did my hair and makeup. And as I whisked away to this fun evening I left Izzy with Auntie Merah. Thank goodness for supportive aunties!


The hair, makeup, and dress up was fun for an adult evening without baby in tow. I wanted to do my hair like Rita Hayworth in the film Gilda. Ed's inspiration was Frank Sinatra, of course. Guys really have it easy. They don't have much to do with hair and makeup.

So I found some websites to help me with the look. They suggested using foam rollers to wet set my hair. I didn't think anything of it. But as I was setting my hair in rollers I began having flashbacks to my old drill team days in high school. And if memory served me correctly, which it did, my hair use to turn out extremely curly. But I went with it anyway because I trusted these websites.

Well, my hair did not have the soft curl like I had hoped for so we had a change of plans. I was then stuck on the cool hair curls that women wore in the 40's. Sort of like Betty Grable in the picture to the right.

And my hair turned out pretty good. Thanks Merah!!! She didn't have faith...or was it really her patience that she didn't have??? Anyway, it all turned out very well and I received many compliments all due to Merah's help and wardrobe.

I finally got to the club and partied like it was 1999. Too bad I decided to pack light and left my camera in the hotel room. Several people did take pictures and as soon as I get them I will post them. It was too much fun. And Ed looked awesome in his fedora hat that he so proudly purchased. We did get one photo that I scanned so take a look -- it's hard to see the hair.

Happy Halloween

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Though it's not halloween yet, I'm sure most people have already begun their celebrations. I got out of the house yesterday without Isabella to get my hair done and my hairstylist asked what my plans were for halloween...ha ha...that would be feed, burp and put Isabella to sleep. I recently purchased a book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissburg. I'm attempting to "sleep train" Isabella now to prepare for my return back to work and to prevent any poor sleep habits from forming. We are in the beginning stages right now, but I'm hoping that soon I will once again have a "happy baby!"

Back to halloween, on Thursday Christine and I took Isabella to a pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin for Christine's pumpkin carving party. Friday was the party and I would love to say that all of us had a great time, but...well Ed conked out on Chris' bed from staying out way too late the night before and late work nights and Isabella started to fuss and cry. Eventually she calmed down enough to wear her in the Baby Bjorn so I could carve my pumpkin. I had a good time anyway and had fun carving. Thanks Christine for throwing the party. I can't wait to see the pictures that Kelly took. Here are some pictures from the past few days.

Before the party, I dressed Izzy up in her costume.
She didn't like wearing it much, so off it went.


Christine's cat, Mr. Kitty.

Mine is the tall face in the middle.
Bummer, that I didn't win or even come in the top 4.
boo hoo hoo

Wine club is back!

Monday, October 23, 2006

Our wine club is back again. Too bad I didn't take any pictures. This was Isabella's first all evening outing. I was a little apprehensive considering how fussy she's been getting at night, but Ed really wanted to get out of the house. So our goal was to make it past three hours. I'm thrilled to say that she was awesome. She slept most of the time. We brought a bottle to feed her and she took it well. Ed fed her and held her for two hours as she looked around the place in slow-mo (slow motion). She gets that way after she eats sometimes..it's like a food coma. She didn't cry once the entire night. And as we do at most parties, we closed it and were the last to leave.

Thanks Jenn for hosting a great wine party. We had lots of fun drinking those fantastic wines. I'm happy to be sampling 'em again!!!

Next outing? Hmm...well today Isabella was awake and alert more than other days. She fed little but very often (almost felt like that's all I did today). Moo! Daddy is trying to soothe her as we speak, but of course she won't go down to bed. We're going to attempt to go to Chris' pumpkin carving party this Friday...we shall see.

Daddy and Izzy bonding

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Isn't this cute. I was getting the bath ready and Ed calls me over to see how they are bonding. I love it! BTW, she loved the bath last night. She was so relaxed that she actually fell asleep during the bath. That is until we took her out in the cold air...boy can she wail.

To grandmother's house we go...

Yesterday we drove out to my parents house so Izzy could spend some time at Grandma and Grandpa's. She loved it. She was awake and alert most of the afternoon. My mom says she looks more and more like Ed, especially in the eyes and forehead. I have to agree. She has his big round eyes.

Now with my parents retirement it's nice to see them more relaxed and enjoying life. My mom has been so helpful taking Izzy off my hands every opportunity she can. It's great to see her so involved. Their house is very relaxing I can't wait to go back when they return from their visit to see their other grandson, Asher.

Izzy: someone's got to tell grandma that

something is attacking her head.

Izzy: Those shiny things hanging from the trees are so mesmerizing.


Side note: my dad built this great coy pond in his backyard with at least 20 fish. He also put two nets over; the first is to keep the leaves out and the second is to keep the hawk out. He also has "decorated" the tree with CD's to keep the hawk away from the fish. Apparently, several fish have been devoured by this hawk. Who knew there were hawks in Garden Grove.



More pictures with grandma and grandpa...