Nearly 11.5 months old

Mariko will be 11 months and 2 weeks on Friday.  Monday we started swimming lessons (at 10 am and thankfully moving to the 11am class) and tomorrow we try out the Little Gym for the first time. I was really hoping when I signed up for the Little Gym two weeks ago that she would at least be crawling by now. I am trying to not be worried about it but the longer it goes on, the more I worry. She does scoot backwards and she gets up on all fours all the time (and yesterday started pushing to her hands and feet from hands and knees) and she also moves her knees, then drops back to her tummy, comes back up again and does it all over again. I'm not sure what the hold up is. She's been SO close for so long. I never thought I would have a nearly 1 year old that wasn't crawling.

Because of her swimming lessons I moved her 1 year appointment. I was supposed to be Monday the 3rd at 10:30am but since that's swimming time and there was an availability on Wednesday the 12th, I moved it. So it will be a month before we go see the doctor and that will be a solid 2 weeks past her birthday. I really hope she starts crawling because the closer we get to her birthday, the more I worry.

Swimming was really fun and I think she enjoyed it - other than being dunked! Even that she handled pretty well. I will be fun to go next week and have there be more kids. Her class only had 2 so our instructor suggested that if we were able, to come at 11 with the 1-3 class. Timing works out so much better for her naps. She was up early on Monday so she got a half hour but this way I won't have to wake her until 10:30 (instead of 9:30)

Montessori stuff - we are on our second round of work and Sunday I will switch things out again. I belong to a couple of Facebook Montessori groups and I'm finding that some are better than others. Although I started out really liking Witty Bitty minds, I started reading the Lisa Nolan curriculum info that I purchased (only $11) and I'm not sure it's for me, as it talks a lot about showing toddlers how to do work and I honestly agree with Bringing Up Montessori Infants and Toddlers that it's all about exploration. So, maybe I won't take part in the Witty Bitty book study, but join the book study for BUMIT. They are reading Montessori from the Start which I skimmed but haven't really read. I am excited to be doing Montessori work with her and just to let her explore color baskets, discovery bottles and learn new things - like the imbucare box. It's so fun to watch her! She's been trying to stack blocks. I love it!

In other news I checked the breast milk supply. It's so weird to walk to the garage freezer and see how little milk is left! Then I remember that she's almost a year so we are doing pretty well! We have the go ahead to start mixing BM and cow/soy etc starting at 11.5 months - so Friday or Saturday. That's going to be hard since if there is milk in it, it can't sit out on the counter for the next feeding. However, if the BM is thawed but not heated, it can go back in the fridge. Going to have to figure out how to work that one out.

AND tomorrow Toshi goes to Boise for an interview. Gone Thursday to Saturday. We are hoping to hear good things from Denver this week. And next week he goes to Portland. Wanting the VA to hurry up and get moving so he can interview and I can feel like there is a possibility of staying in Seattle but pretty sure that's not going to happen...

Time for me to read a little and have some downtime. Stressful morning this morning as she spent over a half hour crying before going to sleep. Decided on no elliptical today and am curled up in bed. Trying to decide if I'm going to wake her at her normal 11am time if she's still sleeping (to help with the afternoon nap) or to let her go a little longer. Was hoping to get outside today but it's pouring and we are without a car today.

What a week it has been!

One week ago today we were at the hospital having just found out (around 11am) that my water had broken just over 4 weeks early. After 22 hours or so of hard labor and giving in and getting an epidural, our little girl was born at 6:54am on Sunday January 27th, 2013 - exactly four weeks early.

She had a rough start and was taken directly to the NICU where she has been ever since. Each time we see her she's a little bit better.

Sunday she was having some difficulty breathing normally - she was breathing really fast.
Updated January 6, 2014 (is this right?)
Monday - CPAP to help her breathe
Tuesday - off the CPAP and just with a tube to give a bit of pressure to help her breathe
Wednesday - lights for the jaundice
Thursday - off the lights because she pulled them off her face
Friday - told that Monday she'll go home as long as everything is fine, may be over the weekend?
Saturday - Out of the incubator!
Sunday - weight going up
Monday - HOME