Claire's First Food

Yesterday we fed Claire her first food, pureed avocado!  She has been showing some signs of signs of interest and her pediatrician encouraged us to start sooner than later as there is new research showing starting babies around 4 months results in them less likely to develop allergies and asthma when they are older.  I was planning on waiting until she was 6 months until her doctor told me all of this, and she will be 5 months next week so we decided to go ahead and see how she did with solids.  We had a lot of fun feeding Claire, but I don't think she was quite so sure about it :).  


 

We're planning on introducing her to solids slowly until she gets the hang of it.  She hasn't quite figured out the swallowing concept so it mostly just ended up all over her face.  I'm excited to keep practicing with her and see which foods she likes best!     

Running Again

One of the main goals I had for my recovery after having Claire was to be able to run again.  The first couple of months while my leg was recovering from the nerve damage, that goal hardly seemed possible.  I had to use a walker for 2-3 weeks after I had Claire.  Then I was able to walk with a really exaggerated limp.  After about 3 1/2 months all of the numbness was gone and my leg had almost all of the movement and function back, but the muscles were really weak from not being used for so long.  I couldn't push off my toes when I walked so I had to use an AFO brace that would basically lift my foot for me with each step.  Once I could walk well again with the assistance of the brace I went for a walk every single day.  I would load Claire up in the stroller and put Rory on her leash.  We would walk for about 45 minutes every day. I have a Polar Fit watch that has a heart rate monitor and tracks how many calories I burn.  I would power walk and keep my heart rate in the 'fat burning' calorie zone the whole time.  I really pushed myself so I was getting some cardio exercise while strengthening my leg muscles at the same time.  I also would do 45-60 minutes of Pilates every day.  There are a lot of low-impact leg strengthening and balance exercises that were a life saver in building my leg muscles back.

(This was the result of a 30 minute run and 1 hour of pilates)

All of my efforts have finally paid off.  On Monday I achieved my goal and ran again for the first time, and I've ran every day since!  After almost five months, I don't have to use a brace anymore and my leg is finally back to normal.  I can't even begin to describe how good it feels to be running again.  I was so happy after my first run I could've cried!  This whole experience has made me appreciate my body so much.  It is amazing what our bodies can go through and how they can heal themselves.  I am so very grateful to have a healthy body that allows me to live & breath, and push & strengthen myself every single day.  I hope I remember to never take it for granted again.  

Claire Olivia Week by Week: 20 Weeks

Miss Claire Olivia is 20 weeks old today.  Her doctor was out of town for a few weeks so we finally had her 4 month appointment this past week.  She did really good with her shots again and only cried for about a minute.  She weighs 14 pounds 9 ounces and is almost 26 inches long.  She is in the 47th percentile for weight and 88th percentile for height.  She is tall and skinny like both her parents haha.  She has been sleeping really well lately both for naps and at night.  She goes to bed around 8 p.m. and will sleep usually until 6 a.m.  Sometimes she will still wake up once but those nights are becoming fewer and fewer.  We've been practicing sitting up a lot and she is getting pretty good.  She has to keep her weight on her hands still, but she is getting less wobbly.  She is such a sweet baby and smiles and giggles all the time.  I love how happy she is!

Splash Pad

 

Yesterday I took Claire to the splash pad for the first time.  She can't really do much there as a 4 1/2 month old, so basically it was just an excuse for me to put her in her swimsuit :)  Here she is patiently waiting in her stroller.

My sister and Claire's best little friend, Lydia, came with us too!

    

You can't tell very well in these pictures since the water is kind of in the way, but Lydia wasn't quite sure if she liked the water splashing or not.

Surprisingly Claire actually liked it (or tolerated it really well)!  We just put her feet in the water and let her kick her legs around.  She didn't seem to mind it at all.  I called Bryce after and told him how much she liked the water.  It was a proud Dad moment for him haha.  It looks like Claire is going to be a little water baby!

Claire Olivia Week by Week: 19 Weeks

Claire turned 19 weeks old yesterday.  She is growing and learning so much!  She reaches for anything close to her face and tries to put it in her mouth.  She still loves to grab and eat her toes.  She rolls and wiggles around all the time.  I never know how I am going to find her when I go to get her out of her crib.  She can also kind of sit up with weight on her hands, but she is still really wobbly.  We'll keep working on it and I'm sure she'll be sitting up like a big girl in no time....whether I like it or not.   

Lydia & Claire Take Three

Friday night we went to the drive-in to see Malificent (we start 'em young when it comes to Disney at our house :). My sister came and we both brought our babies. I told Bryce to hurry and take some pictures of us before Claire went to sleep since it was already about an hour past her bedtime (and sure enough she fell asleep about five minutes after these were taken).
While Bryce was snapping pictures we looked down and saw that Lydia had reached over and grabbed Claire's hand.  I about died!  It was the sweetest thing ever.  

I LOVE these two cute cousins.  

Best friends already.