Citrus Lane October 2014

We got our 6th Citrus Lane Box. This box arrived just before Ella turned 10 months old but since I changed her age they thought it was a few days before she turned 11 months old. I can only find a few blogs with their October reviews up and they are all for older kids. Ella would have liked all of their boxes better than this one.

We got to choose what pattern leggings we wanted this month.

Here's what we got and the pricing
Little Princess Baby from North American Bear Co - $14.99 on Amazon
Cage Bell from Hohner Kids - $8.19 on Amazon
Leg Warmers from Ooh La Leggings - $10
Calendula Baby Care from Weleda (small samples) - $1 (probably less. You can get a lot for $14

~$34.18

I think this was on the cheaper side.

I liked the bell the best and Ella really likes it. I might like the leg warmers because it is getting cooler in the morning and it's 62 in our living room but then it's 70+ later in the day. If I can throw on leg warmers then I don't have to swap out pants. We'll see if I remember. I do think the leg warmers fit her well. They are exactly the length they need to be to go from thigh to ankle so I'm not sure how these go up to 6 year olds. I'm not sure how well she liked them though. She got a little ring around at the top of her thigh.  The doll is dumb to me. It's similar to other ones that were cheaper and that Ella never liked.

In my card that says all the items it specifically mentions the doll is made for the littlest hands but then on Amazon it says not for children under 3.  Then for the bell it makes it may take time to learn how to ring it but Ella got it right away!  I have so many butt creams and lotions for Ella and never use any. Maybe I should start giving some away to other people so I don't hoard things I'll never use.

What did you get in your box?

5k (10.18.14)

I ran a 5k with Jen at my old stomping grounds.

Registration was inside and we got to hang out in there a little to stay out of the wind.  I was glad it didn't rain. It had already rained.

I tried to turn on my Garmin to get satellites at 8:53. I'm so glad the race started late because at 9 I still didn't have satellites. At 9:05, my watch was finally working and the race started a few seconds later. I did have my phone with me and had strava ready to go. I wanted mapmyrun as a backup because strava only goes to the tenth of a mile. But I don't even have mapmyrun installed anymore. I need a new watch. I can't handle how it takes forever.

We ran the first split near a 7 min pace. Then the next 3 were 9:08 pace. I was shocked at the consistency.   Near the end of the first mile, I was telling Jen how the hill we were on would be big for in California near me and she said she didn't even notice we were on a hill.

Jen ran 1.5 with me then we split off.  We hit that around 13:30.

My pace slowed a bit but then I was doing math and knew I had to pick it up. I forgot to ask myself if I was running as fast as I could. I did think about telling Jen about it at one point.  Every race I think about how Callie told me her trick where you ask yourself if you are running as fast as you can and if not run faster. Well I've asked myself that every race for years and I never am running my fastest so I always speed up.

The second half seemed a lot faster than the first because of all the math I was doing.

My goal was 28 minutes even though I thought I'd run about 9:30 pace. I only realized later that 9:30 pace was not 28 minutes but a lot worse.

My official finishing time was 27:48. I stopped my watch and it had 27:49. See all results here.
Once I finished, I got water and went to the finish to wait for Jen. I got video and pictures of her finishing.

We got some snacks and debated leaving right away. I knew not many people were in front of me so wondered if we should wait. I was watching going into the turnaround and there weren't many ahead of me. I was counting and got to 8 and there weren't many more. Maybe 30 yards where I didn't look.  I was looking to try to figure out my age group. I didn't think there were many ahead of me but then after I was done, I realized I was old so I wasn't paying attention to the right people.

There weren't many people coming in so I thought it might be done. Jen went and asked for me when awards would start since I was too scared.  She had to ask 2 people and still didn't get an answer.  After a few minutes we started hearing them announcing. We got down as they were doing overall women.  It was quick and they were doing all the women first so that was good.  They were only announcing names and locations so it was really quick.   They got to my age group and said 3rd place and then 2nd place. Neither were me and I said to Jen "Oh I guess I didn't place." As that was happening, they announced first place and it was me! Then he made a comment about how I had to come so far.  As I was going up to get my medal, I mentioned I used to live around there.
I am really glad I stuck around. I would have been so bummed to miss a medal.

We left right after that because Ella was not happy at all at home. She really wanted to nurse and then nap.

My splits were 8:52, 9:13, 8:40 and 1:04. My garmin says 3.14 not 3.1. I thought my first mile was the fastest but I guess I was wrong.

Ella 10 Month Update

Stats:

• Weight: 18 lb 6 oz (on Oct 12) - 46th percentile or 19 lb 0 oz (on Oct 26) - 54th percentile
• Height: 30.7 inches - 99.8th percentile on Oct 12 and 99.4th on Oct 26  (we measure in cm and it was 78 cm but I converted) (on Oct 26 we also did standing height and got 74.1 cm 83rd percentile) Ella is very uncooperative for measurements and we got the same exact height on both days)
• Head Circumference: 17.3 inches - 41th percentile (same measurement as last time but so hard to do)
• Diapers: Size 3 
• Clothing: Disney 6-9 month, Steelers 6-9 month or Steelers 3-6 month with a onesie extender, Leveret 12-18 mo onesies or 6-12 mo with a onesie extender.  Carter's 12 month dresses and 12 mo onesies. The 12 mo pants are entirely too loose. She's been wearing 12-24 month socks for a while now. There are many shirts that are too wide. The pants are too short for 12 month size. All her pants are Carter's. 
• Weight/Length percentile: 9%(lying) or 32%(standing)

Sleep
Ella is more consistently waking up daily near 6:00. I miss sleeping in until 7 or 7:30.
Half the time I run (which ends up being 1/4 the days) she naps around 9 for 15-30 minutes.  Maybe once or twice this month she napped in the morning at home.  She usually takes a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day. When her second nap has been extremely short she has napped a third time. When traveling she would have ~3 half hour naps!  Then she goes to sleep at night after nursing and almost always goes into the crib awake. She is now excellent at going to sleep at night and dislikes falling asleep on me. Naps are entirely different story. We got sick this month and since then naps are awful. She never seems to stay asleep for the crib transfer and just won't go to sleep. I've tried CIO but she just never goes to sleep. I've let her nap on me a lot. While traveling after the first day I just didn't even try to transport her since I figured she needed her sleep. Many naps started with her just being on me but she was also what I call sleep eating and she'd freak out if I tried to de-latch.

Eating
She is now nursing around 2 hours a day because I'm counting all the sleep eating she's doing. She continues to have pumped milk a few times a week.  Mostly when we leave the house.  She eats food and baby snacks probably 3-5 times a day. She rarely eats purees anymore but I still have a lot so I try to give her some here or there. She eats a lot of foods that we eat. She loves to feed herself.  When we went to restaurants she'd eat the entire time. She'd start with snacks or food we brought and then share our food. She was so behaved.

Sample Schedule:
She still doesn't have a specific nap time or food time yet. It is so hard to plan anything but it is getting easier. She wakes up between 5:45 and 6:30 daily it seems. She used to sleep later. 
She may or may not nap around 9. This is usually during a run but sometimes it is at home. This nap is no more than a half hour and more like 15 minutes. 
She most often naps 12:30-2:30 but she can start her nap as late as 2.  She eats solids when we eat dinner around 6 or 7. She will have solids around 3 some days at home. She has solids around 4 or 5 on Wednesdays when we are at the park. She will have some snacks depending on when we are at the park so that time varies but being on a blanket is consistent for her. 
I've fed her breakfast sometimes but mostly it's baby snacks. 

Sometimes around 5 she naps for a very brief nap on me if she didn't nap enough during the day. (I say on me because this month her naps have been horrible.
Her bedtime routine starts by 7:30 I'd say but usually earlier. It ranges between 7 and 8. We read her not the clock. Sometimes it's earlier but rarely it's later. 

She nurses after she wakes up most of the time and before she goes to sleep again. Her bedtime routine is different. She requires both of us and she cries the entire time we change her diaper and put on her sleep sack. She is no longer swaddled at night. She only stops crying to get Vitamin D. Then I'm in the chair and Dave asks her to find me but they only rotate and she gets excited to see me and nursing is fine. (I guess the crying is only for the initial part of the bedtime routine.)  She either falls asleep on me or is put in the crib after she is done eating. She then puts herself to sleep. I still keep track of how long it takes her.

We were both sick off and on starting September 28 and then starting October 13 we traveled so half the month was unusual so it's difficult to give an adequate example. I think overall this month she napped 3 times more than 2 but last month napped 2 times more than 3. (I say I think because I am basing it off my memory not the data in my app.)

Special Moments:

On September 21, she took about a half step without holding on while walking from the couch to me. 
On September 22, she opened the kitchen cabinets for the first time.  She started rubbing her mouth and making noises. I'm not sure how to describe it but it's a thing. 
On September 24, I swear she said "I love you" to me and then gave me a kiss. 
On September 26, her top left tooth is cutting through and her top right is close. 
On September 27, Ella threw up in the night (first illness).  She has 2 top teeth for sure now. She started saying mama over and over. 
On September 30, I gave her her phone and she said "my phone" when I gave it to her. 
On October 1, she had a stuffy nose. 
On October 2, she definitely had a cold. She had issues breathing and nursing. So she had her second illness the same week as her first!  At one point it sounded like she said "Pap-Pap."
On October 4, she bites me while nursing constantly. She had trouble breathing and as soon as she couldn't breathe, she'd bite. It was not a fun time for either of us.
On October 5, Ella had her first of many dance parties. 
On October 10, we were reading her garden flip book and she pointed to all the words. 
On October 12, she crawled through the pet door in her gate. (We rigged it up after this so she can't do it again.) She also used her walker to walk back and forth across the room.
On October 15, she started to sit differently where she sits on her legs/feet. 
On October 16, she went to her first zoo and started clapping there. She also stood on her own briefly.
On October 18, she stood a few times unsupported but still only very briefly.
On October 19, I put her in the crib asleep at my parents' house. That's the first time she transitioned. (Too bad this was at 2 am)
On October 20, she stood for about 5 seconds unsupported.

Ella traveled by plane for her second trip. We weren't able to take her monthly photos at home this time.

Development:
Ella has improved pulling herself to a standing position and she does it like a pro now. She also walks along furniture so well now. 
She has waved more times but not all the time.   She waves as a greeting to Dave often now. Her goodbye wave is quite delayed. I'm not sure if waving has improved this month or not though. 
She does high five more consistently more now but still won't always do it. 
She has continued to help us dress or undress her. We tell her to help get her arm out and she does. She pulls her shirt off after both arms are out and then I try to get her to drop it in the hamper but that doesn't always work. She does try to disrobe sometimes just when we are out though.
She's way more talkative this month. As the month has progressed, I've noticed her trying to repeat some words that we say.
Ella still prefers food she can feed herself to purees. 
She learned to clap a lot and does it often. She gets so excited too. 
She does peek-a-boo a lot (but I can't remember when she started doing this).
She started dancing and does it often now.

Other Tidbits:
Likes
She still likes to play a lot! 
She likes to dance. She likes to dance to music videos. She likes to watch them to learn how to dance then do it. We call it jamming and she's always jamming! 
She loves peek-a-boo. She likes to cover her face and you say "Where's Ella?" and then she uncovers her face and you say "There she is" or "There's Ella" and she gets so excited. If you cover your own face with a blanket and say "Where's Mommy?" she will uncover you and get so excited.
She likes to clap! She started clapping a lot on the 16th so it was near the end of the month.
She likes to stand. 
She likes to walk with her walker or while holding onto furniture. She likes to hold onto someones hands and walk around too.
She likes to stick her hand out at someone and have them grab it. Then she does it again. 
She likes to "share" but then takes it away. She isn't so good at letting go so you actually have to grab it.
She likes to take off her socks. She gives a war cry when she's about to get it off.
She seems to really enjoy talking with her hands when she's in the high chair or sometimes in the car. I really wish I knew what she was trying to say because it sounds very similar every time.
She loves to visit her buddies (friends). When we are going out to the car if I tell her we are seeing her buddies she gets all excited.  She gives hugs and kisses to her buddies when leaving too!
She especially likes if she crosses a barrier like getting into the hallway. Then she giggles like she knows something is up.
She gets so excited to get her Vitamin D at the end the night.
She likes to sit by herself and play. She also likes to move from spot to spot to play then sit again.
She likes to be held when she wants to.
She likes to talk and smile at us. 
She likes it when I sing to her which sucks because that cheers her up a lot but songs are hard and I definitely won't sing if anyone else is in the house.
She loves to squeal really loud when she's close to Poly. (This scares Poly away so then Poly doesn't get her fur pulled.)
She loves to grab everything and put it in her mouth. 
She loves when you get out Tylenol. She tries to help get that syringe in her mouth. 
She likes to eat actual food. She much prefers to be able to feed herself over eating purees. 
She likes to swing. She likes to be thrown around. She loves to be dead lifted. I think she likes all things that are like a dare devil.
She likes to accomplish something new and then she gets so excited.

Dislikes
She does not like to be hot!
She doesn't like to be hungry or tired. She doesn't seem to like to go to sleep though.
She definitely hates to get her diaper changed when she's hungry.
She hates her bedtime routine now!
She hates when you take something away from her that she shouldn't have and protests! She cries thinking she'll get it back but I don't cave most of the time.
She hates when I leave her in any way possible. She cries when I go to the other room. This started more when we traveled so I hope it goes away.
She doesn't like to nurse if I'm talking or if anything is going on. 
She doesn't want to nurse during the day without being swaddled if she wants to fall asleep next.
She hates to wake-up to a person that is not me.
She won't go to sleep without nursing first if we are home.

Fun Facts
Longest time sleeping: 11 hours 48 minutes  (708 minutes)
Days with a sleep greater than 5 hours: 29 (all but one but we had a red-eye flight that was less than 5 hours in duration) She did wake up once in the middle of the night and it was marked down right at 5 hours so it counts. 
Diapers used (from October 1-19): 5.4 per day (decrease from last month)
Time spent nursing (from October 1-19): 127 minutes (2:07) per day (increase from last month)
Feeding average per day (from October 1-19): 1.3 oz (decrease from last month) (this is just pumped milk)
Time spent sleeping (from September 1-19): 12.6 hours per day  (decrease from last month)

Favorite Toys
Toy Table (She stands at it and it has things to play with on it. I'm not sure what it's called now and too lazy to look it up.)
Blocks
Walker
Books (I count them as toys) 
My camera (not a toy but she thinks it is)
My phone (not a toy but she thinks it is)
My computer mouse (not a toy but she thinks it is)
Cords (not a toy but she thinks it is)
Rings
Little music thing (we call it her ipod)
Toy Smart Phone
Balls
Everyone else's toys at the park
Toy mailbox (borrowed while at my parents)
(Anything new)

Favorite Songs
All of Me
When You're Happy and You Know it
Almost all songs when Dave sings them to her
Shake it Off
Bang Bang
Happy
Songs with a beat!

Favorite Books
Trains go (prefers it when Dave reads it to her)
She likes most books and likes to hold them. She sits longer and I can read her multiple books in a row but I'm not sure if she has other favorites. 

My Update
I'm not sure what to even say anymore. I still have a bigger belly than I used to but I feel like overall I look more like I did before. I was sick this month throwing up for a few hours and then had an upset stomach for a few days. I lost 6 lbs and never gained it all back. 

I repeat what I said last month: I feel like there is so much more. She's always changing but I just can't think of it now sitting here. I need to learn to write these as the month goes on. This month I feel like I missed even more than I thought I might have missed last month.

8.7

Ella woke up a little after 7. She was fussy and wouldn't nap. She didn't nap until around 10 when she was in the running stroller. I walked 1.5 miles after I ran and she slept during that time but as soon as I hit the driveway, she woke up.

Then she was off and on fussy. She would cry at the drop of a hat but she would also play for a bit until the sudden crying. I thought maybe she needed a change of scenery so we went to a meetup.

We were only there a little since the one other mom was almost ready to leave when we got there. Ella did get to experience her first water feature.  She was pleasant at the park. Then she wasn't and repeat the crying at the drop of a hat.

 She napped just after we got home but only while she was doing some sleep eating. She'd wake up as soon as I removed my boob. Fun times.  Her nap duration with that was about 30 minutes. This is a far cry from her normal 2 hour nap. Also her first nap was in a stroller where she doesn't sleep as well as in her crib. Oh what a day.  I did eventually get her back to sleep for about another 20 minutes but we were in the same boat.  I'd finally think I had her but moving her to the crib she woke up and would just cry.

Since she wasn't sleeping, I decided we would actually join Dave at the social TGIF at work. I wore her in the Bjorn. There were different food lines.  Ella was so happy. She was getting heavy and we were standing near a chair so I decided to sit. It was even a bar height chair. Well Ella did not like that and then got scared and started to cry. We were facing Dave but I think since we were lower, she couldn't see him in the same way.  Dave took her and held her and we moved to somewhere quieter to soothe her. Then we left. She was fine. I dropped Dave off at his building and then he said buy to Ella through the window that was partially rolled down. As soon as he turned around to walk away she started crying and she cried the entire way home.

Once we were home she'd cry at the drop of a hat. It could be while playing or while nursing.  We were invited to go swimming but Ella was in no mood for that.   After a little, a neighbor said she was on a walk and invited me. I didn't have walking shoes on but decided Ella might like the fresh hair.   I got to her house and she got to my house. I guess we walked different ways.  So then we met in the middle.  We walked 1.5 miles. Both our kids fell asleep.  I very cautiously brought Ella into the house and put the stroller in her room. She slept in the stroller. Her nap was 1 hour long.  She didn't nap once in her crib!

Dave got home from work as I got back from my walk. He was exhausted and immediately got in bed in front of the fan.  Lately he's pretty worthless after he bikes home. I don't know why.  But it sure makes it annoying for me because I want some relief after he gets home. Especially on days where Ella is difficult.

I discovered all her fussiness was from teething. Well I discovered that she was teething earlier but didn't blame everything on that. She had a good time eating cheerio's but wasn't a huge fan of the purees. Then all of a sudden she was beyond done.  (My dinner was only half eaten at this time!) We gave her Tylenol. We knew it'd be a bad night otherwise.  I nursed her and comforted her in her rocker for 1.5 hours. The medicine kicked in and she was so pleasant but wanted to play.  It was way past her bedtime though so we didn't allow playing.

After Ella was asleep, Dave and I watched House of Cards (s1e7 I think) and Big Brother. Dave wanted to watch another House of Cards but I said it was bedtime. Then we go into bed and he turns on Bacon Donuts stream and falls asleep within 5 minutes!  I knew it was too late for TV.  We even started late.

9.4

I ran with the neighbors in the morning. I ran 3.21 miles then we walked about 3 miles. Then  I ran .33 mi home. Ella was napping for part of the walk which is why I continued.

Ella was tired but wouldn't sleep. I put her in her crib anyway. She took 17 minutes to fall asleep. I'd say that's not bad for her not being put in the crib awake for naps before.

During Ella's nap, I recreated some old photos to compare how my belly looks now.

I went to the craft store and Trader Joe's to prepare for onesie panting. Ella loved Trader Joe's.  Then she got tired. She wasn't manageable at home. So I walked to meet Dave. He was walking home. He said it was time to head out. I left after that. 15 minutes later, he still hadn't left. I walked almost the entire way to work and I walked so slow. As soon as Ella saw Dave, she fell asleep. She had a short nap on the walk back home.

Ella flipped her toy

Dave was teaching Ella it was OK to fall

9.24

Ella slept in a bit. It's funny 6:30 is sleeping in.  Beth and I decided not to run so we stayed home. I was hoping Ella would get a morning nap. I feel like she's been exhausted.  Ella napped over an hour.

Then at 1:45 she napped again. But this time only 45 minutes and she was sleep eating the entire time.

Ella tried to walk today. She'd let go of the couch and try to walk but fall down. She'd get right back up and try again. She did this 3 times in a row then I helped her.

We went to the park for the meetup group. We finally weren't insanely late. I was still the last one there.  Ella was so pleasant there. She tries to steal everyone else's food.  Then we get in the car to go home and she cries like crazy. It's so close to home but there were so many trains that we sat at the light a good 3 minutes because of numerous trains.

When we got home, I put in pizza. Ella and I shared some but she kept rubbing her eyes. She was ready for bed. She fell asleep on me but then I switched sides so she'd nurse again and then she fell asleep a bit later. I'm not exactly sure when she fell asleep because I fell asleep in the chair before she did.

I got her to bed and then finished my pizza. I planned the 4th card for my upcoming card class but I had a lot of issues. None of the ones I was thinking about seemed like they'd be awesome so I just was avoiding them and thought forever. Dave got home and we watched West Wing while I finished prepping.  Then we watched a 2nd West Wing. Finally Big Brother was on and we watched that. It was on so late.   After doing a little bit of this and that it was time for bed.