From Boob to Bottle

Posted Sun, 06/28/2009 - 8:05pm by Jenn

Much unlike Aidan, Skye made the transition from boob to bottles effortlessly.  I'm about a week earlier than I had planned, but the opportunity presented itself so I took it before she changed her mind.  I do have to admit my boobs are not very happy about the situation.  I'm hoping they "adjust" very quickly.  Oh, I just can't wait for them to "deflate" and have gravity take hold once again.  But, my augmentation awaits me sometime next year... reduce and lift baby!

Of all the bottles, Born Free is the winner and most appealing to our little princess.  I also got the Born Free training cups that I'll start using in the next few weeks.  I had considered going straight to sippy cup but bailed out of fear that she wouldn't get enough to eat.

As for food, Skye just can't seem to get enough.  Again, that's pretty much opposite of Aidan.  She's tried oatmeal, rice cereal, bananas, pears, carrots, prunes and apples.  Based on her expressions, I think apples are the current favorite.  I'm also prepared to make my own baby food with a new food processor and freezer cups.  But, the only motivation thus far has been to wash everything and get it setup.  I admit it's convenient with Earth's Best products being sold in Publix now.  I can remember having to order all of Aidan's food online.

Health wise, the Zantac seems to be working very well for Skye.  She's not arching her back anymore during feedings.  And, she's also sleeping much better as well.  Although, she is still waking up a few times... but, that seems to be more because she gets herself trapped in the corner of the crib and can't move backwards yet.

She is still spitting up quite a bit... some days worse than others.  But, I'm holding out on the "sensitive" formula based on the corn syrup facts noted previously.  I really want to stick with the Earth's Best if at all possible.

So, while I'm happy we've gotten over the transition hurdle, I'm also sad that I'll be losing the bonding experience.  And, that part is just kind of difficult to express in words. 

Summer Fun Fridays - Xtreme Adventures

Posted Sat, 06/27/2009 - 8:35pm by Jenn

Instead of Chuck E Cheese, we decided to give Xtreme Adventures a try for Summer Fun Fridays this week.  It just opened, so I figured it was worth a try.

My mom joined us, as well as Darlene and her kids Daniel and Michael.  Laser tag and "laser frenzy" seemed pretty cool, but Aidan isn't big enough for those yet.  We did try out the Highway 66 bowling.  And, that was OK.  At $3 a game (per player), I think the real bowling at AMF last week was a lot better.  But, the biggest disappointment at Xtreme Adventure is the arcade.  And, that's really the whole reason we went.  There aren't really many games and it seems the majority are dedicated to winning tickets.  And, several of the games actually ate our coins.  They just didn't work for whatever reason and didn't have any kind of "Out of Order" sign posted.  We saw staff people everywhere, but not one of them offered to assist us or even acknowledged our existence. 

At the end of the day, which was about an hour after we arrived, we turned in our tickets for prizes.  And, even one of the "ticket eater" machines was broken!  Aidan had 103 tickets and ended up getting a broken crayon coin bank, plastic vampire teeth and a Dum Dum lollipop.  He was pleased, but I wouldn't have said it was worth the money we invested in the games. 

I think I'll suck it up and go to Chuck E Cheese next time.  You get a lot more action for your money.  And, there's a larger selection of games and food.  When Aidan's a little older, we might try Xtreme Adventures again for laser tag. 

Next week, we're hitting Busch Gardens for Summer Nights. 

Bright Horizons - Field Trip Hell

Posted Tue, 06/23/2009 - 8:03pm by Jenn

So, when Aidan started attending Bright Horizons when he was two, the big deal for him each summer was seeing the "big kids" get on the buses to go on field trips.  So, I was so excited this year because he would finally be able to participate. 

First of all, the summer program in general at Bright Horizons is totally lame.  When I think of summer camp, I think of trips to the movies or to get ice cream... not trips to places like the photo museum or activities like practicing writing in a "newsletter".  When I approached the director about this, I was told that Bright Horizons offers an "enriching" summer program that appeals to parents that want their children to have an “educational experience”.  I would seriously like to meet those parents!  After speaking to Aidan and offering him many other more fun alternatives, he was adamant about staying with his friends for the summer since it would be their last time together before Kindergarten.   So, I paid the $1990 in fees and the additional $220 "activity fee"... AKA schmuck tax.

The sign-up sheet for the first field trip was posted about a week ago, and the destination was the Florida Photo Museum.  I was told the kids would get to play with digital cameras and explore the world of photography.  I figured it would probably suck, but I was going to keep an open mind.  Of course, I signed up to be a chaperone. 

As the day got closer, I was told Aidan might have to ride with me to the museum.  And, that wasn't cool because all Aidan really wanted to do was ride the bus.  So, I fought for that up to the very end.  At 9am on the day, we were all there and ready to go.  But, 10am rode around and people were still taking count of how many kids would be going.  It seems that a max of 14 people on the bus was a somewhat confusing concept.  We did finally leave a little after 10, with Linda and me riding together and following them.

As we're on the interstate, one of the buses veers off to take an exit but then suddenly decides to get back on.  Fortunately, we were the car behind them!  And, I guess they didn't realize that was actually the exit they were supposed to take.  I finally got the teacher on the phone and asked if they were lost.  It turns out they were, so Linda got in front and directed them there.

Once we arrived, it was obvious parking was going to be a huge problem.  The museum turned out to be in an office space, probably about 800 square feet or so, in one of the buildings downtown.  Downtown being what it is during working hours, there weren't any spots available and only one-way streets to guide us around.  It turns out parking garages were not an option due to clearance.  After getting in trouble with the parking cop, we unloaded the kids and walked them over to the museum and then returned to try and figure out the parking situation.  It ended up with one of the bus drivers parking in a freight loading spot illegally and fully breaking down in tears over the whole deal.  While she was ranting on and on, we were missing the whole "field trip".

Finally, parking got sorted out for us and we went to join the kids.  And, I'm not kidding when I say that this place could not have been any more boring.  Imagine a limited number of "photos" that included old captions of Native Americans.  Sure, it might be interesting to an older kid or someone interested in photography or history in general, but I couldn't find anything interesting in them at all.  And, to top things off, the "activity" consisted of piling the kids into a small room where they were told to "color" a printout of one of the photos.  Unfortunately, not all of the kids got a chair at the table and couldn't color.  And, they didn't have any pencil sharpeners for the colored pencils, so that didn't help matters.  Oh, and the glue sticks were all dried up, leaving only one to be passed around for kids to paste their photos onto a piece of construction paper... LAME!

So, to make a long story short, I am not very happy with Bright Horizons right now and do not recommend the Florida Photo Museum to anyone with a pulse.  When Skye is old enough for "school", I think we'll be considering other options. 

Oh, and I just can't wait to see what surprises the rest of the summer holds.

--UPDATE--

Since writing this, Bright Horizons contacted the Photo Museum and received an apology that was posted on the class door.  Also, I think they have agreed to come out and do some kind of additional activity at the center, which I believe is the one we were originally supposed to have done on-site.  The director at Bright Horizons called me that day for a follow-up and advised that an additional trip had been planned to Great Explorations, which is actually a pretty cool place.  She addressed my concerns about the "lameness" of the trip and has since spoken with the bus driver and done some other damage control.  And, I learned today that another trip is planned to a water park.  So, I do sincerely appreciate that they listened to my ranting about the summer program and addressed my concerns about having more "fun" stuff to do.  So, while Luke and I do often joke about the cost of care at Bright Horizons and nit pick about other stuff, I admit that no other facility I personally toured even came close to meeting my expectations... and, I've toured quite a few centers just to make sure we weren't missing out on anything!  I've grown very close to the teachers and staff at Bright Horizons and trust that Aidan is safe and happy while in their hands.  Hopefully, they won't miss my "feedback" too much in the fall when Aidan starts kindergarten.  But, you never know... I just might be back with Skye to keep them on their toes. :)

Summer Fun Fridays - Bowling

Posted Fri, 06/19/2009 - 7:20pm by Jenn

As the first of the Summer Fun Fridays that I have initiated, my mom and I took Aidan bowling at University AMF.  We attended a birthday party there not so long ago, and they seemed to accommodate the little ones very well with the bumpers.  I admit I actually kind of like the bumpers as well!

Skye came with us, of course.  My mom and I just passed her back and forth whenever it was our turn.  She was a real trooper, as always.  She's totally passed out right now, so we definitely did our job of wearing her out.  Aidan is playing Xbox, but he'll be in bed soon too.

As for our bowling expertise, we held our own.  My mom won the first game with a score of 115 and I won the second with a score of 118.  My mom hadn't played in 20 years, and I've only played a couple of times... and that was under the influence of quite a few beers.  Although, quite a few beers might have made me play a little better this time. :)

Aidan turned out to be quite the sore loser.  He was genuinely pissed that he came in third place.  Him throwing the six pound ball granny style was pretty humorous.  I think his average mph was 2... lol

So, Summer Fun Fridays to follow should include Pump-it-Up, Chuck E Cheese, Busch Gardens and a cool park in Lakeland that I want to check out called Common Ground.  I figured having him in "camp" Monday through Friday didn't turn out to be as fun as I expected, so I wanted to supplement with some other stuff.  Of course, we do have the big vacation coming up in August.  I absolutely can't wait for that!  And, there are two "camp" field trips that will include the Photo Museum and MOSI.  Breakfast with Dali should be pretty cool on the 11th, followed by Aidan's birthday party on the 18th at Pump-it-Up.  So, all in all, summer should be fairly exciting this year.  We do try our best to keep that kid entertained.  And, Skye seems to get some enjoyment out of it as well.

Skye's Reflux & Aidan's Cough

Posted Wed, 06/17/2009 - 8:56pm by Jenn

Fllowing in Aidan's steps, it has become clear that Skye is having reflux issues.  At first, the signs were subtle.  I noticed she was starting to spit up quite a bit.  By quite a bit, I mean she was spitting up puddles anytime you laid her down and some of the time when you were just holding her.  It seemed excessive.  Then, I noticed she was whining a little when I fed her and then also started arching her back during feedings as well.  It was all too familiar... Aidan went through the exact same thing, except he was a little more "verbal" about the whole thing. 

I took her to see Dr. Hoyos, and he has started her on 1ml of Zantac three times per day.  I've decided twice a day is better, so I'm going with that for a while to make sure she's handling it OK.  You just hate to give an infant any kind of medication unless it's totally necessary.  We don't expect the Zantac to reduce the amount of spit-up, but it should reduce the amount of acid she is producing and make her a little more comfortable.  I'm giving her a little bit of cereal or fruit after each feeding to try and "weigh down" the breast milk.  I haven't actually done any weaning to bottles yet, but I'm working on it.  They actually have bottles that feel more like boobs now, so I'm going to try one of those and see if she'll cooperate any better.  I wanted to give her a little break and make sure things were going OK with the reflux relief plan. 
 
Interestingly, there's a link between lactose sensitivity and reflux which I'm somewhat concerned with.  She did exhibit signs of eczema when I was eating dairy in the early days.  I've since stopped and have seen the eczema disappear.  But, all formulas except for the Earth's Best Organic milk-based have corn syrup solids and sugar as the primary ingredients.  So, I'm not comfortable feeding her sugar water either.  It's no wonder kids grow up addicted to sugar... we start them out on it and get them hooked!  If I don't see the reflux improve in the next few days, I'll consider switching to a more "sensitive" formula.  I'm not interested in going the soy route yet.
 
As for Aidan, that poor kid got his cough back.  He's had it for about a month but didn't seem that affected by it.  Hoyos prescribed some more Albuterol, which is what relieved it last time.  He also came home from school last Friday after puking up his lunch and then later followed that up with a regurgitation of his crackers.  On Sunday, he puked all over papa at the pool.  Hoyos says it's probably related to the drainage since there are no other signs of infection, like a fever or runny nose. 
It's been such a fun week... all I can hope for is that the meds work quickly enough for Aidan to stop coughing and Skye to stop being in so much pain.  With her feeling better, maybe she'll start sleeping better, which will also result in me sleeping better.  Ah... now, that's a nice thought!
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