Claire is 8 months old!

Well, it's been a week since Claire has started wearing her helmet. She is doing great with it. We went on Friday for them to check her head and they added a little padding to the back for more pressure. We will go every Friday and they will check and after four weeks they will measure her head for any growth. Pray for some growth spurts so she won't have to wear it for too long!

Grammy was here last week and we had a blast. She bought Claire a swing that we hung on our porch. She loves it! It's hard to believe that Claire is 8 months old. She is almost crawling and is trying to pull up on everything! She thinks she is so big! She has two teeth on the bottom trying to cut through. You can see them and they are very sharp, but they just won't come on through. She is also learning to give kisses. She leans forward to kiss you but she hasn't figured out how to pucker her lips. It's so cute when she gives good night kisses! She's also learning to throw a bit of a tantrum. If she doesn't get her way or you take something away from her, she throws her head back and starts crying. Good thing she has the helmet to protect her head! But she's a doll. She is so sweet and loves to cuddle. She's doing much better taking a bottle so hopefully, she will soon start sleeping better!

The Helmet is Here!

We went today to get Claire's helmet. Surprisingly, she didn't cry when he put it on. He said usually they cry for the first two days because they want it off, but so far so good. She wears it for one hour on then one hour off for the first day. Tomorrow we will increase to 2 hours on, one hour off. We increase the time on each day and on day 5 she should wear it 23 hours out of the day! Hopefully, she will have a lot of growth spurts in the next two months so her head will form into the perfect shape. I took one picture before she got her helmet and some after. She's still a cutie no matter what!

Bathtime!

I got Claire a new bathtub yesterday. It's a blow up duck that quacks! It's like her own minature pool that I put in the tub. She really loved it.

Trying to crawl!

Claire is trying to crawl. She gets on all fours and rocks. She moves one arm forward and then crashes to the ground. She does army crawl all over the place. I took some pictures of her in action.

Women's Retreat

This past weekend Corrie (sister inlaw) and I went to Pismo for a women's retreat with our church. Melissa and Tiffany, our friends from small group, went with us as well. It was my first time away from Claire. I was a little nervous about leaving her since she doesn't take a bottle well. I was not nervous at all about leaving her with Josh. He is such a good daddy. I knew he could handle it! Well, to my surprise, Claire did great with the bottle. She and Josh had a good weekend together and I had a great time with the girls. The retreat was good, but the fellowship was even better.It was nice to get away and spend some quality time with the girls!

Since I have been back, Claire has taken a bottle from me 3 times! No fussing at all. She has gulped down the milk. If all continues to go well, hopefully, I can have her weaned from breastfeeding by next week! Yeah!!!!!

Claire should be getting her helmet this week. I'll post a picture of her in her new attire as soon as I can. Also, one week and counting until Grammy comes to visit! We are so excited!

Claire 7 months!

It's hard to believe that Claire is already 7 months old. Time sure does fly by when you're having fun! Claire woke up last Friday with a horrible cough. I took her to see the pediatrician and he diagnosed her with an ear infection. He started her on an antibiotic and she is feeling much better. While we were there, he looked at her head and neck, as he usually does. Claire was born with a flat head on the left side and torticolis. It is due from the way she was positioned in utero. She has being going to PT since 3 months of age and has improved so much. But the shape of her head....not so much. So he suggested going to an orthotist for evaluation. He evaluated it today suggested that we put Claire in a helmet. That's right a HELMET! She will have to wear it for the next 2-3 months for 23 hours a day! Only one hour off for a bath and a little breather! I'm not too excited about this, but I know that it will help her little head. She had to be casted today for it and should get it in about a week or so. But I ordered a cute one with colorful butterflies!

On a better note, she is trying to crawl. She can get on all fours and she rocks back and forth. She has been doing the army crawl all over the den. She is sitting very well and is talking a lot. She says da, da, da all the time and has finally started saying mum, mum, mum, especially when she is really tired. We have been practicing alot to say mama and she is so close! I do have to say she is so smart! She paty cakes all the time and has learned to "high five!" We're so proud!