Wednesday, July 16, 2014

One Dollar Wednesday: Dancing Raisins

After quite a break from the One Dollar Wednesday posts, here's a fun one for your Hump Day!

With the heat and new baby, we've spent more time indoors lately. I have also spent a lot of time on Pinterest while nursing little Savvie, so I'm coming up with lots of big ideas for indoor fun that usually don't materialize. This morning I saw a cool science experiment that required no planning, and I already had the needed items for it. Since I had all of the needed materials on hand, the cost for me was actually free.

Get two clear glasses (I used mason jars).  Fill one with tap water and the other with carbonated water (I used Sprite Zero). Put a handful of raisins in a cup or bowl. Tell your mini scientist to drop some of the raisins in the plain water and observe what happens. Then, let your little person drop one raisin at a time into the carbonated water. And ABRACADABRA: DANCING RAISINS!




(Sorry for the poor picture quality on these! Not sure what my iPhone was thinking this morning.)
 The raisins in the bubbly beverage will sink, then float, then sink again. Some will look like they are dancing. The science behind it is that the bubbles from the carbonation will float the raisin to the top and when the bubbles pop, it will sink back down again! It's so simple, yet pretty fascinating. I think I was more amused than Camp, but it was a fun little learning activity to do instead of watching tv.

Hope you and your mad, er, adorable little scientist can have fun with this cool experiment too!


Sunday, July 13, 2014

Savvie at 1 Month

It happened again! Time flew. Savvie was one month old on June 28th. While some days and nights seemed to go so slow (think of a newborn who wasn't happy unless she was being held and jostled around in your arms as you walked like a zombie around the house), the month really went by so fast. Even though she can be a handful (literally) at times, I have tried to stop and savor every minute with this sweet babe who will only be a newborn for a little while longer.
Savannah Kathryn- sneak peek from our newborn photo session with Ellen Peek!

Personality:
I guess you can't really say that much about a one month old's personality, but our sweet girl is snuggly and sleepy. She slept more than I remember Camp sleeping in the first couple of weeks. She is a good sleeper when she wants to be. She is happiest when sleeping or eating. When awake, she loves being in someone's arms as long as they are moving around with her (Camp was the same way). She loves being worn in the Mei Tai or our new Wrapsody water wrap. She dislikes the swing and playmat. She can't stand getting her diaper changed, but she also hates having a dirty diaper. She is pretty content during car rides and is on the fence about baths.

Size:
At her 2 week appointment, Savvie was 9 pounds, 2 ounces and 21 3/4 inches long. She is wearing 0-3 month clothes and has pretty much outgrown her newborn stuff. She now wears size one diapers.
Development:
We found out at the two day appointment that Savvie has a heart murmur.  After a couple of scary days, we had an appointment at MUSC and she got an echo cardiogram.  We were lucky to see our friend, Dr. Tony, for the results.  Basically, it's a very tiny hole causing the murmur, and it will most likely close up in a few months. We were so relieved. Baby started showing signs of acid reflux, and she started taking medicine for that after her two week appointment. That has helped a great deal, but she still has some discomfort and spit up resulting from it. Also, Savvie has a yucky clogged tear duct in her right eye. We are constantly cleaning out eye gunk and rubbing her inner eye to get that cleared up. It has gotten better but still keeps us clearing away the eye boogers.  In the past month, our girl has gotten stronger and is a lot less wobbly.  She has gotten some good head control, but she can still be floppy on occasion. 

Sleep:
We have had several times of having nights and days mixed up. SKH would sleep most of the day and then be wide awake at night! It is really hard to keep this tiny baby awake during wake hours. We have tried changing her diaper, getting her undressed, tickling her feet, and thumping her feet. She is a hardcore sleeper because none of those things work. We will be working harder to get her on a good eat, wake, sleep schedule (Babywise) like we did with Camp. When she isn't mixed up with the moon and sun, she will sleep for 4-5 hours at a time at night. I usually get up to feed her once or twice.  Savvie sleeps in her Rock and Play at night and for most naps. We tried the bassinet a few times, but she didn't really like it. She also naps really well in her carseat or in the Mei Tai/Wrapsody when we are out and about or she is too fussy to be left alone.  The next step will be getting on a better schedule and taking naps in her crib to get her ready for nights in the crib!

Eating:
Savvie picked up really fast on breastfeeding.  She did great from her first try in the hospital soon after she was born.  She generally eats every 3 hours but does go a little longer at night and sometimes more frequent during the day.  So far she has not needed any supplements or tried any bottles. I am hoping we can continue nursing for a whole year, but we will just take it one day at a time.


Fun and Games:
There is not a whole lot to say here. Sweet girl tags along on whatever play dates or birthday parties that Camp participates in for the most part. She has already experienced a lot in her first month: a newborn photo session, several pool parties (she slept through every one of them), a beach day, park time, restaurant lunch dates, shopping trips, one trip to church (did not sleep through and got to tour the entire church while Daddy and Camp were in Sunday School), and lots of visitors. In the small pockets of time she is awake, she enjoys the songs and rhymes that involve hand/foot motions like "Miss Mary Mack," "Patty Cake," and "If You're Happy and You Know It." She is like Camp in loving to "ride the bicycle" or "kick and swim" with her legs. She is somewhat happy when Camp holds her. We have fun trying to make silly faces or sounds for her.
First time on the playmat...tolerated it for a few minutes.
Dear Savvie,
You have been a joy to get to know.  I like to call you "Savvie Wavvie" or "Savvigator." I love when you fall asleep in my arms (and especially when you stay asleep and let me rest). You smell so sweet and feel so good when you snuggle with me. It is so fun to have a little girl, and I adore dressing you up and making you wear cute headbands. You are just beautiful in whatever you wear, especially in your birthday suit! I love you more and more every day. Thanks be to God for blessing us with a perfect daughter.
Love,
Mommy