Not surprisingly, Kenna inherited her father's patience. Given she cannot speak yet . . . we've been working on "tree" which sounds like "che" and "light" which sounds like "aught" . . . she tends to scream when frustrated. Her tolerance for not getting her way is identical to the time it takes a porsche to travel from 0 to 80 mph (about 0.6 sec). For those of you who are laughing now, this brief wink of time is not long enough for you to try and figure out what it is she was trying to do, or more accurately trying to manipulate you to do and you realizing you've failed to deliver on her expectations.
Tense body pose and scream . . . "ok, ok," I say. Can you hold your horses?! Geez . . .
Usually, the scream occurs because she wants whatever you have (food, cell phone, book, pen, etc.) or because she now wants assistance with walking. Here she knows that she cannot do it on her own, but doesn't want to crawl which she can do very proficiently now. Some may say that she doesn't want to crawl on her own because of rug burns on her knees (she is rather fluffy). Some may say it's because she is excited about the new experienced and point of view as she walks. Nah . . . what I say is that she is trying to manipulate me - and I bend like bamboo.
Our approach has been to put out finger to our mouth and say, " Kenna, let's whisper; we don't scream; no screaming." Or we try to redirect her attention to something else. Does it work you ask? Well, I feel it is too early to say, but I'm sticking with it for now. And perhaps ear plugs will be on my holiday wish list. ;)
She still continues to be that exceptionally happy kid who is eager to experience everything. Fearless! I'm glad for that! I will also say that it means constant vigilence when it comes to stairs as she tries to go head down. Too funny.
We're looking forward to family coming in town at the end of the month for the big birthday. Who knows . . . by then she may know a word or two and the screaming may subside. That's likely wishful thinking on my part.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
This is what they mean . . .
This past moth has been absolutely amazing!! Kenna has really developed so quickly - wounded soldier crawl to really crawling to really crawling quickly to pulling up and now taking steps (with assistance). I'll try and get pictures of this up soon. She mimicks (watch out!), shaking her head no as if she knows what that means, claps and almost sits through the whole Happy Feet movie. Most of this physical development happened in less than two weeks - honest! And yes, she is now wearing 2T-3T clothes. I guess this is what they mean when they say they grow so quickly.
Kenna has been busy learning and exploring. She also seems to have a bit of a fearless attitude - rarely hesitating when she wants to move from the tile down a step into the living room. She goes belly down, head first, like a pro. Somehow I believe this is foreshadowing what is to come - many, many bumps and bruises. Time to put the baby gates up!
No more hair barettes!! At least for a little while . . .
We recently had a bit of scare when Kenna swallowed a hair barette this past Sunday evening. Dad was home and forgot to take it out of her hair before she went down for her nap. I had to get out for a bit. When she woke (~6:15 pm), she must have pulled it out and put it in her mouth. Matt went in to change her and she swallowed and began to choke. She couldn't breathe for several seconds and Matt took action to quickly check her mouth and then when he didn't see anything he turned her over and tried to pat her. This must have helped to move the pin down past her wind pipe and into her esophagus. There it stayed, and she was able to breathe again. Whew!
When I walked in the door, she was crying hard with daddy, and he was shaken. We left immediately for the Urgent Care at Children's near by. The X-ray (~6:40 pm) showed the pin right below her shoulder blades in her esophagus. They sent (~7:10 pm) us down to Children's ER downtown, where we waited to get into the OR for removal. Because the pin had a plastic piece (decorative piece of candy), they were concerned of tears and blockage. It was too large to pass on its own into her stomach like many items kids swallow --> thus, surgery.
No promises of not having cut - they were not sure how much blockage there would be and said they may have to cut her throat to ensure she can breathe during the surgery (~12:05 am). Fortunately, they were able to go in through her throat and extract the pin without having to do any cutting. They looked for damage - scratches and scrapes and no tears = good! Whew! We needed to watch for signs of a missed tear or infection for the next 24-48 hours. She . . . we were exhausted . . .and finally got to come home after her evaluation post surgery (~3:00 am).
The next day, Matt and I stayed home to watch her. She was uncomfortable, groggy and needy, and certainly doing well. By Monday afternoon one could hardly tell she had been through so much trauma. The neediness is still there today, but frankly I don't mind. I need the hugs, probably more than she does right now.
The amazing part is that you realize that no matter how vigilant you are or how careful you try to be, things like this can happen in the blink of an eye. I know it'll be a long time before I feel ok about putting a barette in her hair again, and I'll also feel less comfortable leaving her alone in the room for just that brief moment to go and grab whatever. I am thankful that she is alright now. Matt and I are still recovering and will likely be for at least the next week or so.
With Kenna's adventurous spirit and being imperfect parents, I am sure we'll have more stories coming, and I'm so thankful this one had a happy ending.
Love to you all!
Kenna has been busy learning and exploring. She also seems to have a bit of a fearless attitude - rarely hesitating when she wants to move from the tile down a step into the living room. She goes belly down, head first, like a pro. Somehow I believe this is foreshadowing what is to come - many, many bumps and bruises. Time to put the baby gates up!
No more hair barettes!! At least for a little while . . .
We recently had a bit of scare when Kenna swallowed a hair barette this past Sunday evening. Dad was home and forgot to take it out of her hair before she went down for her nap. I had to get out for a bit. When she woke (~6:15 pm), she must have pulled it out and put it in her mouth. Matt went in to change her and she swallowed and began to choke. She couldn't breathe for several seconds and Matt took action to quickly check her mouth and then when he didn't see anything he turned her over and tried to pat her. This must have helped to move the pin down past her wind pipe and into her esophagus. There it stayed, and she was able to breathe again. Whew!
When I walked in the door, she was crying hard with daddy, and he was shaken. We left immediately for the Urgent Care at Children's near by. The X-ray (~6:40 pm) showed the pin right below her shoulder blades in her esophagus. They sent (~7:10 pm) us down to Children's ER downtown, where we waited to get into the OR for removal. Because the pin had a plastic piece (decorative piece of candy), they were concerned of tears and blockage. It was too large to pass on its own into her stomach like many items kids swallow --> thus, surgery.
No promises of not having cut - they were not sure how much blockage there would be and said they may have to cut her throat to ensure she can breathe during the surgery (~12:05 am). Fortunately, they were able to go in through her throat and extract the pin without having to do any cutting. They looked for damage - scratches and scrapes and no tears = good! Whew! We needed to watch for signs of a missed tear or infection for the next 24-48 hours. She . . . we were exhausted . . .and finally got to come home after her evaluation post surgery (~3:00 am).
The next day, Matt and I stayed home to watch her. She was uncomfortable, groggy and needy, and certainly doing well. By Monday afternoon one could hardly tell she had been through so much trauma. The neediness is still there today, but frankly I don't mind. I need the hugs, probably more than she does right now.
The amazing part is that you realize that no matter how vigilant you are or how careful you try to be, things like this can happen in the blink of an eye. I know it'll be a long time before I feel ok about putting a barette in her hair again, and I'll also feel less comfortable leaving her alone in the room for just that brief moment to go and grab whatever. I am thankful that she is alright now. Matt and I are still recovering and will likely be for at least the next week or so.
With Kenna's adventurous spirit and being imperfect parents, I am sure we'll have more stories coming, and I'm so thankful this one had a happy ending.
Love to you all!
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