Poop

The title of this post should be warning enough, but if it is not . . . WARNING: THIS POST IS ABOUT POOP!

Gabi is constipated. Normally she poops every 4 or 5 days or so, and it is pretty soft, so last week when she pooped a tiny, but very hard poop, that didn't seem right. Also she was throwing up a lot, or maybe it was a lot of spit up. I couldn't really tell. After a few days I decided to call the doctor, just to make sure I was handling things the right way (1st step: dark karo syrup with water, 2nd step: prune juice). After the nurse practitioner asked me a ton of questions, she recommended that I bring Gabi to the doctor. So Friday afternoon I took Gabi to the doctor. She was totally fine, but definitely constipated. The throwing up/spitting up was a result of when Gabi bore down, there was less resistance going north than south, so I would get a tiny hard poop, and a ton of spit up. The doctor said to increase the veggies, give prune juice, and if the blockage didn't release in a few days, I should try a laxative suppository. Now that sounds like some serious fun, don't you think?

So this morning I went to the pharmacy and bought a baby laxative suppository. I came home, and built up the courage to give Gabi the laxative. Finally I did it, and Gabi seemed completely unphased. I started feeding her, when I recognized her red face, her spitting up on me, and decided to check her diaper. There was a tiny little hard poop, and the suppository right next to it. What to do? I didn't know, so I put it back in again. I started feeding her again, and she pooped again. This time it was more, and the hard poop was followed by a softer poop. Jeff came home just then as I was in the middle of cleaning it up, and before I even got the dirty diaper off her, she started pooping some more. I decided that the suppository had done its job, and I threw it away along with her poopie diaper. Then Gabi really got started. The poop flowed! So I guess the blockage is gone.

P.S. If you read this post, please don't tell Gabi that I posted such sensitive information about her. Even though she is sitting on my lap right now as I type this, I don't think she is reading it.


This afternoon Rachel pooped in the potty. It's not the first time ever, but it is the first time in a very long time. So today has just been a happy poop day all around!

Chips, popcorn, and other stories

I had a hankering for potato chips, so Saturday I bought some. That night I wanted to give Rachel a bath. I said "Rachel, do you want to take a bath?" She said "no." Okay, that was a dumb question, but I had another plan. I told Jeff to casually bring Rachel upstairs, and when she saw the bubbles I was pretty sure she would happily get in the tub. Sure enough, I was right. She got in the tub, and for a while everything was fine, then she started crying for no good reason. She pointed to her mouth and said "cheep" (which, being interpreted, means chip). I said that after she finished her bath I would give her a chip. The next day, Sunday, she wanted to take another bath after church. Fine with me, and she got in the tub. A few minutes later she started crying. When I asked her what was wrong she stopped, pointed to her mouth and said "cheep." Well, okay, after your bath I'll give you a chip. The next morning, Monday, she wanted another bath. Whatever, okay. She started crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she stopped, pointed to her mouth and said "cheep." I finally caught on. This kid is playing me like a grand piano. "Ah, no. No chips this morning." She wailed for a few seconds, then forgot about it and enjoyed her bath for like another 45 minutes.

Sunday evening I was washing the dishes and Rachel was in the kitchen with me. My back was to her, but all of the sudden I heard the microwave turn on. Rachel had pulled out a bag of popcorn and put it in the microwave and started it. Unfortunately she had neglected to remove the plastic covering. I took off the plastic and made the popcorn. While I was making the popcorn she pulled out a plastic bowl for her portion. I gave her some of the popcorn in her bowl, then gave the rest to Jeff, and told him it was a gift from Rachel.

This morning I took Rachel to the pediatrician for the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu vaccine. Rachel likes the pediatrician, and was very happy to be there. There was a big fish tank in the waiting room, and she enjoyed looking at the fish and pointing out each fish, each plant, and each pebble to me. We were called back and Rachel happily followed the nurse. I commented that she had no idea what was coming, and that it was just as well. We went into the exam room, and Rachel pointed to her thigh and said "ouch," then she said "ban-din" (which, being interpreted, means band-aid). I think she knew what was going on after all. She was a super trooper about the shots. She cried a little, but when she saw the band-aids, she was just fine.

I used to think that it would be at least until Rachel hit the double digit ages before she was smarter than me, but I'm starting to think I'll be in her wake intellectually speaking by the time she's five or six.


Saturday morning Rachel got another haircut. Holy cow! That girl's hair really grows fast! Anyway, Jeff's sister Trish did it. She took off about 2 inches.

Yesterday I had a piano student here. She is an adult, and Rachel just adores her, and Gabi is starting to become a fan too. Anyway, Gabi was sitting on her lap and started playing the piano. Amazingly she was playing Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata. Okay, it wasn't really, but it was cute.

McDonald's

Several months ago, when Gabi was only about 2 months old, I had taken the girls to the library for Story Time. It was raining that day, so afterward I thought we could go to McDonald's for lunch, and Rachel could play on the playground there. It was a bad idea. I spent the whole time worrying about Rachel inside that playground. I couldn't see her because the playground is made up of plastic tubes that you can't see through. There were the occasional windows, but that wasn't nearly enough for me. Rachel climbed in and disappeared, and I worried, and worried. Finally I asked a mother to watch Gabi for me and I ventured into the tubes and found Rachel, got her out, and we went home. Two things, 1st of all, Rachel was fine, but I was worried, 2nd of all, those playgrounds are not built for adults to fit in comfortably. I left thinking I would never go back.

Turns out never only lasted about 4 months. Yesterday morning we dropped the girls off at Jeff's mom's house and Jeff and I went to the temple. We went to pick up the girls, and ended up staying the rest of the day at their house. Trish and her 3 kids were there too. That evening Jeff's mom was going to take Trish's kids to McDonald's and to a movie (Planet 51). We decided not to go to the movie because I'm not sure Rachel will sit through a 2 hour movie, and make the purchase of a ticket worthwhile. We did go with them to McDonald's, though. This time Jeff was with me, so I was much more at ease to have Rachel play on the playground. She had a GREAT time. After everyone else left to go to the movie we stayed and Rachel played. She ran around, climbed, and was extremely happy. So were Jeff and I, because she wore her little self right out, and went to bed like a dream last night.

So maybe it was because Rachel is a few months older, and she can handle herself better now, or maybe she was fine all along the first time, but I didn't really give her a chance, but anyway, I think we might find ourselves back at McDonald's again after all.

Rachel with Ronald McDonald

Gabi with Ronald McDonald

I tried to get a picture of them both, but it didn't work out as well.

A Nice Day

We had an awesome day today. Nothing particularly interesting happened, but there was just a general sense of happiness and pleasantness that we enjoyed. No tantrums, no fussing, just sweetness and happiness. Gabi took a nice long nap in the morning, Rachel took a nice long nap in the afternoon, Gabi took a short nap in the afternoon. I even caught a few Zs myself. All too often I think about the difficult times, but in fairness to all, I have to say that I have two wonderful little girls. And a wonderful husband.

Yesterday both girls looked so cute in their corderoy jumpers, and pink shirts, I just had to get a picture. Unfortunately Rachel was not happy about wearing socks, so she has kind of teary eyes, but I thought I would post a few of the pictures I took. My favorite is the one where they are looking at each other.

New (Old) Toy

We pulled Rachel's old exersaucer out of storage, and it became Gabi's new exersaucer. Rachel still thought it was a lot of fun. Gabi enjoyed it for quite a while. We also put some of the bulkier toys that we had around the house in storage to make room for it.

Gabi's 6 month check-up

Today was Gabi's 6 month check-up. The doctor was very impressed with her progress. She is completely caught up, her developmental milestones are right on target for a 6 month old, which she is. She can pass objects from one hand to the other, she turns her head when she hears my voice, and yesterday she started creeping backwards. I think crawling can't be too far in the future.

Here are Gabi's vital statistics:
height: 26" (55th%)
weight: 15 lbs. 15.5 oz. (50th%)


She has really shot up in height - almost 3" in the past 2 months. I have noticed that Gabi's toes are starting to push against her footie pajamas. You know what that means - either I need to start cutting off the toes of the pajamas, or switch to 6-9 month sized clothes. I decided to go ahead and switch to 6-9 month clothes. When I was in the hospital my mother-in-law went through Rachel's clothes, and put away the things that were too small. So after lunch I started packing up Gabi's old 3-6 month clothes, and going through Rachel's old stuff to pass down to Gabi. I hate going through the clothes, because Rachel loves it so much. She jumped right in and started helping - pulling out the clothes from the bags, trying things on. It was a good thing, though, because it turns out that we had gotten a bag of hand-me-down clothes from somebody while I was in the hospital, I don't know who, and it turns out there were several things in it that were perfect for Rachel. She found a pair of Dora and Boots pajamas, which she put on right away (it was not a problem because she didn't have any clothes on except for her diaper). She really liked them.

Here is Rachel training Scout. She is wearing her newly found pajamas with a sticker that Gabi got for her at the pediatrician's office.

Today Gabi is 6 months old

Wow! It has been six months already. Am I the only one for whom time is flying so rapidly? Anyway, Gabi is six months old. She is so cute and is doing extremely well. She has been able to roll over for quite some time, but doesn't do it too often. Last night, however, we were able to catch her in the act on film, so for your viewing pleasure, I present to you Gabi rolling over.



Yesterday evening I noticed that Rachel was feeling a bit warm, so I checked her temperature, and sure enough, she had a low grade fever (about 101.8º). I gave her some medicine to bring down the fever, gave her a bath, gave her plenty of fluids. Other than a while when she was kind of droopy, her behavior has been completely normal, including her appetite, so I am not too worried, yet. I'm hoping that it is nothing and she gets better very soon. Meanwhile, I can't for the life of me figure out how she could possibly have gotten sick. It's not like she goes outside and plays in the leaves in nothing but her diaper or anything. Oh, wait, maybe she does.

The Latest

Gabi is getting pretty skilled at holding the bottle by herself. As of yesterday (or maybe it was the day before) she can now even get it to her mouth on her own. Once it comes out she can't get it back, but she is definitely making progress!

Not wanting to be left out, Rachel wanted to share a few of the words she knows. She can say a lot more than just what is demonstrated here, but it was early in the morning (for her anyway), so I just got a few favorites.

I think Gabi will be getting mobile in the not too far distant future. She can roll over, but she doesn't do it much. What she is doing is rotating. When I put her down for tummy time, it doesn't take her long to rotate 180º.

Gabi has her six-month check-up coming up next week on Tuesday, so I'm putting up a poll so you can guess her weight. I'll try to not have a flaw in the poll this time.

One of Gabi's favorite things to do is to sit up. Unfortunately she can't quite do it by herself for too long, so I need to have plenty of padding to protect her from when she inevitably falls. Even when she is in her bouncy seat, she pulls herself into a sitting position. She completely pulls her head and shoulders off the seat, and will often rest somewhat on one arm.


When I was in Nashville my sister Faline put together matching outfits for all of us to wear as we sang together in the Family Chorus. Here is Rachel modeling the earrings that went with the outfit.

The Dog Trainer

Rachel is working on becoming a dog trainer. She asks to give Scout a treat, but first she commands him to "sit, stay." At first Scout just tried to steal the treat out of her hand, but with a little help, she is getting him to obey. She likes to get him to dance too, but what she is really doing is dancing herself as an example, and I have to tell Scout to dance. It's fun to watch.

When I was in Nashville I got to see my sister Faline and her daughter Malauna. They presented me (or rather Rachel and Gabi) with gifts from all of the kids of Faline. So thank you Milaka, Cortney, Shanda, Keturah, Malauna, Conan, Colle, Colter and Carson. Faline mistakenly gave just her daughters credit, but she corrected herself to make sure that the boys got credit too. Anyway, Rachel and Gabi got adorable outfits. They are not identical, but they are sure close, and they are sure beautiful.

It's been too long!

Wow! It has been too long since I have last posted. I'm so ashamed! But I'm back, and with a plethora of stories to share.

We have just had a fun Halloween. We went to the Trunk or Treat Halloween Party at church. Rachel caught on quickly to say "Trick or Treat" and she got candy. Except she just said "Trick." As far as I've been able to see she didn't trick anyone, and she got plenty of candy, so she's happy. She wasn't real excited about her costume (a pirate), so she just trick or treated in a Halloween tee shirt. The shirt in the picture is not the shirt she wore trick or treating. It had a picture of a cat and said something about how she is a Halloween princess.


Gabi is sporting a hand-me-down Halloween sleeper. She dressed up like a zebra for the big day. She got plenty of candy too. In order for her to eat it, though, I need to eat it, then she gets it when she nurses. So I'm only eating her candy for her own good.


Gabi is starting to hold her own bottle. She isn't quite as adept at it as Rachel was at her age, but in my opinion that is understandable because she only takes a bottle a couple of times each day, so she doesn't have as much practice, but she is still pretty cute with it.


When Rachel saw I was taking pictures of Gabi, she wanted in on the action. She is "ham"ming it up by saying "cheese." Ham and cheese. Hey, that would make a good sandwich!


I have got to share this story about Rachel. On Saturday morning I went in to Rachel's room to see about getting her out of bed. She was still sound asleep, and completely naked. She is becoming quite proficient at removing her clothes, including her diaper. I decided to go ahead and wake her up and get her on the potty before any accident might occur. But it was too late, the deed had been done. Oh well, not the first time, and not the last time. Anyway, I washed all of her bedding and stuff. Fast forward to Saturday night. Remember she was all sugered up after eating a bunch of Halloween candy, and she decided she didn't want to wear a regular diaper, but wanted a swim diaper instead. I wasn't keen on that idea because I learned through sad experience that swim diapers are not as absorbent as regular diapers. (Don't ask.) Anyway, I put my foot down and insisted that she wear a regular diaper, but I put a swim diaper over it. Then, at Rachel's request, I put her swimming suit on too. Yes, as pajamas. Why not? It actually is a great idea because she likes wearing a swim suit as pajamas, and it prevents her from taking off her diaper, thus reducing the risk of bed wetting. So we did it again tonight. This time she only wore her regular diaper and her swim suit. The swim diaper was not needed. It's what we like to call synergy. Rachel's happy, I'm happy, and the bed is dry.

Rachel had been doing so well using the potty. Not every time, but usually 2 or 3 times a day she would use the potty. Then we went to Nashville. Getting her out of her routine ended her potty progress. We came home, and she completely, and I mean COMPLETELY lost interest in the potty. Oh well, we'll try again later. Then this morning I was feeding Gabi her cereal. Rachel had just finished her breakfast (in her birthday suit), and was wandering around. She came over and said to Jeff "pah ee" and signed "potty." Jeff was very quick to recognize what was going on and immediately took her upstairs to the potty where she successfully used the potty for the first time in a week and a half. So Rachel got a sticker on her potty chart, and so did Jeff. Kudos to him for how quickly he recognized what she wanted and responded. As far as I remember, it is probably the first time Rachel has requested to use the potty. In the past I have just asked her if she wanted to go, and she cooperated.

Well, I guess that is enough about life in the bathroom at the Gosnell house. What can I say, these are the things that fill my life these days.