Dana Daily

that's a crown LOL Yesterday, Seth was fussy so I moved him from the activity mat to the bouncer to the exersaucer. He wasn't impressed with any of them, which is unusual, so it occurred to me (yes, occurred ) that maybe he was hungry. He was still fussing as I warmed a leftover bottle. Normally when he sees that someone is preparing a bottle he'll settle and only whine intermittently until it's ready. Such was not the case. Still fussing, I sat down on the couch with him in my lap. He seemed interested, but then I realized it had been awhile since his last diaper. Due to his spitting issues, we can't lay him down immediately after eating we have to change him beforehand. Knowing he was starving and not wanting to take the time to change him if he didn't really need  it yet, I pulled the diaper away from his leg to check inside, you know, like moms do. In doing so, I managed to stick the tip of my finger into very squishy, very green poo. I put him again...

I won't say Seth loves peas, but he doesn't seem to mind them either. It's a new flavor so we'll try again tomorrow. I want to revisit orange veggies with him as well. Now that he's had green, I'd like to see how he reacts to the orange. I also want to see what other veggies are out there that he can have. I plan to hold off on fruit until he turns 6 months, which is actually only a couple weeks away. Time is flying.

The Planned Parenthood controversy has been heavy on my heart since we first heard about it. Admittedly, I cannot watch the videos and have only tried to stomach one or two of the articles. As a voter, as someone who keeps up with current events, and as someone who has an opinion about everything (it’s okay to chuckle), I feel like I should. As a mom, I just can't. I saw Sarah's little heart flashing at 7 weeks. SEVEN weeks. In a moment when I thought I was losing her, there  was evidence of life. The baby who would make me a mother was alive despite all the outward signs that suggested otherwise. Every single person who supports Planned Parenthood is the product of someone who chose life. Now I know that the road of life isn’t easy for anyone and that some have it worse, far worse, than others. However, despite whatever the circumstances were their mothers chose life, and they do too, at least their own. After all, they’re around to weigh in on the matter. I look at m...

A very tired little boy fell asleep on his mama today. He was outside watching Sarah and Emmy play on their Slip N Slide so we set him up with his own pool, a bit of water in a laundry basket. After a few minutes of that he was ready for this.

GERD, otherwise known as Gastroesophageal Reflux, isn't an uncommon issue for infants and we were finally able to have Seth diagnosed. However, because he isn't in pain, fussy, or projectile vomiting there's really nothing to treat. The reflux is just something he'll have to outgrow, which is expected to happen sometime before his first birthday. There are medications available to stop the spitting, but the pediatrician said he wouldn't use them on his own children because of possible side effects. He didn't go into detail and we didn't ask. Other medications on the market would stop the symptoms if Seth had them, the fussiness, pain, etc. However, he doesn't seem at all bothered by the spitting. Ultimately, there's nothing to treat. So, we'll just keep doing what we have been doing. Keeping him upright after eating. Going through multiple outfits a day, although I generally keep Seth in just a diaper, but with him going back to daycare t...

Squash and sweet potatoes haven't been a huge hit so I figured no way was Seth going to like green beans. I bought a couple jars at Target just to try them, and he loves them. Since we have beans coming in from the garden I'm going to try making some from scratch and see how those go over. We'll do peas next instead of carrots since he doesn't seem to be liking the sweetness of orange veggies. I plan to hold off on introducing fruit until his 6 month birthday.

Seth isn't big enough for biking yet so generally we just go for a walk in the evening. However, the girls really wanted to ride their bikes and I know Sal misses biking so I said I'd push Seth in the stroller if the rest of them wanted to ride. Sarah was excited to ride her brand new bike, the one she won at Shaler's bike rodeo. It needed some adjustments so Sal tweaked it for her and away she went. I tried to get some action shots, but when Sarah saw me with the camera she stopped her bike and posed. What an 8 year old :-) I'm getting to the point where I'm comfortable sitting outside with Seth watching them ride on the street as long as it's not when people are going to, or coming home from, work. I yell reminders at them to stay close to the side of the road, turn around in driveways, and to go through our grass to get around the corner. I know my mom never worried about such things, but they are only 8 and 6. I'm trying to slightly loosen the apro...

I pureed a sweet potato for Seth today and he was just not a fan. Basically I just cut a potato into small pieces and boiled the heck out of them. Then I threw them in blender, added some formula, and then froze it just like I had the squash. Tomorrow I think I need to add more water or formula to make it even runnier. Maybe then we'll have some success with these veggies.

Sal was required to be in Steubenville this morning to help with the high school band's march-a-thon. One of the band moms took some pictures and I swiped them off Facebook. He ended up playing bass drum, and we kind of have a running joke about bass drums in general. If you've ever watched someone play the bass drum in a marching band, it doesn't appear to be very exciting. Sure, there's some counting involved, but it's not like snare drum or quads. You might hit the drum once or two for every 4 counts in a song. Sal swears bass drum can be fun, but I have my doubts. In this picture, Sal is #13 and bringing up the rear. I guess they ended up marking about 7 miles. That's 7 miles with a bass drum strapped to him. Craziness. I debated on taking Sal, I could have pushed him in the stroller, but we had a long day on Saturday and the heat/humidity was oppressive, too much for a little baby. So we hung out at home instead. Well, actually, Seth napped for 4.5 ...

Sal and I wanted to find something to do this weekend, and I suggested Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens . We had talked about visiting in the past, but just had never made it. We met up with Sal's Uncle Ernie and started out the day with a trip to Swenson's for lunch. Swenson's is a drive-in restaurant which I usually think is so much fun, but with a hungry baby who just wanted out of his car seat, understandably since it was a 2 hour drive, perhaps a sit-down restaurant would have been better. That said, Swenson's has the best burgers, although I couldn't tell you what makes them so great. They don't look like much, but they taste amazing. We made it to Stan Hywet Hall with a few minutes to spare for the 12:00 tour. I put Seth in the wrap and in the 90+ degree heat and crazy humidity wore him for the length of the tour. He was getting tired, but managed to stay awake for all but the last 10 minutes. We had an excellent tour guide. He said he was in graduate...

It's hard to believe Seth already 5 month but yet, since it feels like he's always been with us, it's hard to believe he's only 5 months. What fun it has been! He's such a happy and contented baby. I know, I say that month after month, but he is . He's still a really good sleeper. We even lay him down at night, drowsy, but awake and he will talk himself to sleep. We have a definite routine in the evening and I think it helps. We eat dinner, go for a walk, give him a bath, and give him a bottle. By then he's ready for bed. Since we started cereal, both rice and oatmeal, sometimes bath and walk are reversed, but that seems to be just fine with him. He is still spitting up. In an attempt to manage the amount and frequency we've been experimenting with how much he is fed and how often. We start off the day with a 4oz bottle, followed by a 2oz when he's ready to eat again. At his next feeding he gets another 4oz bottle. Before bed he'll drink an...

It's time to start thinking about introducing Seth to vegetables. We're starting with yellow/orange veggies so Sal and I picked up a fresh butternut squash and a sweet potato at the store this evening. As much as I hate being in the kitchen, there's just something about making baby food that I love. It's a really simple process and it's fun watching your baby try something you made for the very first time. I found this recipe for butternut squash purée on Pinterest. Here is my interpretation. I baked the squash as directed, and when I pulled it out of the oven the skin was pulling away from the meat. I ran a knife between the skin and the meat while gently pulling the skin and for the most part it peeled right off. What didn't come off that way I peeled away with a knife, like you would do to potato or cucumber skin. Then I cut the squash up in manageable pieces, it basically fell apart, and threw it into the blender with 4oz of formula. I ended up addi...

Doo Dah Days celebrates the music of Stephen Collins Foster , a composer and Pittsburgh native. It is held the second Saturday in July in Lawrencville, the neighborhood now within the Pittsburgh city limits where Foster was born in 1826. One of my now-retired coworkers belongs to the Lawrenceville Historical Society and told me about Doo Dah Days a few years ago. We had perfect weather so Sal and I packed up the kids and drove the ten minutes that it takes to get to Allegheny Cemetery from our house. The cemetery itself has an interesting history, and you can read about it here . It is the final resting place for many notables, including Stephen Collins Foster. Stephen Foster lived from composed Oh! Susanna , Camptown Races , and Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair , among other songs with which you may be familiar. He died in 1864, and his music was popular with soldiers fighting the Civil War. As a result the festival organizers encourage attendees to dress in period atti...

We scored some Kennywood tickets and decided to hit the park this evening when I was done working. It was overcast and we did feel a few sprinkles, but it was a fun night at the park. It was a little more challenging this trip because we didn't have Grandma with us to help with Seth. However, Sal and I took turns staying with him while the girls decided what they wanted to ride. While Emmy and Sal did Noah's Ark, Sarah and I waited outside. She wanted her picture taken as the Thunderbolt came down the hill, but then she turned around as the train flew by. She's looking back at the train, Seth is looking at her. This picture just makes me laugh. She took one of Seth and I as well. I was able to stay focused. LOL We also rode The Exterminator, one of my favorites and one that we didn't get to when we came in May because the line was too long. We also rode The Turtle. It's one of the oldest rides at Kennywood, and it's just silly fun. Emmy and Sal rode th...

Not to be outdone - here's a picture of four month old Emmy.

Seth spits, as I've mentioned, and Emmy gets so indignant when he spits on her. I always tell her, "he only spits on the ones he loves." This is because only those who love him, get the chance to hold him, but it seems to calm her down. Ha. It's been awhile since he spit up on her, and I was wiping her arm off, she said matter-of-factly, "it's okay Mommy. I know. He only spits on the ones he loves." It was a moment.

Here are side by sides of Sarah and Seth at four months of age. Can you tell who is who?

No, this isn't a spinoff on the childhood game of cowboys and Indians. I am talking about the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians. My hometown team versus Sal's hometown team. It's not very often these two teams play each other, so we couldn't miss it. For all the sporting events I've been to, this is the first time I saw someone get kicked out. The Cleveland "fan" was pretty awful. So loud and obnoxious. It's a baseball game, not a football game. Security warned him once and then they threw him out, probably by the 2nd or 3rd inning. Final Score? Pirates beat the Indians 5-3.

Sal and I were feeling particularly ambitious, so we loaded Seth up in his stroller and ended up going on what turned out to be a seven mile walk. We took the Riverfront Trail from Millvale to the Water Steps just past PNC Park. At mile 6 Seth was over being pushed in the stroller and ready for his crib. I'd been wanting to go to the Water Steps for awhile and hopefully next time we can take Sarah and Emmy. I think they'd love it. Between my glasses (contact tore), my weight, and my awful haircut, I really hate pictures of myself these days, but we had so much fun making memories that I'm going to post anyway.

Seth loves rice cereal, but he's a lot less sure about oatmeal. When he sees the spoon coming, he turns his head to bury it in the high chair and pops his thumb in his mouth. It's comical and Sal took video. All I have is a picture of his little face with a bit of oatmeal. I will continue to offer the oatmeal at dinner, but will switch back to the rice cereal after a couple of attempts. Maybe he won't ever love oatmeal, but I do want to keep "reminding" him that there are other flavors in the world. Also, I think in this picture, I see some of Sal in his expression and in his eyes. I generally see Sarah in him when I try to see one of us in his features. However, it wasn't until recently that I even thought Sarah resembled me. I love watching their looks change over the years.

This will be Seth's last appointment with the doctor who has been our pediatrician for the last 7 years. She is moving onto a new office within the same practice, but I think we're going to continue at our current location. She's a mom of three, and I really like her as a doctor, a mom, and a woman. We will miss her. Anyway, he's 4.5 months old and received his 4 month shots. Of course he screamed, but I reminded myself that vaccines are far less traumatic than contracting the diseases they are intended to prevent. He was a little fussy throughout the afternoon and evening which is unusual for him, but I gave him a dose of Tylenol before bed and he slept through the night just fine. Our pediatrician also gave us the green light to introduce oatmeal cereal since he has already been having rice cereal in his bottle and some from a spoon at dinnertime. We will wait until 5 months to start orange veggies. After checking him out she said that developmentally he's i...