long-awaited Easter update

Wow, this week just flew by! I've had photos from last weekend ready to upload for days now, but just haven't had time to post. Right now I'm getting obsessive about real estate, too, so that's not helping.

Here are a few fun photos from before last weekend. *sigh* I'm so behind.

Tent fun
Rowan is still a big fan of the tent game and loves when I use a colourful sarong to create a tent over her playmat. I really like being in there; can I get one in my size?

Our little queen in a colourful tent

Rowan wanted to grab the camera

Rowan reaches out both of her hands when she wants up

Easter weekend: Gougeon clan
Last weekend was Easter, and a very busy weekend it was for Nigel, Rowan and me. My mom, Heather, and Thomas came on Good Friday and stayed until Sunday. It was great to see them! Plus, we had most of my mom's side of the family here (about a dozen people?) on Saturday for a big reunion and potluck dinner. Sadly, not everybody was able to make it, but it was still a big success and a lot of fun.

My mom and brother Thomas (Uncle Tom!)

Mom and Heather teach Rowan how to drum

Heather and I playing with Rowan

Here is the Gougeon Easter gang. Who came? My mom, Heather and Thomas; aunt Barb, cousins Chris and Andy, and Andy's girlfriend Erica; my cousin Lisa and her two girls, Samantha and Marissa; and my Grandpa.

Everybody is clustered around a photo album that Aunt Barb brought - lots of great old photos! What fun.



Kitchen party! I'll sure miss this kitchen's capacity when we move.

Sitting up
We propped Rowan up so she could sit on her own; she is getting SO strong. She really enjoyed chomping her crinkly cloth book.

Mmm. Drool stream.

Crinkle-books are tasty.

Easter weekend: Bridgeman-Vezeau clan
Then, on Easter Monday, we headed over to Arnprior to visit with Nigel's grandparents, parents and sister Erica. We had a lovely meal and visit, with Rowan (of course) being her usual charming self until she had her usual melt-down around suppertime. :-P

Rowan with her great-grandpa

Rowan with grandma and Auntie Erica

More on solids
We've been continuing with the solids and so far, Rowan has eaten the following:
Rice cereal, oat cereal, barley cereal, green peas, green beans, and squash. Rowan adores the peas, but not the beans. However, she will eat green beans if they are mixed with peas. We're going to try some carrots tonight. We're trying to get more consistent about her eating - cereal once a day plus two servings of veggies. She's not very excited about the cereals anymore, so we sometimes have to mix in some veggies to get her to eat them.

When she has her doctor's appointment next week, we will talk about adding fruit: apples, pears, and apricots are the first ones, I think.

Today we let Rowan try a two-handled soft-spout sippy-cup with a bit of water in it. She deftly manoeuvred it to her mouth and proceeded to chomp it. We're pretty sure she managed to get a bit of water out of it. She seemed quite pleased with herself.


---poop update! read on only if really interested in details about baby feces---

Where there are solids, there is new poo
Rowan's poo has changed. Now it is more solid and smells more like poo. I'm glad, actually, because it makes cleaning the cloth diapers a lot easier and our problems with leakage are much reduced. So far, this new poo is only stinky if Rowan doesn't go for a couple of days - then it smells like rotting veggies. And her farts smell like cabbage, too. Must be the Gougeon/Marshall coming out!

this week in the world of rowan

This post is pretty much just a collection of thoughts and observations.

Hand-knit sweater
A couple of days ago, I dressed Rowan in this sweet sweater that my Mom knit for her. It fits her perfectly and looks SO cute on her that it almost made me cry. Thanks Mom, for all the lovely knitting you've been doing! I love it.

Rowan in the beautiful sweater Nanny knit

Sit-ups and snuggles
Rowan is so much stronger now. We don't have to support her head at all anymore unless she is sleeping. She really enjoys being held in a sitting up position on our laps and carried around in a seated, facing-out position so she can look around. At the same time, Rowan has gotten much more snuggly. She used to not enjoy being held close unless she was just on the verge of falling asleep. Perhaps now that she has a bit more physical control, she doesn't mind the closeness as much.

Is biting with gums still biting?
Rowan has been testing her limits with me. On a couple of occasions, the little scamp has gotten this mischievous gleam in her eye and then clamped down on my nipple with her gums. Hard. So far, my reaction is to firmly tap her on the nose and unlatch her, firmly telling her that she shouldn't bite mommy. From her expression before she bites, I think she knows she shouldn't do it, but does it to see what my reaction will be. I hope I can discourage her from this behaviour before she gets teeth. eep.

And on that subject, we've noticed that she *may* have a bit of tooth showing on the bottom front gum, but I don't want to get too excited. I've been known to be wrong.

Rowan's university fund
Nigel and I have set up an education savings plan (RESP) for Rowan's post-secondary education. Thanks to Rowan's great-grandparents Glen and Abbey, her NB grandparents Eric and Valerie, and her great-aunt and uncle Stu & Holly for their contributions.

Poop alert!
Well, this part is about baby poop and you know I don't skimp on details. You've been forewarned.

So, Rowan *finally* pooped on Friday. Let me back up. Until this week, Rowan had been in the habit of pooping every day or every second day. Pretty regular. Up until yesterday, she hadn't pooped since last Sunday afternoon. That is a long time ago! Five days to be exact. The last couple of days, she had been gassy (her farts smelled like old cabbage! stinky monkey) and was having little bouts of tummy cramps, but was eating as usual and seemed otherwise fine. I was worried that she was going to explode. I was afraid to go anywhere with her.

Even though we were pretty sure that it was just a bit of constipation, Nigel and I called Telehealth on Thursday night to make sure it couldn't be anything serious. After a series of questions, they ruled out most things and told us that it was probably because the bacteria in her gut was changing (Mad told me this too) and that she was probably just using more of the milk to fuel her growth spurt. They suggested letting her have 4oz of apple or pear juice, which would have a "softening" effect. Mmmm.

Thankfully, Rowan went before we left the house on Friday. It wasn't as bad as I feared for five days worth. I can honestly say, I've never been so happy to hear my baby poop.