Separation Anxiety - Not fun!

Some time around Jason and my anniversary (Memorial Day weekend), Bree decided it would be a fabulous idea to try her hand at having separation anxiety! At first it was cute. Bree would cry and grab a hold of my shirt whenever I tried to put her down or pass her to her dad. The cries were extreme but definitely noticeable and made me feel special and loved. Of course the beauty of this feeling wore off very quickly when I soon realized that the cries were going to get more intense and last longer EVERY SINGLE SECOND I tried to put Bree down or give her to someone else. It became unreal. For at least two weekends I couldn't put her down, give her to Jason, and walk away for a second (even to go to the bathroom) without Bree having a complete meltdown. Jason felt pushed away and abandoned while I felt exhausted and smothered. I couldn't believe she wouldn't go to Jason, especially since Jason is the one that takes her mainly to daycare and picks her up every day. Often times, Jason spends more time with her than I do just because of my work schedule. Then it got worse where Bree would only go to women....no men (including Jason). So she would be in her teacher's arms when Jason went to daycare to pick her up and would start to scream and tantrum when the teacher tried to give Bree to Jason. Poor guy, I don't know how he managed to not feel so bad or rejected. He tried to give me a break from Bree whenever he could, but of course all his efforts ended with Bree screaming. One night to prove a point, Jason was talking to his father and had me hold Bree. I then gave Bree to Jason. Bree proceeded to scream and throw a huge fit. I then took Bree back in my arms and she immediately stopped crying and began playing. What a little stinker ha. Thankfully the separation anxiety has begun to lift, because I don't think I could have stood it much longer. The trips to Lowes and Target were awful. She didn't want to be pushed in the cart and would only allow me to hold her. My back was ready to give out! It's amazing how quickly something so cute can turn into a pain in your back (literally).

 At Mystic Seaport on Memorial Day with Mommy....no screams or tears here....

 A quick pass to daddy and here's the "separation face"

 Pass back to mommy....no worries!

 More pics demonstrating the separation face

Poor baby and poor daddy :(

Happy Memorial Day!

To celebrate Memorial Day, Bree got all dressed up in a cute green little dress and got very excited about the holiday. She flailed her arms, screeched, and threw her turtle Yertle and her bib in the air. I couldn't help but laugh at her little spectacle...super cute!

 

 

 

This weekend was Memorial Day weekend and Jason and my 7 year wedding anniversary. As a treat to us, we decided to take a day trip to Mystic, CT. We've heard good things about Mystic and decided this was a good weekend to try it out. The weather was nice...hot, but no rain. We decided to try the Mystic Aquarium and Mystic Seaport. Thinking the aquarium would be nicer and more interesting for Bree, we went there first. We had a good time, but unfortunately once you've been to Sea World in San Diego, it's hard to compare aquariums. The Mystic aquarium felt small and squished. The crowds were bad and it didn't seem to have a ton of displays, especially for the ticket price. Of course my fantasy of Bree falling in love with fish, whales, and aquariums was dashed when I realized that she is still too young to appreciate the many colored fish. She stayed in her stroller for most of the time (needed to as the crowds were too big for us to do a lot of viewing without the stroller). She fussed and slept for some of the time. I wanted to get her a cute stuffed animal that had the aquarium name and logo on it, but couldn't find one I liked. Our rating for the aquarium - overpriced and not worth it.

A bit disappointed, we then went to Mystic Seaport. As we were in the car in the aquarium parking lot, Jason and I both got a bit snippy with each other, neither one wanting to admit that we were a bit disappointed. We were trying to decide whether to push it to the Seaport or to turn around and go home. I think I was the first to open up and say that I was a bit disappointed, which led to Jason saying the same thing. We decided to go for the Seaport. Sooooo glad we did. We had a great time and were just disappointed that we couldn't spend longer. For those of you (like us) who don't know about the Seaport. There's a part of Mystic that you can pay to get into. They set it up as a historic center with centers that teach you about life on the sea. They have little plays they put on, large old ships that you can tour, songs that they sing, and a make-your-own wooden boat display. Along with all the centers and ships, the area has a lot of green grassy area that I can just envision Jason, Bree, and I playing at and having picnics in. We want to take her back there for Bree's 1st birthday. After spending a decent bit of time at the Seaport, we talked down to downtown Mystic and ate at Mystic Pizza (yes the one the movie was named after). I thought the food would be a bit over-hyped, but the pizza wasn't half bad. Despite our iffy start to our wedding anniversary, we ended the day on a great note! The only problem with the Seaport was Bree's meltdowns related to her newly discovered separation anxiety (a detailed blog on the separation anxiety is to follow - stay tuned).

 

 Bree and me checking out the fish at the very end of our trip to Mystic Aquarium

 Cheese!!

 At Mystic Seaport on one of the ships....Bree wanted to steer the boat

 Bree and mommy shots!

 Talk about a separation anxiety face...not good :(

 Not even a minute later...we're fine again

 Separation face again :(

 Finally got some good shots of Bree and her Daddy at the Seaport playground...of course it started to rain

 Super cute!

 Mommy and baby shots to finish up the trip

 At Mystic Pizza

Too young for pizza but had a delicious snack of peaches

9 Month Well Baby Visit and Milestones

It's hard to believe that Miss. Brianna has been in our lives 9 months now!! Time really has flown by quickly! Jason and I have even started party planning for Bree's 1st birthday. I know, I'm a dork..ha. Anyway, Miss. Bree had her 9 month well-baby checkup recently. Thankfully this is the one well-baby visit in the entire collection that doesn't require vaccines, so no pain cry today. She did fuss a bit when the doctor attempted to look into her ears. It was cute, the doctor apologized for making us wait a few minutes and I apologized for Bree making a complete mess out of the doctor's office. She smiled and laughed while saying "that sounds like a perfectly normal 9 month old." Bree had discovered that it is fun to tear the paper lining that the doctor places on the table that patients sit on. At first it was a little tear and then a much larger tear and then finally multiple giant tears! She had a great time and seemed very accomplished after making such a mess. Bree was weighed and here are her most recent stats: weight: 17 pounds 5 oz (30 percentile) and height: 26.5 inches (30 percentile). She's perfectly proportioned, but of course on the smaller side. Everything else checked out well for her. Her skin seems a bit on the sensitive side and has been breaking out into small rashes. The doctor wasn't too concerned about it, but provided me with a name of a body wash, lotion, and face creme that we have been directed to apply to her each day. I stopped by CVS on the way home to purchase all the creme and about had a heart attack when I saw the price. Each one of them was priced at around $15 a piece! Thankfully the jars are large enough to keep us occupied for a while, but still....wow. Bree has definitely tapped into our wallets at an early age. Other than that, we got a clean bill of health and is doing great! Other milestones during her 9th month of life: army crawling, steadying sitting up, turning around in circle while on the floor and on a sitting position (very cute to see), teething (she has 8 teeth now), and doing very well on eating solids (baby food). We are getting very close to starting her on table foods (Gerber Puffs to begin with).

I'm attaching some of our favorite pictures from her 9th month :)

 We took Bree to a Robin Hood/Renaissance Festival

 Daddy and Bree watching the joust

 One sleepy child to go, please!

 Hehe....too funny :)

 Look at that big girl, sitting up all by herself!

 She has gotten quite a belly on her

 Bree in her outdoor playpen Jason ordered for her. She doesn't mind it as long as mommy is in the playpen with her....kinda defeats the purpose of the playpen, huh?!

 Love this little tongue shot...she was trying to crawl/pull herself over to me

 Up in the air with Daddy

 Our little sailor

 Love this shot!!

Look at those baby blues!