Making new friends at Grandma's Fake Thanksgiving

Yesterday, we went to Grandma Diane's house for "Fake Thanksgiving" and spent some time with Grandma's new boyfriend, his daughter, his son-in-law, his granddaughter, and his son. Isabelle met little Lyla for the first time and it was interesting to see how she reacted around another baby. Lyla is 3 months old and a super cutie. Isabelle was completely enthralled by her and her mommy. Lyla is the polar opposite of Isabelle when it comes to most things. For example: Lyla can and will sleep just about anywhere...the car seat, the swing, her mom's arms, or even the floor like she did yesterday, with music, talking or any other kind of noise in the background. They literally put a blanket on the floor, placed her on it with the music on right next to her and BLAMMO..asleep for almost an hour. You can bet that if I tried to do that with Isabelle she'd roll from one side of the room to the other as she screamed her head off. Izzy prefers to sleep in her crib with the shades drawn and her white noise machine on. This is what all the books recommend, but I feel like I painted myself into a corner with her sleep accomodations because I have to tote her pack-n-play and noise machine with me when I go to visit people and I have to make sure I find a relatively dark room. It's a bit ridiculous. Lyla also ENJOYS being in her swing. She sat in it for the majority of dinner, without making so much as a peep, while Izzy squirmed and cooed in my arms as I tried to spoon a forkful of sweet potatoes into my mouth....unsuccessfully.

For the most part, Isabelle was really good. She took some photos with me.

And she took some photos with Grandma (Izzy didn't seem to mind that Grandma just called her a "little boy face" because she is smiling).

She even took some pictures with her new little friend, Lyla.
There was a bit of fussing toward the end of the evening, but that is COMPLETELY understandable considering it was about an hour or so past her bedtime. I thought it was sweet how Izzy wanted to touch Lyla and the way she looked at her. It made me realize that we need to start going to some Mommy & Me classes so that Isabelle, and I, can start socializing. I have a feeling she's going to enjoy meeting other babies. She already likes Lyla (and the baby that she sees in her mirror).

Isabelle's First Thanksgiving

My chubby little turkey was so good for Thanksgiving. I, of course, had been stressing for days (okay...a week) about how she would be with all the traveling, people, changes to her routine, etc. But, all in all, she was on her "best behavior". We left around her nap time and she "chatted" for a bit in the car, cried for a few minutes and then slept for the majority of the trip. Once we got there, she was a little nervous because there were so many people...basically lots of new and "new again" faces (family members she hasn't seen in a while as well as family members she had yet to meet) all coming at her wanting to kiss and hug her. She handled it pretty well, but made it very clear that she wanted her Mommy. Even when Marc would hold her, she would stick out that puffy, little bottom lip and look for me. After a while (a while meaning about two hours) she was willing to let Marc, and even my Zia Valeria, hold her during dinner. She took a measly little 30 minute nap in the pack-n-play upstairs, but was in a good mood anyway. She ate all of her solids, nursed relatively well and even tried to drink some of Daddy's beer at the dinner table. She wasn't as super duper happy as she usually is (actually she was kinda serious), but she cracked a few smiles for everyone here and there. Before we left, I nursed her one last time and put her in the car seat. She cried for a little bit in the car, but eventually fell asleep. Once we got home, I was certain that she was going to wake up when I was transferring her from the car seat to the crib, but it was like putting down a sack of potatoes. Altogether, Isabelle had a great day and I'm a little more at ease about our upcoming trip to Montreal...a little, not a lot!

I LOVE MY DADDY!

Boy oh boy, Isabelle really loves her Daddy. Although yesterday she was in a bit of a tizzy and only Mommy would do, most of the time she adores her Daddy. Maybe its the funny faces he makes at her or the way he plays "fly baby", but mostly I think it is because of his beard. She loves to tug on it, run her little fat fingers through it, and sometimes just study it. I love watching the two of them play together. He's such a goof that she can't help but smile and laugh at him (not to mention that when they play together I get some down time). Today Marc was flying her back and forth toward me and the look on her face was priceless...a little bit of nervousness mixed with total and complete excitement. Even though she's been a bit of a crabapple the past two or three days, most of her moments are sweet, smiley and adorable. Marc has been really great about helping me out more with Isabelle and taking her "off my hands" when he gets home from work so that I can have some me-time (which usually consists of making dinner, but I'll take what I can get). Most of the time, we all play together as a family since we can't go for our daily walks because it gets so dark so soon. Family play time is kind of my favorite part of the day because Marc and I get to experience Izzy together and I am able to show him the things that he missed during the day. I just can't believe that my chubby little monkey is over 6 months old already. Time is flying! She has started to almost sit up on her own and, even though she's not quite creeping or crawling yet, I have a feeling she will be soon.

Belly Laughs Video

Many people have already seen this, but it's one of my absolute favorites! Isabelle has the greatest laugh and I have no problem acting like a complete fool if it means I get to hear her do this.

Bathtime Babbling Video

Here is my little munchkin babbling away during bathtime. I LOVE when she tries to talk and I am trying to encourage her to say Mama, but it wouldn't be too bad if she said Papa first.

The Terrifying Task of Taking the Tiny Tot on a Trek for Thanksgiving

I am basically terrified of Thanksgiving this year. This will be our first long haul trip since Isabelle's birth. Most of our excursions usually consist of going to Grandma's house (7 miles away) for a few hours, but we are ALWAYS home by bath/bedtime (which starts around 6:15-6:30pm...no later than 7pm). On Thanksgiving, we have approximately 2 hours of traveling to get there, we will be arriving around 1pm and we will most definitely be leaving around the normal bath/bedtime. Why does this cause me to worry?

There are a number of reasons:

1) Isabelle HATES the car seat. We are going to try to leave around her normal nap time in the hopes that she will sleep for the majority of the trip, but my fear is that she won't sleep, will miss her nap and generally be a crabby-patty for most of the ride/day.

2) Izzy has yet to take a decent nap outside of our home. Granted, the few times we have tried to get her to nap at Grandma's house, it was the late afternoon naptime which isn't always successful at home. We just bought a pack-n-play and I hope that she will nap without having to be in her own crib.

3) Since our nighttime bath/bed routine is going to be "compromised" from traveling, I am concerned that Isabelle won't sleep well that night both on the way home from NJ and once we get to our house.

I know that these are all the over-protective, nervous, kind of ridiculous thoughts of a first-time mother, but this is where my head is right now. I have already started to make a list of all the things I need to bring with me and I'm not even sure if it will all fit in the car. If we can make it through this, then perhaps my mind will be more at ease for our upcoming Christmas trip to Montreal...I doubt it though.

Little Hands

My new favorite pasttime is to watch Isabelle as she intently focuses her attention on her little, chubby hands with her rubberband wrists and vienna-sausage fingers. She puts them in front of her face, stares at them and wiggles her fingers...mesmerized at the wonderous movements. She has also begun to grasp her feet and toes, not quite realizing that they are attached to her. This makes it difficult to change her diaper, especially with the added challenge of her squirming and turning to look at what's behind, next to, in front of and below her when she is on the changing table. I swear she is going to be running soon. Her hands have also become incredibly strong and her grasp is determined...I should know because she usually is grasping (and pulling) on my hair! Today, she wrapped her fingers around a piece of my hair, unbeknownst to me, and tugged so hard I thought it came out of my scalp completely. Her goal was to get the hair into her mouth, just like everything else, but she surprisingly listened to the gentle, yet firm "No" that I implemented. It may have been a fluke, but I am hoping that hair pulling is not going to be a new hobby for her. Until we figure it out though, I think I'll wear my hair back more often...and I'll refrain from wearing earrings as well.

Best Face Forward

I have been inspired by something that my friends, Janelle and Seth, posted on their blog recently (http://sethandjanelle.blogspot.com/). It is a poll to see which face of Isabelle is a favorite among her friends and family. So below you will see five different photos of our girl and you can vote for your favorite on the right. She’s a cheeky little monkey isn’t she?



#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

It's 2:30am...isn't it playtime?

I think that my daughter is going to be a party girl because she doesn't seem to have any problem being up at 2:30am "dancing" in her crib. By dancing, I mean kicking, rolling, and squirming. She also likes to sing with "ooohs", "aahhhs" and "babababas" for a good 45 minutes before going back to sleep. This has been the case for the past three nights...and I'M EXHAUSTED! Izzy seems fine, but I'm beat. Maybe its teething, maybe its gas, or maybe her internal clock is registering 2:30am as an appropriate wake-up time...I have no idea. The thing with Isabelle, and probably most babies, is that tomorrow night will be completely different from tonight. I can never really project what each night will be like and so, even though I'd rather stay up until 11pm or 12am to watch a show or spend time with my husband, I go to bed religiously at 10pm just in case the night leaves me with little sleep. I'll bet most new mommies can relate to the sentiment of, "Will I ever go out past 10pm again?". I probably could go out with my hubby here and there and have my mom come by to watch the baby as she sleeps, but I just don't think I'd have the stamina and I'd probably be worried the whole time about getting enough sleep that night. Not exactly the carefree, whimsical time of a lady on the town. But at the same time, it is inexplicably rewarding to see those chubby, smiling little cheeks in the morning and to inhale her dove-soap scent as she coos and babbles and starts to investigate the world around her. I'll just go out again when she's 18.

Raising Children: by Anna Quindlen

My mother sent me this forwarded email today with this piece by Anna Quindlen, a Newsweek columnist and author. Reading this helped me to put my own experiences in perspective, gain a little insight into parenthood in general and build up some hope and excitement for what tomorrow may bring.


Raising Children
by Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief.

I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast.Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like.

Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon, and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages, dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, and finally what the women on the playground, and the well-meaning relations -- well what they taught me was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything.

One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome.

To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow.

I remember 15 years ago pouring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China. Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made.They have all been enshrined in the "Remember-When-Mom-Did " Hall of Fame.The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs.The times the baby fell off the bed.The times I arrived late for preschool pickup.The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp.The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?" (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1.

And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top.

And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity.

That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me awhile to figure out who the experts were.

Teething

My poor little bunny girl is teething. My mother-in-law clued me in to this when she asked me if Isabelle's cheeks were abnormally redish and starting to sprout little pimples. This has been the look that Izzy has been rocking for the past few days, but I was attributing it to the solid foods that get all over her face when I try to feed her. My M.I.L (mother-in-law) pointed out that this is a sign of teething and that just made everything click...the fussiness, the crankiness, the overall pain-in-the-buttness. Izzy has basically been a pill for the past few days and it's not because she's tired or hungry. She is napping beautifully (and I hope that lasts) and sleeping at night (it would be great if this would last too), but at random times during the day its like a cranky switch turns on and it is very hard to turn it off. It takes a lot of bouncing, walking, cooing, singing and/or dancing to shut down the crabbiness. I have tried rubbing some all-natural Hyland's Teething Gel on her gums, giving her a cool, wet cloth to gnaw on, chilling her teething rings for her to put in her mouth and massaging her little sore gums, but nothing seems to help her. I feel so bad that I can't alleviate her pain. She isn't quite cutting any teeth yet, but I have a feeling that that moment is right around the corner. Before you know it, I'll be sneaking into her room at night to grab those teeth from under her pillow and leave her a little something from the "Tooth Fairy". I hear that there has been some crazy inflation in the "Tooth Fairy" business...my next door neighbor's daughter received $20 for ONE TOOTH. I think our tooth fairy is probably going to be a little less generous...maybe we'll go with a few dollars and a book (just like I used to get).

Rollercoaster Ride

Just when I think I have my daughter figured out, she goes and changes things up on me. I know that this in not an uncommon occurence in the lives of mothers and infants, but it is still making for one heck of a rollercoaster ride. The last few days have been pretty great sleep/nap-wise and Izzy has been in a relatively good mood. But today, even though the naps were decent, I can only describe her mood as crabby. She'd wake up all smiles and within half an hour she'd have a sourpuss on her face or she'd be whining. What's kind of funny is how she would cry and then start to babble at the same time producing some really great sounds. Most of the day, she was in constant flux between sweet, munchkin face and full-on funji (pronounced fun-gee and meaning puffed out, pouty, quivering bottom lip initializing a bout of crying) face. Even though I hate to see her sad, I really love the funji face because it is just so cute.

Another part of Isabelle's Rockin Rollercoaster Ride is her sudden aversion to her Jumpin Jumparoo. Last week, she LOVED that toy and would bounce and play in it for a good thirty minutes (with me by her side of course, lest I leave her for a moment...demanding little diva). Over the past few days though, that jumparoo has not been on her list of "favorite things to play with". This just means that I am going to have to find other ways to entertain her, which I'm sure will be the case for the next 18-20 years. I don't really mind of course because I happen to like rollercoasters, but every once in a while there is a dip in the ride that makes me feel a little discombobulated. There is seriously nothing quite like motherhood.

I miss my friends

I'm going to have a super selfish moment... I miss my friends! Luckily I have some wonderful friends who have made the trip to see me numerous times, but I really miss seeing them on a fairly regular basis. It's not just having a child that makes that more difficult (although that is a MAJOR part of it, especially when that child won't take the bottle)...it's also not living in the city anymore and the convenience that came along with that. I always knew that when I was ready to have a family I was going to move out of Manhattan, but that does put a bit of a wrinkle in the ease with which I can see my friends. I used to see "E" every Thursday for taco night and "Grey's Anatomy" and I would see "R" and C" at least every two weeks just for brunch or manis and pedis and I'd see "J" everyday at work and for Happy Hour on Fridays (oh how I miss you Happy Hour). But in order to see my friends now, we have to set up a day in advance since I live so far and can't really travel without the babe (who still hates the car seat and doesn't take the stinkin bottle). When we do get together, it is SO worth it and we laugh and have a good time, but I definitely miss the spontanaeity of living in the city and calling up "E" to just hang out on a random Sunday afternoon.

On a more baby-related note...Izzy has been babbling up a storm lately. It's mostly just "ba ba ba" sounds (which reminds me of the scene in "OverBoard" when Goldie Hawn is going a bit crazy from all the madness with the kids in the house and the youngest boy says, in a strange voice, "All she keeps saying is Ba baba Ba baba"). "E", you'd totally agree! Isabelle is also rolling over like a champion now...especially in her crib. Every once in a while, if I'm not paying total attention to her when she's on the rug with me, I'll look up and she's about a foot away from me. If she's rolling that quickly, I can just imagine what life is going tobe like when she starts to crawl. At least I'll get some exercise in!

Diaper check!

Motherhood is about many things. It's about learning how to function on very little sleep, feeling elation when your little one smiles at you, acting silly in public to entertain your child, hoping that that little bundle of joy doesn't have a fit in the store, waking up out of a sound sleep because you think you might have heard a small sound coming from the baby's room, etc, etc,etc. But I have found that motherhood is mostly about...poop! I don't think I have EVER obsessed so much about the pooping habits of another individual until I became a mom. Whenever she makes a funny face or squints her eyes I wonder, "Is she pooping?". And when she actually does poop, I analyze the color and consistency to make sure all is going according to plan. It's a very glamorous lifestyle! When she eats something new, I worry about how it will affect her bowel movements. When she seems fussy, I think it's probably because she needs to go to the bathroom, but can't. I used to be a normal person who had normal conversations, but now I actually call my husband to excitedly tell him that our daughter finally pooped. I would say that is very far from normal. Ever since May 14, 2008, I have become unnaturally concerned with the details of poop...this is SO not okay. And I will talk to people about it! People I don't even know...about poop! I have officially left normalcy and have entered into crazytown...population me. So, if you have the inclination to talk about poop, you know who to contact!

Back Breaker!

My daughter is stubborn...or maybe a better way to describe her is "particular". As I've mentioned in previous posts, she hates the car seat. That being said, that also means that she dislikes the stroller because as of right now she has to be in the car seat to be in the stroller. I have tried to put her in the stroller without the infant seat, facing forward in the "real" stroller seat, but after about ten minutes she is fussy and crying and basically a pain in the tush. BUT, if I wear her, or if Marc wears her, facing out in the Baby Bjorn...she is happier than a pig in you-know-what. I don' t know if it is because she is close to us, higher up off the ground and able to look around, or not in a seated position that makes her like it so much, but the Bjorn is really only supposed to hold babies up to 22 pounds...and she is nearly 18 pounds! I take AT LEAST one walk a day with her, if not more, and whenever I go to the store I wear her. Needless to say, I am going to have linebacker shoulders and neck muscles by the time she is too big for this thing! My husband and I always "fight" over who will get to wear her in the store because people fawn over her and we kinda like it (yeah, just a little), but I can only have her on me for so long before my back and neck start to hurt. She's not exactly a featherweight. Soon she'll have to figure out that Mommy is not a pack-mule and she's going to have to suck it up and deal with the stroller...or maybe I'm going to have to suck it up and stop caving in. Hmmm...I wonder if that might have something to do with it. :-)

Not the best night

UGH! Seriously? I mean, seriously? Does this baby EVER want to sleep? I think the answer might be a big, fat NO! Going to sleep at bedtime was no problem (it usually isn't), but just as I was going to bed at 10:30pm, Isabelle decided that it would be the perfect time to wake up and play. I let her do her thing in her crib because I thought (hoped) that she would put herself back to sleep. She talked to herself, kicked her legs and rolled back and forth for nearly an hour and then cried for twenty minutes and THEN fell asleep for five minutes only to wake up again and play/cry for another 20-30 minutes. She FINALLY fell back to sleep at 12:30am...not good. Of course, for those two hours, I was watching the monitor to make sure she was okay...so no sleep for me. I thought that this would be the end of it since she MUST be tired (I know I was), but NOOOOO. Izzy woke up again at 5am to play and fuss until 5:30am, went back to sleep until 6am and then the same routine until I went in to "get her up" at 6:45am. SERIOUSLY? I really hope that this is not the new shtick. I thought that babies around 6 months old were supposed to be able to sleep through the night. So much for that theory. Isabelle has proven many "baby theories" wrong during her 6 months on this planet. Not to mention the fact that we have been doing CIO (Cry it out) with her for over a month (please don't judge) so you would think that by now she would be able to "self-soothe", but no...not my daughter. She likes to make things challenging. At least she's not a "trick baby", as my friend called it...the kind of baby that tricks you into thinking that being a parent is easy because they fall asleep anywhere, never fuss about eating, rarely whine or cry and are basically deceivingly easy...until baby #2 comes along and shows you the opposite. Isabelle is quick with a smile and usually delightful, but she is definitely NOT a "trick baby".



Hmmm..how can I make things difficult today?

Success!

Houston...we have no more swaddle blanket! I am honestly so relieved to not have to wrap Isabelle up like a sausage every time I put her down to sleep. Last night went relatively well considering it was her first full night without the Miracle Swaddle Blanket. It took her a little bit to fall asleep, but then she was out for 5 hours. When she did wake up to nurse, she stayed up for about an hour, but then went back to sleep for another 5 hours. This morning around 5am, Izzy decided that she wanted to wake up, but I let her chill out in her crib since she wasn't crying (and since I didn't really want to start my day at 5am). She rolled all around her crib and lifted her legs over and over, bringing them down with a resounding "BOOM" on the crib slats. Once or twice, her legs went over the bumpers and through the slats, but it didn't seem to bother her. She did this for about 45 minutes and then went back to sleep for half an hour. The leg thing was pretty crazy and she gets around in that crib with the rolling, but my mind was definitely more at ease because she wasn't writhing around and squirming while wrapped up like a mental patient. Today she had some really decent naps swaddle-free and even nursed pretty well. All in all, I would say that today was a good day. I just hope that tonight is a good night.

Look Mommy...No Swaddle!

We stopped swaddling our little munchkin and so far so good (I should probably knock on wood because I may be speaking too soon). My hubby and I had a long talk this morning about what we should do about the whole swaddling issue. Recently Isabelle has been kind of fighting the swaddle blanket. It seemed to help her calm down and sleep, but as about two weeks ago, when she would wake up she would thrash around a bit and wiggle her arms so that the blanket would essentially end up bunched up around her neck (NOT GOOD). Then I'd have to re-swaddle her during the night (also not good) and that would wake her up and then she'd basically be in her straight-jacket wriggling and almost turning over onto her face until she would wear herself out and fall asleep. Needless to say that we felt it was time to ditch the swaddle and get this little girl to sleep without it. So today we put her down in her crib for her morning nap without the swaddle. We put her on her back because as new parents we are innundated with the advice to sleep babies up to 6 months old on their backs because of the SIDS issue, which I agree with, but I also can understand why it is difficult for many babies to fall asleep this way. I don't know of many adults who enjoy sleeping on their backs. She moved around and talked to herself for a bit and then flipped over onto her belly, then back to her back, then back to her belly and so and and so forth for about a half hour to forty five minutes. Finally she fell asleep on her belly, which we didn't freak out about because she's 6 months old and perfectly capable to move to her back if she needs to (plus, we finally got those Breathable Bumpers in the mail yesterday). She napped relatively well for the morning nap and then REALLY well for the mid-afternoon nap and she went down to sleep for the night pretty easily as well. I seriously hope that this is a sign that we did the right thing and it's not just cause she was super tired from not sleeping that well last night. Next obstacle to tackle is limiting the night feedings...that should be fun. :-(

A Much Needed Night Out (kind of)

In the last five and three-quarter months since my daughter's birth, my husband and I have gone out exactly three times: once for our one-year anniversary (yes, we got pregnant on our honeymoon), once for my 31st birthday and tonight just for fun. Granted, we only went to Applebee's and we went for dinner at 4:30pm (Yay- early bird special!), but it was nice just the same. My mom took the baby for 2 hours and we went and munched on some Spinach-Artichoke Dip and some burgers and just hung out with one another. It's funny that we ended up talking about the baby's poop...I mean, seriously? Even when I'm out, I'm thinking and worrying about Isabelle...ah, parenthood. Tomorrow, my close friend is coming into town and we are supposed to be going to visit some other friends (one of whom is visiting from L.A) and the somewhat nerve-wracking decision I have to make it whether or not to bring Isabelle with me. Now, if she took the bottle, this wouldn't even be an issue. But, since my beautiful and wonderful daughter so stubbornly refuses to take the bottle, I am in a bit of a pickle. Choice #1 is to bring her with me and risk her being a hot mess because she hates the car seat so much and will probably miss a nap. Choice #2 is to leave her home with Daddy, knowing that she won't take the bottle and feeling guilty the whole time because I'll know that she's hungry and probably giving Daddy a hard time. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow.













"What do you mean you're going out?"

Don't You Want to Nap Little Girl?

Oh how I love my little Senorita Crabby Pants

I don't know about anyone else, but when I've had a rocky night's sleep all I want to do the next day is take a nap. Not the case with my little bundle of joy...or actually, my little bundle of crankiness. Last night, Isabelle had a bit of a tough time with the whole concept of sleep and today she just wouldn't nap. She was exhausted, and super crabby, but she would only sleep for about 30 minutes (if I was lucky) and then she was up and whining and being a fairly large pain in the keester. Not one of our better days to say the least. I think it has something to do with the while rolling over milestone from yesterday. I read that when a baby experiences a milestone, such as rolling over from back to belly for the first time, it tends to affect their sleeping. I can only hope that she will have a better night tonight. I just felt so bad for her...she actually had little black circles under her eyes. :-( When she gets enough sleep she is a joy to be around, but just like most people, if she doesn't get enough rest she is an absolute bear! But tomorrow is another day and I have to keep reminding myself when I experience tough days with her that "this will not last forever" and we can start fresh in the morning.

To Swaddle or Not to Swaddle...That is the Question.

This weekend is going to be a big weekend for us though...we are going to finally try to wean Isabelle from the swaddle blanket. Since her birth, I have been swaddling her for sleeping. I read that babies like to be swaddled because it mimics the womb-like snuggliness and helps them to sleep better because it prevents them from flailing their arms around and waking themselves. So - since day one, Izzy has been wrapped up like a little burrito for her naps and for her nighttime sleep. This hasn't been an issue until recently. The other night, she didn't want to go to sleep and was moving about in her crib and she somehow rolled herself over. She couldn't really move back because her arms were all wrapped up, so Marc and I unswaddled her to see what she would do. That brought up a whole new issue. First off, she moved all around the crib like Mario Andretti. Then, she would fall asleep with her face smushed up against the bumper. This freaked us out because we don't want her to suffocate (we can see all this going on because we have a monitor with a video screen...BEST MONITOR EVER!) so we went in and moved her onto back again, subsequently waking her up. This happened a few times and I just felt so awful. Finally, I look online and found these "Breathable Bumpers" from Leaps & Bounds that are made out of mesh material and are not a suffocating hazard. We re-swaddled her that night and put some sleep positioners around her and decided to wait until the new bumpers showed up to try again without the swaddle. Well, the bumpers came today and we will be going swaddle-free this weekend...I just hope that all goes well.

Big Day

Yes yes...today is a big day because Barack Obama was elected president of the Unites States of America...but it was an even bigger day because Isabelle rolled over from her back to her belly all by herself! :-) The things that I find fascinating now are so different than what they used to be before her birth. Or the things that I worry about or get worked up over...completely different! I remember getting ready for my wedding and fretting about all the little details (I was so concerned about the paper cones with the rose petals in them and whether or not they would be ready in time for people to use them at the end of the ceremony). That seemed like such a big deal at the time, but now it just seems ridiculous. These days, my main concerns all have to do with Isabelle: is she feeling okay, is that enough time for her to nap, is that color poop normal, is she ever going to like being in the carseat, is she getting enough to eat while nursing, etc., etc. My husband (Marc) asked me yesterday when I thought I might be ready to try for baby number two...I gave him the "Whatchu lookin at Willis" look because they say that you should start trying for your next child when you've forgotten what labor and delivery felt like and let's just say that I haven't even come close to forgetting (I'll get into the labor story another time)! Not only that, I don't know if I'm ready to share my love just yet. I'm still so desperately in love with Isabelle and I don't want to jip baby number two of all this love and affection. On the slightly negative side, I really don't know if I'm ready to go through the sleepless nights, breastfeeding concerns, very little adult contact and overall loneliness of being a new mommy just yet...I'm still going through all that right now! Maybe when Izzy is 18 months or so we can start to try for another baby, but as of right now that option is being tabled.
Today was a pretty decent day for me and Isabelle...other than her big rolling over moment (which was really neat), she had at least one good nap and we went on two nice long walks together. My dad came over for his weekly lunch with us (which has become something that I look forward to each week) and we had some of the mushroom soup that I "slaved" over this morning. Other than all of that - I fed Izzy, changed her, played with her and did all of the things that we do every other day of the week. I don't want to take for granted the fact that I am able to be home with my daughter and experience all her milestones with her one by one, but it can get a bit monotonous from time to time. That's just the honest truth. There's only so many times you can sing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" without going a little nutty.