Marian's head control is getting better every day! She can sit in the Boppy chair for a few minutes at a time before she starts to slump over. She loves being where the action is, and seems to really like sitting up so she can see everything.
She is also getting so much bigger! Her cheeks look chubbier (and cuter) every day as well. Her nose is red in the picture because I had just wiped it after she had a snotty sneeze :)
11 weeks old and she has already conquered her first plane trip! I was 7 before I flew anywhere (it was to Iowa with my dad and I was SO excited). And all the way through college, I could actually list every flight I had ever taken. That has long passed, of course! And I am sure that by the time Marian is 7 years old she will have flown many more times.
She did great today - asleep before we took off and slept the whole way, even through landing!
She is very happy to be visiting the family now!
So, it has taken 10 weeks, but I am finally starting to get a grip on what Marian needs when she cries. For the longest time, every time she made a peep, I would feed her. Or Marc would change her diaper. Then, later, I'd have to change her outfit after she spit up (and Marc would take out the garbage full of semi-dirty diapers).
But, now, I can tell when she is bored or lonely - she does a sort of squawky yell, like "pay attention to me!" And when she is tired, she gets whiny and shakes her head back and forth, like "leave me alone!". And when she is hungry, she turns into ANGRY BABY!, which clearly means, "FEED ME!" Dirty diaper falls somewhere in between tired and hungry.
And when she is happy, she smiles! And is starting to laugh! I love that! The smiles aren't very sustained, so it is hard to catch on camera, but they are certainly becoming more numerous. And she is babbling and cooing more, as well. I realize these are all normal baby things to do (including the cries), but I totally feel like my baby is a genius!
We hope Marian loves reading as much as we do. Today we read her Where the Wild Things Are in honor of Maurice Sendak. Such a great book!
Marian made a monster face in honor of it. Then proceeded to have a wild rumpus!
Two months ago, our lives changed immensely! The past two months have simultaneously sped by and been the longest two months of my life. I have not slept for more than 4 hours and 15 minutes in a row in that time (and that long only twice). I have been pooped on, peed on, spit up on, screamed at and had my pleas for patience blatantly ignored. And I have discovered that one little smile makes all of that seem completely irrelevant. It is awesome. Tiring and frustrating, but awesome!
And we celebrated this landmark with a visit to the doctor and her first set of vaccines. Poor baby!
I didn't cry when she got the shots. I did get teary beforehand when I was thinking about it, though. She did great with the shots - screamed for a few seconds, then let us comfort her, then fell asleep. She slept a lot today, but did get a low grade fever this evening. Man, that is rough on a mom! (Though a pediatrician thinks, "Great! Her immune system works!")
She now measures:
11 lbs, 5 oz (70%ile)
23-3/4 inches long (97%ile)
I can't wait to see how she grows and develops over the next two months and beyond!
Though, really, she is growing way to fast!
I totally think Marian looks like those little monkey toys from the 70s - the monchichi dolls. I think it is because of all the hair!
Marian is 8 Weeks old today! It is getting harder to get a picture of her while she is awake, because she never stops moving! It is no wonder that she still gets hungry every 2 hours...
Could it be anything but Star Wars? Original episodes, of course!
Blurry pic, but she is enjoying it just as much as she did Pride and Prejudice.
Day 4 compared to day 46... (granted, on day 4 her legs are all curled up)
Marian and I are indulging in a little Pride and Prejudice today. I think she is a fan of Miss Elizabeth Bennett!
After the movie, I think I will read her the best children's book ever:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1423622022/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
Song For A Fifth Child
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
This little angel refused to do this for most of the night last night. Amazing how frustrated you can get with someone and still think they are the most perfect creature ever.
Now I go nap!
Marian and I just got back from Target. We got caught in a bona fide thunderstorm on the drive home. Thunder, lightning, and lots of hail. Needless to say it was quite loud in the car. I couldn't tell if she was crying or not. When we got home, this is what I saw! She looks very startled and confused, but not crying.
Now the cat was another matter...
Marian smiles a lot now, but only in her sleep. She even makes sounds like she is laughing occasionally! I like to think she is having happy thoughts. Though, what comprises a happy thought for a baby is a mystery... A clean diaper and a giant magic-milk-giver-thingy?
We keep waiting for the real smiles to start. I think she has smiled at me or Marc a few times, but small smiles. And... they may have been directed at the wall... Ah well, she will smile for real eventually. In the meantime, I will keep her diaper clean and feed her when she is hungry! And make a fool of myself with baby talk and exaggerated smiles. :)
We went out to Amador County to go wine tasting for a friend's birthday. Marian did great! She slept most of the time. Which does make me worry about tonight... Fingers crossed that we'll get some sleep!
For various reasons, we decided to attempt giving Marian her first bottle today. I had about an ounce of pumped milk in the fridge, and we warmed it up and crossed our fingers that she'd accept the bottle. Well, she did, and swimmingly! Marc was beyond thrilled to finally have the chance to provide her with this basic need of hers. I think he'd like to take on all of her feeding, but I'm not gonna let him! Though I will let him take one or two middle of the night feeds!
I figured one month (!) was old enough for Marian to start being a productive member of society. So today, she joined me at a meeting for thr Sacramento Children's Trust Fund to get trained as a reviewer for grant proposals. Don't ask her about the proposals, though. She was sworn to confidentiality like the rest of us! And she's not speaking!
The amount of gas this girl produces is un-be-liev-able. Thankfully, breast milk gas doesn't smell too bad!
We got Marian's stroller yesterday, and I decided we'd take it out for a spin today. Marian was not sure what to make of it at first, but I think she liked it. She was just looking around at everything. Very curious. And cute! I so wish I'd caught the expression on her face when a dog barked nearby. Her eyes got sooo big! Imagine hearing you first dog bark... Amazing!
It was great for me to get back out walking again. Four weeks post-surgery, and I'm walking well, though I'm certainly no where near running again.
First of all: holy cow, Marian is 25 days old! We have had so much family visiting, I kind of lost track of how old she is getting. Also, I can't believe that I have been nursing her every 3 hours for 25 days. There have been a few instances where she went 4 hours, but many more times when she only went 1-2 hours.
Anyhow, she had a rough night last night. She wanted to eat every 2 hours, and in between was whining and grunting a LOT. (And every little sound wakes me up...) Poor thing had bad gas. It continues thru most of the day.
It actually got to the point where I decided to try simethicone... I can't tell you haw many times I have rolled my metaphysical eyes when parents request gas drops for their little ones. There is no evidence that the drops work, so I tend to think it is the equivalent of 'snake oil' or some such other 'miracle' cure that is really just sugar water or watered down whiskey. I have heard lots of parents claim the drops work, though, and I felt bad seeing Marian so uncomfortable, so we went to Target to try it out. (And to get her vitamin D and a cute outfit... I'm a sucker for cute baby clothes!)
I gave her like half a dose of the simethicone, because I got nervous about giving her medicine! And... did it work? Maybe... After her half dose, I changed her diaper, fed her, and she slept comfortably for 3 hours. But then she woke up gassy again. So, maybe it was coincidence, but maybe it worked? Certainly my sleep deprived self is willing to try again. And my pediatrician self will stop rolling my eyes - metaphysical or otherwise - when parents request 'snake oil.'
Marian has been fussy this evening. It may have started this morning when we were playing with her hair. She didn't like that one bit! But all that hair is so much fun to play with post-bath!
I cannot wait until she starts smiling for real. Until then, I try to convince myself that her brief smiles are on purpose and directed towards me!
Marc went back to work today, after 2 weeks home with us. Both Marian and Marc were happy to see each other again at the end of the day!
I love cuddling with Marian! I sort of wish she'd stay this little forever, but I'm also really excited to get to know her as a person and watch her grow. So I stay up late cuddling while I can!
I planned on staying at home for at least a month after Marian was born. My pediatrician eyes can't help but see everything "out there" awash with germs and putrescence.
But, all best laid plans occasionally need adjustment (see: the pacifier). And two weeks mostly at home does cause a little cabin fever. So, when invited to a friend's house for dinner, I found myself accepting.
Marian was fussy and gassy allllll day today, but slept the entire time away from home. Whether from exhaustion or a sense of self-preservation, I don't know.
Here's to hoping no germs found their way into her tiny body. Or that if they did the COPIOUS amounts of breast milk she has been imbibing will help keep her healthy!
Marian's lashes were all skewed to the side before, but they suddenly sprouted out!
One worry I always harbored prior to having a baby was how to take care of their tiny little fingernails. I have always been intimidated by animal nails, too - my poor cat has never had her nails trimmed by me... probably why she scratches the carpet...
I'm just so nervous that I will cut too far and hurt the cat with the clippers (and, let's be honest, I'm scared she'll claw me to death with those nails I'm trying to trim!)
Well, Marian was born with a few talons of her own. And, as babies are wont to do, she kept scratching her face with them. I chose to ignore it at first - the scratches healed so quickly, I felt like it wasn't too bad. I tried the baby nail clipper once, but I pinched her, so I stopped. Besides, her nails are tiny and flimsy, and I figured it couldn't hurt her too badly.
Then she started scratching me while she was eating. And, man those tiny little nails hurt! Ouch! (Enter guilty mom feelings)
I thought about encouraging her to scratch the carpet, but her comprehension skills are not that sophisticated yet. So, I filed her nails! So much better than the nail clipper.
I wonder if the cat would sit still for the nail file...
We were attempting to forgo the ubiquitous pacifier for Marian. A bit of the "we are better parents than that" or "our baby is to good for that" feeling, I think.
But then my milk really came in. With a vengence. Which is not surprising given the alphabetic range my bosom has traversed since I got pregnant...
Anyway, little Marilu really likes to suck. And suck. And she fills herself up, and above and beyond. And while it may be fashionable in Panem's Capital to empty the stomach to make room for more food, we don't encourage that in Sacramento.
Thus, last night found us bringing out the pacifier. We are still working on how much is appropriate to eat, but at least I have a way to 'stopper' her, at least temporarily.
And thus go the ideals of "perfect" parenting - one suck at a time!
New babies take it out of everyone! Marc was cuddling with Marian. I thought it would be a cute picture, but I caught him mid-yawn. (Or in a state of shocked confusion, but I think it is a yawn!) Still cute, of course. Marian actually looks kind of like this when she yawns, too.
