Babies & Books

A few weeks ago (last month?) I posted a picture of Little Miss at story time. The library has quite an elaborate setup and it was a great program....for older kids. Luckily, our library also has a Babies & Books program. This is much more appropriate for our little one. There are some finger plays, books, songs, and lots of fun. It's much smaller and shorter, and developmentally appropriate for my little watermelon. I love that the parents all sit in a circle with their babies and the toddlers are allowed to roam the room to dance or whatever. The teacher also begins each session with literacy tips for babies, which I really appreciate. She's taking August off and will be sorely missed, but we'll be excited to come back in September. In the meanwhile, we're trying to find a program at another library in town so we can keep enjoying this.

So I asked Little Miss...

where she wants to go for Thanksgiving, and she asked to wear this 'to the farm' onesie so that everyone would know. Next month we're going to get to introduce her to hubs' family. I'm glad that we're finally able to make the trip over to do it. She'll be so big at Thanksgiving, but I'm glad for the opportunity with an extended weekend to get to introduce her to my family as well.

My Little Cowgirl

I'm sure that I'll be posting more pics of Little Miss in this dress, because there's something irresistible about a girl in paisley. Maybe it's because she lives in the South, or maybe because it's just a friendly pattern, but I instantly like all babies wearing this. This past weekend we went for another session of singer/songwriters. It's such a mellow Sunday afternoon and hanging out with Uncle Jon lets Daddy have extra time in the garage working on his projects. Everyone wins.

A New Way to do Tummy Time

I love having a baby that's a bit bigger. She can do so much more and is really taking on independent activities. I mentioned that she loved feeling board books. I took this to my advantage and propped her in the boppy with a book below. She liked looking at the pages and feeling the cardboard whilst getting in a good tummy time session. I'm all for multitasking. She's also curious about turning the pages. She can grip thicker pages and acts like she's about to turn them, but hasn't quite figured it out yet. I'm sure when she does figure it out I'll miss the days when I got to do it quickly.

TGIF- The 'It's Not Easy Being Green' Edition

Little Miss is rediscovering the all-important pacifier this week. She/we really like this one that's attached to the frog. If she spits it out, the frog keeps it in place so she can easily get to it and put it back in without our help. Because no one wants to rescue a crying baby every few minutes who lost her paci.

What do you do after you've put the baby to bed?

Pass out on the couch holding the other 'baby,' of course!

Books are Fun

Little Miss has discovered her hands, can move them with intention, and now is exploring different surfaces. Her favorite so far is smooth cardboard. She loves feeling and looking at the pictures in her board books. She'll spend ages just looking at one page, like on this book here.
She especially loves looking at and feeling the pink box her Mamaw gave her while she's having her diaper changed. It's pretty amusing when you're busy trying to get a diaper changed quickly, and you look up and notice that your child is fully engrossed in pawing at a box. Sometimes we stay there for a few extra minutes just because she seems to be having so much fun. I'm increasingly glad I didn't spend a lot of money on toys when cardboard can be this fun.

Play Hard, Sleep Hard

I'm so glad that we have a 12 week old and are approaching the 3 month mark.  Little Miss is much more engaging and really starting to focus and play with things.  And by play, I mean look at, reach out and touch.  She's now staying on the play mat for long enough times that I can actually leave the room and do something, like the laundry or starting dinner.  One toy she likes to play with and hold is the frog pictured here.

One forgets how much effort it is to just play at that age.  I'm not sure exactly what she's learning, but it must really wear her out.  The other day I put her down on the couch so I could go to the bathroom and fix a snack.  I peeked in to make sure that she hadn't moved, but when I came back this is what I found.

My Corn Pop was passed out.  She didn't stay that way for a terribly long time, but it was long enough to eat my food and gaze lovingly across the room at her.  What is it about a sleeping baby that makes your heart melt?  And what do they dream about?

 

 

July Road Trip!

We're trying to make a concerted effort to get out of the house and resume some normal activities.  Last year we went to Indianapolis to visit some of my friends and attend a festival.  If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year if we'd go back, I'd have thought you crazy.  However, when my friend sent the notice about this year's festival, I decided that I wanted to go.  It would be a great opportunity to get away, introduce the baby to my friends, and have some fun.  I'm getting worse and worse about taking pictures, but was able to get a few.  

There were lots of meals out, some one on one bonding time...

and a final group shot from our last breakfast together...

Hubs had a great time at the festival and I stayed back with some other moms and their kids.  It was amazing how doing the same things I do day in and out in the company of other moms made the day go by so much smoother.  We're hoping to make this an annual event.  

Oh, and Precious Pea?  She was a champ in the car.  We left late Friday night and she slept pretty much the entire way.  The same happened when we came back home on Sunday.  It's nice to finally get a good car rider.  Makes car trips much more bearable:)  And when she's not sleeping, she's learning to look at some toys.  She's an alert little monkey.  This is especially good because we have several trips coming up over the next month.

 

 

The Handbook

Because I'm a teacher I've seen my share of parent handbooks. However, I've never had to read one for my own child. Sometimes it still hits me hard that I have my own baby and I'm not just caring for someone else's.
Hubs and I rejoined the Y in an attempt to get back in shape and carve out some personal time for ourselves. We really like the children's facility and think that our little one will be in good hands. Yesterday I went just to get everything set up. I'm looking forward to getting in there to actually work out. I started physical therapy this week for my back and the therapist suggested I wait a week to see how I respond to treatment, but there's no excuse for hubs.

Things I Appreciate...

...little bean falling asleep on my shoulder. She's really not one to cuddle and sleep, so when she does, it's really nice. I'm already sad about the days when she'll be too old or not willing to do this.

The Brunch Club

While Daddy loves his little girl, he's often busy on the weekends trying to get things done around the house. And while I appreciate that things get done, it often means that there's no relief for me. Mom's groups have been saving my sanity and I find that I really look forward to different events on different days. After last weekend it occurred to me that I could arrange 'play dates' with my friends. Even though they don't have kids, it still gives me something to look forward to and adult interaction during the day. This Sunday we met my friend Tracy for brunch. It was really nice introducing the two of them and I got to try a new restaurant. I think that we'll try to do it more often as it was a really good way to reconnect and get to explore the city. Anyone with good brunch recommendations can let us know.

The Big Date

We were lucky when the grandmas were here that we were able to go out on mini-dates.  This usually included dinner out with maybe some ice cream afterwards.  Just getting out of the house without a baby to worry about is a treat. But last night we finally ventured out on our own for an extended period of time.  We were able to get tickets to see a concert that had Guster, Ben Folds 5 and Barenaked Ladies.  I remember these bands from my college days and I loved watching BNL in concert when I was younger.  Any chance to recapture my youth is welcome now.  So...who to watch String Bean?  Call in the pros, of course.  Ms. Jacquee and I taught together at my last job and there's no one I would trust more to watch our precious little girl.  Here's a picture of the two of us together.  Imagine that I didn't forget until the end of the night to take the picture and instead of holding the flowers we gave her, Jacquee is holding our darling girl.  

 

Once Jacquee arrived and got settled we were off.  We got to enjoy all the bands, eat some food truck fare and enjoy being a couple again.  Bliss.

And while Guster and Ben Folds 5 were both okay and longer than we would have preferred, BNL did not disappoint and were just as good I remembered them being before.

 

TGIF-Sumo Edition

Little one will probably be mortified one day that I shared this photo. We started with a really long, skinny baby, but the breast milk has definitely been helping her to fill out. (Perhaps scrunching her up also didn't help...) I'm sure that a major growth spurt is on the way that will help her thin out again, but until then, I'm really enjoying having a more solid baby to play with.

How Much is Too Much?

A few minutes ago I put together all the herbs and pills that I take each day to try to increase my milk supply. It took until tonight for this to look totally crazy to even me. There are some pills that can't be taken with liquids, others that need to be taken with foods, and still others that need to be taken at 4 different times throughout the day. My days have literally morphed into taking pills, pumping, and trying to breastfeed the baby. And I have to get up through the night, when the baby is sleeping, to try to get a jump on producing the milk she's going to need for the day, which I'm not keeping up with anyway.
At this point we've more than spent what the nicest formula would cost for the year and I'm pretty sure that the monthly bill for these pills (some of which I have to order from outside the country) is equal to or more than the cost of formula. There are some who would argue the immunological benefits of breast milk (and I count myself part of that group) are worth the effort and as long as I'm able to produce some milk for my baby, then I should be giving it my all. It seems like taking the easy road out to just start supplementing what I'm producing/what my donor friend is giving me with formula.
But where does the quality of life argument come in? At what point do you say it's no longer ok to sacrifice a good night's sleep to get up and pump, or worry about a date night and how you're going to pump while out, or try to figure out how to entertain your crying baby because you're getting close to the 4 hour mark, and you really musn't go over that?
I guess my current struggle is to find the balance. And at the end of the day, it has to be my decision as to what I will and won't do to give my child the best I think she deserves. Is it better to have a well rested mother with time for her, or to have all the benefits that human milk provides? Is there an ethical dilemma in stopping my own production while still asking for donor milk? What will be the decision that will best help me to look back at this time with no regrets? Tough call.

Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Did I mention that it rained on the 4th of July? Yeah, it rained pretty much the whole weekend as well. I had a cousin that I hadn't seen in way too long come down to Nashville for the weekend with her husband. We were able to suggest some places and even got lucky enough to meet them for breakfast one day. Afterwards, we came back to the house for some tea and to continue catching up. When they left to continue exploring the town we got a quick pic snapped. Hopefully we'll get to see them next time we're in Chicago.

Happy 4th of July!

This year our holiday was a wash- literally. It rained a hard, steady rain the entire day. We had a great plan- we were going to meet a friend for BBQ, hang out at the house for a bit, and then take our lawn chairs to the park at the end of the block to watch the fireworks (the advantage of living so close to downtown). Instead, we met our friend for BBQ, but then just came home and stayed there. We couldn't get motivated to dress up the baby and take her out in the rain to maybe see the fireworks. It just sounded like zero fun. So, instead we watched the New York fireworks on tv and were thoroughly disappointed. Oh, and since we live so close to downtown, even though we didn't choose to watch them, we still heard them loud and clear. In fact, it felt like we were smack dab in the middle of an artillery range. The oven was literally vibrating from all the explosions. And it lasted a good, long time. Nashville claimed that it was going to be its biggest, best show ever. I'm not sure about that, but it was definitely the loudest. Hopefully next year the weather will be more cooperative and we'll get to introduce little watermelon to her first fireworks show.

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Cocoa Puff!

We tried to dress the little one in the same dress that she wore last month. This month it's looking more like a shirt. Who knows what it'll look like next month at the rate we're going. We acknowledged that it was our sweet one's birthday and dressed her up for these pictures, but that's the extent of what we did to celebrate. Here's the month by the numbers-

Weight approx 12 lbs 7 oz
Diaper size: 1
Bum genius- leave one snap undone in middle
Clothes size: 0-3 months
transitioned from disposable to cloth diapers
# Pooplosions- 0
# Growth spurts- 1 Sugar Pop grew eye lashes, chunky thighs, eyelashes, a little belly, eyelashes and some hair
# Grandmas come to help- 2
# Grandpas come to help- 0 (but we love them for sharing their wives:)
Aunts that came to visit- 2
# Roadtrips 1
Max length of time in car- 11 hrs
# work places visited- 2
# tongue ties/lip ties- 0
# oz drunk/day- 24-30 (but transitioning back to breastfeeding)
# hours sleeping /night- 9
Favorite things: milk, being swaddled
New discovery: hands, toys on the play mat

Where's my daddy?

In the garage, Sugar, with the other woman. Meet hubs' 1968 Bronco and latest restoration project/attempt to keep himself sane.

It's Official

Sugar Plum is officially too big for many of her original clothes. The off the shoulder look on this dress I made isn't a fashion statement. It was the only way that I could get the bottom to snap. I'm glad that she's growing and healthy, but she's only two months and already moving into clothes for 3-6 month olds. We're a 'one and see' family, so it makes me even sadder to think that I may never have another baby small enough to wear these clothes again. Hubs told me to give the outfits to a friend so I could see another baby wear them, but I think that I'm going to pack them away just in case.

Who says organization can't be fun?

We never intended to have a bottle fed baby, and thus never thought about ways to keep the kitchen from being overrun with all the bottles and their accessories. Now there's one word to describe our kitchen- tiny. There's very little counter space and what there is was starting to look cluttered and basically unkept. When at Target a few weeks ago I saw this fake grass and thought it was cute. Since it looks like we'll be using bottles for the foreseeable future, we needed a solution. I love the way that it looks, how fun it is, and the function it serves. Triple score! Hopefully we'll be able to find uses for it once we graduate from bottles.

Story Time!

Yesterday I met up with a mom's group at the downtown library for story hour. Little Miss is too young for this sort of thing, really, so it was more an excuse for me to get out of the house and meet other moms. It only slightly worked. Anyway, the room was pretty cool and it seemed to be a really organized story time with lots of ways to keep the kids involved. When she's older I'd take her back to this in a heartbeat, especially since it's only a mile from the house and it's such a nice setup. In the meantime, they have a story time geared towards infants, so we may try that one next week.

A New Baby in the House?

Earlier tonight I was holding baby while hubs and I were talking. Suddenly, puppy asked to jump on the couch with daddy and this is how he sat, exactly mimicking how I was sitting across the room. At this stage I'd say we're both so tired it took us a minute to notice what was going on. Poor puppy- I'd say we need to pay more attention to him.

The Aunty's Come to Town

Little Miss is blessed to have tons of extended Aunty's who love her and want to come visit.  Sunday she was lucky enough to get two of them here.  They held her...

They played games with her....

And after a too short visit, they had to say goodbye, but I'm sure not for long.  Little Miss is like a Lay's potato chip, you can't see her just once...

 

 

Who Loves to Play?

This girl. That's who. Expose a girl to something enough times and/or let her mature enough to appreciate something and she'll have a great time. Last night we put Thin Mint on the play mat and she really started to enjoy all the toys on it. She liked looking at the toys up above and really discovered the octopus over her left shoulder. When she sees toys she likes, she gets a huge smile on her face and kicks her legs. She'll just look at something for a good amount of time before wanting to be turned or moved somewhere else.