Guess who found her feet

'lil Miss figured out how to kick toys this morning. She had a great time kicking and kicking and kicking.

She's also getting better at sleeping. Yesterday she was able to lay down with her bug (pacifier) and her bear/blanket. She wasn't even asleep yet, just drowsy. Other times she wanted to be rocked to sleep. But there was no screaming. Also, no swaddling required- another first.

The man is still very busy with school. He seems to have gotten into the swing of things. I don't hear any more complaints about how much he doesn't want to be in school. Now I hear alot about his diversity class. It's written from an American perspective but he learned about it from a world perspective, what with being a Third Culture Kid and all.

Man's friend, Joel, is in town from AK. We had dinner with his family saturday night. Very nice to seem them all again. Tonight the Man is going to meet Joel and Mark for beers at the local micro brewery. He hasn't had an oppertunity to get out much lately.

Joel had a helpful suggestion for calming baby:

She loves it! She loves to watch the balloon move as she jerks her arm.

Momma needs ice cream

Miss got her shots on monday at her 2 month check up. (2 months!) It was a good thing daddy was there because I just about lost it when she screamed in absolute deadly pain and terror when she got the shot. I am certain it hurt me more than her. The Man and I had joked about how some parents trick their kids into the car telling them they're going for ice cream. (after they get their shots). Now I understand. The ice cream is as much for the momma as it is for the child. When Miss and I got home, I gave her some tylenol and momma had some ice cream.



Baby is crying much much less the past several days. Also, there are several different cries and they vary in intensity/volume. The screaming all the time phase may be behind us. She's started smiling and cooing. And she already enjoys talking on the phone. Grandma called a couple times and asked to talk to her. Wen she hears Grandma's voice she turns her head toward the phone and tries to kiss it and coos. Her little arms start waving and her eyebrows twitch as she concetrates on trying to talk.

A few weeks ago we visited the local shop. This is baby's first spinning lesson.

Busy day

Our neighbors told us a big secret last night- if she didn't go into labor overnight, they would induce her at 5am. (We were sure she'd go into labor while we were out of town for the weekend) Funny thing- they told us and no one else. It's fun to be in on a secret, especially such a big one! Their plan is to call everyone and then call her mom last. Because she's been calling several times a day, and if they don't answer, she calls the hospital. Seriously? They're a little annoyed by this, although they were laughing about it. Mom & I exchanged phone numbers. They assure me I will regret this because she will call me. Alot. But hey, I'm home alone all day. I wouldn't mind talking to anyone about anything.

Seriously, if a telemarketer were to call, they'd hang up on me! If mom calls, I'm going to try to get my words in before she asks if I've heard anything. When The Man's grandmother calls looking for her son (Man's dad) she tries to be all nonchalant about why she's calling, but the only thing she wants to know is "WHERE'S ABE?!" She's convinced something horrible has happened (like death or what's worse than death?) But she doesn't want you to know she's worried sick. So I ask her lots of questions and try to get her to talk. It's a little game I play to see how long I can keep her on the phone. That sounds mean, doesn't it? But I really do enjoy talking to her. But once she finds out "where's Abe?" she doesn't want to talk anymore.

Today is errand day. I'm going to go ask my employer for their share of my copay. They've decided to save money by "insuring the employees themselves" So after I meet the first $500.00 of the $2000.00 copay, they will pay the remaing. Which in my case is $1489.70. And then I'm going to ask for a check for the $500.00 from my flex spending plan. I am not looking forward to this conversation. And it makes me sad that I'm dreading it so much. I mean, it's a company that really values it's employees and their families. God first, family second, community third. I guess we'll see, huh?

After that I'm stopping at the fabric store to get fabric to make a sling and some flanel to make some baby's blankets. I make them small so it's for baby to hold onto, no to be wrapped in. I pull the corner through the pacifier and that makes it easy to find in the car seat when I'm driving. And it keeps it from falling on the floor- you're still holding onto the blanket.

Then I'm going to drive out to see my grandma and asker her to surger the sides instead of heming them. And maybe she'll sew a quick hem on the sling too. If she doesn't have time I'll walk across the yard to my mom's house.

Big day for us. Better get ready. As soon as baby wakes up and is fed I hope to get gone. Hopefully she'll sleep through most of it.

it's just colic

It's been a few days now and the crying and fussing and screaming is just in the late evenings now. 3 or 4 hours begining around 7 or 8. Every night. That's colic, right? And I'm thrilled that it's just a few hours a day now.

We saw her first smile sunday night. This morning she could hardly finish eating because she was so busy smiling at her momma!

weekend update

'lil Miss did so great this weekend while we visited family in IN. We spent the nights at SIL's house and the entire day at MIL's house. Many times I was able to lay her down while she was still just a bit awake and walk away and she fell asleep. Amazing! Especially considering how many people were there. And the fact that she was laid down in the living room where several people were walking through on the way to the bedrooms, the bathroom and out the front door. AND she slept through her cousins sneaking peeks at her.

She is still having gas troubles. Poor dear. She gets air bubbles stuck up top and below causing her a lot of pain. And boy does she howl! Alot of time was spent walking her "football style" to ease some of her tummy pains. There were lots of Aunties & Great Aunties and of course Grandma, eager to take a turn. I was surprised anyone would want to hold a screaming baby. (other than her momma, 'cause it's different when it's your own.)

Cousin Maya had her 3 year birthday party at a park on saturday. I gave her a knit hat that looks like an egplant. She insisted on wearing it while running through the water sprinklers in her bathing suite. That girl is definatley knit-worthy.

On the way I scored 3-1/2 hours of knititng time. I was making a hat for my God daughter but forgot the needles to finish it. Luckily, I know where all the yarn shops are. We picked up needles and I finished the hat. And when I gave Abigal the hat she said thank you, gave me a quick hug and ran to play with Maya. That's what happens when you knit for a 2-1/2 year old.

It IS getting better

Things are looking up. If I catch Miss as she's just getting drowsy (which is tricky- her cues are very suttle) I can lay her down, tuck her in and she'll fall asleep on her own. If I miss it or she gets overstimulated it's much harder. It sometimes takes a lot to get her to calm down enough to fall asleep.

But she is sleeping better. She's been skipping the 12am feeding several days in a row. She'll go down around 10 or 11 and stay asleep until 3am. That's 5 or 6 hours instead of only 2 or 3! Her next sleep after her 3am feeding is getting longer too. More sleep for mom!

holding my breath

At each nap time yesterday I tried 2 - 3 times to lay baby down to sleep.

I tried:
* putting her down as soon as she showed signs of being drowsy. Didn't work.
* putting her down when completely asleep. Didn't work.
* swadling her and putting her down at first signs of drowsy. No luck.
* swadling her, then soothing all the way to sleep and then putting her down. Nope.

I let her cry each time before picking her back up. Finally I'd put her in the sling and she'd sleep and sleep. Ultimately, she did get good sleep yesterday. And she slept longer last night! She skipped her 12am feeding and slept until 330am. (total of 5-1/2 hours for baby and mom) She then slept an extra hour after the 3am feeding!

AND... today I was able to lay her down after her first feeding. She woke up when I laid her down but she went back to sleep. After her noon nap she fell asleep in my arms and woke up when I laid her down. After letting her cry a bit I went in, put her soother back in, and held my hand over her eyes until she closed them again. She stayed down!

It may be "sleep training". Or it may be she's coming out of this phase. A combination. I'm hopeful either way.

It will get better

"It will get better" This is the encouraging statement everyone tells us. It has gotten better but...

She is still often fussy and then goes quickly to crying, and then begins to scream. So I checked a couple parenting books. The According to the sleep book my friend gave me. (healthy sleep, happy child) she isn't an "easy" baby and she isn't getting enough sleep. Getting more sleep (naps) will hep her temperment and will help her sleep longer at night. Because she doesn't fall asleep easily I need to be watching more closely for her drowsy signs and not wait until she gets fussy. It's challenging because she doesn't always show drowsy signs. The book also stressed how important it is to get quality sleep. This will make it easier for her to get to sleep.

What works:
Her Momma soothing her before she starts crying.
Her Momma wearing her in the sling (it especially helps if it's before she starts crying).
Being swaddled and soothed to sleep by her Momma. She can then (usually) be passed to her daddy. Sometimes she will stay asleep if laid down, but she often wakes up and then we have to start all over again.

Being soothed by dad is getting better. He was off work thursday and friday so he had a long weekend to spend with her. It's harder for him because he isn't able to be around as much as I am. Also, the crying and fussing bothers him. He gets frustrated and tense and she can sense that. We can't wait for this phase to end so they can spend more time bonding and enjoying eachother.

I'm getting better at reading her as she eats. She has such a strong suck- she ends up eating to fast, too much and sucks in too much air. It's not as simple as sticking a bottle in her mouth when she's hungry.

New accomidations for baby

The crib is done! FIL & MIL drove up with it on the 4th. It looks so awesome!! It will turn into a todler day bed, then into a full size bed!

For the 4th we grilled chicken and steaks marinated by The Man. They were wonderful! I love it when he grills in the summer! After dinner we went for a walk to a nearby park. We brought the dog only to find out when we got there "No dogs allowed". So we continued around the city block. It was a beautiful evening for a walk but I made a poor shoe choice and ended up with several blisters on my feet. Ouch!

Baby is starting to almost smile at me. She's also trying to say "goo" and "ooh". So cute.

Update on plumbing project

The plumbing project is done. I can't believe what a difference it has made in the water pressure. When I took my shower this morning the water pressure was so much more than last week. I had no idea that The Man had left the sprinkler running when he left for work.

We went to the softball game again last night. Baby did much better in the car. Hardly any screaming. The Man wore his hawaian shirt and stood with his buddies on the team. I (mistakenly) thought we were going as a family, and would socialize and sit together as such. I didn't realize how badly he wanted to play. He should probably join the team next year.

Looking forward to The Man being home more the rest of the week. Sounds like he'll just be going in to do some watering for a couple hours a day. He has plans to go fly fishing on thursday. First time this year. It'll be good for him to do something fun instead of home improvement projects.

plumbing project

This weekend The Man re-plumbed the entire house. The original galvanized pipes had so much gunky build-up that our water pressure was almost nil. As I understand it, he installed all the PVC and CPVC, then cut out the old, and then connected the new at the shut-off valve. Baby and I left the house.

Friday night there was tremendous noise and it felt like the house was going to fall down. (saw-z-all and metal pipes- so scary!!) Baby and I went across the street to the neighbor's. Dog came too. We sat around the fire and chatted. The Man came later for hot dogs and yummy desert. (good job, A!) Just after I crawled into bed, The Man came and asked me to help a minute. "bring a rag and come outside" (it's after 11pm) I'm asked to hold onto a small length of copper pipe while he heats it up with a torch and sodders a joint(?).

Saturday morning baby and I went to the market with my sister. Then to Wolfgangs for breakfast. Yumm-O! After breakfast, baby and I went to the shoppe to sit and knit. First knitting I've been able to do since baby. Lorilee and Carol took turns holding baby while I knit. After several hours, I returned home to check on The Man. He was in a surprisingly good mood. There was no anger and tension as I expected. (This is a HUGE plumbing project) After several more hours, and a couple hiccups, the water came back on.

Sunday- The bathroom sink had so much sediment in the little bit of old pipe- it is being replaced today and new fixture installed.

Baby Girl slept until 5am this morning!

When she wakes up she stretches and wiggles and waves her arms (usually one at a time) making the funniest little faces.

She has been a bit clingy recently. After many days of being held by visitors she really likes to be held by her momma. I've been wearing her in the sling alot. She seems to just love being so close all the time.