C and I went on an adventure last weekend: the March For Life in DC! We left on Thursday noon with M&J on a bolt bus. I was a little anxious about the whole thing, not knowing how a 13 month-old would endure all that time spent in the wrap, but I realized that it would only get harder to go to the march and that this was my chance to do it. About an hour in the trip, C threw up. She was in the wrap, so both her and I were covered. Now, I had very much limited the amount of clothing we were bringing to fit in a backpack, so this would mean that she would have to wear her clean set of PJs for 36 hours. Oh well. Same for my shirt... We both changed at the rest stop with M's help and were therefore less stinky for the rest of the trip. Just less though, because C's hair was still impregnated with vomit until she finally had a bath on Saturday morning... The little accident did not dampen our mood though, C and I were still very happy. We made it to the Cathedral for the vigil mass not too much in advance and it was very very packed. M and I "sneaked in" through the crowd (or whatever you want to call screaming "excuse me" and going through people with a baby in a wrap, a backpack and a folded umbrella stroller in tow) to the Dominican chapel on the side where we attended the mass watching it on a screen and surrounded by teens who told me they loved my baby. By communion (about 9:00pm), Claire, who had slept a total of maybe 20 minutes that day, had had enough. She didn't cry, or yell, she just started to whimper in the most pathetic way. It almost broke my heart. She quickly fell asleep however and so we decided to go to DHS for complines. C woke up right after and joyfully played with her Godfather for a little while before we headed to the Divine Mercy House somewhere far far away where M, C and I were to sleep. C fell asleep instantly as she went in the wrap and stayed asleep through the subway, the transfer, the other subway, the bus, the walk, the chat with M's old roommate, the drop on a mattress on the floor, the night next to Mommy and the first alarm at 7:00am. Good girl. We then got up and C and I went back to DHS for breakfast, mass and finally the march. C walked all over the refectory and ate everything in sight, sang a little during mass then slept and quickly fell asleep in her stroller on our way to the march. When she woke up, she quietly people-watched and was good and happy until we had taken the metro and were in Annapolis. The march itself was great. There were so many people! They say at least 300 000. It was joyful and peaceful and respectful. Of course, there are always people who are a little weird, and chants of which I'm not a big fan, but nothing really bothersome. It's hard to imagine how amongst so many people there would be no trouble makers.
Afterward, we took the metro to Annapolis. Now, we had been there three weeks earlier for Christmas, but three weeks is a long time for a 13 month old. As soon as we got out of the car, before we were even in the house and without hearing them, C screamed for the dogs. She has a very distinct dog cry! So she remembered! I thought that was amazing! We took the bus back Saturday afternoon and got home without any further adventures. During the whole time, I felt a little bit like a teenager backpacking through Europe without a set plan, except that, somehow, backpacking through Europe with a baby is a little different. I'm glad we did it though!
On an unrelated note, after my parents were gone, we decided it was time to get C to sleep through the night. We decided that when she would wake up, we would let her cry a couple of minutes, then I would go in and, without saying anything and without taking her out of her crib, I would put her back down. The first night was very hard. At the time of what was usually her first night feeding, she woke up and cried. I did as planned. But she kept on crying on and off. It was very stressful because I kept thinking that she had finally gotten back to sleep and I would doze off myself and then she would start again. That lasted about one hour and I went back in three times. At the time of her second feeding it lasted about 25 minutes and I went back in twice. The second night they lasted 30 and 10 minutes each, I only went back in once the first time and not at all the second. The third night the only woke up for the first feeding and went back to sleep in about 10 minutes without any intervention. Since the fourth night, she has consistently slept for 11 to 12 hours straight. Even the night at the March sharing a mattress with me (which we never do at home), even in Annapolis in a crib in the same room as me. Good girl, yet again!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Holidays
Wow, the Holidays are finally a thing of the past. For this year at least! It has been fun...
First, there was C's birthday party. We had a couple of babies and their parents over, it was chaos, it was fun. Many many thanks to Nona who helped a tremendous amount! Everybody loved her cooking! We might not be as fancy as some of the other parents, but we know people who can cook. That compensates! C was not in a great mood unfortunately, but I think she still enjoyed playing with her friends and, later, with her Godmother and our other friends. She received a lot of toys and clothes.
C and I went down to Annapolis to visit the grand-parents for two weeks. P joined us a week later, just in time for Christmas. C is growing up really really fast! Before I forget, she started walking! She took her first steps alone on December 21. They were already well controlled and stable and she made rapid progress. For a couple of days, she enjoyed the challenges we offered her, going from the kitchen to the family room, from the counter to the den, etc. Then, the novelty faded and her lazy self somewhat resorted to holding on to the walls and asking for hands again. Since then she continued to walk from time to time, mostly when encouraged, but sometimes also of her own impetus. She's taking her time.
We had a real snowstorm during our stay there, which meant a lot of shoveling, but also some fun in the snow for C! She went on a couple of sled rides in the driveway while it was still snowing. It took her a little while to realize how to keep her balance, which means that she endured a couple of face-plants in the snow. She seemed to think that it was unnecessarily cold and wet, but did not cry.
One of the gifts she received for her birthday is a shape sorter. She has now completely mastered the cylinder in the circular hole. However, the concept of one hole per shape has not completely sunk in yet. She tries to put the cylinder in the other holes too and tries to put other shapes into the round hole. We'll work on it!
Bonne-Maman and Bon-Papa came to visit us for a couple of days in early January. C came out the door and walked to the elevator to welcome them when she heard the doorbell. That was sweet of her and I think Bonne-Maman was moved to see that little thing walk toward her! C had started imitating the dogs in Annapolis, here she started imitating ducks. No real words yet, just animal sounds... A couple of days later, it was the roaring of the lion that was the sound of predilection. Quite versatile little girl! She even seemed to recognize the word "lion" and roar when I said it. Mind you, she also roared when she saw a picture of a crying baby. She has some insight. During their visit, C learned how to pick up something she dropped by squatting, but without holding on to anything. Then she learned how to get up by herself. She was in a very cuddly mood the whole time. She would run to me or to Bonne-Maman and hug our legs or put her head in our lap. Sweeeet...
We went on an expedition on the Staten Island Ferry, then walked around in Battery Park a little and then went over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was cooooold. We wanted to get Pizza at Grimaldi's, but they won't take strollers inside. By then C was asleep in hers and I was a little reluctant to leave her on the sidewalk :). No dinner for the freezing tired group! The view from the bridge was worth the effort though. Amazing! I bet it would be even more amazing in the Summer. We'll have to try!
First, there was C's birthday party. We had a couple of babies and their parents over, it was chaos, it was fun. Many many thanks to Nona who helped a tremendous amount! Everybody loved her cooking! We might not be as fancy as some of the other parents, but we know people who can cook. That compensates! C was not in a great mood unfortunately, but I think she still enjoyed playing with her friends and, later, with her Godmother and our other friends. She received a lot of toys and clothes.
C and I went down to Annapolis to visit the grand-parents for two weeks. P joined us a week later, just in time for Christmas. C is growing up really really fast! Before I forget, she started walking! She took her first steps alone on December 21. They were already well controlled and stable and she made rapid progress. For a couple of days, she enjoyed the challenges we offered her, going from the kitchen to the family room, from the counter to the den, etc. Then, the novelty faded and her lazy self somewhat resorted to holding on to the walls and asking for hands again. Since then she continued to walk from time to time, mostly when encouraged, but sometimes also of her own impetus. She's taking her time.
We had a real snowstorm during our stay there, which meant a lot of shoveling, but also some fun in the snow for C! She went on a couple of sled rides in the driveway while it was still snowing. It took her a little while to realize how to keep her balance, which means that she endured a couple of face-plants in the snow. She seemed to think that it was unnecessarily cold and wet, but did not cry.
One of the gifts she received for her birthday is a shape sorter. She has now completely mastered the cylinder in the circular hole. However, the concept of one hole per shape has not completely sunk in yet. She tries to put the cylinder in the other holes too and tries to put other shapes into the round hole. We'll work on it!
Bonne-Maman and Bon-Papa came to visit us for a couple of days in early January. C came out the door and walked to the elevator to welcome them when she heard the doorbell. That was sweet of her and I think Bonne-Maman was moved to see that little thing walk toward her! C had started imitating the dogs in Annapolis, here she started imitating ducks. No real words yet, just animal sounds... A couple of days later, it was the roaring of the lion that was the sound of predilection. Quite versatile little girl! She even seemed to recognize the word "lion" and roar when I said it. Mind you, she also roared when she saw a picture of a crying baby. She has some insight. During their visit, C learned how to pick up something she dropped by squatting, but without holding on to anything. Then she learned how to get up by herself. She was in a very cuddly mood the whole time. She would run to me or to Bonne-Maman and hug our legs or put her head in our lap. Sweeeet...
We went on an expedition on the Staten Island Ferry, then walked around in Battery Park a little and then went over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was cooooold. We wanted to get Pizza at Grimaldi's, but they won't take strollers inside. By then C was asleep in hers and I was a little reluctant to leave her on the sidewalk :). No dinner for the freezing tired group! The view from the bridge was worth the effort though. Amazing! I bet it would be even more amazing in the Summer. We'll have to try!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Becoming a toddler?
I can't believe I haven't written anything since September. Bad me, bad. And now I only have five minutes before I have to wake C up from her morning nap to head to my ballet class. So this will be a quick update.
We are all doing very well. I am happy to report that C sleeps much much better. I haven't had to use a "sleep technique" in many weeks. She now cries for anywhere between 30 seconds and 2 minutes when I put her down, then stops, having voiced her disagreement, and either falls asleep or proceeds to play for 30 minutes. If she chooses to play, I get a concert of coos, bah-bah-bahs, ahs and occasional mah-mahs on the baby monitor. Adorable indeed. Nights vary, she sometimes wakes up only once, sometimes twice, but it's not bad, really.
She now has seven teeth that I can see. I just only discovered the seventh on the top left yesterday and it might have a partner on the right that I missed. Teething pains haven't been bothering C much, or she is mighty stoic. In any case, teeth keep coming without drama.
C is all over the place, all the time. She crawls, pulls herself up, climbs and cruises. Her movements remind me more and more of a toddler's not a baby's anymore. She seems to be in control and to know what she wants to do. Yesterday, she would go and pick up a toy, then go and sit on daddy's lap to play with it. Then get bored and find another toy and repeat. Cute! She does not walk yet, but is trying to stand on her own. She lets go from time to time and is able to keep her balance for a couple of seconds.
Ooops, my time is up! I will try to come back and continue my account later!
We are all doing very well. I am happy to report that C sleeps much much better. I haven't had to use a "sleep technique" in many weeks. She now cries for anywhere between 30 seconds and 2 minutes when I put her down, then stops, having voiced her disagreement, and either falls asleep or proceeds to play for 30 minutes. If she chooses to play, I get a concert of coos, bah-bah-bahs, ahs and occasional mah-mahs on the baby monitor. Adorable indeed. Nights vary, she sometimes wakes up only once, sometimes twice, but it's not bad, really.
She now has seven teeth that I can see. I just only discovered the seventh on the top left yesterday and it might have a partner on the right that I missed. Teething pains haven't been bothering C much, or she is mighty stoic. In any case, teeth keep coming without drama.
C is all over the place, all the time. She crawls, pulls herself up, climbs and cruises. Her movements remind me more and more of a toddler's not a baby's anymore. She seems to be in control and to know what she wants to do. Yesterday, she would go and pick up a toy, then go and sit on daddy's lap to play with it. Then get bored and find another toy and repeat. Cute! She does not walk yet, but is trying to stand on her own. She lets go from time to time and is able to keep her balance for a couple of seconds.
Ooops, my time is up! I will try to come back and continue my account later!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Of No Sleep and Play
Since we have returned from our trip to Annapolis, C has not been the greatest sleeper. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it's because she's learning so much, maybe it's separation anxiety... Who knows? I have thought about every sleep technique I know: just picking her up and cuddling, putting her back down when she gets up (which she can now do easily), letting her cry for 3 minutes and going back to see her, then 5 minutes, then 7, etc., just plain letting her cry out... the problem is that I can't pick one! Right now, most often, she cries not when I put her down, but when I leave the room. Last night, I did the putting her back down technique for 30 minutes. It worked! And she never cried, because I never left. It was almost a game for her and actually amusing for me to watch. Of course, I remained very serious and avoided eye contact, which would really have made it into a game. She was really really tired and so would get onto all-four, crawl towards the crib rail and then collapse and rest her head for a second. Then she gets back up and pull herself to standing. I lay her back down. She takes a breather there, then gathers up her strength, rolls over and crawls to another rail, and so on. I really like the momentary collapses though, it's as if she's saying "this rail looks so high, I'm just going to rest my eyes a little, just a little..." Eventually she didn't get back up and I was able to sneak out to go watch the premiere of Grey's Anatomy, of which I had already missed 13 minutes. Ah, the sacrifices one has to make for a child. In the middle of the night, when she cried upon my departure from her room, I did not go back in to play the down game. I was too tired. Wishful thinking led me to wait for a moment in the hope that she would magically calm herself down. She did! Now, she probably wouldn't do that during the day, but at least I know that she can. An unforeseen happy consequence of C's lack of sleep is that P, good husband that he is, takes care of her in the morning from 6:30-8:00 and lets me sleep. I'm sure my feeling of gratitude is good for our marriage, but I have also noticed that C now reacts differently to him. I think that one-on-one time with her dad has made him really part of our family in her mind. Of course she loved him before, and showed it. She would always smiled when she saw him. But now there seems to be a sort of complicity between them. Yesterday, C and I were playing in the play yard when P entered the room. C giggled and fleed, crawling, already starting a game. She looked at him with a big grin and then crawled away as fast as she could again, giggling still. P picked her up and she immediately burst out laughing. It was really adorable. When I bring her into our bed in the morning, usually when I can't deal with her being awake yet but she can't deal with not being up yet, she now climbs us both. Up until now, she would only climb me, pull my hair, give me wet kisses, etc. while P slept blissfully. Now she does it to him too. She'll even put her little head down on his belly to rest a little before she starts using him as a drum again. It's beautiful!
One of these father-daughter mornings gave me a little heart attack though. P had been taking care of her while I snoozed and even managed to put her back in bed after she fell asleep in her high chair. She woke up sounding pretty happy at about 9:00 and I decided that I would try to grab breakfast before going to get her. She often plays in her crib for 20 minutes either before falling asleep or when she wakes up happy. All the while, I could hear her moving, probably pulling herself up and cruising along the rails of the crib. So when I finally went to get her, and saw that the drop side of the crib was down, I freaked a little. She was standing holding on to it, and it was lower than her waist!!! I don't blame P, it's really easy to forget and it's not that obvious when she's lying down, but we were very lucky that she didn't see something she wanted on the floor. Had she thrown her pacifier overboard the way she often does in play... Ooof, I don't want to think about it!
I had another heart attack earlier this week when our dear friend L was babysitting. I came back and we were chatting while C was playing in the yard. L took a step back and tripped on the yard fence. For a moment, she tried to catch her balance, while C was playing happily just under her... L finally fell in, I screamed... and nothing. L fell about an inch away from C, was apparently unhurt herself and so we just laughed in relief. Still... I think these two incidents were the first to really freeze my blood and send my imagination on an infinite loop of "what-ifs". I'm sure it will happen many more times!
On the developmental front, C is getting good enough at walking around coffee tables that a math professor, seeing her doing so in the math lounge, said: "I conjecture she will walk by ten months". If C does, it will be her first theorem, I guess. She'll be able to write a paper saying " I proved Prof. __'s conjecture!" Aaaaahh, mathematicians. C has recently mastered the going down from standing feat. No more boom on the tush! She bends her legs to squat and then sits. She's much happier with that! Especially since the Boom on the tush was often followed by a smaller, but more painful Boom of the head! She also really enjoys taking two objects in her hands and banging them together to make noise. She's started doing something between clapping and the sign for "more" when she is excited or wants something. She talks lots... Different consonants: B, D, G, M have appeared, but still only one vowel: A. She hasn't said mama or dada with intent yet. It will come! Maybe by the next post? She now opens boxes to find objects in them. I hide her pink Teddy Bear in the box, and she'll go open it to find him. She loves it if he then plays peekaboo and gives her kisses. That warrants much giggling. I have also filled a small box with a variety of things like measuring cups, a shoe, a bottle, etc. I'll open it very briefly to show her that there are things in it then casually leave it next to me. She'll quickly crawl over to open it herself and empty it of it's treasure. She remains very observant. She stops and watch other babies laugh or cry and respond to it appropriately. She'll observe toys move or make music, obviously trying to understand. When she can't, her favorite coping mechanism is avoidance. She has been doing that for a while now, maybe a month or two. I remember trying to get her to make bah-bah-bah sounds. She looked at me, move her mouth and then quickly find something else to pay attention to. She now does the same when there is a phenomenon that she doesn't understand. I wonder if she'll do the same with school assignments? It will be something to watch for!
One of these father-daughter mornings gave me a little heart attack though. P had been taking care of her while I snoozed and even managed to put her back in bed after she fell asleep in her high chair. She woke up sounding pretty happy at about 9:00 and I decided that I would try to grab breakfast before going to get her. She often plays in her crib for 20 minutes either before falling asleep or when she wakes up happy. All the while, I could hear her moving, probably pulling herself up and cruising along the rails of the crib. So when I finally went to get her, and saw that the drop side of the crib was down, I freaked a little. She was standing holding on to it, and it was lower than her waist!!! I don't blame P, it's really easy to forget and it's not that obvious when she's lying down, but we were very lucky that she didn't see something she wanted on the floor. Had she thrown her pacifier overboard the way she often does in play... Ooof, I don't want to think about it!
I had another heart attack earlier this week when our dear friend L was babysitting. I came back and we were chatting while C was playing in the yard. L took a step back and tripped on the yard fence. For a moment, she tried to catch her balance, while C was playing happily just under her... L finally fell in, I screamed... and nothing. L fell about an inch away from C, was apparently unhurt herself and so we just laughed in relief. Still... I think these two incidents were the first to really freeze my blood and send my imagination on an infinite loop of "what-ifs". I'm sure it will happen many more times!
On the developmental front, C is getting good enough at walking around coffee tables that a math professor, seeing her doing so in the math lounge, said: "I conjecture she will walk by ten months". If C does, it will be her first theorem, I guess. She'll be able to write a paper saying " I proved Prof. __'s conjecture!" Aaaaahh, mathematicians. C has recently mastered the going down from standing feat. No more boom on the tush! She bends her legs to squat and then sits. She's much happier with that! Especially since the Boom on the tush was often followed by a smaller, but more painful Boom of the head! She also really enjoys taking two objects in her hands and banging them together to make noise. She's started doing something between clapping and the sign for "more" when she is excited or wants something. She talks lots... Different consonants: B, D, G, M have appeared, but still only one vowel: A. She hasn't said mama or dada with intent yet. It will come! Maybe by the next post? She now opens boxes to find objects in them. I hide her pink Teddy Bear in the box, and she'll go open it to find him. She loves it if he then plays peekaboo and gives her kisses. That warrants much giggling. I have also filled a small box with a variety of things like measuring cups, a shoe, a bottle, etc. I'll open it very briefly to show her that there are things in it then casually leave it next to me. She'll quickly crawl over to open it herself and empty it of it's treasure. She remains very observant. She stops and watch other babies laugh or cry and respond to it appropriately. She'll observe toys move or make music, obviously trying to understand. When she can't, her favorite coping mechanism is avoidance. She has been doing that for a while now, maybe a month or two. I remember trying to get her to make bah-bah-bah sounds. She looked at me, move her mouth and then quickly find something else to pay attention to. She now does the same when there is a phenomenon that she doesn't understand. I wonder if she'll do the same with school assignments? It will be something to watch for!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Annapolis
For labor day, we all went to Annapolis to visit Nona and Dida. We had already been before in May for mother's day, but C was too young to care about such things as the puppies... Now she cares! A lot! Her first reaction was one of excitement, punctuated with her characteristic attempt at communication with babies and animals: hah. Of course, she was a little unsure at first, so she would stay close to me and pull away if Dixie tried to lick her. However, after dinner on Thursday, Dida started throwing cheerios at the dogs with C in his arms. The dogs were running down the length of the hallway to catch the treats. C first looked surprised and then, all of a sudden, burst out laughing. And I don't mean smiling, I mean a full out big throaty laugh! After that, the dogs were her friends, whether they wanted it or not! Beau was not feeling very well that weekend and therefore spent most of it avoiding the little monster trying to catch his tail. Dixie on the other hand seemed to feel very maternal and protective. She licked C who delighted in the tickle, let C pull herself up holding on to her, trying to catch her nose, etc. A very very well behaved dog!
The weekend was a very good one. We also hung out with Aunt K., Uncle N. and B. and ate much cheerios and Gerber cereal. She has become a complete cereal junkie. I don't mean the mushed kind, which we finally gave away. She just doesn't care for mush, unless she can spread it on the tray and on her face. But when they are solid, they are much sought after. It is that weekend that she started being demanding of her feeders. Before that, she had climbed on other mommies at playgroup in search of the cheerios bag, but had not yet asserted her right to being fed cheerios promptly the way she did it with Aunt K. As soon as some distraction slowed down the supply line, a ringing 'ah would come to rise the slacker (this is a distinct 'ah from the hah of communication). This has now been going on for a week! If not answered, the 'ah becomes louder, then more imperative, then there is banging on the table or the chair tray, then screams. My little angel has become a beast. I feel like the mother of a coke-head. We are trying to teach her to say "more" or "encore" accompanied by the sign for it. Yesterday, she actually did it! Well, ok, she was still in the middle of putting a fist full of cereal in her mouth, so I'm not sure whether she understands the meaning of the sign, but she definitely is practicing it. I think she'll soon get it; she should, with the amount of cheerios she eats a day! As long as we consistently do it ourselves before giving her more, we'll have a signing baby in no time.
On the mobility front, there is constant improvement. We received a super yard from neighbors and C quite enjoys cruising around the edge of it. Mommy can't go very far most of the time, but it still gives me a reprieve if I need to fold laundry or go to the bathroom. She pulls herself up very easily and wants to do it all the time. She'll take my hands, or someone else's if I'm not paying attention, to stand. She's not that good at taking steps yet, but is trying to let go of what she's holding on to stand by herself. She has also mostly abandoned her precrawl, where she kept a leg bent, usually in her skirts so that it would slide, and pushed with her other foot. She started moving like that so that she could easily sit back down. C always hated tummy time and her biggest obstacle to crawling at first was the fear of ending up on her tummy and being stuck there like a turtle on its back. She now crawls on all four like the babies in diaper commercials most of the time. She reverts to the weird one for short distances only.
She has been sleeping very badly for the past week, with stretches of at most 3 hours. Before this, she had been taking nice long nights of 6+6, 5+7. We don't know what is happening. I am afraid that my milk supply has diminished and that maybe she is hungry. I have been pumping less often with all our social engagements (we're quite the socialites of the 'hood now) and now when I do pump, I think I get less milk than I used too. I'm going to try to give her a bottle tonight after she stops nursing and see how that goes. If that helps, I might look into herbs to increase lactation and maybe even call our pediatrician and get domperidone.
The weekend was a very good one. We also hung out with Aunt K., Uncle N. and B. and ate much cheerios and Gerber cereal. She has become a complete cereal junkie. I don't mean the mushed kind, which we finally gave away. She just doesn't care for mush, unless she can spread it on the tray and on her face. But when they are solid, they are much sought after. It is that weekend that she started being demanding of her feeders. Before that, she had climbed on other mommies at playgroup in search of the cheerios bag, but had not yet asserted her right to being fed cheerios promptly the way she did it with Aunt K. As soon as some distraction slowed down the supply line, a ringing 'ah would come to rise the slacker (this is a distinct 'ah from the hah of communication). This has now been going on for a week! If not answered, the 'ah becomes louder, then more imperative, then there is banging on the table or the chair tray, then screams. My little angel has become a beast. I feel like the mother of a coke-head. We are trying to teach her to say "more" or "encore" accompanied by the sign for it. Yesterday, she actually did it! Well, ok, she was still in the middle of putting a fist full of cereal in her mouth, so I'm not sure whether she understands the meaning of the sign, but she definitely is practicing it. I think she'll soon get it; she should, with the amount of cheerios she eats a day! As long as we consistently do it ourselves before giving her more, we'll have a signing baby in no time.
On the mobility front, there is constant improvement. We received a super yard from neighbors and C quite enjoys cruising around the edge of it. Mommy can't go very far most of the time, but it still gives me a reprieve if I need to fold laundry or go to the bathroom. She pulls herself up very easily and wants to do it all the time. She'll take my hands, or someone else's if I'm not paying attention, to stand. She's not that good at taking steps yet, but is trying to let go of what she's holding on to stand by herself. She has also mostly abandoned her precrawl, where she kept a leg bent, usually in her skirts so that it would slide, and pushed with her other foot. She started moving like that so that she could easily sit back down. C always hated tummy time and her biggest obstacle to crawling at first was the fear of ending up on her tummy and being stuck there like a turtle on its back. She now crawls on all four like the babies in diaper commercials most of the time. She reverts to the weird one for short distances only.
She has been sleeping very badly for the past week, with stretches of at most 3 hours. Before this, she had been taking nice long nights of 6+6, 5+7. We don't know what is happening. I am afraid that my milk supply has diminished and that maybe she is hungry. I have been pumping less often with all our social engagements (we're quite the socialites of the 'hood now) and now when I do pump, I think I get less milk than I used too. I'm going to try to give her a bottle tonight after she stops nursing and see how that goes. If that helps, I might look into herbs to increase lactation and maybe even call our pediatrician and get domperidone.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sleeping is relative. Music is optional.
Well, yes, you expected this. It could not go on so well like that forever, you say.
Yesterday was Jon and Meghan's wedding. It was probably one of the most beautiful ceremonies I have attended, including P and my own wedding. We were nowhere nearly as wise and prepared for marriage when we embarked upon this delightful adventure. However, despite all the truth and beauty and solemnity of the day, C was restless. She had a small morning nap and none other. Slept for 30 minutes during the wedding and another 30 during the reception. Not enough. She was in a good mood (read trying to leap off my arms, grabbing necklace and earrings, biting my shoulder, flirting with people behind me and blowing bubbles into my dress) as long as she was in my arms, but she would scream treason as soon as anyone else tried to hold her. Exception for her Godmother. She has curly hair, that's cool enough. So, when C woke up at 1:00am after going to bed at midnight, I thought she was still riled up. At 2:00, I just bemoaned her restlessness. At 3:00, I wasn't thinking anything at all. At 4:30 I hoped that perhaps that was it for that night. At 6:30, I wished I was dead and at 8:00, I sent daddy. Why? Why was she waking up so often all of a sudden? Was it just the excitement of the previous day? Was she cold? Annoyed by her sleeper? (it had been in the laundry for the past couple of nights, so she had simply slept in her pj's).
Then came the explanation. There is, in her crib, a musical toy. It predates her actually sleeping in her crib. It's from the good old times when she would use her crib only to play in, while mommy went to the bathroom or got a glass of water. This wonderful Baby Einstein toy, which plays real classical music, interpreted by real toy musical instrument and is really truly annoying to me, at least, has three different settings. "Off" is my favorite one. Then there is the "push the button and I'll play an excerpt of Mozart's 40th" setting. I like control; that's still ok. The third setting though, is where the peace and calm of our abode are shattered. It is the "baby makes the toy move and toy will play a song" mode. Someone who shall remain nameless and who took care of C for an hour on Saturday put it on mode three. For fun. And did not put it back to preferred mode one. And so, tonight, when C woke up for no good reason, I thought I heard something strange in the monitor. Something like baby toys trying to render emotionally deep and complex masterpieces. Could that be? It was. And an hour later, it was again. Now, I would love for C to learn how to sleep through excruciating musical concerts being performed an inch from her ear, but I also like my own sanity, so I bravely went into the dark room and turned the thing to mode one or two. I'm not sure which, but it is not on mode three anymore, I guarantee you. If I hear Mozart's 40th at two in the morning, it will be time to call the asylum. Barring that, maybe I'll sleep tonight. Mozart-less.
Yesterday was Jon and Meghan's wedding. It was probably one of the most beautiful ceremonies I have attended, including P and my own wedding. We were nowhere nearly as wise and prepared for marriage when we embarked upon this delightful adventure. However, despite all the truth and beauty and solemnity of the day, C was restless. She had a small morning nap and none other. Slept for 30 minutes during the wedding and another 30 during the reception. Not enough. She was in a good mood (read trying to leap off my arms, grabbing necklace and earrings, biting my shoulder, flirting with people behind me and blowing bubbles into my dress) as long as she was in my arms, but she would scream treason as soon as anyone else tried to hold her. Exception for her Godmother. She has curly hair, that's cool enough. So, when C woke up at 1:00am after going to bed at midnight, I thought she was still riled up. At 2:00, I just bemoaned her restlessness. At 3:00, I wasn't thinking anything at all. At 4:30 I hoped that perhaps that was it for that night. At 6:30, I wished I was dead and at 8:00, I sent daddy. Why? Why was she waking up so often all of a sudden? Was it just the excitement of the previous day? Was she cold? Annoyed by her sleeper? (it had been in the laundry for the past couple of nights, so she had simply slept in her pj's).
Then came the explanation. There is, in her crib, a musical toy. It predates her actually sleeping in her crib. It's from the good old times when she would use her crib only to play in, while mommy went to the bathroom or got a glass of water. This wonderful Baby Einstein toy, which plays real classical music, interpreted by real toy musical instrument and is really truly annoying to me, at least, has three different settings. "Off" is my favorite one. Then there is the "push the button and I'll play an excerpt of Mozart's 40th" setting. I like control; that's still ok. The third setting though, is where the peace and calm of our abode are shattered. It is the "baby makes the toy move and toy will play a song" mode. Someone who shall remain nameless and who took care of C for an hour on Saturday put it on mode three. For fun. And did not put it back to preferred mode one. And so, tonight, when C woke up for no good reason, I thought I heard something strange in the monitor. Something like baby toys trying to render emotionally deep and complex masterpieces. Could that be? It was. And an hour later, it was again. Now, I would love for C to learn how to sleep through excruciating musical concerts being performed an inch from her ear, but I also like my own sanity, so I bravely went into the dark room and turned the thing to mode one or two. I'm not sure which, but it is not on mode three anymore, I guarantee you. If I hear Mozart's 40th at two in the morning, it will be time to call the asylum. Barring that, maybe I'll sleep tonight. Mozart-less.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Someone is sleeping...
Can you guess who? Last week was a pretty hard one. Between trying to recover from our trip to Cincinnati, C being a little sick, a new babysitter, various meetings and birthday parties, we were kept busy and on the go the whole week. And it was HOT. Making-my-heart-long -for-those-20-below-zero-Quebec-winter-nights hot. These engagements were all a lot of fun, but the week was taxing on our petite puce. On us too, but who thinks about that anymore. Saturday night, C woke up at 1:30 after sleeping for 5 hours. On the "good" side of normal. When I leave our room to go to hers, I always lower the volume of the monitor so that daddy won't hear her cry, or me sing or anything else that might go on in C's room as I nurse her and put her back to bed. Then I suddenly woke up at 7:00, realizing that she hadn't woken up between 5:30 and 6:00 as usual. I jumped on the monitor and raised the volume. I did that so fast that now I don't know whether I really had forgotten to turn it back up or whether it had been up the whole time. I was confused, but tired enough that I just went back to sleep. C finally woke up at about 8:00. That's a really really good night. I still wonder whether we unconsciously let her "cry it out" because we couldn't hear her. She was happy in the morning, so in either case there shouldn't be any permanent damage.
Yesterday we finally came back home after spending the afternoon with friends, had a quiet dinner and then played with C in her room. She finally realized that the bars of her crib were ideal for pulling herself up. She can even let go of one hand now! She pulls herself up, or tries to, on everything! From our legs, to her bouncer, to the wobbly workout plastic pillow. She also loves to use her pacifier to explore. She bangs it on various surfaces to see what sound it makes, use it to "paint" things with drool (mmmm) and tries to hold on to it as she crawls and stands.
She went to bed very easily at 8:30, her daddy at 9:30 and myself at 10:30 after pumping, which turned out to be a very good idea. I had been in bed for about five minutes when I heard her whine. I got back up, went to her room and opened the door. Nothing. Not a sound, not a movement. I waited a little bit and went back to bed. I was awakened at 1:30 by a little cry again. This time I went to her door but didn't open it, and listened. No sound. I went back to bed. Finally, at 5:00 when she whined again I just went in and nursed her, knowing that she wouldn't make it through morning mass otherwise. She might have slept through that one too though. Still, that's a full night! 8:30 to 5:00! Now, this doesn't mean that we slept well. I don't know why daddy didn't, but I kept wondering whether she was crying and I couldn't hear her. I checked that the monitor was on at least fifteen times and every sound daddy made while sleeping woke me up. This night was in fact much worse than some nights when she cried every 2-3 hours. However, now that she's done it, if she ever does it again I should be calmer and sleep better. Perhaps...
Yesterday we finally came back home after spending the afternoon with friends, had a quiet dinner and then played with C in her room. She finally realized that the bars of her crib were ideal for pulling herself up. She can even let go of one hand now! She pulls herself up, or tries to, on everything! From our legs, to her bouncer, to the wobbly workout plastic pillow. She also loves to use her pacifier to explore. She bangs it on various surfaces to see what sound it makes, use it to "paint" things with drool (mmmm) and tries to hold on to it as she crawls and stands.
She went to bed very easily at 8:30, her daddy at 9:30 and myself at 10:30 after pumping, which turned out to be a very good idea. I had been in bed for about five minutes when I heard her whine. I got back up, went to her room and opened the door. Nothing. Not a sound, not a movement. I waited a little bit and went back to bed. I was awakened at 1:30 by a little cry again. This time I went to her door but didn't open it, and listened. No sound. I went back to bed. Finally, at 5:00 when she whined again I just went in and nursed her, knowing that she wouldn't make it through morning mass otherwise. She might have slept through that one too though. Still, that's a full night! 8:30 to 5:00! Now, this doesn't mean that we slept well. I don't know why daddy didn't, but I kept wondering whether she was crying and I couldn't hear her. I checked that the monitor was on at least fifteen times and every sound daddy made while sleeping woke me up. This night was in fact much worse than some nights when she cried every 2-3 hours. However, now that she's done it, if she ever does it again I should be calmer and sleep better. Perhaps...
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