Category Archives: Babies ‘n Stuff

three months

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Cate turned three months old on Friday. To recap all of our girl’s latest skills:

* She’s trying really hard to roll over. It took me a while to figure out what on earth she was doing, because at first it looked like she was trying to pull some kind of Linda Blair/Exorcist stunt with her head. She’s now at the point where she can turn her head and most of her torso onto her side, she just can’t seem to get her hips and legs to follow. I have a feeling she’s going to master that skill sooner rather than later.

* Probably because she wants to turn over so badly, she’s a little more interested in “tummy time” these days. As long as I lie down where she can see my face, she’ll tolerate it for several minutes before she starts to get mad. And she seems to like sitting in the Bumbo chair, but she isn’t quite strong enough for it yet. She just kind of slumps over to the side after a minute or two.

* The smiles and laughs are a lot more frequent and consistent than they were a month ago, and they continue to be my absolute favorite thing in the world. I suppose it isn’t quite a genuine laugh yet, but she does a really big open-mouth smile, squinches her nose up and makes this sort of “kakk!” noise. Honestly, the laughs make it a heck of a lot easier to be woken up at 5 a.m. every day.

* Cate also seems generally more aware of her surroundings, and I’ve noticed that on days when she doesn’t leave the house, she gets very cranky. Yesterday she was a screaming terror, so I took her for a walk around the yard. We have two acres, so there’s plenty of room to explore. The second we stepped outside, she stopped crying. [Thanks to my aunt Susie for mentioning that, because I probably would’ve never thought to try it otherwise.]

* I’ve mentioned the Baby Einstein thing, right? Because good lord in heaven, that ROCKS. Twenty happy-baby minutes so I can wash dishes, eat a snack, read a blog, whatever. I am eternally grateful to the creator of that series.

* She doesn’t reach for toys and other things yet, but if I put a rattle or something near her hand, she’ll grab onto it. I’ll be interested to see how much those motor skills develop over the next month or two.

* The pacifier is still hit-or-miss, but if I can get her to latch onto it, it really does seem to calm her down when she’s fussy.

* In the past week or so, she’s suddenly gotten a lot more “talky”. She makes all kinds of sounds, and it’s usually pretty easy to tell when she’s just happy and babbling to herself from when she’s really mad. Example: “ah-bah-eye-nyeh?” versus “AH-BAH-EYE-NYEH!!!” It’s all in the tone. Although, honestly, I find both of them completely hilarious, which makes it sort of rough, since I probably shouldn’t be laughing at her when she’s upset.

There are tons of other things too, but I am wiped out from our trip to the Tulip Festival today. So here are a couple of my favorite recent pictures.

First, proof of her Mississippi heritage:

Poor little redneck baby. She’s going to hate me for that photo someday.

And my favorite shot of the two of us in the tulips today:

The rest of the tulip festival pictures are here. Happy Monday, everyone.

einsteining

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When I was about four months’ pregnant, Dave and I hit this big neighborhood-wide garage sale and bought some baby gear. We got a few toys and whatnot. We also picked up a collection of five Baby Einstein DVD’s for $1. I put them on a shelf and quite honestly forgot about them.

A couple of nights ago, Cate was being fussy for no particular reason. She was fed, burped, diapered, etc. We had tried everything that we knew to do. Then I remembered the DVD’s. We figured what the hell, popped in the Baby Mozart DVD, set Cate up in her bouncy seat, and aimed her at the TV.

Now, I know that some people have talked negatively about these DVD’s, and say that they only make babies dumber because the kids just stare at the TV and drool. And I get that. I can see how it would be very easy to overdose a small child on this type of thing, and I agree that too much TV can be bad for kids. Those are all very valid concerns.

But y’all, Cate was enthralled. She smiled, laughed and kicked her little feet for the entire video (about 30 minutes). It was hilarious, it was like she was trying to dance to the music.

And again, this afternoon, she was being a little stinker while I was trying to clean the kitchen, so I turned the DVD on and POOF! We went from Grumpy Baby to Smiley Happy Baby in about five seconds. I was actually able to clean the entire downstairs of our house because she was so into it.

So ok, maybe it’s not the best thing in the world for her development, but I must say that for now, I am totally sold on this product. I think I’m even packing them for my trip to my folks’ house next week, just in case we need an instant mood-fixer.

random wednesday

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I forgot to mention the other weird thing at church on Sunday: the woman sitting behind us made a big fuss over Cate – oh she’s so cute, how old is she, etc. Then she asked if she could hold her. Um, how exactly is one supposed to handle this type of situation? I said, “oh, I’m a little germaphobic, and it’s cold season, so I’d rather you didn’t…” And she seemed fine with that, but I felt so rude saying it. What I meant was: dude, you are a total stranger. Yes, we’re in church, big happy community of Christians, blah-blah-blah, but hell no, you cannot hold my baby. Of course, it turned out that she was one of the people who passed around the offering plate and directed traffic for communion, so I had to make eye contact with her two more times after that. Argh. Awkwardness.

The only other time anything like that has happened was once when I went to this deli place for lunch with my friend Janet. We were standing in line, and the guy in front of us turned around to talk to Cate (who was in the stroller). Then he reached in and grabbed her hand. I resisted the urge to scream, “UNCLEAN!!!” But just barely. My only guess is that these are people who don’t have kids themselves, so maybe they don’t know that this is inappropriate? Or am I a big weirdo for worrying about strangers’ germs?

Of course, it occurs to me that one week from today, Cate and I are going to be on an airplane, and that I just might have to hand her off to a flight attendant if I need to use the bathroom. Because seriously, what else am I supposed to do? So I guess it’s a bit hypocritical on my part – I’m ok with strangers holding my baby when it’s for my own personal convenience. But I also figure that flight attendants probably wash their hands a lot, since they handle people’s food and beverages. I know that if I had that job, I’d be a total Purell addict. (I’d also probably have a drug problem, since I usually need either a cocktail or a Xanax to not freak out when I fly.)

Speaking of the airplane, I am really looking forward to visiting my family next week (and getting to meet a couple of bloggers too! How cool is that?). But I am dreading the flight. The idea of having Cate on my lap for six to seven hours in a tiny cramped airplane seat doesn’t sound like that much fun to me. I’m sure it’s better to do it now than when she’s a toddler and needs constant entertainment, but still. I imagine that she and I are both going to be good and cranky by the time we get to Mississippi.

Total topic change: As for that full-time job that I wrote about last week – I did update my resume and send it off to the recruiter, but I haven’t heard anything about it since then. The more I think about it, though, the more I think that I really don’t want it. I know there are a lot of working moms who love what they do, and I think that’s fantastic. I’m just not sure that I’m one of them. I could see myself getting miserable really quickly if I was doing the whole 40-50 hour work week again. But you know, I’ve never been all that passionate about my career to begin with. It was just something I did to make money, so I could afford the lifestyle I wanted. And sure, I liked it ok, but I’m totally fine without it too.

So I’m now kicking around the idea of some possible freelance writing and work-from-home options, in addition to sticking a few ads on this site. If that works out, I imagine I’ll still need to find some sort of part-time baby-sitter or daycare for Cate, because I don’t know how Dave and I could possibly both be working and taking care of her all the time. But I think that maybe some type of Mother’s Morning Out program, just a couple of days a week, might be sufficient.

Total topic change, part two: Does anyone else watch “The Riches”? Did the dentist in this week’s episode make you really depressed? Because I almost cried for him. I know I’m still a big hormonal mess, but god, that was sad.

baby's first Easter

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Today, Cate and I met up with Kris and went to church for Easter service. This was Cate’s first church experience, and she behaved amazingly well – she didn’t fuss once. She was just generally adorable and happy for the entire hour.

At one point – during the part of the service where everyone greets each other – the old lady sitting next to Kris commented on the fact that I must’ve sedated Cate because she was being so good. Um, thanks? I figured it was an awkward attempt at humor, so I laughed and said that she was only happy because she ate right before the service (which was true). But before I even finished the sentence, she had turned away and was talking to someone else. Ok then, thanks for chatting.

Later, the old lady (seriously, she had to be in her 70’s) asked Kris if she had any gum. Kris did indeed, so she fished it out of her purse and handed it to her. The lady said she needed the gum because she’d had champagne earlier and couldn’t get the taste out of her mouth. Y’all, it was eleven in the morning. Now, I know that a lot of people have mimosas with brunch; I’ve had more than a couple of them myself over the years. But she didn’t say she had a mimosa, she just said champagne. Right on! Happy Easter!

Moments like that remind me that I’m not in the South anymore. If memory serves, I think it’s considered pretty taboo to admit to imbibing any type of spirit while in the House of the Lord. I mean, sure, people do it, but they don’t talk about it. Out loud. To total strangers.

That was the point of the service, by the way, when Kris turned to me and whispered, “Dude, I love Episcopalians!” Hee.

Oh, and here’s proof of just how good a mood Cate was in today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kIPNF0bBZ0

Please try to just notice the cuteness (and the dress! Look at that little dress!), and ignore how dirty my house is. I swear, I swept the floor three days ago. Damn cats.

two months

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Today is Cate’s two month birthday. I thought about writing one of those monthly “dear baby” letters that a lot of bloggers do, but I’m not sure where to start with that. So instead, here are some milestones from this past month:

* Cate now smiles in reaction to us, but it isn’t entirely consistent yet. There are times when my refined sense of comedy seems lost on her (meaning, I make goofy smiley faces at her, or do silly little dances, and she just stares at me like I’m crazy). Oh well, we’ll work on continuing to develop her sense of humor in the future. She’ll be cracking up at Monty Python movies with us in no time.

* She’s getting really good control of her head, and I stopped wearing my engagement ring the day she thrashed her head right smack into the corner of the diamond. The screaming that ensued broke my heart, I almost cried for her. It left a mark on her temple, and I felt absolutely horrid. So, it’s just my simple little wedding band for the foreseeable future.

* She can also do push-ups when Dave or I put her lying tummy-down on us – I think she wants to raise herself up to look at us. But Baby Girl is super strong, even though the motivation seems to be lacking when it comes to her little “tummy time” playmat, because all she does is fuss when we try to lay her on it.

* She makes little talky noises when she’s happy. And in fact, she’s already had her first word: “hey!” Ok, it doesn’t count because she doesn’t know what it means, but we thought it was funny. She also says “nih” a lot, which brings up all kinds of jokes about how she is of the Knights Who Say Nih (see, I told you we’re working that Monty Python angle). And apparently she’s already a fan of Indian food, since she talks an awful lot about ghee.

* She’s almost figured out the pacifier thing. Once she gets it in her mouth, she really seems to like it, and it does calm her down when she’s fussy (for example, in the car seat). But I kind of have to hold it in her mouth, because she can’t seem to hang onto it herself for very long. I’ve tried at least four or five different types so far, but it’s all pretty hit-or-miss.

* Last night she slept for four and a half hours – from 12:30 to 5 a.m. Which would’ve been a lot more awesome if I hadn’t been tossing and turning until 2 a.m. (I was doing that thing where you think about all of the items on your to-do list and can’t shut your brain off. Fun!) Oh well, hopefully it’s the start of a new trend. Fingers crossed, anyway.

yet another change of plans

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The hospital where Catie was born has a support group for new moms (the 0-3 month crowd). I’ve been meaning to go for, oh, the past 7 weeks or so. But every week, I’d end up sleeping through it, which is the kind of thing that happens a lot when your schedule is dictated by a newborn.

I finally managed to get there this week, and honestly, I totally hated it. Have you ever been in a situation where there’s a group leader who goes around the room and everyone has to introduce themselves? And then you have to say some interesting tidbit about yourself too? Those scenarios remind me of school, and they give me anxiety attacks. So I guess I’m just not a big group type, and that’s fine.

I realize, of course, that there’s a difference between a support group, and, say, a mommy playgroup or something. So it’s entirely possible that I might enjoy a different setting. But there’s this other strange thing that I learned about myself yesterday: I generally feel like I’m doing ok at this mommy gig, but if you put me in a room full of other moms, I feel completely incompetent. It isn’t just the breastfeeding thing, although, yes, I was self-conscious about mixing up a bottle in that room when a lot of other women were nursing their babies. I have no idea why I feel this way, but as soon as I walked in the room, I had to fight the urge to either cry or run out of there. I know that it’s all in my head, and it’s not at all a reflection on the people there. All the other moms seemed lovely and nice, this is just my own little neurosis.

After I got home, I started thinking that since I’m obviously not the mommy group type, I have to come up with something else to get myself out of the house so I don’t go crazy or turn into some kind of hermit. Before Cate was born, I had this romantic notion in my head of being a stay-at-home mom, and how I’d meet and become friends with other moms, and life would be one big happy playdate after another. Clearly, that is not going to be the case. And that’s alright, this is just reality setting in.

So I’m thinking about going back to work. Probably just part-time, and I’m not in any big rush – I’m not even planning to update my resume until Cate is consistently sleeping through the night. But I think it’d be good for all of us: since Dave works from home, it’ll keep us from getting on each other’s nerves (trust me, 24/7 is a bit much for even the healthiest marriage), and I think part-time daycare will be good for Cate too.

In light of that little epiphany, I decided to make the most of my remaining time of unemployment. So next month, Cate and I are going to my hometown to see my folks. I found a great rate on airfare, and I’m calling it my parents’ combination Mother’s and Father’s Day gift. They’re thrilled to get a week of grandbaby time – I mean, I’m sure they’re happy to see me too, but mostly it’s all about her.

So hey, if any of you happen to be in the vicinity of Jackson, Missisippi, from April 18th to 24th, let me know and we’ll have cocktails. Bonus points if we can include fried okra. (God, I miss the South sometimes.)

this blog entry brought to you by the makers of Clorox

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Cate is on her fifth outfit in less than 24 hours. Two she’s spit up on, and two she’s peed on. I’m hoping that five is our lucky number, at least for a few hours.

The spit-up thing is kind of funny. Yesterday afternoon, Cate had this enormous projectile barf; she got me, herself, and the chair I was sitting on. It was one of those barfs that was so huge that I just froze in shock. I didn’t know how to move without making the situation worse, so instead I yelled for Dave. He took the baby off of me and helped clean me up. It was quite gross, although we laughed about it, because really, what else can you do?

Then when I was feeding her in our bed at 4:00 this morning, I thought to myself that I was really lucky that she’d never spit up in bed, so I haven’t had to change the sheets in the middle of the night. Of course, a mere moment after that thought went through my stupid little head, she did indeed spit up. But I managed to catch it all with the burp cloth, so none of it got on either me or the bed. I was very proud of myself for my lightning-fast reflexes (and at 4 a.m., no less!). I had to change Cate’s pajamas and give her a little washcloth sponge bath, but no big deal, right?

So perhaps I was a little smug, and the Puke Gods decided that I needed to be brought down a notch. Because that’s the only explanation I have as to why, a few hours later, Teenie barfed the largest hairball I’ve ever seen, right smack in the middle of our bed. Alas, I dodged the baby barf, but I could not escape the cat barf. So it’s yet another unplanned Laundry Day for me. Fun!

As for the gas/colic situation, thank you for the suggestions. It seems to be a little better now. I’ve tried the leg-pumping thing, although I’m not sure if it helps or if it just distracts her for a minute because she can’t figure out what the hell I’m doing to her. The anti-gas drops mixed with her formula seem to help more than anything. And sometimes I walk around with her lying tummy-down on my forearm (sort of holding her like a football, I guess), and as long as I keep moving and keep the constant pat-pat-pat on her back, that seems to be ok too.

Another question for the moms out there: do/did your babies scream when they poop? The pediatrician said it’s normal, but it freaks me out. I know she’s not constipated, but whenever she goes, it sounds like she’s in pain. What the heck is that about?

Oh, and the last few nights, she’s slept for four hours before she woke up hungry. Ok, it isn’t exactly a huge leap over the three hour sleep segments that we were getting before, but I’ll take whatever I can get.