New Feature!

We've created a new feature on the right called We Recommend. These are things that we cannot live without. A little note about each of them:

Dunstan Baby Language: this woman in Australia has a photographic memory for sounds. She had a baby and classified his cries into 5 sounds. She teaches you what to listen for and how to respond (the most DUH part being if you're baby is hungry, feed her). But we did learn some new burping techniques and have since started burping Lucia throughout the day instead of just after feedings. This has helped tremendously with the evening fussiness -- which I liked that the video called the "5 o'clock grizzlies."

Happiest Baby on the Block DVD: we learned how to swaddle, which is KEY for Lucia going to sleep.

The Baby Tracker is essential for tracking how much she's eating, how much milk I'm producing and what time she got her Zantac. We cannot live without this book!

The swing is ESSENTIAL for um, sanity. We can put her in her when she's sleepy and she zonks right out. We got it on Craigslist, but we would have paid full price.

Ergo Baby Carrier: well worth the money. I've only gotten a chance to wear it a few times (damn incision!) but Pete really likes it and my mom was proud as a peacock to wear it while she was visiting.

Muslin blankets: PERFECT weight and size for swaddling. We typically put Lucia in a nightgown or a sleeper for bedtime, and these blankets are just perfect.

How Long Do I Have to Sit Like This?

Two Months Old!!

Lucia is two months old today!! She's changed so much in the past month!

Developmental milestones we've seen:

• Holding her head up more and more
• Clinging onto us like a monkey with her little hands
• SMILING!! (This is the best)
• Cooing. She's most talkative while having her diaper changed. She's very chatty up there.
  
• More eye contact and she's able to follow us across the room. This is both endearing and can be scary if we're trying to not wake her up and she suddenly pops her eyes open. Like a wild animal, we try not to look her in the eye during those times.
  
• More alertness before and after eating

It's been a great month. We're getting into a better rhythmn, with me going to bed around 11 or 12, then Pete getting up during the night, and me getting up at 6 or 7. He then goes back to bed. Sometimes it feels like we're two ships passing in the night, but I always try to make time for us to connect during the day and spend a few minutes doing something non-baby.

Breastfeeding is still difficult, but I'm finding that my perspective and attitude towards it makes a big difference. If I dwell on the negatives, then it's sheer hell. If I focus on the positives, it's manageable. With the recent news about melamine being found in infant formulas here in the US, I'm really trying to get my milk supply up so she doesn't have to have any formula.

She still is very very wiggly. I say to her every morning, "How's my Wiggle?" She's not thrilled with tummy time, but she sure does like being on her tummy for the occasional supervised nap. Her little legs and arms start going crazy -- kinda like a dog in water -- whenever she's about to fuss. It's the warning wiggle if you will.

I've taken to dressing her up in cute outfits then posing her in her crib. She's still sleeps in the bassinet, which we're so thankful to have been able to borrow it from my friend Sara.

We're very thankful in general for Lucia. She's pretty cute, and most days it feels like we might be getting the hang of this.

At Least She's Cute

She's definitely got the cuteness factor going for her... she's wearing her viking hat hand-knit by her Farmor (Pete's mom).

Lucia has Colic

Nuff said, right? We're going out of our minds over here. It's a nonstop screaming fest.

Those Pampers People Know What They're Doing

In an effort to be environmentally conscious, we were using Seventh Generation diapers. They have no chlorine, and chlorine is bad because it produced dioxins, which are very very bad. They're also supposed to be able to break down easier in the landfill. However, the 7thG diapers leak like hell. I didn't realize this wasn't a normal diaper experience until I was sitting in the breastfeeding support group amongst a circle of women and of course of course Lucia has a massive poop-out. A poop-out, for those of you not familiar, is when she poops and it leaks from the diaper all over her clothes and up her back, etc. So she has a massive poop-out and the mother next to me says, "Are those Seventh Generation? They leak really bad."

SO much of being a mother, so far, has been fumbling along for me, not having any sense of what's normal and what's not. It's like being lost and not being able to find your bearings. I don't know what I don't know. 

So I mention the poop out to Mary, who says to switch to Pampers, that they don't leak. I was reluctant, as we have about a million packages of Seventh Generation diapers. But tonight's poop-out was the icing on the cake. And by icing, I mean pumpkin-soup consistency absolutely all over her and having to change her in the trunk of the car and having to strip her down naked when it's 50 degrees out, resulting in her making the most horrific cries and subsequently ripping my heart out. It was a real delight. We bought pampers on the way home, and we'll be using these from here on out. I'm returning the 7thG diapers to Whole Foods and hoping for a store credit. 

While I feel a slight tinge of guilt over the environmental implications of us using Pampers, I can't handle poo everywhere. I'm drinking a beer to calm my very frayed nerves. Thank god my mom was with me to help me clean Lucia up and get her calmed down. Gawd. 

Hardware update: Carpet cleaner

Heather asked me to find a good steam cleaner so that we didn't need to use soaps and chemicals to clean our carpet when the dog makes a mess. You can read about that here.
I have used steam cleaners before and I think they are great, but when I finally brought one home it wasn't really what Heather thought she wanted, she wanted a carpet cleaner, one that also sucks like a vacuum.

The new carpet cleaner works by using hot tap water and soap which it heat some more before it shoots out a fine spray near the nozzle before being scrubbed into the carpet and sucked right back into the machine. Thats how it works.
The dirty water tank contains very dark water after a while so it must be working.
The nozzle is not very big so it is perfect for small jobs, but doing the whole apartment would take several days.

Big Girl Seat

We now have the big girl seat on the stroller. The bassinet, while lovely for many reasons, wasn't that great for some other reasons, like Lucia has to be kept sitting up after she eats or she'll spit up for sure. The big girl seat, with the Snuzzler (which is the greatest product name EVER), is perfect. She can look around and see things (mostly me making faces at her or saying HI over and over again to try to get her to smile), and she's kept upright. It has three positions, so if she falls asleep we can also recline it so she's *almost* laying down. We've ordered another Snuzzler so we don't have to keep transferring this one in and out of the car seat.

So Tired

Gummy Grins A Go-Go

Getting Some Love from Uncle Josh

Cutie Pie

Whadja Say?

Warmer Temperatures = Cute Outfits

Really she has cute warm outfits too, but we've been waiting to wear this one. It's from her Aunt Kate!

The Where's Waldo Outfit

To My Momma

"Can your mom come back?" the nurse who dressed my wound asked today. Since my incision isn't healing properly, I'm having to drive to the hospital's wound care clinic to have it properly changed three times a week. "I wish," I answered. "I'd love to have her back. She was a god-send."

And she was. My mom arrived when Lucia was just 10 days old and a scrawny little 6 lbs. We picked her up from the airport and one of the first things she said was "She's so tiny!" The next few days we spent trying to get Lucia on a schedule (something ahem, Mom I could still use help with!). I couldn't drive because of the pain medication I was taking, so Mom had to drive me around -- a small feat given that she hates driving and had never driven a Prius. She drove me everywhere; to the store, to the doctor, to the lactation consultant. She made me take naps. She got up with me at 3 a.m. to feed Lucia while I pumped breastmilk. She helped us coordinate medication timings. She helped us figure out dinner. She did bucketloads of laundry. In essence, she helped on all the things I couldn't do. 

People told me that after I had the baby my relationship with my mom would change. And it did. I remember calling her right after Lucia was born and saying, I had no idea you loved me like this. My mom and I have always been close, and while neither of us are perfect, I think having Lucia has indeed changed my perspective of my mom. Thank you for all that you do. 

PS My stepdad, who came for a week, was also tremendously helpful. Grilling up chicken to perfection, taking my car for an oil change and for the estimate for the oopsy fender bashing, etc. Thanks to him too! 

Last Night's Events

We're not ordinarily the type to post political stuff here, but last night's events were and are too historic to not comment upon.

For the first time in eight years, I'm so excited about where this country is going. I cried and cried as the results came in, stunned and disbelieving my eyes. Could it be that we as a country saw past Obama's race and believed him and his message of Hope and Change? How far we have come. How utterly proud I am of the progress we've made in this country, and that hope for a brighter future -- one where America takes care of its own, perseveres, welcomes diversity, and embraces, nurtures and encourages the opportunity of each and every person to become whatever they want. It's a new day in America, and it began last night.

My vote for Obama was much more than just a vote for a man: it was a vote for change, for hope, for optimism. For America to return to it's international status and respect and honor. For America to turn around and fix its domestic problems. It was a vote for the future. The fact that he is African-American didn't matter to me. His message of hope and change did. I'm thrilled beoynd belief and feel so very proud to be an American.

Wanna Sleep? Nah.

Someone was too wound up to go to sleep tonight. The swing finally worked. Phew.

Tummy Time!

Little Miss has a gorgeous new blanket from our friend Linnea to use for Tummy Time. And use it we are. Look how strong her neck is getting!

Ooofff

Let's just say both of us needed an adult beverage this evening to calm our frayed nerves.