sssshhhhh……

to borrow the great words of Michael Scott:  i’m not superstitious……. i’m a little stitious.

which is also true for me.  so i won’t say “finally!”, but i am very glad to see things are changing.  i’ve taught long enough to see that when i complimented my class & remarked what a great job/day/whatever… almost immediately they let their guard down and it all blows to pieces.  so- i won’t do that here.  but i will tell you that this past week has been markedly improved.  <the crowd roars!>

last thursday began a week of taking naps.  what??? you say.  that’s against her nature.  yes, i know!  and not just one nap a day, but 2 or more.  we’re not sure exactly what’s done the trick, b/c so many things were occurring at the same time:

• dr. gave her zantac b/c she thinks she has “silent” reflux.  which may/not cause the discomfort at lying down (always needing us to hold her upright or bounce around)
• i decided to put a dark sheet over her window to make it dark-  hey- she sleeps thru the night w/o waking us…  maybe she’s one of those kids.
• i’m putting her down after only being awake for a short time.  when she shows first signs of being tired, or if she’s been up for 1 1/2 hours.  (a la dr. weissbluth)
• i’m willing to listen to her cry.   first day- only 5 min here and 10 min there…  and today and yesterday not at all!   
• she’s finding her hand. and she goes to town on that!!

 let me be clear here.  i’ve listened to her cry plenty over the past 11 weeks!  scream, cry, whatever!  even when i put her down.  it’s worked once or twice that she’d cry herself to sleep after 15 min or so.  but most times she’d work herself up so much that she’d be sweaty and clammy all over.  that’s when it’s too late.  so now, i’m trying to be proactive & she doesn’t get to that point.  b/c hearing that for 45 minutes is TOO much. for her & me.  and let’s not even talk about when The Mr. is home! 

so yay.  sleep begets sleep & also makes a happier baby. and tho i’ve had that book for a while, some of it we couldn’t really do till she was older.  i think that’s made a difference.  we don’t have to bounce and hold her for 2 hours to go to sleep now b/c she’s figuring out how to soothe herself. 

saturday, we had friends over to hang out & watch football.  that was fun.  she did a few coos for amy.  she went to bed very well so we could all enjoy the company and not have The Mr. walk/run/bounce upstairs for 2 hours.

sunday, we went back to the park.  drove all the way there, walked around for about 30min or so & drove all the way back.  not a peep!  ???  and she even stayed in her stroller and slept!    what??  i know!!!  (note to self: don’t gloat and sound proud…  stitious, remember?)

yesterday we walked in the n’hood to enjoy this gorgeous weather.

today we plan to venture to the big world of publix.  i need to pick up some things for dinner.  the first time was a horrible mess. but i know exactly what i’m getting. and it’s only 2 things.  so in & out.  i have all kindsa confidence in her.

she’s stopped to enjoy “twinkle twinkle” & seems to like her mockingbird song (my own version).  today was the first day i’ve gotten reaction out of “red is the color…[beautiful land]” which i’ve been singing to her since she was just a littlebean.

so why not wish upon a wishbone or pick a 4leaf clover… rub a rabbit’s foot & throw a horshoe over your lucky shoulder that all this will continue!

real update

yesterday i decided to change the norm a little, but i know some of you (1 of you?) out there care about the goings on of the past week.

our dr.’s visit was last thursday and she is a complete porker! when i said she weighs more than The Mr.’s bowling ball, i wasn’t joking.  my friend laughed and said she weighs as much as a t’giving turkey!!  yes. she’s over the 14lb hump. ummmmmmm i asked the dr if i need to change anything & she is not in the least big concerned that she gained about 3lbs in one month!!!      (but she doesn’t have to hold her all day!)

during this visit, she got some of her vaccinations.  i was really worried she’d have some side effects. especially w/ the rotovirus vaccine; but it doesn’t appear that she did.  we go again next month to finish the round.  hope those will go well, too.  the shot (just one) didn’t appear to faze her; but then she was crying at that point anyway.  i didn’t enjoy it too much, but it wasn’t as bad for me as people would say.

on saturday, we got 1/2 of the visitors that were planned.  unfortunately, aunt jo-jo & michaela weren’t able to make it. we were all pretty disappointed.  but yay- g’ma & g’pa came!!!   they hadn’t seen her in WEEKS.  we dressed her all pretty for their arrival. 

when they came in, she was finishing eating & was very happy.  we watched her smile & talk for a little while.  of course, that’s very new to them, so they were thrilled!

then, g’ma & g’pa insisted The Mr. & i go to dinner to celebrate our 6th anniversary.  so we did. and it was very nice.  we went to a shmancy place that luckily was being paid for by The Mr.’s work.  (ain’t that great??)  i don’t think jovie minded 1/2 glass of wine.  i know i didn’t.

hmmmm, she’s quite aware still. & gives us more smiles & laughs.  we came home from the groc store & g’ma & g’pa watched her.  we thought we’d come in to some screams, but she was enthralled with the little toy g’pa had dangling while she was in his lap. 

she has consistently found her hand to put in her mouth.  the right one, specifically.  she hasn’t “found them” yet in the way of knowing they belong to her /watching them and all that, but i guess this is a start.

yesterday she was quite interested in the song “5 little monkeys”.  she stopped eating to watch me sing it.  got lotsa smiles from that. 

hopefully there will be more discoveries & activities to report next week.  thanks for stoppin’ by.

and before you barrage the comments section demanding some pix, here’s 2 g’ma took for us!

                                                                                   

top 10 list

it’s been tense ten weeks! so to honor it, i thought i’d list the top 10 things we didn’t expect:

10. she’s a girl.

9. she’s so mobile.

8. how quickly she gains weight. (she weighs more than The Mr.’s bowling ball!)  we also haven’t seen her neck yet w/ all the rolls of fat she’s got!

7. the noises she makes… 2 of our faves- she snorts like a pig. & she sounds like a dripping faucet. 

6. how much, long, & severe she cries. 

5. how quickly she can go from happy to screaming bloody murder. for no reason. & with no warning.

4. how she defies every rule/idea given in multiple emails & books. (few car rides, swings, strollers for her)

3. how little she naps in the day.  (those emails & books say very differently)  [luckily for now she's sleeping thru the night!]

2. how much we would have to hold her (see #s8, 6 & 5)

1. how especially cute she is!!

9 weeks, part deux

we had an outing today.  the first one i ever did by myself (that wasn’t a dr visit).   mom & daughter had an eventful time at walgreen’s.  yes. not the fanciest & coolest “mom & daughter” day.  but i guess i take what i can get.

very glad to report that she did great!  not a single tear until we left the store and i buckled her in.  that was short-lived. she either calmed down or slept (can’t see her) so i drove around and around and around since she was calm.  even when we came home, not a cry. 

come to think of it, it’s been about 4 hours and she hasn’t cried at all.  WOOHOO!!!

9 weeks old

so, little bean is definitely growing!  ’twill be interesting to go to the dr. tomorrow to weigh her.  i think by my arms and back hurting, well over 13lbs…  we’ll see.

not a ton to report.  but i do try to update on her “birthday” each week.

so we went to the park again.  dis.as.ter!  so she’s been to the park 2ce in her 2 months!  we liked it better when she slept.  we thought she’d do well, too.  b/c saturday we were going to expose her to publix again. (dis.as.ter! the first time) b/c we only had 2 things to get. in.out. easy.  but it was raining.  we did NOT want to deal with that on top of the trauma that was about to occur.  so after The Mr. dropped me off and stayed w/ her in the car, we decided to drive around.  she almost went to sleep, too!  but then i had to go and mention being thirsty.  so we stopped for some sodas and she went ballistic before i even went inside!

we did drive around some more. with me shoving the paci in her mouth and shushing her every minute and a half, she was calm.  it gave us hope that we may actually not have to fear going to g’ville to visit gramma and grampa some day.

but then sunday happened, and oh god! she better be better by the time t’giving rolls around!!!!!

we’ve gotten a few more smiles.  much more alertness (at the expense of her not taking naps and getting overstimulated) and her eyelashes seem to still be growing. 

i really can’t think of anything else for the past week.

wish us luck at the dr. tomorrow.  i can’t wait to have her get a shot. common side effect:  fussiness!

how will i know THAT happened??  ha!

tutu cute

she’s tutu cute for being tutu months tutuday.

enjoy the tutu pictures.  (thanks for the tutu aunt barb!)

                                                                                                 

keep ‘em in check

well, little jovie doesn’t know how to keep her emotions in check.

and it cracks us up!   she’s adorable when she turns her pout into a frown w/ pursed lips and has a timid cry.  however, it escalates into her full-out wail!  but at first it’s cute.

and our absolute favorite is when she’s having back time or watching baby einstein & she’ll laugh.  we’re not positive any of this is for real… tho earlier this week, she laughed at what daddy was doing. i think that was her first REAL laugh.   but what we think is hilarious is when she’ll chuckle. then laugh.  then start to cry.  it’s like she doesn’t know what she’s feeling….

at this very moment she’s engaged with her crib toy which is a mirror and a little bit of music if she hits it hard enough.  today’s the first day she’d pay attention to it.  (it doesn’t help that she’s never in her crib on her back).

today i noticed that she started to push up with her hands while on her belly.  earlier this week we noticed she’d raise her head/neck.  but now she’s using her arms.   all this belly time is why i make sure she gets back time each day.  usually she does that w/ The Mr. and he makes silly noises at her to keep her interested and smiling.

still no good smiles on film yet…  just can’t seem to capture them. it’s like she knows the camera is there. 

yesterday i brought her out and about to take my work things back to work.  she was good (b/c i made dad meet us there so he could hold her).

she’s 8 weeks old today!  you’d think i’d have a clue by now……….