7 Weeks Old February 27, 2012

So many changes in a week, Frances. This weekend you started sleeping in your crib in your own room. You’ve taken to it like a champ, and I think we are all sleeping better now. (You see, Frances, you are a bit of a noisy sleeper, and your mama kept getting up with you thinking you were awake, when really you were just making noise). You go to bed now around 8 and usually get in two 4-5 hour chunks of sleep between feedings, plus another 1-2 hours in the morning. (Of course this is a pattern of 3 days, but still, your mom and I are impressed and encouraged!)

You also started your “social” smiling this week – right on schedule, if the books are to be believed. You have always been a smiler, since you were born, but now you smile AT us. You recognize our faces and smile back, which is pretty awesome. It’s nice to be smiled at.

You and I have a bit of a routine going now. You wake up in the morning and I change you, get you dressed and feed you. Then you hang out on our bed, squirming and looking around, while I get dressed. Squirming and looking around are the height of entertainment when you are 7 weeks old.

You have also discovered a love of your swing in the last week, which is pretty great. It’s always good to have you happy and entertained, and if your mommies can have their hands free (to eat some breakfast or do some dishes) at the same time, so much the better. One thing you don’t like – the sniffles. No, not your own, your mommies’. You are very offended by the sound of sniffling. It’s the one noise we know will upset you.

You are still figuring out your hands. You try to get them in your mouth and you are quite good at grabbing the rings of the elephant toy when you are playing on the play mat with your mommy. You are also good at holding my fingers, which is probably my favorite thing. We try to leave hands out of their mittens for a good chunk of the day so that you can play with them (although, your little hands do get so cold. It’s that poor circulation that babies have).

Lots of love, Your Mama.

6 Weeks Old February 21, 2012

I can hardly believe, Frances, that many women only get 6 weeks maternity leave and would have to be heading back to work today. While you are so much bigger and stronger than when you are born, you are still changing so much every day. I can’t imagine having to leave you in daycare now.

This was quite a week. You celebrated your first holiday – Valentine’s Day – with a very cute outfit. (Your mommies celebrated with desserts from Sticky Fingers. Thanks, Jami!)

Of course, my favorite part was the rear:

(Clothing Designers: Words on grown women’s butts? No. Animals on tiny baby butts? YES!)

We did two more solo excursions… to get the car inspected and to Children’s Hospital to get a hip ultrasound (requested because breech babies can sometimes have hip issues – but yours look totally normal. Hooray!). You are a champ in the car. I’m feeling much more comfortable with the idea of getting out and about with you.

That’s good, because this is also the week that you apparently learned that babies are supposed to be fussy and decided to work on meeting that expectation. We had three rough evenings before your mother and I figured out a plan (you still get fussy, but now if we can’t interest you in other things, we bring out the secret weapon… The Boob. Shh, it’s a secret). Things are a little calmer now which is good. (There is nothing more heartbreaking – and frustrating – than a little baby that you just can’t soothe).

On Sunday, we had your first restaurant experience – Brunch at Meridian Pint. Huge success. You slept and had a bottle and were generally a delightful brunch companion. So lovely.

You are getting much stronger – especially your neck (that’s where it’s starts they say) and you are starting to discover your hands (such fascinating appendages). Your long stretch of sleep at night has gotten longer (you usually sleep between 4.5 and 5 hours after your last pre-bedtime feeding – and this mommy thanks you for that).

I still feel like every day is new with you. We find ourselves saying, Frances does X now, and realizing we mean Frances has been doing X for a day and a half now (what? You are only 6 weeks old, 36 hours totally constitutes a pattern!). Let’s see what new things this week brings!

Love, Your Mama

5 Weeks Old February 13, 2012

Frances, Baby Girl, you just keep growing. You had your one month pediatrician appointment today and we got your official numbers. You are now 8 pounds, 11 ounces and 21 inches long. So big! And yet, I am amazed to think that there are newborn babies that are your size (or bigger!). Your cheeks are getting chubbier, which just makes you that much cuter! You have outgrown most of your newborn clothes and are now wearing 0-3 months (which are still a little big on you, but the newborn things were a little snug, so there you go).

You had a shot today – quite the unpleasant surprise for you, but so far you seem to handling it pretty well. The nurse practitioner warned that you might be a little sleepy today, but you scoffed at that. In fact you have been awake since 8 AM with just about an hour and half total of napping. I’m hoping that means you will sleep well tonight!

You’ve been using a pacifier for about a week now – solving the problem of “baby has had enough to eat, but still wants to suck”. We started putting you down to nap in your crib this weekend, which worked pretty well – although today hasn’t been so successful (what with the not napping). As with many things, Jami is better at putting you down in your crib than I am. I think it’s that she expects success while I fear meltdowns.

I never knew I could like weekends more as a parent, but I do – and I’m not even working right now. It’s just so nice to have your Mama home with us and spend quality family time.

You still enjoy your playmat and also have started liking your swing in the past week. You sometimes hit the dangling toys now, which makes your enjoyment that much greater.

Lots of love for you, little girl.

Your Mama

4 Weeks Old February 6, 2012

My darling Frances,

You are 4 weeks old today! I can’t believe that you have been with us that long! I feel like in the last week, we have settled in to each other. You are no longer this new little baby that I don’t know what to do with. Not that I feel like an expert, but I no longer live in fear of you crying or not knowing what you need.

Your Grandma went home this weekend and your Mama is at work, so today has been our first day alone together. I think it has gone pretty well, don’t you? We may not have left the house, but we got a few chores done (dishes, laundry), and kept you fed and mostly happy. We even got a little nap in (to be fair, you have gotten several naps in, but I got to join you for one of them!).

You have now been alive long enough to repeat activities. You had your second bath this weekend – water is still a hit and have gone on 5 or 6 walks at this point. Last night you went out for your first social engagement – watching the Superbowl at the neighbors. Too bad the result wasn’t better! You like playtime with your Mama and even have a favorite toy – the blue elephant in the picture above. You are becoming more and more your own person every day and it is awesome to see.

You are growing so much. I can’t wait to see how big you are and what all you are doing in another 4 weeks!

Love,

Your Mama

January Round-up February 1, 2012

I read 7 books in January, 2 Non-fiction, 5 Fiction, all on my Kindle. Not too bad for a lady who had a baby!

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. I’m not sure where I first heard about this book, but it’s been on my To-Read list for a while (I’m making a concerted effort to actually read the books on my To-Read list this year). It’s vaguely a fantasy book (set in some made-up dynasty of the indeterminate Chinese past), which isn’t usually my thing, but mostly it was just a really good, really engaging story. I was into it the whole way through (and often with more contemporary fiction there are parts that drag for me). Just a really good read.

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky. Kurlansky is one of my favorite non-fiction writers. He writes interesting social histories bound around a fairly specific topic (in this case, Cod). I can easily recommend anything he’s written. I mean, if you are into nerdy history things.

Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carre. This is the first book I’ve read by le Carre, who writes spy novels. This is the first book I read after Frances was born and it was mostly read in the wee hours of the mornings. I thought it was really great and was very into it – right up until the ending which I found wholly unsatisfying. I’d try him again though.

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. I love a memoir and if the memoir talks about food, so much the better. This book got mentioned in a bunch of 2011 year-end wrap-ups, and I’m glad I gave it a try. It was a good read.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. When Dr. Singh’s colleague dies on a visit to the Amazon (checking on the progress of an elusive drug researcher), she is chosen to complete his mission (and bring back his effects to his family). Really well written and interesting book. One of my favorites of the last year or so.

Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson. Christine has suffered memory loss as a result of an accident that she can’t remember. Every day she wakes up not knowing who she is or what has happened to her. She can remember things throughout the course of the day, but forgets everything again overnight. At the suggestion of a doctor, she begins keeping a journal to help her remember, but it also makes her realize that all is not as it seems with her devoted husband, Ben. Interesting premise and very suspenseful.

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie. The next Miss Marple mystery (although Miss Marple doesn’t make an appearance until 2/3 of the way through the book) features anonymous “poison pen” letters. As always, Ms. Christie does not disappoint.