Perspective

I've been joking that there's a giant trade-off at work.

Ellie seems to be more alert and stronger than her counterparts...but...she doesn't sleep as much.  The trade off?  She's awake more to work on the developmental skills.  She sleeps great during the day...not so long at night.  This, I blame on me for not keeping to a stricter schedule that she can count on each day.  I know she can do it - she did the 7.5 hour thing...once...(grin).  And she can do it again.

This is all right now, Lord knows it will all change and even out as the kids who've gotten good solid rest for a few months sprout right past our little bambina. 

Our biggest joy here is knowing that she doesn't seem to be suffering from any of the things that went wrong in the delivery room.  That low Apgar score doesn't appear to be reflecting any low intelligence, ability to learn, motor skills, etc.  And there is no book or compliment that calm us the way that simply watching our child grow can.  Thank You God.

The big picture?  She's healthy; she's gorgeous; she's sweet and smiley; she's definitely doing a great job at learning every day.  Parents can't ask (or deserve) much more.

Feeling incrediby grateful!

Week 11

Tricks: Pushing up on elbows, better at grabbing things, now faces out when in wrap on parents, strong recognition of people

Life: God has a great way of knowing just when to throw good things your way.  She could have a horrible night and then wake up with such sweet joy.

Caption: Sunday Morning Time

Nap-time

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Alternative & Proven Uses for Cloth Diapers

1. pot holder
2. place mat
3. tissue
4. hand towel
5. dust rag/mop
6. bottle opener
7. umbrella
8. wedge for table
9. door holder
10. dog blanket

My 10-month-old genius

Funny how a stranger in the grocery store can make me feel like a good Mom...

Had the baby out of the carseat and over my shoulder as we're shopping for groceries yesterday.  We spot a cart with 2 small kids in it and she starts talking to them in her babble language.  Their cute, preppy mom comes back to the cart and the conversation goes like this:

Mom: "Look kids, a baby." (this is everyone's first comment...always cracks me up) "How old? Around 10 months?"
Me: (genuine chuckle), "Oh, she's my big girl, but she's almost 10 weeks"
Mom: (look of shock) "Really?! But she's holding her head like an older kid and she's watching me move around directly.  She's got great tracking. Are you sure she's only 10 weeks?"
Me: (um...I'm pretty sure), "Yep."
Mom: "Go you! That's really impressive! Seriously, go you!"
Me: "Thanks!"

Leave it to a stranger to make my kid sound like a goliath, but leave me feeling like she's a genius. :) Took it as a compliment and felt great!

Week 10

Tricks: trying to get her whole fist into her mouth, laughing out loud, screaming to see that we're watching, tracking noises, drooling, laughing to herself in the car, finding a way to slip her arms into the sleeves to help dressing her.

Life:  We're finally able to sleep longer.  She's taken to much longer alert times and shorter naps.  Which is OK as the nighttime has gotten longer.  We're working on putting her to bed closer to 8pm now, and some nights that works great, but other times, she's wired until at least 10pm.  But there's been progress for sure!

Caption: This was how I walked in on her; she was content for about 5 minutes just pushing up and looking around. :)

Miracle Juice

I just happened to stumble upon a link to this stuff called Colic Calm. When I was searching for ideas on how to calm a really upset baby and figureing out my new food restrictions. There were pages and pages of supposedly thankful parents plus the money back guarantee, so a quick PayPal purchase and it arrived 3 days later. I had it in my mind that I would give it a try when she got really inconsolable again. It took about a week and we broke it out. We have her 1/4 dose of this all natural stuff and within 5 minutes she was zonked out. It's like magic! Awesome!

So I've been able to ease some foods back to see how she can process them without the timidity that I will have the poor thing wailing in pain.

Love me some colic calm! A must for all moms.
http://www.coliccalm.com/ (not paid to advertise for them...just in case you were wondering)

The 45 Minute Intruder and Pacifiers

Last night, I told David that I'm going to make a bonfire of the pacifiers today.  He took one look at me, squeezed tightly and sympathetically said, "you've lost it." 

And that I have...I rounded up all of the pacifiers (including the new ones we just bought this past weekend) and hid them in a basket in the nursery.  Reason being, our beautiful, sweet, previously good sleeping baby has become a paci-junkie.  She slept in her pack-n-play last night and woke up 3 times to eat between 8pm and 7am (not too bad actually).  However, she also woke up 3 times (45 minutes after she falls asleep almost to the minute!) searching for that pacifier that fell out midway through her sleep pattern.  Without this interim pacifier fix, she wouldn't return to sleep, and at 3am, who am I to reason with her that it's completely unnecessary. 

She used to be an angelic sleeper. I could put her down before she was completely asleep. I wouldn't need to rock, walk, or sing her to sleep.  She'd just go right down.  Now, she needs a pacifier to fall asleep.

So, here are the new rules for pacifier usage (right from the paci-nazi's keyboard):
-church
-airplanes
-out of the house to calm upset crying (family houses are excluded)

The old pacifier rules that are no longer allowable:
-to extend between feedings
-car rides
-pain from gas/cramps/bloating/migraines/broken limbs, etc. (this treatment has been resolved with the miracle juice - see prior posting)

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart (or Crostini)

My famous mushroom recipe that converts mushroom-haters:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces button mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch pieces-can use criminis too
1 large shallot, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
1 large egg, beaten to blend
3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), room temperature
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
2 tablespoons whipping cream

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until soft and dry, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to skillet, then shallot. Sauté until shallot is soft, about 4 minutes longer. Add nutmeg. Season mushroom filling with salt and pepper. Cool.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out puff pastry onto lightly floured surface to 12x15-inch rectangle. Cut one 12x5-inch rectangle, two 11x1/2-inch strips and two 5x1/2-inch strips from pastry. Place rectangle on prepared baking sheet. Pierce all over with fork. Using pastry brush, brush all strips with egg. Place short strips, egg side down, atop ends of pastry to form raised crust edge; place long strips, egg side down, atop long sides of pastry. (Mushroom filling and tart shell can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake tart shell until golden, about 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. Spread cheese evenly over bottom of hot tart shell. Top with mushrooms. Sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with cream. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Makes 4 servings.

Sorbet! And the world of ice cream!

With having given up dairy...out went ice cream. Well, I've found my own adaptation!  Sorbet!

I found a recipe in a cookbook at my parents' house and realized how easy it is. Just simple syrup, pureed fruit and a smidge of lemon.  So far, I've only made strawberry and pear.  Both were delicious!  David didn't much love the pear though, but Nana and I liked it.

Love the sorbet - 20 minutes in the ice cream maker and voila!

Taking Off With My Baby!

Trip: Grocery Store

Ellie was asleep in the carseat in the main part of the cart, my purse in the upper part, with a few things of produce in the top part as well. I stepped away to grab some chicken and a man starts to push my cart. He maybe moved it 3 feet, and I'd already leapt in front of him putting both hands on the cart.  The poor older guy was in a state of shock!  He had no idea he's started pushing the wrong cart - I laughed and acknowledged my overreaction with humor referencing the baby.  The poor guy just kept apologizing.

I got a glimpse into how mom's are able to lift cars when their kids are in danger.

Lesson: no need to lift weights.

Watching Sports...

#2 Villanova was playing #8 Georgetown in Men's Basketball - so clearly a big game. E had been talking and laughing so much that she'd kinda slipped right past the start of her naptime. David and I were both trying to get her to sleep. She finally fell asleep in his arms, but then he had to go to the bathroom, and he passed her off to me. So of course, she stays asleep...and Villanova is pulling up from a 23 point defecit...and they're making 3 point shots...and they're hustling for rebounds...and refs are blowing calls...and I'm silently yelling at the TV and players to keep it up!!!

Lesson: put the baby to sleep in her own crib when watching sports.

Week 9

New Tricks: Talking to toys

Life: So apparently bedtime for babies is closer to the 6 o'clock hour than the 11 o'clock hour that we've been practicing. Hmmm...well, I guess that's something to work on. (smile)  I've been told that might be why she's not sleeping as long at night, although this sleep thing goes against all logic learned prior to baby.  (See weeks 1-5)

Sickness & Blessings

Not sure why Mother-in-Laws get such a bad rap. I must've lucked out. And my daughter seems to know it too. She decided to let me get sick only once her Nana was here to take care of her full-time.

Around 2am last night, I was burping Ellie after a feeding and had this horrible sensation in my stomach. I'd already drank all of the water on the nightstand, so I carefully woke Dave and phrased the following, "I'm sorry to wake you, but I really appreciate you going to get tums for me." Figuring it was some lingering pregnancy heartburn, he slumbered down the hall to the office to look for the tums. Then something hit hard, and I was barely able to put Ellie down on the bed, sprint toward the bathroom, motioning toward our room past David and grunting her name. I tried to make it to the toilet, but those extra 2 feet, just weren't close enough, the shower curtain was also a victim. This went on for a few hours back & forth from the bed to the bathroom.

I came to the realization that I must be a Mom, since I didn't want David to check on me and leave the baby (for some neurotic reason). He did exactly what I wanted him to do - and what peace of mind. The next morning, he also explained to his Mum that I wasn't feeling well and talk about a reprieve! She was a Godsend! She did all the full-time mothering, except for nursing, then she'd let me go right back to sleep. It was so helpful. I cannot imagine what I'd have done without her here this week. Truly - cannot imagine it. God love the Mother-in-Law.

Week 8

New Tricks: Hands!, Hands to mouth, hands together, hands everywhere!

Life: Rounding up to Month 2. Our little peanut is growing so fast! Scheduling has become a parent's best friend.  It's nice to be able to predict the day - her day.

She's able to sit up somewhat well - after a little bit, she starts to 't-i-m-b-e-r' (because it's that slow). But she's funny about it, smiling the whole way.

The 3 Week Intervention

Every Mom needs a 3 week intervention for her first child.  It's about the time that you go stir crazy being in the house (this is only exacerbated for winter babies).  You start to know when they'll nap, eat and cry.  You want to test yourself in getting out of the house, or perhaps, you can't imagine getting out of the house and returning your life to normal. 

And then there's the 3 week intervention.  (Heather, you get all the credit.)

Supplies: at least 1 girlfriend or other mommy and food
Plan: just visit, eat and empathize. 
Result: comforted new mom who begins to feel more self-reliant.

When babies are born, people treat them like deaths.  People stop calling, inviting you out, etc.  They assume that you need time to yourselves, which is true.  But it's depressing to lose your friends, only talk to yourself and wonder when your next hot meal will come. 

I highly recommend giving friends 2-3 weeks, then bring food and go visit.  Don't stay more than 2 hours at first, to gauge how the Mom's doing.  It's a tremendous gift that you can give to new parents.

Lemon poppy seed cake/bread

Really good stuff - nice fresh almost pound cake baking.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3 tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 cup poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heavily grease and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix lemon juice and yogurt together and add alternately with the sifted flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until just blended. Stir in lemon rind and poppy seeds. Pour mixture into prepared pans and smooth tops. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 minutes or until browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on rack for 15 minutes before turning out of pans.