Arm and Hand. 7-28-12

I try to get Boop to sleep in her portable crib as much as possible. However when Boop is lying in bed, she likes to sleep like a referee with her arms out to her side and bent upwards at the elbows. She sleeps in the middle of the bed, and I sleep against the wall. The little futon isn’t very far off the ground; so if she should roll, she won’t go far.

Zebra hi-tops I bought Boop when I was pregnant.

I haven’t had to worry too much about Boop rolling though. She still struggles to roll over. Or at least that’s what I thought. In daycare, they put her to sleep on her side in the crib, and I guess that’s the way she prefers to sleep. I woke up one night to find her sleeping on her side away from me with her arms in front. I thought it was a fluke until I saw her doing it another night. So it looks like I need a new game plan with sleeping arrangements. I wonder when she’ll start to do other things like roll onto and off of her tummy.

Cool Pool. 7-28-12

After being so sick, I decided it was best to take Boop to the pediatrician to get checked out. She thought the symptoms (vomiting and such) could indicate another UTI. Apparently, UTIs are more likely with constipation because it makes it harder for her to urinate.

Boop seemed well enough to go onto the pool. We had planned to meet S and her little boy, H, there.  No other tummy problems since that night. So we headed on over.  She was a little groggy, but she was managing fine. I tried to keep Boop away from the other little ones just to be safe.

The pool was a bit cooler than Boop would have liked. She wasn’t as happy as I thought she would be. I let her ease in, as I didn’t want her to freak out. The splash pool wasn’t very deep; so she was able to sit in my lap. H did much better, but I think he swims in the river a bit. We stuck around for about an hour, and then I took Boop over to daycare. The more she goes to the pool, the more she will like it, I think.

Just when I thought she was doing better. 7-24-12

...she started having some trouble. I walked in yesterday to a flurry of activity. There were a lot of adults and one little Boop. She had just vomited all over one of the floaters, the rocking chair, and herself. I dared to look at her clothes in the bag they sent home. It was like nothing she had done before. Uh-oh, I'm thinking. But when I got home she seemed to be doing better.


Then, she started to strain to go to the bathroom. Gotta love those antibiotics, or was it the solid food, or was it ?? I helped her as best I could, and then she seemed to calm down. I decided that it would still be okay to go to the La Leche group meeting, and she was all smiles with the leader. She fell asleep on the ride home; so I lugged her car seat into the house with her still sleeping. Of course, she woke up not long after. BUT! But, she did sleep from 9pm-1:30am, a definite improvement.

So, I'm thinking that she's doing better.

This morning, I put her in one of the non-diaper service cloth diapers. Of course, that was the trick. She strained to go again and went a fair bit. Figures, a poopy diaper that I have to wash. Good, at least she got it out of her system! She'll feel better. So, I put on another non-diaper service cloth diaper. You know what happened. This was one of the biggest and stinkiest that I had seen. Again on a diaper that I have to wash, of course. Ugh, that was the daycare calling, another health issue for my Boop. Heaven help us!

Splitting Head. 7-23-12

Friday night was good. She slept for two sessions of 3 hours with a mix of nursing for an hour or two in between. That's the best she had done for a while. I woke feeling okay on Saturday. But, she would not take a nap. She fought and fought and fought. My helper was there working on things; so it was too hard to keep Boop settled. I finally got her to bed on Saturday. Another good night. She slept for a few longer sessions. I don't remember waking up so much. Sunday, she was a happy baby; much easier to deal with than Saturday. Saturday I nearly lost it, but I even got a nap in on Sunday. On Saturday and Sunday, we watched the Andy Griffith marathon. I tried to keep her from watching much, but I just couldn't resist keeping it on. 

Last night, Sunday night, was another rough one. It was like I could time her. Every 1.5 hours she was waking up and wanting to nurse. So, she woke me up about 8 or 9 times. And so I'm wondering, 'What happens every 1.5 hours?' So, I'm looking at the stages of baby sleep. One piece of news is that babies have longer shallow sleep. So, it takes her about 20 min. to get to deep sleep. In other words, I should avoid trying to transfer her to bed after only being asleep for a few minutes. I kinda knew that, but I didn't realize it was 20 minutes. They return to shallow sleep after... 50-60 minutes. So, it wasn't what I was thinking. It wasn't her waking up from shallow sleep.

An adult sleep researcher probably immediately knew what 90 min. was. It's the adult sleep cycle. Counterintuitively, *I* may be waking Boop up. I'm not sure what to do with that information just yet. The problem is that I have a headache. I can't decide if it's just a standard run-of-the-mill tension headache or something else. It's only on my right side, which could mean ear infection or migraine or both. None is conducive to problem solving.

‘This too… 7-22-12

…shall pass’. A friend of mine from high school, M, writes the blog: “I’m Living the Good Life,” and her friend and her have decided to write about sayings that ring true to them on Sundays, ‘Sunday Sayings.’ While I won’t duplicate their efforts, the saying in the title of this blog post rings very true to me. Yesterday was a hard day. Boop was upset and screaming a fair bit. I was working with my helper on the house, and Boop missed her nap.

All sorts of craziness crossed my mind. ‘What was I thinking about trying to be a single mom?’ ‘I need to find a job back home now. I can’t manage her by myself.’ ‘Mom can’t manage her either. Maybe someone else can manage her.’ She had been screaming non-stop for I don’t know how long by the point of the last conclusion. Then, I thought, ‘Hm, if I can’t handle her like this, they may not be able to either. I don’t want anyone to hurt her.’ And I talked to Mom in the afternoon, “I don’t know what you’re going to do with her. It just doesn’t seem right. She shouldn’t cry like that. There must be something wrong with her. She seems like she’s hurting.” We couldn’t think of any babies that could be as unhappy as Boop when she gets started.

Taking Stock at Boop's Week 27. 7-26-12

Here's what's going on at Boop's week 27:

• Although we have the ear infection cleared up, it looks like Boop could potentially have another UTI. We're only on the prophylactic antibiotics now, but we should hear on Saturday if we need to move to treatment. I'm dreading another course, and I know she must be. She's had some other symptoms, like vomiting all over me and folks at daycare a few times. Not sure if that is viral or what.
• I'm having mixed success with TV watching. Some days are better than others. At least the TV is being turned off, but it may be too much with all of the other stress. Plus, the Andy Griffith marathons and then the Olympics coming up is not something I can pass up.
• Sleeping is still a mixed bag. She often manages to sleep for about 3-3.5 hours in her portable crib before waking. It takes me a bit of time to get her settled back down, but then she might get another 2-3 hour stretch in. I'm thankful for those nights.
• Fortunately, I'm managing to lose weight. I'm about 5 lbs from where I was pre-pregnancy, but I had gained about 5 lbs. then. Hopefully, I can continue to lose 10 lbs. Otherwise, I can't say much. My hair is fried, my skin is ashy, and my eyes look saggy. The skin/hair problems I can't do much about at this point <the meds are not good for nursing>, but I'll probably ask my primary care doc to check me for anemia.
• Winnie is still scratching and peeing on the floor. It's really getting to me. She's getting in the habit of roaming in the night and waking me and the baby up. It's a bit tricky for us to manage walks, and she doesn't really want to be out in the heat or the rain. I tried benadryl, which didn't last long that I could tell. I'll have to try it again.

Roller Derby Queen. 7-21-12

As I was sitting Boop down in daycare on my way out the door, Boop's teacher said something to the little boys about not messing with Boop's toys. Then, Boop's teacher looked up at me from the floor and said, "The big boys tried twice to take toys away from her yesterday, and she was not having it. She did not let go." I smiled and said, "She's probably got a few pounds on them. If they mess with her, she might try to clobber them!" Of course, Boop is smaller and less mobile then the boys, and I LOVE that she is standing her ground with the big boys--not taking any crap. I think I made some little joke about her building her strength by pulling on Mommy's hair. Whatever it is, it's working. As long as she's not being a bully, we're in good shape. Fortunately, she wasn't initiating the toy taking. There's a time and place for such acts of aggression--like the roller derby. I beam with a little bit of pride, imagining her all grown up, her long brown hair in pigtails, busting heads at the roller derby, maintaining her position at the front of the pack. My mom often said that I left the house looking like a clown. Well, Boop would be able to put my fashion sense to good use. They say you live through your children. Maybe that's what I was really meant to be, a roller derby queen. 

Too sweet to be a bully??

Time to Go Home. 7-21-12

I emailed S to see if she wanted to try to go for another walk. We first planned to meet across town on Thursday, but then she had another idea. She had met someone in yoga and had wanted to get together; what did I think about inviting J and her little boy along? Sounds great, I emailed back, nice to meet other mommies. She knew of a little park on the lake in the next town, closer to J; did I want to try it? Sure, I said, but I can’t leave the office until 2:30pm and then go get Boop.

Then, she emailed back to say that she needed to leave at 4pm—earlier than last time because it was farther from work. I looked up the park on mapquest, and it was a solid 30 min. trip for Boop and I. Uh-oh, I thought. We probably won’t have much time. And so it was. I made good time: left work on time, picked Boop up from daycare quickly, very little traffic, but then I got a little lost. That only cost me a couple of minutes. Then, the swimming area where they were was a good walk from where I parked.

In the end, we only got to talk for about 15 min. before we have to head home. The only walking was back and forth to the car lot. It was a pretty area though. If I have more time, I’d like to go back. Maybe K and I can go back some time. There was a nice walk up to the dam that I would like to try—maybe we’ll even try a dip in the lake. 

Note. 7-18-12

I sent a note to my friend M, thanking her for mailing me the last batch of clothes from little E. She emailed back that she had been reading my posts, especially the one with the homeless man, and said that she had no idea that I could be that funny. Well, I guess I am due--after she's known me for about 15 years, being roomies in grad school for 3 or 4 of those years. 

Secretly, I do amuse myself a bit with my mental comments sometimes. To the extent that I'm able, I try to monitor myself, perhaps too much. In fact, I was a little worried about suggesting the man was homeless with a psychiatric issue. What if this guy reads my blog and is, in fact, a perfectly normal guy? Then, I checked myself. Well, he did offer a container of partially eaten Nutter Butters to me and my 6 month old. That is, at least, a bit exotic, if not off the mark.

And then, I was thinking of my years in the northeast in grad school, and it reminded me of something someone said once. We were at a research meeting and one of our fellow students said something to the effect of, "Well, you know, I find that the rate of speaking is a reflection of the rate of mental processing." You hear some gems about southerners from yankees. As soon as she said it, I bit my tongue. A million responses came to mind; none of them at all flattering to her. Thankfully some of them amused me enough that I was mentally able to diffuse the situation. You see, most of the time, self-monitoring keeps me from saying too much, before I can get myself into trouble. (Unfortunately, some have even less success with self-monitoring.) Hopefully, I have not raised the ire of Nutter Butter man and will not be receiving responses on my blog like the ones I had for mental-processing woman. 

Where am I? 7-15-12

I’m on Mapquest. I’m still not entirely sure what happened yesterday. I was lost. Well, I wasn’t lost, lost. I knew how to get home, and I knew the general location of where I was, but I really didn’t know where I was. You know what I mean.

I’ve got an old mitering saw. It’s been a good one. I’ve had it for about 8 years. Granted, it hasn’t been used daily, but it has seen good use. The saw blade we put on it about 5 years ago is a bit too short; so it doesn’t completely go through trim. We always have to try to prop up the trim somehow to cut it. It’s a little dangerous, and Mom and I decided the best thing would be to get a larger blade put back on it. We are incapable of doing it ourselves and figured it would be best to take it back to Harbor Freight to see if they would replace the blade.

A person I worked with had said Harbor Freight was near a town about 30 min away. Mom thought she remembered seeing it there last time we went up there to get Boop’s crib. I figured we should just go there instead of all of the way into the city. So, Mom, Boop, and I sat out after picking up her photos. We stopped in a Mom-n-Pop restaurant on the way, had lunch, and got us a few pieces of homemade pie to take home with us.

And we drove. We got to the town. Mom didn’t remember exactly where she saw it, and we decided it best to stop at a gas station, fill up, and get directions. One woman hadn’t heard of it, another said it was a half hour away. Hm, strange. I went to another gas station, and a fellow there confirmed it. So, we drove some more, and drove and drove and drove. Where is this place? It felt like it had been a half hour. I stopped at another gas station, and it was a bunch of teenage girls. I figured they would know about the mall (the first gas station person said it was near a mall), and I asked them where the mall was, and ‘oh yeah, where am I?’ They said the name of some town I had never heard of, pointed me toward the mall—still farther, and we were back on the road.

We made a pit stop at a car show to double check, still farther. We arrived to a light rain, and I took the saw in. “Can you change the saw blade?” They looked at it, ‘sure, we can.’ Then, there was a ‘I don’t think we carry this type of blade; let me check.’ <Gulp> “Oh please, you’ve got to have the blade,” I pleaded; “We’ve been in the car for nearly 2 hours with a fussy 6 month old to get here.”They found a blade, but getting it on was a different story. They were sweating it. Pulled out all sorts of tools. Two guys brainstorming. ‘They don’t make them like this anymore,’ and something about a button. Eventually it was changed, and we were back on the road home.

“Did they give us any utensils for the pie?” I asked Mom. “No, but I managed to eat a bit of mine without it.” “Okay, well, hand mine here.” Focusing hard on the road, I managed to get the slimy pinches of apples to my mouth. We had every intention of stopping at one of the roadside stands for fresh veggies on the way back, but by the time we actually got to them, we decided we just wanted to get home. 

A Day at the Office. 7-14-12

On Wednesday, when I went to pick up Boop a bit early, they said it hadn’t been a good day. They said Boop would be playing and then all of the sudden would just scream. After our walk, Boop just cried and cried and cried. So, I called the doctor with Boop screaming in the background. They told me to come on in. I proceeded to take her to the clinic in the next town, kicking and screaming (more screaming than kicking). This time we got a diagnosis from the NP: another ear infection. More antibiotics. At least we know now.

The Boss

The daycare doesn’t allow a child if she had just started antibiotics in the past 24 hrs. Technicality: Boop is always on antibiotics. I thought she was okay in the morning but was talking to U who said I don’t bring her to the office enough.  When I went to check on Boop at lunch, I decided I would just go ahead and bring her to the office with me.

They couldn’t believe how much she’s grown and changed. A few folks wanted to hold her, to my relief. Boop actually did alright. She got a bit fussy when she needed to have a nap, and I did have to do some one-handed typing. However, she did pretty well overall and wasn’t too disruptive. Of course, I was exhausted, especially not getting so much sleep, but we managed okay. 

Taking stock at 6 months old. 7-18-12

Here's what's happening at 6 months old:

Not sure if I've posted this yet. Six months ago today...

• It's been 6 months, and it still hasn't totally sank in that I have a baby. Of course, when I see Boop at daycare, she definitely feels more 'mine' than any other baby there. But there's still a fair bit of dissociation.
• Developmentally, she's doing so much: sitting, grabbing at things. She's found her tongue and toes. She can roll over with a little help but hates tummy time. She's still not sleeping well at night. I'm not keen on the idea of sleep training with 'cry it out.' I was reading that although babies no longer cry when CIO sleep training, their cortisol levels (stress hormone) elevate. So, even if she doesn't sound like she's stressed, she still would be.
• Boop is quite a talker, and she loves to sing. She just doesn't say or sing anything I know, and she hasn't figured out yet that she can sing with me. It's more contrapuntal. She had a few words that I understood before daycare, but I guess it will come back to us. Her cognitive and social skills far outpace her physical skills. But then you have to consider that she's a big girl; so it's going to take her a bit longer to develop the skills and coordination to move that big body around!
• All the infections have made it rough on us. She's recovering from an ear infection, and she just seems like a different baby: laughing, giggling, fairly easy to console. It makes my life so much easier; I feel much more sane. There are times when she's crying, and I just feel totally panicked, like I'm not going to make it. And it hasn't helped when folks say she's not getting enough to eat. It makes me feel like a bad Mom, like I'm starving my child. My heavens, Boop must be about 19 lbs by now! No, she just needs to get well and stay well.

Stroller Built for Two. 7-14-12

Boop with an Amish child
<actually, it's little H, but I didn't want to post his photo without knowing how S felt>

S invited Boop, Mom, and I out to their farm again for 4^th of July. Mom was getting in later, and she wasn’t feeling well with sinus and ear infection. It’s about 45 min. each way. So, we decided that it would be better to just stick around the house. S and I were thinking about going for a walk on the 5^th, but it didn’t work out.  We managed to get sorted out for Wednesday.

I had to take off for a few hours to leave early, go pick up Boop at daycare, and make it across town to meet her. Unfortunately, we were a few minutes late. S and her little boy, H, our baby yoga buddies, were waiting for us on the trail. I was hoping that the trail was paved for Boop’s umbrella stroller, but we got a double nice surprise: paved trail and S had a double stroller. Apparently, someone had just given it to her a few days ago. It was perfect for Boop and H. And they did pretty well with it.

S offered to push on the way there, and she said that I could push on the way back. We had a nice chat, and I wasn’t paying enough attention to time. S had to be at work by 5pm, and we probably walked a bit farther than we should have. So, I was hoofing it on the way back. And then Boop and H decided they did not want to ride in the stroller anymore; so we (mostly S) were trying to push and carry babies at the same time. H is about 5 months and just over 16 lbs. Boop was 18.5 lbs. Fortunately, Boop went back into the stroller, and I swear that somehow, they must have added another half mile to the return trip—not sure how that happened. S’s husband met us in the parking lot for a quick switch off so she could make it to work, and J and I tried to figure out how to collapse the stroller with babies in our arms.

Fireworks and Birthdays. 7-8-12

Where would we find fireworks for the 4^th of July? We weren’t sure that we should keep the baby out very late. The only place for fireworks in town wouldn’t start until 9:45pm, and we knew it would be a sea of people. I really didn’t want the baby out in that mess. I miss the 4^th at my old place. We used to climb up to the train overpass and be able to see fireworks from 4-5 different parks/towns.

Boop was still going strong at 9pm; we figured we might as well pack up her bag to go out. We looked at a map to see where the fireworks would be. It turns out that the park was at a bend in the river; so it would be hard to see from our side. I figured we could see them better from the town across the river. I took the interstate around to the other side of the river—a bit out of the way but less traffic. And we drove around and around. Trees and mountains. We drove until we were on the other side of the park from the house, and Mom reminded me that we would have to wait for the park to let out to get home. And it was a sea of people. So, we crossed the bridge back over to the little town and worked our way back up the mountain. We found a reasonable spot that I had suggested earlier.

We walked around a bit, following Winnie’s tug, to find our best viewing spot and met a couple with their little boy. It was his first 4^th of July too, as he didn’t see them last year. Mommy radar, ‘is this an appropriate thing for my Boop?’ My anxiety was not improved by Boop’s response. Just like the way she loves to look up at lights, she gazed up at fireworks. The only problem came about with the boom at the end, at which he inevitably cringed with her eyes squeezed shut. She habituated a bit, and Winnie was taking it all in. It was a party for Winnie’s unofficial 10^th birthday. At the end of the show, we made a hasty retreat and were back home by 10:30pm. And she slept.

Sorry. 7-9-12

I had been trying to coordinate with some ladies from the breastfeeding group to have a little outing. We were thinking about a walk about a month ago, but it didn’t work out. I saw them both at a recent breastfeeding meeting, and then, we got reconnected. M and I messaged back and forth for a few days and decided on ice cream/sorbet on Friday because it was piping hot outside, over 100 degrees!

Boop and I sat out for downtown, and after circling High St. a few times, found the ice cream parlor. I found a parking spot a few blocks away; then, the fun started. I had a new umbrella stroller from Aunt R and Uncle J and figured this would be a good time to try it out. I wasn’t exactly organized trying to get us out of the car: I was all hair, dress, baby and bags in a chaotic swirl of activity. As I was trying to get us out and sorted, along came a man who wasn’t exactly very well together himself, smoking a cigarette, with a container of Nutter Butters. He approached me and said, “I’d like to present these cookies for you and your child. I want to help you. I’ve only eaten the first few out of the pack right here, but the rest are fine.” Well, you know, I do like me some Nutter Butters, but… I nodded to acknowledge him, flashed a faint smile, thanked him anyway, and said we were doing just fine.

You know you’re in sorry shape when: what was possibly (probably) a homeless man with psychiatric issues sees you and wants to give you and your baby Nutter Butters! Otherwise, our trip out was uneventful. We had a nice visit, and traded notes about coping as first-time parents. Folks seemed to be okay with the teething drops, which was reassuring. It will be good to see them again.

Teapot. 7-14-12

Fortunately, you can't hear me too well...

Feed Me. 7-7-12

We went on an adventure for dinner. I get these Restaurant.com gift cards, and it’s always a bit of a question mark. We were looking forward to Japanese, or at least I was. I had already decided on a Bento box, and Mom was planning to have one too. Unfortunately, after dragging the baby out in the 100 degree heat, the restaurant wouldn’t honor the gift card. Even though Mom had ordered her drink, we decided to leave.

TOES!!

So, we sat out in search of the other restaurant. Fortunately, I was able to find the general location fairly quickly. However, there really wasn’t a sign. Someone was wearing a t-shirt with the restaurant name on it, and we asked him where the restaurant was. He pointed us down the stairs. The upkeep of the place was a bit concerning-more disorganized than anything, but we forged ahead. They might still have good food, I figured. Hm. It was also quite hot. Mom asked if their air conditioning was out. Nope. I asked Mom if she could stand it, thinking, hoping that this would abort our mission, but she said she was okay. There was also a portable air conditioner inside; we tried to make due in the 100+ degree weather.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get any better from there. The baby got overheated and just cried and cried and cried. Finally, I asked if we could get it to go. And with some encouragement from the waiter and the owner—‘well, what’s the difference if we just asked for to-go boxes and just boxed it up ourselves?’—we made our way home. I’m still balking at $15 for 8 fried shrimp with nothing to go with it, having to pay $3 for warmed-up. canned, sliced sweet potatoes. You never know.  

Taking Stock at Week 25. 7-11-12

Here's what's happening at 25 weeks old:

• Tongues are yesterday's news. We aren't so concerned about them anymore. But, toes are IN! Boop is grabbing on them and pulling at them. And we are so excited about grabbing them that sometimes, we forget that we need to keep them down for balance. And so, over Boop topples.
• Stranger danger appears to be showing up a bit early. She's also having a bit of separation anxiety.
• Grandma held little Boop all weekend, spoiling my little girl. The daycare teachers loved it when I informed them. Well, not so much loved it as laughed and groaned a bit when I made the announcement. Boop did okay on Monday morning, but by afternoon, she was not a happy camper. 
• Winnie is on a new dog food without any grain. She's scratching a bit less, maybe.  I don't know, though, she got one of Boop's dirty Pampers and was guarding it; so it may simply have been she was too intent on keeping everyone away from her trophy to take a break to scratch. But, she did wake me up a few times last night scratching.
• Me, I'm getting a tad more sleep, but I'm pulled in a million different directions at work--not getting my main grant done. I'm having a bit of trouble with focus, but at least I'm not in a sleepy haze.
• Next week is 6 months!

It’s almost 2am. 7-3-12

Boop in action!

The big comparison used to be, ‘What have you accomplished by 9am?’ Well, tonight, I wonder, what have you accomplished by 2am. It is precisely 1:50am. At 12:11am, I looked at the clock. Boop was just waking up. Not bad, I thought. She’s slept for 3 hours straight. Last night, she made it 4 hours. By now, she really should be able to make it 5 hours.  So at 12:11am, I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll nurse her. Hopefully, she can make it until 2am. In my mind, my goal by the end of the week is that she be able to go 2 hrs. between feedings at night. She should be able to do that. I nursed her for about 10-15min. until she falls asleep.  We’re near 12:30am now.

At 1:03am, Boop is back up again. I need to stretch her out. It’s not even been 45min. So, she cries for nearly 15min. until 1:15am. I can’t take it anymore. I pick her up and nurse her. I nurse her for a half hour. I try to get her settled in the portable crib. She’s asleep. There’s a banging outside my back door. I turn on the porch light, but I don’t see anything. Hopefully, it’s something at my neighbor’s. I lay back down.

With this, Winnie gets restless <so what’s new, right? Some days, most days, she drives me bonkers with the scratching, licking, and biting at herself!!>. She gets up and starts wandering around. ‘What’s she doing?,’ I wonder. I’m usually too tired to even bother, but tonight, I’m going to find out as I’m already awake. I hear her rustling. I see her sniffing the bed. She has peed in the middle of the downstairs bed and is now sniffing it. Oh gawd! **Wait, it’s 2:08am. “WINNIE STOP PICKING!!” She’s munching at herself. “WINNIE SETTLE DOWN!!” I don’t want to get up and see her licking her butt. Disgusting, yes, dogs can be disgusting. The toy breeds are terrible about picking at themselves—and the eating of poo and the wallowing in poo.  Have we talked to the vet about these things? Yes, many, many times. Have we tried many things? Yes, we have tried many, many things.**

Back to the dog pee in the bed, so I strip the bed. <Sometimes she will ask to go out, and I hate letting her out in the middle of the night. This problem usually arises because she has better things to do when I ask her to go out before I leave in the morning or before we go to bed. Am I annoyed with the little fart? VERY. > At this point, Boop has been rousing, and that’s it: she’s awake again. I look around to find the Nature’s Miracle to put on the dog pee. Winnie is sitting up in her crate. The baby is crying. I sit down. Might as well nurse Boop some more while I’m awake. I grab my laptop and start to write. Boop falls asleep on her Boppy. Fingers crossed we can make it at least 2 hours. Winnie is snoring away. It’s 2:18am. So, I ask: what have you accomplished before 2:18am? I have done all of the above, and oh yeah, I wrote this blog. It’s going to be a fun day at work tomorrow. **WINNIE STOP IT!! She’s biting at herself again. It’s 2:26am**

Way Out There. 7-1-12

I think I’m starting to lose my processing abilities. Lack of sleep is taking its toll, I guess. I’ve been trying to chill at home today, staying in from the heat and just resting. Boop is napping, hallelujah! It only took 45 min. after a bottle of formula to get her settled. However, I’m feeling muddled with some strange thoughts going through my head, and I can’t sleep. Some days I feel like a human pin cushion, absorbing some nasty barbs. Not sure why that is happening today; maybe it’s just the unusual situation of having some time to myself.  Maybe I’m too exhausted to figure out how to respond properly.

Taggie and Froggie: Anything we can find to help her sleep!

Now I’m thinking about peanut butter? Maybe it’s protein that I need. I’m remembering Mr. Peanut from Planters swinging his cane. He’s taunting me a bit because peanuts are a bit of a problem while nursing, I think. And alas, I have no peanuts, anyway. I guess it doesn't do me any good to want something that isn't here. Definitely need sleep.

Mini-Me: She looks just like me at 6 months.

3*2*1. 6-30-12

It’s the countdown. Some days I feel like I’m counting down the hours.  Knowing that I’ll have help brings some sanity. I was pretty beat by the time yesterday afternoon rolled around. After my helper and I did some work on trim in the living room and with all of the heat (fortunately my helper weathered most of that), I had done enough work for the day. However, Boop was well-rested at that point, after sleeping for a few hours, and was fussy most of the afternoon. Or is it really called ‘fussy’ if she’s wailing? At one point, I just sat there and cried with her for a few minutes. And then I pulled myself out of it and decided that I would feed her a little early, just to distract ourselves from our mood.  She got one less bottle yesterday, I reasoned, so maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. Was I using food as a coping mechanism? I also tried a pacifier, again, which she chewed on a bit—more on the outside of it than the nipple part. When I put the nipple part in her mouth, she would shoot it out.

And so Mom gets here next week.  Just having some variety helps Boop, I think. She needs lots of distraction. I’m pretty boring, I think. A baby can only get so many kisses on the forehead and rub so many noses :) And prancing around to swing music with an 18lb baby is not the easiest thing to do for very long. Hopefully, I can find some sort of chair that will be easier on Mom’s back. We will have a few days, if we can get motivated in this heat.

Shake it Off. 6-29-12

It’s been a pretty rough week, to have nothing very serious going on. No new scary diagnoses for Boop, no threat of job loss or major physical problems for me, no family or friends in a truly bad way. It’s just a bunch of little stuff to put me to the tipping point. Pushing hard to get a project done, only to find that I was missing a critical bit of information and having to redo it. Trying to get another grant out this month and trying to get some other projects started. Having trouble with a couple of folks in my employ; sometimes it’s just way easier to do it myself. Going through withdrawal from strictly curtailing my TV viewing time. Seeing a project someone else presented that was very similar to a grant that I wrote before maternity leave. Boop not sleeping well at night. Forgetting stuff for daycare. Boop crying and crying and not feeling right, whether or not I hold her. I took a few afternoons off and still wound up working and not getting anything really done. My <2 year old Bosch fridge is still knocking a few times every hour—and then I got the run around when I tried to take advantage of my warrantee. I had to make 2 trips to the post office because you can’t mail something over 13 oz from home.

Getting dressed...

Had this other stuff not happened, maybe I would be thinking more clearly about this afternoon, maybe.  So, Boop had rubbed her ear a few times in the past week, and I was keeping an eye on it. Today at daycare, when I went to nurse her at lunch, she was really rubbing. I asked her teachers. Yes, one had seen her rubbing her ear earlier. I’m thinking, ‘Oh boy, another ear infection.’ So, I call to get an appointment at the pediatrician. The pediatrician was barely in with us 5 min. She did a quick check of her ears, said she looks fine. I mentioned that she doesn’t seem to be teething; she quickly ran her fingers across her gums and said, nope.  Then, I said she’s been waking up crying about every hour at night. She said, “That must be stressful for you.” I didn’t really process what she said at first, and she was out of the room. Um, what about my daughter? She’s the one that’s not feeling well. Urgh! That visit made things worse.

Taking Stock at Week 24. 7-5-12

Here is what is happening at Boop’s week 24:

• It’s Official. We have found our tongue, and we are loving it! Everything needs to be done with her tongue stuck out.
• We managed pretty well with the storm. No power outages at the house, thank goodness. Only one tree looks a little downtrodden. Hopefully it will perk up soon. Thankfully, we have electricity for the air conditioner. Otherwise, we'd be pretty miserable.
• Yesterday was Winnie’s birthday. Well, we’re not a 100% sure what day it really is, but we know it is in early July; so we just decided it would be July 4^th. Much celebrating always occurs in her honor!
• We’re trying Hyland’s Teething Drops. They seem a little too good to be true, like baby crack, or something. She immediately changes after having one. And I only give her one at a time. Whether it was being up later than usual or the baby drops, she actually slept better last night. I’m a little nervous about them.

3 Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue! 7-4-12

Boop looking very 'healthy' in her red, white, and blue!

I'm happy that Boop and I are waking up this morning in a place where all people are a little more equal. I try to avoid being political on this blog, as I do have many opinions (mostly moderate). However, I must say it is a blessing that I no longer have to worry about health insurance for Boop or myself! I never understood why those 65 and older, the most expensive, were the ones who enjoy government-covered health care. Now, if anything should happen to Boop or me, we won't have to go broke to be healthy : ))

TV is Me. 6-26-12

Guess who got this outfit for Boop.... Yep, me!

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m an avid TV watcher. And to be honest, sometimes it’s on just for the noise. I’m a sitcom addict <RIP Andy Griffith: No other show can compare!>. And it’s been going on for a long time. My imaginary friends were the Brady Bunch. Well, not exactly imaginary friends; they were my imaginary family. Poor Bobby he always had the most trouble. I didn’t have much sympathy for Jan. I thought she was a whiner with a strange accent.

I swore I’d never do it as an adult, but I started to sleep with the TV on. Some really strange things were happening at my previous house that I can’t explain, and so, I started to keep the TV on at night as a distraction. I haven’t really been able to kick the habit. In fact, the sleep loss with pregnancy and now infant have led me to keep the TV on during my sleeplessness.

And so it is with a heavy heart that I begin to limit my TV watching. At 6:45pm, I turned the TV off in the middle of the Daily Show with John Stewart. I did at least finish the Colbert Report. Let me explain this turn of events. I had to log into one of my old email accounts to get my password for the blog. There were about 2 months worth of emails from the SMC’s; the most recent one included a discussion about TV watching. No TV for children under 2 years old says the American Academy of Pediatrics. They think it increases the risk of ADHD, something about processing speeds of the frames in television. We don’t need any more risk factors for ADHD, as busy as she is. I’ll have to figure out how to adjust.

Suiting Up. 6-26-12

A 70 degree day--one of the last for long sleeves and leg warmers....

I need to find Boop's bathing suits. She has a couple, but I can't remember what size they are. I'm not sure if I put them in the bins with clothes of a particular size, or if I sat them apart somewhere. It's getting about that time. One day it's 70, the next it's 90 degrees. Those 90 degree days are perfect for a little dip in the pool.

Boop's Aunt M got her a little bathing suit with an anchor on it that she should be able to wear now. She also go her a little blow up float for in the pool. Boop is sitting pretty well for the most part, considering she's only 5 months old; so she should do well in the float. Certainly, she won't have as much gravity working against her. Although we've cut down on her formula at daycare, she's still gaining away. Lots of natural buoyancy :)

We didn't get a chance to swim at K's pool before she left, but she'll have more time come mid-July. That's almost here! There's also the public pool at the end of the street. Hardly anyone was there last weekend. I can't wait to see her splash around. If she likes the pool half as much as the tub, we'll be in great shape!