11 weeks

Originally written July 14, 2012

Sweet  sweet Tessie..  You are 11 weeks old already.    At your 9 week appointment you had already grown 4 inches   which explains why your feet are busting out of your pjs.  You weighed 11 pounds 12 oz.  I like this because of course your Dad and I got married on Novenber 12, and I think its fun when the numbers are the same.    

You got 4 shots and you didn’t really cry until the 3^rd one so I feel like you are a tough girl.  I already knew you aren’t much of a complainer.    As the Dr was checking you out and telling me how perfect and healthy you are you lifted up your head and showed off how strong your neck is.   She was very impressed with you, as your Dad and I always are too!

Of course your Dad and I both think you are the smartest baby ever.   You are so alert and focused when you are awake.  You pay attention to everything around you.   Yesterday you were playing with your giraffe and you seem better than ever at controlling your arms and hands.  You pet him and reach for him and hang on to him.   Girard is definitely your buddy!    You also seem to do a pretty good job sleeping with your arm up by your head so if your nuk falls out you can push it back in.  A few weeks ago you actually got it back in, but it was backwards so you could only suck on the handle.  You were pretty mad, but I was super impressed with you.

Last night when your Dad came home you caught his eye right away and gave him the biggest smile ever.   We loved that!   You smile and chatter at us all the time.  The other day you were so happy and so chatty that it almost sounded like you were trying to laugh!

I know I probably already told you this… but you really are the best baby.   We can put you down for your nap when you’re still awake and you don’t protest.   At night you barely even seem to care if you ever have your Nuk.   You are on a good schedule, you sleep so good at night, and you tolerate us dragging you into the office every day.

Some things about you:

• ·         You hate lying down flat unless its time for bed.  You want to be up where you can see what is going on.  You definitely don’t want to miss anything.   We have started propping you up in the corner of the couch and this seems to be perfect.
• ·         You stare at the ceiling fan so much that when its off and we notice you continue to glance its direction, we feel we need to turn it on for you.
• ·         You are sleeping through the night!!   You sleep for 6-8 hour stretches each night starting at 10 or 10:30 and its wonderful!    You’ve always been “all business” at night, so when I feed and change you I’m usually back in bed in 20 minutes.   You are the best baby!
• ·         You are starting to enjoy bathtime; but you still scream bloody murder when we are drying you off and getting you dressed so we don’t like bathtime just yet.

 Love, 

Mom and Dad

Good Cop Bad Cop

Blog  6-15

 It has begun.   

Anyone who knows Steve and I knows that I will always be the bad cop in disciplining Tessie and he will always be the good cop.   He is just much more fun and thousands of times more patient.  

Tessie and I have been struggling with afternoon nap time.  She  sleeps like a champ all night and for her morning nap, and then just fusses and catnaps all afternoon.   She would sleep fine in her swing, but I need her to sleep n her crib.   I need her to learn to fall asleep on her own in her crib.   So we power struggle all afternoon.   Sure, she cries, but it isn’t the torture cry so I can deal with it for awhile before running up and popping her nuk back in and rubbing her head and wishing her sweet dreams.     

Yesterday we were in the office when the fussing started.    I was working on a quote so Steve jumped up.  Not 30 seconds later I hear cartoon Steve on the monitor.   He was talking to her and being all animated and changing her diaper and then…. You guessed it…. Brought her down to the office with him.  “Her eyes were wide open!” he said.   Right, because she wasn’t asleep.    So there she was with us in the office but she didn't want to play, either.   She was still tired.  So back upstairs she went (with daddy this time) and she fell asleep.   In the swing. 

I know he was happy to see her and I’m sure she smiled at him when he got to her crib but it will not take her long to figure out that a big smile to her daddy will get her just about anything she wants.  

PANIC.

Originally written 6-16-12

Panic set in with me yesterday.   Tessie is 7 weeks old and I already feel like my baby is getting so big.  Where has the time gone??   She is too big for the cradle so there it sits in our room..  empty.    I got all nostalgic last night remembering putting my  little newborn all swaddled up in there to sleep close to us.   

Now, its 90 degrees in the house so I put her to bed barely dressed at all and she sleeps all spread out in the crib.   She isn’t far  (16 steps, I counted) but she seems  SO far away.   And since she is a little farther away her cries are muffled.  I don't like that she has to cry for me.  I liked hearing her wake up.   Steve actually got to her first this morning and he was downstairs!!

Back to the panic.   Have I enjoyed her enough?   Am I interacting with her enough?    Did I snuggle with my peanut enough?  Do we have enough pictures?    Are we teaching her to sleep?   Do we have enough momentos from her teeny tiny newborn stage?    Now that I have a 7 week old I practically have a 2 month old and I don’t even think that counts as newborn anymore.    How did that haze of feed the baby, burp the baby, change the baby, feed the baby some more, play with the baby, put the baby to bed , try and get some work done, repeat..   actually extend for 7 whole weeks?      I am told this will not go away.   I am told that this panic is with me for life and will only intensify as she goes out into the world.      Crap.

Four Weeks Already?

originally written 5-29-2012

4 weeks tomorrow!  I can hardly believe it.   Yesterday was the party for Steve, Bryan, Izzy and John and we hosted.  The weather was perfect, the kids ran and played and got dirtier than ever (think chips, melted chocolate ice cream and juicy juicy watermelon), and Tessie got passed around so everyone could hold her.  She didn’t make a peep, when she was awake she looked around calmly as could be and when it was time for her first bottle  (from Auntie Katie)  she didn’t hesitate and she eagerly drank it until it was gone.

Her next bottles were goofy because I’m not really exactly how much she drinks when she is nursing.   Since I had enjoyed margaritas at the picnic I wasn’t about to nurse her.    After she drained the first 2 ounces we waited about 20 minutes then gave her more.   So..  all in all I’d say she had her last bottle 9 :30ish.   At 4am I woke up startled that she was still sleeping and ran in to her room to check on her.  Yup.  Still breathing.   Then I woke her up to feed her.   It seems crazy to wake her up in the middle of the night, but she just seems tooo little to go that long without eating!!    The she only ate for 7 minutes  falling asleep again.   It was like a courtesy eating. So it was weird.  BUT..   I know she doesn’t have an eating disorder.  When she is hungry she wakes and she nurses.   She is healthy.  She is growing.  She has 2 chins and her diapers are getting tight on her thighs.    I just need to keep watching her to be sure she is eating.   I know now that most of the time she will sleep at least 4 hours when she first goes down, and then will eat exactly 3 hours after that, and after that.

She really is the best baby.   I love how still and content she is after she eats.   Sometimes she squirms and fights and turns her head so much when I am holding her  that I just have to put her down.   She is a girl who likes her space.  Even after a nap I will go look at her and see that she is wide awake and calm.   Like she is enjoying the silence or something.   Like me.

In the last few days it is apparent to me that she while she is calm and staring at our faces she will smile socially.    She will coo  and she will even stick out her tongue at us when we do it to her.   It’s the cutest and a huge thrill.   Yes, it seems mean to be sticking out your tongue at the baby but it feels like we’re talking and I love it.  Steve and I had the best time on Saturday night sticking out sour tongue out at her.  Then on Sunday morning when she woke up  she smiled at me and then stuck her tongue right out… as if to say “remember Mom??”    Yes baby.  I remember. 

She has gotten really good at running errands with me.   We have been to the grocery store a few times, the mall of America twice, Marshalls, and she even came with Izzy and Grandma Katie and I when we went to a restaurant for dinner after shopping.   Such a good girl!

This week I need to be better at snapping into action in the morning.  I feel like I need to get at least 3 hours of work done each day.  I think it would help if I could sit down with Steve and plan what needs to happen each day so I can feel a  little in control about what is happening- and so I can make sure to be focusing on  the right things at the right times.   The fact is, somedays I just can’t stop looking at her long enough to actually get anything done.