Monday, March 30, 2009

Doing the opposite of my parents

When I was still pregnant, my uncle asked me if I was reflecting on my childhood so that I could make sure not to make all of the same mistakes my parents did. It was an interesting question, especially since I really hadn't given it any thought. For the most part, I think my parents did a good job. Sure, I wish I had my own car in high school. And it would have been nice if I didn't have a curfew, but I think I turned out okay.

However, there is one mistake that I am working very hard not to repeat. I sucked my fingers (not my thumb, but two fingers) until I was about 5 or 6 years old. It was very difficult for my parents to get me to break the habit and it wasn't until my next door neighbor bribed me with gummy bracelets (remember those?) that I fully quit. So I've been shoving pacifiers in Tali's mouth since the beginning and she's now hooked! It really does soothe her when she's tired and fussy.

Of course this has one big disadvantage. Right now, she's not old enough to put it back in her mouth if she spits it out. So when it comes out, she cries until I put it back in. And since she spits it out quite often, I recently purchased a pacifier clip to prevent them from falling to the floor a couple of times a day. I latch it to her in the morning and only take it off when she's feeding. The clip has become her "jewelry" and you'll start to see it in pictures going forward. 

My parents wised up when my sister was born and got her hooked on pacifiers. When my sister was about three years old, they decided it was time to break her habit. We went to Birmingham for a week to visit my grandparents and when she asked for a pacifier, my parents told her that there are no pacifiers in Birmingham. She said okay (she was gullible) and that was the end of that. 

Guess what Tali... there'll be a shortage of pacifiers in New Orleans in a few years. 

Food Fight!

Even though Tali is only three months old, we've already gotten into many food fights. I'm still breast feeding her and sometimes we get into what I call a food fight. For some reason, she'll latch on for a minute then pull away and start screaming. She's screaming because she's still hungry. I'll guide her back and she'll latch on again. And then in a minute or two she pulls away again and screams. Why? Yup, she's still hungry. 

When this begins, it usually lasts the whole feeding, making a 20 minute feeding go as long as 40 minutes or so. I can't quite understand why she does this, but it happens at least once a week. Out of the four feedings she's had so far today, we've had two food fights. It's both funny and annoying at the same time. 

When she learns how to talk, I'm going to ask her why she did this. 

Friday, March 27, 2009

Sleep Deprivation - It's real

Whoever came up with the rule "mom sleeps when the baby sleeps" clearly had no other responsibilities but the baby. No dog to play with and groom. No laundry to do. No meals to cook. No dishes to do. No phone calls to make. No home to maintain. No groceries to purchase. No errands to run. No husband that wants to spend time together. Just taking care of the baby. I'd like to meet that person. No, I'd like to be that person, even if it's just for a few days.

I haven't had a good night's sleep in about a year. When I was pregnant, I was either too nauseous or uncomfortable to sleep through the night. Since Tali has been born, the most she's slept was six straight hours and I got about five that night. And just when I think the sleeping thing is finally getting better, she decides to spice it up. For example, last night she slept four hours and has been awake since 3:45 a.m. She was just awake. There was nothing wrong with her. She just wanted to play. This, unfortunately, happens about once every week or two. She has a good sleep day and then is up at night. It then takes me a day or two to get her back on a schedule of awake during the day/sleep at night. 

For those of you who don't have young kids or don't remember what sleep deprivation is like, it's hard to relate. There is no way to fully explain how exhausting it is. But, you get used to - sort of. You learn to cope. I actually think my body has adjusted itself to fully function on just a few hours sleep. When Tali does start sleeping through the night (which, from what the doctor said will be another few months because she's so small), my body won't know what to do with all of the extra sleep.

I'm sure you are reading this and thinking "why is she blogging when she could be sleeping?" You see, it took me about four hours to get this one post complete. Tali usually takes short naps - 15-30 minutes - and it's not long enough for me to lay down and nap. So I use these little naps to get things done. And today, I've decided to blog.  Hopefully, I'll get a few more done throughout the day. Lots has happened recently and I need to catch up!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Trip to New Orleans

In the French Quarter.

Playing on the Boppy.

Taking a nap with Gran.

Taking a nap with Granny.

Taking a nap on the dining room table.

Tali took her first trip to New Orleans a week and a half ago and it went very well. We flew down for her Aunt Cara's wedding and then Tali and I stayed a few extra days to visit family and spend time with Gran and Grandpa.

The flight down was great! Tali slept in the car on the way to the airport, at the airport and on the plane. She woke up at the very end of the flight to eat but wasn't even fussy.

Tali slept in the hotel with us and got to experience the French Quarter and some of the pre-wedding activities (make-up with the bridesmaids and some pictures). The bridesmaids loved her and she got passed around from girl to girl. During the rehearsal dinner and wedding she had her first real babysistter and did very well. However, she slept horribly the night of the wedding and was terribly fussy the next day.

Her four day stay in New Orleans was very eventful. There were lots of visitors eager to meet and hold her. One visitor, a friend of mine from high school, arranged for me and Tali to have a professional photo shoot (photographer is a friend of his) in the French Quarter. It was a lot of fun and Tali was very good. We walked around for about 45 minutes and she was awake and happy the whole time! I'll send around pictures when I get them.

The flight back to New York was a bit more "fun." Tali woke up about 45 minutes into the flight and pooped! So I had to change her in the airplane bathroom where she screamed the whole time! Luckily, she didn't really scream at any other point during the flight but was awake for a bit. My mom (Gran) flew back with me and stayed a few days to help me get back into the swing of things.

Now we're back in chilly CT and eagerly awaiting spring.

Monday, March 16, 2009

First Roll Over!

When:  Yesterday (March 15)
Where: In the den/office
Details: Yesterday, H was  watching Tali while I was cleaning the apartment and he was giving her some tummy time. While on her tummy she rolled over onto her back! H called me upstairs and put her back on her tummy and she did it again. She wasn't surprised or startled by it at all. In fact, she acted like it was something she does all the time. This morning during tummy time she rolled over a few more times.

I checked in the book and babies don't really roll over until four months (or sometimes even five or six, depending on the baby). At only two months (one week shy of three months), she's very strong! Also, she's been rolling from her back to side for two weeks now (a three month milestone).  Tali is a very active baby, or as my mom says, she has a lot of spunk!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Airing out the baby


Some people air out their closets, others air out their shoes, I air out my baby. Yup, starting last week, Tali gets aired out daily. Why? It's because of diaper rash.

About two weeks ago, Tali got her first diaper rash. It took a while to go away and then came back. So I began airing her out after I changed her diaper to help rid the rash and keep a new one from forming. The goal is to do 10-15 minutes of airing out after each change (as long as she doesn't scream). Now if this seems like an easy task to you, then you haven't spent much time around babies. For some reason, an open diaper triggers the pee reflex. In Tali, it can also trigger the poop reflex. So I've developed a system.

I take off Tali's dirty diaper, wipe her clean and pat her dry. Then I put a new diaper under her to catch any pee or poop. Next, I make ridiculous noises (beeps, clicks, etc.) to keep her entertained and happy. If she's having a good time, she kicks her legs, swings her arms and smiles. Kicking the legs means that she moves her diaper away from her. So it becomes a race to put the diaper back under her before something comes out. If she's in a great mood, I take her off the changing table and put her on a towel on the floor. This attracts Jackson. Dogs like to smell so guess where he goes - yup, near the open diaper area. So now I'm watching and playing with her and also keeping Jackson away from that area (which usually means he sits on my lap). It's a scene right out of a sitcom.

All this for a little diaper rash...