Charlotte is now six weeks old and is just a charmer. She is getting better at smiling and cooing and I find that she has her father's temperament (thank goodness!). As I meet and talk to other moms I am finding out indeed what a good baby she is. She loves parties, though she gets pretty sleepy being held all the time!
She is still eating in 2.5-3 hour intervals day and night. Except yesterday when I suspect the six week growth spurt is what made her go only 2 hours at night! No sleep for mommy. I wake up in the morning so darn tired and I stumble down to her room and am often greeted by a gummy smile that makes morning more bearable. She wakes at 9 am every day, regardless of her last feeding. I'm still not sure when to put her down for the night...it is often around 10 pm and I'd like it to be a little sooner. She tends to have long stretches of awake and long stretches of sleep as opposed to sleep/wake/sleep/wake for short bits.
The cats still don't seem to realize that Charlotte is a real person, they pretty much ignore her. She is becoming aware of them, though and I can see her watching them sometimes. Especially Hobbes since he likes to join us for feeding. I end up with a boppy, a baby, and stupid cat on my lap. At least it is warm.
I'm happy being at home, though I am so thankful for having Jen around to go to the mall and breastfeeding group with. Too many days at home all day is boring no matter how much stuff needs to be done. i don't want to go back to work, but I'm lucky that I still have about 7 weeks left at home (that's longer than some mom's get all together!). We found day care. Her name is Linda and she lives in east grand rapids on the way to work for Daddy. She has been doing daycare for 30 years and has 5 grown kids of her own. There are 3 other kids in the daycare and they seem to be quite nice! We'll probably visit a couple of times before I have to bring her there for all day.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
David and Goliath
My husband is obsessed with getting that damn squirrel (goliath) out of the attic. He is apparently getting hungry since I went into the attic to get pre-pregnancy clothes and it appears that he found my stash of marzipan. Clearly a North American squirrel, he cared not for the almond filling and simply ate the chocolate off the outside of it. Further evidence of his presence was the squirrel pee I had the misfortune of stepping in. Then I went in again and found my secret stash of ritter sport had also been broken into.
David, Meanwhile, got a small catch and release cage, but the bugger kept setting it off without being trapped. We now have a giant one (I think it might catch a hippo) with the tempting bait of peanut butter. I hope I don't have any more secret sweets stashes for him to find.
In other news, I'm slowly losing my mind as a stay-at-home mom. I feel terribly guilty about my feelings, but I can't help but feel so trapped. I feel like that character in greek mythology who had his liver eaten out by a bird every day, only for it to grow back again to have the same thing repeated the next day. I change her diaper only to have her pee or poop right onto my hand as I'm wiping her bum and then when I finally get her into a clean one, it is only to know we'll go through the same ordeal in about two hours more. When she sleeps during the day I worry that she won't sleep at night. When she's up during the day, I worry that she isn't ever going to get to sleep. When I'm most tired and ready for bed, she's super jazzed up and won't sleep. When she surprised me and goes down early, I can't sleep! When I try to nap I can't sleep and when I'm dog tired, she wants to eat.
Don't get me wrong...I love her dearly and think she's just the cutest darn thing ever. But it really wears on you. This trapped feeling of living life in 2.5 hour increments and being at the mercy of the most unpredictable thing ever. Tonight Dave went to Lowe's and I cried because after he left I realized that it sounded really fun to get out of the house and go. So I gave Charlotte a bath and made the water too hot I guess and she screamed bloody murder. Then after we were done and she was being dried off, she spit up all over her clean self and I devolved into another set of tears. I'm also pretty sure I'm not eating enough. Which is funny. I can't say I haven't wanted to lose that baby weight (not out of vanity, just want to have clothes that fit). I think I need to eat more, and keep it healthy which is hard.
I now know that parenting is just something you have to go through to understand (kind of like pregnancy). Even the best babies are hard to take care of. The constancy of putting another first is very wearing. A month without a full nights sleep sucks. I have no patience for not knowing what she really needs or wants when she cries.
But...I think she's starting to smile and I love that. She's fun to dress up. She is usually really good and spends most of the day in an agreeable state. I think she's starting to recognize me and she loves me because I feed her.
David, Meanwhile, got a small catch and release cage, but the bugger kept setting it off without being trapped. We now have a giant one (I think it might catch a hippo) with the tempting bait of peanut butter. I hope I don't have any more secret sweets stashes for him to find.
In other news, I'm slowly losing my mind as a stay-at-home mom. I feel terribly guilty about my feelings, but I can't help but feel so trapped. I feel like that character in greek mythology who had his liver eaten out by a bird every day, only for it to grow back again to have the same thing repeated the next day. I change her diaper only to have her pee or poop right onto my hand as I'm wiping her bum and then when I finally get her into a clean one, it is only to know we'll go through the same ordeal in about two hours more. When she sleeps during the day I worry that she won't sleep at night. When she's up during the day, I worry that she isn't ever going to get to sleep. When I'm most tired and ready for bed, she's super jazzed up and won't sleep. When she surprised me and goes down early, I can't sleep! When I try to nap I can't sleep and when I'm dog tired, she wants to eat.
Don't get me wrong...I love her dearly and think she's just the cutest darn thing ever. But it really wears on you. This trapped feeling of living life in 2.5 hour increments and being at the mercy of the most unpredictable thing ever. Tonight Dave went to Lowe's and I cried because after he left I realized that it sounded really fun to get out of the house and go. So I gave Charlotte a bath and made the water too hot I guess and she screamed bloody murder. Then after we were done and she was being dried off, she spit up all over her clean self and I devolved into another set of tears. I'm also pretty sure I'm not eating enough. Which is funny. I can't say I haven't wanted to lose that baby weight (not out of vanity, just want to have clothes that fit). I think I need to eat more, and keep it healthy which is hard.
I now know that parenting is just something you have to go through to understand (kind of like pregnancy). Even the best babies are hard to take care of. The constancy of putting another first is very wearing. A month without a full nights sleep sucks. I have no patience for not knowing what she really needs or wants when she cries.
But...I think she's starting to smile and I love that. She's fun to dress up. She is usually really good and spends most of the day in an agreeable state. I think she's starting to recognize me and she loves me because I feed her.
Friday, December 01, 2006
A very good birthday
Yesterday was the first day Charlotte and I were on our own; Daddy went back to work on his birthday. We had a good, and a busy, day. We went to the bf group at 12:30 and then to the mall with Jen. I was able to borrow a stroller frame that fits the baby car seat into it from Jenny Cleveland. It was fun! We were shopping for a christmas present for Daddy. We got a grill remote that alarms when your food reaches temperature. Unfortunately, daddy didn't actually want that. Even when I showed him it listed on his list in his own writing. But that's okay. It was the thought that counted.
Then we went out to eat. Our first outing since the baby! We went to Outback and I had a great time! A steak, cheese fries, and even a big beer. The baby slept. She was in the car seat pretty much all day, so she slept pretty much all day. But that's okay.
Then we went to the mall to return the bad gift and we went to Victoria's secret to get free underwear and we stopped at the jewelry store to look into upgrading my wedding rings. I think I'll take a Dave birthday like this every year!
In other news, we had a lovely visit with Dave and Susan on Wednesday afternoon and we are very much looking forward to the upcoming THanksmas holiday. It took me a couple of days to recover from the sickness. I can hardly believe how tired I was. Even going DOWN the stairs was tough. It helped me lose weight, though. I supposedly only have 10 pounds left to lose. I put on "regular" jeans today and they are tight! Of course, I haven't worn anything that didn't have spandex in the top in months. I don't remember what regular clothes feel like. I also am sad to report that I have a "muffin top". THis is the fat that hangs over the top of your jeans. I have NEVER had that before. I'm not too upset, I mean, it has been almost a month and I'll give myself at least 6 months to get back near to "normal". I just hope I can be like before...such a flat, nice tummy. I don't even care so much about stretch marks. I have a few, but they don't really seem bad.
Then we went out to eat. Our first outing since the baby! We went to Outback and I had a great time! A steak, cheese fries, and even a big beer. The baby slept. She was in the car seat pretty much all day, so she slept pretty much all day. But that's okay.
Then we went to the mall to return the bad gift and we went to Victoria's secret to get free underwear and we stopped at the jewelry store to look into upgrading my wedding rings. I think I'll take a Dave birthday like this every year!
In other news, we had a lovely visit with Dave and Susan on Wednesday afternoon and we are very much looking forward to the upcoming THanksmas holiday. It took me a couple of days to recover from the sickness. I can hardly believe how tired I was. Even going DOWN the stairs was tough. It helped me lose weight, though. I supposedly only have 10 pounds left to lose. I put on "regular" jeans today and they are tight! Of course, I haven't worn anything that didn't have spandex in the top in months. I don't remember what regular clothes feel like. I also am sad to report that I have a "muffin top". THis is the fat that hangs over the top of your jeans. I have NEVER had that before. I'm not too upset, I mean, it has been almost a month and I'll give myself at least 6 months to get back near to "normal". I just hope I can be like before...such a flat, nice tummy. I don't even care so much about stretch marks. I have a few, but they don't really seem bad.
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