Three months

Dear Meredith,

Today, you are one quarter of a year old! Three whole months! You've grown by leaps and bounds this month, and are thisclose to outgrowing your 0-3 month sized clothes, which makes me both sad and happy at the same time. We also upgraded you from size 1 to size 2 diapers. *sniffle*

Fuss level: Medium. You're getting better at self-soothing, but still employ the Alligator Tears Cry when you want attention. Meltdowns are fairly infrequent, usually occurring when you're super tired, hungry, and frustrated all at the same time. The pacfier is your preference over your fists, still, and I am eterally grateful for our collection of pacifiers and paci straps, so I don't have to spend all day washing pacifiers that fell on the floor. When you do use your fists to self-soothe, you stick the WHOLE fist in your mouth - you've actually gagged yourself a few times!

You became an international traveler in early January, when we went to Vancouver BC to see the Toews clan: A stop in Seattle on the way to meet Uncle Sparky, then north to meet your Great-Uncle John, Great-Aunt Lynn, second cousins Peter & Heather, and your Great-Grandpa Vernon. They were all quite smitten with you, and you were a GREAT traveler, mostly sleeping through the flights and long car rides. I did get to change an epic dirty diaper in an airplane bathroom, which was an exercise in a)dexterity and b)holding my breath.

Another developmental milestone this month: Rolling over from your tummy to your back! You did it for the first time while Grandma Debi was visiting (when Daddy was out of town on business). For awhile thereafter, tummy time was a bust, since as soon as I'd put you on your stomach you'd roll over. You stopped doing it about a week ago, which your PT says is normal, and you'll probably pick it back up soon. I often find you've rolled onto your side, though.

You love: Smiling, being held (especially when sleeping), eating, getting your diaper changed, being read to or sung to, when we hold you so you can sit up or stand up like a big girl, going for walks, baths, being in your swing or bouncy seat, your Daddy, being tickled, blowing spit bubbles, and reaching for (and grabbing!) the toys on your play gym.

You hate: Dirty diapers, being hungry, being alone (aka no one is paying attention to you and cooing over you), being tired, having to sit cooped up in your car seat for too long, and tummy time. You tolerate tummy time a bit better now that you are capable of holding your head and shoulders up for awhile and rolling over, but still aren't a fan.

We love seeing your attention-loving, silly personality develop. You make hilarious faces and noises, and love having "grunt-versations", where we will say "Urrrr" and "Oooh" and "Mmmm" back and forth with you for quite long stretches. I will say, however, your default expression is a fairly serious, intent one, just like your daddy - you have razor-sharp focus when you want something!

Life with you is pretty good these days, now that we're all getting a little more sleep. You fall asleep for the night between 6-6:30pm, sleep til between 2-4am, get a bottle and a diaper change, then sleep 'til between 6-7:30am. A couple of times, you've actually slept a full 11-12 hours, which was FABULOUS. Try it again, will ya? : )

We love you so much, and are so lucky to be your parents. Thank you for being you, baby girl.

Love,
Daddy and Mommy

My Newborn & Wee Bairn Must-Haves

Meredith is nearly 3 months old now (wow!) and has pretty much left the newborn stage in favor of babyhood. There are a lot of things I didn't know I needed before she came around, but now I wouldn't parent a newborn or small baby without.

1. The SwaddleMe Blanket: The nurses in the hospital (or wherever you give birth) are blanket-swaddling pros. They somehow manage to pin down a wriggly newborn and wrap 'em up so tight, the kid stops fussing and falls right to sleep. Plus, they can't startle themselves awake as easily. I never quite got the hang of this at home; I can blanket-swaddle, but Mer, Queen of the Wigglers, always got out of it within 10 seconds. The SwaddleMe uses velcro, and once you get the process down (check out YouTube videos for help), it's awesome. Babies look like the world's cutest burritos, and they have a way harder time getting out of 'em. After the first few weeks, we started just swaddling her at night and during her big afternoon nap, to signal that this is sleepytime. Buy multiples. Trust me. We've recently upgraded her to the larger size, too, that's how much we love these blankies.

2. The BabyConnect App: I had originally planned to fork over ~$20 for an ItzBeen Baby Care Timer, but this FREE app does the same thing for iPhones, iPads, or Android phones, plus gives you the option to add categories like solid food, medicine, sleep, etc. It makes it so much easier for me to just glance and see how long it's been since she was fed, had a diaper change, or has had a poopy diaper. I usually just use the bottle and diaper categories, and add on the medicine icon when she's sick or on antibiotics. You can also download the data as a spreadsheet. Yep. A poo spreadsheet. Will the wonders of the 21st century never cease?

3. A Boppy Pillow: You end up feeding your child all over the house: In bed. On the couch. On the floor. In a rocking chair. At the dining table. This supports the baby at the right angle for bottle or breast feeding, and provides a comfy cushion for them to lie on. Later, you can also use it for tummy time or to help them sit upright.

4. A Pacifier Attacher: Many babies have issues keeping pacifiers in their mouths, and this little clip-strap-thingy prevents pacis from falling to the floor fifty billion times a day, thus preventing you from having to wash & disinfect the paci fifty billion times a day. I'm not about to tell you which pacifier you HAVE to use (we use NUK since they seem to stay in her mouth better), since all babies are different, but this strap works with pretty much every brand. I throw it in the washer once a week then let it air dry.

5. Puppy Training Pads: Hear me out, this is weird, I know. But our childbirth instructor told us to keep some of these on hand for after birth - they're pretty much the same thing as Chux Pads, but way cheaper. We buy the cheapest, biggest package we can find at PetSmart or Target, then cut them all in half and lay them lengthwise on the changing table pad. That way, we don't have to wash the changing pad cover constantly - baby peed or pooped on the puppy training pad? Throw it away, it cost you almost nothing! I also stick a few in the diaper bag for particularly messy dirty diapers when we're out and about, to protect the portable changing pad that came with our diaper.

6. The Fisher-Price My Little SnugaBunny Cradle and Swing: Expensive, yes, but this is a miracle swing. You can change the swing direction from side-to-side to front-to-back, there's a little birdie mobile and mirror you can set spinning, there are sound effects and music with adjustable volume, five different swing speeds, and an AC adapter so it plugs in and you're not spending $$$$$$ on D batteries. It's also got removable extra cushions to keep smaller babies properly positioned.

7. Kiddopotamus Cradler Adjustable Head Support: Meredith's PT recommended these instead of the newborn head supports that came standard with her car seat. It's adjustable and she looks like Princess Leia with them on, plus it keeps her head in a safe, secure, ergonomically correct position.

8. The Sleep Sheep: The 'Ocean Waves' sound setting puts Mer right to sleep. I use it at naptime and bedtime. My only gripe? It only has one time length, about 20 minutes. After that, it automatically shuts off. I wish there was the option to extend the time to 40 or 60 minutes. I found ours for $5 at a used baby store. Score!

9. Pandora Internet Radio: Babies like music. Pandora is free, and they have iPhone and Android apps for your phone, too. Mer loves the Lullaby Station during naptime or when she's having a freak-out moment, and I often play the classical station during the day to have background noise and, duh, make her smarter.

Two months

Dear Meredith,

2 months old on1/4/11... We're gaining ground on Mr. Broccoli!

Two months. TWO! Dos! Deux! You've grown so much this past month, and yesterday at the pediatrician's, were up to 23 inches long (75th percentile) and 11 lbs, 0.5 oz (50th percentile) - wow! Since Dad had to work & couldn't come to the appointment, I ducked into the bathroom while they gave you your two month shots, then came back in expecting to need to comfort you. No need, you’d stopped crying after less than a minute: There’s that Mennonite & Norwegian stoic-ness in your heritage coming through, I suppose. Three hours later, however, you belatedly realized the trauma you’d been put through and WAILED for a good hour and a half nonstop, during and after which the only thing that would somewhat console you was being held.

HI! How are you? What is that shiny thing you're
pointing at my face? HI! HI!

Smiley sweetie pie!

Fuss level: Medium. You’re learning to soothe yourself a little, and your fists sometimes find your mouth – but they don’t stay there long, which frustrates you all the more. For now, pacifiers are the name of the game.You don’t like being left alone (i.e. if I have the unmitigated gall to strap you into your swing and go wash some dishes), and have developed what I call the Alligator Tears Cry to get my attention. I’m wise to your game, kid, but it’s cute. Otherwise, you cry for the normal baby reasons: Diaper, bottle, tired, tummy time, pain, the sky is blue, the sky is NOT blue, you're cold, etc. You also had your first cold this month - we all had your first cold - and you expressed your displeasure as much as possible during that time. Yahoo.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light!

About .05 seconds pre-meltdown.

You started smiling at around the 5.5 week mark, and it’s the best thing your Dad and I have ever seen. No one thing in particular regularly elicits a grin, as you are usually extremely intent on figuring things out and are too serious and busy to smile, just like your father. You do get quite excited when you manage to do what you’re trying to, and start wiggling your arms up and down and panting…. It’s quite Steve Urkel-esque. Developmentally, you’re ahead of schedule, already starting to reach for toys on your play gym (though you can’t grasp them when you finally connect with them) and often able to hold your head upright when sitting on a lap or being held up on our shoulders. I’ve never met a more vocal baby: You grunt and coo and squeal all day and all night, even in your sleep, and Dad and I are able to mostly sleep through all of it at night except through the “I NEED SOMETHING AND I NEED IT NOW!” noises.

Strawberry season in December? How un-locavore.

Life is SO exhausting. 

You also had your first Christmas - it was just the three of us, since we'd had all the family out here just a few weeks before for your birth..Your gifts? Books, of course! What else?

And I do WHAT, exactly, with these things?

Too much merriment! I need a nap!

You met Santa at The Grove. He thought you were adorable.
You were nonplussed. We had hoped for a classic "
screaming meltdown" photo, but
that'll probably happen next year.

My favorite part? All on your own, you started hitting the hay around 7-7:30pm and sleeping until sometime between 12:45 and 3am. Then, we quickly change you and feed you, and you sleep for another 2.5-4 hours, another change/feed session, and then sometimes another 1-2 hour stretch before you’re up for the day. It’s BEAUTIFUL. Writing about it on the WWW is probably going to curse me. Oh well.

Father and frogette

Ain't nuthin' sweeter than a sleeping baby on your lap.

Physical therapy is progressing nicely, and your tortocollis is going away slowly but surely. You have a much better ROM in your neck, and don’t fight me on the daily stretches as much as you did. Tummy time, however, is still detested, and you’ve just this week figured out how to game the system by turning your head to the left, sticking your fist in your mouth, and refusing to move. I’ll defeat you yet, my pretty.

Soon, SOON I will figure out how to get
this ENTIRE thing in my mouth!

Dad and I are constantly amazed by you, kiddo. We can SEE the wheels turning in your brain as you make connections and discover the world and learn new skills…. We can’t wait to see what you do next! We love you, baby girl.

Love,

Daddy and Momma

Parenting tips, 5 weeks in

So, yes, these are just things that work for us and OUR baby. If you have additional tips, let me know - what works today may not tomorrow, etc.

1. After the first couple weeks of newborn-ness, start swaddling the baby JUST at night. It helps calm them down during the early evening fussy time and signal that it's night-time, ergo, sleepy time.

1a. The SwaddleMe Blanket is awesome. Buy multiples. So much easier than trying to get a regular blanket to stay in place, although regular blankets are also great for naptime and snuggling and tummy time and the like, so you'll want a ton of those on hand, too.

2. Never underestimate the power of a lullaby. Pick one or two and stick with them ad nauseum. Even if you can't sing, they'll like it. And they'll come to associate those songs with, again, calming down and signaling sleepy time. For Meredith, it's "Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel)" by Billy Joel and "I'll Love You Forever" from the eponymous children's book. Hum the tune if you can't remember all the words, or make up new words - it's the tune that counts the most. I sung both those songs a lot while I was pregnant, so Meredith heard the tunes and recognized them early on.

3. If you're not breastfeeding, caffeine is your BFF. If you're breastfeeding, drink caffeine WHILE you're feeding the baby so it'll be out of your system enough before the next feeding. Or so I'm told.

4. Keep hand sanitizer at the changing table, so you don't have to wash your  hands after every diaper change (just the really messy ones). Also keep lotion handy, since hand sanitizer dries your skin out like crazy.

5. Don't try to introduce a new calm-'em-down thing when your kid is already fussy to the point of no return. It won't work. Start using it regularly when they're already calm and happy, and then it'll be more likely to help settle them when they're screaming.

6. Sometimes, you have to just strap the kid into the swing/bouncy seat/car seat/etc and let them scream for 5-10 minutes while you go to the bathroom or brush your teeth or take the world's quickest shower or take the garbage out. They will survive, and so will you, even if you feel like the World's Worst Parent at the time.

7. Get out of the house once a day, whether that's a walk to the grocery store with the baby in the stroller, a pediatrician's appointment, or whatever. GETTING OUT IS KEY. And babies often fall asleep in the car seat - BONUS.

8. Don't interact with them during nighttime feedings/changings. Simply focus on tag teaming with your partner to quickly, quietly change that diaper and get the baby fed & put back down to sleep in a dimly lit room before they have a chance to fully wake up. No cutesy singing to them at the change table or gooey silly faces during feeding time: Just git 'r dun. When Meredith wakes up, Dave goes and changes her diaper while I prep a bottle, a process that takes about 3 minutes for each of us. Then, I come back into the bedroom, get the baby settled on my lap, feed her, burp her, hold her for about a minute to settle her down, then put her back in the bassinet. 8 times of out 10, she's back to sleep in a flash and the whole process has taken under 20 minutes. We won't talk about the other 2 times in 10.

9. Keep a HUGE stack of burp cloths on hand. Seriously. I'm amazed how fast we go through them, they're probably 50% of the baby's laundry.

10. A sleeping baby is a beautiful thing. DO NOT WAKE THEM UP, even if it's time for their next feeding. Just let them sleep.

11. On the other hand, during the day, don't try to be quiet. Vacuum, run the dishwasher, listen to music, take them for walks in noisier neighborhoods. They need to be able to sleep through that stuff, and you don't need to tiptoe around your house 24/7!

12. If they're awake and happy, put down whatever else you were doing and enjoy them. So much of parenting a newborn is slogging through crying fits, diaper blowouts, spit-up and 2am feedings, that when they're cooing at you and making cute faces, it makes it all worthwhile. Making dinner can wait - your happy baby might turn fussy in the next 30 seconds, so enjoy it while you can.

One month

One month old on 12/4/2011! Mr. Broccoli will be
used as our month-to-month size comparison in photos...
Simply because I think he's cute. And cruciferous.

Dear Meredith,

It's 6:53pm, according to my laptop. In 15 minutes, at 7:08pm, you will be precisely one month old. Wow. A whole month! 30 days! And we're all still ALIVE!

You're currently napping in your swing, pacifier firmly stuck between your lips, wrapped up in a SwaddleMe blanket (best. invention. ever.) after a nice bath, bottle, and a diaper change, followed by a fuss-then-snuggle session - the baby equivalent of a swingin' night out. You're definitely a fan of the swaddle, and it's one of the things that consoles you when nothing else will. I'm not surprised, because I love being wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets when I sleep, too.

Thanks, Nonna A., for the month-printed onesies!

Fuss level: Medium-to-high. When you're hungry, a pacifier will keep the screams at bay while we change your diaper, but only if it's held in your mouth. You've started TRYING to hold it in with your little hands, but more often than not you end up knocking it back out and frustrating yourself all over again. You don't like burp breaks in the middle of a feeding session, and will holler at me 'til you belch, then keep informing me of your displeasure. Some days you're fussier than others, and some days I can see glimpses of your excited, happy baby personality. But you're only 1 month old, so this up-and-down-ness is to be expected. You definitely know you're the center of attention around here, and take full advantage of it.

Other things you hate: Wet diapers (but only sometimes, for some reason), dirty diapers, your swing and bouncy seat when you're already in a bad mood, being gassy, being hungry, tummy time, and not being snuggled enough by Mommy and Daddy.

Things you like: Baths, feeding time, making noises at all hours (awake or asleep, you're quite the grunter and sigh-er) sleeping in someone's arms, naps, looking at yourself in your play gym's mirror and making fishy faces at the toys on the gym, when I sing or read to you, when your Daddy says silly things to you, going for walks or car rides (unless you have a wet diaper or are hungry) and being in your swing and bouncy seat when you're in a good mood.

My first Thanksgiving (note the turkey-embossed onesie) - the
feast put me in a tryptophan haze, y'all.

You do have lots of physical therapy in your near future, I'm sorry to say: You have a bad case of Tortocollis, where the muscles on the right side of your neck are tight and you tend to turn your head only to the left, but tilt it slightly to the right. Since we don't want one side of your head to get flat from it being the only side you lay on, Operation Turn To the Right is underway. We're under orders from the PT to have you turn your head to your right as much as possible - we only place toys, books, etc to your right, feed you bottles on my left side so you turn right, and have you sleep tilted towards your right side, propped between two 5lb bags of rice covered in pillowcases. As someone who's had neck problems for years, I totally sympathize with you when I have to manually, gently push your head away from the left side, especially during tummy time, which you already dislike. But it'll all work out, and soon you'll have strong neck muscles on both sides.

The physical therapist and our pediatrician have been very impressed with the rest of your development, though, as you have a great range of motion, are very active, and make tons of eye contact - rare for a baby so young. I love the eye contact, as it gives me a chance to look deep into those beautiful brown eyes (yes, they're already turning brown, and I think they're gonna be the same sweet chocolate color as your Daddy's eyes) and say silly things to you. You smile in your sleep sometimes, and it's gorgeous and heart-melting. I can't wait to see you smile at us for real, and hear your first giggles.

At your 2-week checkup, you were already 1 pound over your birth weight, up to 8lb 13oz, and had grown from 19 to 21 inches. I'll try and weigh you tomorrow, but my guess is you're pushing 10lbs, if not over it already. No surprise there, as you're sucking down about 20-24 ounces of formula a day. (I had to stop pumping shortly after your Dad went back to work, as it's difficult to hold a fussy baby who doesn't like being put down and pump at the same time. But, you're thriving on formula, and I know you'll keep on thriving.)

Life with you took some getting used to, but now it seems like you've always been here, and we love you so much, baby girl. We're so lucky to be your parents... And we admit, we're eagerly awaiting the night you sleep for a full 6-8 hours. Please, start doing that soon, okay? Thanks. ;-)

Love,
Mom & Dad

Oh, right, you want to hear about the baby.

I have Meredith snoozing, sprawled out like a frat boy, in one corner of my lap and the laptop dangling off my other knee to write this - I hope you all appreciate my sacrifices to bring you baby updates.

I can't help it. This one makes me laugh every time.

Other than the whole thrush/breastfeeding/recovering from the delivery from h-e-double-hockey-sticks thing, life with Meredith has been pretty good. If you catch her cries right away, she'll usually calm down fairly quickly, the major exception being what we've dubbed Angry Hour. AH takes place usually between 4-7 pm and involves a hungry, gassy, inconsolable baby who alternately wants to be held and pushes us away with surprisingly strong little hands. Even at night, she's not too terrible, waking up between every 1.5-3 hours and wanting to be fed and changed and snuggled: I'm getting good at sleeping sitting upright, holding her in the crook of my arms propped up on the Boppy pillow.

Whuuuuuh? You mean someday I'm going to have to do chores?

The wee digestive tract seems to be in good working order: Mer farts and burps like a trucker (we're so proud), has lots of wet diapers, and saves up the dirty diapers for about every 24-36 hours, when the Crack Of Doom goes off BIG time. In that case, we just hang out with her at the changing table for 15-20 minutes until it's all over, in order to avoid a blowout on the couch. Since we moved to alternating between pumped milk, Similac Organic, and Similac Sensitive for feedings, she's had far fewer spit-ups, although I have gotten gakked on pretty good a few times. She's still on Diflucan, which doesn't seem to upset her poor tummy nearly as much now, although she tries to spit it back out at me at each dosing. She doesn't mind wet diapers, unless it happens while she's eating, but dirty diapers MUST BE CHANGED SOON.

The little maestro tries to 'conduct' diaper changes.

I'm still pumping 3-5 times a day (I need to pump at night but it's too hard to stay awake!), although I don't know how well I'll be able to do that once I'm home alone with her, since she prefers to be held as much as possible. But, any breast milk I can give her is a good thing, I keep reminding myself.

Note the cat tush horning in on the photo.

So far as personality goes, Meredith loves being talked to and held. When awake, she's very interactive, and cuddly when asleep. I need to figure out the Moby wrap so I can cart her around with me during the day when I'm home alone and maybe get more done than just surfing the net on my iPhone and watching (yuck) daytime TV. She always has at least one hand up by her face, just like she did in utero, and manages to get that way even when swaddled snug as a bug in a rug. When left unswaddled, she does the frat boy/Homer Simpson sprawl, as seen below.

Daddy is a good pillow.

Mer's repertoire of noises is legion, involving snuffles, grunts, sighs, squeaks, and squeals that we have a hard time distinguishing from the cats' mews at times. We can't quite differentiate all of her cries yet, but there's starting to be more differences between happy and sad sounds. When I'm sleeping, I still tend to wake up to most of her sounds (she sleeps in a pack-n-play next to me) but I'm getting better at realizing which are her dreaming/shifting, and which are her needing something. Dave tends to sleep through all but the most indignant of cries, but if I need him to grab me something he does so right away. I honestly couldn't ask for a more supportive husband and father of our child. When she's really inconsolable, he's the best at getting her calmed down using a combo of Happiest Baby on the Block techniques and his own brand of silliness.

I am concerned with the current lack of pacifier in my mouth.
Please as to be rectifying the situation.

Well, the wee bairn (Thorberta, Merberta, Meri, Mer, Munkin, Punkin, or Hunnybun, depending on who you talk to) is stirring and I think I smell a wet diaper, so I'll sign off for now. We're so in love with our little miss, and so grateful for all of your love and support. She's one lucky little gal.