G’n'R Out West

The great bath mystery has been solved!  When Greg was at swimming lessons with us on Tuesday, Adelle and I were showing off all the skills she knows.  One of them is back float.  Although, she loves being in the water, back float results in tears if I force her to stay in it too long.  And even when she is in it she has her little arms wrapped around my neck holding on for dear life.

Greg suggested that perhaps the reason she hates the bath is because we lie her on this little ramp thing instead of sitting her up.  Hmmm.  We had been lying her on her back on the ramp for a few reasons.  When she was first born she hated the bath, we stopped getting in with her, as it didn’t appear to give her any comfort.  If we put her in alone and used the ramp to support her back then we could have her in and out in about a minute.  We decided that doing it fast was the best way to minimize the suffering.  I never tried to sit her up in there because using the ramp was just the fastest way to get the job done.

Yesterday I tested Greg’s theory and he was so right.  I put her in the bath sitting up.  She cried and was beside herself for about a minute and until I got her to notice that she was in the water.  Once she realized she was in the bath she immediatly took a toy and started chewing on it.  While she chewed I washed.  Man, it is so much easier to wash all the neccessary parts when you don’t have a 1 minute time limit.  She didn’t even mind having water poured over her head when I washed her hair. 

After about 10 minutes she really started to relax and have fun.  There was talking, and splashing, and finally BIG smiles.  Anyway, I am hoping we have figured this out and bath time will be something that we can all enjoy.

Man, this parenting stuff would be way easier if Adelle could just talk.  I feel so terrible that I was so focused on minimizing the time in the bath that I didn’t stop to think about why she hated it.

Yesterday Greg and I practiced our new roles.    I went off to work (I attended a lunch-in meeting for woman in the sciences at work), while Greg took a vacation day and stayed home with Adelle.  It was interesting.  After the initial stress of trying to figure out what exactly I need to wear it ended up being good.  I really missed Adelle when I was gone, but man, was the reception great when I got home.

I got squeals and coos and a ridiculous amount of wiggling from the baby,  Greg had started cleaning the house, had the laundry well underway, and on top of it all, he and Adelle had even managed to get out for a nice long walk.   I am impressed.   I think days like these gives us both confidence that on May 28th…we will survive the change in our lives.  Well, Greg has always seemed excited about the idea…however, returning to work 3 months early, certainly doesn’t sound that enticing to me.   I think in the end it will be good for all of us.  I will get to get used to working again, without having the added stress of putting Adelle in daycare.

Today Greg came to swimming lessons with us.  So we got a few pictures.  Adelle has so much fun in the water now.  She doesn’t love going under water (who does really?), but she likes splashing and has lots to say (well, scream) to whoever is listening.

I thought I ought to put a little post up about my Yoga Mamas group, since the woman and babies we’ve met at it have become such a big part of our lives. 

My sister pushed me to take a yoga class after Adelle was born.  I’m not usually one for Yoga, but it actually turned out really great.  Thank you Amy!  I got some good stretching in (which was oh, so important in those early days), but more importantly I met some really nice women, and some really fun kids. 

Greg laughs at the term Yoga Mamas becuase most of us have quit Yoga.  Instead of excersizing together, we now meet on Friday’s for leisurely lunches.  We usually do potluck and rotate the host so we get some pretty fancy meals.  This is one of the many luxuries I enjoy as a stay at home mom of just one child.  I will really miss it.

I took a few pictures of the girls the other day and thought I’d post two of them here.  It is really neat.  We originally started lunching in restaurants after our class, but now that most of the girls are moving around it is really fun to have these playdates.  For the most part the girls don’t interact too much, but Adelle loves to pull off Leah’s socks (Leah and Adelle are the youngest, and neither of them are moving yet…so if Leah gets put down too close to Adelle, she usually goes right for her socks).  Adelle loves all the girls in general, usually squealing and squirming when she notices them.  I think it will be interesting to see what she does around them when she learns to move.  Will she constantly crawl towards them trying to get close and touch them….or will she get excited about everything else in the houses?

Sarah and Adelle checking out the activity table.

Adelle hanging out with Leah and her ever so enticing socks

I have also posted a few little videos on Utube.  The first is of Adelle’s first encounter with finger food.  She can’t quite figure out how to pick it up…or what to do with it.  But it is fun to watch her touch it and do her usual grunting.  The second one is from me making her giggle….as you can see, I am quite funny, but the carpet is also fascinating, so her attention is divided between us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSaSr1ldSGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvYF1vABWYM

I feel like the time is just melting away before my eyes.  I am cherishing these last few weeks with Adelle before I return to work (just over 2 months away).  It is so hard to think about not spending my days with her.  There are times I like to have some space from her, but the space I’ll get from her by working seems a bit excessive.  I’ll just have a short few hours with her in the evenings…so sad.  Tonight she went to bed at 7:30…what’s up with that?  If I get home at 5 that only leaves me 2 1/2 hours…that is entirely too short.  At least it will only be 3 days a week…I hope.

I have been very emotional about Adelle this week.  My sister’s partner, Hugh, sorted through all the video that was taken around the time of Adelle’s birth and put together a movie of it all.  I still cry when I watch it (and I’ve watched it more than a few times now!).  I haven’t quite figured out how to thank him for doing it yet…every time I think of calling to thank him, I get too emotional…  But this is who I am…Hugh, if you are reading this…you have done such a beautiful job at capturing such a special time in our lives.  Watching the video has been so amazing.  There is one particular shot of Adelle nursing that just rips at my heart strings.  When she was first born she had to concentrate so hard and it took all of her energy to get in a good feed.  Now, it takes most of my energy to get Adelle’s attention long enough to get her to nurse!  Darn, I feel so lucky to have such a great little babe.

Sleep:
She has been going to bed really early.  We don’t swaddle her anymore, and that seems to be going really well.  We had borrowed swaddling blankets from our friends Roy and Shan.  I think I am officially ready to return them.  Roy and Shan will be very happy to hear about this, since they are expecting a new addition to their family in 2 months.  

As for how well she sleeps…whatever, I have no clue what is going on.  I think we have more good nights than bad nights.  She mostly sleeps in her crib, although she is not a stranger to our bed!  Last night she was up 3 times, but I still felt well rested this morning, so I’m not complaining.  I guess she is just being a baby, but me, being an engineer, I am always trying to figure out what is going on.  You know, correlating the number of farts she had during the day to the number or waking hours at night…that sort of stupid stuff….I am hopeless at just living life and letting things happen.  I will forever try to control the uncontrollable!     

A few nights ago we brought her into bed and she fell asleep between the two of us.  Greg wasn’t working in the morning, so she woke up to the two of us in bed next to her.  I don’t think she has been happier in her life.  I woke up to her poking at my face, and squirming around.  When I opened my eyes I saw that she had this HUGE grin on her face and she was alternating between touching my face and the back of Greg’s head.  I don’t think she could beleive we were both there AND within touching distance.

Napping is officially something our kid does!!!  It is so exciting.  This month she totally fell into a sleeping pattern…well as much of a pattern as you can expect from a baby.  Sometimes she naps once, sometimes twice, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for 20 min…but it is way more predictable when it was.  She seems pretty good at napping wherever and we tend to get at least a few independant naps each week so we can now get lots done in the day without carrying her.  It is a little perk…but of course, I miss the cuddling…you always miss something when something changes!!

Eating:
Adelle’s official opinion on solids is that they are excellent.  We have loads of fun feeding her.  She won’t really eat much before 11 or 12, but she will generally eat lunch and dinner, and have lots of fun doing it.  She loves sitting up at the table with us, and usually we all eat dinner together and it is somewhat relaxing.  We are definitely very spoiled right now.  The days when only one of us could eat at a time seems a distant memory.  Who knows how long we’ll be spoiled by the family dinners…regardless we will enjoy it for however long it lasts.  So far the only food she doesn’t like is bananas.  And she really really hates them.  Her eating bananas reminds me of how I feel when I eat squash. 

It seems she still isn’t too interested in the bottle.  Although, she wants us all to know she is capable of using both the bottle AND the sippy cup.  When she drinks from either she takes a few sips and then spits them out.  Then there is more drinking, followed by more spitting.  So yes, she CAN drink from a cup or a bottle, but no thank you, she is not interested in doing it! 

Getting Around:
So far nothing on this front…but I feel like it isn’t too far off.  She sits pretty still when she is alone.  She can reach pretty far, but won’t compromise her stability for a toy.  However, when Greg and I are there she is never still.  Crawling, walking, wiggling all over us (assisted of course).  So I think she is developing her movement skills that way.  Her abs are incredibly strong and she can pull up to a  sit when reclined to a point quite close to horizontal.  She can also go from sitting on our laps, to standing without using our hands or hers.  I have caught her twice on her hands and knees.  I am not sure if she has any realization that this hands and knees thing is important…but I wonder if when moving comes, it will come quickly. 

Hair:
Her hair is still getting lighter, her long hair tuft is in fine shape.  I have not yet cut it.  I feel as though it is so much a part of who she is…so it will remain long and unruly for a little while yet.       

Eyes:
Still a greyish-blue.

Personality:
FUN FUN FUN.  She giggles and giggles and smiles and laughs and yells and it is really fun.  The other day we were strolling through the grocery store and she was yelling at the top of her lungs ‘Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!’.  It was really funny, she was so enthusiastic.  Maybe she likes solid food so much that the idea of shopping for it is just so exciting she can’t contain her emotions. 

Probably the most exciting thing from this month is that Adelle has totally started to LOVE her dad.  She usually thought he was pretty good…although did go through a stint when she really prefferred me.  However, this past month she has really realized how great he is.  When he comes home from work she can hardly contain her little wiggly self.  She always had lots of smiles for him, but now it seems as though she is beside herself to get out of my arms and into his.  It is really special.

Our little social butterfly is still going strong.  We are quite busy throughout the week with various activities and it is a good thing.  Our little girl just thinks kids are so great.  When she sees other kids while we are out she squeals.  When she is with her little friends, she will sit on the floor for over and hour just enjoying them…and ignoring me. 

Today we had swimming lessons and for the first time Adelle really noticed me blowing bubbles.  She spent lots of time watching me blow rasberries and turn them into bubbles underwater.  She started copying me, but when she dipped her mouth into the water she was confused and surprised by the water that entered her mouth.  It was really neat to watch her try to figure it out.  After the bubble incident she got really frustrated and mad.  She wanted nothing to do with the rest of the swimming lesson.  Lucky for me the class is filled with kids so she was content to float around on her belly and watch everybody else.

Stuff that happened this month:
- she had a great visit with our friends from Ontario, and spent most of the time tormenting their little 6 month old Aaron
- she put her head underwater for the first time (well, the first time since August 20th!)
- Auntie-Cousin Angela came to visit and we had so much fun with her
- she really started napping
- she started to sleep without being swaddled and I think she now prefers the freedom

A little video of our baby girl.  It is really hard to get good video of her.  I’m not sneaky enough and she is way too into the camera to not get distracted.  But this shows how much fun she likes to have.  It also shows her little wiggly feet.  She inherited those from me, and I inherited them from my mom. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG2JgPGA4Sg

Bedhead - Adelle sports some really cute hairdoos in the morning on account of her tuft.

Well, we have a had a pretty rough little patch with sleeping these days.   I started wondering what she was trying to tell us.  So a few days ago I took the risk and didn’t swaddle her to sleep.  Well, she slept for 12 hours straight…didn’t even wake up to eat.  I love how great out little girl is at telling us what she wants!

Anyway, it might have just been a coincidence…but I don’t think so.  She has now had 4 swaddle free nights.  Only one night was a sleep through night, but the other nights have been limited to one - two wakings so things are definitely much better.  The new waking schedule is actually kinda nice.  Sometimes when I wake up I am a bit irritated at first but once I pick her up she snuggles right into the nook of my neck and I forget about being irritated.  Now what mum wouldn’t want an extra cuddle or two a day? 

Another interesting change in her sleep patters this last few weeks is that she suddenly switched from going to bed at 10 pm to sleeping at 8 pm.  This changed started the day or two before the time chanage, so I figured we’d be back to 9pm when the time change happened.  But no, she has not missed a beat and continues to go to bed at 8pm.  This has been really nice for Greg and I as we get a few hours of down time at night now.  The best part, is she still wakes up after 8 every day…so things are still terrific for me in the morning.

Another great new development is napping.  She now naps all by herself!  It is still a skill she is working on, but I would say every other day she naps for at least 1/2 an hour (and often more) all on her own.  I am feeling pretty lucky at the moment.  And I can’t help but wonder…why is she taking it so easy on me?  Perhaps she is trying to ensure I am well rested for the next stage….teething??  Either way, I am grateful for each and every well rested day.

Well, now that I have completely and totally jinxed all the wonderful sleeping patterns of our daughter, we shall see if any of it continues.

In other news she is still really enjoying food.  The only food that she hasn’t really liked so far is bananas.  She will still eat them (after all, they are food, and she REALLY likes food), but she gives you a little gag and gets the shivers from them.  I don’t think I’ll give them to her anymore for a while, despite the fact that the reaction is priceless!

Prunes on the other hand, apparently, are delicious!  Generally speaking, feeding is pretty easy for us.  We know her tricks and honestly, she is so into eating that she usually is happy to just sit there and open her mouth up.  Prunes, however, were a bit different.  I think they were so delicious, that she couldn’t help herself but grab the spoon and try to suck every last drop out of every spoonful!

Or at least that is what Adelle’s face indicated the other day.  She stole a 1 1/2 year olds bottle and got a sweet little delicious treat!  I had put her in the little playpen with a little boy in our swim lesson while I got changed.  I turned my back for one second and that sneaky little bugger is drinking some little dude’s juice.  How does she do it…she isn’t even mobile yet?? 

This week Greg and I officially signed Adelle up for daycare.  It is pretty close to our house and the people seem really nice, so hopefully it will be ok.  The menu leaves something to be desired, but that seems the norm in this town, so there isn’t much we can do about that.  Hopefully Adelle will only be going their 3 days a week.  I know I need to relax about food, but it is funny that in a society where we everybody and their uncle is on a diet - we still think it is ok to serve our children garbage.  arg.

We have a fun day tomorrow.  Playgroup in the morning and then a lunch with our old Yoga group (we don’t actually do yoga together anymore…now we just get together for lunch once a week).  Man, going back to work is totally going to cut into our social life.

This weekend we are going to a baby shower and there will be two little one month old baby’s there.  I can’t even believe how little they are.  When I pick them up they feel like they float they are so light.  When I see them I don’t even know what to do with them, they are so fragile.  I feel like Adelle was never that fragile.  How quickly we forget…or maybe it is a function of being so tired during that first month that my memory fails me.

We took Angela to the airport this morning.  It was so sad to see her go.  We had such a great time hanging out with her all week…and it was nice for me to get a chance to get to know her a bit better!  Adelle will miss her silly Auntie-Cousin. 

We have a busy week full of all our activities.  I am really starting to feel like these last few months I have with her are going quickly.  The weeks are just flying by.  I get queasy just thinking about returning to work.  At least Greg will be home with her for 3 months after I go back.  That will be an easier transition then having to take her to daycare and go back to work.  I have no clue how Adelle will adjust to all the changes coming…but I know it will be really hard for me.   I did however spend a good 6 hours away from her on Saturday and I survived.  I had tons of fun with some women from work and I hardly noticed how long I had been gone.  However, the drive home felt like it took forever and it was so special to hold her when I finally did arrive home.  Greg tells me Adelle did great without me, but she lost it just before I returned.  We had a tearful reunion (I am such a suck) and it was nice to know I was missed.

With Angela in the mountains

Greg’s cousin Angela arrived last night and we are having a great time with her.  Today us girls packed up and went downtown to meet Greg for lunch and an afternoon of shopping.  After spending about 20 min in a parking garage trying to find a spot to park, Angela accosted some man and we followed him to his parking spot and took it when he left!  Thank goodness…we were starting to think we were going to spend all afternoon trying to find a spot.

We had a really great afternoon and then all drove home together.  Tomorrow we have another big day planned.  But truth be told I’m looking forward to our plans for Sunday when we are going to the mountains for brunch.  It will be very luxurious and totally delicious!!!

I updated flickr with a few shots that Alison and Kevin took on their trip out here as well as a few from the last few days.   I realized after looking at some of the pictures that I need to be more careful with Adelle.  I found it hilarious when she was stealing toys from Aaron…but truth be told on some level she is probably hearing my laughter and reacting.  I will smarten up and make sure she knows that isn’t acceptable.  It is probably a little too early to be teaching her about that sort of stuff, but I am sure babies pick up on attitudes from a young age…so enough with that.  But darn she sure is cute.

Poor Aaron had no chance around Adelle, she was on a mission to ensure every toy Aaron wanted she had!

Now that she is on solids, our mature daughter prefers to order her own meals when we eat out

These pictures highlight how ridiculous Adelle is about the camera.  The first picture is taken before she realizes that I have the camera out.  She is in a serious state of tired.  The next shot (and a few more you can see on flickr) show how Adelle reacts when she knows she is on camera.  She is such a ham.
 

A nice shot of Angela and Adelle