Saturday, June 14, 2008
Cranky PAAAAAAAAAANTS!
I was trying to take a picture of my darling daughter in her adorable outfit given to her by Jenni & Dick Malahowski, but she was not exactly in the best of moods. I took some photos anyway, and they totally crack me up. She is very good at throwing a fit. Much like her father, actually.
Friday, June 13, 2008
3-Month Review
So, we've had a kid for three months now. Time to reflect. I certainly had a lot of ideas about what having a kid would be like. It is neat to look back and see how much was accurate.
People always say that your life changes considerably when you have a kid. True, true, true, but it is not as devastating as I thought it would be. The impression I used to get when people would tell me that all of our freedoms as adults would be gone - we would not be able to do the things we loved, and that we would basically be unable to enjoy the life as adults that we have been building for ourselves was that having a child entailed a necessary evil. In addition, we, as I was told, would no longer be able to spend money on ourselves.
This turned out to be true and false. It is true that life is very different now. Our schedules are different, and the ability of us to leave on a dime and do whatever we want whenever we want is over. Right now, with her breastfeeding, and especially with her sleeping so long at night (which requires us to crunch up all her eight feedings over less "awake" hours during the day), we (and especially Niki) have to plan each day out. We need to be in a position to feed her once every two hours, and during each two hour segment of our day, Charlie goes through three distinct moods - feeding, happy, and then cranky/sleepy. We have not been to any fancy restaurants lately, but we have gone out to eat. We continue to attend our "trivia night" at Panchos, and we hang out with the folks in the neighborhood like we used to. Niki takes her about once every couple of weeks to Vanderbilt to meet her "Vandy Aunties" for lunch. I do not get as much done around the house at night and over the weekends, because I am too busy either playing with Charlie or helping Niki. Spare money right now goes toward, for the most part, Charlie, or things that impact Charlie's life (new flooring, for instance -she'll be crawling soon).
On the other hand, this is what we WANT to be doing. We really enjoy our time with Charlie. Having true freedom of schedule, and the ability to go to nice restaurants, and getting lots of stuff done during the day is nice, but we'd rather be hanging out with Charlie. She'll only be this way once.
So, in other words - yes, our lives have changed drastically in the last three months, but we are glad it did. We wouldn't have it any other way.
We get a lot of questions about the dogs. We are not ignoring the dogs, but they certainly are playing a background role in our lives right now. As a baby, Charlie really needs the attention (if not direct, at least indirect) of at least one of us all day long. That's just part of being a baby, and is something that I did not fully understand before having Charlie. On the other hand, we pet them when we can, we take them for walks, and they are fairly understanding about this whole baby thing. We will get to interact more with them again when Charlie gets older. After all, and Niki would say that the following sentiment is "anthropomorphizing," but the dogs are family members just like we are, and family members, at one time or another, have to sacrifice when life changes come along. Life will continue to change for all of us, and during our lives, the dogs will go through periods where they get lots of attention, and periods when they don't. In fact, the dogs have a trade-off now. They do not get tons of direct attention, but on the other hand, Niki and Charlie are home most of the day. The dogs, even though we are not blogging about them every day, are still a big part of our lives. Niki and I can't imagine never having a few big black dogs around. As for the cat - well, his life has not changed very much. In fact, it probably has not changed at all. Pacey lives upstairs, and he interacts with us at night. That has not changed at all. Good old Pacey.
Charlie fusses a little, and has her crying fits, but by all accounts, is a pretty easy going baby. I understand perfectly well that we've got it easy on this part. It stinks when she cries, but she responds to efforts to soothe her, so I look at soothing her as a type of communication between the two of us. That makes it more bearable, especially if I can calm her down. Calming a crying baby is a double-sided reward. On one hand, I feel good because I am rewarded with quiet. In addition, there is the satisfaction of having communicated, both physically and verbally with her.
Having an infant is a lot of fun. I seriously can't wait until our next one, and, although Niki and I are not agreed on this point, I am very interested in having a third baby, as well. I really enjoy just spending time with her. She's such a neat kid.
People always say that your life changes considerably when you have a kid. True, true, true, but it is not as devastating as I thought it would be. The impression I used to get when people would tell me that all of our freedoms as adults would be gone - we would not be able to do the things we loved, and that we would basically be unable to enjoy the life as adults that we have been building for ourselves was that having a child entailed a necessary evil. In addition, we, as I was told, would no longer be able to spend money on ourselves.
This turned out to be true and false. It is true that life is very different now. Our schedules are different, and the ability of us to leave on a dime and do whatever we want whenever we want is over. Right now, with her breastfeeding, and especially with her sleeping so long at night (which requires us to crunch up all her eight feedings over less "awake" hours during the day), we (and especially Niki) have to plan each day out. We need to be in a position to feed her once every two hours, and during each two hour segment of our day, Charlie goes through three distinct moods - feeding, happy, and then cranky/sleepy. We have not been to any fancy restaurants lately, but we have gone out to eat. We continue to attend our "trivia night" at Panchos, and we hang out with the folks in the neighborhood like we used to. Niki takes her about once every couple of weeks to Vanderbilt to meet her "Vandy Aunties" for lunch. I do not get as much done around the house at night and over the weekends, because I am too busy either playing with Charlie or helping Niki. Spare money right now goes toward, for the most part, Charlie, or things that impact Charlie's life (new flooring, for instance -she'll be crawling soon).
On the other hand, this is what we WANT to be doing. We really enjoy our time with Charlie. Having true freedom of schedule, and the ability to go to nice restaurants, and getting lots of stuff done during the day is nice, but we'd rather be hanging out with Charlie. She'll only be this way once.
So, in other words - yes, our lives have changed drastically in the last three months, but we are glad it did. We wouldn't have it any other way.
We get a lot of questions about the dogs. We are not ignoring the dogs, but they certainly are playing a background role in our lives right now. As a baby, Charlie really needs the attention (if not direct, at least indirect) of at least one of us all day long. That's just part of being a baby, and is something that I did not fully understand before having Charlie. On the other hand, we pet them when we can, we take them for walks, and they are fairly understanding about this whole baby thing. We will get to interact more with them again when Charlie gets older. After all, and Niki would say that the following sentiment is "anthropomorphizing," but the dogs are family members just like we are, and family members, at one time or another, have to sacrifice when life changes come along. Life will continue to change for all of us, and during our lives, the dogs will go through periods where they get lots of attention, and periods when they don't. In fact, the dogs have a trade-off now. They do not get tons of direct attention, but on the other hand, Niki and Charlie are home most of the day. The dogs, even though we are not blogging about them every day, are still a big part of our lives. Niki and I can't imagine never having a few big black dogs around. As for the cat - well, his life has not changed very much. In fact, it probably has not changed at all. Pacey lives upstairs, and he interacts with us at night. That has not changed at all. Good old Pacey.
Charlie fusses a little, and has her crying fits, but by all accounts, is a pretty easy going baby. I understand perfectly well that we've got it easy on this part. It stinks when she cries, but she responds to efforts to soothe her, so I look at soothing her as a type of communication between the two of us. That makes it more bearable, especially if I can calm her down. Calming a crying baby is a double-sided reward. On one hand, I feel good because I am rewarded with quiet. In addition, there is the satisfaction of having communicated, both physically and verbally with her.
Having an infant is a lot of fun. I seriously can't wait until our next one, and, although Niki and I are not agreed on this point, I am very interested in having a third baby, as well. I really enjoy just spending time with her. She's such a neat kid.
Charlie in her Bumbo!
We bought a tray for Charlie's Bumbo seat. That, combined with her new interest in toys, makes for some extreme cuteness. At least we think so!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Typical Monday night at Pancho's for trivia
Every Monday night, we join the Marshalls and the Scotts for trivia night at Pancho's Mexican Restaurante. Charlotte is passed from person to person until she falls asleep and the rest of us munch on burritos and enchiladas while answering trivia questions. Faith Carol brought her camera last week and we captured the extent of Charlotte's assistance with the contest.
First, she goofs around, checks people out, and then fusses a little. Here she is with Faith Carol, demonstrating this step.
Eventually, she conks out and misses all the excitement (like this past Monday, when we came from behind to take second place!), as in this photo with Alicia.
First, she goofs around, checks people out, and then fusses a little. Here she is with Faith Carol, demonstrating this step.
Eventually, she conks out and misses all the excitement (like this past Monday, when we came from behind to take second place!), as in this photo with Alicia.
Future Domer?
I bet Charlotte would forever be Aunt Erin and Uncle Andrew's favorite niece if she went to Notre Dame. When we were in Illinois last week, we had Charlie try on some Irish duds to see how they looked. She and Auntie Ernie look like they're ready to join Charlie Weis' team!
Bath time in Lisle
Charlotte and I took a quick trip up to Illinois to visit Auntie Ernie and Uncle Drew-Dawg last week, but I hadn't gotten around to posting any photos of it until now. It was Charlotte's second trip by airplane and the first time I flew with her alone. We did pretty darn well, if I do say so myself. Charlotte was so well-behaved that she got compliments from other passengers who didn't even realize there was a baby on board until we were deplaning. We did more diaper changes on the tray tables (most of the Southwest jets don't have changing tables in the bathrooms) and managed not to tick anyone off. Like the last trip, only women chose to sit next to us. I guess men aren't too keen on sharing such a tight space with a baby.
We had a terrific time in Lisle with Erin and Andrew. Charlotte stayed in the "baby guest room" and was extra nice to her Auntie by saving all the poopy diapers for me to change. Either that, or Erin figured out exactly how to change only wet diapers and to make herself scarce when they were dirtier. Regardless, Charlotte didn't act too distressed that her two caretakers were identical twins. I wonder what she's going to think about that when she gets a little older?
We had a lot of fun recreating 1/2 of the famous Christmas card photo our parents sent out when Erin and I were six months old. We were each posed in one side of a double basin kitchen sink, having a bath. In Lisle, Erin and I folded up a beach towel to line the bottom of her sink, filled it with warm water, and plopped Miss Charlie Jo right in for a scrubbing. Charlotte loved it and only cried when we took her out to get dried off. Her favorite part was the Farty the Penguin bath toy that her Auntie Ernie kept squirting her with during the bath.
We had a terrific time in Lisle with Erin and Andrew. Charlotte stayed in the "baby guest room" and was extra nice to her Auntie by saving all the poopy diapers for me to change. Either that, or Erin figured out exactly how to change only wet diapers and to make herself scarce when they were dirtier. Regardless, Charlotte didn't act too distressed that her two caretakers were identical twins. I wonder what she's going to think about that when she gets a little older?
We had a lot of fun recreating 1/2 of the famous Christmas card photo our parents sent out when Erin and I were six months old. We were each posed in one side of a double basin kitchen sink, having a bath. In Lisle, Erin and I folded up a beach towel to line the bottom of her sink, filled it with warm water, and plopped Miss Charlie Jo right in for a scrubbing. Charlotte loved it and only cried when we took her out to get dried off. Her favorite part was the Farty the Penguin bath toy that her Auntie Ernie kept squirting her with during the bath.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Another exciting day in Franklin
Last weekend, we had a nice, quiet Sunday in Franklin.
First, we hung around the house and Charlie Jo wore a super cute outfit courtesy of Grandma Jo.
That afternoon, Charlie and her daddy took a nap.
Pacey even joined in on the fun!
After some unfortunate blurping incidents, a costume change was required. Charlie put on her plaid pants because we were going to go meet cousin Jordan for dinner. Though we haven't seen Jordan in his $3 plaid pants in a while, their image is still burned on our retinas.
Jordan and Corey immensely enjoyed the fried German food. Charlie enjoyed being carried around by the waitress while the grownups ate. Needless to say, we left a good tip!
First, we hung around the house and Charlie Jo wore a super cute outfit courtesy of Grandma Jo.
That afternoon, Charlie and her daddy took a nap.
Pacey even joined in on the fun!
After some unfortunate blurping incidents, a costume change was required. Charlie put on her plaid pants because we were going to go meet cousin Jordan for dinner. Though we haven't seen Jordan in his $3 plaid pants in a while, their image is still burned on our retinas.
Jordan and Corey immensely enjoyed the fried German food. Charlie enjoyed being carried around by the waitress while the grownups ate. Needless to say, we left a good tip!
Development update at the 3-month mark
Woo hoo! Charlie is sleeping soundly right now, and I don't have to wake her up to feed her in time to get to Stroller Strides for another 20 minutes. Typing with two hands isn't something I do often any more, so this is a real treat.
Little Charlie Jo is growing up so fast! She has discovered her feet, but she doesn't quite have the abdominal strength to get those puppies up into her mouth yet. Her hands are another story. She shoves them in her mouth all the time now. She is smiling lots and lots, but still hates riding in the car. She hasn't been rolling over as much any more. I'm chalking that up to her body growing and her arm strength not keeping up with her weight gain. Looks like I need to be getting her even more tummy time!
I weighed myself both holding Charlie and not holding Charlie, and it appears (based on our super crappy scale) that she weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 pounds. Pacey the cat still outweighs her by at least a pound or two, but he still acts like she's some big scary monster. Wait 'til she's old enough to grab onto that tail, buddy.
Charlie is sleeping nine hours in a row at night on a regular basis now. That's without waking up to nurse at all! (I love hearing people say that their kid sleeps through the night, waking up only for a "brief feeding". That's not sleeping through the night in my book.) She's nursing like a champ during the day except for a brief "nursing strike" -- that's what the books call a baby refusing to eat for no explicable reason for a short period of time -- earlier this week. Apparently, even non-union babies can sometimes go on strike, but it looks like Charlie has resolved whatever issues she was having and concessions have been made (or some other labor union terminology that would be appropriate to use in this situation). She has refused to drink from a bottle for the past 6 weeks (either formula or breast milk) but I'm not too stressed out about that. Even during the strike, she wouldn't bottle feed. What a goofy kid.
She loves sleeping in her swing while I take a shower and get ready in the morning, and she is getting pretty good at entertaining herself in the bouncy seat while I make dinner in the evening. She still would rather be held most of the time, but she will spend brief periods of time lying in her play yard (the modern term for "play pen") or on her play mat swatting away at dangling toys and doing what Corey calls her "soft shoe" routine (wiggling and kicking up a storm while flailing her arms in time to music only she can hear). She's grabbing toys more and more, and I caught her pulling one into her mouth yesterday evening. Charlie's favorite thing to do is to lie on her changing table and talk and talk and talk to you. "A-goo" and gurgling are the major "words" of her vocabulary, but they're still pretty funny to hear.
She has big spit-up days but then goes for a day or two without blurping at all. We both sometimes change clothes several times in one day, but not quite so often as before. Corey and I still rock her to sleep at night (which "attachment parenting" method advocates support, but most other parenting experts frown upon) and put her down in a swaddle, but we plan to wean her off of both over the next month or so. She almost never sleeps on her own (without being held) during the day for more than a half an hour, but she gets several of those "power naps" each morning and afternoon and I think they add up to a decent amount of sleep. She seems to be thriving and gaining weight just fine, so I'm not going to worry about the length of her naps just quite yet. She's holding her head very steady when we sit her in the Bumbo, and can keep her head steady when I pull her up from lying on her back into a seated position using her arms. We call those "baby sit-ups".
We're looking forward to her next pediatrician visit on July 11th, when we just might get the go-ahead to start slowly introducing solids like rice cereal. We'll see what Dr. Hood says and try to be patient, but it sounds like so much fun to spoon feed her.
Whoops - looks like Booger is waking up right on time for me to get her fed. After Stroller Strides, we're heading into Nashville to have lunch with Charlie's Vandy Aunties (Kathryn, Angela and Lillian). Fun fun fun!
Little Charlie Jo is growing up so fast! She has discovered her feet, but she doesn't quite have the abdominal strength to get those puppies up into her mouth yet. Her hands are another story. She shoves them in her mouth all the time now. She is smiling lots and lots, but still hates riding in the car. She hasn't been rolling over as much any more. I'm chalking that up to her body growing and her arm strength not keeping up with her weight gain. Looks like I need to be getting her even more tummy time!
I weighed myself both holding Charlie and not holding Charlie, and it appears (based on our super crappy scale) that she weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 pounds. Pacey the cat still outweighs her by at least a pound or two, but he still acts like she's some big scary monster. Wait 'til she's old enough to grab onto that tail, buddy.
Charlie is sleeping nine hours in a row at night on a regular basis now. That's without waking up to nurse at all! (I love hearing people say that their kid sleeps through the night, waking up only for a "brief feeding". That's not sleeping through the night in my book.) She's nursing like a champ during the day except for a brief "nursing strike" -- that's what the books call a baby refusing to eat for no explicable reason for a short period of time -- earlier this week. Apparently, even non-union babies can sometimes go on strike, but it looks like Charlie has resolved whatever issues she was having and concessions have been made (or some other labor union terminology that would be appropriate to use in this situation). She has refused to drink from a bottle for the past 6 weeks (either formula or breast milk) but I'm not too stressed out about that. Even during the strike, she wouldn't bottle feed. What a goofy kid.
She loves sleeping in her swing while I take a shower and get ready in the morning, and she is getting pretty good at entertaining herself in the bouncy seat while I make dinner in the evening. She still would rather be held most of the time, but she will spend brief periods of time lying in her play yard (the modern term for "play pen") or on her play mat swatting away at dangling toys and doing what Corey calls her "soft shoe" routine (wiggling and kicking up a storm while flailing her arms in time to music only she can hear). She's grabbing toys more and more, and I caught her pulling one into her mouth yesterday evening. Charlie's favorite thing to do is to lie on her changing table and talk and talk and talk to you. "A-goo" and gurgling are the major "words" of her vocabulary, but they're still pretty funny to hear.
She has big spit-up days but then goes for a day or two without blurping at all. We both sometimes change clothes several times in one day, but not quite so often as before. Corey and I still rock her to sleep at night (which "attachment parenting" method advocates support, but most other parenting experts frown upon) and put her down in a swaddle, but we plan to wean her off of both over the next month or so. She almost never sleeps on her own (without being held) during the day for more than a half an hour, but she gets several of those "power naps" each morning and afternoon and I think they add up to a decent amount of sleep. She seems to be thriving and gaining weight just fine, so I'm not going to worry about the length of her naps just quite yet. She's holding her head very steady when we sit her in the Bumbo, and can keep her head steady when I pull her up from lying on her back into a seated position using her arms. We call those "baby sit-ups".
We're looking forward to her next pediatrician visit on July 11th, when we just might get the go-ahead to start slowly introducing solids like rice cereal. We'll see what Dr. Hood says and try to be patient, but it sounds like so much fun to spoon feed her.
Whoops - looks like Booger is waking up right on time for me to get her fed. After Stroller Strides, we're heading into Nashville to have lunch with Charlie's Vandy Aunties (Kathryn, Angela and Lillian). Fun fun fun!
Monday, June 9, 2008
I just love bath photos!!
Hmmm... What's about to happen to me here?
Not sure if I like this!
It's not so bad. Actually, it's kind of fun.
All clean now!
Not sure if I like this!
It's not so bad. Actually, it's kind of fun.
All clean now!
Something they didn't tell me in breastfeeding class
While nursing, your baby's free hand will wave around and grab on to anything -- your necklace, your shirt, your bra strap, or your bottom lip. And then she won't let go.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
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