12/30/05 - Baby's First Christmas

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Eva, though somewhat exhausting. We spent Christmas Eve opening presents with Dave's family and didn't get home until late. True to form, her aunts and uncles showered her with big presents and adorable outfits. She got a Laugh and Learn Learning home, which is basically a one-panel playhouse with activities on both sides. She can only sit in front of it and grab whatever is within her reach right now, but she's already having a blast with it, as we hear her laugh "oh-ho!" every time she discovers something new. She also got a Baby Gymnastics Play Wall, which will be alot of fun when she learns to crawl because it's kind of an activity obstacle course. On Christmas morning, our friend's 20-month-old son Jonathan woke with diarrhea and vomiting, which was a real bummer. (They've been staying with us while waiting for her divorce to go through.) I ended up making an early morning run to the pharmacy for Pedialite and some other necessities.

We still managed to give them a special Christmas with stockings and presents, which they weren't expecting. Eva's morning went better. We got her some children's DVD's, board books about Jesus, some developmental toys from Discovery Toys, and little Roll-A-Rounds, which are clear plastic balls with different sights and sounds inside. Needless to say, she made out like a little bandit. So did her parents. David got me a new set of pots and pans, some CD's, DVD's, and chocolate. His favorite gift was a new iPaq Pocket PC, which will be very helpful to him at work. He'd already bought a 32-inch LCD Flat-Panel TV for our living room, "to give us more space," he said (*wink, wink*). We spent Christmas Dinner with my grandparents and Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Laguna Hills. Another late night. Poor Eva had trouble napping with all the excitement, though she was so tired. She just can't stand to miss anything.

Here We Go Again

The day after Christmas, Eva threw up all over the new carpet in the nursery and started having diarrhea. She also started tugging on her ears again, especially while nursing, suggesting a possible earache. Since then she's spit up at least once a day, has taken longer naps than usual, has had several poopy diapers a day, and developed a raw bottom despite the medicated Triple-Cream her pediatrician recommended. I gave her another oatmeal bath to try and sooth it. The doctor confirmed today that she has the stomach flu. She almost certainly caught it from poor Jonathan, who probably caught it from daycare. The weird thing is that she's not running a fever and isn't acting very sick. She's her usual cheerful, curious self, so long as I don't leave her alone. And she's been sleeping fine at night. Last night she slept 8 hours, from 8:30pm to 4:30am, before waking to nurse, and then went right back to sleep. I was even able to put her back in her crib. Apparently David didn't know that, because he woke me soon afterwards by patting me down in the dark, looking for the baby.

New Year Calling

Well, this is the last journal entry for 2005. What an amazing year! By far the best gift of the past year was our beautiful daughter. How we spend New Year's Eve will depend on how Eva's feeling. As I look to the year ahead, I see alot of possibilities. Eva will grow by leaps and bounds I'm sure, just like she's done in the few short months since she was born. At this time next year she'll be a year and a half, and maybe we'll be working on number two. I suspect Dave would like to find a job with another Assisted Living company that won't stall on his raises. As for me, I resolve to spend more time investing in Eva's development. She's old enough now that every experience is a learning one, and I want to foster that. I’ll probably let most of my chores wait for when she's asleep. I also want to grow my Discovery Toys business into something I can be proud of. I'm really passionate about the benefits of toys that teach as much as they entertain, and have donated a bunch to our church nursery. Hopefully other parents will enjoy them as much as I do.

12/21/05 - Eye Troubles

Ever since she was born, Eva has had periods where her eyes cross and stay that way for hours. Sometimes just one eye, sometimes both, and it was usually when she's tired or trying to see something close to her face. Her pediatrician said she should have outgrown that trait by now and referred her to a children's ophthalmologist down in La Jolla. It turns out she's farsighted, which is causing a condition called strabismus. They've given her a prescription for little baby glasses with rubber frames so it won't be dangerous if she pulls them off to chew on or play with them. They want to see her again in a month to see if the glasses are helping. If not, they say we're looking at therapy or possibly even surgery. They don't want to take the chance that poor vision might hinder her development. I'm really not looking forward to this, but it's better than the alternatives. I'm praying that glasses are all she'll need.

Little Explorer

Eva has started twisting, turning, and rolling every time we try to change her diaper, especially on the changing table. She's fascinated with the wipes warmer and anything else within her reach. A few days ago she got ahold of the nasal aspirator and started chewing on it before Dave caught her. I heard it all through the monitor downstairs and couldn't help laughing. She's frequently inspecting her little hands and feet, and loves to chew on her toes whenever she gets the chance. She's gotten too big for her swing and bouncy seat, so it's a good thing she's good at entertaining herself on the floor. The toys she'll get for her for first Christmas will be just in time. We just got her some new bath toys now that she's sitting up, and she's loving it. The only problem is she keeps leaning forward to grab them and submerges her face, not realizing you can't breathe under water. She loves it when we read to her, though she's more interested in eating the books than looking at them. Right now everything within reach makes it's way into her mouth, whether it's a toy, a blanket, or my hair.

Little Extravert

Eva's personality is really shining through now. She loves being around people, and hates being left alone or away from the action. It can make it difficult to nurse because she's easily distracted. The other day I was nursing her while playing Christmas music on the radio, and the instant the DJ's voice came on, she turned around to see where it was coming from. We left her with our friends Amber and Xavier the other day so we could go see the Narnia movie in the afternoon, and she was suprisingly unfazed until she wanted to nurse. They tried to give her strained pears just before we came back, they said, but that's not what she wanted, and she was getting testy about it. It's the first time we've been out without Eva since our anniversary in August, unless you count Sunday couple's group at church. Eva loves other children, probably because she loves being with her playmates from my mother's group. I was in a store the other day and this 3-year walked right up to Eva's stroller and said "Hi baby!". Eva immediately started reaching for her. Then this little girl accidentally coughed right in her face. I just about had a heart attack and tried to move Eva away, and of course the girl's mother was nowhere to be seen. I hope she doesn't get sick. She's just starting to feel better.

Crocodile Tears

I've recently noticed that Eva is beginning to learn how to cry to get what she wants. They say the first six months a baby's needs and wants are the same thing, they cry to get their needs met, and they're not yet capable of manipulation. Well, I'm thinking we're past that stage of innocence. The other night Dave was holding Eva as content as can be, and the minute she saw me come into the room she started a fussy little cry to get my attention. No tears, mind you, and she smiled the instant I looked her way. Then of course she started up again when I went into the kitchen. She's not stupid. She's also started fighting sleep, which is a rather new development. I guess she finally realized that she might be missing something when she's asleep. She'll fall asleep in my arms when people are talking or the TV's on, but if we try to put her down in her quiet nursery while she's still awake, she gets upset. Like mother, like daughter. I'm not a big believer in the "cry-it-out" methods, so I have a feeling this could be a long battle.

12/17/05 - Baby Blues

Last week was really hard for Eva. The antibiotics for her ear infection gave her diarrhea and an awful rash. It got so bad after a couple days that I took her back to the pediatrician. She said the ear infection had cleared up enough for her to stop taking the medicine. That night Eva's bottom was so raw she started crying when I tried to put cream on her, so I stripped her down to her birthday suit and set her on a blanket in front of the heater. She was fine until she peed on her tender skin, which really hurt and set her off again. I gave her an oatmeal bath, which helped to sooth her bottom and enable her to sleep. She actually KO'd on the changing table while I was putting on her pajamas, she was so exhausted. Thank goodness she’s starting to feel better. At least we were able to take her to visit Grandma Geri (Dave's Mom) while we sang Christmas Carols to the residents at Villa Del Rey with friends from church.

Sleepless In Vista

Eva hasn't been sleeping that well in her crib since she's been sick. She starts crying the minute her head touches the crib mattress, and she'll only calm down in my arms or in our bed. I think she prefers the memory foam pad we have on our mattress. At any rate, she can certainly tell the difference, and the only way I can get any sleep is to take her to bed with me. She's also wanted to nurse frequently during the night, which I'm sure is her body's natural way of to trying to keep hydrated. Poor Dave has spent alot of time sleeping on the couch when our queen-size bed starts to feel crowded.

Playing Dress-Up

Although it's chilly at night, it's been unseasonably warm during the day, making it even more difficult to find clothes for Eva. Everything in stores is heavy for winter. At 21 1/2 pounds, she's graduated to stage 5 diapers and 12 month clothing, which is mostly designed for the longer legs and slimmer bodies of babies who are learning to walk, not for a 6-month old. They tend to come in sets of tops and pants which are sold separately, making them more expensive. And the pants almost always have too tight a waistband and too long a pant leg for a baby that has only recently learned to roll and sit up. I prefer those one-piece jumpers they use for sleep and play and that give easy access for diaper changes, but they're hard to find larger than 18 pounds. Nevertheless, I finally managed to find five or six outfits on clearance after visiting every department store in the mall.

12/7/05 - Road Trip

We drove Eva up to Oregon to visit my parents for her first Thanksgiving, since we won't be seeing them at Christmas. We left San Diego at 1pm, figuring we'd get into Grants Pass around 1am, and that Eva would sleep the majority of the trip because most of it would be at night. It didn't work out that way. We didn't even get out of LA until 5pm because of traffic. Then we had to pull over several times because Eva threw up all over herself and her car seat. We had to change her clothes three times and line her seat with cloth diapers until it could be cleaned. Other than that, Eva was a real trooper, crying only when she was sick or trying to fall asleep. We ended up not arriving until 4:30am.

First Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful family gathering at my parents house with my 11-year old brother Caleb and 13-year old sister Barocha. My other little brother Tim (26) and his wife Ayrian and three kids joined us as well. Asaph is 5, Jirah is 3, and little Haddie is only three weeks younger than Eva, and about 6 pounds lighter. Eva loved playing with her cousins for the first time, and all the activity in the house. Grandpa sat her on his knee and fed her strained sweet potatoes for her first Thanksgiving. It was very cute.

We stayed through the weekend and planned to leave Monday morning, but just as we were heading out it started to snow. We checked online and found out interstate 5 had been closed through the pass, so we had to take the coastal route on highway 199, a full four hours out of our way. Even then, we had to wait f or snowplows to get us out of the woods. It took us 11 hours to get to Stockton, so we finally got a hotel for the night and made it home in 7 hours the next day. We took extra precautions with Eva, like stopping more often to let her stretch and giving her at least 10 minutes after nursing before driving again. She didn’t get sick once, thank goodness, and was as patient as could be. I was really relieved, but we won’t be doing that again. Next time we’ll fly.

Madness and Mayhem

Coming home hasn’t been as relaxing as we’d like. The house had to be turned inside out in preparation for new carpet. Everything had to be moved out to the garage or crammed into the kitchen. We haven’t been able to put it all back yet, much less decorate for Christmas. Needless to say, I’m doing all my shopping online this Christmas. The carpet is just in time, since Eva is rolling all over the place now. She has a magnetic attraction to appliance cords, I’ve discovered, as well as a renewed fascination with the cat and the phone. She loves to grab the receiver when I’m trying to talk on it.

Poor Eva picked this very inopportune time to get her first cold. She has trouble breathing, which makes nursing and sleeping difficult, and teething has only made it worse. I have to keep suctioning out her nose, which she really hates. Then I noticed her tugging on her ear, so I had the doctor check for an ear infection at her routine appointment. She had one sure enough, but but they decided to give her immunizations anyway, since she didn’t have a fever. The antibiotics she prescribed have given Eva a rash, on top of everything else. Actually, Eva is handling it all much better than I am. So long as someone is there to comfort her when she cries, she's content. She wants to be held constantly, but that’s reasonable considering what she’s going through.

David says if all our children would turn out this good-tempered, he'd have four of them. But we still joke that she's God's way of convincing us to having more, and the next won't be so easy. She's so comfortable. I'll sit down to rock her in the nursery, while she fights sleep by trying to play with my face or hair. Eventually she'll lay her head on my shoulder, relax her whole body, give a sigh of contentment and drift away while I gently hum "Mommy loves Eva". I love smelling her sweet breath, feeling her snuggle against me with perfect trust and contentment. I wish I could relax that easily.