2/25/06 - New Developments

Eva loves to clap two toys together and listen to the sounds they make. One of her favorite games is when I'll take one of her plastic balls and tap it against the one in her hand. Then I'll hold mine still and she'll try to tap it with hers. She loves copycat games like that. She also enjoys it when Mommy or Daddy lies down on the floor to play with her. She loves to explore your face, poke your ears and pull your hair. What can be more entertaining than a friendly face? Although Eva hasn't yet discovered how to crawl forward, she's still very mobile. She pushes herself up onto all fours, rolls, scoots, or crawls backward. It's frustrating for her because she can't always steer herself in the direction she wants, but she'll get there.

She tries to pull herself up on things, but it's tough because her arms aren't strong enough to lift her weight. Eva is also starting to get the hang of the pincer grasp, using her thumb and forefinger to explore and pick things up. It's fine except when she decides to try and pinch my nipple while nursing. Ouch! Her newfound skill is supposed to herald her readiness for finger foods, but I'm going to hold off. With only two teeth, she hasn't really grasped the concept of chewing. I've tried giving her mashed banana with a more lumpy consistency, but she gags on it because she always tries to swallow it whole. For now I'm just thickening her baby food with cereal as a sort of transition.

Decision Time

Parenthood is full of little dilemmas. For instance, Eva has begun repeatedly pulling her glasses off again. She's figured out how to pull them up and off over her head so she can play with them. Do I simply put them back on over and over again and distract her with other toys, hoping she'll tire of the game? Or do I try a little aversion therapy by flicking her little hand when she does it? If you have ice cream and other groceries melting in the trunk, and a crying baby with a poopy diaper in her car seat, which one do you take care of first? Do you throw the groceries in the freezer while she cries, or do you let them melt while you change her diaper? Every parent has to wrestle with these and a hundred other issues, and as soon as you've got one settled, another quandary pops up.

Looking Good

My hair is finally starting to grow back in frizzy little bunches that are driving me crazy. But at least it's not falling out anymore. And for some reason my face has started breaking out worse than when I was a teenager. That's probably due to the fact that I've been so groggy in the mornings that I'll be halfway through the day before I remember to wash my face and brush my teeth. Dave has taken up a lot more of the nighttime parenting now, which has helped a lot. If Eva's nursed but still fussy, he'll change her diaper and rock her to sleep in the recliner downstairs while he watches a movie. In the mornings he'll take her for an hour so I can sleep in before he goes to work. It's really helped to ease my exhaustion.

I'm a night owl, and I'll often stay up until 11 because it's my only time to unwind and hang out with Dave. I know it's not smart because the stretch from 8 to 12pm is the longest she'll sleep all night, and she'll be waking up just as I've fallen asleep. I should go to bed soon after she does, but then when would I get time to myself or as a couple? Her naptime is the only time I can get anything done during the day. Evenings are for relaxing, and right now I'm enjoying the winter Olympics. I'm paying for it in lost sleep, though.

A New Age

Technology is a wonderful thing sometimes. Dave bought Bible software for my pocket PC that includes reading plans, so whenever I have a moment I can just take out my handheld and have devotions. When I'm done with that day's reading, I check it off and the software keeps track of where I am. It's very convenient. We also decided to invest in Adobe Photoshop software because the cheaper knock-off we bought last year was frustrating me to no end. Now I can easily put Eva's pictures into slideshows to share with the relatives, and fix photos that need a touch-up. I found out I’ll have to get Premier Elements to burn a DVD, which is frustrating, but at least it will do what I want.

2/17/06 - Getting Older

This has been an eventful week. I turned 29 on Saturday. Dave and I went for a walk on the beach while Aunt Nanci watched Eva. It was the first date we'd had since going to see Narnia. Later that night we met with friends at Marie Callendar's for dinner. It was fun, but Eva started getting really fussy around 7pm. On Sunday Eva went through two outfits in an hour while being babysat for our married couple’s group. She had spit up on one, and her diaper overflowed on the other. When we went to pick her up, we found her in fire-engine pajamas, courtesy of her little friend Micah who wears 24-month clothes, and they fit her perfectly! Go figure!

Then we got Valentine’s portraits of Eva. I wanted the Cupid outfit, but Dave thought it looked evil in red, so we went with white angel’s wings instead. They were adorable! A few days later, Eva had her first Valentine's Day. We gave her a pink Valentine’s doggy and an Ocean Wonders fishbowl. The fish float around in water and glitter, and it lights up and plays music when you drop a toy ball into it. She loves it. Dave and I celebrated with some romantic CD's, DVD's and chocolate covered strawberries.

Sleep Like A Baby? Yeah, Right!

Motherhood is about improvisation. This week was a perfect example. Eva was tired and ready for a nap, but the minute she was done nursing she started fussing. I tried to rock her, but she fought being held. I put her in the crib and wound up her musical mobile, but the minute it stopped she started screaming like a banshee. I tried soothing music, even ran the vacuum cleaner, but she just kept working herself into a tizzy. I finally tried nursing her in my bed, which seemed to calm her. I decided to let her fall asleep there and quietly slipped out. A few minutes later I heard a thump, ran back and found her crying on the floor. She had somehow wormed around the safety railing and fallen out of bed. I felt so guilty, but that had been the only place she would calm down! She cried in my arms and fell asleep within minutes, totally spent after an hour of struggling.

We're having the hardest time with her sleeping lately. She just can't relax even though she gets so exhausted and cranky. Last night she kept tossing and turning, kicking and flailing her arms in her sleep, waking herself up. She even clapped her hands and squealed once, with eyes closed in that groggy state. Either she's having incredibly active dreams, or she's so wound up with these new skills she's learned that she can't settle down. It's incredibly frustrating. She’s had so much trouble these past few weeks that we’re trying everything.

I cut back on anything I’m eating that might have caffeine, like chocolate. I drank chamomile tea at dinner so it would be in my breast milk when I nursed her at bedtime. I used Lavender baby bath and soothing lotion. I put her in a lighter nightgown and turned down the heater in her room, in case being too warm has been giving her overactive dreams. Noticing that gas is sometimes the culprit, I got her some Gripe Water from the health food store. It’s a homeopathic digestive aid for babies that uses ginger and anise to sooth their tummies and prevent gas and colic. I even checked all her baby food for offenders like broccoli or beans, but didn’t find any.

The "Goo"

Somewhere around four months old, Eva started making an "ah-goo!" sound that sounded like her first attempt to say a word. Dave picked up on it and would try to make her say it again by repeating it to her over and over. It never worked, but somewhere along the way it became her nickname, "Eva-Gooba", and then "Eva-Goo." Sometimes it's shortened to simply "The Goo," as in, “Honey, can you change the Goo’s diaper this time?” Poor Eva. We're supplying plenty of fodder for her psychiatrist when she gets older.

2/8/06 - Restless Nights

Eva has figured out how to push herself up into a sitting position when she's lying on her tummy, which means she doesn't get stranded as easily. On the other hand, she is having difficulty sleeping again, and this time it's affecting her naps as well. During the day she won't stay down for more than 45 minutes; at night 2 hours is her limit. I try not to leave her to cry and get all worked up, because then we're both wide awake and it's even more difficult to get back to sleep. It's obvious she's exhausted because she gets so cranky, protesting when we put her down to play on the floor, but not always comforted by being held.

I've tried giving her homeopathic drops for teething that have calming chamomile in them. They work well, but don't last very long. At least they can help her relax enough to fall asleep - whether she stays asleep is another challenge. I've read that these periods of restlessness often precede significant milestones like crawling, which makes perfect sense, though it hardly makes it easier. Eva is able to get up and rock on her hands and knees now, but whenever she tries to crawl she ends up pushing herself backwards. It won't be long before she gets the hang of it. I'm sure some of her fussiness has come from the frustration of getting nowhere. They say babies' intentions long precede their abilities.

Gourmet Palate

I brought Eva to her first Super Bowl party at Villa Del Rey Assisted Living, the building that Daddy manages. All the little old ladies wanted to see her, and some got a little too close for Eva's comfort. Even Grandma Geri, Dave's mom, couldn't get very close without Eva crying and clinging to me. I felt bad for her, but there's nothing I can do about it. Separation anxiety has really kicked in, and you just have to wait it out.

Eva got her first taste of guacamole off my plate, and instantly started grabbing for it. I sifted out larger chunks of tomato, onion and cilantro and fed her spoonfuls of it. All of a sudden she had a real appetite! Then I took out half a jar of peaches with oatmeal and bananas, and she polished that off. I'm beginning to suspect that it's not solid food that Eva is disinterested in, it's bland baby food! She still won't eat more than half a jar of it. I was hoping to help her develop a taste for a large variety of foods without needing salt or other embellishments, but it appears she's only interested in eating a hearty helping if it's real food.

Baby Talk

Out in public, Eva is usually quiet and observant, just trying to soak it all in. She'll stare at new faces and study them intently. People always want to know, is she always that quiet? Absolutely not! In familiar surroundings like home, Eva becomes the ultimate chatterbox! She's trying out all sorts of new sounds, and while none of it makes sense yet, you can't help but get the feeling she knows what she's talking about. Right now her words are composed sort of like "bwa-ba-da-ba", trying out the "b" and "d" sounds. She's also testing new octaves and volumes, shrieking at the top of her voice just to test her powers. She loves it when we copy her, and she'll start talking back, as if she's convinced we're speaking her language.

2/4/06 - Feeling Adventurous

It's hard to believe Eva is now eight months old! Wasn’t she a newborn just a minute ago? Her second tooth finally broke through this week. I took Eva to the mall for a little exercise, and she found it a real learning experience. First, I went to a taco shop and realized I had forgotten to bring baby food. I had just nursed Eva, but she always wants to try whatever we're having, and up to this point I've kept baby food on hand instead because I wasn't sure she was ready for big-people food. Well, She wasn't about to be left out and kept lunging for my plate, so I finally gave her a taste of refried beans on the tip of my fork. Her eyes lit up, she smacked her lips, waved her arms and leaned in for more. That was it! She wanted to give her new teeth a workout. I had to go get a spoon and give her a real bite. This one had a bit of rice on it, which Eva found interesting. She gagged on it at one point because she doesn't know how to chew yet, but the beans she loved. She finally figured out that Mom's been holding out on her! We're in trouble now! Later I took her to the pet store to see the animals. She was completely fascinated by the bunnies and birds, but especially the puppies. She kept reaching for the glass, thinking she could touch one.

Flexibility

It's true that the moment you finally get a handle on your child, they move on to the next stage and everything changes. You've just got to be flexible. When Eva was little, I used to run errands whenever I wanted while she slept or played in her infant carrier. Now I have to work them around her naps, which usually fall around 10am and 2pm. I used to take a shower with Eva in her bouncy seat, then with her sitting on the floor with toys, but her growing mobility now limits me to whenever she's napping or Dave's home, unless I want to set up the play-pen.

Since we live in a townhome with three stories, I've put a basket of toys in each room. As I move Eva from room to room while working around the house, I sit her in front of a basket of playthings where I can see her. When I'm ready to move to the next room, I toss everything back into the basket, grab her and go. Now I have to childproof cabinets and drawers in every room, and install safety gates along the stairs. It's difficult to vacuum because I'd have to keep her off the floor, so that tends to get neglected, much to Dave's chagrin. Plus, it's such a hassle to lug a vacuum up and down three flights of stairs while trying to keep an eye on the baby. I confess it's my most hated chore.

Worry Wart

I can thank the births of my little brother and sister in my teenage years for allowing me to be more confident and relaxed than a lot of first-time mothers, but I'm not entirely immune to maternal paranoia. For instance, Eva suddenly started getting rough, scaley skin on her tumny last week, apparently out of nowhere. We hadn't been using any new soaps or lotions, or introduced her to any new foods. It was a mystery. It went away with hydrocortisone cream, but we never figured out where it came from.

Then there's the fact that Eva has been randomly spitting up again. It doesn't seem to matter what we've fed her: veggie, fruit, baby cereal, or just breast milk. It's gotten to be a couple times a week, with no warning, so Dave is afraid to put her on the floor or hold her on the couch without a blanket or cover. It comes and goes every few weeks, and I haven't been able to pin down a particular cause. And despite her incredible growth rate, she still doesn't have much of an appetite for baby food. Then, as silly as it may seem, it seems strange to me that all Eva's little peers have been crawling for weeks, and she still isn't. I'm not competitive, and I'm sure that they'll all be on equal footing in kindergarten no matter when they reached different milestones, but it does make me wonder, nonetheless. I suspect it's because most of her playgroup friends have older siblings running around, which gives them more motivation to get moving. At home, Eva's pretty content to sit and play by herself.

Looking Back

How things change when the baby arrives! I look at pictures of Dave and I from before we got pregnant, and it seems like another lifetime ago. What on earth did we talk about? I vaguely remember that we both worked during the day and would spend our evenings unwinding together. Sometimes we'd spontaneously go out for coffee or to a friend's house. Those days are over. Now it's all about getting dinner, giving the baby a bath and ready for bed, and trying to get her to sleep early enough for us to spend time together. Too many evenings we end up crashed on the couch, playing pocket solitaire while watching a DVD like my grandparents do. Kinda scary. It's a rut I'd like to break out of, but we're so wiped in the evenings and it's so difficult to go anywhere with a tired baby that we rarely try. The other night we took a quick trip to Sam's Club for diapers after dinner, and Eva cried the whole way in her car seat. We won't be trying that again.