Stretches

Baby stretches will never not be a) awesome, b) dramatic.   :)

Dear Diary

As I get ready for bed, diary, I reflect on the hardships of the day and marvel at how I continue to persevere. This morning, for example, I was abandoned for several hours by the only one who can feed me and was reduced to taking my milk from a strange plastic device.  It was not ideal, but it appeared that it would be my only choice if I wanted sustenance. Then, not content with just one instance of near-starvation, Mother again abandons me this afternoon! She claimed it was for "groceries," but I don't see what all the fuss was about. The only food I need comes ready-made and pre-warmed, not from some store. I was so drained from the ordeal of waiting for her return that I was unable to keep my eyes open when I was bundled into my mobile snuggee after dinner. (I must confess, I do like being wrapped up next to Mom's chest, being gently rocked as she walks about. It's very relaxing. Don't judge; we all have our guilty pleasures.) In case even further evidence of my trials is needed, I needed five hours before I was able to regain my strength. Five hours! To her credit, Mom did provide an adequate pillow and allow me to rest. (It amazes me how my food dispensaries can be so comfy.) So now, diary, I am renewed and have the strength to carry on. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more snacks and less cold wipes on my hindparts.

Sincerely yours,
Ella

One Month!

It's crazy! How has a whole month passed already? This is ridiculous. I am in shock. I honestly don't know how we made it this far. [looks around stunned]

We took Ella to her doctor's check up on Tuesday, and she was given a good grade again.  We talked about things that apparently all babies struggle with -- sleepy eating, getting fussy in the evenings, gas, etc, etc.  Apparently she is acting normally for a baby.  Ready for the real shocker we learned?  Her weight is in the 75th percentile, her height is 90th.... and her head is 98th!  Dr. Cold Hands seemed like she was trying to reassure us that 98th was "still good," that it had a little wiggle room before they might suggest ultrasounds and whatnot of her head to make sure everything is still good.  John and I just had to laugh!  No, no, it's ok, doctor.  Our baby is just living up to her genetic destiny.  Pumpkin heads, all of us.  Can't escape it.

I managed to get a chalkboard at the ill-fated Target trip, but I hadn't found time to write / decorate it yet for her month picture.  Yes, I'm going to (try) to be that mom who takes a cute posed picture of her child each month for the first year.  I might not get the cute saying or stats on the chalkboard each time, but I'm aiming to at least get a posed picture on her quilt each time.  This time, we unfortunately got ready during her fussy evening time, so it was a real gamble if she would let us take pictures without screaming.  We tried our best to calm her between poses and put the camera on burst-mode to increase the chances of making the shot.  I think we took 70 pictures total!

I'm looking at the camera!

I'm gonna get that sign!

 I was doing my research online (i.e. Pinterest), and lots of people propped the baby up in a chair to make a consistent background, but one lady suggested using a blanket as a backdrop.  This way, you can change locations for optimal lighting, if you move houses, if baby is being uncooperative, etc.  Since my grandmother (Ella's great-grandmother) has finished Ella's "grandma quilt," I thought that using it would be a nice sentiment.  All of us grandkids have a quilt from grandma, and it will mean a lot to look back and see the pictures of Ella with hers.  I think they turned out well!

Cuz it ain't a good party until someone ends up
passed out in the basement, wrapped in a sheet

Multitasking

How to both help soothe away the evening fussies and work to keep the baby weight off....

(This treadmill has gotten more use this week than in the last four months of my pregnancy!)

Dresser construction

Soooo... without going into excessive detail because I'm still really irritated by it... we bought a dresser and bookshelf hutch for the nursery, but there was massive problems in getting the dresser delivered.  The hutch arrived promptly, but we had to wait on the damn dresser for a whole month.  Anyway, the dresser finally came in!!  We were very excited because the nursery has been a bit unorganized with the actual arrival of the baby, and there was no point in fixing anything before all of the furniture arrived, you know?  Yet, here was the biggest problem -- it's hard to assemble furniture when you have a newborn taking up all your time and attention! We were finally able to eke out some time because Ella is now big enough to entertain herself in the swing.  I looked around at one point and just had to bust out laughing at all of the supervision that John was receiving: I was navigating with the instructions, Ella was chatting away in her swing, and Winks was thoroughly enjoying the packet of parts.  Three supervisors for the one guy working! (Sounds like a government job. Haha)

Target from Ella's view

Target is a hot, large, scary place.  All kinds of horrors happen there... including festive hats!  

Really though, after two very fussy attempts to take Ella shopping with me, I think that I will not be shopping in Target in person anymore.  The store is much too hot for Ella (strike one), I am easily distracted (strike two), and public diaper changes / feeds are no fun (strike three).  We went through two diapers (should have stopped for a third, but we were on the way out) and stopped for a snack in the changing rooms.  It was an ordeal that lasted many hours, and I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

Cooking frenzy part 2

John was on baby duty for most of this afternoon as Mom and I started cooking frenzy number 2. Making food for the week is messy and time consuming!

Ella did have time for some more deep thoughts, though.

Nap Time

To recover from last night's fussiness, there was a lot of napping going on today.  I've noticed that Ella has the most difficulty getting settled into the evening -- from dinner time up to about midnight.  Once we make it past midnight, she seems to mellow out and start taking longer sleep intervals before she wakes me up for snacks and clean diapers.  Getting to midnight, however, can be rough some days.

So, yes, today we were napping a lot.  At one point, she started out in what we call the "tree frog" position on my chest (hands by face and feet tucked up by her bum).  Though this didn't last long as she soon fidgeted herself sideways, where her face was nestled under my ribs diagonally.  Add a few more fidgets and she was perfectly perpendicular to me with just her head resting on my belly.  Eventually she rolled herself off of me to be parallel with me again.  Such a little mover, and this was all while she was asleep!  I think we may be in trouble when she actually starts to be mobile....

Stretchy

This may be a continuing project with multiple installations.....  Ella makes this adorable little face when she is gripped by a big stretch.  Her little hands come up to her head and she pushes her chin out (usually with her tongue out as well).  I think it's the cutest thing I've ever seen!  However, it's usually pretty quickly done, and I'm never ready with a camera.  Since we've been swaddling her at night, she gives a huge stretch when I let her out to change diapers, so today I was prepared!  Even still, the little goober seemed to know that I was waiting with a camera and only did about half as much stretching as she usually does. But I will continue the fight! I will get her on camera with a big, adorable-faced stretch someday!

I did a thing!

It's been about (let's see, how old is Ella again?) two weeks since I actually accomplished ANYthing in the house other than feeding a baby. Add to the exhaustion a moderate concern about eating the wrong thing and making Ella gassy and cranky, and you can see why I haven't been in the kitchen much. But! My mom came back for a quick "weekend" visit, and I used the opportunity to cook up a storm yesterday. I made (mild spicy) enchiladas, prepped everything for the creamy tortellini soup we like, and Mom made a batch of hot pockets. Go us!! Granted, I was completely exhausted after the two dishes and ended up napping with Ella after she was fed.... But still! I did a thing!

....We all love when the grandmas come to visit!