Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Settled
Hey Everybody! Phoebe is 9 months old now.
She is just the sweetest, happiest baby. And she's so, in the words of her daycare lady, settled now. What do we mean by that? Phoebe just doesn't fuss much between meals anymore. She's happy crawling around, checking things out, and getting in trouble. We continue to have to barricade her from going after electrical outlets and plugs, as her little hands want to grab everything and stick them in her mouth.
Developmentally, Phoebe is really different from Charlotte. By eight months, Charlotte had begun to pull up and as soon as she figured it out, it's all she wanted to do. Phoebe has not pulled up on her own yet. She will if she's sitting in your lap and there's something to grab onto, but she hasn't figured out how to do it on her own yet. She's still army crawling, so I think that's part of the issue. She doesn't know how to go from crawling to sitting either.
But what she's behind on in gross motor skills, Phoebe makes up for in fine motor skills. She's started waving, and it's the cutest little wave ever. She also understands me when I say to her "Where's Tandy?" Phoebe will look around until she zeroes in on Tandy. She even picks up pieces of food and tries to feed her - no joke. However, Phoebe does not care to look around when we ask her where Mommy or Daddy are - clearly, she only reserves this cognitive capability for her BFF.
Phoebe also does not eat any baby food anymore - it is all table food, all the time. And boy does she love food. She eats more than Charlotte does, although, yes, that is a pretty low bar. She's a baby, so she's messy, but she manages to put about 90% of the food she picks up in her mouth. I give her a few pieces of food at a time, so when she's eaten what I've given her, she'll make louder and louder noises until we give her more food. She's really good at drinking from my water glass, but hasn't quite figured out the whole sippy cup thing yet.
Phoebe is also sleeping like a champ. For the past month, after her crazy post-Chicago insomnia, Phoebe has been sleeping through the night (like 12 hours - I know, I can't believe I just admitted that - the sleep gods will smite me, I'm sure). Even when she slept in the same room while Charlotte hacked nonstop she didn't wake up. It has made such a difference!
Here is an adorable little video of Phoebe sitting at their little pink piano. We just love this girl so much!
Ending Note: It's been a sad time for our country. I continue to feel deeply saddened and horrified by what transpired in Newtown, Connecticut. Every time I hear about the 20 first graders and their courageous teachers, I just can't help but start to cry. I am not ashamed to say that assault weapons, the sole purpose of which is to assault, kill and maim, have zero business in our society. I personally hate, nay, abhor, guns, and I am sickened by all the talk that more guns would have prevented this tragedy. I do not want guns anywhere near my girls - not at their daycare and not in the hands of their teachers - because I know that gun-related accidents are much more likely than mass shootings. Thanks for the quick rant. It's all I can think about right now. Over and out.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
'Tis the Season...
To be sick.
Poor Charlotte has been dealing with a cough for over three months now. Yes, you read that correctly - three months. We've been to the doctor's 6 times. The first time, back in September, the pediatrician she saw heard something in her lungs and prescribed antibiotics for walking pneumonia. The doctor was stunned at how full of energy Charlotte was despite being sick. The cough went away after 10 days of being on Amoxicillan, but reared its ugly head again in mid-October. I talked to her doctor on the phone, who thought it might be viral instead. He claimed that it should be accompanied by a fever.
The cough came and went, but then about 4 weeks ago, it came back with a vengeance. She had a coughing fit in the middle of the night for an hour. So the Monday before Thanksgiving, I took her back to the doctor's. He heard wheezing and prescribed an inhaler and told me to bring her back in two days to see if it had cleared up. Two days later, he didn't hear any more wheezing and declared her "much better." But she wasn't much better, she was coughing all night. Although she was coughing in her sleep, I woke up with each coughing fit, administering another puff of the inhaler if it had been enough time between puffs.
Then a week after Thanksgiving, Charlotte got another cold, which exacerbated the cough. We took her to urgent care on a Saturday, and the doctor there spent a long time being very thorough about everything, but not finding anything that was alarming, either from her oxygen levels or from hearing her lungs with the stethoscope. The next day, Sunday, December 2, Charlotte appeared much better, until the afternoon, when she got a fever. So back to the doctor I went on December 3. Her normal pediatrician listened to her lungs again and said he didn't hear anything.
Fast forward to this past Saturday. We went to Lake Tahoe for a little overnight getaway and to see our good friend who was attending a conference there. I chose the Embassy Suites because they have two rooms, so Chris and I could close the door to the bedroom and not hear all the little noises Phoebe makes in her sleep. Charlotte coughed almost the entire 90 minute car ride to Lake Tahoe until she fell asleep, and then she proceeded to cough all night long. When I saw all night long, I mean all night long. I saw every hour of the night on that clock. Amazingly, Phoebe slept through the entire coughing - I can't believe it, because I didn't sleep at all, and I wasn't technically in the same room!
On Sunday, I sent, what in retrospect was a probably hysterical, email to Charlotte's doctor, demanding something. Anything! (Mind you, children under 6 cannot take cough or cold medicines, as they've been linked to serious side effects and even death). Obviously, my crazy talk email had the desired effect because the doctor called me as soon as the office opened yesterday morning. He agreed that it was time for some serious intervention, so he ordered a chest x-ray before the appointment. Turns out that the x-ray came back abnormal, something akin to a collapsed lung (they're not totally sure). She's been prescribed a high dosage of antibiotics and steroids. Let's hope it does the trick. I'm pretty annoyed that they didn't order a chest x-ray two weeks ago, but I understand caution when it comes to exposing children to unnecessary radiation. Still, They haven't had to hear my little girl coughing and coughing and coughing. It's so painful to hear.
I checked Charlotte's electronic medical record online and she didn't go to the doctor's once between her 2 year well child visit and her 3 year well child visit. We've now taken her to the doctor's six times in three months. Just from that alone, I'm exhausted. Thankfully, my boss is super understanding and has let me take time off work, work from home while I'm staying home with her, etc. In fact, both of us took most of yesterday off because Phoebe was home sick (we just can't catch a break!) and I watched Phoebe in the afternoon while Chris took Charlotte to the doctor's. Luckily, Phoebe bounced back really quickly and is back at daycare today. Oy.
Poor Charlotte has been dealing with a cough for over three months now. Yes, you read that correctly - three months. We've been to the doctor's 6 times. The first time, back in September, the pediatrician she saw heard something in her lungs and prescribed antibiotics for walking pneumonia. The doctor was stunned at how full of energy Charlotte was despite being sick. The cough went away after 10 days of being on Amoxicillan, but reared its ugly head again in mid-October. I talked to her doctor on the phone, who thought it might be viral instead. He claimed that it should be accompanied by a fever.
The cough came and went, but then about 4 weeks ago, it came back with a vengeance. She had a coughing fit in the middle of the night for an hour. So the Monday before Thanksgiving, I took her back to the doctor's. He heard wheezing and prescribed an inhaler and told me to bring her back in two days to see if it had cleared up. Two days later, he didn't hear any more wheezing and declared her "much better." But she wasn't much better, she was coughing all night. Although she was coughing in her sleep, I woke up with each coughing fit, administering another puff of the inhaler if it had been enough time between puffs.
Then a week after Thanksgiving, Charlotte got another cold, which exacerbated the cough. We took her to urgent care on a Saturday, and the doctor there spent a long time being very thorough about everything, but not finding anything that was alarming, either from her oxygen levels or from hearing her lungs with the stethoscope. The next day, Sunday, December 2, Charlotte appeared much better, until the afternoon, when she got a fever. So back to the doctor I went on December 3. Her normal pediatrician listened to her lungs again and said he didn't hear anything.
Fast forward to this past Saturday. We went to Lake Tahoe for a little overnight getaway and to see our good friend who was attending a conference there. I chose the Embassy Suites because they have two rooms, so Chris and I could close the door to the bedroom and not hear all the little noises Phoebe makes in her sleep. Charlotte coughed almost the entire 90 minute car ride to Lake Tahoe until she fell asleep, and then she proceeded to cough all night long. When I saw all night long, I mean all night long. I saw every hour of the night on that clock. Amazingly, Phoebe slept through the entire coughing - I can't believe it, because I didn't sleep at all, and I wasn't technically in the same room!
On Sunday, I sent, what in retrospect was a probably hysterical, email to Charlotte's doctor, demanding something. Anything! (Mind you, children under 6 cannot take cough or cold medicines, as they've been linked to serious side effects and even death). Obviously, my crazy talk email had the desired effect because the doctor called me as soon as the office opened yesterday morning. He agreed that it was time for some serious intervention, so he ordered a chest x-ray before the appointment. Turns out that the x-ray came back abnormal, something akin to a collapsed lung (they're not totally sure). She's been prescribed a high dosage of antibiotics and steroids. Let's hope it does the trick. I'm pretty annoyed that they didn't order a chest x-ray two weeks ago, but I understand caution when it comes to exposing children to unnecessary radiation. Still, They haven't had to hear my little girl coughing and coughing and coughing. It's so painful to hear.
I checked Charlotte's electronic medical record online and she didn't go to the doctor's once between her 2 year well child visit and her 3 year well child visit. We've now taken her to the doctor's six times in three months. Just from that alone, I'm exhausted. Thankfully, my boss is super understanding and has let me take time off work, work from home while I'm staying home with her, etc. In fact, both of us took most of yesterday off because Phoebe was home sick (we just can't catch a break!) and I watched Phoebe in the afternoon while Chris took Charlotte to the doctor's. Luckily, Phoebe bounced back really quickly and is back at daycare today. Oy.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Gobble Gobble
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was fabulous - spent with good friends, delicious food, and excellent wine.
Last Wednesday, I took Phoebe in for her monthly weight check. She weighed in at 17lbs 11.6 oz - she gained nearly two pounds in a month! She went from around the 25th percentile at seven months to the 50th percentile at eight months. Her doctor was very happy to see the upward tick, instead of the downward tick that had happened for three months (she was always gaining weight, it had just slowed considerably).
But it's really not a surprise, considering the gusto with which Phoebe eats solid foods. She is a little bird, opening her mouth eagerly for more food and squawking impatiently if I'm not there to shovel more in. She also is really good at picking up pieces of food and getting them in her mouth. Suffice it to say Phoebe thoroughly enjoyed her first Thanksgiving, eating bread, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, turkey, and pumpkin cheesecake. She has also already started signing. She makes the sign for milk (opening and closing her right hand), but she seems to mean it in the context of more, as in give me more food NOW. I am relishing having this baby who loves to eat - she slurped down some homemade French onion soup last night - especially in comparison with her older sister.
Charlotte, on the other hand, continues to pick at food, even foods that should be winners like turkey and mashed potatoes. She ate about two bites of Thanksgiving dinner before declaring emphatically that she was "all done." When I tell her what we're having for dinner she almost always says: "I don't very much like green beans/mashed potatoes/whatever I've spent hours slaving over." She did, of course, scarf down a very large piece of pumpkin cheesecake and then had the audacity to ask for more (she didn't get anymore, of course, and normally, she doesn't get dessert if she doesn't eat enough dinner, but I was willing to make an exception for Thanksgiving).
What I'm saying is that I'm living in this strange family where on the one end of the spectrum I have one, stubborn daughter refusing pretty much anything that isn't macaroni and cheese or dessert and throwing an epic tantrum because she was served Thanksgiving leftovers last night instead of quiche, and on the other end, a stubborn baby who has a tantrum if I don't shovel in the food fast enough. It's exhausting, kind of like this...
Last Wednesday, I took Phoebe in for her monthly weight check. She weighed in at 17lbs 11.6 oz - she gained nearly two pounds in a month! She went from around the 25th percentile at seven months to the 50th percentile at eight months. Her doctor was very happy to see the upward tick, instead of the downward tick that had happened for three months (she was always gaining weight, it had just slowed considerably).
But it's really not a surprise, considering the gusto with which Phoebe eats solid foods. She is a little bird, opening her mouth eagerly for more food and squawking impatiently if I'm not there to shovel more in. She also is really good at picking up pieces of food and getting them in her mouth. Suffice it to say Phoebe thoroughly enjoyed her first Thanksgiving, eating bread, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, turkey, and pumpkin cheesecake. She has also already started signing. She makes the sign for milk (opening and closing her right hand), but she seems to mean it in the context of more, as in give me more food NOW. I am relishing having this baby who loves to eat - she slurped down some homemade French onion soup last night - especially in comparison with her older sister.
Charlotte, on the other hand, continues to pick at food, even foods that should be winners like turkey and mashed potatoes. She ate about two bites of Thanksgiving dinner before declaring emphatically that she was "all done." When I tell her what we're having for dinner she almost always says: "I don't very much like green beans/mashed potatoes/whatever I've spent hours slaving over." She did, of course, scarf down a very large piece of pumpkin cheesecake and then had the audacity to ask for more (she didn't get anymore, of course, and normally, she doesn't get dessert if she doesn't eat enough dinner, but I was willing to make an exception for Thanksgiving).
What I'm saying is that I'm living in this strange family where on the one end of the spectrum I have one, stubborn daughter refusing pretty much anything that isn't macaroni and cheese or dessert and throwing an epic tantrum because she was served Thanksgiving leftovers last night instead of quiche, and on the other end, a stubborn baby who has a tantrum if I don't shovel in the food fast enough. It's exhausting, kind of like this...
Monday, November 19, 2012
Phoebe Ann Get Your Gun
We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house in the Bay Area on Saturday. Chris and I were invited to my best friend's surprise 30th birthday party in the same town, so it worked out perfectly that my aunt and cousin were able to watch Charlotte and Phoebe during the party. My aunt loved snuggling Phoebe, and Charlotte had a blast following Ellie around. Ellie, who is 14 years old, is so great with Charlotte. When Chris and I went to Costa Rica 18 months ago, Ellie flew down to San Diego to help my mom out while she was taking care of Charlotte, so Ellie and Charlotte have a nice bond.
And Ellie told us a really cool fact that she learned.
Apparently, Annie Oakley's real name was Phoebe Ann Moses.
Now, that's pretty cool considering the middle name, Ann, is spelled the same way, and now we have a new example of a non-Friends Phoebe to tell people.
I'm not sure I ever want Phoebe handling a gun because frankly, guns scare the bejeezus out of me, although Annie Oakley was obviously a performer and sharpshooter than say, a gun-wielding vigilante. And Phoebe and Charlotte's French cousine, Léa, is a top-rated bi-athlete and may be appearing in one of the upcoming Winter Olympics, so who knows, maybe Phoebe will pick up both skiing and shooting (although I'm much more a fan of skiing than shooting, let's be clear).
In any case, I found it really sweet that Ellie remembered that Phoebe's middle name is Ann, and now we have this fun fact. Thanks, Ellie!
And Ellie told us a really cool fact that she learned.
Apparently, Annie Oakley's real name was Phoebe Ann Moses.
Now, that's pretty cool considering the middle name, Ann, is spelled the same way, and now we have a new example of a non-Friends Phoebe to tell people.
I'm not sure I ever want Phoebe handling a gun because frankly, guns scare the bejeezus out of me, although Annie Oakley was obviously a performer and sharpshooter than say, a gun-wielding vigilante. And Phoebe and Charlotte's French cousine, Léa, is a top-rated bi-athlete and may be appearing in one of the upcoming Winter Olympics, so who knows, maybe Phoebe will pick up both skiing and shooting (although I'm much more a fan of skiing than shooting, let's be clear).
In any case, I found it really sweet that Ellie remembered that Phoebe's middle name is Ann, and now we have this fun fact. Thanks, Ellie!
Friday, November 16, 2012
Sleeping In is for Suckers!
Phoebe is 8 months old and cute as can be. She has perfected the army crawl. For the longest time, she'd propel herself forward by flinging her head left and right, causing us to worry that she'd bang her head on the floor. However, now she can crawl without looking like a bobblehead. Her newfound mobility has created some worries as we remember what it's like to have a danger-seeking baby afoot. Last week, I turned my head for a second and she had furiously crawled over to where my iPhone charger was plugged in and promptly put it in her mouth. And with all of Charlotte's toys with tiny pieces, it's a challenge to have them playing in the same space. I had to create this little fortress in the play room with Charlotte's doll house facing the wall, her rocking horse, and her mini-piano forming a barrier so that Charlotte could play with her little magnetic dress-up dolls and accessories without my worrying that Phoebe was going to shove a tiny magnetic shoe in her mouth. (It still isn't completely fool-proof, however; Charlotte quickly forgets that she needs to be careful with all her beads and magnets and Legos, and I have to rush over to prevent a trip to the ER).
We haven't taken her in yet for this month's weigh-in, but I'm not worried. This girl loves food. At daycare, D gives her whatever the older kids are getting for breakfast and lunch - ground turkey, bits of pancake, yogurt. You name it, this girl loves it. I did pull a rookie move a few weeks ago. I gave her some scrambled egg, which I guess I forgot is something you're not supposed to give babies until they're a year old. She had a pretty noticeable rash spread all over her face and neck. I emailed her doctor, who ordered a blood test to see how allergic she is to eggs (the concern was whether or not to get her flu shot, since it's cultured with chicken eggs). Phoebe handled the blood draw amazingly, in fact, I don't think she even noticed that she had been pricked because she didn't utter even the faintest of cries. The results came back negative for every food allergy that was tested (milk, soy, eggs), which is great news. However, we'll still wait a few more months until we introduce anymore straight eggs into her diet.
I'm starting to wean Phoebe from nursing, although I wasn't planning on doing it so soon. The thing is, she is addicted to her bottles. Anytime she sees a bottle, she hyperventilates. As a result, D gives her a bottle first thing in the morning because another baby is getting a bottle at that time, and Phoebe will scream until she gets one too. She still likes nursing, it's just that my milk supply is starting to wane. I now only nurse her in the morning and at night before she falls asleep. I haven't pumped at work in maybe three or four weeks because I haven't had to. Oh well. She's thriving on formula, and she's still had more breastmilk than formula for the first 7 months. Let's see how long the morning and night sessions will continue (I'm betting for awhile since Phoebe gets that bottle an hour later at daycare, so she probably doesn't need a full feeding from me).
Sleeping has been challenging. I had an orientation with my company's national association in Chicago two weeks ago, so we decided to make a trip out of it and spend some time with Chris' parents. The plane ride was fine on the way there - Phoebe slept in my arms for about 45 minutes. We flew on Southwest and because it wasn't full, there was a lot of extra space. Chris entertained Charlotte while I held a sleeping Phoebe.
Unfortunately, Phoebe slept pretty poorly the entire time we were in Chicago. She screamed several times when we tried to put her down for a nap (she'd fall asleep nursing or taking a bottle and then scream bloody murder the second we put her down in the Pack N Play), and then the night before we left (Fall Back night), she was just wide awake for at least two hours from 1 until 3. And of course we had to get up at 5, so Phoebe was not happy about having to wake up that early. She screamed and whimpered most of the 40 minute drive to the airport, but never fell back asleep. After getting through security and eating breakfast, we learned that our flight was delayed an hour coming in from New York City. Then, as we were waiting to board, the crew stopped boarding. Apparently, the plane had hit a bird sometime during the previous flight, and the crew were awaiting further instructions from headquarters. This was around 9:30, so Phoebe had already been awake for 4 plus hours. She was just falling asleep as we were waiting in line, but then bam. So we waited, and waited and finally the staff said that it would be quicker to just transfer us to a new plane. Long story short, we didn't take off until about the time we were supposed to land in Sacramento. Phoebe slept all of 30 minutes. We finally got home and got the girls in bed at 6 o'clock, which was now 9 o'clock old Chicago time, thanks to Fall Back and a two hour time difference. Chris and I collapsed into bed at 7:30, only to have Phoebe screaming half an hour later. And then she was up and wide awake at 4AM. Nursing and nursing again didn't work to get that baby back to sleep. This continued for the next week thanks to contracting yet another cold. The thing is, she's never upset when she's awake, she's just awake. Awake, babbling like crazy and wanting to play. Even on the plane, when she hadn't slept in 10 hours, she was happy as long as Chris or I was holding her. But if you put her in her crib to get just a little more sleep? Then she'll start screaming. If we let her cry-it-out, we risked Charlotte waking up, which happened a couple mornings, so Chris and I took turns holding Phoebe or dozing next to her as she babbled and pulled our hair. We're finally back to something manageable. Awake and ready to party at 6AM. I'll take it!
(I think we were supremely spoiled by Charlotte. Sure, she'd wake up, but a pacifier or milk would always get her to back asleep. And she was completely adaptable to time changes. When we took her to Hawaii at 13 months, she woke up super early due to the time change. I threw some crackers and toys into her Pack N Play, and she played a little bit, but then she went back to sleep. I'm finding that this strategy does not work on normal babies. Darn.)
(Oh by the way, we did have a good time in Chicago, despite my whining about sleep. Chris and I got to go to Second City, the improv group that made many a Saturday Night Live comedian famous. It was really funny and definitely worth a visit. Charlotte was an absolute peach while flying. At three years old, she is content to watch a little show or color; she also made friends with the other kids waiting to family board. It gives me some perspective to how the two of them will be when Phoebe is her age. Only 2 and a half years!)
(Sorry for the wordy post. I kind of got carried away)
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| 8 months - blurry |
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| Then Charlotte decided she wanted in on the action, and Phoebe grabbed her foot. Exciting times in the Berry household, I tell ya! |
We haven't taken her in yet for this month's weigh-in, but I'm not worried. This girl loves food. At daycare, D gives her whatever the older kids are getting for breakfast and lunch - ground turkey, bits of pancake, yogurt. You name it, this girl loves it. I did pull a rookie move a few weeks ago. I gave her some scrambled egg, which I guess I forgot is something you're not supposed to give babies until they're a year old. She had a pretty noticeable rash spread all over her face and neck. I emailed her doctor, who ordered a blood test to see how allergic she is to eggs (the concern was whether or not to get her flu shot, since it's cultured with chicken eggs). Phoebe handled the blood draw amazingly, in fact, I don't think she even noticed that she had been pricked because she didn't utter even the faintest of cries. The results came back negative for every food allergy that was tested (milk, soy, eggs), which is great news. However, we'll still wait a few more months until we introduce anymore straight eggs into her diet.
I'm starting to wean Phoebe from nursing, although I wasn't planning on doing it so soon. The thing is, she is addicted to her bottles. Anytime she sees a bottle, she hyperventilates. As a result, D gives her a bottle first thing in the morning because another baby is getting a bottle at that time, and Phoebe will scream until she gets one too. She still likes nursing, it's just that my milk supply is starting to wane. I now only nurse her in the morning and at night before she falls asleep. I haven't pumped at work in maybe three or four weeks because I haven't had to. Oh well. She's thriving on formula, and she's still had more breastmilk than formula for the first 7 months. Let's see how long the morning and night sessions will continue (I'm betting for awhile since Phoebe gets that bottle an hour later at daycare, so she probably doesn't need a full feeding from me).
Sleeping has been challenging. I had an orientation with my company's national association in Chicago two weeks ago, so we decided to make a trip out of it and spend some time with Chris' parents. The plane ride was fine on the way there - Phoebe slept in my arms for about 45 minutes. We flew on Southwest and because it wasn't full, there was a lot of extra space. Chris entertained Charlotte while I held a sleeping Phoebe.
Unfortunately, Phoebe slept pretty poorly the entire time we were in Chicago. She screamed several times when we tried to put her down for a nap (she'd fall asleep nursing or taking a bottle and then scream bloody murder the second we put her down in the Pack N Play), and then the night before we left (Fall Back night), she was just wide awake for at least two hours from 1 until 3. And of course we had to get up at 5, so Phoebe was not happy about having to wake up that early. She screamed and whimpered most of the 40 minute drive to the airport, but never fell back asleep. After getting through security and eating breakfast, we learned that our flight was delayed an hour coming in from New York City. Then, as we were waiting to board, the crew stopped boarding. Apparently, the plane had hit a bird sometime during the previous flight, and the crew were awaiting further instructions from headquarters. This was around 9:30, so Phoebe had already been awake for 4 plus hours. She was just falling asleep as we were waiting in line, but then bam. So we waited, and waited and finally the staff said that it would be quicker to just transfer us to a new plane. Long story short, we didn't take off until about the time we were supposed to land in Sacramento. Phoebe slept all of 30 minutes. We finally got home and got the girls in bed at 6 o'clock, which was now 9 o'clock old Chicago time, thanks to Fall Back and a two hour time difference. Chris and I collapsed into bed at 7:30, only to have Phoebe screaming half an hour later. And then she was up and wide awake at 4AM. Nursing and nursing again didn't work to get that baby back to sleep. This continued for the next week thanks to contracting yet another cold. The thing is, she's never upset when she's awake, she's just awake. Awake, babbling like crazy and wanting to play. Even on the plane, when she hadn't slept in 10 hours, she was happy as long as Chris or I was holding her. But if you put her in her crib to get just a little more sleep? Then she'll start screaming. If we let her cry-it-out, we risked Charlotte waking up, which happened a couple mornings, so Chris and I took turns holding Phoebe or dozing next to her as she babbled and pulled our hair. We're finally back to something manageable. Awake and ready to party at 6AM. I'll take it!
(I think we were supremely spoiled by Charlotte. Sure, she'd wake up, but a pacifier or milk would always get her to back asleep. And she was completely adaptable to time changes. When we took her to Hawaii at 13 months, she woke up super early due to the time change. I threw some crackers and toys into her Pack N Play, and she played a little bit, but then she went back to sleep. I'm finding that this strategy does not work on normal babies. Darn.)
(Oh by the way, we did have a good time in Chicago, despite my whining about sleep. Chris and I got to go to Second City, the improv group that made many a Saturday Night Live comedian famous. It was really funny and definitely worth a visit. Charlotte was an absolute peach while flying. At three years old, she is content to watch a little show or color; she also made friends with the other kids waiting to family board. It gives me some perspective to how the two of them will be when Phoebe is her age. Only 2 and a half years!)
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| On a hayride on Halloween day. |
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| The girls on Halloween. It was cold in Illinois, hence the long sleeved shirt under Charlotte's fairy costume. Phoebe was nice and cozy as a ladybug. |
Monday, October 29, 2012
Humble Bragging
Let me spend a little time bragging talking about Charlotte. She is now 3 years and 4 months old, but talks about what she'll do for her fourth birthday nearly every single day. Birthday parties are her current obsession and she pretends to throw one for her friends nearly every day.
Moving her to KinderCare on her 3rd birthday has proved to be the absolute right thing to do. The first few days she was a bit uncertain when I dropped her off, but now that she knows all the teachers, she's just doing so amazingly well.
So well, in fact, that Chris and I just had our first parent-teacher conference last week. Over the summer, there wasn't much structured learning because it was their "Summer Camp" curriculum, but as soon as the older kids went back to school, so did KinderCare. KinderCare cares a lot about education and does assessments in the fall, winter, and spring. Long story short (humble brag coming), Charlotte is excelling in just about everything she's doing, except for creating charts and graphs (which, really? They do assessments on graphs? Even I can barely put together graphs on PowerPoint, and I have to do this for a living!). They have her in the 4 year olds' classroom the majority of most days, where Ms. Cheryl is just fantastic. She is just the sweetest lady and calls Charlotte "My Strawberry Shortcake," or "My Sunshine." We also signed Charlotte up for Phonics, so she also spends a few hours a week in Junior Kindergarten with five-year-olds and advanced four-year-olds.
After 4 months of "school", Charlotte now knows the following:
While her previous daycare (and where Phoebe goes) was a nice, loving environment with a lot of great homemade food, there wasn't much in the way of real learning. KinderCare does learning through fun activities. Here is a picture of Charlotte's family:
Four months ago, Charlotte could barely draw anything. Today, she can draw an egg-shaped Daddy, complete with legs, feet, arms, and very long fingers. The little egg baby picture of Phoebe slays me. And I love her Charlotte gave herself toes, but no face. And as for Mommy? Well, I think she just got tired, by the time she got to me. :)
Point is, she is just doing so great at "school." She's made a bunch of new friends, she learns new songs each week, it seems, and as one of her (three) teachers said, she has a true thirst for knowledge. We're just so proud and amazed by everything she's learning. Also? She's learned so many manners. We were already pushing the please and thank you pretty hard, but now she even says them unprompted. "Mommy, thank you for making dinner." "Daddy, thank you for driving me home." Um, what?! You're welcome!
(The one drawback is that Charlotte never stops talking. It's like stream of consciousness overload as we hear just about everything that goes through her head, as it's going through her head. The other morning she came into our room telling us how there were bad guys in her bathroom, so she needed to use our bathroom. We told her to go ahead, but to be quiet and then to go back to her room (the early morning wake ups are killing us!). So she goes past us loudly whispering "tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe" and then proceeds to describe exactly what she's doing in the bathroom, as if we needed to hear any of that! It kind of defeats the purpose of trying to be quiet.)
Anyway, humble brag over. :) Thanks for putting up with it.
Moving her to KinderCare on her 3rd birthday has proved to be the absolute right thing to do. The first few days she was a bit uncertain when I dropped her off, but now that she knows all the teachers, she's just doing so amazingly well.
So well, in fact, that Chris and I just had our first parent-teacher conference last week. Over the summer, there wasn't much structured learning because it was their "Summer Camp" curriculum, but as soon as the older kids went back to school, so did KinderCare. KinderCare cares a lot about education and does assessments in the fall, winter, and spring. Long story short (humble brag coming), Charlotte is excelling in just about everything she's doing, except for creating charts and graphs (which, really? They do assessments on graphs? Even I can barely put together graphs on PowerPoint, and I have to do this for a living!). They have her in the 4 year olds' classroom the majority of most days, where Ms. Cheryl is just fantastic. She is just the sweetest lady and calls Charlotte "My Strawberry Shortcake," or "My Sunshine." We also signed Charlotte up for Phonics, so she also spends a few hours a week in Junior Kindergarten with five-year-olds and advanced four-year-olds.
After 4 months of "school", Charlotte now knows the following:
- Numbers past 50
- Days of the Week
- Months of the Year
- Letters and the sounds they make
- Most of the lowercase letters
- How to (almost) write her name
- Shapes
- More things that I simply can't remember right now
While her previous daycare (and where Phoebe goes) was a nice, loving environment with a lot of great homemade food, there wasn't much in the way of real learning. KinderCare does learning through fun activities. Here is a picture of Charlotte's family:
Point is, she is just doing so great at "school." She's made a bunch of new friends, she learns new songs each week, it seems, and as one of her (three) teachers said, she has a true thirst for knowledge. We're just so proud and amazed by everything she's learning. Also? She's learned so many manners. We were already pushing the please and thank you pretty hard, but now she even says them unprompted. "Mommy, thank you for making dinner." "Daddy, thank you for driving me home." Um, what?! You're welcome!
(The one drawback is that Charlotte never stops talking. It's like stream of consciousness overload as we hear just about everything that goes through her head, as it's going through her head. The other morning she came into our room telling us how there were bad guys in her bathroom, so she needed to use our bathroom. We told her to go ahead, but to be quiet and then to go back to her room (the early morning wake ups are killing us!). So she goes past us loudly whispering "tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe" and then proceeds to describe exactly what she's doing in the bathroom, as if we needed to hear any of that! It kind of defeats the purpose of trying to be quiet.)
Anyway, humble brag over. :) Thanks for putting up with it.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Seven Months - On Efficiency or Maybe Laziness
Phoebe turned seven months old on Monday!
She continues to be such a sweet, lovable baby. I tell you, I am just soaking in that baby because I know she won't be one for much longer.
Phoebe loves food. She's pretty much devoured everything we've put in front of her with the exception of avocado. The face she makes pretty much says it all. She is not a fan, which is surprising because it's still one of Charlotte's favorite foods (and mine, too). Phoebe is so good at eating that we pretty much don't have to give her pureed food anymore. I steamed up some carrots, cut them up into itty bitty pieces, and she just gobbled them up. She also loves holding on to a piece of baguette or other crusty bread and gnawing on it until it's nice and gooey. The hardest part in all of this is that I now need to be more creative in what I give her.
Despite Phoebe's voracious appetite for solid foods, she's now a wee little thing, at least according to the growth charts (her chunky thighs tell a different story). Chris took Phoebe to the doctor on Monday to get weighed. She's now 16 pounds 1 oz, up about 6 oz from four weeks ago. However, she's now down around the 33rd percentile. Dr. M. isn't worried, but wants her back in the clinic four weeks from now to be weighed again.
I looked back at Charlotte's weight and she also dropped off after six months. At 8 months she was in the 45th percentile after being solidly in the 80th or higher. Of course, she also started out much, much bigger and was always about a pound heavier than Phoebe.
Anyway, back to Phoebe. She is really vocal, and by vocal, I mean loud. Seriously, her happy shrieking is loud enough to make me want to claw my ears off, but when she's upset in the middle of the night and can't be soothed, I feel like my eardrums are bursting! I don't think Charlotte was ever that loud. Phoebe certainly knows how to demand our attention.
As for crawling. Phoebe can army crawl, but only when she's sufficiently motivated to go after something. If there is anything closer by that she's remotely interested, she'll go for that instead. She's mastered pivoting around to get toys, which I guess is either all about efficiency or laziness. Anyway, I'm sure Phoebe will soon figure out that crawling is much quicker. For now, I'm still pretty happy that she's more immobile than not.
Sleeping has been up and down, mostly up. She now has two teeth, although she must handle teething really well because one day the tooth wasn't there, and then next day there it was, jutting out of her gums like it's always been there. All four of us had colds last weekend, and that definitely messed up with her sleeping (see: eardrums, bursting).
To close, here are two adorable videos.
The first. Chris was tickling Phoebe, and Charlotte didn't want to be left out.
The second, Charlotte demands that Phoebe crawl. Right now!
She continues to be such a sweet, lovable baby. I tell you, I am just soaking in that baby because I know she won't be one for much longer.
Phoebe loves food. She's pretty much devoured everything we've put in front of her with the exception of avocado. The face she makes pretty much says it all. She is not a fan, which is surprising because it's still one of Charlotte's favorite foods (and mine, too). Phoebe is so good at eating that we pretty much don't have to give her pureed food anymore. I steamed up some carrots, cut them up into itty bitty pieces, and she just gobbled them up. She also loves holding on to a piece of baguette or other crusty bread and gnawing on it until it's nice and gooey. The hardest part in all of this is that I now need to be more creative in what I give her.
Despite Phoebe's voracious appetite for solid foods, she's now a wee little thing, at least according to the growth charts (her chunky thighs tell a different story). Chris took Phoebe to the doctor on Monday to get weighed. She's now 16 pounds 1 oz, up about 6 oz from four weeks ago. However, she's now down around the 33rd percentile. Dr. M. isn't worried, but wants her back in the clinic four weeks from now to be weighed again.
I looked back at Charlotte's weight and she also dropped off after six months. At 8 months she was in the 45th percentile after being solidly in the 80th or higher. Of course, she also started out much, much bigger and was always about a pound heavier than Phoebe.
Anyway, back to Phoebe. She is really vocal, and by vocal, I mean loud. Seriously, her happy shrieking is loud enough to make me want to claw my ears off, but when she's upset in the middle of the night and can't be soothed, I feel like my eardrums are bursting! I don't think Charlotte was ever that loud. Phoebe certainly knows how to demand our attention.
As for crawling. Phoebe can army crawl, but only when she's sufficiently motivated to go after something. If there is anything closer by that she's remotely interested, she'll go for that instead. She's mastered pivoting around to get toys, which I guess is either all about efficiency or laziness. Anyway, I'm sure Phoebe will soon figure out that crawling is much quicker. For now, I'm still pretty happy that she's more immobile than not.
Sleeping has been up and down, mostly up. She now has two teeth, although she must handle teething really well because one day the tooth wasn't there, and then next day there it was, jutting out of her gums like it's always been there. All four of us had colds last weekend, and that definitely messed up with her sleeping (see: eardrums, bursting).
To close, here are two adorable videos.
The first. Chris was tickling Phoebe, and Charlotte didn't want to be left out.
The second, Charlotte demands that Phoebe crawl. Right now!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Thank You Netflix
Oh Netflix, you allow me to watch so many shows that I would have missed or skipped when they aired on regular TV. Like Parks & Recreation, Friday Night Lights*, Lost, and Downton Abbey.** Netflix also allows me to instantly throw on shows and movies for Charlotte, giving her the impression that I can magically show her any movie she's heard of right away.
So it's time for my occasional series: "Have you seen this yet?"
Parenthood
Okay, so I watched the series premiere of this show and didn't really like it all that much, but when I was on maternity leave, I noticed that it was streaming on Netflix, so I thought, why not try it out again. This time, I was instantly hooked.
The show is about the large Braverman clan and revolves around the lives of the four adult Braverman children: Adam, Sarah, Julia, and Crosby. Sarah is played by Lauren Graham, whom I've loved since the Gilmore Girls. Adam is played by Peter Krause of Six Feet Under.
It's set in Berkeley (and the greater Bay Area), so it's so cool to watch them "watching" Cal games and seeing the iconic Campanile from the Berkeley Hills at the end of the opening credits. I love that they included a little rivalry between Adam and Julia - Adam who went to Cal and Julia who went to Stanford. The little details to try and make it seem like they really live there are what make me love it even more.
And the show feels authentic - makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me want to have three siblings so I can hang out with all of them and their spouses. Also, the music is so great on that show, I always want to know exactly what was just played. (I only just found that link today, so you know I'm going to have to download a bunch of those songs).
So yeah, another TV show to add to your list, if you aren't already watching it. (I realize I might be the only one to find this show so late in the game).
*Apparently, the producer/writer Jason Katims, also wrote for Friday Night Lights, which explains why they're both so good and why several actors have been guest actors on Parenthood.
** Season 2 of Downton Abbey is on Amazon Prime, if you have that.
So it's time for my occasional series: "Have you seen this yet?"
Parenthood
Okay, so I watched the series premiere of this show and didn't really like it all that much, but when I was on maternity leave, I noticed that it was streaming on Netflix, so I thought, why not try it out again. This time, I was instantly hooked.
The show is about the large Braverman clan and revolves around the lives of the four adult Braverman children: Adam, Sarah, Julia, and Crosby. Sarah is played by Lauren Graham, whom I've loved since the Gilmore Girls. Adam is played by Peter Krause of Six Feet Under.
It's set in Berkeley (and the greater Bay Area), so it's so cool to watch them "watching" Cal games and seeing the iconic Campanile from the Berkeley Hills at the end of the opening credits. I love that they included a little rivalry between Adam and Julia - Adam who went to Cal and Julia who went to Stanford. The little details to try and make it seem like they really live there are what make me love it even more.
And the show feels authentic - makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me want to have three siblings so I can hang out with all of them and their spouses. Also, the music is so great on that show, I always want to know exactly what was just played. (I only just found that link today, so you know I'm going to have to download a bunch of those songs).
So yeah, another TV show to add to your list, if you aren't already watching it. (I realize I might be the only one to find this show so late in the game).
*Apparently, the producer/writer Jason Katims, also wrote for Friday Night Lights, which explains why they're both so good and why several actors have been guest actors on Parenthood.
** Season 2 of Downton Abbey is on Amazon Prime, if you have that.
Friday, September 21, 2012
A Pioneer Week
One of the many struggles of working full-time and having two kids is finding the time to cook healthy meals. It also doesn't help that Charlotte is exceedingly picky these days. Things she liked a year ago are things she won't even touch today. For example, a year ago we went to a sushi restaurant for a friend's birthday and Charlotte chowed down on teriyaki chicken, rice, and edamame. Last weekend, our friends stayed with us and wanted to go out for sushi. I found this well-rated sushi restaurant and ordered Charlotte a kids' meal of teriyaki chicken, rice, and a salad. I knew she wouldn't touch the salad, but she didn't even attempt to try the chicken, only picking at a few grains of rice. She tried the edamame, which she loved the last time she tried it and immediately spit it out.
I'm not sure if I'm going about things the right way with Charlotte or not, but I've decided to stop struggling with dinnertime. I'm not a short order cook, and I'm not going to make her a separate macaroni and cheese everyday because I know it's one of the few things she'll eat at dinner. I figure, I'll present her with dinner and she can choose what to eat. What's really frustrating is when she pushes the plate away without even trying something. But I'm making peace with it as best I can.
Anyway, when it comes to cooking dinner forChris and me my family, I like a lot of variety. I've been feeling like I make too many pasta dishes, which of course Charlotte loves, but aren't exactly the healthiest or most exciting dishes.
Enter The Pioneer Woman. I'll be honest. I had a bad preconception of Ree Drummond, probably thanks to this article on Slate. I thought, based on the line: "armed with Lawry's seasoned salt," that the Pioneer Woman was a bunch of shortcut cooking, with a lot of cream of mushroom soup. I am, I admit, a self-professed foodie. I love cooking, I love excellent ingredients, but well, I'm short on time. And no, I'm never going to have the time to cook everything from scratch like Thomas Keller. Anway, I've been hooked on the Pioneer Woman for at least a year. She has such a fun way of writing her recipes, and her food photography is to die for. She now even has a show on the Food Network.
I was so excited when Zulilly had her two cookbooks for half off, with the newer one signed by the author herself. So on Sunday, while Phoebe was napping and Chris was off with Charlotte rescuing her blankie that we left at a friend's house, I armed myself with the two cookbooks and made a list of what to make.
Here's what I made - all pictures are from the PW website.
Monday - Sherried Tomato Soup
This was super easy - diced onions, canned diced tomatoes, a jar of tomato juice, sherry, and cream. And it was delicious, especially with a rustic baguette. Charlotte ate the bread, refused to try the soup.
Tuesday - Summer Stir-fry
Shrimp, corn, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and garlic. Yum. This was also really easy, once you take the time to peel all those pesky shrimp. Charlotte, who loves corn, refused to touch this. Chris liked it, but he's not as big of a fan of shrimp as I am. I lurrvvved it, but then I love butter. And garlic.
Wednesday - Comfort meatballs with pan-fried spinach (no link) and sweet potato tots.
The meatballs were absurdly delicious - as the PW states, they're more like little meatloaves shaped into meatballs than your classic Italian meatballs. There is no link for the pan-friend spinach, but this is such an easy vegetable - heat up oil and garlic, add spinach, salt and pepper. Next time, we're going to try kale instead. I also baked some sweet potato tater tots. Verdict: Chris and I loved everything about this meal. I actually used ground turkey instead, because I had some in the freezer that I needed to use. Charlotte liked the tots, until she decided she didn't anymore and spit them out. We didn't even bother giving her the spinach. She ate about two bites of the meatballs, even while smothered in ketchup. One note: they are a little more labor intensive than actual meatloaf, but in some undefinable way, much more enjoyable.
Thursday - Ranch Style Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower (no link)
Okay, so I wasn't able to actually make the Ranch Style Chicken. I forgot to defrost the chicken breasts and forgot that I needed to marinate them in a honey dijon marinade. So I made BTCA - bacon tomato cheese and avocado sandwiches (no lettuce on hand) and roasted cauliflower. I did make Charlotte a plain grilled cheese with avocado, which she ate, mostly. She declared that "I don't like that!", pointing to the roasted cauliflower.
If you know me, you should know that one of the few foods I still hate from my childhood is cauliflower. I was a very picky eater, but for the most part, I love pretty much everything now. Except cauliflower. It was always served steamed and mushy, with no flavor. A few months ago, I went to a really nice restaurant to celebrate a good friend getting married and the side was roasted cauliflower. It was delicious. I thought, I can do this. I can like cauliflower!
The PW has a great recipe in one of her cookbooks (the newer one, I think) for roasted cauliflower. You basically roast bite-sized chunks on a baking sheet at 400 degrees, take them out of the oven after about 25 minutes or so, transfer to a smaller baking dish, and heap panko breadcrumbs and melted butter on top. Roast for another 5 to 10 minutes. Amazingly delicious. Not mushy, but caramelized and crunchy with tons of flavor. And behold! I love cauliflower. But only when roasted. Not steamed. Blech.
So there's my week in food - healthy, easy, with actual vegetables (and no pasta!!!). Ranch Style Chicken will happen later this weekend.
Do any of you have some great go-to recipes? What do you do when it comes to cooking? Do you rotate a dozen set meals into your month, or are you constantly looking for something new to make? I find, that as long as I have a plan, it's not hard at all to try some new recipes. And variety is the spice of life, or so they say...
I'm not sure if I'm going about things the right way with Charlotte or not, but I've decided to stop struggling with dinnertime. I'm not a short order cook, and I'm not going to make her a separate macaroni and cheese everyday because I know it's one of the few things she'll eat at dinner. I figure, I'll present her with dinner and she can choose what to eat. What's really frustrating is when she pushes the plate away without even trying something. But I'm making peace with it as best I can.
Anyway, when it comes to cooking dinner for
Enter The Pioneer Woman. I'll be honest. I had a bad preconception of Ree Drummond, probably thanks to this article on Slate. I thought, based on the line: "armed with Lawry's seasoned salt," that the Pioneer Woman was a bunch of shortcut cooking, with a lot of cream of mushroom soup. I am, I admit, a self-professed foodie. I love cooking, I love excellent ingredients, but well, I'm short on time. And no, I'm never going to have the time to cook everything from scratch like Thomas Keller. Anway, I've been hooked on the Pioneer Woman for at least a year. She has such a fun way of writing her recipes, and her food photography is to die for. She now even has a show on the Food Network.
I was so excited when Zulilly had her two cookbooks for half off, with the newer one signed by the author herself. So on Sunday, while Phoebe was napping and Chris was off with Charlotte rescuing her blankie that we left at a friend's house, I armed myself with the two cookbooks and made a list of what to make.
Here's what I made - all pictures are from the PW website.
Monday - Sherried Tomato Soup
This was super easy - diced onions, canned diced tomatoes, a jar of tomato juice, sherry, and cream. And it was delicious, especially with a rustic baguette. Charlotte ate the bread, refused to try the soup.
Tuesday - Summer Stir-fry
Shrimp, corn, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and garlic. Yum. This was also really easy, once you take the time to peel all those pesky shrimp. Charlotte, who loves corn, refused to touch this. Chris liked it, but he's not as big of a fan of shrimp as I am. I lurrvvved it, but then I love butter. And garlic.
Wednesday - Comfort meatballs with pan-fried spinach (no link) and sweet potato tots.
The meatballs were absurdly delicious - as the PW states, they're more like little meatloaves shaped into meatballs than your classic Italian meatballs. There is no link for the pan-friend spinach, but this is such an easy vegetable - heat up oil and garlic, add spinach, salt and pepper. Next time, we're going to try kale instead. I also baked some sweet potato tater tots. Verdict: Chris and I loved everything about this meal. I actually used ground turkey instead, because I had some in the freezer that I needed to use. Charlotte liked the tots, until she decided she didn't anymore and spit them out. We didn't even bother giving her the spinach. She ate about two bites of the meatballs, even while smothered in ketchup. One note: they are a little more labor intensive than actual meatloaf, but in some undefinable way, much more enjoyable.
Thursday - Ranch Style Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower (no link)
Okay, so I wasn't able to actually make the Ranch Style Chicken. I forgot to defrost the chicken breasts and forgot that I needed to marinate them in a honey dijon marinade. So I made BTCA - bacon tomato cheese and avocado sandwiches (no lettuce on hand) and roasted cauliflower. I did make Charlotte a plain grilled cheese with avocado, which she ate, mostly. She declared that "I don't like that!", pointing to the roasted cauliflower.
If you know me, you should know that one of the few foods I still hate from my childhood is cauliflower. I was a very picky eater, but for the most part, I love pretty much everything now. Except cauliflower. It was always served steamed and mushy, with no flavor. A few months ago, I went to a really nice restaurant to celebrate a good friend getting married and the side was roasted cauliflower. It was delicious. I thought, I can do this. I can like cauliflower!
The PW has a great recipe in one of her cookbooks (the newer one, I think) for roasted cauliflower. You basically roast bite-sized chunks on a baking sheet at 400 degrees, take them out of the oven after about 25 minutes or so, transfer to a smaller baking dish, and heap panko breadcrumbs and melted butter on top. Roast for another 5 to 10 minutes. Amazingly delicious. Not mushy, but caramelized and crunchy with tons of flavor. And behold! I love cauliflower. But only when roasted. Not steamed. Blech.
So there's my week in food - healthy, easy, with actual vegetables (and no pasta!!!). Ranch Style Chicken will happen later this weekend.
Do any of you have some great go-to recipes? What do you do when it comes to cooking? Do you rotate a dozen set meals into your month, or are you constantly looking for something new to make? I find, that as long as I have a plan, it's not hard at all to try some new recipes. And variety is the spice of life, or so they say...
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Six Months Old!
Phoebe turned six months old on Saturday. What was this huge milestone for Charlotte just seems to have crept up on us with Phoebe - such is the way with second children, I guess?
A lot has happened with Miss Phoebe over the past month. She can sit up unsupported, although she's a bit wobbly. She can wiggle and roll around and get to where she wants to go. When she really wants something, she'll move her knees up and move her legs like she wants to crawl. I'm sure it won't be much longer before she really starts crawling around. She babbles different sounds, although she reserves to mama sounds for when she's really upset. She likes to blow raspberries (I have a great video, but I can't seem to get it uploaded). And the newest trick is that Phoebe has cut her first tooth! I noticed it on Saturday when she was chomping down on my finger.
We've upped her solid food intake, although we haven't been as on top of it as we were with Charlotte. So far, Phoebe has tried sweet potatoes, yams, butternut squash, bananas, apples, carrots, and pears. Pears are the hands down favorite. Last night, Phoebe gummed a piece of baguette and really liked it (no surprise there!). Her doctor recommends waiting seven days before introducing a new food given Charlotte's history with food allergies.
Sleeping continues to be erratic. Phoebe only gets up once a night, but it's anyone's guess when it will be. Sometimes it's 4AM, other times it's 6:30, yet other nights it's 2AM. I really need to look into ways for her to self-soothe because I know she can sleep the entire night without needing to eat, but it's hard to tell her that!
Huge thanks go to Chris for letting me have my first night away from children in close to a year. I think the last night I was away from Charlotte was probably last November for a work trip, and I've never had a night away from Phoebe. I went to Carson City for a day packed with meetings and then I got to stay in a hotel in South Lake Tahoe. It was amazing. The studio was enormous. And the best part was that I slept without any interruptions from Charlotte, Phoebe or the cat. I slept from 10AM to 8AM. I really, really needed it.
Here are Phoebe's stats from her six month appointment:
Weight: 15 lbs 11 oz - 43rd percentile
Height: 27.75 inches - 97th percentile
Head circumference: 17 inches - 72nd percentile
Dr. M. voiced some concern about Phoebe's weight because she dropped off her growth curve (until yesterday, she has consistently been between the 60th and 75th percentile in weight). When we saw him a month ago, she weighed in at 15 lbs 6 oz, so she only gained a quarter of a pound in a month. I reminded him that Phoebe continues to spit up after every single feeding. He suspects that because she's moving around so much that she's expending more calories but not taking in more calories. He's asked that we bring her in six to eight weeks from now for a weight check. In the meantime, we're to give her some cereal at least twice a day in hopes that the rice will expand in her stomach and maybe keep the liquid from coming back up. I'm not sure if there's any merit to that, but I'm willing to give it a try. She's certainly very interested in solid foods, so we'll just have to be better about making sure she gets some every night.
Other than that, Dr. M. declared her "perfect." We certainly agree.
 |
| First time in a park swing! |
We've upped her solid food intake, although we haven't been as on top of it as we were with Charlotte. So far, Phoebe has tried sweet potatoes, yams, butternut squash, bananas, apples, carrots, and pears. Pears are the hands down favorite. Last night, Phoebe gummed a piece of baguette and really liked it (no surprise there!). Her doctor recommends waiting seven days before introducing a new food given Charlotte's history with food allergies.
Sleeping continues to be erratic. Phoebe only gets up once a night, but it's anyone's guess when it will be. Sometimes it's 4AM, other times it's 6:30, yet other nights it's 2AM. I really need to look into ways for her to self-soothe because I know she can sleep the entire night without needing to eat, but it's hard to tell her that!
Huge thanks go to Chris for letting me have my first night away from children in close to a year. I think the last night I was away from Charlotte was probably last November for a work trip, and I've never had a night away from Phoebe. I went to Carson City for a day packed with meetings and then I got to stay in a hotel in South Lake Tahoe. It was amazing. The studio was enormous. And the best part was that I slept without any interruptions from Charlotte, Phoebe or the cat. I slept from 10AM to 8AM. I really, really needed it.
Here are Phoebe's stats from her six month appointment:
Weight: 15 lbs 11 oz - 43rd percentile
Height: 27.75 inches - 97th percentile
Head circumference: 17 inches - 72nd percentile
Dr. M. voiced some concern about Phoebe's weight because she dropped off her growth curve (until yesterday, she has consistently been between the 60th and 75th percentile in weight). When we saw him a month ago, she weighed in at 15 lbs 6 oz, so she only gained a quarter of a pound in a month. I reminded him that Phoebe continues to spit up after every single feeding. He suspects that because she's moving around so much that she's expending more calories but not taking in more calories. He's asked that we bring her in six to eight weeks from now for a weight check. In the meantime, we're to give her some cereal at least twice a day in hopes that the rice will expand in her stomach and maybe keep the liquid from coming back up. I'm not sure if there's any merit to that, but I'm willing to give it a try. She's certainly very interested in solid foods, so we'll just have to be better about making sure she gets some every night.
Other than that, Dr. M. declared her "perfect." We certainly agree.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Dog Days of Summer
We rented a cabin in Lake Tahoe over Labor Day with friends of ours. Although the cabin was not as nice we thought it was going to be, we still had a great time.
Charlotte had a great time playing with her birthday buddy, Samantha (although Sam's a year younger exactly).
We shared a room with Charlotte, and it was not pleasant. She makes noises all night long - ranging from whimpers to full on talking in her sleep. And she knew we were right there so she would wake up in the middle of the night asking for things or saying she was thirsty or that she had to go potty. She also woke up SUPER EARLY every single night. On the last night, she somehow was lying perpendicularly on the bed, and because the room was so small, the bed was shoved against the closet doors. I woke up to her slamming her feet into the closet - she was sleeping while doing this, but it was loud enough to wake me up. I cannot wait until she and Samantha are old enough to sleep in one of those bunk bed rooms that so many Tahoe cabins have. That will be awesome!
All in all, we had a great time. We drank a lot of really good wine and ate a lot of really good food. It was nice to get away from the Sacramento heat, even if Chris and I didn't end up getting that much sleep. And I get to stay in South Lake Tahoe overnight next week after a meeting I have in Carson City, Nevada. I am really, really looking forward to a night away when I won't have any interruptions. Chris went to Cabo for four days for a bachelor party, and even though my mom was there to help out, I just couldn't help getting resentful of the fact that he was able to sleep through the night. It turns out, of course, that they didn't do much sleeping, but that's beside the point! That was a conscious choice not to sleep!
Charlotte had a great time playing with her birthday buddy, Samantha (although Sam's a year younger exactly).
They pretty much played together the entire time, taking baths together every night and watching Dora the Explorer on Elizabeth's Kindle Fire.
We hit the shore on the first day, which was a short walk away.
Charlotte loved the sand, but not so much the water. It was a bit chillier than she was used to.
Sam and Charlotte both adored the hot tub. Actually, we all did (minus Elizabeth, who is pregnant and didn't bring a bathing suit).
You're probably thinking - what about the Phoeber-Bieber? She was around, just sleeping a lot. She was taking a nap when we went to the beach, and she was napping the first day we were in the hot tub. However, she had an absolute blast in the hot tub the next day (it was not too hot, just around 100 degrees). Phoebe loves the water so much, we're all convinced she's going to be a swimmer some day. She also slept great at the cabin, despite being in the bedroom directly below where the living room was (and you could hear every movement and conversation people made). By the way, Phoebe is so close to crawling. She rolls all over the room, but when she wants something she'll get up on her hands and knees and furiously move those legs; she's just not actually moving forward yet. It's really fun to watch!
 |
| Don't you just want to eat those cheeks? |
All in all, we had a great time. We drank a lot of really good wine and ate a lot of really good food. It was nice to get away from the Sacramento heat, even if Chris and I didn't end up getting that much sleep. And I get to stay in South Lake Tahoe overnight next week after a meeting I have in Carson City, Nevada. I am really, really looking forward to a night away when I won't have any interruptions. Chris went to Cabo for four days for a bachelor party, and even though my mom was there to help out, I just couldn't help getting resentful of the fact that he was able to sleep through the night. It turns out, of course, that they didn't do much sleeping, but that's beside the point! That was a conscious choice not to sleep!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Tidbits, Part Two
- So yeah, I totally jinxed it by boasting to the Interwebs that Phoebe is a super-sleeper. Last Friday night was awful. Not only was I getting a cold and sleeping badly, Phoebe was essentially awake from 12:30 until 5. After I fed her for the second time, knowing that she was full and not hungry, we gave up and let her cry it out a bit in her crib. She fell asleep shortly thereafter, but I was awake. Kudos to Chris for staying up with her most of the night.
- Saturday night was better, but not by much. We went out to dinner for our anniversary (it was delicious and we overate, big time) and got home around 10:30. Our poor babysitter had to deal with a fussy Phoebe who cried off and on for about 45 minutes. Then, at around midnight, we thought we heard Phoebe on the monitor. Nope, instead, it was Charlotte, who had wandered out of bed to check to see if we were back home. Chris led her back to her room and put her back to bed. 4AM and Phoebe woke us up to yet another crying fit.
- We gave Phoebe some infant Tylenol because she had a slight fever and was majorly fussy. This seemed to work, only to later cause me to panic when I noticed what I surmised could only be blood in her diaper. (A trip to her doctor yesterday, with used diapers in hand, confirmed it was not blood).
- She's woken up the past two mornings at 5AM, absolutely starving. I'm calling another growth spurt.
- On a cuter/funnier note, Charlotte's gymnastics class had a mock Olympics medal ceremony, whereby every child gets to go on the podium and receive a medal. Here is how Charlotte was announced: "Charlotte is three years old. When she grows up, she wants to be four." I can't stop laughing every time I think about it. Our little girl has such deep and lofty aspirations in life. :)
- Phoebe is a master eater. I introduced rice cereal about two weeks ago, and I was amazed at how she knew how to eat from a spoon from the get-go. Charlotte pushed out the food with her tongue for a long time before realizing that she wasn't eating any food that way. In fact, I was so amazed by Phoebe's eating prowess that I called her daycare lady up to see if she'd given her any solids yet. She said, "Oh, I would never give her solids before getting the okay from you." I certainly wasn't accusing her, just curious as to where these spoon skills came from. Well, these innate abilities must stem from Phoebe's love of food; she scarfs down that rice cereal and emits these "mmm" sounds when she wants more (her "mmm" sounds are definitely used to express frustration). I pulled out the BabyCook this morning and steamed up some sweet potatoes. I forgot how easy that BabyCook is to make homemade baby food.
- Post-partum hair loss. It started when Phoebe turned three months old and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. My hair is so painfully thin right now. I dread washing my hair because hundreds of strands come out. I find little strands of hair all over Phoebe, my pillow, the couch, my clothes, (well, you get the idea). I know this happened with Charlotte, but I don't remember this much hair loss.
- The heat. This cold Phoebe gave me is made so much worse by this awful heat wave. We are now on day 10 (?) of 100+ temperatures; I think the record in our area, set in July 2006, is 11 days of straight temperatures over 100 degrees. I think we'll be breaking the record this week! I'm looking forward to this weekend when it will be a downright cool 95.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Tidbits
I wanted to post about our trip to Yosemite two weeks ago, but our computer is not cooperating. Instead, some random bits of things going on in our lives right now.
- Charlotte has a friend at KinderCare named Evan (I think - I have yet to meet the elusive Evan, but Chris has). He's blond and kind of a bully. Apparently, yesterday, when Chris picked Charlotte up, Evan was being reprimanded for pulling Charlotte's hair. The lady at KinderCare explained that Charlotte loves playing with Evan, but he always ends up hurting her. Chris likened it to Charlotte later staying in an abusive relationship with a boy even though he hurts her. I turned to Charlotte and said: "You shouldn't play with kids who hurt you," and Charlotte replied: "But I LIKE him." Chris: "See!"
- The unswaddling has been a major success. Barring the cold weather in Yosemite, Phoebe has slept through the night consistently for two weeks now, and I'm talking not even hearing a peep from her for 11 plus hours (I'm sure I've totally jinxed it by declaring her awesome sleeping). Even though she's had her first major cold, resulting in red, watery eyes and a runny nose, she still slept great.
- The terrible threes. It's true. It's awful. Charlotte comes home every night whining. The incessant whining! It's usually because she wants a snack as soon as she gets home, and she won't stop whining until we give it to her. I don't think we've had a night without a meltdown in weeks.
- Meanwhile, Phoebe is just this totally sweet, mellow baby. You can tell she's thinking her sister is a total drama queen. I'm savoring these moments before I have two drama queens. I'm sure it won't be long.
- I finally broke down and bought a very over-priced one-month subscription to care.com. Care.com matches you up with nannies, babysitters, and pet-sitters. For the cost of a night out, we now have two lovely college girls lined up to take care of our babies. We went out on Tuesday night for a few hours, and we're going out again on Saturday night to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary!
- The heat. When will it stop? I am so over high electric bills, stifling heat, and brown grass. I can't wait for Fall to arrive! In the meantime, we'll be at the pool if you need us.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
What Baby Wants, Baby Gets
Phoebe has been fighting naps for us when we're at home, as I'm pretty sure I've already mentioned. She screams and screams and then after she's worn herself out, she passes out. She's also been doing this at bedtime as well. She does not want a pacifier at all, so this is kind of a problem.
But she takes naps - long naps - at daycare. When Chris asked D her secret, she said that she puts her down in the crib when she's acting tired, and she goes to sleep. As in, she doesn't do anything special to get the girl to sleep, Phoebe just goes to sleep.
Then we discovered the mitigating factor - being swaddled. Phoebe absolutely does not want to be swaddled anymore. On Sunday, we put her down for a nap unswaddled and she slept for nearly three hours! And then when she was tired again, I put her down, tired but awake, and she took another 45 minute nap.
Two nights ago, Phoebe slept through the night for the first time in a few weeks. When she woke up around 6 or 6:15, we found that she had wriggled her way out of the swaddle blanket, had turned over on to stomach, and was sucking her thumb. Aha! Yes, our baby is a thumbsucker. Evidently, she can't suck her thumb when she's swaddled (shocking, I know), which equals going to bed mad, and waking up in the middle of the night mad.
Chris wanted to wait on de-swaddling her, but I figured why not try it out. So last night, we put her in a sleepsack, put her to bed at 7:30, and she slept straight through until about 4:30 AM. When Chris brought her in, she was vigorously sucking on that thumb of hers. She ate, went back to sleep, and I woke her up at 7.
Of course, when it comes time to breaking her of sucking on her thumb, I'm not sure what we'll do. We finally broke Charlotte of using the pacifier by cutting the nipple off the pacifier a little at a time. For the past six months or more, she's gone to bed with a pacifier that consists just of the hard plastic. She can't suck on it anymore, but she likes to hold it. We can't cut off Phoebe's thumb lest we land in jail (not that we'd want to, it's such a cute little thumb). In the meantime, baby's happier that she can self-soothe, and that makes us happier.
Coming up this weekend: a camping adventure involving one six person tent, a three year old sleeping in a sleeping bag for the first time on the ground, a 4 month old whose sleeping habits are completely unpredictable, bears rummaging for food, coyotes howling at night, and a lot of dirt. We bought these in anticipation of roasting marshmallows, and Charlotte has been asking for a campfire everynight. (Also, I should take a picture of the way that our tent instructions show how to properly fit six people in it - five stick figures lying across and one stick person lying perpendicular and below them).
But she takes naps - long naps - at daycare. When Chris asked D her secret, she said that she puts her down in the crib when she's acting tired, and she goes to sleep. As in, she doesn't do anything special to get the girl to sleep, Phoebe just goes to sleep.
Then we discovered the mitigating factor - being swaddled. Phoebe absolutely does not want to be swaddled anymore. On Sunday, we put her down for a nap unswaddled and she slept for nearly three hours! And then when she was tired again, I put her down, tired but awake, and she took another 45 minute nap.
Two nights ago, Phoebe slept through the night for the first time in a few weeks. When she woke up around 6 or 6:15, we found that she had wriggled her way out of the swaddle blanket, had turned over on to stomach, and was sucking her thumb. Aha! Yes, our baby is a thumbsucker. Evidently, she can't suck her thumb when she's swaddled (shocking, I know), which equals going to bed mad, and waking up in the middle of the night mad.
Chris wanted to wait on de-swaddling her, but I figured why not try it out. So last night, we put her in a sleepsack, put her to bed at 7:30, and she slept straight through until about 4:30 AM. When Chris brought her in, she was vigorously sucking on that thumb of hers. She ate, went back to sleep, and I woke her up at 7.
Of course, when it comes time to breaking her of sucking on her thumb, I'm not sure what we'll do. We finally broke Charlotte of using the pacifier by cutting the nipple off the pacifier a little at a time. For the past six months or more, she's gone to bed with a pacifier that consists just of the hard plastic. She can't suck on it anymore, but she likes to hold it. We can't cut off Phoebe's thumb lest we land in jail (not that we'd want to, it's such a cute little thumb). In the meantime, baby's happier that she can self-soothe, and that makes us happier.
Coming up this weekend: a camping adventure involving one six person tent, a three year old sleeping in a sleeping bag for the first time on the ground, a 4 month old whose sleeping habits are completely unpredictable, bears rummaging for food, coyotes howling at night, and a lot of dirt. We bought these in anticipation of roasting marshmallows, and Charlotte has been asking for a campfire everynight. (Also, I should take a picture of the way that our tent instructions show how to properly fit six people in it - five stick figures lying across and one stick person lying perpendicular and below them).
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Four Months
Phoebe turned four months old on Sunday. Four months seemed like such a long time when Charlotte attained that milestone, but as with everything, it's come and gone in a blink of an eye for our Miss Phoebe.
{Phoebe, first, I apologize for not having written anything when you turned three months old. It's just that this past month has been crazy busy, and I barely have the energy to crawl up to bed at night. Please forgive me. Love, Mommy}
But to recap, Phoebe underwent some major developmental changes right from the start of turning three months. Before then, she used to fall asleep pretty much everytime we went on a walk or went for a drive. Not so today. She is super alert all the time. She has found her feet, and crams them both in her mouth. You can even hear her sucking on her toes when you're driving around. Kind of creepy.
She also was fighting naps like crazy (at least for us, she easily takes them for D) until recently. She would not sleep unless you were holding her, and if you tried putting her down? She'd wake up almost immediately. But now, she's pretty good at letting us know when she's really tired. She starts whimpering and making this kind of shriek. Chris is a certified Baby Whisperer and can put Phoebe down much more easily than I can, although I get her good and tired before handing her off to Chris.
Phoebe is much more interactive with people now. She loves smiling and laughing. She's really ticklish, and emits the cutest laugh when we tickle her. She also loves when I sing to her - this gets her laughing almost immediately.
She has really good fine motor skills. She can hone in on dangling toys and get them in her mouth. Today, at her four month well baby visit, she made Dr. M laugh as she grabbed his hand while he was trying to check her out with the stethoscope. What she doesn't like in her mouth? Pacifiers. She almost always spits them out much to the confusion of Charlotte, who cannot possibly understand why any baby wouldn't want a pacifier (yes, this means Charlotte routinely tries to force a pacifier into Phoebe's mouth, which results in stern words and/or time outs).
The gross motor skills are also great. She has been rolling from back to tummy for a few weeks now, and the speed at which she does it now is stunning. We really have to keep an eye on her on the changing table. She loves being on her tummy, but then forgets how to roll onto her back. Of course, the rolling onto her tummy has its drawbacks, namely, doing it in her sleep and waking herself up. And because Phoebe absolutely has to be swaddled to sleep, this makes things hard.
Speaking of sleep, it's been completely unpredictable. Some nights she'll sleep from 7:30 to 6:30, other nights she'll wake up once but never at the same time. About once a week, she'll wake up twice during the night. On Saturday night, she woke up at 2:30 and then again at 5, super hungry. I'm chalking it up to the four month sleep regression and/or a growth spurt. It happened with Charlotte at about the same time. We can't really complain. She's never up for no reason, and shes goes back to sleep pretty easily. In any case, sleeping in past 7:30 is a thing of the past as she is almost always wide awake by then (and usually much earlier than that), no matter what time we put her down.
Anyway, Phoebe had her four month visit today. She's doing great and growing wonderfully. She screamed bloody murder after getting her three shots, but cheered up immensely once I gave her some Infant Tylenol. Here are her four month stats:
Weight: 14 lbs 8 oz - 69th percentile
Length: 26 1/4 inches - 98th percentile
Head Circumference: 16 inches - 38th percentile
As suspected, Phoebe is a really long baby! She's outgrown all of her 3 month onesies and even her 6 month onesies are getting a little tight in the nether regions. Although if you look at Charlotte's stats from the same time, you'll see that Charlotte was even bigger (a full pound heavier and nearly an inch longer), but of course, Charlotte started out bigger. I'm surprised at how much smaller Phoebe's head is, at least percentile-wise, and I think it looks smaller because Phoebe has lost a lot of the hair she was born with. (Side bar: the new hair that's growing in is blond. It will be so interesting to see if she actually ends up with blond hair like her sister. I was expecting a brunette!)
All in all, Phoebe is such a cute, sweet, and inquisitive baby. She is such a perfect addition to our family, and we love seeing her grow and change!
.JPG) |
| I love my bath, but I'm getting too tall for it! |
{Phoebe, first, I apologize for not having written anything when you turned three months old. It's just that this past month has been crazy busy, and I barely have the energy to crawl up to bed at night. Please forgive me. Love, Mommy}
But to recap, Phoebe underwent some major developmental changes right from the start of turning three months. Before then, she used to fall asleep pretty much everytime we went on a walk or went for a drive. Not so today. She is super alert all the time. She has found her feet, and crams them both in her mouth. You can even hear her sucking on her toes when you're driving around. Kind of creepy.
She also was fighting naps like crazy (at least for us, she easily takes them for D) until recently. She would not sleep unless you were holding her, and if you tried putting her down? She'd wake up almost immediately. But now, she's pretty good at letting us know when she's really tired. She starts whimpering and making this kind of shriek. Chris is a certified Baby Whisperer and can put Phoebe down much more easily than I can, although I get her good and tired before handing her off to Chris.
Phoebe is much more interactive with people now. She loves smiling and laughing. She's really ticklish, and emits the cutest laugh when we tickle her. She also loves when I sing to her - this gets her laughing almost immediately.
She has really good fine motor skills. She can hone in on dangling toys and get them in her mouth. Today, at her four month well baby visit, she made Dr. M laugh as she grabbed his hand while he was trying to check her out with the stethoscope. What she doesn't like in her mouth? Pacifiers. She almost always spits them out much to the confusion of Charlotte, who cannot possibly understand why any baby wouldn't want a pacifier (yes, this means Charlotte routinely tries to force a pacifier into Phoebe's mouth, which results in stern words and/or time outs).
The gross motor skills are also great. She has been rolling from back to tummy for a few weeks now, and the speed at which she does it now is stunning. We really have to keep an eye on her on the changing table. She loves being on her tummy, but then forgets how to roll onto her back. Of course, the rolling onto her tummy has its drawbacks, namely, doing it in her sleep and waking herself up. And because Phoebe absolutely has to be swaddled to sleep, this makes things hard.
.JPG) |
| Loving my Bumbo! |
Speaking of sleep, it's been completely unpredictable. Some nights she'll sleep from 7:30 to 6:30, other nights she'll wake up once but never at the same time. About once a week, she'll wake up twice during the night. On Saturday night, she woke up at 2:30 and then again at 5, super hungry. I'm chalking it up to the four month sleep regression and/or a growth spurt. It happened with Charlotte at about the same time. We can't really complain. She's never up for no reason, and shes goes back to sleep pretty easily. In any case, sleeping in past 7:30 is a thing of the past as she is almost always wide awake by then (and usually much earlier than that), no matter what time we put her down.
Anyway, Phoebe had her four month visit today. She's doing great and growing wonderfully. She screamed bloody murder after getting her three shots, but cheered up immensely once I gave her some Infant Tylenol. Here are her four month stats:
Weight: 14 lbs 8 oz - 69th percentile
Length: 26 1/4 inches - 98th percentile
Head Circumference: 16 inches - 38th percentile
As suspected, Phoebe is a really long baby! She's outgrown all of her 3 month onesies and even her 6 month onesies are getting a little tight in the nether regions. Although if you look at Charlotte's stats from the same time, you'll see that Charlotte was even bigger (a full pound heavier and nearly an inch longer), but of course, Charlotte started out bigger. I'm surprised at how much smaller Phoebe's head is, at least percentile-wise, and I think it looks smaller because Phoebe has lost a lot of the hair she was born with. (Side bar: the new hair that's growing in is blond. It will be so interesting to see if she actually ends up with blond hair like her sister. I was expecting a brunette!)
.JPG) |
| Here she is tearing up the paper on the exam table! And yes, she has outgrown her size 1 diapers as evidenced by those chunky lamb shank thighs, but we only have a couple dozen left, and by God, she's going to wear every last one of them! |
All in all, Phoebe is such a cute, sweet, and inquisitive baby. She is such a perfect addition to our family, and we love seeing her grow and change!
Monday, July 16, 2012
It's Off to Work I Go, Part Two
(Phoebe's 4 months old as of yesterday (!), but I'll post about that following her well baby visit on Wednesday)
Amazingly, I have been back to work for four weeks now. I can't believe how fast the time has flown, and how crazy it is.
As you'll recall, I started a new job, so this was a huge change in of itself. This is also the first company I've worked for that is HUGE. My previous job was the largest company I had worked for to date, and it only had 40 people. Working for a large company is really different. There are 1500 people at this campus, with a total of 4,000 throughout the country. It is bureaucratic and kind of slow-moving.
The first day was awful. I had to spend the morning doing a health information privacy training and then filling out pages upon pages of paperwork. By the time I was done it was past noon, and I really needed to pump. My new boss, who is very nice, escorted me to the building where we work. I asked him about the pumping room (making things very personal on the first day), and he of course, being a guy, really had no clue. It was clear I needed a key for the pumping room, but my boss didn't know whom to call. Finally, we discovered that I had to call security for the pumping room. When I asked about getting my own key, I was informed that I wouldn't be able to get one for awhile. So for a full week, I had to call security in order to gain access to the "Quiet Room." They got to know me very well. But now that I have a key, I am so grateful for a room that is truly dedicated to pumping -- there is a large, comfortable chair with a tray on it, a sink, a small refrigerator for storing the milk, and a bunch of trashy magazines to pass the time.
Apart from the sheer bureaucracy of this company, I'm getting the hang of my new job pretty quickly. It's a lot of legal analysis, which is different, but I like it, because it's kind of like putting a puzzle together. My boss is super nice and flexible, and he really doesn't care when I come in or leave. However, in the interest of putting my best foot forward, I try to get to work by 8, so I can leave at 4:30. The shortened commute is so nice!
There is also a gym on-site, which is a first for me, so I've been trying to take advantage of it when I can. It's small, but it has four treadmills, two ellipticals, and one stationary bike, in addition to medicine balls and a few weight machines. It can get crowed, but it's nice to use during work hours to maximize time with the girls in the evening.
But I know what you all are wondering -- how is getting two girls ready in the morning going? It was really hectic at first, but Chris and I have developed a pretty good routine. The biggest question mark is Phoebe. If she sleeps straight through the night, she's usually up by 6:30 (this is happening with less frequency, probably because of the crazy milestones she's hitting all at once) and up for the day. This makes getting ready in the morning challenging because I have to drop what I'm doing and feed her, although I appreciate the uninterrupted sleep! If she wakes up once in the night, then I'll wake her up around 7:00 and feed her and get her dressed. Meanwhile, Chris wakes Charlotte up shortly after 7 and gets her dressed and ready to go. Charlotte and I hop in the car to drop her off by 7:30, so she can have breakfast, and then Chris drops Phoebe off a bit later (D isn't open until 7:30). In the evening, whoever is leaving first gets Phoebe, since D closes at 5:30, and KinderCare is open until 6:30.
Overall, it's pretty exhausting, but we're making it work. Last week and this week are particularly hectic because Charlotte is taking swimming lessons every day from 5:40PM to 6:10 PM. She's doing great, but it's frantic having to pick her up, race home, get her swimsuit on, and then rush to the high school pool. Luckily, the new high school is only 5 minutes away from home, so even when we're cutting it close, we get there on time.
Back on Wednesday to tell you all the fun things Phoebe is doing. I'm also guessing she's about 27 inches long with a super long torso - those 6 month onesies are getting tight and she's at least as long as her daycare playmate, who is 9 months old!
Amazingly, I have been back to work for four weeks now. I can't believe how fast the time has flown, and how crazy it is.
As you'll recall, I started a new job, so this was a huge change in of itself. This is also the first company I've worked for that is HUGE. My previous job was the largest company I had worked for to date, and it only had 40 people. Working for a large company is really different. There are 1500 people at this campus, with a total of 4,000 throughout the country. It is bureaucratic and kind of slow-moving.
The first day was awful. I had to spend the morning doing a health information privacy training and then filling out pages upon pages of paperwork. By the time I was done it was past noon, and I really needed to pump. My new boss, who is very nice, escorted me to the building where we work. I asked him about the pumping room (making things very personal on the first day), and he of course, being a guy, really had no clue. It was clear I needed a key for the pumping room, but my boss didn't know whom to call. Finally, we discovered that I had to call security for the pumping room. When I asked about getting my own key, I was informed that I wouldn't be able to get one for awhile. So for a full week, I had to call security in order to gain access to the "Quiet Room." They got to know me very well. But now that I have a key, I am so grateful for a room that is truly dedicated to pumping -- there is a large, comfortable chair with a tray on it, a sink, a small refrigerator for storing the milk, and a bunch of trashy magazines to pass the time.
Apart from the sheer bureaucracy of this company, I'm getting the hang of my new job pretty quickly. It's a lot of legal analysis, which is different, but I like it, because it's kind of like putting a puzzle together. My boss is super nice and flexible, and he really doesn't care when I come in or leave. However, in the interest of putting my best foot forward, I try to get to work by 8, so I can leave at 4:30. The shortened commute is so nice!
There is also a gym on-site, which is a first for me, so I've been trying to take advantage of it when I can. It's small, but it has four treadmills, two ellipticals, and one stationary bike, in addition to medicine balls and a few weight machines. It can get crowed, but it's nice to use during work hours to maximize time with the girls in the evening.
But I know what you all are wondering -- how is getting two girls ready in the morning going? It was really hectic at first, but Chris and I have developed a pretty good routine. The biggest question mark is Phoebe. If she sleeps straight through the night, she's usually up by 6:30 (this is happening with less frequency, probably because of the crazy milestones she's hitting all at once) and up for the day. This makes getting ready in the morning challenging because I have to drop what I'm doing and feed her, although I appreciate the uninterrupted sleep! If she wakes up once in the night, then I'll wake her up around 7:00 and feed her and get her dressed. Meanwhile, Chris wakes Charlotte up shortly after 7 and gets her dressed and ready to go. Charlotte and I hop in the car to drop her off by 7:30, so she can have breakfast, and then Chris drops Phoebe off a bit later (D isn't open until 7:30). In the evening, whoever is leaving first gets Phoebe, since D closes at 5:30, and KinderCare is open until 6:30.
Overall, it's pretty exhausting, but we're making it work. Last week and this week are particularly hectic because Charlotte is taking swimming lessons every day from 5:40PM to 6:10 PM. She's doing great, but it's frantic having to pick her up, race home, get her swimsuit on, and then rush to the high school pool. Luckily, the new high school is only 5 minutes away from home, so even when we're cutting it close, we get there on time.
Back on Wednesday to tell you all the fun things Phoebe is doing. I'm also guessing she's about 27 inches long with a super long torso - those 6 month onesies are getting tight and she's at least as long as her daycare playmate, who is 9 months old!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Three Years and Growing, Slightly
I need to post about my new job, but I feel like I barely have had a chance to breathe yet. Between rushing around in the morning to rushing around at night, I'm exhausted by the end of the day. I think Chris is too, since he has to get up at the same time and either keep Phoebe company or get Charlotte up and dressed.
In the meantime, here is how big Charlotte was at her 3 year well child appointment:
Weight: 30 lbs 10 oz - 51%
Height: 36.75 inches - 37%
It's amazing that the girl who was off the charts in length for the first 9 months of her life is nearly in the bottom quartile at 3. She only gained 2 pounds in a year, but grew more than 3 inches.
Anyway, she's totally healthy and right on track. The doctor asked her questions and seemed happy with all the things Charlotte can say. He's not worried about her speech at all as he was able to understand everything she said, and he said that all the problems in pronunciation were completely normal and should correct themselves in the next year or two.
On another note, we are officially done with Pull-Ups. Charlotte has been dry at nap time and night for weeks now, so we figured it was time to try it out. So far, so good. Plus, we have a waterproof mattress cover on her bed, just in case.
In the meantime, here is how big Charlotte was at her 3 year well child appointment:
Weight: 30 lbs 10 oz - 51%
Height: 36.75 inches - 37%
It's amazing that the girl who was off the charts in length for the first 9 months of her life is nearly in the bottom quartile at 3. She only gained 2 pounds in a year, but grew more than 3 inches.
Anyway, she's totally healthy and right on track. The doctor asked her questions and seemed happy with all the things Charlotte can say. He's not worried about her speech at all as he was able to understand everything she said, and he said that all the problems in pronunciation were completely normal and should correct themselves in the next year or two.
On another note, we are officially done with Pull-Ups. Charlotte has been dry at nap time and night for weeks now, so we figured it was time to try it out. So far, so good. Plus, we have a waterproof mattress cover on her bed, just in case.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Three
Charlotte is three years old today!
When I was looking at pictures and videos to create her third year video, I was stunned to see how much she has changed in a year. A year ago today, I thought Charlotte was talking and doing so much, but it's absolutely nothing compared with today. Charlotte talks and sings and dances and jumps and so much more. When Charlotte talks, she doesn't just talk, she uses adjectives to explain exactly what she's talking about. She has an amazing memory and can remember events from months ago in intricate detail. In the past year, Charlotte has gone from sleeping in a crib to sleeping in a big girl bed without rails (she's only fallen out twice, and one of those times was when the rails were still up!). She has gone from diapers to big girl underwear. She has lost her baby fat and looks more and more like the girl she will become. Charlotte has embraced her role as a big sister and gives her little sister hugs and kisses all the time. She has a best friend, Ava, and can play with her for hours with little notice of anyone else. She sings songs from movies like The Muppets, Annie, and Beauty and the Beast (her rendition of the song "Tomorrow" from Annie is priceless). She can swim with water wings on and throws tantrums when you take her out of the pool. She can play games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders and remembers exactly where the cards are in her Memory game. She shows empathy toward people and animals. She loves coloring, painting, and playing with Play-Doh. She has an amazing appetite for cookies, cakes, and all other desserts, but will only eat two bites of dinner if anything plant-based is on it. She is sweet and funny, but also has a shocking dose of attitude.
She is definitely our rainbow.
When I was looking at pictures and videos to create her third year video, I was stunned to see how much she has changed in a year. A year ago today, I thought Charlotte was talking and doing so much, but it's absolutely nothing compared with today. Charlotte talks and sings and dances and jumps and so much more. When Charlotte talks, she doesn't just talk, she uses adjectives to explain exactly what she's talking about. She has an amazing memory and can remember events from months ago in intricate detail. In the past year, Charlotte has gone from sleeping in a crib to sleeping in a big girl bed without rails (she's only fallen out twice, and one of those times was when the rails were still up!). She has gone from diapers to big girl underwear. She has lost her baby fat and looks more and more like the girl she will become. Charlotte has embraced her role as a big sister and gives her little sister hugs and kisses all the time. She has a best friend, Ava, and can play with her for hours with little notice of anyone else. She sings songs from movies like The Muppets, Annie, and Beauty and the Beast (her rendition of the song "Tomorrow" from Annie is priceless). She can swim with water wings on and throws tantrums when you take her out of the pool. She can play games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders and remembers exactly where the cards are in her Memory game. She shows empathy toward people and animals. She loves coloring, painting, and playing with Play-Doh. She has an amazing appetite for cookies, cakes, and all other desserts, but will only eat two bites of dinner if anything plant-based is on it. She is sweet and funny, but also has a shocking dose of attitude.
She is definitely our rainbow.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Mini-Vacation
As I mentioned in my last post, as soon as I knew I was starting a new job, I just knew I needed to take advantage of my maternity leave. So Charlotte, Phoebe, and I flew down to San Diego for a week. I actually convinced my mom to fly up on an earlier flight so I could have some help flying down. So she flew up on the 9:30 flight and then accompanied us back down on the 11:30 flight. It ended up being a great decision. Charlotte was running all over the airport, and it would have been so hard to keep hold of her with Phoebe in the stroller. On the flight, Phoebe had a blowout, so I'm glad I didn't have to change her outfit in the tiny lavatory with Charlotte. And Charlotte needed to go potty on the flight as well, so I was able to hand off Phoebe to my mom while I took her to the lavatory.
We had the best time. We went to Sea World one day.
The Wild Animal Park the next:
We went to the beach:
And I really did relax a lot. My mom cooked and played with Charlotte while I took care of Phoebe. It helped that Phoebe was amazing and slept about 11 hours straight almost each night. I can't tell you how much more rested I feel when I wake up before my infant daughter does. And Charlotte is completely potty trained now. She just decided last Sunday or Monday to start pooping in the toilet, and she hasn't looked back. It's so awesome. You still have to keep reminding her to use the bathroom every two hours or so, but we're pretty much there!
On Saturday afternoon, Phoebe and I flew back to Sacramento while Charlotte stayed with my parents. Charlotte simply said "Bye Mommy" when they dropped us off at the airport. My parents and Charlotte drove up to Mammoth on Sunday and will be driving over here on Thursday. While Chris and I both miss her, it's just so much quieter and easier to go out to dinner. We took full advantage of that by meeting our friends for sushi after Chris picked Phoebe and me up from the airport.
Still, I was pretty exhausted by Sunday:
We had the best time. We went to Sea World one day.
 |
| This is pretty much how Phoebe spent the entire week |
 |
| Feeding the birds and catfish |
 |
| Elephants |
And I really did relax a lot. My mom cooked and played with Charlotte while I took care of Phoebe. It helped that Phoebe was amazing and slept about 11 hours straight almost each night. I can't tell you how much more rested I feel when I wake up before my infant daughter does. And Charlotte is completely potty trained now. She just decided last Sunday or Monday to start pooping in the toilet, and she hasn't looked back. It's so awesome. You still have to keep reminding her to use the bathroom every two hours or so, but we're pretty much there!
On Saturday afternoon, Phoebe and I flew back to Sacramento while Charlotte stayed with my parents. Charlotte simply said "Bye Mommy" when they dropped us off at the airport. My parents and Charlotte drove up to Mammoth on Sunday and will be driving over here on Thursday. While Chris and I both miss her, it's just so much quieter and easier to go out to dinner. We took full advantage of that by meeting our friends for sushi after Chris picked Phoebe and me up from the airport.
Still, I was pretty exhausted by Sunday:
Chhhaangess
This is something I've wanted to post about for a long time, but for obvious reasons, haven't been able to.
My job, which I loved, loved, loved, has been almost unbearable for the past year. Long story short. The CEO of the organization decided to use the new money that we were getting from the federal government to create two new Vice President positions, one of which was the V.P. of Government Affairs. My boss, whom I love, and who was the Director of Government Affairs, was, understandably very upset to learn that someone was coming in to be over her. I was worried that my boss would find a new job and leave. And yes, that did, ultimately end up happening, only three months after the new V.P. started. The new V.P. is a former state legislator and does not have the best reputation for being easy to work for. This proved to be the understatement of the century. She basically pushed my boss out by taking away all of her direct reports. She also took the review that my boss had written for me and deleted anything nice that she had said about me.
So this all started happening when I first learned I was pregnant with Phoebe. I don't know if it was the hormones or the lousy situation at work, or a combination of both, but I was miserable and upset the entire first trimester. I was crying nearly every day when I came home from work, and I didn't know how I was going to make it at that job until Phoebe was born. I didn't want to quit, but I didn't want to be there anymore either. Poor Chris had to deal with me complaining almost every single day about how horrible the work environment had become. In the last year, about two-thirds of our department left the organization for other jobs. While they all got better jobs, none of my co-workers were looking for new jobs before this V.P. started. I, too, started looking for a new job almost right away, but I think being pregnant stacked the odds against me (they're not supposed to discriminate against you, but it still happens).
Fast forward to post-Phoebe. About two weeks after Phoebe was born, I was looking online at job announcements and found one that sounded intriguing. It's with a dental plan that provides dental benefits to about 50 million Americans, and the job is similar to what I do now - analyze legislation and regulatory activity. I applied for the job and got a call for an interview about a week later -- and believe me, interviewing for a job when you've had little to no sleep, was no easy task. Luckily for me, it was the first job I interviewed with that really seemed to match the fit I was looking for -- flexible, family friendly, and intellectually challenging. Having a solid background in the Affordable Care Act certainly helped. After four interviews (two with the H.R. recruiter, one with the guy who will be my manager, and one phone interview with the V.P. of Government Affairs and a health policy attorney), I got the job! And the best part is that even though I was offered the job two months ago, they've been willing to wait until my Paid Family Leave through the State runs out next week. I'm pretty excited to be starting a job with a company that seems to value me, and I'm even more excited that the job's office is much closer to home. Of course, I'm really nervous about going back to work after four months and to a new job, but I think it will work out.
Of course, this also means big changes for Charlotte and Phoebe... As soon as I knew that I wouldn't be starting work until June 20, I decided to book a trip to San Diego for Charlotte, Phoebe, and me (that will be devoted to another post). We went last week, so Charlotte's last day with Miss D was June 1, and she'll be starting KinderCare next Monday. Phoebe will be taking Charlotte's spot at Miss D 's (I contemplated sending both to KinderCare, but I really wanted Phoebe to have a home-like atmosphere, at least in the beginning). Today, Phoebe had a half day at D's to get acclimated with someone new. She did great - taking a long nap in the Pack N Play, and spending time playing and watching the other kids. Charlotte is still with my parents until Thursday when they drive here to spend Charlotte's birthday weekend. I can't believe she's turning 3 next week!
So that's the news around here. I'm really sad that I won't be returning to my old job - but it hasn't been the same since last May, and likely wouldn't ever be as good again.
My job, which I loved, loved, loved, has been almost unbearable for the past year. Long story short. The CEO of the organization decided to use the new money that we were getting from the federal government to create two new Vice President positions, one of which was the V.P. of Government Affairs. My boss, whom I love, and who was the Director of Government Affairs, was, understandably very upset to learn that someone was coming in to be over her. I was worried that my boss would find a new job and leave. And yes, that did, ultimately end up happening, only three months after the new V.P. started. The new V.P. is a former state legislator and does not have the best reputation for being easy to work for. This proved to be the understatement of the century. She basically pushed my boss out by taking away all of her direct reports. She also took the review that my boss had written for me and deleted anything nice that she had said about me.
So this all started happening when I first learned I was pregnant with Phoebe. I don't know if it was the hormones or the lousy situation at work, or a combination of both, but I was miserable and upset the entire first trimester. I was crying nearly every day when I came home from work, and I didn't know how I was going to make it at that job until Phoebe was born. I didn't want to quit, but I didn't want to be there anymore either. Poor Chris had to deal with me complaining almost every single day about how horrible the work environment had become. In the last year, about two-thirds of our department left the organization for other jobs. While they all got better jobs, none of my co-workers were looking for new jobs before this V.P. started. I, too, started looking for a new job almost right away, but I think being pregnant stacked the odds against me (they're not supposed to discriminate against you, but it still happens).
Fast forward to post-Phoebe. About two weeks after Phoebe was born, I was looking online at job announcements and found one that sounded intriguing. It's with a dental plan that provides dental benefits to about 50 million Americans, and the job is similar to what I do now - analyze legislation and regulatory activity. I applied for the job and got a call for an interview about a week later -- and believe me, interviewing for a job when you've had little to no sleep, was no easy task. Luckily for me, it was the first job I interviewed with that really seemed to match the fit I was looking for -- flexible, family friendly, and intellectually challenging. Having a solid background in the Affordable Care Act certainly helped. After four interviews (two with the H.R. recruiter, one with the guy who will be my manager, and one phone interview with the V.P. of Government Affairs and a health policy attorney), I got the job! And the best part is that even though I was offered the job two months ago, they've been willing to wait until my Paid Family Leave through the State runs out next week. I'm pretty excited to be starting a job with a company that seems to value me, and I'm even more excited that the job's office is much closer to home. Of course, I'm really nervous about going back to work after four months and to a new job, but I think it will work out.
Of course, this also means big changes for Charlotte and Phoebe... As soon as I knew that I wouldn't be starting work until June 20, I decided to book a trip to San Diego for Charlotte, Phoebe, and me (that will be devoted to another post). We went last week, so Charlotte's last day with Miss D was June 1, and she'll be starting KinderCare next Monday. Phoebe will be taking Charlotte's spot at Miss D 's (I contemplated sending both to KinderCare, but I really wanted Phoebe to have a home-like atmosphere, at least in the beginning). Today, Phoebe had a half day at D's to get acclimated with someone new. She did great - taking a long nap in the Pack N Play, and spending time playing and watching the other kids. Charlotte is still with my parents until Thursday when they drive here to spend Charlotte's birthday weekend. I can't believe she's turning 3 next week!
So that's the news around here. I'm really sad that I won't be returning to my old job - but it hasn't been the same since last May, and likely wouldn't ever be as good again.
Friday, May 25, 2012
What's in a Name?
Did you know that we have been out and about at least twice when we've run into another Charlotte, almost exactly Charlotte's age? Once, days before Phoebe was born, my mom, Charlotte and I went to the Folsom Zoo. We were nearing the tiger exhibit, when a girl about seven asked Charlotte her name. She immediately said, "That's my sister's name too!" And then we spent the rest of our time there with Charlotte and Charlotte holding hands. The sister (whose name I have since forgotten) kept saying "There go those Charlottes!"
And then Mother's Day weekend, we headed to Fairytale Town and I was desperately trying to get Charlotte to use the potty in the gingerbread house bathroom. As I was cajoling her, I heard someone else talking about a Charlotte. My Charlotte said, "That's my name!" And sure enough, when we were done with our unsuccessful try at going potty, we came out and saw a grandmother and two girls, the younger one being Charlotte. The older one, probably five or six, said "Two Charlottes, and a Sylvie!"
So many little girls named Charlotte. Also, our dentist who has two girls, one Charlotte's age and one a few months older than Phoebe, named his younger daughter Charlotte. I'd like to think it's because he remembered me talking about her (ha!), but in reality, it's because Charlotte is growing very quickly in popularity in the U.S., according to the Social Security Administration. Take a look at the past several years:
It's not as popular as Ava, Emma or Olivia (we know several girls under the age of seven with those names), but it's on its way.
Phoebe, on the other hand? Not that popular.
I am getting mildly annoyed when people ask if we named her after Phoebe Buffay on Friends. Her character was definitely the furthest thing from my mind when I one day thought of the name Phoebe. If anything, I'd like our Phoebe to be more like Phoebe Hearst, the mother of William Randolph Hearst, a great philanthropist, and the first woman regent of the University of California, my alma mater. :) Berkeley's anthropology museum was named after her, and one of the first buildings I visited upon starting at Cal.
Chris and I are no strangers, of course, to popular names. There were at least 4 Stephanies in my graduating class in high school, one of whom was in every class with me from Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. I was always known as Stephanie "H.", whereas the other Stephanie went by Stephanie "E." And no wonder! My name was in the top 10 of U.S. girl names from 1981 (the year I was born) until 1993. And Christopher continues to be one of the most popular boys' names in the U.S over the past 50 or 60 years. And at the rate that Charlotte is picking steam, the name could very well be in the top 10 within the next two years.
You can check out the popularity of your name or your child's name over the past 100 plus years here.
And then Mother's Day weekend, we headed to Fairytale Town and I was desperately trying to get Charlotte to use the potty in the gingerbread house bathroom. As I was cajoling her, I heard someone else talking about a Charlotte. My Charlotte said, "That's my name!" And sure enough, when we were done with our unsuccessful try at going potty, we came out and saw a grandmother and two girls, the younger one being Charlotte. The older one, probably five or six, said "Two Charlottes, and a Sylvie!"
So many little girls named Charlotte. Also, our dentist who has two girls, one Charlotte's age and one a few months older than Phoebe, named his younger daughter Charlotte. I'd like to think it's because he remembered me talking about her (ha!), but in reality, it's because Charlotte is growing very quickly in popularity in the U.S., according to the Social Security Administration. Take a look at the past several years:
| Year of birth | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 27 |
| 2010 | 46 |
| 2009 | 68 |
| 2008 | 87 |
| 2007 | 101 |
| 2006 | 125 |
| 2005 | 135 |
| 2004 | 170 |
| 2003 | 182 |
| 2002 | 204 |
| 2001 | 230 |
| 2000 | 289 |
It's not as popular as Ava, Emma or Olivia (we know several girls under the age of seven with those names), but it's on its way.
Phoebe, on the other hand? Not that popular.
| Year of birth | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 310 |
| 2010 | 309 |
| 2009 | 322 |
| 2008 | 348 |
| 2007 | 337 |
| 2006 | 363 |
| 2005 | 425 |
| 2004 | 405 |
| 2003 | 436 |
| 2002 | 435 |
| 2001 | 388 |
| 2000 | 441 |
I am getting mildly annoyed when people ask if we named her after Phoebe Buffay on Friends. Her character was definitely the furthest thing from my mind when I one day thought of the name Phoebe. If anything, I'd like our Phoebe to be more like Phoebe Hearst, the mother of William Randolph Hearst, a great philanthropist, and the first woman regent of the University of California, my alma mater. :) Berkeley's anthropology museum was named after her, and one of the first buildings I visited upon starting at Cal.
Chris and I are no strangers, of course, to popular names. There were at least 4 Stephanies in my graduating class in high school, one of whom was in every class with me from Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. I was always known as Stephanie "H.", whereas the other Stephanie went by Stephanie "E." And no wonder! My name was in the top 10 of U.S. girl names from 1981 (the year I was born) until 1993. And Christopher continues to be one of the most popular boys' names in the U.S over the past 50 or 60 years. And at the rate that Charlotte is picking steam, the name could very well be in the top 10 within the next two years.
You can check out the popularity of your name or your child's name over the past 100 plus years here.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Fun Times
So we went to the Bay Area last weekend for our good friends' wedding (Congrats Judy and Robbie!). I was planning on Phoebe wearing a super cute dress from Janie & Jack, but silly me, I didn't try it on her before I bought it. It was way too big. So she wore the dress that my grandma got her for Easter, along with some tights and a sweater. Still cute, but not as cute as that adorable dress.
Phoebe did great the entire time. She pretty much slept in her carrier about 75% of the 7 hours we were gone. The dress I wore was one in which I couldn't nurse Phoebe, so she got some bottles of pumped milk instead. She even amazed everyone by sleeping through the freezing ceremony and then during the very loud dance music. And she was so tired by the time we got back to Kristen and Todd's house that I couldn't even wake her up to nurse her. Unfortunately for us, she is the world's loudest sleeper, and Chris and I got pretty much no sleep with her in our room, despite the fact that she slept the entire night. And this is, once again, why we don't co-sleep. I'm not against it in theory, but Phoebe grunts constantly in her sleep, and I am a very light sleeper.
Charlotte had a great time with Kristen and Todd. Their neighborhood was holding its annual block party, complete with bounce house and enormous pumpkins (strange to see in May). We are so lucky to have such great friends who love our girls.
I am also happy to report that Charlotte has had no accidents in over a week (well, for going Number 1, that is). She's gone #2 once in the potty, but pretty much still holds it until she's wearing a Pull Up at night. She keeps saying she has to go, but then doesn't. Oh well, apparently, it's a very common problem, I've been reading. She'll get there.
We've been telling everyone that what's exhausting is not our newborn, but our preschooler. Phoebe is easy to get to sleep - we swaddle her, rock her a little, and that's it. She doesn't even want her pacifier 9 times out of 10. Charlotte, on the other hand, is in the stage of stalling bedtime. Bedtime takes nearly an hour with her. She loves her routine and will get upset if we deviate from it at all. So if Chris or I put her pillow sham on the floor instead of her, she'll remember 10 minutes after we shut the door and cry that she didn't get to do it. Or if Tandy's been accidentally locked in her room, Charlotte will cry and scream like it's the worst thing every. Her latest is to tell us that she's "drinky" which is her word for thirsty (and totally cute). And of course, Charlotte is constantly negotiating extra stories during bedtime. I mean, I love that she loves stories, but yeesh! Once I go back to work, I will have to start this whole routine about a half an hour earlier. The past two days, she's come up to our room, earlier than we want her to. I think I may have to get one of those clocks that glows green or red or whatever to let her know when it's okay to come into our room. Finally, because Charlotte is potty training and has this tendency to run away and have accidents either in her room or outside or in a corner, we've been watching her like a hawk. This is exhausting in of itself. Still, she's pretty great and fun to be around - just tiring!
Phoebe did great the entire time. She pretty much slept in her carrier about 75% of the 7 hours we were gone. The dress I wore was one in which I couldn't nurse Phoebe, so she got some bottles of pumped milk instead. She even amazed everyone by sleeping through the freezing ceremony and then during the very loud dance music. And she was so tired by the time we got back to Kristen and Todd's house that I couldn't even wake her up to nurse her. Unfortunately for us, she is the world's loudest sleeper, and Chris and I got pretty much no sleep with her in our room, despite the fact that she slept the entire night. And this is, once again, why we don't co-sleep. I'm not against it in theory, but Phoebe grunts constantly in her sleep, and I am a very light sleeper.
Charlotte had a great time with Kristen and Todd. Their neighborhood was holding its annual block party, complete with bounce house and enormous pumpkins (strange to see in May). We are so lucky to have such great friends who love our girls.
 |
| A neighbor of Kristen and Todd's grows gigantic pumpkins |
I am also happy to report that Charlotte has had no accidents in over a week (well, for going Number 1, that is). She's gone #2 once in the potty, but pretty much still holds it until she's wearing a Pull Up at night. She keeps saying she has to go, but then doesn't. Oh well, apparently, it's a very common problem, I've been reading. She'll get there.
We've been telling everyone that what's exhausting is not our newborn, but our preschooler. Phoebe is easy to get to sleep - we swaddle her, rock her a little, and that's it. She doesn't even want her pacifier 9 times out of 10. Charlotte, on the other hand, is in the stage of stalling bedtime. Bedtime takes nearly an hour with her. She loves her routine and will get upset if we deviate from it at all. So if Chris or I put her pillow sham on the floor instead of her, she'll remember 10 minutes after we shut the door and cry that she didn't get to do it. Or if Tandy's been accidentally locked in her room, Charlotte will cry and scream like it's the worst thing every. Her latest is to tell us that she's "drinky" which is her word for thirsty (and totally cute). And of course, Charlotte is constantly negotiating extra stories during bedtime. I mean, I love that she loves stories, but yeesh! Once I go back to work, I will have to start this whole routine about a half an hour earlier. The past two days, she's come up to our room, earlier than we want her to. I think I may have to get one of those clocks that glows green or red or whatever to let her know when it's okay to come into our room. Finally, because Charlotte is potty training and has this tendency to run away and have accidents either in her room or outside or in a corner, we've been watching her like a hawk. This is exhausting in of itself. Still, she's pretty great and fun to be around - just tiring!
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