Me and E

It seems like I have so few pictures of Evelina and I.  Reasons being: 

• During maternity leave I was by myself most days, unless we were on the go.  I thought about rigging up the DSLR timer and finding the perfect spot for a photo but figured by the time I was set-up, she would be napping.  I love our camera but it is too large to hold with one hand for the perfect self-portrait opportunity.  I think we may need to invest in a smaller version for photos on the go or just get a tripod.
• I am always the one behind the camera even when Chris, family and friends are around.  
• I don't want a slew of pictures of my un-showered self without makeup on.  
• For some reason, as soon as I hold Lina for a photo opportunity and give Chris the camera, she starts to cry.  Those aren't very fun pictures!!  She either has something against me or something against the camera.  
• It isn't easy to take pictures of a baby on the move.  I have lots with blurred arms, legs, and faces. 

We will have to try this weekend for some me and E shots since having plans with family and friends requires that I shower and put on presentable clothing that doesn't consist of yoga pants and t-shirts!! 

Babies Don't Keep

I came across this poem and it reminds me that I must slow down.  I am always busy busy and need to remember that Lina is already growing up so quickly and I don't want to miss a thing....especially now that I'm back at work and don't get to indulge in all of her cuteness, coos, and smiles for hours each day.  

"Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth

empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

hang out the washing and butter the bread,

sew on a button and make up a bed.  

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

(lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,

(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

There shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

but I'm playing Kang and this is my Roo. 

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wondeful hue?  

(lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs.  Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

-Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Major Milestone!!

I NEVER thought the day would come for which Lina would sleep more than a 6 1/2 hour stretch.  So many of my mom friend's babies have been sleeping 8+ hour stretches for weeks (and some haven't gone beyond 3 hours...uggh) but our little Lina was consistently sleeping 4-6 hours stretches for over a month equaling about 9 1/2 hours at night with a wake-up time of 7am with no progress with her long sleep stretch.  I'm not complaining.....4-6 hours is GREAT when compared to the 1-2 hour stretches she would have as a newborn. 

But this weekend, we hit a MAJOR milestone!!  On Friday night, we put her to bed at 8:30p and was expecting her to wake up at about 2am but 2am came and went.  I thought for SURE she would wake up by 4am but 4am came and went.  At this point, "the girls" were about ready to explode so I gave Chris the monitor and told him that she was moving around so was definitely going to get up when I was downstairs (since that's what she usually does) so he would need to feed her while I pumped.  When I went back up to bed 15 minutes later, they were still both zonked. At this point, I had already been up since around 2:30a waiting for her to wake up and I was irritated because if she woke up at around 5 or 6am then that would throw her consistent wake-up time of 7ish out the window!!  Babies...they are so unpredictable.  5am came and went, 6am came and went and voila...it was 7:15am!!  I just couldn't believe it.  Our little girl who had only ever slept 6 1/2 hours at the longest, slept for 10 hours and 45 minutes straight!! Yahoo!! I was so proud of her and mad at myself for not sleeping the entire time and taking advantage of the situation since I was certain this was just a fluke and she would be back to her old ways (which aren't sooo bad!!) in no time.  


Fast forward to last night.  She entered dreamland around 8:30p once again after a nice massage, a tight swaddle, lullaby singing and a bedtime feeding (followed by nasty Zantac).  I was exhausted after my lack of sleep on Friday night so I quickly went to bed assuming she would wake up at around 2am.  Nope!!  And I didn't either which was a bonus.  4am came along and she was still out like a light.  At about 5am I heard her crying (shoot!!) so I flipped on the video monitor to check her out and within 10 seconds she was back asleep until 7:15a!!  WOOHOO!!  Two nights in a row!! What a major accomplishment!!  

Now, as positive as I would like to be that this trend is going to continue, my experience with with Lina and after hearing tons of stories from other moms, I wouldn't be surprised if tonight she woke up every 3 hours again.  But if she could keep this streak going for at least this week, I would REALLY appreciate it since I'm sure it would help make my first days back at work much easier.  

1st Day of School

Yesterday was Lina's first day of "school".  She is growing up!!  Don't get me wrong, I am excited for her to go to daycare to learn and grow into a social child but I am just not ready yet.  It's only been 14 weeks and we are sending her out into the baby world...it just seems to soon!! It is harder on us than her but I'm certain that once we get into a routine, it will become normal and not as difficult each day to leave her. But either way, she will always be our sweet little girl.  

We dropped her off at around 9am and got to meet her 2 teachers and check our her classroom.  She was very bright eyed and very interested in checking out the place.  She has her own little cubby for storing her things and we think she has the best pack 'n' play for sleeping...a dim lit corner of the sleeping area away from the door.  After about 1/2 hour she started to get tired and fuss so I swaddled her, rocked her a little bit and then handed her off to one of her teachers, I gave her a kiss and off we went drying tears from my eyes.  It will get easier...especially since Chris will be the one doing the drop offs!!  

We picked her up at around 5pm at which time she was crying, but that's okay, we missed that little cry all day. I was concerned she wouldn't eat well because of her reflux issues but she did GREAT and consumed more than she usually eats at home all day with me.  She didn't nap as much as I would have liked but I am sure naps will get longer once she is used to her new environment.  

This is what Lina's teachers had to say about her first day:  

"Evelina had a wonderful 1st day of school!  She was so happy and alert paying close attention to what was going on all around her.  She enjoyed reaching for the dangle toys on the bouncy seat and the calming vibrations!"

Overall, we think day 1 was a success.  She won't go back until Tuesday...my first day back at work...ugghh....

Mesmerized

The other day when Lina was enjoying some play gym fun time, Violet became mesmerized by the music and movement of the toys.  I am just waiting for the day that she actually goes for one. I still don't think she understands who this little person is and what she is doing in our house.  One thing she does know?  She LOVES licking the little human's head and sniffing her feet!! 

Violet Cuteness of the Week

Violet hanging out with Violet!!

In the Zone

Lina in the zone

The Wrath of Toddlers

Over the past couple of weeks we have had many friends with toddlers visit.  When Lina plays on the play mat she kicks her legs and swats at the fun hanging toys in a gentle manner.  Not our toddler friends who fly or crawl through the play gym with great fiery.  This is just a preview of things to come I'm sure!!