Pregnancy and Motherhood Archive

Kurt and I discovered a new game to play with the baby, although I think it’s more amusing to us than it is to her. Earlier tonight Sophia was having a bit of a fuss session. Kurt was holding her, standing and swaying, but Sophia kept on fussing. I don’t know what prompted Kurt’s next reaction to her fussiness, but then again what prompts Kurt to do any of the things he does? (Don’t think about that one too hard, it’ll hurt) I was sitting on our bed and Kurt was on the other side of our tiny master bedroom. I didn’t actually see what he did, but Sophia briefly stopped her fussing and Kurt laughing hysterically came over to me, “Watch this”. Sophia started her fussing and Kurt blew on her face which triggered her startle reflex. Her arms flew up from her sides, she stopped her fussing, stared at him wide eyed for a few seconds as if to say, “You Bastard!” We both laughed. Nothing more entertaining than baby torture I tell ya.

Kurt and I are tired of being the human pacifiers and Sophia absolutely will not take an actual pacifier. So I’m happy to announce that Sophia discovered her fingers come apart and she doesn’t have to shove her whole fist in her mouth. She started sucking her thumb about eight days ago, but today was the first time she popped it in her mouth to keep herself calm after nursing. Yay! I might get to keep my pinkies to myself from now on. By the way - she’s a lefty just like mom

Before Sophia was born Kurt and I bought one package of Pampers newborn size suitable for babies up to 10 pounds because Costco’s Kirkland brand didn’t have a specific “newborn” size and because we had no idea our girl would be big enough for Kirkland’s size 1-2 that only listed the high end weight limit of 15 pounds. Three days before she was born we also bought a box of the Costco brand because we intended to use that brand for the glorious diaper years, and we were sure she would grow into them. At our baby shower, we received a package of size 2 Pampers which has a weight range of 12 to 18 pounds.

A couple weeks ago we bought our third box of Kirkland’s size 1-2, but when I finally needed them, I couldn’t find where Kurt had them stashed. I broke into the size 2 Pampers and they fit just fine. She’s been wearing them for the past couple days and she hasn’t had any blowouts. Maybe we had her in the smaller size too long? Yesterday we bought a box of Kirkland size 3, which is supposed to fix babies from 16 pounds to 28 pounds. Again, we figured she would grow into them, but when we got home I pulled out one Pampers size 2 and one Kirkland size 3 - They’re EXACTLY the same size. I know a stocky 13 pound baby is going to fit a diaper differently than a string-bean baby like ours but seriously pick a baby body type and stick with it across the industry. It would make it so much easier on us.

On that note I’m glad I gave in to the disposable diapers because cloth diapers are all over the place for sizing (I had no intention of using prefolds) and some cloth diaper brands even have special sizes for different shaped babies. All that sizing was too damn confusing especially for how much some charge per diaper. I know I said cost was never an issue, but I don’t like throwing money in the wind either.

After the doctor told us that it sounded like Sophia had “colic”, which I’ve since discovered is an umbrella word used for all overly fussy babies, I started doing mega research to see what I could do to stop said overly fussiness in my baby. I found that totally cutting cow’s milk from my diet help in our case. We noticed the difference right away and it was like night and day. Sophia’s doctor congratulated me on finding the only food that has been found to have any connection with colic. Unfortunately I’m having a hard time staying away from all dairy. I’ve been able to get away with things like cheese cake and the occasional cup of hot chocolate but we went out to dinner a few days ago and I had Chile Relleno (there are many versions of this dish, but in this case it’s a poblano pepper stuffed with cheese). Things didn’t sit well with Sophia, so thankfully I also researched the gripe water suggestion of a commenter.

What is “gripe water”? If it really works, what’s in it that does the job? The brand the commenter mentioned was Baby’s Bliss, so I looked it up and found the ingredient list.

• Deionized Water
• Vegetable Glycerin
• Sodium Bicarbonate (15 mg)
• Organic Ginger Extract (5mg)
• Organic Fennel Extract (4 mg)
• Fructose
• Citrus Bioflavonoid Extract
• Citric Acid
• Grapefruit Seed Extract

Water, Glycerin (A byproduct of the soap making process usually used in cosmetics - Though I don’t usually see it in the things I consume I think it’s pretty harmless), Sodium Bicarbonate (Also known as baking soda), Ginger Extract (Something exotic to make you think it’s an ancient Chinese secret), Fennel Extract (Pleasant smell and flavor), Fructose (Just a teaspoon of sugar to make the medicine go down), Citrus Bioflavonoid Extract (Fancy way of saying pulp and rind of citrus fruits or vitamin C), Citric Acid (Something acidic to react with the aforementioned baking soda - think of the volcano experiments in high school science class with baking soda and vinegar), Grapefruit Seed Extract (A preservative that leaves me with a less than fuzzy feeling).

When I read Sodium Bicarbonate on the ingredient list I thought of the taste of baking soda and it reminded me of the couple of times I used Alka-Seltzer. You know, “plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is”, Alka-Seltzer. I looked up the ingredients for Alka-Seltzer and sure enough Sodium Bicarbonate and Citric Acid appeared on the list. Gripe water is just baby-seltzer. The big difference between the two is that Alka-Seltzer also contains Aspirin, so don’t think you can get away cheap by using the adult version on your baby. The other difference is that the baby version already has the water added and therefore doesn’t have the fun bubbly fizz that’s created when the baking soda initially combines with an acid (I’m guessing the extra fizz wouldn’t do well with a baby’s immature system), but the babies do get sugar (hardly seems fair).

Because I don’t care to use anything with Grapefruit Seed Extract and Baby Bliss recently had a recall on their apple flavor gripe water I sought out a different brand. We went with Wellements Gripe Water. Here is the ingredient list:

• Agave fructose
• Citric Acid
• Chamomile (flower)
• Ginger extract (root)
• Fennel extract (seed)
• Glycerin
• Sodium Bicarbonate
• Purified water

Agave fructose (Sugar derived from the agave plant - Agave is a succulent plant probably best known for making tequila), Citric acid (The acid that will spark the following sodium bicarbonate), Chamomile (Known for its general soothing properties in tea), Ginger extract (Exotic stuff), Fennel extract (Pleasantly smelly stuff - I call Sophia “Fennel Face” after giving her a dose), Glycerin, Sodium Bicarbonate, and water.

Friday I had an appointment to check out a possible daycare provider for when I go back to work in March. I thought that I would want a small in home type of daycare, but the one I went to see today has me rethinking it all. I wanted a in home type because I felt like it would be more like staying with extended family or something. The owner seemed nice and the two people working for her also very nice. The daycare space was a converted two car garage that they put a small kitchen and bathroom into. The older kids and infants were separated, which was a plus. There was a separate sleeping space with five cribs for the babies that gave me the creeps. The cribs were pretty old rickety cheap things that looked like baby cages. All of the separate rooms left very little area for the kids to play in considering the number of children. Even if she had a yard for them to play in, which I didn’t ask about, with the weather around here there aren’t many pleasant outdoor days.

When I first walked into the door three little girls came up to me to see the baby. I didn’t really want them so close to my baby especially since one of them had a runny nose. The daycare owner told that girl to go wipe her nose and for the others to go play, which they did. The daycare owner asked me to have a seat. I didn’t really want to interview her there. It was so loud with so many kids in a small area. I sat anyway. She went away to get something and I suddenly found myself surrounded by the girls again and they were petting my child’s face before I could say anything. And what do I say? How do I politely tell three otherwise well behaved children that I don’t want them touching my kid? I haven’t really been around so many kids before (as an adult). I don’t know how to deal with other people’s children and don’t really want to deal with them at all. Besides, Sophia was smiling at them and seemed to enjoy the attention. I felt cornered and found myself pushing one of the girls hands away. I didn’t even realize I was doing it. The daycare owner again told the girls to go play and also added that I may not want them to touch my baby. - Ugg she saw.

She gave a little bit of background of her business and her own background. She also gave advice about what to look for in a daycare. I liked her approach, but her overall place just didn’t sit well with me. She kept saying that the place was a mess, but that it was a daycare. She advised me that if a place was too dirty it wasn’t good, but if a place was too clean I should be concerned about what the kids are allowed to do. That makes sense. Cleanliness really wasn’t the issue I had with the place though, but the fact that she repeated that several times through my visit did bother me. She made sure to ask each child if they had washed their hands as they came out of the bathroom. I’m glad that she did, but wonder if it was only for my benefit after seeing my reaction or if she always did that.

She was very upfront with her reverences and said that any quality daycare provider should offer them without being asked. Later she admitted that one of her references was her own daughter. *eye roll* She kept asking me if I had any questions for her, and I did ask some, but I think Kurt was right when he said to just let them do the talking. She did ramble on saying things she maybe wouldn’t have had I bombarded her with questions like Kurt said. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t bring my list and that the majority of my questions flew out of my head upon entering her place.

Of all the things I observed I think what really struck me is the one shy child that just sat there the whole time and never once made a peep. When I asked questions about how long the older children had been in her care she mentioned them all except for this one. She also didn’t mention the child when introducing me to all the others.

The whole experience plus just the idea of leaving my baby with a stranger scared the living shit out of me. I was so shaken by it all I had to call up a friend and go visit. I just needed to be out of the house and keep myself from being alone with my thoughts. Thanks for being there for me.

I forgot to mention on my clothing post that yesterday was the first time I took Sophia out in public where not everyone admiring her cuteness rambled endlessly about the full head of long downy hair my monkey baby sports. Usually people will go on and on as if there is no baby under all that hair, but not today. Several people commented on the shoes she wore for the first time.

These Robeez shoes were given to us by a friend. Two hours after we arrived home from the hospital with Sophia our friend called to see if she could come over and “drop something off”. I told her she had perfect timing. She hadn’t even heard the news yet. I hadn’t thought much about Sophia wearing shoes especially not the very day we brought her home. I often see babies with only one shoe on because the other has fallen off to a place only dogs and people without children can find and thought they only added to the cute baby factor on kids that can’t even walk yet, but yesterday was so cold! I realized a nice pair of leather shoes provide a kind of protection from the elements that socks alone just can’t, and these shoes fit very snuggly so they don’t fall off. The elastic really keeps them on well and they’re so cute!

Tuesday I woke up to a cold house. In the morning I blew it off as a cold snap outside that my furnace would soon compensate for, but a couple hours later it was still cold. Our house is a tri-level and each floor has its own temperature zone that varies about five to ten degrees from the floor below or above. I usually hang out on the third floor since it’s always the warmest. I went downstairs to try overriding the energy saver thermostat thing but nothing happened, and damn was it frickin’ cold down there! The thermostat read 60 degrees (Fahrenheit), but I really don’t think it was even that warm. Sophia was fussy all day and wouldn’t let me put her down anywhere because every surface was cold. She didn’t take any naps ans wouldn’t sleep even though she was wearing three layers and I was holding her. By two o’clock I had enough and had realized that I had not heard the furnace kick on once through the whole day.

I called Kurt at work a little ticked off because I thought he had programmed some funky cold temperature only comfortable to him and anyone used to living in a medieval castle. “How the hell do you change the temperature on this thing?” He gave me the instructions, but that was exactly what I had tried earlier. He asked me to check the circuit breaker. I was frustrated holding a phone in one hand and fussy monkey baby in the other, so I was too impatient to try and cipher the scrawl on the panel from twenty-seven years ago. “I have one thing to do and I’ll come right home.” He said. He’s so sweet (sometimes). In the mean time I wondered where we would stay if the furnace needed to be replaced, and oh god that would be another expense on a house we want to move out of soon!

It turned out to be the circuit breaker - the house warmed up, and Sophia slept all evening. Amazingly, I was still able to get her to bed at her usual 10pm that night. Unfortunately, morning wakeup came early on Wednesday. That’s ok, I can play zombie mom. It’s my own fault for staying up late to play with blog stuff. Actually, I got quite a bit done on Wednesday morning. I even had a shower by 9am. At ten I called a friend to explain some blog things to her (I helped her with a Wordpress blog that I will more formally present once she has a little more to read - in the mean time if anyone in the Seattle are needs an event coordinator let me know ).

My friend and I went out to lunch a couple hours later and I woke up my napping baby to go from the car to the restaurant. I didn’t think it was a big deal since she usually goes back to sleep easily when I’m carrying/holding her. Sophia was great up until my food arrived and she decided she was hungry as well. Up until this point, I haven’t even attempted feeding her in public. I usually take her to the car if I need to feed her; it just seems more private that way. What’s odd is that before having a baby I had no problem flashing my little booblets around. Somehow feeding my baby seems like a private thing almost like going to the bathroom but a lot less disgusting. It’s either that or it’s because my previous booblets seemed harmless where as my new super-sized milk producing machines could put an eye out. I don’t know. Either way I haven’t mastered the technique necessary for private feeding and I made this my first attempt. It didn’t go well. I think I managed the privacy part well, but apparently, Sophia can’t find my nipple in the dark. I took the shrieking monster and my baby-blanket-covered-self outside to the car while my friend had my food boxed up for me (thank you). Sophia stopped screaming the minute I left the restaurant. I don’t know if it was the cold air, she liked that I was walking, or if the busy favorite lunch spot was just too loud for her to concentrate on eating. She happily ate in the quiet car and fell asleep.

I drove to a park, finished my lunch and then went to the store. I went to the store to buy a Christmas gift (which I did get), but I also bought a cute Christmas-y red suit for Sophia. She now has two Christmas outfits. Later in the day I found out Kurt almost bought the same outfit when he stopped at the same store after work. She has him so wrapped around her little finger. The day I posted the photo on this Wordless Wednesday he came home and told me he didn’t get any work done because he spent the whole day staring at her.

When Sophia and I got home, I fed her again while she made coffee percolating sounds in her pants. Time to change the baby - OHMYGOD - she shit herself up to her nipples - literally! Usually when she has a blowout, I’m able to roll her onesie up in a way that no poop touches her face as I pull it over her head - no such luck this time. Thankfully her onesie jumped on that bomb and contained the bulk of it. I didn’t notice right away but apparently my clothes weren’t spared from all of the fallout, and now for our unscheduled baby bath accompanied by blood curdling screams. For the first month or so of her life Sophia screamed bloody murder if you changed her diaper, but didn’t mind baths at all - that’s not the case now. Now it’s the reverse for both.

I got her dressed, re-dressed myself and fed her again. She fell asleep just before dad got home, and was completely out for four hours! I took a little nap too because I knew there would be little sleep for me later! I’m new, but I’m not completely daft.

Sophia laughed for the first time today. I’ve heard her laugh in her sleep a couple of times, but this is the first time she did it awake. I was singing the little nursery rhyme “patty-cake” to her. Anyone that has heard my singing-like attempts knows why she started laughing. The little shit. I know I know, it’s a nursery rhyme and not a song. You see, that’s just how bad it really is, and I can’t ever remember the words to anything! Kurt SHUT UP!