Goodbye November

I am glad this is over. Although writing daily, even when I did it crappily (i.e. every day), was good for me.

Today I drove with Jane for the first time and she did well. We went to the library for a free book -- Read to Your Bunny. Pretty good stuff. When she's a little older we'll go to infant lap sit story times. Definitely want to raise a reader.

Here are her feet, because I think they're so sweet:

Elf Yourself 2011

This post will be obsolete in a couple months when they stop hosting the videos, but I think it still counts for nablopomo.

Also, someone's umbilical cord stump fell off today ... and she went to the doctor and weighs almost 11 lbs!

Decorate

Shawn brought in my storage boxes of Christmas goodies -- decorations, wrapping things and old cards. Today Jane and I looked through them but mostly didn't get much out. We don't have a tree (yet), so not sure if we need to unpack the ornaments. It seems like I have enough collected to fill a tree. There'd be no theme, other than historical ornaments from my life and a few handed down. I don't think Shawn has any ornaments of his own, other than some I may have given him.

A neat tradition that my aunt did for her boys is to buy them an ornament each year and then when they move out they have a set of ornaments that cover their lives. I want to do that for Jane. I ordered a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament today because it was cheap on Cyber Monday. But I'll probably want to get something nicer too -- and so there's a 2011 baby ornament for us to keep in our collection too.

I'm so exhausted I'm not sure how I'll be able to remember this holiday season. But I know when Jane's my age and even sooner I'll want to remember it in detail! So I'll be writing a lot in December -- although probably not as much here as I have been doing this November!

Advent Season

Today's the first day of Advent. Shawn and I took our baby girl to church. I'm not sure if it was a good idea -- given her young age and immature immune system. She seems OK, and no one touched her but us. She also was an angel during the service and slept most of the time. We'll see if I psych myself out of taking her again next week.

Mama & Jane at church ...
Why yes, I am posting a flattering picture of myself!

31: Made to Order

Hey, hey. It's my birthday.

And it's like I special ordered this day. I woke up with a house full of family -- Beth finishing cleaning and doing laundry, Owen being his sweet funny self, Mama cuddling a baby Jane, and Shawn filling in everything else.

It's been rainy and overcast -- my perfect weather. (If I had my way, it would do this every day ...) Right now it's really pouring and I'm sitting in the sunroom listening to the first Christmas music of the season (Jane's first Christmas music EVER).

We're spending the day at home together. Thinking about going out to dinner, but the thought seems overwhelming, especially since we didn't get an infant carrier/we'd have nowhere to put Jane down. So maybe takeout instead.

This time last year my arms were aching -- aching for Jane. But patience -- even imperfect patience -- paid off. And how blessed we are.

I can honestly say, despite the exhaustion and steep learning curve of caring for this sweet baby girl, that I have never had a happier birthday...

This is 31 -- with my two favorite little people: Owen and Jane!

Left Overs

Beth made our Thanksgiving dinner, and boy was it good. So good that we really don't have much left over, except some turkey (so yummy -- really the best turkey I've ever eaten) and some Pumpkin Dump Cake, which is so good and so easy. Definitely an overly rich dessert, but yum-o.

We also went on a walk -- took Jane to the local park for the first time. Owen had a great time on the playground, and I even swung a little bit. Now I'm trying to figure out birth announcements (still hemming and hawing about those because I want them to be just right), decide whether to do a separate Christmas card (less self-designed, more drag-and-drop) and what to do about Christmas gift shopping.

What I really need is a nap!

Daddy & Jane stroll home from the park

Grateful Life

Another non-meme meme -- everyone is of course posting about Thanksgiving today and being grateful for all our blessings and even our first world problems.

Shawn and I have a lot to be thankful for. It's too much to even try to list and almost too much for a heart to bear. But here's a little bit of what's on my mind and heart these days, in the month where gratitude is top-of-mind for many.

We have a beautiful, healthy baby who's growing and being so good.

We have family who help us take care of her and who take care of us (my sister and mom have been amazing in their tag team efforts).

We have a lovely home, plenty of food, heat and air conditioning (depending on the hour it seems!), clean water and a comfy bed.

We have each other, and we've got LOVE.

Jane's new gown from cousin Maelee

Review: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book caused quite a controversy back when it was released. My husband's boss loaned it to us now that we have a daughter. The book wasn't as extreme as I was expecting. It's more of a memoir than a how-to-parent guide. It details her experiences raising her daughters in the "Chinese" way of high expectations and no excuses. Some food for thought, but I think I learned more from Jim Burns' Confident Parenting.

View all my reviews

All Wrapped Up

Moby Success?

We have a variety of baby carriers -- Baby Bjorn, Moby, Ring Sling. I'm not sure what the baby likes.

She let Daddy carry her around the back yard in the Baby Bjorn (another hand-me-down -- hurrah!), and I was able to hold her in the Moby for a bit. I think both times she was sleeping. Not sure how she feels about being carried when she's awake.


The ring sling has had mixed success. But we'll keep trying. It's the prettiest carrier of all -- it's purple and a gift from Gingie!

Fringe Benefit

A side effect of growing a human has been an increase in the strength of my fingernails. Normally they are pliable and prone to breaking and peeling. But right now they're as long as they've ever been and ALL are long -- not just a few randoms. They're also super strong. But to be a better mom (i.e. not scratch up my kid) I'm cutting them off. Just wanted to take a picture of them and document them here -- once I grew long nails! (Nowhere near the accomplishment of growing a human, but still something.)

Also my wedding and engagement rings fit again! I haven't been able to wear them in months, and even after the delivery I was so pumped full of fluids that I was a stay puff marshmallow even MORE than what I was at the end of the pregnancy. Everything in that regard seems to have resolved and I think my feet have stayed the same size -- still gargantuan, but not any bigger than they were in February, pre-pregnancy.

Sugar Dumpling

Not many pictures of me and my girl, so I took one with my webcam. Owen is SICK -- so we haven't had many pictures of the two of them together. I am stressed out at the thought that she might get sick too. She's so little and vulnerable. Hoping breast milk really does help ward off any germs she may encounter!

Initial Baby Gear Thoughts

In my 10 days as the mother of a newborn I have a short list of things that I've really liked and that have been most useful. I thought I'd share them, and I'll probably have additional thoughts as Jane grows and I learn more.

• Boppy pillow for breast feeding in my chair -- and good for propping up the baby for photo shoots or otherwise when she's being supervised
• My Brest Friend pillow for breast feeding on the couch (our couch is deep and this pillow wraps around the back and buckles, providing lower back support)
• LOTS of prefold cloth diapers as burp rags -- they're everywhere in our house
• Swaddler blankets -- Jane likes to have her torso wrapped for sleeping so her arms are still able to stick straight up (and sometimes she can find her fist to suck on in a pinch) but keeps her feet warm and provides a little snuggle -- we have the Aden and Anais ones from Target
• Snap up jammies and gowns -- pulling things over her head is doable and she doesn't cry, but it's much easier to just stick in arms and then snap up the front
• Baby seat -- we got a little rocker seat from my coworkers and it's been great for letting her sit on her own while we eat, while I go to the bathroom when I'm here alone, etc. It has vibrations, but she can take or leave them.

Jane in snap-up jammies propped up on the Boppy

Edit:The Boppy was a hand-me-down and I actually find that it's the superior BF pillow. The Brest Friend seems cheap -- especially when you take off the cover to wash. I also managed to break the zipper on my cover when trying to get it back ON the pillow (really just some foam cut and glued together). So if you're going to get just one pillow, I'd say the Boppy, although I know some people swear by the other.

SUSHI for the win

Forgot this easy post ... Shawn and I got takeout sushi last night. Huzzah! What other things were verboten that I can now enjoy?!

Angry Charlie!

Wait For It ...

Tomorrow my two favorite little people will meet. Owen comes to town, and Jane will meet her cousin! I think it will be epic ... not that there is any pressure. :)

Still from Webcamming Wednesday

I hope the visit produces enough fodder for posts thru the rest of the month...

AMLBO!

Love Story

Daddy plays a tune

Warning: This is a little sappy and hormone-fueled. But it's also true.

Want to find out what your heart is made of?

Have a baby with the one you love most -- and who loves you most too.

Seeing Shawn with Jane has melted my heart and given me even more reasons to sing.

I really couldn't imagine loving him more, but seeing him holding our girl ... it unveils new depths.

Jane didn't pick her parents, but we picked each other. And I think we did a marvelous job.

We have a lot to learn, but it's exciting times b/c we will do it together!

Touch

I don't have an iPhone, and I've turned off my work Blackberry for the duration of my leave. But my iPod Touch (no such thing as an iTouch) has been a lifesaver.

I used it during labor to keep up with email and distract myself. I used it to play music (with a little speaker from Amazon after reading about it on Jezebel). It was handy during the hospital stay to read all the replies to our baby announcement.

It's great now because I can work it one-handed. stay up-to-date on my Google Reader (although I'm pruning b/c don't want to read about pregnancy anymore ... but give me lots about baby development, please -- and let me know if you have blog suggestions) and read emails as they come in. (I mostly wait to respond until I can get to the computer b/c typing is so much easier with even one hand on a keyboard than thumb typing on the iPod!)

I won this iPod in a PRSA contest several years ago while living in NYC. That alone should be enough to keep my membership up to date. (I recently let it lapse though -- whoops.) It's an older model, so no speaker. But I love it. If it were to crap out on me I'd definitely want to replace it.

This is my one and only Mac product.

Kathunk

Almost forgot to blog. Halfway through the month. I guess I'll continue, despite my sometimes zombie-like status.

I haven't uploaded photos yet today, so here's one from yesterday (the day before?):

Went to the doctor today -- all is well. Jane has gained weight and jaundice is totally gone. The doctor marveled at her feet (going to be tall!) and how she doesn't seem like a newborn.

Otherwise same old, same old. In love and learning new things every day.

Inbox Zero

I am beginning to understand people's frustration with email. In my "regular" life I am able to manage email quickly and efficiently. Even with high volume the messages are still one-to-one and I can process them -- reply, delete or archive as needed.

BUT when I sent out my mass emails with the news of our greatest joy I got myself all tangled up. I use gmail, and because of the conversation thread I am having a hard time tracking to whom I've replied, and every time someone else responds it sends the whole thing back up to the top. And inevitably I look through the entire thread to be sure I've responded to everyone who's going to get a response.

On my iPod though I can see each message individually. MIGHT there be a way to -- at least temporarily -- view gmail in the mobile version so I could better assess the incoming messages?

In any case, if you're emailing me and not getting a response the best bet is to change the subject to be something other than my daughter's name, i.e. start a new "conversation" just between us. And then I'll be much better -- maybe not responding any faster BUT I will be able to keep it a little bit more straight and the response will eventually come.

I can't figure out how to add photos to a created-but-not-published Facebook album so I'm still not convinced FB is the right place for me to post regular photos of Jane. I don't know why I don't feel the same way about Google that I do about FB (i.e. that I'm OK with Google having lots of my data, but something about FB doesn't sit as well with me). So I may do a private Picasa album -- or maybe even Flickr. I've really got to get my act together.

In the meantime, a photo of a 5-day-old who looks anything but (at least to my untrained eye):

Update: I figured out the FB photo album -- I think. So there are 22 photos there. That's not too bad for 6 days (although I have 250+ on my memory card).

Let 'Em Fall, Let 'Em Fall, Let 'Em Fall

I will probably never see snow falling outside the window of my sunroom (although if I did it would be an amazing view). But what I can see now are leaves falling -- by the bucket full.

Yesterday Shawn and his dad raked and bagged 11 huge bags of leaves -- and today the yard is covered again. It's actually beautiful and calming to watch them drift down. And the crunch they provide is nice -- and alert that visitors have arrived.

Perhaps they provide protection to any would-be thieves if they have to make a lot of noise to get to the doors.

We had a door-to-door salesman come by yesterday looking to sell magazines as part of a "lift me up" program or something. Shawn said the weirdest part of his pitch was "I'd rather knock on your front door than your back door," which we took to mean was a threat that this guy would break into our house if we didn't buy magazines.

We didn't buy any magazines! (And I LOVE magazines ... but I already subscribe to all that I want at this point.)

So I guess we'll just keep watch and hope for the best for our safety. (And we probably should have got that guy's name ... although Shawn did get the name of the organization he was representing, looked it up and thought it seemed like a scam.)

Combed Hair

My hair woes don't seem as important anymore. Here is my daughter (!) after a sponge bath with her long dark hair combed. (Her hair is her most complimented feature so far.)

Oh I love this Pumpkin Girl!