Aaaaoooohhhoooooo!!!

The little one has been having a blast vocalizing. She is just totally into it. She makes these funny noises all the time and just enjoys doing it and hearing herself. Sometimes she will wake up and just vocalize in her crib. We leave her in there because she's not crying and then sometimes she will go back to sleep. It's funny to hear her in there by herself making noises.

She can also see things a lot better. She always notices the cats walking by and she also likes to look at her hands - when she's not stuffing them into her mouth.

She is really a joy to be around, a very happy baby. She's always laughing and "running" - kicking her legs all the time. I think one of the reasons she's so happy is because I'm so protective of her naps and bedtime. We can't do much because she has to sleep after 1 - 2 hours of wakefulness, so we're housebound a lot of the time. But I think it's paying off in her sweet disposition.

As for me, I'm exhausted. I never really recovered from the holiday weekend and I've either got some wicked allergies or a cold. My nose has been running and it's terrible. It's bad enough that I don't sleep well because I'm listening for her, up with her, or pumping. Now to add a runny nose to that list, it's tough. I am really sleep deprived. I know that some day I'll get it back so that keeps me going, but man, it's hard.

I did get myself some really nice products at Philosophy this weekend. I kind of went crazy buying stuff but I thought I needed some delightful primping items. My skin is so dry and my lips are flaking off all the time. So I got some solutions for those problems as well as a whole mess of other stuff. I am happy with my new stuff though! Also yesterday I had a nice brunch with my friend Tiff while DH watched the little one. At first it was hard and I felt really distracted but then I relaxed into it and had a great time. Of course we talked about our kids the whole time! This coming weekend I am going to Mary Poppins the musical with some friends so I'm looking forward to that.

Well, hope everyone else enjoyed the holiday weekend and didn't have too much trouble getting back into life's routines today. Until next time!

Survived Thanksgiving

Well we did it! We hosted our annual Thanksgiving dinner and are all in one piece. We got lots of help from everyone and the house doesn't even look like that much of a mess. We're still really tired. I have an outing with my friend Tiff today that I am really looking forward to so I'm letting DH sleep more while the little one and I hang out.

She is so alert lately! She is really noticing everything in the world around her. But her favorite things are her own two hands. She loves them. She also loves shoving everything in her mouth.

Below are some selected pictures from our party, to see the whole slideshow, click here.

Bedtime Routine

We have been trying to do the same bedtime routine every night. Starting around 5:15, I give the little one a bath. Then I put on her footie pajamas and we spend time in her room on the big hippo. We play with her little lamb and read books, sometimes I do finger puppets. Then anywhere from 5:45 - 6:15, I put her in the crib and start to get her to sleep. This can sometimes take until 6:45 but sometimes she goes to sleep right away.

Here we are last night with her new holiday pajamas from Lola... Happy Thanksgiving!

Favorite Toy

DH took a few shots of the little one enjoying her favorite toy - "Japan Man". DH brought it back from Japan for her and she really gets a kick out of it. Sometimes she is so obsessed with it she will cry if it falls out of her hands. Fun times.

Giving Thanks

So last night I was thinking about all I have to be thankful for this year and a Poi Dog Pondering song (aptly named Thanksgiving) kept coming into my mind. I love it because it talks about how it's the things that go wrong in life that ultimately lead us to what we have now.

This is just so true for my life. I had some difficult years (I guess that's pretty common in your 20's). I've been broken-hearted and flat broke more times than I'd like to remember. But so much strength and character came out of those times. I've been laid off, underemployed, and had three times as many jobs as most of the friends I graduated college with - but the exact combination of skills from all those jobs has landed me the great position I have now that's so well suited to me.

I remember how bummed I was when all my college friends were marrying their college boyfriends and I was yet to be engaged to mine. Or the second round of friend weddings where I was once again left out; the engagement that went awry (luckily). Not that I got married at an old age - in fact - I think it was just the perfect time for me. But if everything had gone the way I thought I wanted it back then, I wouldn't be here now - in a city I love with the best soul mate I could hope for and my precious, perfect baby girl.

So this holiday season, I give thanks for all the times that things didn't work out the way I had planned. Because otherwise I wouldn't be here now, which is a pretty great place to be.

Thanksgiving

Somehow I find myself far out of line
from the ones I had drawn
Wasn't the best of paths, you could attest to that,
but I'm keeping on.
Would our paths cross if every great loss
had turned out our gain?
Would our paths cross if the pain it had cost us
was paid in vain?
There was no pot of gold, hardly a rainbow
lighting my way
But I will be true to the red, black and blues
that colored those days.
I owe my soul to each fork in the road,
each misleading sign.
'Cause even in solitude, no bitter attitude
can dissolve my sweetest find
Thanksgiving for every wrong move that made it right.

~Poi Dog Pondering

Thanksgiving

So we're having a huge dinner at our place for Thanksgiving - 21 if you count me, DH and the little one. OK, so she doesn't really get a table setting so let's say 20. Yes, we have a 2 bedroom apartment. We'll make it work - I rent tables and figure a way to push all the furniture around and accommodate everyone.

I am incredibly thankful that DH is doing the cooking and not me. If I were responsible for our meal we'd be having festive pizza delivery. We are also getting help from our guests, many of the people coming are bringing dishes. We're providing turkey, ham, gravy, stuffing, some kind of potato or yam dish and cranberry sauce. Whatever else we're having is coming from our guests. It will be fun but it's also kind of hectic.

I am still in charge of setting the table like every year (yes, we do this madness every year). I briefly considered doing paper plates and napkins since this has been so successful for all the other times I have people over. But damn, it's Thanksgiving so I thought I had better man up and do real plates and glasses. I am not actually sure that we have enough because I didn't think we'd have so many people. I definitely don't have enough stuff that matches, but I'm way over that. With the rate that we break plates & glasses around our house I just make do with what's still in one piece.

I realize that I don't have anything to decorate the tables with this year - oops. Usually I have something marvelous planned out weeks in advance. I'll have to send DH to the store to get some fresh flowers and I'll just put them in glasses willy nilly wherever they fit. Willy nilly? Where did I even get that? ha ha ha.

In an unrelated note, today I read on the interwebs (which is never wrong) that 1 ounce of breastmilk takes 20 calories to make. That would be so crazy! I would be burning like 1000 calories a day! Holy cow! I am not sure if that's true but man, I'll really have to cut back on my eating when I stop pumping. Or maybe I'll just pump forever! Ha - no way, I am tired of my boobs hurting all the time.

Well, I want to do a post of what I'm thankful for, maybe tomorrow. And then we'll have all sorts of fun Thanksgiving photos. The little one has a cute sparkly dress that daddy bought at the Fred Segal sale - but unfortunately I was out of luck when I tried to buy a pair of white footless tights this weekend. I like the footless tights because she's wider than she is tall at this point so the tights that fit her bum are a little long for her legs. But I couldn't find any and I also couldn't find any cute diaper covers so she'll just be wearing the tights that are a little long for her. Maybe I'll put some shoes on to cover up the long tights. I realize I have a few pairs of shoes that people gave us - one pair she's already grown out of... yet another thing I put away without her even wearing it... oops!

Life Insurance: Are You Covered?

So last week our life insurance policies *finally* went into effect. We started the process before the little one was born but then we had to have the medical exams and do all the paperwork, yada yada yada. Luckily nothing happened to either of us in the past few months. I did feel a little worried with all the business travel DH has been doing but our LA freeways are surely tons more dangerous than a flight to Japan or any of that. Anyway, it's just a relief to know that we are both covered.

Each of us had policies through our work but we wanted to make sure we really had enough for either of us to be okay to take care of the little one if something happened to one of us. Also we want the little one to be okay if something happens to both of us.

Now all we have to do to finish up is get our will done. Of course, these are not fun things and no one wants to think about dying but it's good to just get it out of the way. I will feel so much better when we have all of this behind us. DH and I never really thought much about any of this until I got pregnant. Before that, each of us would be able to take care of ourselves easily if something happened to the other one. But now we have her to think of and we want to make sure she will be taken care of no matter what.

This is a short post but just a little reminder to make sure you think about your own estate planning situation...I know it's no fun but it's a must-do!

Family Photo Shoot

We went back to Reed park to do another family photo shoot today - I think the pics turned out pretty well, here are some of the best ones:

Visit to Grandma's House

Today we went out for a visit to my grandma's house - the little one's great grandma. We had a great time and saw our cousins and their little one Owen - such a cutie! Also, last night the little one slept almost 9 hours. We couldn't believe it! We'll see what she does tonight. She's definitely learning to sleep for longer stretches. She's also been doing well with her naps - it's great.

Here are some pictures from today - hope everyone is having a great weekend:

What a Day!

Well, we had quite a fun day, full of events. First of all, it was great that DH got home last night. I wisely took the early evening feedings and gave him the post 3 am job, thinking she'd wake up at 3, 4, and 5 again as usual. Well, she woke up around 4 and then slept in until 7:20! What the hell? I couldn't believe it. Also, the cats did not go all crazy around 6 am for food like they usually do when I'm here by myself. Is everyone just taking advantage of me or what?

Then the little one went down for naps like a champ. She slept from 9 - 10:30 or so! I can't believe it. DH thinks I'm crazy when I say it's hard to take care of her by myself because when he's home she's like super good baby. Don't know what it is.

Then at 11 I went in to get my IUD inserted. I started to get worried when every single person in the office asked if I'd taken the ibuprofren already. So then the PA told me it would be "a little crampy" when she inserted it. Holy cow if that's what she calls a little crampy!!! It really hurt! I mean, nothing like childbirth or anything but I had to do my breathing I learned in birth class. It was no fun! Then she said I might have "a little spotting" and again, if that's what she calls a little spotting.... but it's in now and I just have to get it checked one month from now and then I'm good to go for 10 years. 10 years, wow. If we decide to have another little bundle, I just go have it taken out - which apparently is really easy. So that's cool.

After that whole thing, we had our mommy & me friends over for a party. So fun. Here are some pictures of everyone ...




















Tomorrow we go to my grandma's house and the little one gets to meet her cousin Owen! We are super excited. I'm sure we'll take lots of pics.

Well, more topics and pictures to come. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Working from Home: Not as Great as it Seems

Well, today I worked from home - part of what I planned out for my transition back to work. This week I came into the office 3 days and then in December I'll be working Fridays from home. I have to say, it's not all it's cracked up to be. It's much more difficult to work from home and take care of the little one then to just work at the office and come home and see her at the end of the day. Of course, it's also easy to be home and not working. But the combination of both is just not my cup of tea. I was considering working home on Fridays in January but after this week - I think I'll just go back full time in January.

DH came home today and that's great - I'm not all on my own tonight. And also I took tomorrow off because I have a doctor's appointment as well as an afternoon meeting with my mommy & me friends. A few are coming over with their babies and we're having wine and snacks here. I'll have to take some pictures. It will be fun. Wine makes everything super!! Ha ha. But really, it's fun to hang with these ladies, they are all quality.

So the little one is rapidly acquiring skills. I put her in a little chair with a tray table and she can pick her toys up off it. She also laughs at Mr. Russell, our silly black and white cat. He loves being the center of attention so is always right where we are playing. I also make him chase the laser for her and she likes that. But she even thinks he's fun when he's just sitting there. Hilarious. She really can grab at the toys in her activity mat - sometimes she'll be pulling on one with each hand - strong girl. And she can do tummy time for a really long time now. I guess those don't sound like such a big deal now that I have it all written down but for me and DH they are big milestones.

Today there was construction going on in the building and it was so loud - it was really difficult for the little one to nap. She was so tired! It was awful. I tried lying with her on our bed for a while but she barely napped at all. She's conked out now though.

OK well hopefully tonight will be a good one with long sleep stretches. But heck, I don't have to take all the wakings myself so no matter what it will be better than the last two nights. Have a great one everyone!

How Soon We Forget

It's so funny, today I was lamenting the fact that the little one got up at 10:30, 2:30 and 4:45 last night. Then I was looking at some of my older blog postings and I realized I celebrated the exact same sleep schedule on Friday! It hasn't even been a week and I've already forgotten how happy I was about having two four-hour stretches in a row. So the good news is that she's sticking to this new better schedule and hopefully on her way to an even better one. I guess the one night I got that 7 hour stretch I just got greedy.

I was reading the Weissbluth book again this evening (it's an addiction) and he said that the night sleeping comes together first and then the naps - different parts of the brain control night sleeping and nap sleeping. That pretty much jives with what's been going on because her naps have been brief: 30 - 45 minutes. So once she gets a better handle on the night time sleep thing, she should start developing a solid morning nap, then a solid afternoon nap. Some babies take a third nap but some don't. I feel reassured because Anna seems to be falling right in line with what babies her age are supposed to be doing. Well, except for she eats like it's going out of style but DH and I always say - she's a Cummings! ha ha ha.

I am working from home tomorrow - which is actually harder than going into the office. Partially because of the little one but also because I never stop working because I have my laptop here. At least when I leave it at work I just relax and return to work the next day. When it's here I'm always checking in and doing little things. But I feel good about slowly working my way into being away from the little one 5 days in a row. I think it's harder on me than on her - she's just so happy-go-lucky. She is happy to see me when I get home. We're settling into a routine of bath, then calm play in her room on her fuzzy hippo mat thing. I read her books and do puppet shows with finger puppets - which she tries to eat like everything else. I am not sure she's really that into the books but my mom read somewhere that they like the sound of rhymes so I do nursery rhymes and Dr. Seuss type stuff. I am just trying to establish the mellow night time pre-bed routine now. Tonight she went to bed at 6:30, it's slowly been creeping later. I'd like her to eventually sleep from 7 pm to 7 am so that's what I'm working on.

Well folks - time to pump and then get some sleep before the night feedings begin. Tootaloo!

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So Far, So Good

Well, I had another day at work and it went fine. Actually, last night was a super night for us because the little one slept 7 hours!!! Yes, 7! I could not believe it. She went to sleep at 6:15 and didn't wake up until 1:15 or so. Man, it was amazing. She then slept until 4:45 and then again until 6 am. If we could only drop that early morning feed - I'd be fine with waking up once a night. I have to pump then anyway.

I know better than to expect another 7 hour stretch tonight but hopefully, eventually this will be the norm. DH is gone again, another business trip. But I feel less stressed than I did for the Japan trip because he'll be home Thursday night. So I just have to go it alone for two nights. I can do it!

Also, I will be working from home on Thursday and then Friday I took the day off so this week is manageable. Today I had groceries and diapers delivered so we're all stocked up. I am telling you guys - grocery delivery is great. Also I figured out that baby wipes are a kajillion times cheaper from the grocery store than diapers.com. Their diaper prices are good and the selection is great but they really screw you on wipes for some reason. Well, I don't have to buy them there!

Well, it's almost 8:30 and I'm going to hit the sack. I know I'll have to be up either at 11 or 1 so I'd better pack in some shut-eye now. Have a great night everyone.

Back To Work

Well, I did it today, I went back to work. I woke up at 6 this morning with the little one and we played and hung out for two hours. I had already taken a bath the night before so that was out of the way. When I put on my makeup and did my hair, I talked to her and we had a nice time. I put her down for a nap at 8 and then left for work at 8:15.

Work itself was fine but man, today was so busy. THREE capital calls and two of them were complex. That was more in the afternoon. In the morning I caught up on things and went through a 3 month pile of assorted mail. I was back into the swing of the Flavia coffee machine too - ha ha. But I am still not drinking caffeine so I just had decaf coffee. Still fun to have coffee whenever I want and also to go to the bathroom whenever I want.

I had two nice surprises - a sweet coworker gave me some delicious brownies and my friends John and Heather sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. DH was mad at John for showing him up! Ha ha. Not really mad at him, just in a funny way. I did miss the little one but the day went by fast. When I got home she was happy to see me although she hadn't napped too well. I gave her a bath, we played in her room, and an hour after I got home I put her to bed. Now DH is cooking dinner and we'll enjoy that together. I remember when she was a baby and I never got to eat dinner - it's nice to have that time of day back.

So all in all it was a good day. DH is leaving on ANOTHER trip tomorrow, sigh. Two more nights of solo parenting. In his defense, he is leaving really early tomorrow morning instead of flying out today which would have been easier for him. But still, there has been a lot of traveling lately and it's hard on me.

I did miss my mommy & me group today but I just didn't want to push it. It's at 5 and I would prefer to spend that quality time at home with the little one and give her a bath. There are only a few more sessions left so we'll see how many I can make.

On the whole, today worked out well. I hope that more days will be as successful.

Back to Work Tomorrow

Ah I can't believe it! Tomorrow I am back to work in the office. I feel like it's the first day of school - I am going to get everything ready tonight because I'm not sure how the morning will be. I have to bring the pump, my laptop, and me and my brain. The brain part is the only iffy thing ... momnesia has taken over full force. But I think it will be fine. I am really going to miss the little one. She's so full of life now, it's crazy. The fourth trimester is over.

We had a great day today - our friends Dan & Aili came over with their son Aidan and our friends Heather and John also came over. I put some pictures at the end of this post.

So I made a little list of tips for our nanny/sitter because I'll be gone at work all day tomorrow. We've worked together a lot and she's shadowed me but I still felt like imparting more of my particular motherly wisdom on her. After all, I know my baby best of anyone. I thought it might be interesting to others to post it up here. I know every baby is different but it's just some of the things that work for me. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Here's the list:

Baby Tips

Feeding

1. Offer her a bottle whenever she cries; do not worry about feeding her too much. (We try to not let her cry - at this age they don’t know enough to manipulate you.) It’s fine if she snacks, eating just a little bit at a time and then more another time.
2. When you put her down for a nap, offer her a bottle when she is swaddled and in the crib. She usually drinks the most in her crib and it helps soothe her to sleep. Sometimes she won’t drink but most times she will drink a lot.
3. She needs to drink AT LEAST 3 bottles during the 9 hours you are together – that’s roughly a bottle every 3 hours. She can drink more, that’s fine with us. The more she drinks during the day, the less she needs to drink at night – so she doesn’t wake up. She still drinks 40 oz over 24 hours. This is the most important thing.
4. Don’t worry about making her drink the end of a bottle if there is only a small amount in it. Save it and then once she’s had some of the next bottle, just combine the old one into the new one.

Naps

1. When putting her down for a nap, sometimes you only need to stand there for only 1-2 minutes, but sometimes it can take up to 20 minutes depending on her mood. Sometimes she will keep spitting out the pacifier and you have to keep putting it back in. I usually wait until she falls asleep and then take the pacifier out so she doesn’t startle herself awake when it falls out later. Often if she falls asleep when she’s eating, she won’t need the pacifier. Sometimes she seems asleep and then when you walk out she cries. If you go in and do the same routine again, trying to take out the pacifier before you leave – she should be down for good.
2. Really try hard to stick to the nap schedule of no more than 2 hours of wakefulness. If she’s been awake for over 2 hours – try everything to get her to nap, even if you are trying for 45 minutes, it’s better than letting her get up. Use the bottle and the pacifier, switch off – one will usually end up working.
3. Try to leave her in the crib for 35-45 minutes for each nap. Even if she is up and making little noises. Sometimes she puts herself back to sleep. If she actually cries though, go and get her.

Tummy Time

1. She has been doing great on tummy time – you can leave her on her tummy until she gets very fussy and complains a lot or cries. She has been doing 10 minutes and much more.
2. Sometimes she enjoys being propped up on a towel. Roll the towel so it’s curved around her in the front and her head is up so she can see things. She can stay like this a long time and likes to watch things like the cats or her toys. You can even prop her up like this and do a few chores because she just enjoys watching things.
3. Usually after a lot of tummy time she needs to eat – this is another great time to feed her – she really needs a lot of milk!!

Pictures from our fun day:

Chilling with my new glow-worm from Lola and Lolo:



New friend Aidan:





I love my keys! I love standing up!



Mmmm...lobster sandwiches for lunch!



Fun day with good friends:



But I love mommy the best!



3 months old today!!

November Birthdays - Party at Lola's House

Lola & Lolo threw a great party on Saturday for the November birthdays - thank you very much!!