Pinkeye

One week of daycare, one sickness later.

Sigh.

So it turns out that the crusty eye, nose goobers, and general grumpiness that I described yesterday were all signs of pinkeye. Mike stayed home with her today (good for Rose, bad for his plan to spend lots of time studying for Wednesday's exam), got her started on prescription eyedrops, and just tried to make her a happier camper. I left work early (good for Rose, bad for the piles of stuff that I'm now super behind on) and then traded off with Mike so he could get some work done this afternoon. Rose's eye is already looking so much better, but she's still struggling with the nose goobers. Thankfully she doesn't seem to mind her steam baths, we've discovered that the NoseFrida is a miracle tool, and she's content to sleep in her bouncy chair again.

Please send some healing vibes to our cute little girl! (And let's hope that we don't continue to have a one-to-one ratio of daycare weeks and illnesses!)

"I'm learning to explore the world through my mouth! (No wonder I got sick!)"

"I get grumpy so fast when I'm not feeling well!"

Fourteen weeks!

Rose survived - even thrived! - at her first week of "school!" I'm so glad we picked the daycare that we did. I think we're all very happy with it - the teachers are great, the location is fabulous, and we love their values (e.g., locally grown, organic food for the bigger kids!). I applied to be on their board of directors and am nervously waiting to hear if I get selected...

The only drawback that we've found so far is that, being a daycare and all, there are lots of germs running around. On Friday when Mike dropped Rose off he noticed that one of the other kids in her class was a little snot machine. Well, lo and behind, Rose was fighting something off by the time I picked her up that afternoon: she had a crusty eye, nose goobers, and was grumpy and tired. We took it easy Friday night and put her to bed a bit early. She woke three times Friday night, but the last two were close enough together that I got out of doing the last one because there was no way she was actually hungry - thank you, Mike, for giving her some TLC so I could "sleep in"! (I can't remember the last time I slept past 7am!) Last night she woke around 12:30 because she was so congested. We gave her a steam bath, then put her to sleep in her bouncy chair so she'd be on an incline. That seemed to do the trick because she then slept until her usual 6:30. We took some photos after she ate breakfast but I just don't think her heart was in it. She was so tired that she didn't even want to suck her thumb - she's now sucking with gusto on her penguin as she tries to fall asleep.   :(

Here are her 14-week portraits:

Setting up the portrait studio...

"Mommy, I'm too tired for a tummy time photo!"

Will she be our brown-eyed girl?

 

"I like to hold on to my flying spaghetti monster blanket."

 

"Can we please be done now?"

And here's one from our dinner with Grammy (Marsha), Grandpa Jack and Auntie Anne last night. (Thanks, Marsha and Jack, for the delicious dinner!)   Anne is going to Charlotte, NC, for the next 1-2 months  -- have fun, Anne!!!

Right now Rose likes:
+ her exersaucer
+ spending time outside!
+ bathtime
+ sucking her thumb!

And she does not like:
- being alone in the backseat of the car if it's not nap time
- loud thunderstorms during the night
- being sick  :(

Million Dollar Mommy

Today was a great day.

It actually started off last night, when Rose only woke once (at 4am)! Yay, Rose! I'm loving that she loves her thumb now. Then my 7am client cancelled late yesterday, so I got to take my time getting to work.  I had a super busy, very productive, and quite rewarding/fulfilling rest of the day. I left on time (something which is new to me, as normally I would just stay as late as I needed to so I could feel "done" - now I'm trying to leave at a set time, even if it means my desk isn't completely clear at the end of the day). I eagerly hurried home, froze today's milk (see below), then walked over to Rose's daycare. 

If our freezer ever dies, I will cry and cry and cry. For weeks. Perhaps even months.

I chatted with Rose's teachers, soaking in their excitement about what a great girl she is. (I never get tired of hearing other people rave about her!) We walked home and Rose took a little rest while I made dinner and washed all the bottles and pump parts. Then we got to play together for a bit before Mike got home. She entertained herself in her bouncy chair while we ate, then we gave her a bath. She ate her evening meal, and now seems to be fast asleep (knock on wood!).

What a great day! I feel like a Million Dollar Mommy. I know not every weekday will be this great, but today was the kind of day that I hoped for when I tried to predict how it would feel to be a working mom. I'm just so happy with life right now!!

"My thumb is way better than my penguin now!"

P.S. On another note, I changed the title of this blog. I have no time for long Ramblings any more, but I do have time for updates on Life with Rose!

Adjusting to "school"

Rose started "school" yesterday, and so far it's been great but it's taking a bit of adjustment. (Understandably!) Here are my initial reactions:

1. Policies - When my mom watched Rose last week, she just watched her and that was it. Now we have to follow all sorts of policies! Both yesterday and today we've had very pleasant requests to follow policies that we didn't even know existed - like having the nipples already on the bottles (not just brought along with the bottles) and writing on each bottle the date/time the frozen milk was taken out of the freezer. Man, it's a lot to keep track of!

2. Sleep - Rose was routinely waking only once per night by the end of my maternity leave. It was lovely. Then last week with my mom she started waking twice per night. Not ideal, I thought, but definitely nothing I couldn't handle. But then Rose must have gotten nervous about daycare because Sunday night she woke up three times. UGH! I was sooooo exhausted last night that I was asleep by 8:15pm. Okay, I thought, surely she won't do that again -- and she didn't, because last night she woke up FOUR times. Seriously.  I'm really hoping that it was a combination of adjusting to a new routine, of working so hard on finding her thumb, and because we had some pretty severe thunderstorms pass through the area last night. We'll see how tonight goes...

3. My irrational fears turned out to be irrational - I think I already confessed to you all that my biggest fear with daycare was that I'd be unable to recognize which baby was mine in the infant room. I'm proud to say that I had absolutely no hesitation in recognizing Rose either yesterday or today! Yay!

4. New work schedule -  I used to work 9 to 6 most days, but now I've adjusted my schedule to be 7 to 3:30 (with the plan to either work through my pumping breaks or to take a little work home in order to keep my hours shorter like this). I'm not a huge fan of waking up at 5:30 (especially when I've been woken four times during the night...) but so far I really like this schedule! It just seems to fit my natural work-flow rhythms. Also, I really like that I don't have to deal with saying good-bye to Rose in the morning - I just take off while she's asleep (and I'm still half asleep myself) and then I get to look forward to seeing her in the afternoon.

5. Exercise - I miss all the walks Rose and I got to take during maternity leave! I still haven't figured out when/how I'm going to get any regular exercise now that I'm working (and I'm thinking running might have to wait until after the breastfeeding is done?), but the last two days I've hurried home at 3:30, quickly changed my clothes and frozen my milk, then walked over to pick Rose up from school. It's only about 1/2 or maybe 3/4 of a mile from our house, so it's not a ton of exercise but it's a nice little break and a chance for her and I to get some fresh air together. So I think we'll start there and I'll build in a little more exercise elsewhere once I'm more fully adjusted to all these changes in my routines.

6. Growing by leaps and bounds -  I'm really enjoying being back at work because I love my job, I love having some time to myself, and I love looking forward to seeing Rose at the end of the day. The thing I didn't anticipate was how much more noticeable all her growth would be when I'm not with her 24/7. It was so cool to notice the amazing leap she made in finding her thumb just between last night and tonight! It makes me even more excited to see her tomorrow night to see what new skills she'll learn while she's at school tomorrow!

Okay, that's all I can think of for now. I'm off to bed again. Please send some good sleep vibes in Rose's direction!

Rose's Magical Thumb

In the past 36 hours, Rose has suddenly mastered the art of thumb-sucking! It's her absolute favorite-est thing ever. She even pulls out her penguin in order to suck her thumb instead! Now, this initially caused more frustration for her because for a time she wasn't coordinated enough to insert her thumb after she removed the penguin. But now she seems to get it!

The cutest thing is that it seemed to suddenly dawn on her that she had to open up her hands to suck on her thumb, rather than keeping her hand in a first (which only left access to her knuckles)...but she still hasn't figured out that she can close the rest of her fist once the thumb is free, so now she sucks her thumb like this:

Adorable, no? :) Just wanted to document this stage in case she has "real thumb sucking" fully figured out in the next 36 hours!

thirteen weeks / three months!

Can you believe Rose is already 3 months old?! She's such a grown-up baby now :)

And on a related note, can you believe we're still breast-feeding?!? For the first several weeks after her birth, I never thought we'd make it this long (as you might have remembered from my complaining documenting here, here, here, and here). I'm super proud that we stuck with it, despite all the early "setbacks" (i.e., the excruciating pain). You know I love numbers, and I was really struck by this statistic: "scientists found that 85 percent of mothers planned to breastfeed exclusively for at least three months, but only about 32 percent were able to do so for the intended amount of time." (source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/moms-hope-breastfeed-exclusively-months/story?id=16475911#.UAtTp5GQOeM)   I know that there are LOTS of reasons that women may not be able to continue nursing:  from pain and infections, to low supply, to difficulties latching, to limited breaks at work, to the exorbitant cost of breast pumps, to lack of support from family/providers/society, etc., etc., etc.    I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the unrelenting support of Mike and Marta (my lactation consultant), to have an insurance company that would pay for a top-of-the-line breast pump, to have a flexible work schedule that allows me to set my own hours and breaks, and to have coworkers/supervisors who are completely supportive because they are mostly all working mothers themselves. I'm really hoping to be still exclusively breastfeeding Rose at six months (and breastfeeding with table food supplements through one year, as the CDC and AAP recommend), but at least we've made it this far! If we have to supplement or switch to formula at some point in the future, I'm still glad she's gotten as much breastmilk as she has - I certainly didn't think it was going to be possible back in the early days. Thanks to Mike and Marta, and everyone else who has been supportive,  for helping us get this far!

P.S. Wish us luck with Rose's first day of "school" tomorrow!

back at work

I just successfully completed my first week back at work. It actually wasn't nearly as hard as I was afraid it would be...but I think a big part of the relative ease was all the help from my mom! "Nana" stayed at our house all week, and was an amazing babysitter, housekeeper, chef, companion, and personal cheerleader. I'm so glad she and Rose got to spend a week together! They went on lots of walks, figured out how many bottles and diapers we'll need to bring to daycare each day, and had visits with Janet and Grammy. Thank you, Mom!

In other news, back when I was pregnant Mike found a free exersaucer on the side of the road. He gave it a big cleaning, then lovingly packed it away for whenever Rose might be ready for it. And today was the day! Here she is, enjoying "standing" all on her own!

This photo is actually from last weekend, but I just got it off my camera and I fell in love with it so I wanted to share it today, even though it's "old."  :)

Finally, for Rose's bath tonight Mike took her in our big whirlpool tub down in the basement (rather than using her little baby tub). She LOVED it! I think she thinks we have our own pool in the house. :) I'll try to get photos next time.


(Watch for Rose's 13-week / 3-month "portraits" tomorrow!)

Twelve weeks!

For the past few weeks we thought she was trying to suck on her thumb. But it seems like she's really just content to suck on the side of her index finger!

Right now she likes:
+ trying to sit (while very well supported around the waist/torso!)

+ spending time outside!
+ bathtime

And she does not like:
- being alone in the backseat of the car if it's not nap time

- having food spilled on her while we're eating  (oops!)    :)

Mother's day present

My very belated mother's day present arrived in the mail today, and I absolutely love it! I may just have to wear it every day once I'm back at work :)

P.S. Incidentally, it was my first ever etsy purchase! I'd highly recommend eclectic wendy designs.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Today is my last day of maternity leave. Man, in some ways these past 12 weeks have just flown by! I completely understand now why people say "the days are long but the years are short," as that has definitely been my experience with parenting to date. As much as I've loved staying home to recover from childbirth and to get Rose started on a good footing in life, I'm also really looking forward to going back to work. I miss the adult interactions, the sense of mastery I had from doing my job well, and (to be perfectly frank) earning a paycheck. I also really hate that recently I've been looking forward to Mike getting home from work, just so I could have a little break - I'd MUCH rather be counting down the hours because I'm eager to see my daughter again!

I'm sure it will be a tough transition, but I'm ready to tackle this next hurdle. However, I'm also thankful that Rose and I have a bit of a transition time. First off, my mom will be watching Rose next week. This is great because Rose and I will each get some time apart, but she will still be getting one-on-one care for another week before she starts daycare. Second, my schedule looks pretty light next week. Granted, I have a to-do list a mile long of administrative tasks I need to take care of, but at least I can ease my way back in with patients and can flex my hours just a bit if I need to (i.e., I can leave early on my first day back, if I'm crying too hard to put in a full day!). Finally, we had a "trial run" of daycare on Wednesday, to formally introduce us both to the classroom. I didn't realize that this was an option until about a week ago, so I'm glad we were able to squeeze this in.

Our plan is that I'll start work at 7am each day, so Mike will walk Rose (and his bike) over to daycare each morning around 8am or so, then he'll bike to school from there. (The daycare is only about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile away, so it's nice and conveniently located.) Then I'll pick Rose up after I get off work around 3:30 or so, and Mike will work a couple hours longer. So we'll each get some solo time with Rose (him in the morning and me in the afternoon) and we'll get some together time after dinner.

So for our trial run last Wednesday, we all walked over there together. We had a brief orientation with the lead teacher of her classroom, got another tour, and then it was time for us to leave. I felt totally comfortable with the teachers, but I still started crying as soon as we walked out the door. All of the sudden she just seemed so little! And what if the teachers forgot about her penguin, or didn't know that she likes to be held on her side to be comforted, or [insert a million other crazy fears here]. Suddenly I realized how well I've gotten to know her in the past several weeks, and I realized that her teachers might also have a learning curve with her!

But my biggest fear of all, and I can't believe I'm admitting this, was that I wouldn't recognize Rose when I went to pick her up a few hours later. How awful would it be to look around a room of 10 or 12 infants and have no idea which one was mine?!?!

After Mike and I got home, we took off in the car so I could drop him off at work/school. Then I returned home again to eat lunch and to pump. And then I didn't know what to do with myself! Wow. When did I forget how to relax and do adult things???  I very nearly started doing some laundry, but my friend Margaret quickly cured me of that idea! So I went shopping instead. :) Thanks to a sale at Kohl's (that's a joke because there's always a sale at Kohl's), I came out with two new pairs of capris, two t-shirts, and a nice long-sleeve linen cover-up type shirt. Oh, and an empty "Steph account" as well. :)

And then my time was up! Mike made me promise that I wouldn't pick Rose up before three hours elapsed (her teacher said that 3 hours was a good amount of time for the trial, but I could come earlier or later if I wanted), so I pulled up after 3 hours and 5 minutes had elapsed. I was so nervous opening the door to the classroom, but I immediately zoned in on Rose without any hesitation... she was the one crying! :(

Immediately I wanted to cry myself. Had she been in tears the entire time? Did she hate the place? What happened?!?

The teacher explained that she had just turned Rose over from her belly to her back under the activity gym, and immediately I felt better. Why, you ask? Because Rose cries whenever I do that too! Whew! Just her normal "I don't want to turn over" tears.   The teachers told told me that was the first time she had cried all day, and that she had seemed to enjoy all the new (to her) toys and meeting all the teachers and other babies. She drank 2 bottles (!) while I was gone, and took two 20-minute naps.

All in all, I think she did just great! In fact, it sounded like she cried less than I did. :) When we got home she was so tired (she normally sleeps for 60-90 minutes per nap) that she slept for 4 hours straight and then just went to bed for the night. I'm going to interpret that to mean that she enjoyed it so much that she didn't want to sleep and miss out on anything!

So there it is. Rose and I are ready for this big transition to work/daycare. But this morning we took one more walk together - our last weekday morning walk together for probably quite some time, now that I'm out of vacation days for the rest of the year! We walked along Minnehaha Creek - the last of the major paths in Minneapolis that I was trying to visit during my leave! (The Creek, the River Roads, the Chain of Lakes - except for Calhoun since I don't like that lake, Hyland Park, Como Park/Zoo, Baker Park Reserve, Centennial Lakes, and the St. Anthony Heritage Trail.)

(look at those feet kicking!)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Fourth of July - and Eleven weeks old!

Rose and I have had a whirlwind past few days!

On Wednesday (July 4) Mike left for Chicago, where he's doing research for school. Later that day my parents arrived with my Aunt Donna! What a treat to see all of them, and a relief to not have to be a single parent for almost a week.  That day we hung out at home for a bit, then went to Pizza Luce for dinner.

Thursday we all went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art and saw the awesome Rembrandt exhibit. (Seriously, it's really good! Go see it!) We also ate great Mexican food on Eat Street, then came home and my parents made a great dinner: chicken, brats, grilled zucchini, and wild rice. Yum!

Friday we took it easy in the morning, then Rose had her first pool experience at my parents' hotel - she loved it! She also enjoyed sleeping through our lunch at Gyropolis and the time we spent walking around Ikea. :)

Saturday we walked across the Stone Arch bridge, bought veggies for dinner at the Mill City Market, and toured the Guthrie. We also saw all the light rail construction in progress as we drove down University Ave to have lunch at Mai Village.

This morning my parents and Donna took off early, so now I'm solo parenting until Mike gets home tomorrow night. Eek! I'm a little nervous about it because I think Rose is either fighting off a little something or is teething early, because she just hasn't been herself - she's drooling, a little congested, and her left eye has been somewhat crusty.  I think we'll be fine for the next 36 hours, but she just wasn't as smiley as usual for her 11-week "portraits" (although she still is pretty darn cute!).

 (Incidentally, this is lit just like a Rembrandt portrait, with the light coming from the viewer's left and causing shadows on the right side of the print/canvas.)

 (The cats wanted in on the photo action!)

(Deep in thought as she blows spit bubbles.)


A huge thank you to my parents and Donna for all their help the last few days! I couldn't have taken care of Rose all by myself for that long without everything they did! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Now, since Rose is finally sleeping, I'm going to take advantage of the rest of her nap and go to sleep myself!

Near Bliss

Sitting outside on a beautiful day. The cats are snacking on grass. I'm drinking a diet coke and reading a magazine. My parents are inside, ready to tend to Rose when she wakes up.

The only thing missing from this otherwise perfect scenario is Mike!

Mommy Wars

After I posted my take on the "Are You Mom Enough" cover story from Time, I had several people (mostly from my parents' generation) ask if there really was that much animosity and judgment from one mom to the next nowadays. Sad to yes, but it's very true.   

Here's an example. One of my facebook friends (a coworker) who is now 12 weeks pregnant posted a status update earlier today about having "sticker shock" after touring a daycare center. (Daycare centers around here run $300-350 per week.)  Now, most of the responses were quite helpful. Things like: "check out in-home care," or "look further away from downtown Minneapolis," or "I know someone who knows someone who nannies," and things like that. Very nice.


But then there was this gem, which I copied verbatim (other than removing her husband's name):  "Maybe its gods way of trying to get more ppl to raise there kids??? {Husband} and I did tag team with work and watching the kids. Wouldn't have done it any different. Glad we were able to instill our values in our kids and not a center. Hard decision for ppl to have to make." (A response which garnered several "likes.")

Now, ignoring her terrible spelling and atrocious grammar (yes, I get snarky when I'm mad. I'll own that.), I think this is a "great" example of the judgment my cohort faces around every corner. Isn't it wonderful to take a quick jaunt on facebook only to be indirectly accused of (a) not raising my child myself, (b) allowing everyone else except me to instill any old values in my daughter, and (c) defying God's plans for what is good in the world?


Really? Do you not think I'm going to do any parenting outside of daycare? And do you think I shouldn't send Rose to school either, since that could also be a cop-out on my part? Because clearly, if I really loved my daughter, I would be a poster child for full-on attachment parenting, including home-schooling her right through grad school - or at least through college.... Or maybe after age 6 then there are no more values to be instilled and then other people (teachers) can just raise our kids for us? Ugh.


And that, my friends, is the Mommy Wars.






P.S. Now that I've calmed down a bit after venting all of the above, I want to be very clear that I have the utmost respect for anyone (mother or father) who chooses to stay home vs anyone who chooses to work. I just want us all to appreciate the value we all offer in different capacities, to be comfortable with our own decisions, and to respect the choices that are best for our respective families.


P.P.S. My friend Ryan made me promise not to post blog updates without photos, so here's one of me reading during Rose's nap yesterday afternoon. I'm totally addicted to the Game of Thrones series, and Rose is addicted to sleeping in my arms! :)

Ten weeks!

Has it really been ten weeks already? I'll be back at work two weeks from today, so I guess the math is right. Wow.

Anyway, we decided to take her 10-week photos in her crib, to commemorate her starting to sleep there every night. :)  First we just set her in the crib:

But that wasn't very exciting, so then I put up the mobile! (I only put the mobile up when I want her to be entertained - like when I need to shower. At night, when I don't want her to be so stimulated, the mobile gets hidden away.) As you can see, she LOVES the mobile!

After the initial excitement dies down, it's then time for some serious contemplation of those black and white shapes.

Happy 4th of July week, everyone!

P.S. Here are her current likes and dislikes.

Right now she likes:
+ trying to sit (while very well supported around the waist/torso!)
+ sucking on her thumb and first two fingers (all at the same time)
+ her mobile
+ being splashed in the tub

And she does not like:
- having to take a break from mealtime in order to burp

- getting out of the bathtub
- bedtime
- the person holding her to be sitting down