Four Month Check Up

Dear Friends and Family,

We brought P in for her four month check up.

Kate Moss is still 50th percentile height and head circumference with a 10th percentile weight. Our little lollipop.

We upped her Zantac dosage since she was beginning to revert to newborn behavior - wanting to be held constantly, crying in the car, squirming on her green pillow, and looking sad.

The rash on her neck is a good thing. It means she's filling out. We can treat it with athlete's foot cream if we want.

Her hearing is fine. Her shots are up to date. And, we got the go ahead to attempt solids any time we want.

We came home and she did an art project for school. And, just to keep us entertained, she sat up unassisted. Not tripod with her arms supporting her. Just plain up. Wow! My baby's all grown up now.


Cheers!
mouse

Autumn Chill

Dear Friends and Family,

The winds been playing rearrange the deck chairs on the mouse roof since Sunday evening. And, with it has come autumn weather - as in need a coat because it's brisk weather.

This year is odd. It didn't feel like summer until almost Labor Day. And now, just a couple of weeks later, it feels almost like early winter.

G is for Glaciation. (nerdy baby flash cards for P) G is for Gore. (mommy commentary)


Cheers!
mouse

09.28.09: Calm before the Storm

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a long list of errands to run this weekend, but ended up accomplishing not much of anything.

Saturday, we slept in. Then, it was a flurry of activity to get out to the mailbox to get home to go to meet friends for lunch to get a wedding gift to get home to meet friends to eat dinner and put P to sleep to get work done. See what I mean?

Sunday, I got up early and did more work since Mr. mouse and P were sleeping. I vetoed F1, and instead we gave P a bath and ate lunch at home. Then, I passed out while Mr. mouse got some work done. We went out to dinner and then Mr. mouse passed out while I got my standard evening to do list done.

And, now it's Monday and the start of a hectic week. Tonight: work. Tuesday: doctor's appointment. Wednesday: concert. Thursday: breathe. Friday: pack.

Pioneer's picked up new tricks. She reaches for our faces. She passes things from hand to hand. She picks up her pacifier. And, she crawls backwards. It's all darling.

And, Mr. mouse may be brought round to the food train. I'm for trying it since it decreases milk demand making my job easier although I am afraid of ye olde nursing strike. Mr. mouse was all for delaying as long as humanly possible since, after all, why not? But, now he's being brought around by the oddest of arguments: waiting may make P a pickier eater. Okay, if that's what works for him, fine with me. We'll see.


Cheers!
mouse

More Magic Tricks

Dear Friends and Family,

P continues to grow and do new things.

She's beginning to turn the pages when we read to her. She'll skip to a random page, but still, it's something new.

She's beginning to put her hands on the bottle. She can't hold the bottle herself, but still, it's something new.

She's beginning to push off with one leg. She can't crawl. She goes in circles, but still, it's something new.

She's beginning to hold my breast when she feeds. Not sure what it accomplishes, but still, it's something new.

And, she continues to eat everything she can get her hands on. I guess it's her way of exploring the world.


Cheers!
mouse

Sleep Training

Dear Friends and Family,

Four months old, and we're being sleep trained.

P started crying on the way home last night. And, after eating like it was going out of fashion, she fell asleep on her green pillow. She stayed asleep in my arms for her 20 minutes. And, then, she slept in our bed through the night.

After three nights of 2 or 3 o'clock feedings, it felt heavenly to sleep through the night. I feel like we're being sleep trained.


Cheers!
mouse

Running on Empty, Again

Dear Friends and Family,

P's gotten up almost every night this week. And, I'm working through a cold compliments of daycare. Add to that two jobs and driving. And, you have one exhausted mouse.

Thinking about taking Friday off to catch up on rest.


Cheers!
mouse

Morning Thoughts

Dear Friends and Family,

oblivious mouse
vivid dreams, multiple nights
a little worried


Cheers!
mouse

09.21.09: P and Great Grandma

Dear Friends and Family,

After all my griping, I'm glad we went home.

I'm not sure my grandma recognized either Mr. mouse or me, but when she said baby, my heart broke. We got to the hospital shortly after lunch. My mom fed my grandmother while I fed P. Then, we spent some time talking to my grandmother, but with little response.

Mr. mouse fed my grandmother after my mom was done. And, with his patience, he got her to eat almost three quarters of her lunch. He's amazing.

Around 3, when it was time for P's bottle, she started crying. We decided to let her fuss and brought her over to my grandmother who heard her cries and opened her eyes and said baby. Then, she said the Korean equivalent of oh my. Then, she asked if it was a boy or a girl. She patted P and tried to hold her close to her. Then, she told me her lower back hurt from lying in one spot, so we moved her to make her more comfortable and she fell back asleep.

It wasn't a long visit. And, it was sad to see her so weak. But, to see her interact with P. It was worth it. I'm not sure how seeing her earlier would have been since it's only recently that P would have been capable of interacting.

We called yesterday and my mom said my grandma's not doing as well as she was on Saturday. She hadn't eaten much yesterday. I'm not sure how much of that is chance and how much of that is that Mr. mouse is so patient. I want to believe the former, but I can't help believing a tiny bit of the latter. I just want her to eat so she can regain her strength and get better.

In contrast, Sunday, we stayed in the neighborhood all day. We slept in and ate a simple lunch while P was napping. We hit the farmer's market, the bakery and the baby store. P and I napped while Mr. mouse took care of the house. We ate dinner and everyone turned in early last night.


Cheers!
mouse

Running on Fumes

Dear Friends and Family,

And, because my parents are my parents, my sister calls me yesterday to tell me that my grandmother had a stroke last Sunday. And, we can't make heads or tails of how she's doing since our parents are loathe to share anything that could make us worry.

So, what are our options? One of us has to get on a plane and go home and assess the situation. And, this time, it looks like it's me with Mr. mouse and P in tow which wrecks any plans I had to catch up on sleep this weekend and just enjoy some quiet time with P.

I know I sound resentful. And, to be honest, I am. Not of going to see my grandmother in the hospital, but that my parents think they're making our lives easier. It'd be so much easier if they could be honest with us and treat us like adults. Then, we could trust them when they say it's okay, no rush to get here. But, we can't (trust them) so we can't (plan the trip).

Annoyed. And, tired. And, resentful.


Cheers! (or not)
mouse

PS: Between traffic, work, and a school call, I feel like I haven't seen P all week. This is probably adding to my sense of resentment.

Running on Empty

Dear Friends and Family,

Mr. mouse and I both have had busy weeks this week at work. That means we're both running on fumes. Tonight will be interesting.

For some reason, P is no longer as entertained with looking at us. She looks and then she moves on. We haven't gotten the big smiles and long looks we've been spoiled with.


Cheers!
mouse

Grand Social Experiment Update II

Dear Friends and Family,

An update on an update.

Pioneer

Knock on wood. She's been sleeping through the night. She wakes up between 4:00 and 4:30 in the morning. This is fine with me since I get up at four o'clock either way.

Pumping

So far it looks like I can eliminate the 3:30 PM pumping session. I increased the other sessions to 15 minutes and added five minutes onto both of her feeding sessions. I decreased the 3:30 PM session from 12 to 9 to 6 to now 3, taking out three minutes every week. It feels weird reducing the time, almost like weaning. But, I figure I can always add it back in if needed.

Bottle Size

P's bottle is six ounces. Her teachers say it seems like a good amount for her. We weigh her daily. As long as she's gaining, I'll assume she's okay. If she stalls out, I'll increase her bottle size. The other thing we do each week is we weigh her before and after feeding. The last two weeks she ate 5.75 ounces, so I'm assuming that's another triangulation point.

Weight Gain

From the past month, looks like P's settled in at the six to seven percentile point. She's gaining steadily, so I'll assume she's okay until we go back for her four month visit and get told otherwise.

Overall Assessment

While it's a little more tiring, I'm looking forward to the upcoming flexibility. Next week, if we continue with the experiment, I'll be down to two pumping sessions at work - one in the morning and one at lunch. I can also do my lunch session at one o'clock which is a huge bonus, since I won't be under the gun to get another session in before the rooms close at four. I'll also be free to go out on the weekends from lunch until dinner. Currently, we need to plan for either being home for "high tea" or for feeding her on the road which is okay but not great. Now, we can grab her bottle and feed her and I don't need to be by a pump. I think it's worth the extra tiredness.

We'll see.


Cheers!
mouse

Time Warp

Dear Friends and Family,

Oh no. It's happening again.

I felt like I had a grip on time. But, it's slowly slipping away. Only yesterday it was 9/1. Now, it's 9/15. That means 9/30 is right around the corner. And, before you know it I'll become one of those people. The ones who say treasure every moment because the first year goes so fast. Only, time was going fast before P, so I'm not sure correlation is causation.


Cheers!
mouse

09.14.09: P and the Unicorn

Dear Friends and Family,

What a fabulous weekend.

Saturday, we spent the morning playing with P. Then, had a couple of friends over for lunch before heading out to a local art fair.

P's gotten really good at picking up objects and putting them into her mouth. She's also gotten good at the sitting thing. Since the lighting was good and she was happy, we played and took pictures. Our favorite way to spend a weekend morning.

Our friends brought over their newborn. He's eight weeks old, but through a combination of genetics and a lot of formula, he's nearly P's size even if she's nearly double his age. He was on his back blissfully staring off as newborns do. And, she was on her stomach watching him intently. Well, we kept bringing them closer and closer to see what would happen... Well, eventually they got close enough that he was able to reach her face and he did and she startled and the sad face followed by the loud cries made me get up to go over and soothe her. She plays with other babies all of the time at daycare, I guess she's just not used to it at home.

The art fair. It was palpable. The squeals. The gasps. The wake of commentary. The oh-my-gods. The heads turning. The people back tracking to see P. Mr. mouse commented that he could have been a unicorn and no one would have noticed him. They would have just noticed P. Sad, but probably true.

We picked up a shirt for her. We're buying 6-12 month clothing, not because she's anywhere near that size, but she's got a ton of 0-3 she's wearing and two drawers of 3-6 waiting for her. And, we picked up two more of our favorite blue jumper for her.

Saturday night, she crashed hard after the full day out.

Sunday, after some super fun play time, we headed out to watch the F1 race. She did really well and even took a cat nap at the bar. We walked the neighborhood in the afternoon. We bought a present for B and Chef M. They're moving next week and we wanted to get them a little something.

Then, P had a little trouble falling asleep. So, we stayed in for a couple of hours before heading over to B and Chef M's place for dinner. P ate just after we arrived, smiled for her adoring crowds, and fell asleep on the couch while we ate dinner like normal people. She slept the car ride home. And, she slept in her crib when we transferred her.

Like I said, what a fabulous weekend.


Cheers!
mouse

Abacadabra, and Presto! Out of This Hat...

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday, P decided to master tripod (sitting by herself, propped up on her two arms). She did it once in the morning when I was with her at daycare and by nightfall she was doing pretty consistent rounds of it.

And, if that wasn't enough, yesterday, P decided to master reaching for objects. I got a good video of it last night while we were playing.

I brought her into work yesterday during a charity fund raising lunch and the visible oohs and aahs were almost comical. I know we get a lot of comments on our walks both to us and in our wake. I know friends tell me she's cute. But, yesterday, she took it too new heights. It was like she was QE2 walking a receiving line.

I love our P. Even if she were a baldie that no one remarked on, I would love her the same.


Cheers!
mouse

Work Changes

Dear Friends and Family,

And, just to keep things interesting, I was offered a new job yesterday and will be starting it today. It's with the same company with the same group, so at least there are some constants. But, new boss and new role so I'll be figuring it all out.

I'm a little anxious and very excited.


Cheers!
mouse

Another Steep Learning Curve

Dear Friends and Family,

P turns four months old this week. And, just when you think you've gotten the hang of it all, you realize they're ready to hit you with a bunch of new things you know nothing about:

1. teething
2. oral hygiene
3. solid foods
4. sleep training
5. eliminating the pacifier

And, then the big one: baby-proofing the house.

Time to get a reading!

I haven't written about her development in awhile since she rolled over in late August. In the past two weeks, she's gotten really good at rolling. She's woken herself a couple of times with her face mashed against the cribs bars. She continues to suck on her hands incessantly. And, she's begun mouthing her toys as well. She clasps her hands together frequently. She's beginning to hold her toys. She enjoys playing up/down with Mr. mouse where he lifts her like a reverse push-up and then brings her back to his chest. She's bearing weight on her legs well and still trying to figure out sitting unassisted. More smiles now than coos. Tracks voices. Watches intently while we're eating. And, is a champ about eye contact and being alert. And, last but not least, seems to think her name is "look at all that hair."

Lots of good stuff.


Cheers!
mouse

09.08.09: Labor Day Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

We didn't do much over the long weekend. Just quiet time at home with P.

Saturday, we slept in, checked mail, returned a car seat, ate some barbecue and came home for the evening.

Sunday, we slept in, let P nap, shopped for some baby clothes, ate dinner and came home for the evening. Sadly, we went through her clothes and sorted out the ones she's finally outgrown.

Monday, we slept in, let P nap, mailed some boxes, and grilled on the deck for the evening.

And, now, it's Tuesday. And, I've got to go get ready for work. Sorry for the short post.


Cheers!
mouse

Morning Thoughts

Dear Friends and Family,

Fall is upon us -
Birds circle and leaves yellow.
Pause to enjoy it.


Cheers!
mouse

Me?

Dear Friends and Family,

What happened to mouse? I'm turned into Pioneer's mom.

I used to be a person with interests and passions and a life. And, now, sadly, every day I write about my daughter. And, even more sadly, I'm okay with that.

My interests and passions and life will be there, ready for me to pick up when I'm ready to return to it. P's first year won't be. I know the pace of change will make it seem like every year goes by in the blink of an eye. But, that seems especially true of the first year. So, I'm okay with putting other things on hold for now.

I know!

Time for a Top 3 update.

1. Pioneer: I want to spend the time with her enjoying life in general. I want to play with her and see her develop. Her smile makes it all worthwhile. She's such a happy baby now.
2. work: I'm getting back into the swing of things after being gone for three months. It's still a little complicated with the new commute and the thrice daily sprints to the lactation rooms. But, it's working and I'm enjoying it.
3. um... and truth be told... that's about it... between those two, my days are filled and my nights are filled.

Once I have some bandwidth open up, I'll add a third.


Cheers!
mouse

Vacation Day

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm taking a vacation day today. Mr. mouse, Pioneer, and I are headed to the ball game.

Mr. mouse is at work. Pioneer is asleep. And, I'm doing my morning routine.

Life is good.


Cheers!
mouse

Grand Social Experiment Update

Dear Friends and Family,

We started an experiment last week with Pioneer where we would let her sleep through her 10:30 PM feeding instead of waking her for it.

So far...

Pioneer woke the first two nights in the middle of the night. We had traded a 10:30 PM session for a 2:00 AM feeding session. But, the last three or four nights she's been sleeping through to the next morning. Most people would not define four o'clock in the morning as sleeping through. Since I am already up at 4:00 AM, I am fine with it.

I wanted to use the shift in sleep cycles to try and remove the 3:30 PM pumping session at work and add a 10:30 PM pumping session at home. So far, it hasn't worked exactly the way I wanted. I've been pumping around 9:15 PM to go to sleep earlier. But, the evening session isn't nearly as productive as the 3:30 session usually is. I've increased my other sessions from 12 minutes to 15 minutes to see if that can make up the delta. It hasn't quite equaled out. I decreased the 3:30 PM session to nine minutes this week. We'll see how it goes. I won't eliminate the 3:30 session until I figure it all out. My thought is I can always increase back to 12 minutes next week if I need to. I'm assuming I've got that much flexibility in this whole game.

Back to Pioneer. Last week I increased her bottle from 5.5 ounces to 5.75 ounces. She hadn't been able to finish the 6 ounce bottle a couple of weeks ago, so I figured I would step her up in smaller increments. She's been finishing the 5.75 ounce bottle, albeit with more spit up. Today, I packed 6 ounce bottles for her. We'll see how she does. My logic is, if she's skipping her night feeding session, she needs to increase, gradually, to 6.5 ounces. We'll do 6 ounces this week and go from there.

Which bring us to part four of the experiment. Pioneer's weight gain. We weighed P on Sunday night and she had gained weight from the week before, but not as much as I had hoped. It was tough to say how much of that was the new routine and how much of that was the weekend trip. We weighed her again last night and she had plumped up a little. If she continues to gain, we'll continue this experiment.

Overall assessment, it's worth continuing to see how our experiment evolves. So far there's nothing we've done that can't be undone.


Cheers!
mouse