The Lovely Land of Solids (Week 25, Day 2)

Big Milestone this weekend! We started Madeline on solids this weekend. She’s been eyeing our food for a while, and is now sitting up mostly on her own - she’ll still topple over after a while, but for the most part she’s able to hold herself up. So although we are a week ahead of the doctor recommended 6 month mark for starting solids, we thought we’d go ahead and go for it. Saturday morning I left Phil to take care of Maddy, and I marched off to the fancy supermarket to get some organic rice cereal - the specially made for baby kind.

Saturday afternoon, we decided it was time to tackle this next chapter in Maddy’s life. She seemed just as excited as us - we got her all strapped in to the brand new highchair, and she looked at us as if we were about to take a roller coaster ride - her eyes couldn't have gotten wider. With a spoon full of breast milk and rice cereal, we went in for the first bite. Maddy dutifully opened her mouth wide, and let us pour the barely solid mixture in. And then she just looked at us. I don’t think she really knew what to think about the whole situation. We continued in this way, one spoonful at a time, and Maddy became more and more intrigued with the spoon as we continued. By the end, she was trying to grab everything in sight - the spoon, the bowl, her bib, everything. Unfortunately I think the introduction of something new to her system didn't agree with her - she was pretty fussy for the rest of the night, and didn't sleep well through the evening. Of course it’s hard to tell if it from her first solids, teething, or a myriad of other things that she can’t communicate right now.

Sunday, after a lovely morning getting to know the church we are joining as part of Madeline’s Baptism, and a stroll through a wonderful fall festival on a perfect September afternoon, we decide to make Solid Foods Attempt #2. This time, Maddy know’s what’s coming, and she is excited. She seems as excited about the actual food she’s eating this time as the spoon that’s it’s on. And she eats a good portion of the minuscule serving. AND most of it seems to land squarely in her mouth, and stay there.

As with everything else, Phil and I are having a blast with this new stage in her life, and can’t see what the future has to hold now that the options for feeding Maddy have infinitely expanded.

It's ALL Wrong (Week 24, Day 5)

Last night I took a break from working all night to do some catching up on reading about my baby girl’s development - Madeline has been eye Mommy and Daddy’s food lately, and as we are getting close to 6 months, it’s time we started testing out solids. So rather than going in completely blind into the experience, I thought I should read up on which foods to introduce first, any tips/tricks I should know about, and what to expect. I pulled out my handy “What to Expect in the First Year” and some other parenting primers to get caught up.After reading a few paragraphs, I was reminded why I had stopped reading word for word every parenting book given to me. While there were definitely helpful tips that I will consider when we make our first journey into real food land, the book also highlighted all the things that I’m doing wrong in raising my abundantly happy and healthy little girl. Some examples:

1. By now, I should be teaching her to drink out of a cup. Not a sippy cup. A real cup. What? My daughter is a little over 5 months old. She can’t sit up by herself, and spends most of her time on her tummy. And I’m supposed to be teaching her to hold until a cup, and drink by herself? Also, the book was insistent I should be feeding her water, which was news to me. I called the doctor today about some bowel issues Maddy was having, and asked about this water thing and if I was missing the boat by not introducing water into my daughters world. The doctor laughed and said that there was no need for me to be concerned.  

2. She should be sleeping fully through the night. Okay, I have to admit I expected that one, but I did not expect the accompanying tails of “behavioral issues” and “development issues” that went along with said fact. I know plenty of people that have children who did not start sleeping through the night until late in the first year, and to be fair, when Maddy is healthy, I am only up with her once in the night. When she’s not healthy - a cold, ear infection, or diaper rash can send her back to her infant days of up several times a night. So while she is not there yet, she’s close. Really close. And I’m pretty sure she doesn't have any terrible behavioral or developmental issues to show for it.

3. We recently bought Maddy an “Exersaucer”. We were really excited about this purchase - Maddy is starting to sit up more and more every day, and loves interacting with her toys. We thought this would be a great way to strengthen her legs, and give her some fun playtime. Apparently that’s wrong too - the books said that too much time in the exersaucer is constraining the the child, and doesn't develop the child’s legs the same way that floor time does.  It also said to not leave the baby in the Exersaucer all day. Well, I’m pretty sure doing anything for too long - including sitting on the couch - is not good for you, and I had not planned on having the Exersaucer replace our parenting duties.

While I hate to admit it, as I’m reading through all the dos and don’t the books have to offer, I keep hearing the motto my Dad repeated over and over again throughout my childhood: “All things in moderation”. These books are providing cautionary tales to all mothers, so that they don’t go to extremes with any one thing. If I tried adhere to every single thing the parenting books told me, I would probably be driving myself (and my daughter) up the wall. And I doubt she’d be any happier.

So now that I've gotten the tips I need to feel confident to move forward with the next adventure in parenting, I’ll close the books for another month or so, and not worry about doing everything right - I’ll just worry about loving my baby and making sure she is as happy as can be.

What's In A Name? (Week 24, Day 3)

It’s another week of work. We've all gotten used to the schedule, gotten over our initial daycare colds, and are now plodding along in our routine. For my husband and I, our time with Maddy is getting more fun every single day - with all her new discoveries, and her abundance of happiness is contagious. Our mornings, though early, are spent playing on the floor and laughing with our daughter. And while Madeline goes to sleeps very early and it’s a struggle to get home, get her changed and fed before she drifts off to sleep, every evening is special, and tonight was even more golden. Maddy was in a great mood at the end of the day - playing with her friend Juliana and giggling and laughing when I arrived at daycare, and became even more excited when we saw me. She is now starting to recognize names - her own and others. When I sat down and talked to her, and asked her what she and Juliana did today, she consciously looked over at Juliana. When you say her name now, she now looks toward you - both to Maddy and Madeline (I was worried she would not know her full name, so this is a blessing!).

Even more than names, she is now starting to recognize faces. She knows Mommy and Daddy. And she LOVES when Mommy and Daddy are with her at the same time. Today, I got her home, and went through our usual nighttime routine - selecting pajamas (she really likes to choose them herself, and shows her approval by trying to get as much of her chosen sleeper into her mouth as possible), changing diapers, nursing, reading a book and singing a song. Tonight, Daddy made it home in time to see Maddy before she went to sleep, and she could not have been more excited to have both of us there - she kept looking from one of us to another and grinning. Daddy even read her a book before bed, and she loved it. I can’t think of many things better in life than watching a man fall in love with his daughter - it is truly a beautiful thing.

As Maddy drifted off to sleep I marveled at the life lottery that I had won with my gorgeous daughter and great husband. Some days are long and hard, but the family I come home to make all of it worthwhile.

Changes Are Brewing (Week 23, Day 6)

This week has been a whirlwind. Saturday was the final street festival in Chicago that just happened to be right outside our front door, and the weather was glorious. We invited people over to enjoy the festival, and had more children attend the gathering than ever before - oh how life has changed from parties of the past! Maddy was a champ through the whole day, and once again proved what a happy, social baby she is. She even napped during the party- with the noise and commotion right outside her door. I'm hoping its good training for later in life, and she'll be able to sleep anywhere!

Sunday provided a stark contrast to Saturday - it was rainy, cold and dreary, and was the perfect excuse to stay in and watch football, and do some nap time with the baby. Maddy has begun to enjoy sleeping on Mommy's chest again, and mommy doesn't mind one bit.

The rest of the week has been long and hard, with the daily grind really feeling like a grind. Work is manic, and I'm doing my best to keep up. Every day I race out to pick up my girl, and it's my favorite part of the day- her big gummy grins light up my world and I quickly forget all the days challenges and move into 'Enjoying Madeline' time. 

Maddy is in her own routine now and is so close to sleeping through the night. I know big milestones are close- she can almost hold her own bottle, she days from sitting up on her own, and crawling is just around the corner. And it's just about time to introduce solids.

So for now, I'll enjoy our end of the day rendezvous and snuggle fests, knowing they may change before I can blink.

Baby Pollock (Week 22, Day 7)

Another week has passed, and our daily routine has seemed to become more, well, routine. However, there were three key points to the week that I wanted to make sure to not forget:

1. At daycare this week, they taught Madeline to paint. At 5 months! Now, I’m not saying she is a Picasso - she’s probably more influenced by Pollock at this point - but more importantly, she had a blast. There is another child in the daycare her same age, and the nannies decided to set them up in a mini highchair, give them some paint, and let them go to town. They took pictures and sent them to me (one thing I love about these ladies!) and said they could barely stop laughing because they were having so much fun. I loved that they did something I never would have thought of doing with Maddy - heck, I didn't even think she could sit up in one of those chairs! I love that she got to have new experiences with the other babies, and I love that they saved her “artwork” and we now have her first piece prominently hanging on our refrigerator.  I of course would have liked to have been there to experience the whole thing with her, but have to remind myself that it’s good for her to have fun times and experiences with others, and it will help her to grow and become more independent.

2. This week, one of my dearest friends Gina had her second child (a beautiful little boy Jack) and I was able to visit them at the hospital. She delivered at the same hospital that I had Madeline in, and it was my first time being back there since she was released. It was a somewhat surreal experience, to be in the maternity ward visiting, and all the emotions and experiences of those first days of motherhood come rushing back. Holding Gina’s healthy little boy, he felt light as a feather - he was born a month early, but was bigger than Maddy at birth, and I found it absolutely amazing how quickly you can forget how small your child was at birth - Maddy is so much bigger today than those first days at the hospital, but it seems like no time has gone by. Being there and sharing this special time with Gina and her family, it brought back how wonderful those first few days are with your new addition.

3. Maddy has really started to understand who Mommy and Daddy are, and loves to be with both of us, and we love our time together. Phil and I drop Maddy off together at daycare most mornings - so far it’s worked out with both our schedules, and we love spending the mornings together as a family. Also, with her sleep habits, she is usually asleep by the time Phil gets home from work, so it’s a nice time for him to get spend time with Maddy.  

Today we did our usual routine, getting ready to go, packing all our bags up and heading out to daycare. Nothing was different, nothing was out of the ordinary. But for the first time, as Phil and I were leaving the Infant room waving goodbye to our sweet baby girl, and Maddy was doing tummy time and smiling up at us, she realized we were leaving and started to cry. She has never done that before - not once. She’s actually barely acknowledged we’d left. But today it seemed to click that we were leaving and not coming back for a few hours. And she didn't like it. It only lasted for a few seconds - Miss Sarah was there with a hug and a toy to play with, and Maddy quickly moved on to her next area of focus. But Mommy didn't. It was hard to see my little girl cry when I left, and harder to realize that it won’t be the last of it - whether it’s to go to work, have a date night, or who knows what other incidents will come up, there will be times when I have to leave my baby, and she will not like it. And I don’t see it getting any easier.

Taking Tummy Time to a Whole New Level(Week 22, Day 3)

It's 9:30 PM, and it might as well be midnight, as I'm the only one in the house up. I know I should be sleeping, and that Maddy is going to wake up any minute wanting to nurse, or cuddle, or just protest sleep in general. Phil and I have taken turns trying to soothe her this evening, and after finally getting her to sleep, decided staying up to a normal bedtime was just too much effort, and gave in to exhaustion.

Except now I can't sleep. Why, you might ask? Because Maddy has hit another milestone. This one is called "I like to sleep on my stomach". It's a new one, and tonight is Maddy's first test drive of this recent preference. And so now, after months of worrying about SIDS and having the saying "back to sleep" rammed into my head by every doctor out there, my baby is peacefully sleeping on her belly. And my options are either to wake her up and move her, or let her sleep and lay here watching the baby monitor for signs of movement, and worry about her breathing habits. I know her neck is absolutely strong enough now to support her head, and that she is perfectly capable of rolling into whatever position she chooses. However none of these facts are currently helping me sleep. So here are lay, watching my baby sleep, and knowing this will be another first that is going to worry only mommy.

5 Month Old (Week 22, Day 1)

I have a 5 month old! Who would believe it - the time has flown by, and our little girl is longer than ever before. At 5 months, she is already stretching the limits of some of her 6 month clothes, and it won’t be long before I’m having to change out her wardrobe once again (FYI - I just changed out her last wardrobe last week - I’m starting to feel like this will be a frequent routine). It seems in the last few days that she has stretched even more, and the baby fat on her legs is morphing into lean limbs that are getting ready to crawl and move very soon.

Her 5 month milestone coincided with Grandparents day at daycare, and it worked that Madeline’s grandparents that live close by were free to come down to the city and spend the afternoon with her. I was admittedly a little bit nervous for them to be at daycare for the first time, and worried that I could not leave work early to spend time with them and help show them around. Luckily everything went very smoothly, and they were able to find the daycare, and the staff there was helpful in showing them around. When I arrived at the end of the day Maddy was happily playing with Grandma and Grandpa. The only snafu was that Maddy’s cute little pink dress I had dressed her in that morning was long gone - Maddy had a diaper leak first thing in the morning and was wearing her backup clothes by the time the grandparents had arrived, but no one seemed to mind.

In honor of her 5 months in this world, we once again carted out Darth and Yoda to celebrate. She is becoming more aware of her little friends, and said hello to Darth Vader by sticking his hand in her mouth. I think she is really taking a liking to them both ;)

Maddy and her buddies