Friday, April 9, 2010

100 Days


The Tiny Overlord has been ruling our house and hearts for 100 days as of yesterday. So very many changes have happened.

The Tiny Overlord's Current Decrees:

1. The Tiny Overlord shall eat anytime she wishes. She holds on to me when she's nursing now. Sometimes it's my bra, and sometimes my shirt. And sometimes she still just claws my chest; I look like I've been attacked by a very angry cat.

2. The Tiny Overlord shall be kept warm. This has become much easier with the arrival of spring. I'm looking out the kitchen windows at the new spring leaves unfolding. The house across the way is hidden once again, and the sunlight is bright and warm. Most of the birds are back, and the woods are full of their songs. The Tiny Overlord is pleased with this, as she enjoys looking at the birds. And oh, the pollen is back. Anything over 120 is high; earlier this week the count was over 5,000. The entire state is yellow. The Tiny Overlord does not seem to mind, however.

3. The Tiny Overlord shall be kept entertained. I can't wait to put her in her Exer-saucer at the end of this month; I think she's really going to enjoy it. She's starting to play with her toys now. The other day she grabbed a butterfly on her floor gym. It has wings filled with crinkle stuff - cellophane, maybe? She seemed surprised and pleased.

4. The Tiny Overlord shall be carried so that she may enjoy looking at new sights. She observes and interacts with the world around her now. When we go for walks, instead of immediately falling asleep, she watches everything. We've been going out on the porch and sitting in one of the rocking chairs. She watches the birds, and the wind in the trees. I try to explain things to her, and sometimes she talks to me, but usually she's too busy watching.

5. The Tiny Overlord now demands that her limbs obey her.
She's much improved at grabbing things. This includes grabbing handfuls of our flesh and trying to pull it off; quite painful on the face, neck and forearms. She has almost complete control of her arms now; it's rare for them to fly out of control and smack her in the face. Her head control is getting close to perfect; all that time spent on tummy time was worth it!

6. The Tiny Overlord is beginning to see advantages to being self mobile, instead of demanding that her minions carry her everywhere. If she's on her back she can push with her legs and scoot a bit. She's getting better at it on her tummy, too, but she still has a tendency to put her face on the floor while doing so.

7. The Tiny Overlord shall be waited upon even during her sleep.
Unfortunately one of her decrees is that I shall lay down with her whenever she wishes to sleep at night. For now, that means I have an effective bedtime of 8 pm. I am trying to assure and instruct Her Majesty that she can indeed fall asleep without nursing. She is not at all convinced that I know what I'm talking about, but she is grudgingly willing to give me a chance.

8. Except for sleep, The Tiny Overlord is tired of lying on her back.
This means that her bouncy throne is now at a much more upright angle, and she is utilizing her Bumbo throne more often.

The Tiny Overlord has gone from from a squalling, screaming alien creature that did nothing but cry, poop and sleep (and not nearly enough of that) to a (still) alien who smiles and coos and plays with us, in addition to the aforementioned crying, pooping and sleeping (and still not nearly enough of that).

Last Day of maternity leave



There were times in those rough first weeks when I thought this time would never come. That changed to looking forward to her growth and changes and milestones, and dreading the end of our time together. But dreaded or anticipated, days come to pass.

Did you know Canada gives its mothers a full year with their babies? And some Scandanavian countries give two? Why does the U.S. think 3 measly months is enough?

I've been working on some sleep training, using methods in The No Cry Sleep Solution, which is an excellent book. It makes a lot of sense, and I really think it will help. But for this one last day, I'm indulging myself, and letting her sleep on my lap.

And I'm crying.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A Conversation with the Tiny Overlord

Here the Tiny Overlord directs her minions. We're not certain what she was saying, but it was obviously important.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Mommy Moment

This morning was the first time I used Mommy Spit (tm) to clean something off of her face. When I caught myself doing it, I laughed so hard!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Update on the Update

Today she scooted forward a few inches while she was on her tummy. Later in the evening, she gave a very short but distinctive laugh.

More Silly Singing


Me singing while the Petite Princess looks on approvingly. To the tune of "Baby Bumblebee"

I'm waking from napping as sleepy as can be
Won't my mommy be so proud of me?
I'm waking up from napping as sleepy as can be
Oh! Mommy's gonna feed me!


I'm drinking up my milk as fast as can be
Won't my mommy be so proud of me?
I'm drinking up my milk as fast as can be
Oh! Mommy burped me!

I'm burping at my mommy as loud as can be
Won't my mommy be so proud of me?
I'm burping at my mommy as loud as can be
Oh! Mommy kissed me!


I'm smiling at my mommy, full of glee
Won't my mommy be so proud of me?
I'm smiling at my mommy, full of glee
Oh! Mommy tickled me!

I'm laughing at my mommy, tee hee hee
Won't my mommy be so proud of me?
I'm laughing at my mommy, tee hee hee
Oh! She hugged me!

I'm giggling and I'm dancing for my mommy
Won't my mommy be so proud of me?
I'm giggling and I'm dancing for my mommy
Oh! She smelled me!

I'm filling up my diaper full of pee
Won't my mommy be so proud of me?
I'm filling up my diaper full of pee
Oh! Mommy changed me!

I'm starting to be a baby who's sleepy
Won't my mommy be so proud of me?
I'm starting to be a baby who's sleepy
Oh! Time for my nap...

14 Weeks



The Runty Royalty turns 14 weeks tomorrow. Here's an update on her:

She's trying to sit up! Her legs come up when she contracts her abdominal muscles, so instead of sitting up she does baby crunches, but that's okay. It'll strengthen her muscles, and she'll figure out the coordination soon enough.

If we let her hold our fingers, she can pull herself into a sitting position. She's very proud of herself for this, and rightly so.

This past Friday morning she discovered her toes. Since then she's forgotten and rediscovered them a few times.

There's a spot of white on her lower gum that I swear is a tooth just starting to break the surface. I think this explains the random fussiness we've been encountering and the return of sleeping problems.

She's sleeping at night, but only if I'm next to her and she falls asleep nursing. I just downloaded The No Cry Sleep Solution and I'm starting some of the suggestions in the book to hopefully help her to learn that she can get herself to sleep. It's not off to a smooth start, though, because she's being fussy and not napping well today. I finally got her to sleep in my lap. I'm definitely her touchstone for sleep - she just woke up, looked me in the eyes, and went right back to sleep as soon as she knew I was here.

I'm working on getting her to take pacifiers again. She's not only taking them, but she's getting much better at keeping them in her mouth. I know it's a habit we'll have to break later, but for now they're helping her to sleep and that's more important at the moment. Also, it's easier to get them off pacifiers than to stop sucking their thumbs. I sucked mine until I was 6, despite the very best efforts of my mom.

I'm worried about next week, when I go back to work. Sharon is wonderful, and Her Runty Royalty seems to get along with her fine, but it's still going to be a huge adjustment. For both of us.

Steve probably won't get home with her until 5:45 or 6. We start her bedtime routine at 7:30 with the goal of having her asleep by 8. I'm going to go from having all day with her to having roughly two hours. Should I go pick her up early? Should I go home and get all of the cleaning and cooking done so that when she's home I can spend my time with her and just her? Steve is looking into the possibility of going in to work early, so he'll leave the house when I do in the morning, and then leaving work early. It would give us another hour with her.