Still Sleeping

Sorry, folks, but it feels like whenever I have time to shove a camera in the baby's face, it's always when she's sleeping. She was quite angelic this morning before the fussing started, wasn't she?

School Picture Day!

Not exactly, but doesn't it look like she's all dressed up in her white shirt and black vest, smiling her nicest school-picture smile?

A Free Toy

I don't know what's normal, but ever since Smacky's birth, her belly button has stuck out. It makes a crackling sound when I push it in, which amuses me, but I'm a responsible grownup and I don't play with it very often. (Not more than 2-3 times a day, that is.)

Recently, upon the advice of my mom and a nurse I queried, we visited our doctor, who said that her belly button is, indeed, herniated.

Most of them right themselves within a couple of years, she said, and the crackling sound you hear is her intestines poking into her belly button.

Ew, I thought, and vowed to stop playing with my baby's intestines, even if they were a fun and accessible toy.


Above is a photograph of Smacky's protruding belly button, and, by proxy, her crying face. She's not crying because she's in pain, gentle reader; she's simply overly tired (it being 11am, and past time for her morning nap) and she's fighting it as valiantly as she fights any injustice that she takes up as her cause.

Polio, Pertussis and Tetanus, oh my!

Yesterday was the day that lives in moms' minds for a long time: baby's first vaccinations. (dun dun duhhhh)

Smacky has two little scabs on her soft left thigh where the nurse jabbed her. I held her hands to keep them from flailing and the nurse surprised me by getting her leg up on the table and sitting on Smacky's feet. Then two shots, about 10 seconds of screaming, and it was over. Phew! I wasn't sure if she would have a very bad reaction, but this fits with what I've seen so far of her personality- pain tolerant and easy going. What a great baby.

We went downtown to have lunch with Gary today and afterwards she was a little sad and fussy, so I put her down for another nap when we got home. Hopefully she's not feeling too sick because Gary's sister Laurie is in town this weekend and we're planning to spend some time with his family.

Zzzzzzzzz

It's another sleepy morning here at the Raymond Street house.

Smacky and I were up three times in the night, at 12:30, 3:30, and 5, so she's catching up now.

10:17am and counting.

Uneventful Monday

Not much happened today, but in the spirit of updating every day, here is a post.

Smacky is currently making her taking-corners-too-fast squeals, arms splayed on the bed, panting like a dog and sleeping, albeit lightly. Hopefully she'll continue to sleep so I can finish this and slip in beside her, since it's my bedtime, now. (9:30)

Granny came over for a short visit today and then we had a 40-minute nap during which I fed Smacky so inadequately that she finally forced me to awaken and do it correctly. She finds it unacceptable when I fall asleep with the bottle in her mouth because my hand pulls the bottle down and it ends up on the pillow or the bed and that doesn't help her eat, does it! So I wake up, resituate the bottle and fall asleep again, only to be awakened (again!) by her sounds of protest.

Ah, families. We torture each other, yet we can't help loving each other.

Too Much Grog

Don't ask me why, but Portland has a thing for pirates. It may be due to the high amount of creative (and eccentric) people who live here, but then again it may just be due to the high popularity of the Disney movie from a few years ago.

Whatever the reason, we not only have pirate bands in Portland but an actual Pirate Festival. Gary and I thought it would be fun to take Arlo to it, so after Smacky's and my 3 hour nap, we put on our pirate garb and headed out.
Unfortunately, it started sprinkling as soon as we arrived. When Arlo finished getting his skull and flames tattoo, the rain turned into a downpour and we had to eat our ice cream cones under a tree. (Yes, we Oregonians enjoy ice cream even in cold, wet weather!) We finally decided our efforts were better spent elsewhere so we walked through puddles with the rest of the land lubbers and went to visit a bookstore that one of Gary's friends owns.

Please note the before and after photos of Aurora. Before and after grog, that is.

Woohoo, the Zoo!

Smacky slept for the first part of our visit to the zoo on Friday, enjoying her stroller and cozy fleece outfit. Then the sun came out and so did Smacky.

Here she is with my mom, riding frontwards in the bjorn for the first time. Lucky girl gets to see something other than her mount's chest!







The line to see the new baby elephant was way too long so we went to Africa instead. The meerkats were almost cuter than the baby (certainly fluffier), but I had a hard time getting a good photo of them. The one you see here was the lookout, keeping watch against predators while the other kats rummaged around their cage and dug in their holes.

If you haven't been to the Oregon Zoo lately, I highly recommend you go, especially if you have a child. Lots of the exhibits are interactive and the zoo is very kid friendly. Plus they have elephant ears, in case you missed them at the fair this year. No vomit-inducing rides, though.

So Tie-tie

Naptime hit us hard at dinner Friday night. First smacky conked out, then I did.

Babies are so much cuter when they're sleeping than adults.

Snuggle Up

Cuddling feels so good, doesn't it? Especially when you're supposed to go to the zoo for the first time EVAR and it's overcast and cold.

Why not stay in bed just a little longer. Heck, let's stay in bed until 1pm like yesterday! The animals do it, why can't we?

Slugs

Since Aurora's evening meltdowns seem to be from tiredness, I've been trying to get her to nap more during the day.

Unfortunately, she seems to only like to nap when I'm napping beside her (which is good or bad, depending on how much I have to do and how tired I am).

Today we slept, on and off, until 2pm, waking to hit the bottle but not even to change diapers. I think part of her good sleep was due to being extra-toasty warm in her new fleece hoodie and pants.

She had a little bit of crying around 7 (she was hungry) and then went to sleep around 8:30. Poor baby really needed to catch up!

Home on the Range

Smacky and I went to breakfast with Lorraine on Monday, and Smacky wore her new San Francisco duds, sent by her Auntie Tabitha.

She's all tuckered from ropin' steer.

A History of Biting

There was an incident last night.

In the wee, small hours of the morning, when the whole wide world was fast asleep, including me and Aurora, I had a dream. I was helping a friend adjust his suit, and he was being bitchy. Ungrateful man, I thought, and bit him.

What a tiny hand he has! I thought. It fits completely into my mouth.
And then I heard the baby cry, and awoke to discover that I had fit her whole fist into my mouth and chomped. Apparently it didn't hurt too much since she only gave three little cries and fell back asleep. Thank god! Then I woke her again, shaking the bed as I laughed.

When my brother was about the same age, he and my mom and I were going somewhere. Suddenly Jimmy started crying. (See a trend here?)

"What did you do to him?" my mom demanded, unable to see us as she had to continue driving.

"I bited him!" I declared, defiant.

Old habits die hard. I guess the moral is: don't bite anyone, even in your dreams. Unless you're four, and your mom is too busy driving to punish you.

New Sitter

We found a babysitter, someone we've known for a while and who we think is trustworthy.

The armrest was a major selling point for her, I think.

Fact

Did you know that if you jostle a baby after you've fed her a bottleful of milk, her tummy sloshes?

It's true- don't look so surprised.

In the Giant's House

Last night it stayed warm quite late (well, late to me nowadays is 8pm) so to quell Aurora's fussiness we hung out on the front porch. The chair really isn't that big, but isn't she dwarfed?

She's still quite a little baby even though she's 10 pounds now.

Perplexed

Sometimes a baby just needs thinking time.

Or a cervical pillow.

Happy Chubba Wubba

The early morning sun and Aurora's mood helped me capture this shot today. I'm so lucky to have such a happy baby.

Swingtime

After several days of Aurora becoming fussy in the evenings, Gary and I took drastic steps. Aunt Laurie suggested maybe it was the caffeine I'd started drinking again that made Aurora not take naps during the day and then get upset around dinnertime.

Poor baby! Naughty, sleep deprived, Frappucino-loving Mama.

Baby swing to the rescue! It swings and plays music, which is not unlike the music you can hear in the summer emanating from those obnoxious ice cream trucks. It's less brassy and annoying, thank goodness.

Yesterday the swing held her interest (as in, helped her sleep) for several hours. Today we had visitors and a long trip to the fabric store, so she only had a little time to sway with Gary and Arlo watching and reading to her. Luckily she's sleeping well now (it's after midnight) and hopefully the trend will continue!

Oh, and I stopped drinking any caffeine. That's NOT a trend I would like to continue.

Is There No Privacy?

Some people just don't like to be seen when they're eating. And yet other people are always lurking with a camera. Tsk tsk.

Multitasking

Who needs bibs when you can cover the whole baby with a diaper? Plus if she falls asleep afterwards it makes a handy blanket. And they're organic!

And, of course, the indefatigable Baby Power sign. Almost missed that, didn't you?

Ruler of the Roost

Can you tell by their expressions who is the queen and who is merely the queen's servant?

Yes, the small, wiggly one made the tall, lanky one find just the right position for her comfort and happiness. Phew. Good going, Gary. You don't want to make the queen cry!

Horsetail Falls

I've been hankering for some greenspace lately, so Sunday Gary and I drove up the gorge. We took the old highway and passed several waterfalls before arriving at our destination, Horsetail Falls. I strapped the baby into our new baby bjorn (what was I thinking? Did I really need an extra 10 pounds to carry up the trail?!) and we headed up, with me in the lead to set the pace. Huffing and puffing, with Gary behind me to break our fall if needed, we made our way the half mile to the upper falls. Aurora watched the scenery for awhile and then decided her efforts were better spent napping.

It was an 80-degree day but the air was refreshingly cooler as we approached the waterfall. The trail descended to curve underneath a shallow cave, and we walked below the waterfall and thought about living down there. Too damp, I think. Aurora slept through the whole walk and then had a tasty snack once we reached the bottom.

Hey!

This is a repost from my other blog, What the!

Smacky has always been a noisy little creature. Especially when (not) settling in for the night, she has a repertoire of squeaks, groans, mouth smacks (hence the nickname), and particular sounds that are similar to a squeaky fan belt or a car turning a corner too quickly.

I've learned that these sounds, accompanied by her punching and kicking the air, usually mean something is amiss. If she's smacking and awake, that probably means that she's hungry (again). Or she's soaked through her diaper, through the towel and onto the bed (again). Or she's cold. It's wonderful that there are so few things that can be wrong at this age, isn't it?

When I leave her on the boppy on the couch to run into the kitchen or the bathroom, if she thinks I've been gone too long she'll give a little frustrated shriek. Hey! The photo above is actually her yawning, thinking about crying, but then going back to her happy self.

Smacky rarely cries. One thing she DOES hate is having her bottom cleaned with a cold wipe. Whoever invented the wipe warmer was a genius!

Saturday Activities

Exercise was the order of the day today. (Well, as much as I've gotten recently, which is not much.)
Smacky mostly rode, which doesn't require very much effort, I must say. Except for bracing herself when we took the stroller over curbs and across the bumpy field at the park.

Gary and I stopped at Laurelhurst park for a brief jaunt and decided to walk over to Belmont for coffee. It's only about 4 or 5 blocks, and when we got there the Belmont Street Fair was in full blast. Lots of people were milling about; we quickly became overwhelmed by the masses and headed to relatively quiet Hawthorne.

Smacky enjoyed some lukewarm milk and a diaper change (enjoyed might be the wrong word for the latter activity) while Gary and I ate our way across the avenue.

Upon returning home, naps were had by all, following an unfortunate, passionate and loud screaming jag by the baby. I even stripped her and checked her for bee stings (yes, irrational, but after you've tried everything, why not try something else?) which proved fruitless. I finally got her to taste a little milk and she succumbed to the comforting and sustaining bottle, which apparently was her desire from the getgo. Lesson learned: even if baby says she's not hungry, try again, because maybe she is!

Baby Power

Aurora is so dedicated to the cause that she even does the baby power sign in her sleep. Wow. That's inspirational.

Waiting for dinner

Here, Aurora anxiously waits for her dinner bottle.

What's taking it so long? Will it be warm enough? Will it accidentally spill on the way from the kitchen?

So many details to worry about for an already busy baby.

Pillow Hog

Thanks to everyone for their help with Aurora's spit-up issue. I've started feeding her less at a time and elevating her head for a few minutes afterwards. Unfortunately, sometimes my pillow gets hijacked and I have to wait to reclaim it. Tick tick tick. . .

Roly Poly

For someone whose ribs I could see, front and back, when she was born, Aurora is filling in nicely. Is it just me or do you count 7 rolls on that arm?

My, what a stylish hat!

What a weekend we had! Saturday we spent the day at the Oregon State Fair, eating everything fried we could get our paws on, looking at the animals, peeking at all the other little babies and finally vowing never to eat anything ever again as we waddled home. My mom went on a flying saucer ride with Arlo and they were both a little green during the ride home.

In typical Oregon fashion, the sun played peekaboo with us and we were chilly in the shade and crisping in the sun every other minute. Luckily Aurora's Great Aunt Laurie had thoughtfully included a sunhat in Aurora's layette, so baby was protected not only with a shade in front but with a neck-saving flap in back. No rednecks here, thank you very much!

Sunday Aurora and I received visitors at my mom's house (aka Granny) at her Coming Out party. She's a little young and she didn't wear chiffon (100% cotton was the fabric of the day) but it was a successful gathering with two neighbors and three cousins visiting.

My mom's favorite cousin Gail was in town from Seattle on Monday, so Gail came over with Great Great Aunt Betty for a visit. We all met at my mom's again and after the visitors left, Aurora worked out with my mom doing pull ups and pushups until her little arms were rubbery. Well, more rubbery than usual.