Little James

Grandma Madeline is here so I've been getting the low down on baby James. I've found out that James was a tiny baby - 6lb 10oz. Lord knows how Ana got so big! He was long though - 20inches. So basically tall and thin like he is now :) He was born at 9:55pm - of course..... he doesn't like mornings. I have some photos of him but I need to get to a scanner before I can post them. Ana looks just like him - it's uncanny! He was a mellow placid little thing and very content to entertain himself, just like Ana. I guess I have him to thank for that then since I was NOT a mellow baby at all. In that case I suppose will forgive him for giving her the ears!

Mutilation

I snipped a chunk out of Ana's finger last night while attempting to trim her nails. I feel horrible :(

She doesn't seem to worried about it though - which is good.

Baby Jazz

Here's a few pics of me as a baby about Ana's age. I think Ana definately looks a lot more like her dad but she has my facial expressions! She definately doesn't get her hair from me though :)

Hands

Ana is fascinated with her hands lately. She clasps them together all the time and puts them in her mouth. She also catches sight of them now and then and stares at them like she is trying to figure out what they are.

Family Picture

Here we are on thanksgiving with Grandma.

Bumbo!!

Ana is finally developing enough head control to use her bumbo seat! It's cute!

Bills

A while ago we got sent a bill for Ana's bili-light bed for $1400. I sent the bill to my insurance company, and they negotiated the price down to $29.27 and paid it in full so now we owe nothing. This is amazing! Don't get me wrong I'm delighted that we don't owe anything but it makes we wonder....why bill me for that amount in the first place? Were they just making a number up? What if I, like my friend Shelley, didn't have insurance? Would I have had to pay the $1400? Crazy!!

Hookha

Here's Ana puffing on her nebulizer treatment - she looks like she is getting high :) Oh and right at the end of this clip you get to see Briscoe and Taag wrestling. Never a dull moment in this house!

Happy Thanksgiving

Ana enjoyed her first thanksgiving. She mostly ate and slept with a few hours of kicking, cooing, and fussing thrown in for good measure. We took this picture of her with the turkey since they are almost the same weight - Ana weighs 14lb and the turkey weighed 12lb!

Ear infection

Sorry I don't have anything fun to report, but Ana continues to be ill :-( Yesterday she screamed bloody murder like I've never heard before. I took her to the Dr today and she has an ear infection. James and I still feel like crap too, and we are sleep deprived, and we have my mother in law staying with us! Eeek. Happy Thanksgiving eh?

Copying my sister

Ana looks like she could be taking after her Auntie Mel who always used to suck her thumb and pull her ear when she was small!


She still hates tummy time, but she can tolerate a couple of minutes now, especially if she gets a chance to partake in her favorite activity....chewing her fist!

Totally unrelated.....but hillarious

Ana is feeling better...parents are not

Ana seems to have been able to fight off her illness pretty well. The doctor was very impressed with her yesterday. She gave us a nebulizer treatment to use just in case, but we've not needed it. Unfortunately James and I have come down with the virus and are pretty miserable! We are being way more pathetic about it than Ana was!

I've made some progress in the weight loss department - I was finally able to button up a pair of my pre-pregnancy jeans yesterday! They were my biggest pair but....Wah hoo! I've lost 6lb in the last 2 weeks, not sure if I'll keep it up next week though with Thanksgiving coming up but I'll try. My goal over Xmas will then be not to return to my 9 month pregnancy weight - ha ha.

Ana still drools a lot these days and blows spit bubbles. James calls her "spitty cent" (i.e. to rhyme with rapper fifty cent). It's her new nickname!

Laughing and holding head up

Ana did her first real laugh today......and I missed it! James was changing her and got her top stuck on her head and she started cracking up!! Later that night we got her to do it again by covering her face with a burp cloth - don't ask! I'm hoping this will become like smiling where once she makes the break through she will be doing it all the time now. She's also mastering holding her head up.

RSV :(

We just got back from the Doctor and Ana has RSV - Respiratory syncytial virus. We are obviously pretty worried as this is a serious virus, which often leads to pneumonia and/or bronchitis in infants. I suspect she picked it up in daycare, which royally sucks....but there isn't much we can do about it (except beat ourselves up for being terrible parents)!! James and I are taking the rest of the week off, in shifts, to give her lots of hugs and TLC.

Sick again!

Ana has a cold again and it really sucks! She is very congested and coughing, etc. I feel terrible for her. We kept her home from daycare today so we could be with her. We took her to work and shared the duty of caring for her - James and I are so lucky to work at the same place! Of course she is still in good spirits. What a great baby!



She has been sucking her thumb a bit lately too - it is adorable!!

New books

Ana got these books today from our relatives in Australia - how cool!! Tonight James read Koala Lou to her - she seemed to enjoy it :) Thanks Robyn, Peter, Renae and Justine!

Our other baby

Briscoe got an early Christmas present from Uncle Anthony today!

Being a mum

Being a mum is like nothing else. I don't think you can describe it to anyone other than another mum. Guilt is a new feeling to me, I don't think I've ever really felt guilty about anything before, but now I feel guilty that she gets formula so young, guilty that she goes to daycare, guilty when she cries and I can't soothe her, and guilty if I have to pass her off to James because I need a break from her. We've been talking about getting a student to babysit so we can go to a movie, but I can't! I think what kind of mother pays some stranger to look after her child so she can go to see a movie! How selfish!! I realise it is not, of course, but I just can't do it yet. Maybe by the time she is 15 :) I'm also paranoid! She has a little cough at the moment and I'm certain it is some kind of violent respiratory infection. I still get up about 10 times a night to check she is breathing, and if James is late bringing her home I'm pacing up and down the driveway waiting for them. The other day I was getting ready to meet Monica for sushi and James went to get Ana from daycare. He got stuck in traffic and it took him an hour and 40 minutes to do a journey that usually takes 25 minutes - I almost lost my mind! He pulled into the driveway and I burst into tears and grabbed Ana - he looked at me and said "sorry I made you late for sushi". I was incredulous! You think I'm having a breakdown because I'm late for sushi?? Like I said....I don't think you get it unless you are a mum. Then there are the good things....I look at her sometimes and I love her so much I literally can't breathe. I want to pick her up and cuddle her all the time. It makes me happy when she does the most trivial of things - cooing, smiling, kicking her legs. I get excited about all the things she'll do next like crawling, walking and saying words. There are random things I think are great too - she has a perfect bellybutton, her feet are so soft, and I love her little gums! They are so perfect and smooth! They'll only be this way for a few more months so I try to make the most of them. Sometimes I run my (clean) finger over them and she loves it. Lastly, I love seeing her and James together - It is a wonderful feeling watching the two of them bond and it makes me feel closer to James than ever. We did this together, we are a family, and neither of our lives will ever be the same again. As I was finishing this post I found this article on the internet and although it is written from a different point of view I think it sums motherhood up really well - much more eloquantly than I can:

We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family". "We're taking a survey," she says, half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations...."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is alright.

I want my daughter to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years - not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a caesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter's hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.

This blessed gift from God . . .that of being a Mother.

3 months old

Ana is 3 months old today :) She is growing so fast! As you can see she is getting a lot better at holding her head up. She has the most amazing little personality - she's getting more and more interactive too so she's just so much fun!

Big girl bed

Ana has graduated from the basinette to her cot. We keep it in the living room cos her bedroom is so far away from ours! This is her favorite sleeping position :)

More babbling

Ana is getting louder and louder! She talks to herself all the time, and seems perfectly content to sit and yell for a while. Today her daycare lady (Margaret) said Ana sits and chats to her all day. There is another little girl called Eliza (who is 4 months) who also vocalizes a lot so she sits them next to each other in their bouncy seats and they babble away to each other. How cute - Ana has a buddy!

I had to sneak up on Ana to take this video - if I stand near her she stops and stares at me instead!

I thought I'd take this picture so one day I can tell Ana - you used to be the same size as a kettle!

Smiling in her sleep

Ana smiles in her sleep all the time - it is so cute!! I wonder what she dreams about?

Speaking of 12 weeks....

To stop myself getting too depressed about my SLOW weight loss I need to remind myself that 12 weeks ago I looked like this!! Good Lord have mercy!

Call me crazy but at times I miss that big old belly....but then I realise I can breathe and see my feet so I get over it pretty fast :)

12 weeks old today!!

Ana is 12 weeks old today! I can't believe how far she has come in just 12 weeks

Quick posts

Ana is now in 6-9 month old clothing!! This totally throws off my wardrobe for her. When I was still pregnant I bought a couple of 6-9 month outfits thinking she'd be wearing them during the springtime....so they all have short sleeves, etc. Ahh well. We were chatting to a lady at work last week and her 5 month old weighs less than Ana does! Yikes.

First Mummy brag - Ana is officially the best behaved baby at daycare. The lady there told me she has only cried once since she started! They love her.

Ana is putting everything in her mouth at the moment - she especially likes to chew her fist. She is also getting really drooly and blows spit bubbles! She has also started pouting when she's not happy! It is the cutest thing - she really sticks her bottom lip out like a cartoon pout. I tried to catch a picture of it but I keep missing!

Ana still loves the bath but she HATES getting out. She howls the place down when we get her out, making bathtime a bit of a nightmare. I think it is because she gets cold so we've tried heating the bathroom, but she's still not too happy.


Yes, I actually took a picture of my baby crying.....I'm pathetic!

Lastly, Ana will copy us when we stick out our tongues at her. Here's a video of her playing this game with Daddy!

Panda Sneezes

How cute is this sneezing panda?

Halloween

Wow - our neighborhood was Halloween crazy last night. James and I knew that this was a popular subdivision for trick or treaters so we stocked up, but we were not ready for the intensity of these kids.....what a bunch of savages! I had to go out for supplies at 7pm because we were totally out of chocolate. The neighborhood was so backed up with cars (people actually drive here from their own neighborhoods) I couldn't get out of our driveway. When I finally got back James came running out,with Ana and Briscoe in tow, and literally pulled the goodies from me through the car window and started dishing it out to the backlog of kids on the porch. It was nuts. It reminded us of working at Poor Pauls during a Miami game....but with kids instead of drunks! By 8pm we were out of treats again, and there was no way we were going for more (we had spent $40 already!!) so we shut the lights out and hid. Somehow Ana managed to sleep through all of this, but not before I got to dress her up in a ridiculous chicken outfit :)