Cold Turkey

Annie had her 4 month checkup on Tuesday. I had been warned by my friend, Shelli, that Dr. Eaton was going to discuss solid foods as well as stopping swaddling. I had accurately anticipated the rolling over question, so I was thrilled to be able to answer that our gal was indeed rolling over, holding her head up on her tummy, laughing and cooing, and in general being 100% awesome.


Well, Shelli was right. We were instructed to try to feed her rice cereal a few times a day to get her used to eating from a spoon. He also said no more swaddling. I guess it is some sort of suffocation risk. That is really all I needed to hear. I was ready to give it up for good. I wasn't so sure about Miss A.


Fueled with sleep-inducing shots from the doctor, Annie was pretty drowsy for her first nap and went to sleep with no swaddle with zero effort. I was applauding my advanced daughter's abilities. Second nap, no problem. She had a little more difficulty going to bed for the night without it so we swaddled her and then took it off a few hours later and she slept through the night just fine. On Wednesday, she continued to have no issues with the naps but when it came time for night swaddling, she wasn't feeling the need to be free, so we did the same thing again and let's just say she didn't do quite as well through the night. There was some serious hollerin' going on in that room throughout the evening. She eventually calmed down and Rick and I were zombies yesterday.


Last night she was amazing! So amazing that Rick and I had to repeatedly check in on her to make sure she was still breathing. It was the first time ever that we didn't have to get out of bed to soothe her at some point in the night. Jen said she slept well unswaddled during the day as well.

Here are her 4 month stats:

weight: 13 lbs, 15.6 oz (we'll call it 14 lbs)=43rd percentile

height: 25 inches=70th percentile

head size: 16.25 inches=67th percentile

This is her current hair color; sort of a sandy blonde

These are her sweet cheeks.

And this is her sleeping like a big girl.

Now that this swaddling drama seems to be behind us (hopefully), I am not sure what I will obsess over. Thank goodness we are starting solid foods!

Tragic Loss

Rick started working at the City Museum in May of 2006. His position at the time of hiring was anything but well defined, but he saw the potential for a great opportunity and accepted the job. It was the place Rick and I went on our first date, so it held a special place in our hearts. Those of you that are either not from St. Louis or not familiar with the City Museum may not understand that while it is somewhat of a St. Louis monument, it is not uncommon to hear about the place on the news. The main topic was usually the somewhat reclusive but brilliant artist behind the Museum, Bob Cassilly.

To say that Rick was intimidated by Bob at the beginning is a gross understatement. Bob totally freaked Rick out. Rick couldn't understand his mumbling and he was constantly running around after Bob trying to figure out what Bob wanted him to do. Over the years, the two developed a strong working relationship and friendship and Rick got fairly good at answering the question "What would Bob do?". After five years at the Museum, I would find Rick speaking in that same, rushed and mumbled Bob-cadence. Almost every day Rick would come home with new "Bob Stories" that would tell tales of misadventure and rule-bending. All had an underlying theme of it being better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. I don't think Bob ever really intentionally ignored the rules, I just think he lived in a world where rules never really crossed his mind. To Bob, there was no need for signs, directions, or pamphlets, and the best adventures were had when a person got lost in their surroundings.

Rick called me this morning to tell me that Bob had passed away this weekend. I am devastated for my husband, who has lost his mentor and good friend. I am sad for his family that has lost their a father and a husband. I am sad for the City of St. Louis that has lost one of the most talented artists and visionaries it may ever see. But I am so thankful to have been able to spend time with him, to fall victim to his kiss on the cheek switcharoo, and will never forget his impish grin that I am pretty sure got him out of some serious trouble a time or two.

If I could see him just one more time I would tell him Thank You for nurturing my husband and giving him the freedom to care for the dream you created within the walls of the Museum. He truly loves it and you more than he would care to admit.

I am not sure God knows what is headed his way, but I sure hope heaven has a welding crew.

4 Months!

Dear Annie,

I apologize for being a few days late on your four month letter. You have kept us really busy these past few days. We went to Lake of the Ozarks for my work training thingie, and because I didn't want to be away from you (and there may or may not have been concerned about three days of solo parenting), you and your Dad came along. We had a great time together, but learned some very important things about traveling with you. Mainly, that we should bring plenty of reading material to keep us occupied in the room between the hours of 7 and bedtime. It was also fascinating to watch (and hear!) you thump your way around your pack and play. You were a little infant sundial. Each time I checked on you, you had rotated another 90 degrees, which is impressive to do while swaddled.

Yes, you are still swaddled. I look forward to tucking you into this thing when you are 17, because that's how it's looking like it is going to go at this rate. It is not for lack of trying that you are still swaddled. There have been several attempts to get you to sleep at night without it, but once you realize you are not strapped in, you flail about, screeching in delight at your freedom. We'll have none of that frivolity in this house. At least not between the hours of 7pm and 7am. So on goes the swaddle and you fall asleep in seconds. It's voodoo. And I have it on good authority that Dr. Eaton is going to recommend we stop using this month. Rick's response to this was "Well, then he can come over and put her to bed.". I wonder if that's included in his scope of services?

You are still in a size 1 diaper, though that's about to change here shortly. You are wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes but can still fit into 3 month separates. You love to scream and smile very big at just about everyone. You still love your bunny and only really use your binkie to fall asleep but thankfully are able to stay asleep when it falls out. Lately you have been waking up at around 4 in the morning and seem to be restless. I have been feeding you and you go directly back to sleep until around 7:15 or so. You are always in a great mood when you wake up and I love seeing your gummy smile that shows more bottom gum than top gum. Your Daddy and I always "fight" to see who can get the first smile of the day. And when you smile really big, you get a dimple on the right side of your nose that makes my heart want to burst.

When I first had you, I remember everyone giving me advice that it would get easier after two weeks, two months, and five months. I remember you being two weeks old and thinking that five months seemed like it was a lifetime away. Now it's almost here and it's gone so quickly. I can't imagine you being any easier than you already are, but I am looking forward to you proving those people right.

17 weeks

Where do these weeks go? I feel like I am constantly behind on getting updates out there. Annie is still a wonderful baby (I'll let you know if that ever changes, so just assume it's still the case unless you hear otherwise). In the last few days she's really started grabbing/pinching, which is great for her motor skills, but not so awesome for any flesh or body hair that might be within her reach.

As you might be able to tell from this picture, her eyes are getting more blue by the day. As they are getting lighter blue, I think they will probably stay blue and not turn brown. She may or may not have strawberry blonde hair. Her eyebrows appear distinctly red at times though. Aunt Shisha loves to tell me that she looks like an Irish baby. I hear Rick's family has some red heads in it somewhere (preemptive strike against milkman jokes). Bunny is also being clutched within an inch of its stuffed life in this pic. This is the standard bunny choke hold.

She has had very few issues with the switch to her new room. She does wake up a bit earlier in the morning, which I attribute to her being right next to the bathroom and hearing us getting ready. And to any new Moms out there that happen upon this and see that I have bragged about her sleeping for 12 hours straight, I feel I should clarify something: she does not get out of her crib for 12 hours. That's not to say we just plunk her in there and leave her, but she does wake up from time to time and sometimes there is a binkie replacement, but for the most part she's asleep and not crying. Heck, I probably couldn't sleep for 12 hours without waking up. The blessing is that we have now mastered the ability to sleep walk for these 1-2 visits. And if I don't remember doing it, it doesn't count.

She's left the nest

We made the decision today to get Annie into her own room. Don't get me wrong, we love having her so close, but she's got this "adorable" little habit that we lovingly refer to as thumping. Thumping takes place in the middle of the night and involves her lifting her legs straight in the air, then slamming them down into her crib mattress. Again. And. Again. To the point that the crib is askew in the morning. While this is great for her core strength and she should be rocking an infant 6-pack in the next month or so (we just need to up the cardio), it's not great for the sleep for the ole parents. And, we figured it will be easier to get her into her own room earlier rather than later. For her, at least.

So today we went out, purchased blackout curtains and the world's most expensive space heater. These were the two excuses we had been using to keep her in our room. We went through the usual night time ritual of giving her the bottle and swaddling (don't judge) and braced myself for a long rocking/soothing session.

She was asleep in approximately 3 minutes.

I held her for a few extra minutes so I could get myself together and be thankful for this extremely easy wonderful child we have. She's really good at making Rick and me looking like big babies.

Stop the Presses-16 weeks

ANNIE ROLLED OVER TODAY!!!!

After I gave the nurse a blank stare at Annie's one month checkup when she asked me if Annie was "tracking", I spend a bit of time trying to anticipate what sort of milestones Dr. Eaton will grill me about in our 4 month checkup. I just know that rolling over will be one of them since everything I read about this age says that they should start rolling over. Since our gal hasn't been a huge fan of tummy time (at least in my presence, Jen claims she loves it) I have been ramping up the TT training the past few weeks to increase our odds. And it looks like all the hard work, grunting, and wailing paid off! Annie worked pretty hard too.

Luckily Rick came home early from work and witnessed the event. I happened to be in the kitchen getting dinner ready (members of my family are smirking at this notion; it involved reheating a pork steak and baking sweet potato fries-gourmet all the way people) when Rick yelled "get in here, she's rolling over!". This is yet another time I am thankful for our tiny house, because I just shimmied about a step and a half from the kitchen to the living room to witness the big event!

Action shot. In case you can't tell, her head is over to the right.

She stuck the landing. I am a little disturbed by how close my shoe is to her head. I guess in my excitement I wanted a super, up close look at the action.

Meh. No big deal. Why are you guys screaming at me?

Oh, and there was screaming for sure. So much so that shortly after that second pic was taken, she started bawling. My guess is that she was shocked by her own strength (and not terrified by the hollering Mommy standing inches away from her face).

She also started grabbing the ring on her playmat and trilled back at me, all in the same evening. I think we've got this next appointment covered. Bring it, Dr. Eaton!

Changed

I used to love horror movies. They were my go-to movie of choice, particularly on gloomy days when I was hung over in college. That love continued right up until the past year when I was pregnant with Annie. I have tried to watch "The Crazies" three times and had to keep changing the channel. I probably would have found this zombie flick humorous a year ago, but I found myself holding my breath and feeling sick to my stomach. Over zombies. Because that's an immediate concern in my life.

I have tried to figure out what caused the change, and all I can think of is that before Annie came along, I wasn't really ever scared of anything. Or at least scared of anything happening to me. Now with Annie on the scene, I worry about her, I worry about Rick and me. I get scared carrying her down the stairs. I worry when she sleeps. Lots of fear and worry. So I think watching a movie that makes me more scared just puts me over the edge.

I remember watching footage of 9/11 ten years ago, and I remember being sad and furious, but I was never really afraid. I rewatched the footage this morning of the two burning towers with Annie sitting on my lap and I felt that familiar churn in my stomach and urge to turn off the TV. It was a horror movie. Exept it was real. And I was scared. Those buildings and planes were filled with someone's Annie or someone's Rick. I wanted to watch and honor those that died on that day, but I had to turn it off.

Maybe I was selfish or naive 10 years ago, but it all really hit home for me today. I cannot imagine the loss or the grief those families experienced on that day and every day since. I think of Chaney who was 9 months pregnant on that day and the worry she must have felt for her baby that was about to come into a world where there are people that are capable of such evil.

What I have learned today is that there is enough scary stuff in the world that you don't need horror movies to freak you out. I am thankful to live in a country that is strong enough to take some of that fear away.

Is this kid for real? Week 15

Sorry about the fuzzy iPhone pics but I am too wiped out for fancy official camera uploading. We had a HUGE milestone this past weekend when we flew with Annie to Miami for the weekend to hang with GB and Bigs. To say I was scared of Annie being "that baby" on the plane is an understatement. The schedule was ambitious, which added to my worry. We were slated for a 6:25 am departure on Saturday and then a return flight on Sunday night at 8:45, Miami time. For those of you doing the math, that's 15 minutes post bedtime, St. Louis time. Scary.

I culled all my traveling Mom resources and got lots of advice on how to handle the scene, and most of the info restated that you need to have a bottle (or at minimum a binkie) handy to ease the pressure on their ears during take-off and landing. All reinforced that it was a crap-shoot either way and to never get too comfortable. Just because they were good one time makes no guarantee that it will happen again. Excellent. I guess it's pretty obvious that a 3 month old's behavior isn't the most predictable or consistent....

....unless your 3 month old is Annie the Wonder Baby! She was an absolute dream. If you don't want to hear a Mom gloat, stop reading now. She charmed everyone in security, allowing us to bypass the HUGE line for those economy class lowlifes, she flirted with everyone as we waltzed down the aisle of the plane, reassuring them that she was no nightmare baby, and after having her morning bottle, slept most of the ride down there.

Sleeping...

...and eating/drinking. She's already got the hang of these Erwin vacations.



We were swooped up at the airport by Big D, who was promptly shown how to eat a hand sandwich.

Because GB had a touch of a stomach bug, Bigs got the bulk of the grandparenting duties for the trip. I think he enjoyed it a bit.

He even got to operate the fancy stroller. I gotta tell you, there are some fancy strollers down in Miami. I am thankful I fought the good fight with Manny from Totsy to get this thing.

We relaxed, got in a bit of pool time, Rick and I grabbed drinks while Annie was napping on Sunday, and we headed out Sunday night. This was the moment of truth. There were two ways this could go: 1) We would feed Annie her bottle upon takeoff, she would realize it's night time and fall asleep for the remainder of the flight...or 2) We could give her the bottle, she would be disoriented because we were on a plane with all the lights on (even though it was 8:30 at night) and not realize it was bed time and be up the whole time, which would not bode well for those surrounding row 34.

Tensions were high in the back of the plane, where they apparently decided to stash all infants and a slew of non-english speaking teens. I guess it's easier to ignore complaints when there's a language barrier. The flight was kicked off with a teething 7 month old wailing two rows ahead of us during the taxi-ing (how do you spell that?). This prompted some other infant behind us to get riled up and try to out-scream the teether. Not to be outdone, Annie started to get fussy, so in went the bottle since we were about to take off anyway. Or so I thought. I swear we drove around that tarmac for 25 minutes, and finished the bottle along the way. So now I am panicking because we have yet to takeoff, the bottle's finished, and I am convinced Annie's ear drums are going to explode upon takeoff, I am going to have to nurse her and these Dominican teens are all going to get a free peek at my business.

But then she fell asleep. And didn't wake up until the next morning (aside from a brief moment when her father thought it would be fun to race her stroller down a ramp in the airport). We didn't even have to swaddle her when we got home. Who says 3 month olds aren't predictable?