This evening Eden played in her sandbox and got so much sand in her diaper that she looked like a salt shaker when she walked around the grass.
She tossed sand in her hair.
She put a handful of sand in her mouth. I thought, natural consequences, right? She'll learn that sand is not for the mouth and feels gross and won't do it again. Well, two minutes later she was face first in it getting another bite.
What fun!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
On Turning 30...
Today is my 30th birthday, and I feel fine, thank you.
Kasey, Eden, and I spent the day together, hiking the beautiful cliffs and crevasses of Nelson Ledges Park, picking out a sparkly necklace, and watching Julie and Julia, a remarkably apropos movie for the occasion. In the movie, the character Julie begins her blog on August 13th, turns 30 in the course of her year of writing the blog, and gets a necklace from her husband to mark the occasion. This of course reminded me of my blog, which I have been neglecting.
I find it difficult to know how to write, not knowing who I’m writing to. And am I really writing to anyone? A blog seems inherently narcissistic, and even more so when it’s first beginning and quite possibly has only one reader – the writer’s mother. But I want to remember these days, and the fleeting thoughts that are lost with time if they aren’t put down in black and white. And I want my daughter to know my thoughts of early motherhood – to be able to read about her life from that perspective when she is older and has children of her own. And I want my friends and family who are far away to be able to see her growing up years.
So I will write, to enjoy life, to keep fleeting moments alive, and hopefully to draw in some reader other than my mother. Here goes…
Kasey, Eden, and I spent the day together, hiking the beautiful cliffs and crevasses of Nelson Ledges Park, picking out a sparkly necklace, and watching Julie and Julia, a remarkably apropos movie for the occasion. In the movie, the character Julie begins her blog on August 13th, turns 30 in the course of her year of writing the blog, and gets a necklace from her husband to mark the occasion. This of course reminded me of my blog, which I have been neglecting.
I find it difficult to know how to write, not knowing who I’m writing to. And am I really writing to anyone? A blog seems inherently narcissistic, and even more so when it’s first beginning and quite possibly has only one reader – the writer’s mother. But I want to remember these days, and the fleeting thoughts that are lost with time if they aren’t put down in black and white. And I want my daughter to know my thoughts of early motherhood – to be able to read about her life from that perspective when she is older and has children of her own. And I want my friends and family who are far away to be able to see her growing up years.
So I will write, to enjoy life, to keep fleeting moments alive, and hopefully to draw in some reader other than my mother. Here goes…
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
diaper battles
Eden has decided recently that she does not like getting her diaper changed. No, she hates it.
So she whines when we approach the changing table and then arches her back and sticks her feet to the mat so it's difficult to lay her down. Once she's laying down, she throws her arms over head to grasp the bar running along the end of the changing table, and uses her strong grip to wrench her body over to her stomach. Then she's on her knees, then sitting up looking around. And this takes about five seconds.
Trying to change her diaper while she does this is difficult and, well, messy. We have three changing table covers and we've gone through all three of them in a week. Her changing mat is now bare - it's easier that way.
I've found two approaches that work to get us through a diaper change. The first is to hold her down with one hand when necessary and change the diaper as fast as possible with the other. I'm not such a fan of this option, because I sure wouldn't want to be physically restrained that way.
I discovered the second option this afternoon. If I match her intensity with my own goofy, crazy, brand of happy, she gets distracted and forgets how terrible it is. I sang a rousing rendition of the abc song while helping her throw her legs and body up and down, and it worked. We'll see how long it lasts.
So she whines when we approach the changing table and then arches her back and sticks her feet to the mat so it's difficult to lay her down. Once she's laying down, she throws her arms over head to grasp the bar running along the end of the changing table, and uses her strong grip to wrench her body over to her stomach. Then she's on her knees, then sitting up looking around. And this takes about five seconds.
Trying to change her diaper while she does this is difficult and, well, messy. We have three changing table covers and we've gone through all three of them in a week. Her changing mat is now bare - it's easier that way.
I've found two approaches that work to get us through a diaper change. The first is to hold her down with one hand when necessary and change the diaper as fast as possible with the other. I'm not such a fan of this option, because I sure wouldn't want to be physically restrained that way.
I discovered the second option this afternoon. If I match her intensity with my own goofy, crazy, brand of happy, she gets distracted and forgets how terrible it is. I sang a rousing rendition of the abc song while helping her throw her legs and body up and down, and it worked. We'll see how long it lasts.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Better the Second Time Around
Eden has been exploring lately the wonders of dropping and throwing her food to the ground. She then quickly peers over the edge of her tray to see where it went. Once she starts doing this, I know she's mostly done eating, so I clean her up and get her out of her chair.
Then the race is on. As I'm getting the paper towel wet to clean off the floor, Eden starts crawling around and eating the food she dropped. Mmmm... leftovers. Some food just tastes better the second time around.
Then the race is on. As I'm getting the paper towel wet to clean off the floor, Eden starts crawling around and eating the food she dropped. Mmmm... leftovers. Some food just tastes better the second time around.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Kiss kiss
Eden's learned how to make a kissy noise with her little lips. It's just plain adorable. Once she got the hang of it, she started stringing a bunch of kisses together and now kisses while she's crawling around, playing with her toys, or looking at us.
Like a friend from church said, eventually we'll have to teach her who she should give her kisses to. But for now, I like that she's an indiscriminate kisser.
Last night when Kasey bent down to give her a goodnight kiss on her forehead as he does every night, she made a kissy noise to him before he kissed her. She didn't even look up; she just knew he was about to kiss her and joined in the affection.
She's a heart-melter, this one.
Like a friend from church said, eventually we'll have to teach her who she should give her kisses to. But for now, I like that she's an indiscriminate kisser.
Last night when Kasey bent down to give her a goodnight kiss on her forehead as he does every night, she made a kissy noise to him before he kissed her. She didn't even look up; she just knew he was about to kiss her and joined in the affection.
She's a heart-melter, this one.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Little Lady
Little Lady
Grunting, straining, growling
Sounds of exertion as you explore your new strengths
Not yet tempered by labels
-- ladylike, feminine, polite --
Your energy overflows and you are the essence of a
Little Lady
Grunting, straining, growling
Sounds of exertion as you explore your new strengths
Not yet tempered by labels
-- ladylike, feminine, polite --
Your energy overflows and you are the essence of a
Little Lady
Friday, May 1, 2009
BABY ON BOARD
At one of my baby showers, I received a yellow-triangled "Baby on Board" sign to post in the rear window of my car. I'm not a bumper sticker type person, and I've never been a fan of personalized license plates, but I made the leap and put the sign in my car. After all, my baby's safety was at stake here, right? I knew what this sign would do for us -- it would tell tail-gaters to back off to a safe distance, admonish road-ragers to please find some momentary patience, and give speeders pause.
Then I had a baby.
And I realized what that sign really means.
- Get out of my way - I've got a crying baby in my car!
- Don't honk at me when the light turns green - I'm trying to give her a toy.
- Don't call the cops if I swerve a little - I'm reaching back to try to comfort her.
- Park a little farther away - I've got to open the door as far as possible so I don't bump her head putting her in this seat.
- Give me a wide radius - I may be a little distracted.
It turns out the sign is more of a warning to others of the hazardous new mom driving with an infant in the car. No one's honked or cursed at us (yet), but I'm sure I've gotten several head shakes and stares of wonderment. So the next time you see one of those signs in a car window, steer clear, for your own safety.
Then I had a baby.
And I realized what that sign really means.
- Get out of my way - I've got a crying baby in my car!
- Don't honk at me when the light turns green - I'm trying to give her a toy.
- Don't call the cops if I swerve a little - I'm reaching back to try to comfort her.
- Park a little farther away - I've got to open the door as far as possible so I don't bump her head putting her in this seat.
- Give me a wide radius - I may be a little distracted.
It turns out the sign is more of a warning to others of the hazardous new mom driving with an infant in the car. No one's honked or cursed at us (yet), but I'm sure I've gotten several head shakes and stares of wonderment. So the next time you see one of those signs in a car window, steer clear, for your own safety.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Dryer Sheet
About a week ago, we had a strange, partially sleepless night with Eden.
A typical night looks something like this: Eden goes to sleep in her crib around 8, then wakes around midnight to be fed again. She joins us in bed for the night at that point. (We did not set out to be cosleepers. After two and a half months of the up and down all night routine, patting, shushing, falling asleep while nursing sitting upright, we realized that we had a girl who did not fall asleep or stay asleep easily. We brought her to bed out of desperation and have all gotten more sleep since.)
So, on this particular night, when Eden woke at midnight, she would not settle down and go back to sleep while nursing. She just seemed restless. She squirmed, rolled over, sat up, kicked her legs, said "at" with great enthusiasm, crawled. We tried nursing, patting, helping her find a comfortable position in bed, but nothing worked. So we moved to her room.
We tried rocking, laying her in her crib, changing her diaper, patting her, shushing her, nursing in the rocking chair, but nothing worked. We thought maybe teething was making her just uncomfortable enough to keep her awake, so we gave her Tylenol, which we rarely do. Didn't work. Back to our bed.
After two and a half hours of our best efforts, Eden sat up beside me, leaning back against my legs. She was so tired she was bobbing her head and listing around, almost falling over in her sleep-deprived stupor. She leaned farther and farther back, kicked her legs, but just couldn't fall asleep. Finally, nestled in the crook of my arm with her head on my pillow, she fell asleep. At 3am. After three hours of being awake.
I hate mysteries like this. If Eden is waking at night, or upset during the day, or cranky or whiny, I like to know why. I like to know why so I can fix it, or at least understand it.
Eden woke at seven, and we went to her changing table for her usual morning diaper change. And then I found it - The Cause of The Sleepless Night: in the toe of her footed pjs was a dryer sheet, balled up, but still big enough to make an incredibly sensitive little girl like Eden annoyed enough to stay awake for three hours. A dryer sheet. Poor girl. She was trying to kick it out, crawl away from it, but it stayed with her.
This week as I folded her laundry, you better believe I checked for dryer sheets.
A typical night looks something like this: Eden goes to sleep in her crib around 8, then wakes around midnight to be fed again. She joins us in bed for the night at that point. (We did not set out to be cosleepers. After two and a half months of the up and down all night routine, patting, shushing, falling asleep while nursing sitting upright, we realized that we had a girl who did not fall asleep or stay asleep easily. We brought her to bed out of desperation and have all gotten more sleep since.)
So, on this particular night, when Eden woke at midnight, she would not settle down and go back to sleep while nursing. She just seemed restless. She squirmed, rolled over, sat up, kicked her legs, said "at" with great enthusiasm, crawled. We tried nursing, patting, helping her find a comfortable position in bed, but nothing worked. So we moved to her room.
We tried rocking, laying her in her crib, changing her diaper, patting her, shushing her, nursing in the rocking chair, but nothing worked. We thought maybe teething was making her just uncomfortable enough to keep her awake, so we gave her Tylenol, which we rarely do. Didn't work. Back to our bed.
After two and a half hours of our best efforts, Eden sat up beside me, leaning back against my legs. She was so tired she was bobbing her head and listing around, almost falling over in her sleep-deprived stupor. She leaned farther and farther back, kicked her legs, but just couldn't fall asleep. Finally, nestled in the crook of my arm with her head on my pillow, she fell asleep. At 3am. After three hours of being awake.
I hate mysteries like this. If Eden is waking at night, or upset during the day, or cranky or whiny, I like to know why. I like to know why so I can fix it, or at least understand it.
Eden woke at seven, and we went to her changing table for her usual morning diaper change. And then I found it - The Cause of The Sleepless Night: in the toe of her footed pjs was a dryer sheet, balled up, but still big enough to make an incredibly sensitive little girl like Eden annoyed enough to stay awake for three hours. A dryer sheet. Poor girl. She was trying to kick it out, crawl away from it, but it stayed with her.
This week as I folded her laundry, you better believe I checked for dryer sheets.
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