Aurora is hilarious

This week Aurora and I went to visit one-week old baby Larkin.

First, let me just say that Larkin is beautiful (good job Jennifer & Matt!!). One day Rora & Larkin will be friends.

Second, Aurora has turned into a camera hog!

Jennifer took the camera out to take a picture of Betty & Larkin, and we were standing nearby. Well, Aurora just started smiling and hamming it up like she was sure the camera was on her! So, of course, soon the camera WAS on her. Chuck said that happened to him earlier this week as well. He took out the camera, and suddenly she couldn’t stop smiling. How does she know!?

Aurora also had her first encounter with a dog. Joey gave her kisses all over her face, hands, and feet. He’s a good sweet doggie, but I don’t know if Rora knew quite what to think of him...

Yes sir, that's my baby...

Now that Aurora can roll over, she's been scooting and pulling herself around while making the silliest squealing and gurgling sounds! I think she's going through another growth spurt too - suddenly I've had to double how much milk I bring to daycare for her. After months of wondering if I'd always over-produce milk, suddenly I'm thinking we may need to boost production to keep up. Time to buy some more Guinness!

Anyway, my mom told me after Aurora was born that one thing's for sure, "we don't need to go on Maury to find out who the father is." Indeed. I just gave Chuck a shorter haircut and now they look even MORE alike!!! I don't think these are the greatest of photos of all time, but just look at these features. She has his nose EXACTLY, and his lips, and if his eyes were only open wider... oh dear. Does she look like me at all!?

Oh well. There is something super sweet about a happy little daddy's girl.

Must Love Babies

Today Aurora and I went to my friend Raquel’s baby shower. Her baby boy is due September 3rd and she’s naming him Julian! It was a fun shower – we got to hang out with Daniela and there were a couple other cute babies there as well. Daniela gave Raquel a really cool bathtub, and Rora couldn’t resist trying it out (without the water, of course).

Until I had Aurora, I don’t think I understood the excitement so many people feel towards the arrival of a new baby. I remember being surprised at how genuinely happy people were for us. I figured it was either that babies are small, soft and cute; or perhaps misery loves company and our friends with babies just didn’t want us to have so much freedom when they were stuck at home.

Of course, now I get it. There’s just something beautiful about a new little person who is so innocent. Babies aren’t jaded and don’t know how to be cynical. Their emotions are pure and raw, and everything’s new for them.

We’ve been watching the Olympics, and I actually found myself saying “Maybe one day Aurora will be in the Olympics!” WHAT!? It is true that her future’s wide open, and we want our kids to be the best at everything they do. But I just realized how silly it is to say that. I mean, she COULD be an Olympian, she COULD become the president, and I DO want her to have every opportunity in the world. But that doesn’t mean she needs to be ultra-competitive or involved in expensive high-level sports prone to injuries. I want her to be well-rounded, healthy, happy, and successful. If that means she becomes a manager at McDonald’s and marries at the age of 20, so be it (it worked for me!). I do hope she is active and always enjoys watching the Olympics…

Girls Girls Girls

Congratulations to Jennifer, who gave birth to a beautiful girl this morning. She came a few weeks earlier than expected, but is just about the same size as Aurora, Abby, Molly, and Riley. All five LAF babies born in the last few months are girls who weighed between 6 lbs 10 oz and 6 lbs 12 oz at birth. I can’t wait to meet baby Larkin!

The last two nights Aurora was up every 1-2 hours. It is going to be hard for her to get used to the freedom of no sleep positioner. Chuck suggested we swaddle her again tonight in hopes that it will help keep her in one place and allow us all a much needed night of uninterrupted sleep, but she's too big and strong to swaddle now. This morning at about 4:30am I put her back in the positioner to see if it would help, but by 5:30 she’d actually rolled out of it! I'm just not sure what to try next… she’s starting her journey toward mobility and it seems like crawling, sitting up, and cruising will be happening before we know it. So how do we get her back to sleeping through the night at this stage? Maybe we just need to let her cry it out. I wish she could suck her thumb - she's addicted to the paci, but it won't stay in her mouth when she's rolling around.

Anyway, today was half-day Thursday, which meant an afternoon of daddy-daughter time. While I was at work I actually FORGOT to pump! I guess I was just that busy. I got lucky in that Chuck said she was still hungry after her 3pm bottle, so I went ahead and fed her when I got home, and she still took her nighttime feeding. I do prefer Aurora to the pump any day. Awhile ago we were talking about pumping, and Chuck held her up and said "I got your breastpump right here!"



My favorite Chuck Wadey quote from today would have to be: “I think Aurora asked for Gardasil. I told her she’s too young to worry about cervical cancer.”

Sleep

Once we started daycare, I slowly began to feel like I was losing control of the schedule I’d worked so hard to create. A month ago she was sleeping from 9pm-6am without waking up once. Of course, at the time we were swaddling her and putting her in the sleep positioner.

A couple weeks ago she insisted her bedtime move up to 8pm, which was fine – but then she shifted her wake time to 4am. Not so fine. At around the same time our feeding schedule changed, and she got big enough that I decided we didn’t need to swaddle her anymore. Tonight we also took away the sleep positioner. She’s rolling around now, and the sleep positioner just seemed to be constricting her too much.

Now I’m trying to think of ways to extend her sleep again. From what I’ve read, if I consistently respond to her at 4am, feeding and snuggling her (which I do), it will become a habit. At this point, I’m not sure if daycare simply made our schedule change and I should just accept it, if it’s because we stopped swaddling her, or if it’s just become a habit. Regardless, I sure would like to sleep until 6am again like I used to!!! Either that or I just have to start going to bed at 8pm like she does.

Caught on tape

This morning I got Aurora rolling over on video! She had just rolled over effortlessly, when I grabbed the camera and put her back on her back. Of course, once I started filming, she got a little distracted. But she does roll over successfully at the end, and it’s an all around super cute video of my super cutie being, well, super cute! She'll be crawling before we know it...


Another aspect of Rora’s recent growth spurt is that I’ve had to retire all of her 0-3 month clothes. She’s wearing 3-6 month stuff now, and I’m shopping around for 6-9 month outfits so that we’re ready when she gets even bigger. I haven’t decided yet what to do with the clothes she outgrows. Right now I’m putting them in a big plastic bin, and a lot of it is gender neutral so I think it's a good idea to save it. But I feel a little selfish just storing it – should I be giving some away, or lending it out?? Maybe just keeping my favorite pieces? It’s crazy to think that only 3 months ago her little newborn pants were way too big on her!!!

I should also mention that Friday was Chuck’s 31st birthday! We’ve had a fun and relaxing weekend, going out to eat, splurging on the desserts, and doing a little shopping. Thanks to our parents and my grandparents, who remembered his day and sent him cards. Happy Birthday Charlie!!!

Another growth spurt

Remember that book we kept at the bottom of the exersaucer so Aurora’s feet could touch? Well, last weekend I noticed that suddenly her knees were bent more than usual. I said “Chuck, take the book away,” and amazingly, her feet touched! The next day when I dropped her at daycare, the first thing Carol said when I handed her over was “I think she’s gotten bigger!” And once again, her diapers now fit more snugly.

Earlier in the week I weighed her in one of the least accurate ways possible – weighing myself with and without her on my cheap IKEA scale that measures in 2 lb increments. According to this method, she’s at least 14 lbs now!

Look at this big silly girl. She doesn’t really know what to think of hats yet… I think she’s trying to wriggle herself out of it.

Aside from rolling over (which she especially loves to work on when she’s on the changing table or in her little bathtub), she’s also started laughing out loud. She thinks it’s hilarious when her daddy sings the ABC’s and when I talk or sing in silly voices. She especially loves when I roll my R’s.

Looking on the bright side

As hard as it is to leave Aurora at daycare, I know there are benefits to her being there. At least that’s what I tell myself to make me feel better about it! Daycare introduces her to new faces and textures and sounds, teaches her to feel comfortable around other people, and allows her to play with new toys and other babies. She takes good long naps there, and is exposed to germs which should strengthen her immunity.

She's also getting more mat time and tummy time than she'd get here at home, which is nice because right now her major focus is on rolling over. At first her arm was getting in the way and she'd get stuck on her side. Today in yoga I gently helped her tuck that arm a few times, and now she can do it herself! Here's a blurry motion shot:

Another benefit to daycare is that it makes us miss her enough that we appreciate our time with her that much more. When I get her home, I tell her what Natalie’s 2-year old daughter says when Natalie goes out of town… “I missed you too much!” Who wouldn't miss this smile?

Oh baby, the places you’ll sit

Today we put Aurora’s high chair together. Nancy & Steve brought it with them from Arizona when they visited months ago, and we decided she should be able to fit into it by now. She does!

She thought it was fun at first, but got bored when she realized it didn't actually do anything. So we decided to put her in the jogger stroller that Pam & Chad gave us and took a long walk around the neighborhood (another first). A much more interesting place to sit!

She can’t sit up on her own just yet, but she's strong enough now that strapped in her seats she does fine!

Daddy-daughter time

I really love our Tuesday and Thursday half days. I work a half day, and while I’m working Chuck and Aurora have daddy-daughter time. Chuck always says the funniest things when I call him on my way home. Last week we had a phone conversation that went something like this:

Hiya Charlie, did you guys have a good day?
Yup.
Are you taking a nap?
Nope.
Is Aurora taking a nap?
Nope.
What’s she doing?
Just breathing.

Oh yeah?!?! Yesterday our conversation went like this:

Hey babe, did you guys have a fun day?
Yeah.
Did anything exciting happen?
Yeah, Aurora said her first word.
Oh really? And what was that?
Michael.

Daniela asked me if Chuck knows how funny he is. I’m not sure, but he does know how to make me laugh! And he also knows how to make his daughter smile :)

Adventures in baby feeding

What? Another post about feeding Aurora!? Who would’ve thought even a few short months ago that my world would now revolve around feedings? But here we are once again, discussing my favorite topic.

Last night I did what I thought was a thorough job of getting ready for today. I sterilized my pump accessories and got my pumping bag ready; refilled the daycare diaper bag with clean bibs, sheets, clothes, and a bottle; packed my work bag and got a few things ready to mail. Once again, I lost sleep wondering how this week of daycare would go.

This morning, I felt the need to pump a little earlier than 10am. At 9:30 I headed into the pumping room (an office down the hall that has a lock) and started setting up, only to realize I was missing one of my pump parts! I quickly put everything back, grabbed my purse, and called the daycare to let them know I’d be there at 10am to feed Aurora myself. I ran home, grabbed the pump piece and my nursing pillow, then made my way to the Children’s Center in record time (traffic is great at 10am).

As hectic as it seemed, it was really nice spending the extra time with Aurora. As I fed her, Carol told me how long she breastfed each of her 4 children; Shelby (for 10 weeks), Savannah (3-1/2 years), Montana (almost 2 years), and Rebekah (7 months); and how Rebekah was going to be named Hannah, but she changed her mind at the last minute. Then I rushed back to work.

One of my co-workers had her son at the same daycare center and actually drove back and forth for every feeding. He had never been bottle fed when he started and wouldn’t take a bottle. I can’t imagine. Just trying to make it to the pumping room on time is hard enough. This was (hopefully) a one time occurance for us.

But just look at this cute little girl, wearing a terry cloth outfit after her weekend bath. I think she's worth all the craziness.

Hold me...

I'm 3 months old today!