Thanks, Mommies!

Thank you to all the mommies for chiming in on the sleep issue with Isabel. She's been doing much better, sleeping until at least 5:45-6:00 am. We decided to give her a small supplemental bottle of formula right before bed (which by the way, tastes NASTY! I can't believe babies eat this stuff!) and she's been sleeping much better.

It makes me feel so much better to hear real life mommy stories and to know that there are other mommies out there that are having the same problems. Whenever I do research online or read a "Baby Book" from an "expert"- they always seem to make you feel like what you are doing is wrong or the choices that you make are wrong. It is nice to know that sometimes you just have to go with the Mommy Instincts.

This morning I heard the monitor click on as Isabel's crib aquarium had turned on. Jeremy was out of bed so I assumed he had turned it on for her and had let her do her stretching routine after being released from her swaddle. Jeremy brought her in around 6:30 to wake me up and had asked me if I had released her from her swaddle. Of course I didn't, and so we realized then that she had escaped from her swaddle and had turned on the aquarium by herself.

It is amazing to me how every day she learns something new, grows a little more and just becomes more and more interactive. I look at her all the time and am amazed at human life. It is truly mind blowing.

Birthdays. Blegh.

I don't know what it is about birthdays (mine in particular) but I don't really enjoy them. I know some people who are so excited for their birthday and celebrate the entire week, but to me, it is just another reminder that life is non-stop. I'm also not a fan of the focused attention that comes with birthdays. I have a vivid memory of one of my birthdays when I was a kid- my grandfather had come up to visit for the summer and I REFUSED to come into the dining room for cake and singing. I knew they were going to sing to me and I wouldn't have any of it. As a young child, I remember being sung to at a restaurant and I had burst into tears. I don't know why- I just really dislike my birthday. I love birthdays for other people though; buying presents, making a cake- I love that. But when it comes to mine, I'd rather just hide under the covers until September 1.

I think one birthday tradition that I will have to carry on is the box of Fran's Chocolates. Man oh man. I bought a box for myself on Thursday and I've been loving every piece. It's not like See's Candies where you can rip through most of the box in one sitting- they are just so good that you really want to make the most of them. Jeremy dislikes Fran's because of the cost- but once in a while you really need to treat yourself and make yourself feel special. So here I sit, a big fat glass of Pinot Noir and a half empty box of Fran's. Perfection.

Our Other Kiddo...

So in Miss Kitty News- the great news is that she went to visit Dr. Theresa on Thursday and she's down 1.5 pounds since March! She's now a svelt 14 pounds (well, I wouldn't call her svelt, but we're getting there) Even though we didn't think the Kitty Jenny Craig was working, it turns out that perhaps it was. It is so hard to tell through all that fur sometimes. She also received a clean bill of dental health, which was a huge relief for me as I didn't want to shell out another $400 to get more teeth pulled.

Isabel now outweighs Miss K and has taken an increased interest in the cat. She pays attention to the cat now, watches her as she walks by. Pretty soon Isabel is going to be crawling after her, so Miss K better enjoy her laziness now or find better places to hide.

Need Mommy Advice!!

So our little bundle of joy has been sleeping quite well for the last month and a half and it has been a fairly regular routine. Bathtime, feeding, in bed by 9:00. Wake at 6-6:30 am. This week, she's been waking up earlier and earlier. At first it was 5 am and this morning it was 4 am. And it is not like she's had escaped from her swaddle and she's still sleepy. I am talking about wide eyed, smiling at you, "Let's play!" awake. It is so frustrating, dragging yourself into her room, hoping to plug her pie-hole with a binky and have that be the end of that. Oh no. She's been messing with us too. She'll take her binky for a couple minutes and close her eyes. Just when I've collapsed back into bed and have pulled the covers over myself, I hear the monitor click on and she's whining again. This went on for about 45 minutes before I finally just got up and fed her at 5 am.

So my question is- WHAT GIVES? How did a baby go from sleeping well to torturing me with early, early mornings? Is she not getting enough food at night to last her through that last two hours of the morning before getting up? Dr. Shorr had said to me on Saturday "If she starts to wake up again in the middle of the night, you can go ahead and start feeding her rice cereal." (Not in the middle of the night, mind you- that would be crazy.) Perhaps Isabel heard Dr. Shorr and is taking matters into her own hands? Is it possible we created a genius mastermind? Mommies, I need your advice!

Isabel and Miss Kitty spending some quality time together. (Yes our cat is huge.)

My mom trying out the bow.

My mom is determined to tame Isabel's hair and so I gave in the other day and helped put a bow in her hair. The kicker was that after we had slicked down her hair so that the bow would stick, once it started to dry, her hair and the bow started to stand straight up again.

Just goes to show you can't try and tame what is naturally wild.

Big Feet

So I forgot one crucial thing about yesterday's check up. When Dr. Shorr was looking Isabel over, he couldn't hold back the comment: "Wow, she's got big feet". Jeremy and I just laughed- it is true. I can just see it now, she's going to be a giant on the playground- towering over all the boys in her class. Perhaps this is good- they'll be too intimidated to mess with my little girl.

4 Month Check Up

Today was Isabel's 4 month check up and immunizations. Everything went fantastic- SO MUCH BETTER than our last check up with Dr. Constantin. Never in my life have I wanted to write a "YOU SUCK" letter more- but I honestly would have no idea where to start. Thankfully, Dr. Shorr was a welcome improvement. He listened to me, asked us all sorts of questions and sent us home with a sheet on "what to expect" for her fourth month. Of course she screamed bloody murder when she got poked with the needles, but quieted down once I picked her up. She did great and today she's been all smiles for us.

Here are her stats:

26 inches in height (95%)
15 pounds (75%)
16 3/4 inches- head circumference (90%)

So really it means that my baby is a tall, skinny, big headed baby. HAHA. Heidi Klum, eat your heart out.

Estrella Santos

Many of you know Enjay Santos, a friend and former co-worker. This past Saturday, Enjay lost his mom due to complications of a very unfortunate accident. My heart has been heavy the past few days as I have grieved for my friend and his family.

http://www.esantos.net/estrella/

If those of you who know Enjay are able to attend the service tomorrow, I know he would be comforted to be surrounded by people that love him.

Just Cute.

I hate to post endless pictures of the kiddo without something funny or witty to say, but unfortunately I don't have anything to say. It has been one of those days in which I need to remind myself how fragile and short life can be and I should cherish every minute of it.

It has been too long...

Nakie Nudies in the heat (well, she has a diaper on)

It has been a long week for me and I haven't been good about updating the blog. So many things have happened since last week! And it has been too freakin' hot to do anything but lay in front of the fan.

My brother finally visited last week and got to meet Isabel for the first time. It was so neat to see him again and it was wonderful for Isabel to meet her Tito Tony. The time together was too short, and I hope he comes up again before she gets too much older.

Jeremy and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary last night and we left Isabel with Auntie Eryn and Uncle Aaron. I feel bad for them, they unfortunately had to watch a very cranky and hot kiddo. She definitely was showing the devil horns last night- for sure. But, it was so nice to get out and have a nice dinner and we were so thankful to our friends for putting up with her. The food was great, the sake was even better. We went to this place in Renton called "Blossom Asian Bistro" and the food was fantastic. They do little plates which was a great way to taste everything.

Tito Tony is amazed at Isabel's fantastic 'do.

A second week of work for me and it gets a little easier every day. I still miss Isabel throughout the day (I don't miss the poopy blowouts, that's for sure) but it is good for me to still stay active in the working world. She's growing like a weed on steer manure- she's already in her 6-12 month clothing and tops out at about 15.5 pounds. She's been getting a good work out in her Rainforest Jumperoo from Grandma Beth and it is her new favorite toy. She gets some pretty awesome air when she really gets going.

1 Week Down

Week one of returning to work has been completed. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be- but it was still hard getting back into the swing of things. That and finding an appropriate place to pump during the day. It is hard to be sneaky and discreet around the office, especially since I work/live in a cube.


I was able to finagle an empty office with a locking door, so that is nice. Now I don't have to worry too much about being walked in on in case I forgot to lock the bathroom door. Can you imagine the look that person's face? It makes me giggle just thinking about it.


I had mentioned to our office manager that hey- if that office stays empty- could I bring Isabel to the office with her Jumperoo and just leave her in there with a webcam and some Cheerios? I'm sure she'd be fine. He laughed at me and then threatened to call CPS. I told him if he was going to call CPS on me, he'd better include the picture of her in the tub with the Doctor Ma Swim Ring.

Yes, we finally scored our own Doctor Ma swim ring from China. Isabel loves it and paddles around the bathtub. And before YOU go calling CPS on me- this is perfectly safe. She can't tip over and we NEVER leave her alone in the water. I was truly amazed how much she took to the water considering her first encounter with the bath left us both in tears.

One more thing- Miss Kitty has turned into quite the kitty "big sister". She yeowls at Isabel and watches her when she plays on her blankets for tummy time. If I have let Isabel fuss a little too long, Miss K will act very distressed. I am sure she is just saying "For the love of God, make it stop!"

They are now in the same weight class- so technically, it might be a fair match.

Blegh.

Tomorrow officially ends my maternity leave. It has been three months and one week since I've been gone. The past few days have been very hard, dotted with the occasional breakdown in which I feel like a terrible mother for leaving my little girl behind. But it is reality, and that is something I will just have to deal with. So boo-hoo and woe is me.

The insanely wonderful news is that Isabel will be cared for by everyone in my family, including Jeremy who will have Mondays off. So I really should just shut my cake hole and be grateful that we are not leaving her with strangers.

Today, I had one of those "Pretty Woman" moments while attempting to find a suitable "undergarment" for myself. I had walked into a certain Maternity store that sells undergarments for new mothers and had asked if they would help me. After measuring me, the gal pretty much announced to the whole store that I was too large and that they didn't have my size at the store. I was further informed that I would have to go to Nordstroms to special order my size as again, they didn't carry sizes for people as large as me. Pissed and annoyed, I left muttering to myself "If you don't want my money, FINE!" I was able to find decent help at Nordstroms, and the gal re-measured me and reassured me that I was NOT the size that the maternity store claimed I was and that I didn't need to special order anything. Gracious. I know when you have a baby "The Girls" go up a size or two- but I wasn't THAT big. I almost wanted to go back to that maternity store and ask if they worked on commission. "BIG MISTAKE. BIG MISTAKE!"