Here come the ides of nine

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Tomorrow is my second wedding anniversary. My Mother-in-Law has offered to babysit and Chris and I will go out to eat.

Very Early.

Because our baby has to go to bed by 7. And we have to get her back in time to do all the putting-to-bed things. I’m still looking forward to the date. We haven’t eaten out together since Veronica was born. We are going someplace fancy–the Olive Garden. Because he has a coupon. And that’s who we are now. Early dinner eaters with coupons. I’m happy about that.

I’m going to go ransack my closet to see what kind of pretty dress I can find. And maybe I’ll wear fancy shoes. And a hat! I’ll definitely wear makeup.

you never know

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So this weekend, I topped off my sleep tank finally. I was able to rest enough that I didn’t need a nap that day, or the next or the next. I was so excited!

Strangely, it’s been making me think of how messed up I’ve been for more almost 2 years now. Pregnancy did a number on me, and then recovering from the birth. So this weekend, while I was thinking ‘I feel so strong and rested and wonderful!’, I was flashing back to how not strong and not wonderful I had been feeling.

Past on the back and future by the hand, moving forward.

I remember how, months after, I sat at the table to eat something–because I had to eat to keep my strenght–and I realized I was totally slumped over. I made myself sit up straight, but the effort was too much. I literally did not have the strength to sit up straight and eat dinner at the same time.

And I walked up to foothill this weekend, pushing the baby and walking the dog. Walked straight up there like it was nothing. But I had struggled up it like it was Mount Everest, attempting it every day until I finally made it…back when Veronica was little.

How in the world did women do it? I still don’t exactly know how I did it. But women have been doing it for centuries. I understand why it used to kill them.

But the good news is, I can stand up straight now. I can walk and stride fast to get where I need to go without pain.

It feels good.

But yesterday, I gave in and ate a bunch of sugary yummy nuts. I shouldn’t have. I had been all full of energy, and was hungry and there they were. And I ate too many. Then I was SO sleepy. Sleepy like I used to be.

Veronica was in a nap when I got home, so I thought I’d get a snooze. But no. She woke up just as I was getting ready to take my shoes off. OH man.

So I dragged through the rest of the afternoon of child wakefullness. Just when I thought the tired was over. HA!

One thing that never changes: things never stay the same.

a matter of opinion

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It’s been hot, and it keeps being hot. Yesterday, V wouldn’t eat very much.

But I gave her a sippy cut with some water in it. She LOVES to drink water from her own hands with her own cup. And since her hands and her cup are a little messy, I only give her water.

It’s hot and the radio is telling everyone to drink a lot of water, so I thought water was a good idea. But her daddy says that water makes her throw up.

well, URP.

It does, I have to admit. Then again, so does formula. And baby food. And…well, this is a time in her life when the valve pretty much goes both ways, up and down. And she loves her sippy. So I give it to her.

She’s gaining independence. She is good at sitting up now, and enjoys her tv shows greatly. We just have to stay out of her way
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Saturday…Ahhhhhh…

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It’s gonna be a hot one, no doubt about it. But that means I’ve been granted parole from my outdoor chores.  I get to do whatever I want. Maybe I’ll paint my toes!

I’m getting used to life with my daughter. She’s a great person, now that I’ve gotten to know her. She’s usually up for running around town, provided she’s had enough sleep and food. She likes a good laugh, and is curious and interested in new things. She likes her familiar things too.

It’s been 7 months. It’s the new normal.

Happy Family

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It’s so much fun to watch Veronica be part of our happy family.

The animals keep on being very good to our newest member.

 

She has a wide independent streak, and it pleased to have her own sippy. It’s got water in it, and she can get a drink all on her own.

 

it wasn’t worthy

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So I start the day at work irritated by a request that could have been avoided if the requestor had opened up all the mega documentation that exists. And then I realized that maybe the documentation got a little skewey and might not be accurate anymore.  But I was still irritated because he didn’t even try.

Chris knows I hate to be asked obvious questions. Do NOT ask me where some kitchen item is located because YOU LIVE HERE TOO, dude, and the kitchen is not my exlusive domain just because I have two XXs and you have a Y.

My co-worker was saying “It’s easy! It’s no big deal.”  And I was stewing because what do we have these databases for anyway, and why am I the only one who seems to know they exist and UPDATE them anyway? But he was right, mostly, and the request wasn’t that big a deal. It wasn’t worth getting peeved about.

I’m still feeling tired from yesterday’s long drive. Well, yesterday’s long drive combined with the not-quite-enough sleep I’ve been getting. I’ve been excited that i don’t need a nap every day anymore. But I think I do need a nap SOME days.

babies cry

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This week we’ve been trying to teach Veronica sleep independence. We started last thursday, and used the methods explained by Weissbluth. A lot of people have had success with it.

The idea is that babies need to learn to put themselves to sleep, not to be soothed and rocked and patted. So, parents should put the little one to bed before she is asleep and let her fall asleep without help.

Which means letting her cry it out.

That’s hard. Veronica has spent a lot of hours crying alone in her room this week. And I have had to steel myself not to go in there and pick her up. She’s little! She needs me! But she needs to learn.

She is learning. I can hear her wake up sometimes, and she puts herself back to sleep without crying. WONDERFUL.

She doesn’t hold it against us in the morning, either. We’ve all been getting more sleep as a result, which makes it worthwhile.

Doesn’t she look more independent?

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