Frances has been here for a whole four weeks. I'm still getting used to it; she made her entry so quickly. I labored at home for about 2 hours, thinking there was plenty of time. Just as I was about to call my doctor and tell him we were on our way to the hospital, the contractions suddenly got very, very painful. We rushed out the door as quickly as we could, which was not as fast as I'd have liked, and got to the hospital just in time. Fortunately, the ER staff that morning was the most competent one I know and he got us up to labor and delivery quickly on a gurney. (I once delivered a baby in the L&D triage area as the woman was transferring from wheelchair to bed -- not ideal. Considering my water broke and the baby started to crown on the way from the elevator to L&D, I'm glad I was lying down.) An OB resident and friend of mine delivered Frances. My doctor didn't even know I'd delivered until that afternoon!
Anyway, Franny's very cute and sweet. And tiny! She only weighed 6lb 6oz at birth. I was not expecting such a small baby after having an 8lb Edith. Franny's been trying to catch up, though, and is quite the little piglet. She already looks so much bigger and fatter than when she was born. She enjoys being worn around the house and around town in my baby wrap -- wish I had had it when Edie was tiny. She sleeps or just looks around with her giant dark blue eyes.
Edie's still getting used to having a baby around. She mostly ignored Franny for the first few weeks when she realized that the baby wasn't a new toy for her to play with. She isn't overtly jealous, but she does get pretty frustrated when I can't pick her up or get on the floor with her because I'm nursing. Now that Franny's not eating constantly, I'm able to play with her a bit more and she's happier. She's also more interested in Frances, mostly patting her sweetly and blowing kisses, only occasionally trying to poke her in the eye.
In other super-important news, Edie is finally walking! She'd been cruising well and taking two or three steps here and there, but one day around the seventh of this month, she just started walking all over the place. She began by crawling on her feet and hands with her bum in the air, which was pretty funny. Then she just stood up and took off! Carl bought a little monkey backpack/leash for her, but we haven't really tried it out. I doubt it will be a big hit, but it's bound to be easier than holding onto her squirming hand when she's trying to fling herself into traffic or down the outside stairs.
My little walker just woke up from her nap and is going to the playground with Daddy. Her sister is sleeping sweetly in her wrap. I'm going to miss maternity leave.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Bigger every day!
Dear Edith,
It's true. You are bigger and better every day. You're back in the 60th percentile for weight and you're outgrowing many of your 0-3 month clothes. You're smiling and cooing all the time now, and you're starting to try out consonants, mostly G's. Your daddy has bought you several new little chime toys to hang from your carseat and gym, and you've been expertly batting and kicking at them. Your head control is getting better, and you're able to put up with longer periods of tummy time before you get too frustrated and start crying. This afternoon, I noticed you trying to catch your feet in your hands for the first time while you were lying on your back after a diaper change.
It's hard now that I'm spending so much time at work. I miss you all day. When your daddy comes to pick me up though, I sit in the back seat with you for the ride home. You smile at me and try to talk. It's my favorite time of day, next to bedtime.
Lately, we've been trying to get a bedtime routine going. I feed you, then change your diaper and get you into pajamas. Then we snuggle for a little while and read a book together and sing a lullaby or two. As tired as I am at the end of the day, it's very hard to put you into your bassinet and go to sleep. Cuddling and talking with you makes me feel like I can happily face whatever the next day throws at me. When I get frustrated with paperwork or patients or my hectic schedule, I just think about that big toothless grin that's waiting for me at home. I love you, little Edie.
It's true. You are bigger and better every day. You're back in the 60th percentile for weight and you're outgrowing many of your 0-3 month clothes. You're smiling and cooing all the time now, and you're starting to try out consonants, mostly G's. Your daddy has bought you several new little chime toys to hang from your carseat and gym, and you've been expertly batting and kicking at them. Your head control is getting better, and you're able to put up with longer periods of tummy time before you get too frustrated and start crying. This afternoon, I noticed you trying to catch your feet in your hands for the first time while you were lying on your back after a diaper change.
It's hard now that I'm spending so much time at work. I miss you all day. When your daddy comes to pick me up though, I sit in the back seat with you for the ride home. You smile at me and try to talk. It's my favorite time of day, next to bedtime.
Lately, we've been trying to get a bedtime routine going. I feed you, then change your diaper and get you into pajamas. Then we snuggle for a little while and read a book together and sing a lullaby or two. As tired as I am at the end of the day, it's very hard to put you into your bassinet and go to sleep. Cuddling and talking with you makes me feel like I can happily face whatever the next day throws at me. When I get frustrated with paperwork or patients or my hectic schedule, I just think about that big toothless grin that's waiting for me at home. I love you, little Edie.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Hawaii
We've officially moved now. I don't know how long it will take for our stuff to get here, but our car should be here soon. We've been living in a hotel room for the past week and a half, but we just signed the lease on a nice two-bedroom townhouse on Aliamanu Military Reservation. It's got a screened-in lanai! The Army is even lending us furniture until ours gets here.
Edie's growing like a weed. She just barely fits sideways in her pack-and-play now, as opposed to before when that's how she'd normally sleep. She's been working very hard on putting her pacifier into her mouth on her own, but her experiments usually result in frustration and fussing.
I'm still in new intern orientation, which means mostly short hours and lots of days off. Carl and I have been enjoying exploring the island. We've been to the big Ala Moana Shopping Center several times, and we drove up to a beach on the western shore near Kahe Point earlier this week. There are pictures on Carl's Flickr account of Edie being cute in our little sun shelter on the beach: http://flickr.com/photos/cburgers/ (Please ignore the picture of me being fat.)
Edie's growing like a weed. She just barely fits sideways in her pack-and-play now, as opposed to before when that's how she'd normally sleep. She's been working very hard on putting her pacifier into her mouth on her own, but her experiments usually result in frustration and fussing.
I'm still in new intern orientation, which means mostly short hours and lots of days off. Carl and I have been enjoying exploring the island. We've been to the big Ala Moana Shopping Center several times, and we drove up to a beach on the western shore near Kahe Point earlier this week. There are pictures on Carl's Flickr account of Edie being cute in our little sun shelter on the beach: http://flickr.com/photos/cburgers/ (Please ignore the picture of me being fat.)
So much has happened!
It's been a long time since I wrote anything here. We've been so busy with graduation and moving, not to mention taking care of you! You're over six weeks old now and getting prettier every day. You've earned yourself a new nickname: Hippo. It started out because of a hand-me-down outfit you have with a hippo on it and the words "'Lil Hippo." Your Grandma Diane disapproved of calling a little girl a hippo, so we joked about it and the name stuck. (You're hungry like a hippo and can open your mouth very WIDE.) Since then, so many coincidences have kept the nickname alive:
1. Your chart at the pediatrician's in Little Rock had a hippo stamp on it.
2. Aunt Becky gave us a "Happy Hippo Play Gym."
3. Jeff and Lisa Miller gave you a purple hippo piggy-bank.
4. The Shackletts gave you a hippo teething toy.
5. Your daddy had already bought a book called Hippos Go Berserk!, and I had read it to you before you were born. It makes you smile when we start to read it now.
You're smiling quite a bit now and making lots of other funny faces. You try to roll over, and your daddy claims you've succeeded (back to front) once. Your major project right now is learning how to put your pacifier in your mouth by yourself after it's fallen out. It's great to watch you try and try, and think and think. Eventually your daddy or I have to put it in for you, but you're getting better at it all the time!
You took the move to Hawaii very well and have been to the beach a few times now. You're not keen on hats, so we keep you in a big sun shelter that's like half a tent. I mostly hang out with you in there, too, as I don't want to get sunburned either. We'll be moving into our new place on Wednesday, and you'll have your own room! Don't worry, though -- we'll keep you in our room for a little while longer. I don't want to be too far away, as you still wake up hungry two or three times in the night.
Your daddy has posted pictures of you and the family and the beach and other things on this website: http://flickr.com/photos/cburgers/
1. Your chart at the pediatrician's in Little Rock had a hippo stamp on it.
2. Aunt Becky gave us a "Happy Hippo Play Gym."
3. Jeff and Lisa Miller gave you a purple hippo piggy-bank.
4. The Shackletts gave you a hippo teething toy.
5. Your daddy had already bought a book called Hippos Go Berserk!, and I had read it to you before you were born. It makes you smile when we start to read it now.
You're smiling quite a bit now and making lots of other funny faces. You try to roll over, and your daddy claims you've succeeded (back to front) once. Your major project right now is learning how to put your pacifier in your mouth by yourself after it's fallen out. It's great to watch you try and try, and think and think. Eventually your daddy or I have to put it in for you, but you're getting better at it all the time!
You took the move to Hawaii very well and have been to the beach a few times now. You're not keen on hats, so we keep you in a big sun shelter that's like half a tent. I mostly hang out with you in there, too, as I don't want to get sunburned either. We'll be moving into our new place on Wednesday, and you'll have your own room! Don't worry, though -- we'll keep you in our room for a little while longer. I don't want to be too far away, as you still wake up hungry two or three times in the night.
Your daddy has posted pictures of you and the family and the beach and other things on this website: http://flickr.com/photos/cburgers/
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Milestone?
Dear Edith,
Well, I don't think it counts as a real milestone, but in the interest of being as embarrassing a parent as possible...
Today you had your first major poop leak. I was holding you on the couch and noticed your back was awfully wet. At first I thought you were very hot and sweaty, but you weren't. It was gross, yellow, breastmilk poop. Then I saw that it was everywhere: you, the nursing pillow, and my clothes. Disgusting. Several wipes and a good deal of hot water and baking soda were necessary.
Don't worry. Despite the grossness, I still think you're precious.
Well, I don't think it counts as a real milestone, but in the interest of being as embarrassing a parent as possible...
Today you had your first major poop leak. I was holding you on the couch and noticed your back was awfully wet. At first I thought you were very hot and sweaty, but you weren't. It was gross, yellow, breastmilk poop. Then I saw that it was everywhere: you, the nursing pillow, and my clothes. Disgusting. Several wipes and a good deal of hot water and baking soda were necessary.
Don't worry. Despite the grossness, I still think you're precious.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Edie!
Well, Edith Rose was born April 30, 2008 at 10:40 am. She weighed 8lb 1oz, was 20 inches long, and has a full head of hair that's exactly the same color as Carl's. So far, everything's been going well. We're a bit sleepless but very happy.
(As far as labor goes, take my advice, ladies: if a kind-hearted nurse offers you stadol in the middle of a very bad contraction, just say no. It doesn't make anything better or easier, but rather makes you completely unable to rationalize the pain. It also makes it difficult for you to communicate the fact that, yes, that epidural doesn't sound too bad right now, thanks. So much for my plans of a natural birth.)
Edie's nicknames so far:
- Fussbucket
- Flopsy (Carl's favorite)
- Piglet
- Haven't thought of a nickname for when she has the hiccups, which is several times per day. I do however get the urge to sing Weezer's "Island in the Sun" every time she goes "Hic, hic."
(As far as labor goes, take my advice, ladies: if a kind-hearted nurse offers you stadol in the middle of a very bad contraction, just say no. It doesn't make anything better or easier, but rather makes you completely unable to rationalize the pain. It also makes it difficult for you to communicate the fact that, yes, that epidural doesn't sound too bad right now, thanks. So much for my plans of a natural birth.)
Edie's nicknames so far:
- Fussbucket
- Flopsy (Carl's favorite)
- Piglet
- Haven't thought of a nickname for when she has the hiccups, which is several times per day. I do however get the urge to sing Weezer's "Island in the Sun" every time she goes "Hic, hic."
You're here!
Edie,
You made your appearance on April 30 at 10:40 am. The thing I remember most about that moment is screaming in pain (because that last push hurt) and then immediately smiling with absolute joy and saying, "Oh, hello! I love you so much," as the doctor placed you on my tummy. Your daddy was talking to you and crying (which he pretty much never does). Everything but the three of us disappeared. You were (and are) certainly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and you made this happy couple an even happier family.
As I write this, you are snoozing peacefully in the bouncy seat, surrounded by piles of folded laundry. You went to your first pediatrician's visit this afternoon where you were diagnosed with adorableness. Your daddy and I then decided to further test a baby's portability with a trip to the shops. You did quite well! And don't worry -- I know that you're still very little and kept you away from anybody who could cough on you.
Everything about you is so new and sweet, from your fuzzy little ears to your kissable toes. It's very hard to stop snuggling you sometimes. Your daddy and I are trying to remember to take lots of pictures and videos to remember your "tiny time". In fact, he just recorded you looking around at the unfocused living room and hiccuping. You get the hiccups a lot, but it doesn't seem to bother you much.
For someone so small, you do a lot of cute and funny things. You make goofy faces, both when your asleep and when you're awake. You get all relaxed and floppy when you're deep asleep, which has prompted us to nickname you "Flopsy." Then you wiggle and squirm all over the place in the bath or on the changing table. You really don't like either. You have a couple of other nicknames, including "Piglet" and "Fussbucket." Those are pretty self-explanatory. You really don't fuss too much, though, as you are a remarkably sweet and happy baby. We really lucked out with you. I have a sneaking suspicion your future childhood antics will more than make up for this fairly easy newborn period, though.
I really should be in bed right now, considering you're due to wake up hungry in a couple of hours, but I thought I should write to you first. We're so happy you're here.
Love,
Mommy
P.S. -- I just read your daddy's last post. Looks like we had the exact same thoughts! We both love you very much.
You made your appearance on April 30 at 10:40 am. The thing I remember most about that moment is screaming in pain (because that last push hurt) and then immediately smiling with absolute joy and saying, "Oh, hello! I love you so much," as the doctor placed you on my tummy. Your daddy was talking to you and crying (which he pretty much never does). Everything but the three of us disappeared. You were (and are) certainly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and you made this happy couple an even happier family.
As I write this, you are snoozing peacefully in the bouncy seat, surrounded by piles of folded laundry. You went to your first pediatrician's visit this afternoon where you were diagnosed with adorableness. Your daddy and I then decided to further test a baby's portability with a trip to the shops. You did quite well! And don't worry -- I know that you're still very little and kept you away from anybody who could cough on you.
Everything about you is so new and sweet, from your fuzzy little ears to your kissable toes. It's very hard to stop snuggling you sometimes. Your daddy and I are trying to remember to take lots of pictures and videos to remember your "tiny time". In fact, he just recorded you looking around at the unfocused living room and hiccuping. You get the hiccups a lot, but it doesn't seem to bother you much.
For someone so small, you do a lot of cute and funny things. You make goofy faces, both when your asleep and when you're awake. You get all relaxed and floppy when you're deep asleep, which has prompted us to nickname you "Flopsy." Then you wiggle and squirm all over the place in the bath or on the changing table. You really don't like either. You have a couple of other nicknames, including "Piglet" and "Fussbucket." Those are pretty self-explanatory. You really don't fuss too much, though, as you are a remarkably sweet and happy baby. We really lucked out with you. I have a sneaking suspicion your future childhood antics will more than make up for this fairly easy newborn period, though.
I really should be in bed right now, considering you're due to wake up hungry in a couple of hours, but I thought I should write to you first. We're so happy you're here.
Love,
Mommy
P.S. -- I just read your daddy's last post. Looks like we had the exact same thoughts! We both love you very much.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Carl made Edie a blog
It's linked over to the right of this page. She's also got a Facebook profile if you want to friend her. It's a waiting game right now, and we're trying to be patient. That's getting pretty difficult, though, knowing that she's all baked and ready to come out. She's dropped down and has been gradually curling herself into a little ball. I figure she'll eventually realize she's running out of room in there and start feeling cramped enough to consider crawling out. Maybe today!
Waiting!
Edie,
Your daddy and I are anxiously awaiting your imminent arrival. Patience is getting more and more difficult. I want to be able to hold you and see what you look like. You have LOTS of very cute clothes waiting for you that I'd love to be able to dress you up in. Hope you like pink. Your Grandma Partrick and Aunt Becky call every few days to check on your progress. Grandpa Burgers does the same. Daddy calls home from work every day to hopefully ask if you're on your way yet.
I know you'll come out when you're good and ready, but I'd like it to be soon! I love you very, very much.
Mommy
Your daddy and I are anxiously awaiting your imminent arrival. Patience is getting more and more difficult. I want to be able to hold you and see what you look like. You have LOTS of very cute clothes waiting for you that I'd love to be able to dress you up in. Hope you like pink. Your Grandma Partrick and Aunt Becky call every few days to check on your progress. Grandpa Burgers does the same. Daddy calls home from work every day to hopefully ask if you're on your way yet.
I know you'll come out when you're good and ready, but I'd like it to be soon! I love you very, very much.
Mommy
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