Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tomorrow is Roxanne's 3 Month Birthday!

Tomorrow is a big milestone. It's one of those age shifts that is referenced in a lot of baby books. You know, like "at 3 months, babies will begin to [insert developmental step here]." It's really very exciting. It's strange though, since I'm constantly torn between being totally thrilled with all of the new things that Roxanne is doing, but also sad to see her growing. Well, maybe sad isn't the right word. Just sort of misty-eyed. Here's some of the new things in our lives:

*Roxanne seems like she might be teething. She's been very drooly, and is getting good at spit bubbles. She also sucks on her hand constantly and has been a little more fussy and needy than usual. She's also having loose poops still. Nothing to worry about I don't think, but still, all signs point to teething. One of my co-workers has a 12 month old with no teeth, and one of my other co-workers has an 11 month old with 8 teeth. The one who has 8 teeth apparently started teething at around Roxanne's age. Who knows?

*Roxanne is getting very good at rolling from her back to her side and/or belly. She sort of gets her upper body face down, but not necessarily the rest of her body. But she is getting better and less fussy with tummy time.

*We put Roxanne in her crib for the first time tonight. I put together the mobile that Nana got her. She laid in her crib and talked to the mobile and watched enraptured while the little animals moved in a circle. The only problem is that it seemed to really wind her up. She was kicking her legs and swinging her arms like a wild woman. Then the animals stopped moving, and about 3 minutes later she abruptly started screaming. She kept that up until I nursed her in bed. She promptly sacked out. I wonder how Andrea gets her to nap in a crib? She seems to not sleep with me at home unless she can nurse to sleep. I heard a woman say that you should wake them just a little when they fall asleep nursing, just so that they open their eyes and then go back to sleep with nothing in their mouth. Roxanne does OK with this about half the time, and the other half the time she just wakes up and screams until I feed her again. Actually, she doesn't scream, just roots around like a wolf puppy, grunting and squirming. She also pulls and grabs at her face when she's worked up, leaving teensy little cuts on her nose. I swear I clip her nails once a week.

*As of our visit to the pediatrician last Monday, Roxanne weighs 13 pounds 5 ounces, and I had to buy diapers in a size 2 last night! They are for Andrea's, so we are still using size 1 at home, but she is definitely not going to be in them much longer. She's got a big booty! I bought a package of 1/2 size diapers at a consignment sale a while ago, so I think those will be perfect soon. I don't think they sell them anywhere but Babies R Us, since I couldn't find them last night at Target. They are Pampers, but I've been using Huggies and prefer them. They just seem to fit better. I'd like to use the Seventh Generation diapers with no chlorine, but they didn't have them at Target and I didn't have time to trek all the way to Whole Foods last night while Justin was watching Roxanne at home. Plus, there is a pretty big price difference, and with our recent trip to the emergency room, we're trying to plan ahead for that anticipated expense.

I've been very busy at work and I'm trying to make the shift from coffee to tea, since it's a much more gentle way of getting caffeine for me, but all of the stress at work makes it tough. It's also messed up my milk supply a little bit. I think I'm going to have to start pumping 3 times a day at work...ugh. I'm also going to have to buy a real pump, since the one I have is really meant for occasional use only. I'm hoping to use my flexible spending account for it. Pumping at work is kind of awful, but I'm doing my best. It's so important to me that Roxanne have breast milk for the first year. I've been working on being more comfortable with feeding her in public, too, since my sling makes it totally invisible, and it's only my own hang ups that keep me from doing it. It's just such a hot button issue! But over the course of the last two weeks, I've nursed Roxanne while walking around Lenox Mall, while eating breakfast at Whole Foods, and at a local coffee shop. Unfortunately, if you are going to be out and about on a Saturday, you just have to nurse the baby, since you can't run home every time you need to pump. I'm looking around for a good nursing apron, since Roxanne will soon be too big to hide in the sling.

Good grief, I've probably alienated half of you by now. Poop, breastfeeding... If I could just talk about PMS I could probably get all of you offended. Unfortunately, I don't really remember what that is anymore. Check back with me in a few months.

Well, we are all feeling much healthier lately, and thank heaven for that. We hope that all of you all are, too.

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