Mommy Wrist...

Goodness me... Reading about all of the afflictions that can happen to new moms is pretty daunting. I mean, some of the highlights include massive hair loss (polite way of saying "balding"), hemorrhoids, leaking fluids from various parts of your body, etc. etc. I remember being 9 months pregnant and reading the list and wondering if my pregnant lady cankles were really as bad as I thought, and that maybe I wasn't in such a rush for Roxanne to be born. One weird thing that I never read about is a type of tendinitis or carpal tunnel that a lot of new moms get. From what I read, it happens more with really new moms, like a month or two after the baby is born, but I'm guessing the sudden increase in picking up several children all day long is what is causing mine. It started in one wrist and has now spread to the other. It's really uncomfortable, and it doesn't look like there are a lot of options for treating it that don't include a doctor. And I'm definitely not going to ask for a morning or afternoon off of work considering I have only been working for them for a month and a half. I read a lot of moms recommending some stretches, and using ice and heat alternately to help the pain. I think I'll try this. I'm sure it will clear up soon. In the meantime, I've got to try to keep my thumbs down when I'm picking up the little ones. Fortunately, Ben just started walking this week, and I think Maddie is close behind. I think this job is definitely helping my weight loss crusade...

Roxanne's fifth tooth is mostly out now. I'm trying to get better about brushing her teeth every night, and tonight when I did it, she loved it! I'm guessing it felt good to have her gums rubbed and she kept trying to bite down on my finger. Usually she fusses a little when I brush her teeth, so this is a great improvement. Maybe she finally noticed that the Orajel is kind of tasty.

So Roxanne is not crawling yet (still) but she is really getting very mobile. She's pretty quick at scooting around on her booty, and she can traverse pretty long distances like this. It's really funny to watch. She's also really good at sitting on her booty and then bouncing herself forward onto her hands to reach for a toy and then falling back onto her booty. She's started taking toys from Ben and Maddie every once in a while, and much to their chagrin, they can't always effectively snatch them back. Watching the three of them interact is hysterical. Maddie is the funniest in some ways, because when she's having a tough day, she fusses whenever anyone grabs a toy that she's playing with, but if they don't try to take the one she picks up as a replacement, she sticks it in their face so that they can play tug of war with it. Keep in mind that she continues to fuss through this whole procedure. Roxanne is much less into mind games. She just puts anything and everything she can get a hold of into her mouth.

The photo above is Roxanne meeting Benson. He's the first horse she has touched! We went to my Dad and Colleen's farm over the 3 day weekend, and Roxanne had a blast with her cousins.