Good Mornin Georgia!

Even though the nights are sometimes hard, the mornings are totally worth it.

Thumbsucker/Facesucker

Bed Time

AS is for all babies, bedtime has become quite the trauma in my life, but hopefully not in Georgia's. Some nights she goes to bed so well and so peacefully and other nights she throws a holy fit. So , being the responsible mother I am, I sent Matt out to the library to get me the 2 formost books on baby sleep habits. So I plow through them yesterday only to find that they are the polar oposites in theroy. One has a methodical way to teach your baby to sleep and includes a fair amount of crying. The other one says to nurture your baby, sometimes causing much sacrifice to the parents.

Now I have no problem with they way my baby sleeps. She sleeps well and occationally wants to eat and I can handle that. It is the going to bed that she hates. Why is that? What in her tiny brain knows that it is time for bed and fights it? She will fall asleep for naps, no problem. But the final nap of the day, bedtime, is her sworn enemy.

So tell me internet world, do I let my sweet precious baby cry in hopes of teaching her how to fall asleep alone (Ferber) or do I nuture and teach her how to fall asleep with comfort and caring while sacrificing time with my husband and my own sleep (Sears)?

Boat Ride

Here is an action shot of Georgia rolling over











Here she is right after she has rolled over. It takes her a while to unpin her arm.












And this is her spitting up directly after she rolls over.

We're on a Roll

Well, it's happened. She has rolled over. Both Matt and I were there and she was very proud of herself. She has only been trying for 4 or 5 weeks now. I hope this doesn't mean early mobility but, by the way she kicks her feet while she is on her stomach, I am thinking so. She is also growing this week. She is eating more, sleeping more and some of the 3 month clothes that didn't fit a week ago, fit today. I will get some action shots of the roll soon and post them.

Nanue has left the building

Well after a weeklong visit, it was time for Nanue to go this morning. We were all sad that she had to leave, but happy knowing she would be back in about a month to spend another week.

I really appreciated her spending all day at work with me. It allowed me to get some stuff done and still have my baby close by so I could feed her. Sometimes I would go into the little room we call the nursery and she would just be sitting in the dark rocking little Georgia while she slept. What endless patience.

Georgia is so lucky to have so much family (especially two grandmothers) that love her so much and want to get to know her. It will be so fun for her growing up.

I also want to thank the Davises for making the trip to meet the newest addition of the family. Georgia and Caroline will really enjoy each other as they get older.

And we can't forget Big Poppa and his ever-patient presence. When everything is going crazy and everyone is trying to do their own thing, he is always happy to just tag along and make the women in his life so happy.

And while I am giving thanks, I can't forget my family. Grandmomma always works so hard to make holidays such memorable events and this 4th of July was no different. From the potato salad to the decorative crepe paper, tied all around the swimming pool, everything was perfect and made the party so much fun.

So after a great week of family fun, Matt and I are ready to spend some time together and gear up for another week of watching our baby girl and how much she grows and changes everyday.

that's cold, momma

Georgia, clad in her snazzy new swimsuit, and Virigina went for a swim on July 4th. I expected little G to scream and cry but she seemed to not mind the cold water, at least for a little bit. I imagine she'll be a fish like her mommy before too long.

nanue & little bubbers; big poppa and little pug dog

Nanue and her little bubbers. The sling is a wonderful thing. Not long before this, G was less than cheery.











Big poppa and his little pug dog. If only you had heard the snoring.

you're a shooting star, that's what you are

This was taken not long after she woke up Saturday morning. The other pictures we took made her look like she was hungover from a long night of drinking gripe water.

I'm the daddy

Yesterday, big V left me alone with little G for almost a whole hour. This was huge.

V came home from work, fed G and then headed to Mary & Denny's to drink a beer and chop veggies for our stew.

The previous night had been, how you say, a freakin' nightmare. G had screamed her cute little head off, which left V 6 feet, 2 inches of frustration.

It should be said that G's not a big fan of being held by anyone other than her momma, so for V to leave G with me alone for that long was a big step for all three of us.

Before V left around 5:45, she told me I could not show up at Mary's before 6:30. Then the sliding door shut behind her and the game was on.

I vowed I would keep G happy.

Luckily, my girl G loves books, so I gathered up an armload of Baby Einsteins, and a few others, grabbed the green Boppy, and plopped down on the couch.

I didn't even leave Sports Center on mute.

In my sweetest voice, I read to G about animals and shapes and about some lame, blobs of color called the Kidgits.

My favorite book, one of the Baby Einsteins, had pictures of cows, ducks, and even a mirror.

The cool part was that it said things like "I am a cow" and then had it translated in two or three languages.

I could handle the Spanish but the Japanese or Chinese or whatever the heck language it was made me sound like an idiot. G didn't seem to mind, though.

At 6:30, almost on the dot, G got all shaky and red. The screaming ensued. I walked her around. Bupkus. I laid her on the bed and gave her the ol' pinkie. That worked for a few minutes but soon she was crying again. Finally, I headed to the living room to pop her in the battery-powered swing. Thank god, she liked that.

Then, before I knew it, V returned to a quiet house. Man, I have to admit that 45 minutes felt like two hours. I really don't know how V does it all day and night. She's a superhero in size 13 running shoes.

On a side note, V told me this morning that G had been fussy, occasionally screaming her head off, last night. That is until - that's right - her daddy came to bed. I fell asleep fast so I didn't get to hear G giggle and then slide off to sleep herself. What a sweetheart.

Sweet Pee

I never thought I would love the smell of pee. In the mornings, when she has gone all night without a diaper change, because she really does not pee too much when she sleeps, I love the way she smells like sweet breastmilk pee. I know it is wrong for me to a: let her smell like pee and b: for me to like it, but I can't help it. That mixture of baby smell and wet diaper makes me want to kiss her all over. But I can't because it will wake her up. And while I love that she smells like pee, I love even more that she loves to sleep in.

Fist Sucker

Well we are getting close to the inevitable fist or thumb sucking. Yesterday she went to town on her little hands just sucking and slurping away. So lady-like.

Update

Not really anything to say. Once she is older I am sure we will have funny stories and cute anecdotes but right now she just eats, sleeps, poops (twice today) and sometimes, if you try really hard, smiles.

She was an angel baby today at work. She took long naps and did not fuss much at all. I am in the process of decorating her "nursery" up there and I got a lot done until today. We bought a bunch of animal pictures to hang on the walls and I covered some cabinets in an animal print cloth to make the room more child-like. My baby is going to love animals and have no fear on snakes!

We are looking forward to the Gleasons and the Davises coming this weekend. The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays and I can't wait it next year when Georgia is old enough to know what is going on. Fireworks are a kid’s best friend. Here is a picture to tide you over until we have news:

I Have a Minute

With work being so busy, posting is going to be hard for me and I may only get to it on the weekends. Georgia is taking a nap right now and Matt ran out to buy a floor toy for her. He gets kind of stir crazy on the weekends when I just want to stay home for the baby's sake. She gets fussy if we spend too much time in the car or out in town. Plus I have to feed her every 2 hours still and that's just easier to do at home.

Work is going well so far. I get up at about 6:10 and get dressed, then I wake her up and feed her, and then we go meet my mom at the park and run 3 miles. There is a shower at the shop so we all 3 head to the shop and I feed her again while Mary gets ready and then put Georgia in a bouncy seat while I get ready. It has worked out really well so far and I really am lucky to be able to keep her with me while I work. She is a great baby and doesn't cry too much.

Our most recent achievement was a long hand sucking while driving to Garden Ridge today. I heard her in the back seat just sucking away. I hope this means we are closer to finding our thumb and being able to keep it in our mouth so I get my finger back. It's hard to drive a standard with my hand hanging into the backseat so she has something to suck on and will stop screaming.

We have a big weekend ahead with the visitation on Nanue and Big Poppa and the Bek and Brad and Caroline on Monday. I hope Caroline is not too disappointed at the lack of playing ability her new cousin has. I am sure she will be happy to help take care of the baby though.

I will take some pictures of the nursery and post them for those of you who have not seen it and want to. She does not sleep in there yet but it sure is pretty!

momma's girl

Looks like precious baby G isn't a big fan of the bald guy who keeps calling her bubbers. It's true. It's a silly name. And, really, how can I blame her? Hmmm, bald guy with hairy knuckles or warm, sweet-smelling momma? Tough choice. Anyway, since those blasted shots, G's been pretty cranky. Tonight, she wanted my finger like a drunk wants the room to keep spinning. Luckily, as always, V was there to swoop in, gently scold me for my inability to quiet said child, and then swoop with child -- newly soothed by super momma -- off to the rocking chair. Ah, peace and quiet. I can't say I was too upset G wanted her momma. Baseball was on. Oh how I love to sit in one of the fatty captain chairs, drink a Corona and talk batting averages and stolen bases with Denny. Now, G's asleep, I'm eating a Kit-Kat and V's behind me reading what I'm writing. Hi V. I love you. I love you too...ok you guys can stop gagging now.

Shots

Here is where we got our shots:














And here is how we feel about it:

First Day Back

Work went well today. Georgia was well behaved and took a couple of good naps. We will just have to find our rythm in order for me to get stuff done. I am going to feel overwhelmed for a while I imagine because the household tasks will be harder to get done but that is where Matt will come in.

We go to the dr. tomorrow for shots and I am dreading it. Will let you know how it goes.
-V

Pacifier News

Well, my mom discovered something interesting this weekend. Once Georgia falls asleep, you can pull the old switcharoo on her and slip the paci in as you slip your finger out. I just tried it for naptime, it has been officially 30 minutes, and she is still in there sucking on the pacifier.

This is good for 2 reasons. Number one I can get away sooner if I get the paci in because she won't be as likely to wake up if she is sucking on something. Number 2, she will probably sleep sounder and longer if she gets to keep sucking. I am not worried about nighttime, just naptime. I have been struggling to get her to take some longer naps before I go back to work and this may be the ticket.

I will check back in later and update on how long she naps for. -v

More Pictures

Here is our girl after bath time. She always screams after bath unless the finger or the booby are in her mouth. I did not think a picture with the booby in her mouth was appropriate.











And here she is sleeping in the big bed. She does not get to sleep in the big bed at night but I sometimes pull he into bed with me in the morning to eat and she falls asleep so she gets to stay.