All hail the sidecar

The little lady's sidecar (umbrella stroller) arrived last week while my cousin Ericka was here helping out.  She made quick work of assembling it then Wade spent the evening strolling Little C in circles around the house to see how it fit and how she liked it.  We ended up getting a Baby Jogger Vue - it's not the lightest umbrella stroller out there, but it's one of the more unique ones because the baby can either face you or face forward while you're pushing them which is perfect for a baby C's age.  If she's tired, she always seems to do better when she's knows we're around, and in her bigger chariot (stroller) we can set it up for her to face us too which she likes.  Another thing about this stroller is that it can recline almost nearly flat so she can nap in it too (hooray!) which she tends to do when we're out walking.  The stroller was more than we wanted to spend, but it's difficult to find an umbrella stroller that reclines, can face backward, and is made by a company that doesn't use nasty flame retardants on their products - fortunately though it was quite a bit less than some of the other higher end reclining strollers that are super lightweight.

Little C in her sidecar - yes, that is a little fan and it works wonders so she doesn't get too hot.

Last week Wade finished a big project at work that he's been working on for over a year, so to celebrate we decided to do something brave - we went out to dinner.  lol  Normally dinner time is not Little C's best time of day because she's usually tired and over stimulated by this point (or worse if she didn't nap in the afternoon) so the thought of going out to dinner had been pretty repulsive and not even remotely enjoyable to say the least (we've only managed one lunch out with her and that only worked with my mom to help too!).  But we decided to brave it with the new stroller.  We packed up for an early dinner and were downtown by 5:45.  I topped off Little C in the car once we parked then we headed into a little cafe I'd been wanting to eat at since before C was born - one of my favorite lunch spots closed last year and reopened a few months ago in a new and bigger location under a different name (Mickey's Cafe & Organics) but with the same owner and menu.  We had the place to ourselves since it was an hour before closing so we ordered our usual fare, got drinks, and their famous homemade chocolate chip macaroons.  The food was as good as I had remembered and it was so nice to get out.  C spent the meal in Wade's lap after a little time in the stroller (she always likes to see what's going on) and we had a great dinner.  Afterwards we decided to really push our luck and take our nightly walk downtown instead of in the neighborhood along the water.  We drove to the other side of downtown, found a great parking spot by the water and did a big loop of the main strip where the nice restaurants are along the water.  C slept the entire time and only woke when we finally stopped for tea and gelato/sorbet at our 2 favorite places (Paciugo and Hooker Tea) that we hadn't been to in quite a while.  It was such a treat!  We finished our walk back to the car and C began to get fussy so I fed her in the car again before heading home.  All in all, it was a successful outing that we really enjoyed (and was made possible by our new stroller)!

Hooray for getting out!

12 weeks

This week Clementine passed the 12 week mark - which was a little crazy, where the heck as 3 months gone?!  I did her monthly photo shoot, which was pretty funny since she' getting too tall for the nursing pillow to adequately prop her up anymore.

All smiles at 3 months old!

So far here are the interesting bits we're observing:

1. She's already too big for some of her 3-6mo clothes and wears the 6 month size in some brands (Carter's) - I actually switched out her 0-3 clothes 2 weeks ago!
2. She's over 14lbs and 2ft long best as we can tell (we don't go back to the doctor for measurements until the 4 month mark).
3. She's been "talking" to us since around the 2 month mark, but just in the last few days she's been really starting to have conversations with us and is using her lips to change the sounds she makes.
4. She can hold her upper body up pretty well now and is about halfway to rolling over, which will likely happen sooner than we think.
5. She's been smiling since before the 2 month mark, but she's now getting mischievous about when she smiles, almost like she's playing a game with us.  This is particularly true when she's nursing, which is pretty funny.
6. She sleeps pretty well at night and only barely wakes to eat and goes right back to sleep when she's done.
7. Napping during the day is a work in progress, but we've found some white noise (particularly recorded nature sounds) and rocking helps soothe her to sleep (and keep her asleep).  She also nods off in the stroller, carseat, or in the pack when Wade's wearing her.
8. She seems to be a very observant baby and loves to take everything in and is happy to just quietly focus on new things and soak them up studying every little piece.  We think this is partially why it's hard for her to nap because she's stimulated by pretty much everything and doesn't want to miss a thing.
9. I had made a playlist of music that I thought would be good to listen to during C's birth, but that didn't happen since I actually preferred silence to concentrate, but instead the playlist has turned into her playlist during the day.  So far her favorite song is the Hawaiian version of Over the Rainbow by "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole (although the video version I linked to isn't the best).
10. Since she's now my sidekick during the day and isn't going to daycare like we originally thought, I've had to rethink how I am going to get out of the house with her.  Our big stroller (aka her chariot) is great for walks around the neighborhood on our uneven sidewalks and bumpy brick streets (and eventually park nature trails), but it's too heavy and big for me to take her out in it for quick errands.  And she isn't really a fan of me wearing her yet so that idea is out for now too.  Soooo, we had to break down and buy and umbrella stroller this weekend which should be here on Monday (thank heavens for Amazon).  This will be the sidecar for my sidekick and she'll get to test drive it tomorrow to see if she's a fan (if not, thank heavens for free returns!)

We celebrated her 12 weeks by heading to our local botanical garden, Sunken Gardens, to activate our family membership.  It's just a few blocks from our house so we figured it's a good place to get a membership so we can stroll down there with the Little Lady.  Sure enough, she conked out pretty quickly and snoozed through our stroll of the gardens and got to enjoy a nice nap among the trees.  Too bad she missed the flamingos though!

For more pictures from the gardens and her 3rd month, check out the folder on our Picasa site.  There's also more pictures in her 2nd month folder now too. :)  Enjoy!

Did someone say Meow?

All of a sudden, Hilo seems to be my 2nd sidekick (does having a baby and a cat following me around mean I have an entourage?) - he has suddenly been more in on the Clementine bandwagon.  It might be because he's lonely since Marley is still quarantined in our bathroom while he's coming off being radioactive kitty for his hyperthyroidism (fyi - so far he's doing fine but is incredibly lonely no matter how often we visit)?  But I actually think it's because Little C and I have been spending so much time snuggling and snoozing lately (Hilo's 2 favorite past times, aside from eating) that he's enjoying her company (except when she does actually wail then he runs as if she's an A-bomb about to go off).  I was scrolling though pictures tonight and noticed a cute trend - Baby Cat (aka Hilo, Mittens the Kitten, Twinkle, etc.) showing up in lots of Baby Clementine photos. 

Little C with her Mittens the Kitten toy that we tell her is her practice kitty before she gets to snuggle the real thing!

The real Mittens hanging out with Little C during playtime.

Baby cat snuggling me and Little C in bed.

Oh, and there was this adorable moment last week when she finally actually "saw" Hilo - as if she realized he was another living being in the house and not a toy (see below).  I nearly wept for joy since Baby has had the hardest time adjusting to Clementine and since I so desperately hope she'll be a cat person like her Mama, Granzie, and great-grandmother before her... it's kinda in her genes. ;)

Little C paying very close attention while Wade teaches her how to pet a kitty - it was both hilarious and adorable, and Hilo was eating up the attention.

Operation Sleep

The week after Memorial Day we thought the Little Lady had fallen off the sleep bandwagon entirely - she was fussy, didn't want to nap, and only wanted to sleep on one of us.  I finally got to a breaking point and did some Googling around to realize we were misinterpreting some of the daytime cues she had been giving us all week that we thought meant "I'm bored!".  What we eventually discovered was that she was actually trying to tell us she was chronically overtired and overstimulated - we were letting her stay up too long making it harder for her to settle down and sleep when she was supposed to.  

Sleeping on me in one of her carriers.... so cute and peaceful until I realized it was the ONLY way she'd sleep.

So Mama instituted "Operation Sleep" and Little C and Big C played hooky for a few days mostly having very low key days and snoozing in bed together quite a bit (well, I mostly read a book while she slept/nursed).  And after only one day it already made a huge difference.  She's back to our smiley, happy, easily entertained, cries very little baby and I feel like an idiot.  It also was a lesson that when everyone tells you to "trust your instinct" as a parent that only goes so far when you have zero previous experience with infants.  What we were taking as her boredom cues were actually her "I'm-so-tired-I don't-know-how-to-fall-asleep" cues.  I wonder how many other parents out there make blind, intuitive decisions in a good faith effort for their kids well being but are actually doing something misguided?

During Operation Sleep... one snoozy baby in bed with me.

Back to her ridiculously smiley self!

So now I know to be weary of when someone dismisses my questions about what to do with a "Oh, just follow your instinct!" - I need to look elsewhere for information.  My intuition always tells me to do some research to look at the options then make the best educated decision I feel is right - maybe that's how I ended up in science originally, but I just can't make an intuitive decision on zero external information.  What I excel at is taking a lot of information from a lot of sources (even when they're conflicting) and distill it down to make what I feel is the best decision.  Fortunately, I can use this skill in my work too, but now I'm having to fine tune it for parenting.  And I'm thankful for it.  You'd laugh if you saw my check-out list from our local library - I usually go through no less than 2 dozen books on any subject when I get started and have yet to find the check out limit from the library (heh-heh, even when I had 20 gardening books out at once).  I currently have 8 parenting/childcare books on the table behind me - thank heavens for our library!

And for the record, she actually sleeps pretty well at night and has since we brought her home - largely because she sleeps in bed with us.  She rarely cries, sleeps for long stretches (6hrs), and wakes up a ridiculously smiley, happy baby.  And shockingly, so do we.  It's easier to nurse her while I'm laying down with her and we both usually snooze while she's doing it.  It also means I hear her root around to nurse before it turns into a full blown cry.  It's probably why Wade and I both feel much more rested than we were expecting to be based on all the horror stories we've been told about sleepless nights, but so far, we've only had about 3 of those.  We've taken all the precautions to make sure it's safe, and the co-sleeper bassinet we borrowed is mostly serving as a nightstand for my stuff and her stuff and it keeps her (and me) from rolling out of bed.  We now realize we need a bigger bed and are trying to figure out how to squeeze a King-sized bed into our room once we save up for it.

Father's Day

For Wade's first Father's Day we headed down to Anna Maria Island for tacos, queso, and time by the pool.  We also used the hour drive down as a practice run to get the Little Lady more accustomed to her new car seat (she's finally in her big girl seat which she seems to like).

Before we left, Wade opened his presents with Little C while I slept in a bit.  He then got some snuggles in bed with her before we headed out the door.

Father's Day snuggles in bed. :)

Ready to head to the pool!  All of a sudden this week she's had a lot of upper body strength - she now she's holding herself up?!

Once we got to Mom and Larry's, we had lunch so Wade could enjoy fish tacos and his favorite queso from Tortilla Bay, a summertime tradition for us.  After we were stuffed, we all changed into our swim suits and got in the pool.  Clementine sported a new swim diaper (after Memorial Day we realized we needed some that were better for containing poop) while Daddy took her in to float and cool off a bit before she had naked time on the table.  She seems to really enjoy lounging nude in the shade after a dip in the pool. :)  Must feel nice to be free of the clothes and diaper but not freezing her buns off in the AC.  Unfortunately, she wasn't too interested in napping despite the obvious signs we were getting from her.  

She was so close to napping while lounging, but it never quite happened.

Daddy and daughter cooling off in the pool.

We got her to take a little cat nap when Wade went to pick up lunch, but otherwise she didn't want to miss a minute of our day of lounging, reading, and swimming to celebrate Daddy.  Eventually, we cleaned up in the outdoor shower, cleaned the pool, watered the plants, and headed home in the hopes that Little C would nap in the car before having a total meltdown from lack of sleep.  Thankfully, she was asleep before we even made it off the island and got a nice solid nap in on the way home. 

She was fighting sleep in the new seat but finally gave in to get a quick nap on the drive home.

It was a fun and relaxing day and we were thrilled to celebrate Wade as a world-class Daddy! :)

Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend was Clementine's first beach weekend and our first trip away from home as a family.  I was beyond excited to get Little C introduced to the pool and beach already, especially while Granzie and Poppi were still in town.  My mom came up for her weekly visit on Thursday and helped me finish packing, deal with laundry, and shopping for the trip then we loaded up her car with stuff, and she and I drove with Little C down to Anna Maria.  That night while Mom and I unpacked the car, Poppi entertained Little C on the lanai - it was pretty funny because she was utterly mesmerized by the colored twinkle lights in the dark which made us realize she was finally seeing color!

Wade had to work on that Friday, so he stayed home Thursday night with the pets to finish packing for himself and them.  On Friday evening he packed up the pets and came down to join us.  We ended up staying through the following Tuesday we were having so much fun.  We never actually made it to the beach, but spent lots of time by and in the pool where it was easier to keep Little C from over heating.  She was definitely spoiled that weekend and spent her nap time usually in someone's arms (which we're paying for this week since she doesn't want to nap alone!).  She took her first dip in the pool and spent lots of time diaperless by the pool in the shade which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy.  I was happy to see she seems to like the heat and pool like I do! :)

Happy baby in the pool!

I was also relieved that my bikini was easy to nurse in so it was easy to spend all afternoon by the pool.  We did have one hilariously disgusting first trifecta - in the span of 10 minutes after she nursed she spit up quite a bit on me, peed on me, then pooped on me!  Thankfully I was in my swim suit so we just hosed down both of us (she was going au naturale).  I also took a vacation from charting her diapers and nursing time and our pediatrician visit confirmed she's doing well so I don't need to watch it as closely anymore (thank heaven - it was getting pretty tedious).  I had really missed the summer and time by the pool, and although it was different this year (no cheesepuffs and cider?!), I still enjoyed it just as much and can't wait to introduce Little C to a love of the beach.

We were well fed and had lots of fun (C had a sunshirt) during our pool weekend with Poppi and Granzie and can't wait for many more.  For pictures, check out our Picasa site.

The only bummer of the weekend was on the way home Little C had a meltdown in her carseat which was a little scary, so I had to squish in the backseat with the pets for the rest of the ride home.  And we also came home to news that Marley had hyperthyroidism so he's going to have to start radioactive treatment next week.  We're working out a plan to manage his recovery in a way that won't be a risk for me or Little C and are thankful we seem to have caught his condition early enough that he has really good prospects of recovery (left untreated it is fatal).  Please send thoughts and prayers for him!

Week 8

Hard to believe our little girl is 2 months old already - at her last check up she was almost 2 feet tall and over 13lbs - putting her near the 95th percentile for both height and weight!  What that means is that our 2 month old feels like a 4 month old.  lol  It also means we're passing out of the 0-3 clothes and are firmly in the 3-6 (and even some of those already feel small!).  

We're also noticing that her vision is getting a lot better - she's intently watching the mobiles above her crib and changing table and enjoying things with color now.  She also now regularly 'helps' during diaper changes by lifting her legs when we unsnap her diaper so we can wipe her clean, it's pretty funny.  I think she's also getting close to rolling over too, so we have to be much more mindful of where we set her down.  

Her timeseries of pictures to date: