Monthly Archives: December 2006

Two Months!

Dear Spence,

Happy 2-month birthday! Soon I’ll be telling people your age in months not weeks, I suppose, Every day the changes just keep coming.

Yesterday you shocked us (to put it mildly) when you rolled over. Your dad videotaped it because he was afraid you might not do it again and that I might not believe it if I didn’t see it, But he mustn’t have worried because you love to roll and will do it again and again. But I’m so happy he taped it because I love the look on your face when you finally roll and I love to hear the excitement in your dad’s voice at your accomplishment.

Today I packed up most of your 0-3 month size clothes because you’ve outgrown them. I’m excited to watch you grow up, but it’s happening much too fast. Sometimes I whisper to you that you should never grow up because I want to savor these moments.

You smile and talk now which I adore. One of your favorite things is to lie in your crib and watch your mobile. You make all kinds of sounds while you watch it spin. I love your mobile because it gives me a few free minutes to eat my lunch each day,

You’ve been out and about this month. We took trips on the subway and bus. For Christmas, we went to grandma’s house and you spent your first nights away from home. You were spoiled both with gifts and attention by everyone there.

I only have a couple of weeks left before I go back to work so you can expect to get spoiled a bit more. We’ve hired a great babysitter for you who I know will take great care of you, but I’m going to miss our days alone together oh so much. But that’s the future and I need to concentrate on the now. You’re lying in my arm sleeping and I need to stop typing so I can stare at your beautiful face and admire those long eyelashes that you suddenly have.

Love, Mom

3 Things I Realized Today

1. A cow’s milk-free diet does not preclude me from eating other kinds of milk products, such as goat cheese (mmmm!) and curry that includes coconut milk (mmmm!). Why did it take me so long to realize this?

2. Breastfeeding doesn’t kill anymore. It really doesn’t hurt much at all. An occasional bad sensation, but NOTHING like it was just a few weeks ago. I didn’t believe all the people that told me it would get better. I thought they had drunk the La Leche League kool-aid or that they surely didn’t feel pain as bad as mine. But, they were right. I still hate being tied down every 2 or 3 hours with a baby at my breast, but that’s psychological not physical pain.

3. I can fit into a pair of my pre-pregnancy jeans. (We won’t discuss the other 3 pairs that I couldn’t get close to snapping shut.) This is very good news since I have to go back to work in just a few weeks and they probably want me to be dressed for work.

Rolling Along

Yesterday I ran out to the grocery store to pick up a few items. When I returned I was greeted by Ian and the digital camera. He told me something totally incredible had happened with Spencer in the 20 minutes I was gone. But, he knew I wouldn’t believe it without evidence so he took video.

Yes, one day shy of his 2-month birthday, my baby can now roll over. I hereby present to you the videotape evidence captured by the special night vision daddy cam:

OD’d on cookies

It started innocently enough with 2 snickerdoodles on Christmas night. They might have a bit of butter, but I figured I’d see if Spence could handle it. The next day he was an angel and hardly spit up at all. So, I upped my cookie intake. And then I upped it again. And now I’ve eaten more cookies in the past 72 hours than any human should eat.

And poor Spence. In the last 2 hours he’s spit up about a dozen times. Through his nose. Across the room. Between the spit up and the poop, we went through 3 outfits between 6am and 9am. POOR THING. And it’s all my fault for being a cookie monster. I’m trying not to feel too guilty because I really thought the cookies weren’t affecting him. Now that I know, they are going somewhere far, far away where I can’t be tempted.

Step away from my money

Dear sir or maam who is trying to steal my money –

Thanks to the alert bank teller who noticed that the check  that you tried to cash on Tuesday didn’t look quite right, you will not be getting any of my money.  She alerted my bank and the account has been closed. Oh, and that credit card payment you tried to make online with my savings acount number yesterday… We caught that too. No money for you, but enough of a trail that it probably won’t be too hard to track you down. Hopefully you will get punished A LOT. Yesterday I spent 2 hours at the bank with a very cranky infant who wanted my attention. This morning it was another 2 hours on the phone trying to sort things out. All this the week before Christmas. You are heartless, in addtion to a bumbling thief.

Bah Humbug!
 

AAA, AA, C – I love you all

Batteries, not bras.

I LOVE batteries. More than chocolate. More than OK magazine.

Without batteries I would not have showered, eaten lunch, checked email, or done laundry for several weeks. All of Spencer’s favorite things require batteries – the bouncy seat, the little birdy that sings on his playmat, and his latest acquisition – the mobile.  Had I known how many batteries I would use with a baby, I would have invested in Energizer stock years ago. His attention span is short, but the devices will give me the 10 or 20 minutes of freedom I need to get a few things done each day.

Speaking of love, I also love marshmallows. Mini or full size – either will do. The no milk diet leaves me craving sweets. I may have some sort of serious sugar addiction. I’ve been up and down the aisles of the grocery store looking for treats that do not have the dire words "Contains milk." The non-dairy cookies taste like ick. So I’ve settled on marshmallows. They take the edge of my craving just enough to get me through the day.

This post is starting to ramble. So, I’m just going to go where it leads me… Which is to things I hate. Like identity theft. I got a call today from the bank that someone tried to cash a fake check from account today for $4000. I’m grateful that they were alert enough to catch it. But now I have to close out all my accounts and start over. I have so much hooked up to these accounts – Netflix, the gym (ha, ha, ha – the gym!), my paycheck – and now not only do I have to go to the bank tomorrow and start the new accounts, I have to contact everyone with my new account information. Plus, my account is now closed, so if I haven’t bought you a Christmas gift yet, SORRY!

I also hate that maternity leave is so damn short in this country. My 8 weeks is over on Friday. I am not ready to go back to work. I’m taking 3 more weeks off using my vacation and sick days to extend the leave. I feel like I’m just getting the hang of things. And the last week has been so much more fun now that Spencer is reacting and smiling and not just eating/sleeping/crying. A part of me actually misses work. I think it’s because I know what I’m doing there. I miss that feeling of confidence. But, it’s going to be hard to go back. I did hire a nanny this weekend who I feel good about. And I am going back 4 days a week which will help things. But, still…

Final thought that has nothing to do with batteries… I’m going to attempt to go to the movies with Spencer tomorrow. They have a baby/mommy showing on Wednesday mornings. Has anyone seen any good movies lately? These are my options:
Apocolypto (no, no, no)
Casino Royale
Deja Vu
Happy Feet
Pursuit of Happyness
Blood Diamond
Charlotte’s Web
Eragon
The Holiday
Unaccompanied Minors

How much can you say about poop and sleep?

I have a bit of writer’s block. I don’t know what to write about anymore. My life is in no way boring, but I fear the details would be boring for others to read. And I don’t have the energy to weave them into entertaining stories. So instead you will get bullets.

  • Spencer weighs 11 pounds now and is 22 1/4 inches. He’s grown out of a few of his 0-3 month outfits.
  • We experienced our first TAE (RIP my favorite Night Owl onesie.)
  • We still have trouble feeding sometimes.
  • We still have sleepless nights.
  • I’m still not eating dairy. I miss cookies desperately.
  • We’re interviewing nannies who curiously are all from the Caribbean (why?).
  • I bought jeans one size smaller yesterday (yay for no dairy diet side effects!).

i will need to get creative with photos and video so that my boring stories come to life! Stay tuned.