Rolling, rolling...

Hey you,

has it really been 10 days since I last wrote? I'm so busy being with you, it's hard to find time to write about it.
You're doing so much these days! The other night, your dad "forgot" to put on your swaddle...I thought you still needed it because you were flailing your arms a bit, although you were definitely trying to break out of it. Anyway, you woke up in the morning with no swaddle, and having slept just fine. So I guess we're done with the swaddles..it's a good thing, anyway, since it's so hot these days.
But the next thing that happened was even more interesting...pretty much the next time we put you down to sleep, we put you on your back and you rolled over onto your stomach. In other words, you're rolling over from your stomach to back--something you're not supposed to be able to do for another month or two or three! Now every time we put you on your stomach, you roll over to sleep on your back. I guess you find it more comfortable. You can roll back onto your stomach too-pretty strong kid.
You've still been chatting a ton. Lots of oohs and coos..and you're saying your name a lot too. You say "eh-li" or "eh-li-ana!" again and again. Okay, maybe it sounds nuts that a 3 month old could say her name...except you're really doing it. Your bampi heard it too this weekend, and agreed that's what's going on.
Speaking of bampi..we spent the weekend with bampi and nini...they had a blast holding you, and you seemed to be having a great time also. Your bampi made you laugh...also a first. I actually didn't see you laugh, but I heard it--you sounded happy.
Okay, I gotta go have dinner. More soon.

-your mom

Vacation tomorrow!

Hey there,

tomorrow you're going on your first vacation! You might be excited, perhaps that's why you fell asleep so early tonight. It was strange..usually you go to bed at around 7:30..but anyway you were tired this afternoon so your dad (who was working at home today) put you down at around 5pm, and you just kept sleeping, completing missing your bath and bedtime. I know never to wake a sleeping baby, so I let you sleep. Okay, I was actually sleeping too part of the time; I was feeling a bit drowsy from going to bed after midnight last night, so took a nap too at around 6. You did wake up at 8:30 for some milk, but got "milk drunk" and went right back into sleep land. So I wonder how tonight will be--will you sleep through the night (mostly) or will you get tired of sleeping at around 5am?
Aargh, it's already 10:20..I try to go to bed earlier (around 10) these days, since I know you're going to wake me up at least once in the middle of the night. It is so difficult to find time to do things! I feed you, play with you, then you take a nap and I try to do something...you have a habit of waking up just when I get into it. That's if I can clear my mind enough to remember and focus on what I want to do. You're precious, but taking care of you is fairly "relentless." That's the word my friend Shana used to describe this time. In fact, it feels a little less relentless than it did a month ago, but still fairly consuming.
I'm starting to look into childcare for you for September. I probably should have started working on this a long time ago, but it was hard to plan so far ahead--how could I research daycare for someone who wasn't born yet? In terms of daycare for infants, there is a shortage here in Brooklyn. The places I've called seem to be full and have a waiting list, and my fellow moms mostly report the same. I also have mixed feelings about leaving you somewhere where you wouldn't be held and attended to as much as you might need--you're just a baby, after all. So once I've looked into daycare a bit more, I will probably look into hiring a nanny on my own, or a nanny share.
Back to vacation (see how I have trouble keeping focused lately?), what I was trying to say is that we're going to Connecticut tomorrow. Well, they say that vacation with a baby isn't quite a vacation, just life at home held in another locale. I do have to say that it will be hard for it to feel like vacation when I'll have to pump milk every morning. (I do this so that we can give you a "dream feed" at around 10, helping you sleep through the night.) So I had to pack all your little clothes, a Pack and Play for you to sleep in, your favorite toy (a mirror!), your diapers..hope I don't forget anything.
Oh, there's a lot more to say, but I'll stop here and get some rest..

Sweet dreams,

your mom

Your Name! and Rolling Over

Hi Sweetie,
okay, you (and everyone else) are going to think I'm crazy, but I swear that you said your name yesterday. Your dad heard it too! I know, I know, you're just 12 weeks today, there's no way that a 12 week old baby could be saying her name. Well, you & I have been doing a lot of talking--all right, it's not exactly talking, more like babbling, but I babble at you and then you babble back--you get pretty excited. Yesterday we were having a little conversation, and I said your name...then you imitated me so well! You did it more than once--it was amazing. Maybe you're the Smartest Baby on the Block!
You've also been rolling over during tummy time. You first did it a few days ago..I think it was June 27. I put you on your stomach, looked away, and when I looked back at you, you were on your back. So I put you back on your stomach, and I saw you rolling over with my own eyes. You did it again yesterday--your dad got it on camera.
Yesterday we went for a walk with you on Fifth Ave in Brooklyn-your dad carried you in the Bjorn. We agreed we'd have dinner at one of the Mexican restaurants in Sunset Park, a few neighborhoods away. When we got there, we found out that it was only men watching soccer in the restaurants..not the most comfortable site for breastfeeding! (Remind me to bring a bottle next time.) So I did feed you behind a blanket, but it wasn't so relaxing. Not to mention it was past your bedtime and you started to get a little cranky. And we realized we couldn't take a car service home since we didn't have your carseat! Fortunately we were able to take the bus, and the loud motor lulled you to sleep.
Well, you're currently taking a nap..I'd better jump into the shower before I lose my window of opportunity.
One more thing.. I just ordered a few boxes of size 2 diapers for you..I think you're outgrowing size 1. Must be the milk!
Love ya,
your mom

Grabbing, music & smiles

6/25

Dear Eliana,

You’re in the process of learning how to grab things lately! Your dad told me that you grabbed and held a bottle a few days ago, but I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, so it was hard to believe…but I saw you grab a pacifier today, so I believe it!

You’re napping now…I try to do stuff while you nap, not too infrequently you wake up right when I get in the middle of it, which is why progress is slow around here…

I should mention that you’ve also grown out of some clothes recently…you’re eleven weeks old today, and I have a pile of 0-3 month clothes that don’t fit you anymore. You’re a small baby, relatively (currently in 23% percentile for weight), but you’re definitely growing. Must be the milk!

Two days ago we got a bedding set for your crib. I was trying to not buy unnecessary stuff, but I saw this really cute one, a bit of a splurge but a lot of fun with letters and animals, and I thought it would make your room a little special. Plus it wasn’t pink and too girly, but more contemporary, with red, brown, orange and yellow. So we got it..it definitely makes me smile, I hope you like it! I’m going to take the blanket and have someone sew on ties so that we can hang it on the wall.

I pulled out my guitar and sang you a song or two this morning…I got kind of excited about that. I’m going to tune the guitar, and look into children’s music that I could play. We have to find out what kind of music excites you.

You’ve really come out of your shell in the past few weeks, and are a little more “in the world” every day. At six weeks, you started smiling a little. Now you smile a lot, to me and to others. You also coo sometimes..I always coo back, to encourage you.

Sleep Training

6/24/07

Dear Eliana,

We started to sleep train you last night, and you did great! We fed you, gave you a bath, fed you again, made sure you had a clean diaper, rocked you for 10 minutes..then put you in your crib and let you put yourself to sleep. We thought that you might cry for hours..in fact, you cried for about 10 minutes, I went in to change your diaper, your cried for a few more, and then went right off to sleep. Wow! It was about 17 minutes total, way less difficult than we had thought.

Pretty much the same in the middle of the night. You woke up at 12:30 and went right back to sleep after some milk. At 2:15, you woke up again, cried a bit, and put yourself back to sleep. Good work girl!