Personal space already?

Everyone told me that it is healthy to spend time away from your baby, even if it's just for a little while.  And as much as I adore my beautiful girl, they were right.  It is important to have "me" time, whether it is running, shopping, or even just a shower long enough to actually condition my hair and shave my legs.  Working part time has also helped keep me in perspective and keep things fresh.  I'm not burnt out at work or with the baby.  But I find myself racing home at lunch to spend just 30 minutes with Elliott because I crave to be with her and I don't want to miss anything!  

But what no one told me was that my 14 week old baby might also need "me" time.  What, you ask, does that mean?  Now that she's gained more head control, it is fun to sit her up like a big girl and look at her beautiful face and talk to her.  What we've noticed lately is that sometimes she is just not to be held!  She squishes up her face, fusses, clenches her fists and flails backwards.  So you are racking your brain, what could be wrong?  She's eaten, had a diaper change, and played in her activity yard.  What more could she want?  As a last resort, we set her inside her pack-n-play bassinet and take a step back.  Immediately Elliott is quiet, alert and all smiles.  She stares lovingly up at her pink butterfly mobile and her bright, colorful stuffed dog and is completely entertained.  She loves if you look in at her and talk to her but don't pick her up!  She loves it!  At first we thought this was just something she did at our house, that the bassinet was her safe-haven from three insane dogs.  Not so as we found out last night.  

We were enjoying a wonderful get-together at our friends Stan and Michaux's house last night. Spence and I have so loved having these gatherings with other new parents so we can both commiserate and brag about our babies.  It also removes the awkwardness of breastfeeding as most of my friends either used to or still breastfeeding.  I hate having to go into a separate room to feed Elliott and losing out on conversation and company.  (Thank you to whoever invented "hooter hider" privacy screens.  For expecting or new moms, these are fabric screens that you wear over your shoulders that allow you to breastfeed in public while maintaining modesty.  I LOVE mine and have used it extensively.  They come in many different styles and patterns and have matching burp clothes!) 

Anyway, I had finished feeding and burping Elliott when she began the "I am NOT to be held" fuss-fest.  Thankfully Stan and Michaux had their pack-n-play bassinet set up.  I just lowered Elliott down into her safe-haven and all was well.  She laughed, cooed and talked to the jungle animal mobile above her.  Spencer picked her up out of the bassinet and she wouldn't have it. She wanted to stay down and away from the crowd!  So what does this all mean?  Do babies really need their alone time from their parents?  Do they get tired of the goo-goo ga-ga, motorboat noises, and raspberry sounds that we force at them all day?  I swear that I learn something new everyday from this tiny child and I just love her so much for her already amazing personality.  

Swimming, Round Two.

Daddy's turn to write again.  Today Courtney hosted a "Mommy and Mommy-To-Be Meet and Greet" at our house.  Babbie came down for the day to help Courtney prepare a grand spread.  Twenty ladies shared war stories and fellowship over iced tea, lemonade and ham rolls.  As Courtney was tied-up performing her hosting duties, I had "Elliott Duty" for a period of three hours.   

First, Elliott and I took a stroll in the 95 degree heat.  Elliott fussed for a while, before falling asleep somewhere near Fork In the Alley and 7-11.  Too bad we missed free Slurpee (TM) day (7/11) by twelve hours.  As hot as it was today, I really could have used a free 7.11 ounce Slurpee. 

At the end of our stroll, we stopped by Whit and Lauren's place.  For those of you who don't know Whit and Lauren, they are our good friends (and neighbors) who are Elliott's God-Parents to be.   What do they say about having a pool... the only thing better than having a pool is having a friend who has a pool... well I concur with that adage.   Shortly after we moved to Jefferson St., Whit and Lauren bought a house (with a pool) a block away from ours.  We have been blessed with some fantastic friends here in Roanoke, but having Whit and Lauren so close has been particularly sweet.  They are two of the most kind hearted people on the planet, and I want my daughter to grow up with Lauren as a role model 

During our visit, Whit, Lauren and I enjoyed a few beers by the pool (don't worry, at three months Elliott prefers milk). Wearing a beautiful blue and white swimsuit, a floppy bucket cap, and slathered in SPF 50 sunblock, Elliott took on the pool for a second time in her life.  We slowly waded into the shallow end and dipped her feet into the cool water.  She reacted predictably, wailing at the top of her lungs.  Once she calmed down, I tried again, this time until the water was up to her waist. Elliott stopped fussing momentarily, got silent for about three seconds, and then screamed like I have never heard before.  As we have discovered, Elliott has a number of different cries.  This brand of crying included tears streaming down her cheeks, it was the real deal. 

I held her close and moved toward the corner of the pool.  She stopped crying as we sat at the top of the steps. We both dangled our feet in the water until Elliott got comfortable with the temperature.  At that point, the crying stopped and she relaxed enough to enjoy a few moments in the water.  I wrapped her in a towel, gave her a bottle and she slept on Daddy while the rest of us enjoyed a beautiful (but hot) day by the pool. 

As Courtney has noted, we are blessed with a very well behaved baby. She is quite a trooper.   I have been on the road a lot lately and needed a day to catch-up with my girl.   As we left the pool, I couldn't help but hope that Elliott qualifies for the 400m individual medley in the 2028 summer olympics, so that I can recount today's adventure in a sentimental background story prior to her race. 

    

Diaper Graduation

One thing that no one warns you about babies is when to really change diaper sizes.  For our little girl, we have preferred Pampers Swaddlers (Upon the advice of many, many mothers of girls we selected Pampers.  I have heard that Huggies are good for boy babies.).  Elliott transitioned wonderfully from newborn diapers to size 1 without a hitch.  However, going from size 1 to size 2 has been interesting.  Apparently I should have changed sizes the first time the poop "escaped" from the top of her diaper.  Oh no, leave it to me to wait for the fourth escape of the week where she soiled her pants, top, blanket, crib sheet and mattress pad.  That was down right amazing.  

The other wonderful thing about diaper graduation is that once they are in their new and larger diaper size, most of their clothes don't fit anymore.  Gone are the 3-6 month onesies and here now are the 6-12 month clothes!  So a word of advice for new mothers is to not to let that first poop escape to be ignored.  That would be the time to put away the diapers that seemed so big at first but now are way too small.  

New Elliott developments include giggling and "finding of the hands."  Elliott is putting her fingers and sometimes her fist into her mouth.  She is also reaching for objects and can put blankets and her lovies up into her mouth.  (For non-parents, lovies are these soft satin blankets with stuffed animal heads on the top that babies love to hold and feel.)  She has also rolled over again from her back to her front.  Our wonderful girl has also blessed up with averaging between 8 and 9 hours of sleep in a row at night.  We thank God for our amazing daughter every day.  

Happy 4th of July! Elliott rolls over!

Elliott by the Jackson River in Highland at "In Recess."

A little too soon for the Bumbo...still needs that head control.

UVA baby!

Spence and I had to share daycare duty this past Thursday.  My mother-in-law (Ya-Ya) had gotten sick the previous weekend so we enlisted the help of Elliott's other grandmother, Babbie.  We are so wonderfully fortunate to have help from both sides of our family.  When Babbie had to get back to her regular life by Thursday afternoon, Spence and I worked out our own baby schedule.  I saw my morning appointments, did my surgeries during lunch hour and raced home to relieve Babbie so she could get on her way.  Spencer came home at 3:30p so that I could get back and see my evening appointments.

 Truly we are blessed with a very easy baby as Elliott is easily entertained, pleased and distracted.  She rarely fusses unless she has a dirty diaper, is hungry or bored.  All of which are an easy fix.  Although my time with her on Thursday was brief, it was wonderful.  We have hit the stage in her infancy where there are lots of "coos and goos," beautiful full-faced smiles, and the beginnings of what will be the most adorable giggles imaginable.  Elliott loves her play-gym that is full of bright colors, fuzzy animals and big mirrors to she gaze lovingly at herself.  She is also beginning to mimic the funny faces that you make at her.  

As I raced out the door to make it back to work, I left my darling daughter in the hands of her father who although had a million other things to do at work, loved being home with a happy, playing baby.  I wasn't back at work for more than 15 minutes when I get a phone call from Spencer.  Panicked, I grabbed the phone; "What's wrong?"  Spencer calmly answered me "I just wanted to let you know that your daughter was fussing a lot and then kicked her legs up and she rolled over!"  "What?!" I asked, in shock.  "Yep, she rolled over!  She certainly surprised the hell out of herself but she did it!"  

Has she done it since?  Nope.  But she is really kicking those legs and rolling to her side a lot.  I don't think it will be long until she's rolling on a regular basis and then it's all over once she learns to motor.  So rolling over at 12 weeks?  Yes, I think we are in big trouble.