This post is all over the place, mostly because I can no longer finish anything in timely manner yet still begin multiple drafts. It seemed easier to combine them than finish three separate posts. Also, Emilia will turn 5 months in a few weeks, so some of this probably in a 4 month post. I should start posts labeled "X" month and just add to it gradually instead of trying to sit down and actually remember things. That is, if I can ever catch up on my months.
Millie's 3rd month was marked by some big events: The Start of Daycare and The Return to Work.
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| Millie visits me at work posing with a pen that reminds me of her. |
My coworkers are so great! Until this year I have never worked in a place where everyone gets along so well. They have been incredibly supportive. Of course, the tweens waited generously until I came back to have their tween drama. It's totally cool.
Before I went back to work, I took Millie to her daycare a few times each week to get her acclimated. This was a huge, huge help to us, as I can't imagine even being able to concentrate on anything, much less work, on her first day of daycare.
We really love her daycare, and so does she! I love picking her up and she notices me and is like, "Hey! You! I know you!"
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| Braving some ice to see the doctor! |
One side effect of being at daycare is that she's been pretty congested lately, which has led to biblically epic spit-ups. I'm so grateful for her doctor and for Zantac. We love you Zantac. We even have "Zantac-o'clock" alarms.
Random snow days mean extra family time and snuggles!
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| Hypnotized by television. We do read to her, I swear. |
All I've ever wanted was for my kid to love television. Right now her attention span is pretty short. She mostly watches Dinosaur Train and a hulu show called Rainbow Horse, which is basically an acid trip. (Not that I've ever tripped on acid, but basically what I imagine it to be like.) She's also starting to show interest in some of the things we love: coffee, food, books. It's fun to watch her become interested in her environment.
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| She is really curious about dinner. |
How can something this tiny generate so much laundry?
Sleep is better, but she falls asleep kind of late for a baby--usually around 8:30. Wake-up time is around 5:30, partly by necessity as I'm still nursing her in the morning. We are basically just letting her take the lead on the sleep thing. We no longer have the energy to force her into a routine.
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Above: Sleeping on a boppy, in our bed. Completely passed out.
Below: Wide awake in her crib, naturally. Always. Awake. In. The. Crib. |
All she wants to do is walk on us and needs 100% of our attention. We love her so much.
This sentence sums up everything I feel right now: "Life is the best it's ever been, and also the hardest it's ever been." I read the line on a blog of a first-time mom with a 6 month old. Such a perfect way to describe this moment of life.
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| Hey! |
In addition to this parenting business, Zach and I are learning how to be married with a child. In a way we communicate better now, but it's also exhausting discussing and planning everything so it will be "easier." (I'm really talking about dinner. Half of our conversations since Millie was born have been about dinner, and whether or not we should buy a crock pot, and planning our meals for the week, and did you put the thing in the crock pot so it will be ready when we get home. I'm very much over it.) We did order takeout almost every day one week and that was fun only the first few nights. I guess the crock pot is the solution, but obviously the real solution is someone hand us a million dollars so we can hire someone to cook, and clean for us.
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| During the week we gave up trying and ordered take-out every day. |
Before Millie got here it was so easy to think, "I am not going to be
that mom." I swore I would breastfeed for a year and the moment she started making noise at church I'd take her to the back. Most of all I promised myself I wouldn't compare myself to other moms or my baby to other babies. Then slowly those plans began to unravel, and mostly I don't mind. What bothers me is when I look at other babies, and I look at mine, and think, "That baby was born a week before Millie! She's huge! She's already started on solids! Should we start Mills on solids? Why isn't she teething yet? How is X's baby already laughing? Millie is older! Is she not laughing because we started supplementing early?" This insanity happened twice in one week with different babies. It's totally pointless. She's healthy and growing and happy. This is my new mantra for when I start turning into That Mom.
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| Giving me the stink-eye for being Comparey Comparesalot. |
Sometimes I can't believe how much has changed in the span of one year. The other day at work I was scavenging for food in my office and pulled a jar of peanut butter from my desk. I looked at the "best if used by"date: February 2015. Suddenly I became very emotional. That jar of peanut butter has been with me through a crazy year. It was with me during the early days of pregnancy when I was trying to keep my little secret. It was with me during a busy, frantic spring. It was with me when my coworkers and I were told our little school would be shut down, and that we'd be transferred to new schools. It was with me while I adjusted to a new work environment during those difficult last weeks of pregnancy. It was waiting for me when I returned from maternity leave.
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| Symbolic jar of peanut butter |
My little jar of peanut butter. We have been through a lot together. I didn't throw it away (I didn't eat from it either). I'm not ready to let go of it yet. Things have gotten better, and a LOT easier in all aspects--parenthood, work, wifehood-- but I'm still hanging on to my jar of peanut butter for a little longer.
This is pretty much life right now--feed ourselves, feed the baby, watch Netflix, go to sleep at 8:30. It isn't a bad life at all with these two.
