Poppy is six months old – I am honestly not sure where the time has gone. So now I find myself reflecting on six months of being a parent. First and foremost I do love it; I honestly do not have the words to describe this, just as I don’t think I will ever have the words to describe the love I have for Poppy. I think I have said this before but it is so important it needs to be said again, I really understand when a parent says they would kill for their kid. I would kill for Poppy in less than a heartbeat. I honestly did not understand that love could be so consuming. It really does not matter how I am feeling, I can be grouchy, I can be tired, I can be angry and I just need to look at her and all of that negativity melts away – it takes one smile, one giggle even just a sideways glance. She is copying us now which is so much fun. She sees a cup she grabs it and tried to drink, we pull a face she tries to pull it - every day is an adventure! She is sitting up alone, doing baby push ups, grabbing and reaching...The dogs still adore her and she adores them, she also loves Archie the cat who is very patient with the early attempts at petting. Toy wise we are loving Manhattan Toy (whoozits) and Folkmanis puppets. Robert and I reamain utterly unrepetant about our utter lack of restraint when it comes to Poppy - we are both very aware that she may well be our only child, so yeah right now she is spoiled.
We have started solids in the past couple of months and as we have reached 6 months we are looking at ways to have her grow to be an adventurous eater. Why? have you ever really looked at baby food? It is bland and it is boring. I read an amazing book called "Hungry Monkey" and that really made me think about how in the US and UK we train our children to like bland and boring foods. So every so often we introduce a new taste - something a little more interesting and so far so good. She likes mile tikka masala sauce, she likes katsu curry, hummus, tofu, mild enchilada sauce. Believe me she liked mixed garden vegetables much more when I mixed in some katsu curry sauce!
I have to thank my moms from Isis for how smooth this has all turned out to be. Knowing so many great women who have little ones the same age as Poppy has made such an incredible difference in my life. I also love watching all of us grow as mothers, and as women. I love hearing about every milestone these babies reach, their triumphs are ours, their sniffles and tummy upsets are ours. Robert and I realize how easy it is to become isolated after having a baby but thanks in part to these great families that hasn’t happened. I also have to thank Jill and Shaun, Janet and Chris, Dana and Joe, Stacey and Jake for all their help and advice! And then there is the UK contingent..Ste and Lou, Helen and Beccy, and the mysterious of course Agnes Elizabeth...
I think it is funny that after going through so many warning lectures after I had Poppy about how I was at such high risk of post partum depression here I am not taking any anti-depressants and just feeling more content than I have in a very long time. I know I am maybe an exception to the rule regarding post-partum depression but apart from those first 6 weeks when I was just tired, frustrated and still hurting I have never felt better.
I am more tired than I though was ever possible. We went to see Alice in Wonderland – I was so excited, my parents were babysitting, we were out on a date! We had an early dinner, we settled into our movie seats with our dark glasses on and I promptly fell asleep. We haven’t tried the movie theater again – hell we haven’t tried another date yet! It seems although we talk a good game about having a babysitter we just cannot quite leave Poppy with a stranger, and of course leaving her with a friend feels like we are imposing even though given how she just charms everyone this is probably unlikely!
I have noticed other changes too – and I am not sure they are positive, but I think they may well be natural. I am so incredibly judgmental. There I said it – I look at some other parents and I judge, and I often find them lacking. I am not talking about our friends I am talking about the people I see in my regular every day activities. I see the family with the 3 or 4 year old in the stroller and I wonder why they are not making their child walk. I listen to how other parents talk to their children and I flinch. I am being honest, I physically flinch. I see so many peole with toddlers and young children not restrained in cars, or those parents who insist on smoking around their children, and please don't get me started on the soda in the bottle or the sippy cup! We were standing waiting for the T the other night listening to some (very) young moms talking to each other - every other word was an F-bomb and they were laughing because one of the kiddos had apparently said "No shit momma" - this child was maybe 3 or 4. Am I snob for being utterly appalled by this?
We are also more intent than ever on getting the hell out of “Dodge.” Last week a 14 year old was shot and killed 3 blocks from my house, on a basketball court we drive past at least 3 or 4 times a week. This is the same basketball court that has tennis courts and a playground and just a couple of weeks ago I had said to Rob, “Maybe we should bring Poppy up here one day just to play.” Not likely now. So we have started looking for houses out of the city. We are specifically looking at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Essex, Beverly and Gloucester right now, but will likely look at Scituate and Plymouth too. We are as Robert puts it “shopping by school district.” I do love the city, and yes, we could look at private schools but they are around $25,000 a year for elementary (infants) school and I don’t want to do that when we can just move to a town where there are regular schools that are just as good.
Newborn Poppy
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
3 months, 12 weeks, 13 weeks
....it has all blended into one huge milestone. Poppy turned 3 months on Valentines Day - seriously how much cuter could that be? I am now already hitting that point where I am pinching myself because it is all going so fast - too fast. I am also pretty sure having talked to so many friends and family who are already mums that it just keeps speeding up from here on in.
So what has happened since the last note?
Poppy is growing like a weed. When we had our 2 month appointment she weighed in at a health 12 and a half pounds and 23 inches long. We weighed her yesterday at Isis and inbetween the cute outfit and the minor mad she was having she was anywhere between 13 and a half and 14 pounds - time to get the tape measure out and see if she got taller which I am sure she did! Getting her to keep her legs still long enough to measure her will however be the tricky part. She has a new nickname..."Kicky Girl" She just loves to kick her legs and see how high she can make them go and the look of utter happiness onthat little face when she does this is so incredible. She has also been busy discovering that her feet and hands actually belong to her and her hands taste way better than her dummy (pacifier). It is so cute to both of us to wake up in the early hours and hear her sucking away on her hand. She hasn't gotten her feet into her mouth yet but they are sure fascinating. The first day she found them was so funny, she was wearing a romper and the leg parts end mid-calf. She started pulling up one leg - pretending to be LL Cool J I think, and all of a sudden she sees her foot and sits there staring at it for like 5 minutes. We promptly went out and bought her the Lamazze hand and foot rattles which she completely ignores, but her sleep and play outfits that have little characters on the feet are now the greatest thing ever. She also has discoverd some toys notable Mr. Whoozit (Manahattan Toys), Mr Buzzy (Zolo fuzzi puffi) and Sophie( Vulli) - it is so fun to watch her become aware of these new things. She has also started pushing the dogs away when they get too kissy which is super cute! She is also discovering her voice lots of coos and gaas and most recently giggles, yup like her mummy she is very vocal!
I loved my mommy and me class at Isis, and I start the next one in the coming week and what makes it so much better is that there are at least 3 other moms from the first class in it. I really believe that Great Beginings stopped me from becoming depressed, to have the support of other mums with new babies of the same age as your infant is utterly invaluable. I resisted joining Isis while I was pregnant but post-partum? Best thing I ever did!
I went back to work on Feb 1st and this working full time is proving to be a challenge. Leaving her that first time wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but then Robert had actively encouraged me to go out without her while I was still on maternity leave and that really helped. The biggest challenges have been learning to pump effectively so my milk supply does not decrease, and dealing with being so sleep deprived while working. I think I have the pumping thing sorted out, with the help of Chris who is so very patient with me pumping in the office and great at reminding me to pump. The sleep thing is not so easy as I am seriously aware of how mean I can be when I am tired and of course Robert gets the brunt of my moodiness. I am trying to remember that I have spent my entire adult life learning to multi-task and I really can't expect Robert to be able to instantly do this....We are working on it - he is the best stay at home dad ever, but he is no good at house work and child care at the same time! We are starting to interview babysitters and housekeepers and this is pretty scary! I am just so glad we don't have to interview nannys! I have however rediscovered cooking, and coming home and cooking a really nice meal is not only relaxing for me, but it is also good for us as a family, and way better than take out junk. Also I lost all the baby weight and then some and I really want to keep the wieght off and maybe even lose a bit more....
Some random things I have learned? Gerber onesies are useless the sizing is so off. UK baby clothes are bigger than US baby clothes. Carters baby clothes are fab as are Just One Size and Baby Gap (US) and Mothercare, Baby Next and Marks and Spencer. Toys R Us is hideously expensive - compared to other places. Boston is very unfriendly to wheelchairs and prams and pushchairs - the bus is impossible, I am yet to brave the green line and the ramps in the mall basically mean you are going the long way round!
So what has happened since the last note?
Poppy is growing like a weed. When we had our 2 month appointment she weighed in at a health 12 and a half pounds and 23 inches long. We weighed her yesterday at Isis and inbetween the cute outfit and the minor mad she was having she was anywhere between 13 and a half and 14 pounds - time to get the tape measure out and see if she got taller which I am sure she did! Getting her to keep her legs still long enough to measure her will however be the tricky part. She has a new nickname..."Kicky Girl" She just loves to kick her legs and see how high she can make them go and the look of utter happiness onthat little face when she does this is so incredible. She has also been busy discovering that her feet and hands actually belong to her and her hands taste way better than her dummy (pacifier). It is so cute to both of us to wake up in the early hours and hear her sucking away on her hand. She hasn't gotten her feet into her mouth yet but they are sure fascinating. The first day she found them was so funny, she was wearing a romper and the leg parts end mid-calf. She started pulling up one leg - pretending to be LL Cool J I think, and all of a sudden she sees her foot and sits there staring at it for like 5 minutes. We promptly went out and bought her the Lamazze hand and foot rattles which she completely ignores, but her sleep and play outfits that have little characters on the feet are now the greatest thing ever. She also has discoverd some toys notable Mr. Whoozit (Manahattan Toys), Mr Buzzy (Zolo fuzzi puffi) and Sophie( Vulli) - it is so fun to watch her become aware of these new things. She has also started pushing the dogs away when they get too kissy which is super cute! She is also discovering her voice lots of coos and gaas and most recently giggles, yup like her mummy she is very vocal!
I loved my mommy and me class at Isis, and I start the next one in the coming week and what makes it so much better is that there are at least 3 other moms from the first class in it. I really believe that Great Beginings stopped me from becoming depressed, to have the support of other mums with new babies of the same age as your infant is utterly invaluable. I resisted joining Isis while I was pregnant but post-partum? Best thing I ever did!
I went back to work on Feb 1st and this working full time is proving to be a challenge. Leaving her that first time wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but then Robert had actively encouraged me to go out without her while I was still on maternity leave and that really helped. The biggest challenges have been learning to pump effectively so my milk supply does not decrease, and dealing with being so sleep deprived while working. I think I have the pumping thing sorted out, with the help of Chris who is so very patient with me pumping in the office and great at reminding me to pump. The sleep thing is not so easy as I am seriously aware of how mean I can be when I am tired and of course Robert gets the brunt of my moodiness. I am trying to remember that I have spent my entire adult life learning to multi-task and I really can't expect Robert to be able to instantly do this....We are working on it - he is the best stay at home dad ever, but he is no good at house work and child care at the same time! We are starting to interview babysitters and housekeepers and this is pretty scary! I am just so glad we don't have to interview nannys! I have however rediscovered cooking, and coming home and cooking a really nice meal is not only relaxing for me, but it is also good for us as a family, and way better than take out junk. Also I lost all the baby weight and then some and I really want to keep the wieght off and maybe even lose a bit more....
Some random things I have learned? Gerber onesies are useless the sizing is so off. UK baby clothes are bigger than US baby clothes. Carters baby clothes are fab as are Just One Size and Baby Gap (US) and Mothercare, Baby Next and Marks and Spencer. Toys R Us is hideously expensive - compared to other places. Boston is very unfriendly to wheelchairs and prams and pushchairs - the bus is impossible, I am yet to brave the green line and the ramps in the mall basically mean you are going the long way round!
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