We still have not put Giada in her crib. She is still in the bassinet near our bed, but she is going to have to go up to her room soon. I think mostly it’s me not wanting her to be so far away upstairs but I’m just going to have to get over it. Giada had her 6-month checkup. Shots were much easier this time (at least for me since I knew what to expect.) Giada is 16 lbs and I can’t remember how long but long 97th % I think. She is super happy and laughing. She is still not sitting unsupported but we’re working on it. She likes her Jumperoo for about 10 minutes and rolls over easily both ways. Still not so hot on the tummy time. I definitely think she will walk before she crawls, but I guess we’ll see. Part of the problem is that our floors are all hardwood and we have this cat with a peeing problem (nerve damage from being born) so sometimes she makes it to the litter box sometimes not. As a result, we don’t have a lot of rugs. We bought those foam things but they look like crap because the cats claw them to death. Giada is eating veggies and likes them. We haven’t done meat yet.

Giada is getting BIG. She is funny right now and fun to be with, still going to bed at 1:30 though.

This Saturday has FLOWN by. I can’t believe it is 5pm already. It feels like I just woke up! Giada was up at 4:40 this morning and there was no putting her back to sleep. I know it was because we started trying to put her down earlier than midnight. Fairly successful but the results were tough – since we DID stay up until midnight, the 4am wake up call was hard (for me!).  

For anyone looking for a good series to watch and who has any interest in Sci- Fi run to your tivo and program it to record Caprica on the SyFy channel. It is AWESOME! Hopefully any sci fi lover has already watched the entire new Battle Star Galactica, it is sooooo good! (Caprica was in our final 10 name picks for Giada. My Mom hates Giada’s name – I wonder if she would have liked Caprica better)”Cap-Rih-ka”) Maybe the next kid will get it.

I have been immersed in baby care books but have gone to the new library near us and got 2 new books: Shantaram By Gregory David Roberts, a 920 page turner about Bombay that I have been assured I will love more than Diana Galbadon’s Outlander series (doubt it- but we’ll see) And finally a return to my beloved Patrick O’Brian Master and Commander series! I am on the 3^rd or 4^th last book in the series – The Commordore.  Sooo good. I love it when I find an author that has more than 3 books in a series that are good.

One of the most horrifying days of my life.

Giada’s two month doctor’s appointment was really more like a 2 month and 2 week appointment. Dr. Curtis (Dr. Somer Curtis and I went to high school together at Ursuline Academy.) said Giada was doing well. She is growing on a 20% growth curve and weighs 10lbs 1 oz now. When she was born she weighed 6lbs 11 oz. but dropped to 6 lbs 1 oz at her 2 week appointment. Her head is normally shaped, not flat (thank goodness) and is in the 50th percentile at 39.9 – I am not sure why this is important – it shows her brain is developing?

Everyone always says that Giada is tall but she is actually just 24 inches tall – weird, she’s grown 4 inches in 2 months – that is pretty amazing that she is getting that big just on breast milk. (That’s in the 85th percentile if you’re interested.)

The whole percentile thing is kinda odd. How important is it? Does it matter really? Hmm…

Well all that was just fine. Somer said I need to be careful to not let her fall off anything as people underestimate the dexterity of their  babies at this age. Giada is not flipping over yet but she can scooch around pretty well. At our first appointment with Dr. Curtis Giada did actually flip her self from her side to her back which was pretty precocious. She also turned herself in a circle by scooching her feet.

I really should see Giada gets more tummy time so she can get stronger. It is funny to see her hold her little head up when against my chest or in a sitting position. She is still not super strong but she is doing better and better. She started doing this around Christmas.

The horrifying part of the visit was the vaccinations. The nurse came in with three shots with needles so long I thought they would go all the way through her leg.

I really thought I was prepared. I knew she was getting shots. I knew they were going to hurt her. I breastfed through the appointment to get her lots of oxytocin or whatever the feel good hormones are called. I steeled myself – telling myself that it was for her own good. The nurse came in, three shots in hand, jabbed Giada in both legs so fast I barely saw her hand move and had 2 band aids slapped on before Giada could even articulate the extreme pain she was in evidenced by the awful kidney bean red color she had turned. Poor thing!! She screamed and screamed. I immediately put her to breast but it took awhile until she would take that comfort. I guess it eventually worked though as after she finished eating she seemed ok and was fine all the way home. It was awful! I’m terrified of her 4 month appointment. Jesus.

Thanks to all for the advice and to Aunt Regina for the call. We are doing well with the baby but it is hard to know what is best. The crying when being put to bed only lasted 1 night because I just could not handle it. I agree that she is crying for a reason and even if it is just because she is lonely that is enough. I would like to get her on some kind of schedule just so that she knows hen she will be sleeping and awake eating and so on. Of course if that is not advisable right now then that is fine because Giada being on a schedule would require ME being on a schedule and that hasn’t happened for 38 years and unfortunately is not likely to happen now.

Giada seems happy and well fed but it is weird not really knowing how much she is getting because of breastfeeding. If I am breastfeeding every 3 hours then when am I supposed to pump? She seems less satisfied when I pump at 1 1/2 hours (plus I don’t get a ton of milk it seems) What did other mothers here do? I really don’t want her drinking formula unless can help it but I can’t seem to lay down an adequate frozen supply. Any advice besides get up at 3:30 to pump? I’m not doing so great at that.

I am sitting here listening to my precious daughter scream her heart out on a monitor and apparently I am supposed to let her do this for her “own good” so she becomes a disciplined person. I guess I am a weak wimp or she is already a master manipulator.  I just can’t do it. I don’t care what the books say! I’m going to get her right now.

I have been sick with a sinus infection for the last few days. I knew I had lost my voice but had been doing pretty well,. Not really feeling sick until my TEETH started hurting a couple of days ago. It felt like I had just had my molars removed or something on my top jaw. I thought maybe I had cracked a tooth. I was telling my designer haw bad they hurt when she said ti was because of a sinus infection. I had never heard of such a thing! I checked it out on the internet and low and behold, it’s true! Very interesting.  

So I went to a Doc in a Box yesterday (my primary care physician figured out there was a ton more money to be made in dermatology (i.e. Botox and face resurfacing) and changed practice types – should get a discount for the inconvience after 15 years of loyal following) and they took blood work and I did have higher  white blood cell count. So now I have a Z pack (which I always thought sounded very ominous but it turns out is just arizthromyacin, which I took for years to get rid of acne – I’ll be surprised if I’m not immune by now) and should be on the mend. I did wake up without my teeth hurting so I guess it must be working.

My Aunt Delores had brought over this teapot you stick up your nose and pour hot water in your head – but that whole process was just too scary for me, though she swears it is no big deal. Has anyone tried this contraption? A neti pot? Hmmm…

Trying to get Giada to “go to bed” at 8:00 until her last feeding at midnight. Not super successful so far. It is too hard to let her sit in there and cry.

I’m exhausted. This whole “babies sleep 18 hours out of 24” is a total myth.

Oh beloved sleep wherefore art thou? Sleep – the lost pleasure. I’ve been pretty happy with breast feeding results until last night. My actual milk came in and Giada was NOT happy with the change in menu from the colostrum. After screaming from about 3 until 11 am she Finally deigned to eat but with with her face scrunched up in total disgust the entire time. Poor little thing, she was like, “Please just give me what I am used to eating!!”  She seems to have resigned herself to milk now so hopefully things will go better tonight!

Things have been crazy here. 3 weeks ago when I went to the OBGYN my blood pressure was really high – a new one for me as my blood pressure is usually so low they take it twice to make sure they got it right. It was diagnosed as pre eclampsia and I was told to “take it easy” Which of course I didn’t really – It’s hard! Last week my Doctor was like, seriously you are going to have a stroke and sent me to the neonatologist.

I get there and had to wait a while. When they called me I had to haul my pregnant body out of a low slung leather chair, sling my heavy leather purse with my 2 huge books in it over my shoulder, waddle after a fast moving nurse and hoist myself up on a high examining table. Of course the first thing they do is take my blood pressure  Which is SKY high. They call my Doctor and she has them put me in the hospital immediately for observation. Luckily it took a bit to get her on the phone so they did the sonogram in the meantime and my 6 ½ lbs baby turned into an 8lb baby – but everything  is good with her. She is “breathing” well, moving well and all ready to  come out. When they monitored me in the hospital my blood pressure was as low as it usually is which was weird as it has been constantly high for weeks.

Nothing like scaring your blood pressure into submission with the threat of imminent induced delivery.