My last month of maternity leave and my last catch up post, I think!
We did a lot of going out and about and I was having fun being a mommy! We did my Color Me Mine playdate for 3 girls from school, which was fun for them to see the baby. Cordelia already loves Guity, she is just a natural baby person!! After, we went home and changed Cordelia out of her flowered dress and into her white lace vintage-looking dress, so we could go to Steamstock, a steampunk music festival.. We had found the dress at the Gap and it was the only one....and in her size!! Jason's mom had knitted them both matching aviator caps, so they looked amazing. Cordelia was on her best behavior, hardly fussing at all, and even got used to her hat. Everyone loved her and told us about our gorgeous baby, but we already knew that!!
I started visiting school about once a week or so. I brought Guity some flowers at the kindergarten presentation to thank her for taking care of all the kids.... it was my first time seeing many of the parents! They were very nice. We went and got pizza after. I talked a lot with Joanne and she offered me some of her kids old things, as they were moving. The next weekend was the graduation picnic. It wasn't as emotional as it would have been if I'd been around all summer. I felt like I had made my more "hardest" goodbyes when my maternity leave began. It got pretty sunny and although we tried to keep Cordelia shaded, she got a light sunburn. :( I called the doctor's but they said it didn't sound like she'd need to come in.
I also went in to work and did some orientations for new families and a meet and greet with the parents. I left Cordelia for the first time for a few hours, but was able to pick her up from Jason at camp immediately after.
During this month, Cordelia had difficulties sleeping. Every time I'd set her down in her bed, she would immediately start thrashing and wake up. I read that sleep experts recommend that babies be placed in bed when they are drowsy but not asleep, so they would learn to fall asleep on their own. But that did not work for Cordelia! I bemoaned it as a cruel joke! Instead, the best advice I received from the internet was to put my clothes in the bed and warm it up with a heating pad. Heating the bed did the trick and now we always do it before setting her down. During the day, I was conflicted about trying to make her sleep in her bed (which her naps would only last about 20 mins, max) or if I should work on establishing more set "nap times" for the morning or the afternoon, since it seemed like she might be getting more regular. Ultimately neither got solidified, especially with me returning to work, but at least she began to stay asleep at night. And then right around the time she turned three months old, she started sleeping through six or seven hours, before waking! It's been incredible.
I wanted to be sure I made a note about gunk. When Cordelia was a few days old, my mom commented on the amazing amount of gunk that can gets into a baby's skin folds. This is true: you will be amazed. Cordelia's neck was the primary gunk zone, as it was quite inaccessible. Milk, spit up, drool, sweat, all of that collects in the hidden valley's of the neck. Also we would find a stray cat hair or bits of lint. EW! Cordelia's neck folds were always moist and red, and a thin layer of yellowish crud. Eventually the crust would get kinds dry or just think enough and it would flake off or be enough to rub off. Also, it REEKED I was worried she had yeast growing in there, but the doctor did not think it was yeast at her 2 month appointment when I asked him about it. He did not give me any advice that resolved it; I think it was a pointless battle. But we tried putting some cornstarch in the folds to dry it out. A mom at school suggested Aquaphor, which maybe did a bit more for the redness than the cornstarch. I did a bunch of googling and found a really entertaining blog post someone had written about stinky baby neck cheese, comparing it to all kinds of fine fromage. I really enjoyed it, wish I still had the link. The other place Cordelia gets gunk is behind her ears. For some reason, the folds of her ears get a little oozy it seems, and then it dries into a fine layer of crust. The only thing that has really helped the battle against gunk is Cordelia gaining more neck support. Around when she reached 11/12 weeks old, she started getting more of a neck. This still has not put an end to the neck cheese, but at least we are seeing more improvement.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
The Napping House
Cordelia's favorite book is Don and Audrey Wood's The Napping House. This is also one of my all time favorite books from my childhood, and it is also the first book that Mom-mom and Grandpa bought for "Baby Bear" all those months ago! However, we mainly read her the giant board book version that I have. Jason read it to her for the first time and she immediately got into the rhythm of it all and was singing back to him as he read to her. Since then, he has basically memorized the whole book and yesterday he recited it to her as got her ready to go to Mimi's for a few hours (he had work and I had scheduled a school related home-visit). We packed the smaller sized Napping House in the diaper bag for travel!
Today, Cordelia was fussing and he sat her down in his lap and read her the big book version. Immediately she calmed down!
Today, Cordelia was fussing and he sat her down in his lap and read her the big book version. Immediately she calmed down!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Cordelia continues to sleep through the night like a champion!! She was in bed by 10, but I woke her up coughing! Damn cold! She cried and then went back to sleep immediately, on her own! I thought she was going to wake at 6, so I fed the cats who were bullying me anyway. But she stopped stirring and slept until 7:40!!!!
Today we went to the mall and I got a haircut. I haven't had a haircut since the first week of April, and my hair was getting quite long and nasty at the ends. Plus, my hair got thicker during pregnancy and now it has become time for that hair to fall out. Super gross each time I take a shower!! Hopefully getting a trim will help my hair get some new life. I only took off 2 inches, as I wear my hair tied back so often.
It was a pretty quiet day. We watched a lot of Breaking Bad.
Cordelia took only short naps. Jason says she has been sleepier when I am at work, but from what I can tell, she loves to be awake. She got sleep even earlier tonight. It is probably for the best that bedtime keeps creeping earlier. She had been taking an evening nap and going to be around 11, then 10:30, then 10 and tonight she was in bed by 9:30. She started getting tired around 7:30-ish and dozed on my shoulder. But she was awakened when I tried to turn her head and fussed enough that we could tell it was time for bed, not a nap. So we got her in her huggies and her swaddle and I nursed her to sleep. Maybe it is not the best long term solution, but letting her fall asleep nursing and being all filled up helps her sleep the night away.
Well, best be getting to bed myself. We'll see if I can actually read more than a few paragraphs of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone....
Today we went to the mall and I got a haircut. I haven't had a haircut since the first week of April, and my hair was getting quite long and nasty at the ends. Plus, my hair got thicker during pregnancy and now it has become time for that hair to fall out. Super gross each time I take a shower!! Hopefully getting a trim will help my hair get some new life. I only took off 2 inches, as I wear my hair tied back so often.
It was a pretty quiet day. We watched a lot of Breaking Bad.
Cordelia took only short naps. Jason says she has been sleepier when I am at work, but from what I can tell, she loves to be awake. She got sleep even earlier tonight. It is probably for the best that bedtime keeps creeping earlier. She had been taking an evening nap and going to be around 11, then 10:30, then 10 and tonight she was in bed by 9:30. She started getting tired around 7:30-ish and dozed on my shoulder. But she was awakened when I tried to turn her head and fussed enough that we could tell it was time for bed, not a nap. So we got her in her huggies and her swaddle and I nursed her to sleep. Maybe it is not the best long term solution, but letting her fall asleep nursing and being all filled up helps her sleep the night away.
Well, best be getting to bed myself. We'll see if I can actually read more than a few paragraphs of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone....
Saturday, September 7, 2013
School's In
Leaving your 3 month old to go take care of 22 three year olds is a bit mind boggling, but such is my life now!
Maternity leave made me loose my teacher immune system, so by the end of the first day I had a cold! Stuffy snotty nose and scratchy throat. And I am no longer able to talk nonstop 8 hours a day, so it has turned into laryngitis. So now I have noooooo voice at all. Plus I am worried Cordelia will get her first cold. Maybe she'll have a strong immune system, like Dad....
Cordelia and Jason seem to have done just fine this week. He was off the whole time, plus MeMe is out of town on the cruise to Alaska! Cordelia has had plenty of milk and taken her bottles well. Jason is much more likely than me to take her out, so they ran lots of errands. They even got me flowers at the farmer's market for my return to school! She seems in good spirits and is a happy baby. I feel like in just a few days Jason is even more strongly attuned to her than before, taking care of her every need.
She has continued to have marathon nursing sessions, probably from missing me, which means she is still, somehow, sleeping through the night!!
Pumping at work is taking some time to figure out. At first my 20 minutes breaks were at logical times 9:30, 12:40, and 3:30. Close to when she was eating too. But from a classroom perspective, it was terrible! I was always in the middle of a huge transition, like clean up/snack/potty/circle time and lunch/cleanup/nap. I was soooo rushed and stressed when I'd get back there, it would take forever to let-down. After two days, I told my director it just wasn't working, and I'd rather just push pumping back later than be gone during those essential times. So now it's 10:30, 1:40, and 3:40.... Though my afternoon break is not a full 3 hours between the previous break. Part of me is wondering about going down to just two breaks, maybe 10:30 and 2:00? Then I could take half-hours, instead of 20 mins, which is NOT enough time. It seems like when I am less rushed, I pump a decent amount. We still have surplus milk for her, so shortage of an immediate supply is not the concern. But just getting through mastitis, I don't want to pump too little! She is still having 3 bottles a day, so I should probably be pumping three times, right?? If I go down to two, will my milk supply decrease too much? Or would it even out?
Breast issues continue for me. The mastitis has cleared from my right boob, but I have a milk blister/bleb that is so far painless. (I had one before and it was SUPER painful for like half a day, though it had mostly gone down by the time I made it to see the lactation consultant, who made me feel like I was being a wuss about nothing.) Then I got a second one last night on the same nipple, but this one came off right away, leaving a tiny raw spot that stings a bit when she nurses. Sigh, I am not sure if all this is because one time I didn't position my breastshield well when pumping or (maybe more likely) because Cordelia has an imperfect latch. It is always too tight and she doesn't open her mouth big enough. I try pulling her lower lip down, like the lactation consultant showed me, but it never seems to do anything. Sigh, this isn't the most terrible, but still I wish it were easier, especially now that we're past the 3 month mark!
Other memories....
Cordelia laughed hysterically when I buzzed like a bee. She also loved Jason hissing and gurgling at her. He said he was speaking Parseltongue to her.
Today she found her feet on her own! I've been putting her hands on them for ages, trying to get her to realize.... there are piggies down there! She did it once on the changing table and then several times throughout the day. It was neat, as I've been watching for her to do that, and I'm pretty sure I got to be there for the first time she did it. Glad I didn't miss it!
Jason reads The Napping House to her, and she starts her baby song as she gets into the rhythm of the story.
She loves to "stand" and be lifted in the air now. She hates tummy time and cries so much, we don't like to give it to her. "Back to sleep, tummy to play" they say, but the result is definitely not playing!! But I want to start working on her neck muscles more, given her tilty head. My friend's baby is younger and has already rolled over!!
Cordelia is fascinated by her reflection. She makes eye-contact with the mirror baby and her lips turn up in a smile. Sometimes she smiles even bigger and gets happy. I started taking her on a "tour" of all the mirrors in our house (bathroom, bedrooms, and hall) to get all the Mirror Smiles. Jason really got into it and takes her on tours all the time.
I love covering her in smoochies and nibbling on her tum tum. Between diaper changes (if she hasn't gotten dressed in an outfit), I love getting "nakey baby time" with her. Who knew that nakey babies are the bestest? ha ha, at least that is what I tell her. She is just so yummy.
Hmmm, she zonked out a little early tonight. She only had one long nap in the afternoon, so I am not surprised. But usually with her longer nursing sessions, she has been "topped off" and I think it helps her sleep through the night. Tonight, she definitely did not get much before becoming so out of it, she was not even sleep-eating. Will tonight break the streak??? I hope she lasts at least until 5.
Maternity leave made me loose my teacher immune system, so by the end of the first day I had a cold! Stuffy snotty nose and scratchy throat. And I am no longer able to talk nonstop 8 hours a day, so it has turned into laryngitis. So now I have noooooo voice at all. Plus I am worried Cordelia will get her first cold. Maybe she'll have a strong immune system, like Dad....
Cordelia and Jason seem to have done just fine this week. He was off the whole time, plus MeMe is out of town on the cruise to Alaska! Cordelia has had plenty of milk and taken her bottles well. Jason is much more likely than me to take her out, so they ran lots of errands. They even got me flowers at the farmer's market for my return to school! She seems in good spirits and is a happy baby. I feel like in just a few days Jason is even more strongly attuned to her than before, taking care of her every need.
She has continued to have marathon nursing sessions, probably from missing me, which means she is still, somehow, sleeping through the night!!
Pumping at work is taking some time to figure out. At first my 20 minutes breaks were at logical times 9:30, 12:40, and 3:30. Close to when she was eating too. But from a classroom perspective, it was terrible! I was always in the middle of a huge transition, like clean up/snack/potty/circle time and lunch/cleanup/nap. I was soooo rushed and stressed when I'd get back there, it would take forever to let-down. After two days, I told my director it just wasn't working, and I'd rather just push pumping back later than be gone during those essential times. So now it's 10:30, 1:40, and 3:40.... Though my afternoon break is not a full 3 hours between the previous break. Part of me is wondering about going down to just two breaks, maybe 10:30 and 2:00? Then I could take half-hours, instead of 20 mins, which is NOT enough time. It seems like when I am less rushed, I pump a decent amount. We still have surplus milk for her, so shortage of an immediate supply is not the concern. But just getting through mastitis, I don't want to pump too little! She is still having 3 bottles a day, so I should probably be pumping three times, right?? If I go down to two, will my milk supply decrease too much? Or would it even out?
Breast issues continue for me. The mastitis has cleared from my right boob, but I have a milk blister/bleb that is so far painless. (I had one before and it was SUPER painful for like half a day, though it had mostly gone down by the time I made it to see the lactation consultant, who made me feel like I was being a wuss about nothing.) Then I got a second one last night on the same nipple, but this one came off right away, leaving a tiny raw spot that stings a bit when she nurses. Sigh, I am not sure if all this is because one time I didn't position my breastshield well when pumping or (maybe more likely) because Cordelia has an imperfect latch. It is always too tight and she doesn't open her mouth big enough. I try pulling her lower lip down, like the lactation consultant showed me, but it never seems to do anything. Sigh, this isn't the most terrible, but still I wish it were easier, especially now that we're past the 3 month mark!
Other memories....
Cordelia laughed hysterically when I buzzed like a bee. She also loved Jason hissing and gurgling at her. He said he was speaking Parseltongue to her.
Today she found her feet on her own! I've been putting her hands on them for ages, trying to get her to realize.... there are piggies down there! She did it once on the changing table and then several times throughout the day. It was neat, as I've been watching for her to do that, and I'm pretty sure I got to be there for the first time she did it. Glad I didn't miss it!
Jason reads The Napping House to her, and she starts her baby song as she gets into the rhythm of the story.
She loves to "stand" and be lifted in the air now. She hates tummy time and cries so much, we don't like to give it to her. "Back to sleep, tummy to play" they say, but the result is definitely not playing!! But I want to start working on her neck muscles more, given her tilty head. My friend's baby is younger and has already rolled over!!
Cordelia is fascinated by her reflection. She makes eye-contact with the mirror baby and her lips turn up in a smile. Sometimes she smiles even bigger and gets happy. I started taking her on a "tour" of all the mirrors in our house (bathroom, bedrooms, and hall) to get all the Mirror Smiles. Jason really got into it and takes her on tours all the time.
I love covering her in smoochies and nibbling on her tum tum. Between diaper changes (if she hasn't gotten dressed in an outfit), I love getting "nakey baby time" with her. Who knew that nakey babies are the bestest? ha ha, at least that is what I tell her. She is just so yummy.
Hmmm, she zonked out a little early tonight. She only had one long nap in the afternoon, so I am not surprised. But usually with her longer nursing sessions, she has been "topped off" and I think it helps her sleep through the night. Tonight, she definitely did not get much before becoming so out of it, she was not even sleep-eating. Will tonight break the streak??? I hope she lasts at least until 5.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Return to Work
I've been in and out of work a few times since mid-August, when Paid Family Leave time ended. It worked out quite well. Sometimes I brought Cordelia, but twice I left her with Jason in the morning so I could do orientations with new families. My first time going out without her! It felt funny to be in the car and not have her in the back seat. I was able to pick her up from Jason, who took her to camp, so she was only minutes away and I only missed one feeding, if that.
Cordelia became 14 weeks old when I went back full time for our teacher institute week. But three of those days were spent on classroom prep, so Jason came to help out and we were able to have her there in the afternoons. She did very well and barely fussed at all through the chaos. She did get to spend two days at MeMe's house, once just the morning, the other all day.
Tuesday I had to be away the whole day. We went to the exploratorium and then back to the MV school for training. At the exploratorium, I figured, hey! this is San Fracisco. I asked if they had a nursing room so I could pump and they DID. Much more comfortable than standing around in the bathroom like my original plan.
Going back through Bay Area traffic was tough. Fortunately, we decided to carpool. Unfortunately, my coteacher got in someone else's car and they decided to get dinner to avoid some of the traffic. All of us forgot she was blocking me in the driveway! My ride took me home, and I planned to just leave my car overnight until I was informed the next morning was garbage day. (I was in front of the dumpster!!). I was too tired to go back out, so Jason and Nick went to get my car, while I nursed Cordelia. She nursed for the whole time that it took them to get there, come back, and then through hanging out. Over an hour and a half!! She continued to have marathon nursing sessions through the week. Heidi guessed that it was because she missed me, missed the closeness to mama. I realized she was probably right!
The trade off to these long fill-ups was.....She slept through the night every night this week. YAY!
On the days we worked in our classrooms, Jason would join us around 1 or 2 and he would bring Cordelia. She was super mellow most of the time and he was able to help us a lot.
I knew going back to work would be hard, and it is. There is a little ache that doesn't go away when you have to leave your baby. Also, I moved more slowly than I'd like... I mean, this week you are always doing 100 things at once and it was harder for me and I got tired. We'll see how it goes when there are actual kids there today!!!!!
Cordelia became 14 weeks old when I went back full time for our teacher institute week. But three of those days were spent on classroom prep, so Jason came to help out and we were able to have her there in the afternoons. She did very well and barely fussed at all through the chaos. She did get to spend two days at MeMe's house, once just the morning, the other all day.
Tuesday I had to be away the whole day. We went to the exploratorium and then back to the MV school for training. At the exploratorium, I figured, hey! this is San Fracisco. I asked if they had a nursing room so I could pump and they DID. Much more comfortable than standing around in the bathroom like my original plan.
Going back through Bay Area traffic was tough. Fortunately, we decided to carpool. Unfortunately, my coteacher got in someone else's car and they decided to get dinner to avoid some of the traffic. All of us forgot she was blocking me in the driveway! My ride took me home, and I planned to just leave my car overnight until I was informed the next morning was garbage day. (I was in front of the dumpster!!). I was too tired to go back out, so Jason and Nick went to get my car, while I nursed Cordelia. She nursed for the whole time that it took them to get there, come back, and then through hanging out. Over an hour and a half!! She continued to have marathon nursing sessions through the week. Heidi guessed that it was because she missed me, missed the closeness to mama. I realized she was probably right!
The trade off to these long fill-ups was.....She slept through the night every night this week. YAY!
On the days we worked in our classrooms, Jason would join us around 1 or 2 and he would bring Cordelia. She was super mellow most of the time and he was able to help us a lot.
I knew going back to work would be hard, and it is. There is a little ache that doesn't go away when you have to leave your baby. Also, I moved more slowly than I'd like... I mean, this week you are always doing 100 things at once and it was harder for me and I got tired. We'll see how it goes when there are actual kids there today!!!!!
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