"Try something different" has been one of my mottos since Annie's arrival. Baby doesn't like the song you're singing? Try something different. Baby hates the bouncy seat she used to love? Try something different. I feed/clothe/bathe her one way, but her daddy, grandparents, friends, etc. are welcome to try something different.
Why on Earth did I forget all that when we were fighting to get her to sleep last week? Yesterday Toby and I finally remembered the motto, tried something different, and got some sleep. No, she didn't sleep through the night, but she did sleep from 7-2:30 and from 3-6. It felt like a huge victory! The changes? We fed her the dreaded f-word (formula) at 6:30 and we didn't wake her up to feed her again at 10, like we had been doing. Then we went to sleep at 9:30, fully expecting to be woken up at 11, 1, 3 and 5.
Instead, I woke up at 1:30 and was so happy/relieved/excited that I couldn't go back to sleep. I finally went to check on her at 2:30. Though I missed all the creaky spots on the floor, my ankle made a terrifically loud pop on my way out of her room, and I woke her up. Next time, I'll try harder not to check on her. :)
It is too early to say we turned the corner on our week of awful sleeping, but we feel so much better today knowing that it is possible to get some sleep on occassion. Wish us luck tonight.
Our Family, Our Friends, Our Life
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Making me look bad...
Toby has been home with Annie for the last two weeks, and they have been having a great time together. Back when I was home, I was pretty proud at the end of the day that I had kept the baby alive and maybe emptied the dishwasher. Now, I get home at the end of the day and Toby has done all the laundry, kept the house straight, walked the dog, taken Annie for a hike, and today........
...sewed a felt hand puppet to go with her favorite song. "Five little speckled frogs, sitting upon a log, eating some most delicious bugs. One jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool, now there are four speckled frogs..." etc etc. So he's also teaching her math.
He is seriously making me look bad.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Four Months!
AnnaLeigh turned 4 months old on Friday! She remains the cutest baby on the planet, as evidenced by this photo.
Seriously, she is the cutest baby ever.
Stats from her check-up:
Height - 25 inches - 75th percentile. (Tall!!! Hooray!)
Weight - 13 pounds, 15 ounces - 50th percentile
Excellence awards - she is a "very good sitter" and also rolled over on the exam table.
She had her shots, too, but Toby and I handled them better this time and Annie only screamed for about a minute. She did come down with a fever a few hours later, which I always thought was an old-wives tale but turns out to be an actual side effect, requiring a trip to Walgreens in the middle of a thunderstorm. (Thanks, Toby.)
She's been enjoying driving her car lately, a lovely hand-me-down from neighbors.
Seriously, she is the cutest baby ever.
Stats from her check-up:
Height - 25 inches - 75th percentile. (Tall!!! Hooray!)
Weight - 13 pounds, 15 ounces - 50th percentile
Excellence awards - she is a "very good sitter" and also rolled over on the exam table.
She had her shots, too, but Toby and I handled them better this time and Annie only screamed for about a minute. She did come down with a fever a few hours later, which I always thought was an old-wives tale but turns out to be an actual side effect, requiring a trip to Walgreens in the middle of a thunderstorm. (Thanks, Toby.)
She's been enjoying driving her car lately, a lovely hand-me-down from neighbors.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
You are so Nashville if...
I love the annual "You are so Nashville if..." contest that the Nashville Scene puts on every year.
http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/so-nashville-if-this-years-winner-the-contenders-a-yasni-wave-of-relief-the-weirdies/Content?oid=1656374
The link will take you to the winners and contenders. One day I'm going to actually sit down and think of something funny enough to submit. For now, however, I love this year's #2 winner - "[You are so Nashville if] FEMA bailed out your Tea Party a**."
Most of the time you have to be a hard-core Nashvillian to understand the entries, but we can all appreciate this one. (Okay, maybe not our British audience, but everybody else.)
http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/so-nashville-if-this-years-winner-the-contenders-a-yasni-wave-of-relief-the-weirdies/Content?oid=1656374
The link will take you to the winners and contenders. One day I'm going to actually sit down and think of something funny enough to submit. For now, however, I love this year's #2 winner - "[You are so Nashville if] FEMA bailed out your Tea Party a**."
Most of the time you have to be a hard-core Nashvillian to understand the entries, but we can all appreciate this one. (Okay, maybe not our British audience, but everybody else.)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I know I've said it before...
...but I'm pretty sure that if you took all the babies in the world and looked at them purely objectively, mine would be the cutest.
And not only is she cute, but she's very smart, too. She started sitting by herself today. True, she tripods on her hands, and if she leans any direction she falls, but I'm still pretty sure she's extra-smart. :)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tara's 35th Birthday Party
The weather was extremely hot, Annie was super grouchy, and we had to leave after an hour. But Tara's friend Jimmy (www.jlegnonphotography.com) took this cute photo of Toby and Annie, so the outing must have been a success!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July!
To our American family and friends - Happy Independence-from-the-scourge-of-the-British Day!
To our British family and friends - Happy we-didn't-want-you-anyway-Day!
To our Harris friends, happy anniversary! I think it is 11 (or maybe 12) for Elisa and Kyle Harris, and 4 (or maybe 5) for Jessica and Avery Harris Telligman.
To my sweet husband, happy 3rd anniversary of the day you made me the happiest woman on earth by asking me to marry you. I couldn't have imagined that day where we'd be today!
To our British family and friends - Happy we-didn't-want-you-anyway-Day!
To our Harris friends, happy anniversary! I think it is 11 (or maybe 12) for Elisa and Kyle Harris, and 4 (or maybe 5) for Jessica and Avery Harris Telligman.
To my sweet husband, happy 3rd anniversary of the day you made me the happiest woman on earth by asking me to marry you. I couldn't have imagined that day where we'd be today!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Reflections on maternity leave - accomplishments and hilarity
Today is my last day of maternity leave, and it has been a day of mixed emotions. I'm really glad to be going back to work, exercising my brain and engaging in grown-up conversation. I'm also pretty sure that it is easier to be a lawyer than a stay-at-home mom. But it is going to be so hard to be away from her at first. Enough about that, no need to get all weepy when I have four more days until I actually go to the office. (Mom, remind me to put some Kleenex in the car for the drive to work on Tuesday.)
Anyway, I was thinking back on what I thought maternity leave would be like, and the list of things I thought I would do/accomplish while on maternity leave. So here's the list (at least, what I can remember) and the results.
1. Survive. Accomplished? Yes! With flying colors, marriage strong as ever, self-esteem high, and a healthy baby.
2. Lose the baby weight. Accomplished? Somewhat - I have 10 pounds to go, but I think it will be easier to lose them when I am not spending all day next to the refrigerator and a five minute walk to Starbucks, two cupcake shops and three different ice cream establishments.
3. Finish the pregnancy journal. Accomplished? Yes!
4. Organize the basement. Accomplished? Hahahahahah! I was clearly insane and in serious nesting mode when I decide to tackle this project while on leave.
5. Take down the storm windows and clean the windows and storm windows. Accomplished? Only if you consider the three screws I removed on Monday to be any sort of accomplishment.
6. Sleep. Accomplished? Sort of. Annie didn't really want to sleep much for the first six weeks, and she's still getting up at 3:30 or 4 every morning to eat, but I am trying to appreciate getting 5 1/2 to 6 straight hours of sleep every night, and trying not to dwell on the fact that she should be going at least 8-10 straight hours by now.
7. Appreciate how wonderful it is to have a healthy, happy baby. Accomplished? Mostly. The first few weeks are so hard that I spent some of the time wanting my old, pre-pregnant life back, but after I started getting some rest I was able to more fully appreciate how lucky I am. I have a wonderful husband and gorgeous baby - what else could I ask for (other than 6, above)? The good news is that I'll appreciate it all even more when I'm back at work.
Here is what Annie thinks of this list -
Anyway, I was thinking back on what I thought maternity leave would be like, and the list of things I thought I would do/accomplish while on maternity leave. So here's the list (at least, what I can remember) and the results.
1. Survive. Accomplished? Yes! With flying colors, marriage strong as ever, self-esteem high, and a healthy baby.
2. Lose the baby weight. Accomplished? Somewhat - I have 10 pounds to go, but I think it will be easier to lose them when I am not spending all day next to the refrigerator and a five minute walk to Starbucks, two cupcake shops and three different ice cream establishments.
3. Finish the pregnancy journal. Accomplished? Yes!
4. Organize the basement. Accomplished? Hahahahahah! I was clearly insane and in serious nesting mode when I decide to tackle this project while on leave.
5. Take down the storm windows and clean the windows and storm windows. Accomplished? Only if you consider the three screws I removed on Monday to be any sort of accomplishment.
6. Sleep. Accomplished? Sort of. Annie didn't really want to sleep much for the first six weeks, and she's still getting up at 3:30 or 4 every morning to eat, but I am trying to appreciate getting 5 1/2 to 6 straight hours of sleep every night, and trying not to dwell on the fact that she should be going at least 8-10 straight hours by now.
7. Appreciate how wonderful it is to have a healthy, happy baby. Accomplished? Mostly. The first few weeks are so hard that I spent some of the time wanting my old, pre-pregnant life back, but after I started getting some rest I was able to more fully appreciate how lucky I am. I have a wonderful husband and gorgeous baby - what else could I ask for (other than 6, above)? The good news is that I'll appreciate it all even more when I'm back at work.
Here is what Annie thinks of this list -
Off to take one last walk to the frozen yogurt shop!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Splish Splash
We took Annie to the pool at her Grandma and Grandpa's new neighborhood last weekend for her first dip. It has been so hot and bright that we only stayed a short time, but we had fun splashing her around and she looked so cute in her suit. The pool is amazing and has a very cool two-story slide, though we stayed in the separate baby area. Maybe she can try the slide next summer. :)
Here are Toby and mini-Toby enjoying a dip. Annie was not so sure about the water, since it was much colder than her baths. She did like looking at the sunlight reflecting off the water, though.
Annie and Grandma taking a break in the shade. Annie's hat actually looks cute in this picture, unlike the others. Grandma has been having a lot of fun with Annie this last week, except maybe for the times when Annie is busy screaming (and even then she didn't really mind).
The baby area of the pool has a little spray area, too. The big pool has a very large spray area that we might try out next time.
Looking forward to seeing our little baby turn into a fish over the next few years! She'll be swimming by next summer if Toby has anything to do with it. Beth has been taking Millie to swim lessons already, and we're hoping to get a photo of cute Millie in a bathing suit to post here soon!
Here are Toby and mini-Toby enjoying a dip. Annie was not so sure about the water, since it was much colder than her baths. She did like looking at the sunlight reflecting off the water, though.
Annie and Grandma taking a break in the shade. Annie's hat actually looks cute in this picture, unlike the others. Grandma has been having a lot of fun with Annie this last week, except maybe for the times when Annie is busy screaming (and even then she didn't really mind).
The baby area of the pool has a little spray area, too. The big pool has a very large spray area that we might try out next time.
Looking forward to seeing our little baby turn into a fish over the next few years! She'll be swimming by next summer if Toby has anything to do with it. Beth has been taking Millie to swim lessons already, and we're hoping to get a photo of cute Millie in a bathing suit to post here soon!
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