Monkey off my back

UPDATE: I got an A in my first post-Abby class!!!

Saturday was my last day of class. While I enjoyed my first accounting class, there was a ton of information to learn. I had a final, which covered everything, and an annual report project due Saturday. The annual report project was basically questions at the end of each chapter I was supposed to answer based on an SEC regulated company and a peer. There were 10 chapters, and I was supposed to keep up weekly with this project, but nothing was actually due until the last day of class.

Ummm, I ended up pulling an all-nighter Friday night.

See, a colicky baby doesn't make it easy to keep up with this sort of thing. If it wasn't due that week, it had to wait. It was kind of a good thing, though, because it really helped me study for the final. There were 50 questions on the final. At question 32, Abby went into her nightly fit. I had such a hard time finishing that final. Amazingly, I somehow got a 98%! I only missed one question. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

On top of all of this, our furniture was delivered Saturday too, so that took up most of the afternoon. It looks great! We feel so grown up in our new bedroom. We went from having the mattress and box spring on the floor in our condo to an actual bedroom set that matches. Damon even managed to put the grill and patio furniture together all by himself!

I have a question. Our living room tables have a small drawer on one side. Should this drawer on the coffee table point in toward the couch, or out to the living room?

Full House

I found pictures of some of the furniture we're getting so you can see. This is the dining room set. We're getting the hutch too (we just need to figure out what we're going to put in it). Use your imagination to picture a coffee table, 2 end tables, and a "sofa table" (it's supposed to go behind the couch, but we're going to put it against the wall in our entryway) that look just like the dining room table.




This is the bedroom set. The finish looks darker in the picture, but it's actually the same as the dining room set.

2-Month Checkup

First off, according to the weather girl to the right it's 50 degrees outside. What is she doing in a teeny cropped top and low-rise jeans?! That crazy girl needs to put some more clothes on. Ok, I'm done.

Abby had her 2-month well-baby checkup today. I've had mixed feelings about it because she was set to get her first round of shots today. She handled it pretty well, though. I was worried because she had started to get fussy a few minutes before the nurse came in. She screamed while they gave her the shots (4 of them!), and for a few minutes after, but she calmed down pretty quickly. I think it was harder on me. I've been traumatized all day.

We were excited to find out how much she has grown. She is now 11 lbs. 11 oz. and 24.75 inches long. She is just short of the 50th percentile on both, so she's about average for her age. It was great to hear she's growing well. She had a great time with her doctor. She laid on the table cooing and smiling the whole time--until the end. Then she started to get a little cranky.

Everything else looked really good. We told her how Abby tends to get very fussy in the evenings, and about 45 min-1 hour after she wakes up from naps during the day. She thought that Abby's colicky and reassured us that it usually peaks around this time. At least the nights have gotten easier. She usually wakes up around 10-11 for one last feeding before I fall asleep, then she's up about 3-4 hours later. She eats then goes right back to sleep for another 3 hour stretch. That is, until last night. Last night when she woke up, she would not go back to sleep and she became very fussy. Her doctor thought she probably picked up on my anxiety toward the shots she'd be getting today.



She was talking and playing with the bears on her mobile in her crib while I grabbed an outfit out of her closet.

Don't Push Her

The only way we can get Abby to sleep for more than a half hour this week has been to take her out. She and I have been all over the place in the past week. It's good for me because I get to get out of the house, and she's an angel the whole time. I'd heard about a new store that was calling itself the biggest furniture store in Spokane, so Abby and I went to check it out last week. They had some nice things, so the three of us went back yesterday. Come Saturday, we will have a fully furnished house! They had great prices, and 0% financing for 3 years (having great credit definitely pays off--they were ready to give us the store once they ran our application through!), so we bought a formal dining room set, living room tables that match, and a bedroom set for us. Our dining room has become a catch-all since it's been sitting empty for so long. Ed, we did go out and buy a small table for the kitchen eating area last Thanksgiving, so we have been eating at a table. Abby was awesome!

We were at the furniture store for a couple of hours, then we headed to Home Depot next door for patio stuff. While we were there, Abby would wake up and drift off constantly, but she never fussed. When we got back to the car, I fed her and she went back to sleep. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves, so we decided to go out to dinner for the first time. Yeah, that didn't work out so well. She woke right up shortly after we sat down, and got a little crabby. She was ok as long as I was walking around with her, but once I sat down she would get a little fussy. We were grateful that there was no serious screaming and crying meltdown--she waited until we got in the car for that. Our waitress did tell us that she behaved better than 80% of the babies they get in there, but we packed up most of our meal and went home before she became part of that 80%. Before we even got home, she was fast asleep.

2 Months Down, A Lifetime to Go

Abby’s already 2 months old today. In some ways it’s hard to believe she’s only 2 months old. I keep wanting to bottle up these moments because she will never be this small again. At the same time, though, I can’t wait to go through the next stages. Before we know it, she’ll be rolling around, then crawling, then she’ll be walking. We blink and she’ll be slamming doors, and begging for a car. It goes by so quickly.



She’s changed so much in such a short time. She smiles and coos all the time these days…when she’s not screaming and crying. She has discovered that she has a voice, and she loves to use it any way that will get her what she wants. She has this particular cry that says, “I’m over here. Pay attention!” I wonder where she gets that from.



She finally decided she liked her car seat, so Abby and I have been enjoying getting out of the house. I’m teaching her the wonders of Target. She doesn’t seem very interested yet; she sleeps the whole time we’re out. In fact, this week getting out and going for a ride has been the only way she’ll nap for any good length of time. We’ve been able to go out on weekends as a family without a fuss.



Next week is her 2-month well baby checkup. We’re anxious to see how big she’s gotten, but we’re dreading her first round of shots. It will probably be harder on me than her.

Talk to me

I know you read this. You've told me you do. Why don't you talk to me too? Just click on "Comments" and leave me a message. I'd really appreciate it. I don't expect you to leave a comment every time you check this site, but every once in a while would be nice. I'd love to hear from you.

Abby's Valentine's Gift to Us

It finally happened. The thing I have dreading. It started so innocently. We were just taking a bath together. See, when it was time to give her real baths instead of sponge baths, we tried to give Abby a bath in the kitchen sink. She hated it! Next, we decided I would get in our master bathtub with her, and she loved it, so we’ve been doing it ever since. We bought a space heater for our bathroom to get it extra warm for her. Then, I get the water going, and get fresh clothes ready to go. When the tub is full enough, I get in while Damon undresses her and brings her to me. Then we play. She loves taking baths, so it is the highlight of our day. Yesterday, though, she did the unthinkable.

Abby pooped in the tub.

She had just pooped yesterday morning, so at least it wasn't a huge explosion again. Still, I had just gotten her soaped up. We had to drain the tub, clean it, and refill it. Being the brilliant parents that we are, we thought to wrap Abby up in her robe so she wouldn’t get cold, but we did not think to PUT A DIAPER ON HER. Of course, she pooped some more in the robe. Needless to say, we’re spending Valentine's Day doing laundry.

See how much she's grown! This was her first real bath. She was exactly 3 weeks old in this picture.




This was yesterday. We measured her while she was lying there, and she's about 24 inches long now. My baby's 2 feet tall!

Abby's personality changes by the week, literally. Every Sunday or Monday, she becomes a different baby. 2 weeks ago, she was very fussy and would only sleep on my chest. Last week, I could not have asked for a better baby. She slept for 5-6 hour stretches at night, only waking up to eat. Getting her to sleep was a piece of cake too. When she was awake, she was so easy. It was great timing too, because Damon was in Chicago all week. She finally got used to the car seat, so we were able to go for walks and on errands, and she would sleep the whole time.



This week, there has been too much smiling and cooing to do to sleep. We have had such a hard time getting her to stay asleep. As soon as she falls asleep, she'll wake up with a look that says "what did I miss?" This week has also brought the return of The Gas. This has made her fussy at times again, so she has been sleeping in bed with me. At least now, she will sleep next to me and not ON me, which really helps. It breaks our hearts to see her in pain. We have found one other place she will sleep: the swing. We bought the swing a couple of weeks ago with little hope. At that point she hated everything, the car seat, the vibrating bouncy chair, and the Bjorn. One thing she hated more than anything, though, was the one thing that everyone seems to swear by: being swaddled. She screams as if we chopped off her arms and legs every time we tried to swaddle her. The swing, though, has been wonderful! That has been the only place she will nap during the day for more than 10 minutes. A few days ago, she napped for almost 2.5 hours in it!



Did I mention the smiles? They melt our hearts.