Four Months Old

I cannot believe it's been four months.

But it has. Monday marked four months since I birthed our little smiley sassy pants. Four months since I went from "I will never have this baby" to "I will never sleep again" to "I will never get anything done again." Four months since our surprise redhead made our lives complete. (for now at least ;)

Every day I am reminded, at least once, how lucky I am that we're able to make this stay-at-home thing work. While I do get stir crazy from time to time (how many trips to Target can I "need" this week..) and the adult conversation is a little lacking, it's still wonderful to get to spend my time watching Maeve change and learn new things. It's amazing to me how literally within the span of two days she'll have developed a new skill, make a new sound, notice new things or even have grown an unbelievable amount! Yesterday I went to put her in a 3-6 onesie that fit her last week and this week the buttons were barely clasping!

At four months Maeve has mastered rolling front to back and back to front. As of this weekend she's begun rolling around to get where and what she wants. Goodbye playmat. Goodbye ten minutes to wash dishes. She can also inch her way towards things when motivated. It seems the dogs are a great source of motivation.They will be very inconvenienced once she can crawl and doomed once she can walk. She is in love with her puppies, especially Kitri who still isn't quite sure what to make of Miss Maeve, but is very curious and gentle with her.

Kitri keeping Maeve company while I dried my hair. (Yay for...doctor's appts?!)

Maeve has turned my days into some new form of mommy alligator wrestling. Changing her diaper is a challenge as she flips herself around and kicks her legs as fast as she can while "talking" to me. Bathtime is a similar event, and often ends with her splashing too much water in her face or getting us soaking wet. She is super giggly these days too. I can never seem to catch it on film, but it makes you smile just to hear her deep little laugh. Among the things Maeve finds funny; pretending to eat her up (especially if you munch on her cheeks and feet and make plenty of "nom nom" noises), raspberries on her tummy, her feet in Daddy's beard, Mommy's hair in her face, singing and dancing silly songs, funny faces and her doggies. Everytime she gives a good smile her dimples pop and her little eyes sing! I LOVE it! I'm pretty sure people on facebook are petitioning I quit posting baby pictures but I.can't.help.it!!!

Ofcourse by the time I got the picture she was distracted, but still. It's so cute to see her perch with Adam and rub her little toes in his itchy beard!

As sweet and cute as she is, Maeve is also a tad opinionated and has very little patience for things not going her way. She's not high strung, but she's definitely not laid back either. Things that upset Maeve: not getting what she wants, being held facing in and not the crowds, being held by strangers, carseat, stroller, swing, bouncer...basically anything that contains her. Things that make Maeve cry: blowing your nose, sneezing loudly, dogs barking, keeping her contained too long and not putting her down on time for her naps. That girl loves to sleep and she's becoming less and less portable during naptime and bedtime.

All the cliches surrounding motherhood and parenthood are all I can think of to say about being a mother to my sweet little munchkin. I won't, because who really likes hearing those things, but know they're all true. Even in times of frustration I look at her, especially while nursing and think, "You're amazing! You're beautiful! I adore you and can't believe I'm so lucky to have you!" I imagine what she'll be like as a toddler, a child....a young woman. What her interests will be and where they will take her. How is it possible to love someone so tiny so darn much?

She was talking to me here. "Bah bah bah oooooooh"

Happy four months munchkin! Our lives will always be for the better because of you!

Lots of 3AM

If Maeve isn't teething or going through one long growth spurt, than it's obvious she's trying to kill me.

We have seen an awful lot of 3am these days, and that's not usual for our family. We were incredibly lucky that Maeve came home wanting to sleep long stretches. At night those first six weeks we set alarms and had to wake her up to get in most of her late night, every two hour feedings. Normally her schedule is bedtime at 7pm, midnight feeding and 6:30am breakfast. Like clockwork! Most of the time she starts to wake up before we've gotten to her for that late feeding. Naps have become the similar clockwork predictability, back down in the morning until 10am, back down from 12:30pm to 3pm and then perhaps a catnap in the late afternoon while we wait for Daddy.

Not this week my friends. This week has been exhausting. Starting Monday night we've been waking up just about every other hour. Down at 7pm, up at 10pm, up at 12am, up at 1:15am, up at 3am, up at 5am, up at 6:30am, up at 8:45am....then down at 11am, but a short short nap. Essentially cutting out her first morning nap, shortening her other and being a bit of a pill in between. Let me tell you, it's been quite frustrating. I know there are others out there who have it worse, who hardly ever get sleep, but this has been a rough week. I knew I was exhausted when sometime between bedtime and "DOES SHE KNOW IT IS 4AM?!?! I WAS JUST IN THERE!!!" I went to go to the bathroom and ran into the door. Because it was still closed.

Oye.

We have several theories. One is teething; she can't get enough things in her mouth, and if you get close enough she'll pull your hand or finger in her mouth to gnaw down. I haven't taken a good look in her mouth, but last weekend my sister-in-law thought she could see something lurking down in those gums. Our second theory is the obvious, especially the more I read. In ten days our little munchkin will be four months old!!!! While there's no noted 4mo growth spurt, it's not impossible that she's having one anyhow. All the signs are there; constant demand for food, messy schedule, crankiness, latching on and off in frustration. Yep, she's a regular peach right now. My only hesitation, outside of her timing, is that her last growth spurts have only lasted about 24-48hrs, and last night was our fourth night of crazy. Finally, our last theory. She's trying to kill me. Or at least drive me into madness. Maybe she's bored, and hearing me mutter to myself at 4am and walk face first into walls is very entertaining.

Bigger & Better-aka 8 Months

Today marks week 32 in the 40wk pregnancy adventure! Month 8! We've made it!

Changes in the last few weeks:

• 001 has begun kicking and punching simultaneously on opposite sides of my body, making me feel as though my stomach is going to pop from being to small for her energetic body
• Occasional 'jumps' from our wee one can be noted from the outside as my whole stomach heaves with her
• While I initially celebrated my low-lying girl and felt sympathy for friends who long ago had feet in the ribs, we have recently joined the club. My right ribcage seems to be the resting place for our girl's foot, particularly felt in the evenings and sometimes making it a little harder to breathe.
• I feel full. Full of baby, full of food, but I'm hungrier now then I have been most of the pregnancy. Ironically, my weight gain has slowed down.
• We're keeping on keeping on with our Bradley Method exercises, which sometimes feel like fat-lady torture. ;)
• Remember the maternity bra I bought about two months ago? Yea, it hardly fits. It was the largest size they had in the sports bra style at Target.
• 001's peachy nursery stands ready to receive her. There are little piles of clothes on the changing table to be washed and a clock to be fixed, but it feels so cozy to walk by.

Tuesday marks our next appointment with the midwives, and our next ultrasound with the perinatologist is the following Wednesday. Hopefully I'll have more baby pictures to share!

Denial, It Ain't Just A River

One of my great pre-mommy fears with pregnancy is stretch marks. I have been dousing myself in vitamin E lotion and collagen rich (supposedly) cocoa butter lotion since just about day one. My doctor even mentioned to me that it was mostly genetic, and since my mom had practically no stretch marks, I would probably be in the clear. He lied.

Last night, while rubbing lotion on my expanding tummy I remarked to Adam how funny it was that I "only have this one mark, right here---how odd!" The mark I was referring to is a deep, half-moon shape just to the left of my belly button. One noticeable mark? I'll take it. And then I noticed Adam...nodding. It was that "ummmm, yes...." face. "Do I have more?" I asked, and all he would say is "You look great! Stop worrying!" Momentarily appeased I resumed my night time routine. but as I exited the bathroom I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror on the door. A mirror I've been avoiding because I know how big I am thank-you-very-much! The lower part of my stomach, the part I can't see at all without the aid of a mirror is stretch mark city. *Sigh* I know it was probably hopeless to begin with, but I couldn't help feeling sad and kind of unattractive, especially with three months to go! I think the saddest part though is that it hadn't occurred to me that I literally can't see half my belly.

My husband made a valiant effort though, ignoring my requests for truth these last few weeks. After my discovery last night he gave me a squeeze and a kiss for consolation and added, "It was kind of cute that you thought you only had the one spot." So, here's to Adam, who kept my denial going strong, and to my lotions whom continue to be my false security even though the proof is in the purple.

Feeling the Mommy Takeover

It happened. Today I broke down and bought...a nursing bra.

I hadn't ever even thought of getting to this point but my friends, when you're a busty individual like some ladies (hint, like me) and you are left at 6mo pregnant with only one bra that kind of sort of works, and by works I mean can still hold most of you in place but creates that unpleasant back-fat look and you tend to spill over top at the wrong angle....it's time to accept that you've gone from busty to outrageously chesty. There was a book my friends and I read as teens called "Angus, Thongs & Full Frontal Snogging". In the book, the lead character is a busty girl and is challenged by her friend to see if she can hold a pencil with her "nunga-nungas", only to discover she can hold an entire pencil case. I could probably safely hold my future infant underneath my enormous "nunga-nungas" these days. What scares me even more is the fact that they're not done! I've got months to go, and then they'll swell again once I begin to nurse. Sweet Mercy!

I had been told by several friends that they had been pleased with Target's nursing bra selection, so I tried several on and settled on a sports-bra looking comfy bit with thin straps so I could still where it under normal tops. Yes, I went with comfy. Who are we fooling people? I want comfy, and to be confident it will fit. Plus, I was getting frustrated trying on multiple sizes with no clear indication of which size I really needed now because I've clearly outgrown my 38DD (no, that's not a typo, that's pre-pregnancy, understand my panic now?!) At the end of the day I settled on the Basics Bravado, size XL.

*SIGH*