margaretyagan

I woke up at 3:00 for my bottle.  Mom had to wake Dad up and he watched TV while he fed me.  He clearly was out of it a bit.  He then rocked me until I was just barely on the verge of sleeping and then he put me in my bassinet and jumped in bed.  Normally, he’s good about making sure that I’m asleep so I don’t bother Mom too much with my whimpering, but last night I was fussing as soon as he put me down and he left Mom to deal with me.  Mom got up and rocked me a bit, but soon enough it was 5:15 and I was hungry.  I slept for a little bit after my snack but mostly I fussed around until after Dad left for work, at which point Mom moved me into bed with her and we slept until 8:30.

Breakfast at 9:00 was uneventful except for the fact that I had my biggest spitup ever.  My beautiful spitup covered my face, my hands, Mom’s shirt, my outfit, and the Boppy cover.  Awesome.  Of course, Mom worried that something was wrong with me.  I napped until I ate again at 11:15.  I played a bit, fussed a bit, napped a bit, and took a quick walk down to the lobby with Mom.

Then, at 1:00, Aunt Molly came over to hang out with us.  Aunt Molly has a very special place in my life — she was the first non-family-member to visit me in the hospital, when I was about 10 hours old.  In fact, I have a vivid memory of Aunt Molly cheering me to poop: “Push it out!  Push it out!  Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay OUT!”  So, I had high hopes for her visit.

I ate at 1:45 and then took a nap.  After eating again at 3:15, I was ready to play with Aunt Molly.  First, she got me started doing some aerobics.  Now, I’m not quite sure how to take that — I hope she wasn’t trying to hint that I’m fat!  I learned a bunch of moves that will, I’m sure, lead me to be a great athlete.  Then Aunt Molly carried me around (facing out) and stood in front of the big mirror on the door.  She did this thing where she shimmied and the squatted (while singing a song) — and every time she squatted, I bent my legs as if I were squatting, too.  That was really fun and Mom and Aunt Molly seemd to think it was pretty advanced.

I ate and played and ate and played until around 8:30 when I screamed like I was Paul Revere on my way to Lexington and Concord.  Dad used the walk-in-the-hallway trick to calm me down.  I ate at 9:15 and turned for the night at 9:45.

I didn’t really sleep well last night, waking up at 1:30 am for my overnight bottle with Dad.  I ate quickly and fell back asleep right away.  I woke up again at 4:15 and then 6:15 for snacks with Mom.   Even though Dad usually gives me my weekend bath, Mom gave me a bath at about 7:15 (I wasn’t going back to sleep and Dad wasn’t up yet, so she figured it was the best way to keep me quiet!). 

Despite Mom’s best efforts, Dad woke up while I was taking a bath.  My parents were both in an early-morning-get-things-done mood so they packed me up and we headed straight for Whole Foods.  As usual, I slept through the whole trip, but as soon as we got back I was pretty hungry.  Mom and Dad got some things done around the house while I entertained myself.  After lunch at 12:25, I watched Mom and Dad play scrabble (Mom crushed him) and then did some tummy time and playtime on my mat.

I ate at 3:30 and then while Mom was on the phone with Grandpa Jim I had some more play time and hung out with Dad in the kitchen while he started working on dinner.  I slept for a bit and then ate again at 7:00.   I hung out with Mom and Dad until 9:30 when I ate and then fell asleep around 10:00.

I woke up around 3:00 for my bottle, which I barely woke up long enough to remember.  I got up to eat again at 5:40 and 7:20.  While Mom pumped, I sat in my bouncy chair and played with Aunt Jess.  She talked to me and we had a really good time together.  Then I napped for a couple hours while Mom, Dad, and Aunt Jess watched Lost.  I ate at 10:45 and then Aunt Ali came by to hang out with all of us.  Mom ate a slice of pizza and then fed me and then finished her lunch.  Aunt Ali took so many pictures of me.  She was so hoping to catch a smile of me but I kept faking her out.  Maybe next when you stop by next weekend I’ll give you a grin.

I ate again at 2:45 and then Aunt Jess left.  Who knows when I’m going to get to see her again!  She was so nice — I hope she comes back down soon.  (As a side note, her bus ticket from Boston cost $1.50.  I can’t wait to tell my kids some day… “I remember when $1.50 could get you all the way from Boston to New York…”)  Mom and Dad were so tired.  Once I fell asleep they put me in bed between them and three of us slept until almost 6:00.  When I ate again.  After dinner, Mom, Dad, and I sang a bunch of songs, including one about a spider.  I still don’t understand why the itsy-bitsy (or eency-weency as some call it) spider keeps going up the water spout.  Apparently the song is supposed to be a tale of overcoming adversity, but I think it’s just about a really dumb spider.  What’s at the top of the water spout, anyway?

I did some tummy-time and then ate supper around 8:20 before turning it at 9:00.

I got up around 4:30 for my overnight bottle with Dad.  It was pretty uneventful and Dad took off for work as soon as I was back to sleep.  Instead of putting me in my bassinet, Dad put me in the bed with Mom and I slept until 8:00 when I got up to have breakfast.

While Mom pumped, I played with Aunt Jess.  We talked and played and had a good time.  I was up until about 10:30 when I had a snack and then the three of us headed out to the park.  I thought it was going to be like every other trip out to the park, but instead of getting me in my stroller, Mom strapped me into a Baby Bjorn and wore me out of the apartment.  As soon as we stepped out of the aparment I decided that I HATED the baby bjorn.  Mom let me out of it and she held me on a park bench while Mom and Aunt Jess people-watched.

I ate at 1:00 and then we headed out for my second-ever play date. Mom’s friend Kate just had a baby named Sadie.  Sadie’s 10 days old but as way, way, way more hair than I do!  I wasn’t in a very good mood while we were there, probably because A DOG LICKED MY FACE.  I think Dad would have been really unhappy to see that.  Mom was cool with it, though.  I hope I don’t have fleas!

We headed back home, stopping by Grom for gelato on the way back.  I ate again at 4:00 and was so hungry that Mom decided to get out a bottle for dessert.  I was in a really good mood and I did tummy-time, playtime, and just hung out.  I ate around 6:30.  Dad got home and helped Mom deal with some fiascos involving our house in Chicago.  I ate and slept until 9:00 and then woke up just enough to have a snack before turning in for the night.

I didn’t sleep quite as long as usual last night, waking up at 3:45 — just less than six hours of overnight sleep.  I downed my bottle really fast and was all set to drink more.  Dad went to warm an additional couple ounces of milk, just like usual, except this time he failed to tighten to lid and it all leaked out into the pot of water.  He was so sad!  I fell right back to sleep, but only until 5:30, when I woke up to eat again.  I was still tired and so I napped until 8:00.

After breakfast, Mom and I got ready to go for a walk with Aunt Jennie and her sister-in-law Amy who has twins!  Aunt Jennie is so cool!  She’s really nice and really friendly.  I hope I get to hang out with her more while we’re in New York!  Mom was sneezing a lot — I thought I was the only sneezer in the family.

Then the weirdest thing happened.  Some guy walked up to us while Aunt Jennie was holding me and said “Is it the Christ child?”  Um.  I don’t know much about religion, but I’m pretty sure that guy knows even less.  For her part, Jennie replied, “maybe.”

We got back home and I ate lunch and then I became a fussball.  I took a nap and ate and fussed a lot.  Dad came home early because Mom had her 6-week postpartum doctor’s appointment.  I was screaming bloody murder when Dad came in and at Mom’s suggestion, he immediately loaded up the stroller and took me for a walk out to the park.  I laid out and got some shade and fussed a little more, but nothing that a little stroller ride couldn’t calm.

We got home and ate and then pretty soon Aunt Jess got here.  She came all the way down from Boston to meet me and to hang out with my parents.  She’s awesome!  She’s spending the weekend with us so hopefully I’ll get a lot of quality time with her.  And then, as if I hadn’t hung out with enough of Mom’s and Dad’s friends today, Uncle Marty came over.  It’s so nice that he’s been over to visit us every week.  He kept saying how fat I’d gotten since he saw me last 10 days ago (which Dad pointed out was abotu 25% of my life ago!).

Finally I fell asleep around 10:15.  I think Mom and Dad would love it if they could get me to sleep 10-5 every night.  Ha.

I broke seven hours of sleep last night, not waking up until almost 4:00.  Dad got up on his own after only a couple soft whimpers from me.  I pretty much slept through the feeding while Dad cheated, watching election coverage that he had Tivoed.  He decided to forget about going to sleep, instead showering and heading to work as soon as I fell (half) asleep.  While Dad was in the shower Mom had gotten up to quiet me down, but as soon as Dad got dressed he finsihed the job and I slept until 8.  That’s 11 hours with just one get-up. 

 I ate breakfast at 8:15 and for about an hour and a half after that I fussed around, played with Mom, swung a little, and napped a little.  After eating a snack around 10:30, I napped and fussed until lunch at 1:00.  Do you see a trend?  After lunch I played on Mom’s bed for a while, fussed a little, napped a little, and ate a little all afternoon.

At around 6:30, Dad came in the door just as I was in a period of fussing — screaming bloody murder in fact.  Mom was pulling out all the stops in the apartment so Dad decided to help by taking me outside our apartment.  Dad put down his bag, swaddled me like it was goin’ out of style, and we ran out of the apartment, down the elevator, and out in the courtyard.  Always the multitasker, he also made a pitstop at Bank of America to make a deposit.  We took a couple laps around the building and once I had fallen asleep we came back up to the apartment and I slept on Mom’s and Dad’s bed.

I got up, ate dinner, and hung out in my swing for a bit.  Just as Dad was lifting me out of my swing to do tummy-time…he stuck his hand in a pool of leaky poop.  “Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!”  So much for tummy-time.  Dad rushed me into an emergency bath (Mom was planning to bathe me tomorrow, anyway).  I got out, dried off, ate supper, and Mom tried to get me to sleep but I was still hungry (I let her know by trying to eat her shirt).  Dad saved the day with half a bottle and then I finally turned in for the night around 10:00.

Happy Birthday Grandma Sherry! 

I had another long stretch of sleep, waking up at 3:45.  Dad got up to give me a bottle, thinking this was going to be just like the last few nights; silly Dad.  First, I just wasn’t that hungry for some reason.  I only drank a couple ounces of milk.  Then Dad thought he could get me to fall asleep, but I just wasn’t tired.  I looked at him with big huge wide-open eyes and he melted.  We stayed up together until he got me to dose off for a few minutes by turning the shower on.  He left me on the couch, napping, while he hopped in shower (hoping like crazy that Mom wouldn’t wake up and find me, abandoned!).  After he got out, he fed me the rest of the bottle, and with the sun coming out there was no going to bed for me.  Finally Mom woke up and Dad took off for work.

I hung out in my bouncy seat with Mom for a while, before getting fussy (hey, I had been up for hours) and falling asleep to take a nap.  I ate a legitimate breakfast at 8:15 and then I fussed around for a while before falling into a restless sleep for a couple hours.  I had lunch at noon and then Mom and I went for a walk.  Mom was on a mission to be productive.  We stopped by the Ralph Lauren store, Pottery Barn Kids, and The Children’s Place (the latter to get me a sun hat!).  We walked back across the park to get home and, of course, I ate as soon as we got in the door.

After my snack, I was in a good mood so Mom and I sang (You Are My Sunshine, Itsy-bitsy Spider, This Little Light of Mine, etc.) and then I did some tummy-time.  I ate at 4:45 but wouldn’t fall asleep, so Mom had to carry me around for a couple hours to keep me calm.  Dad got home around 6:30 and then I had dinner with Mom before she had dinner with Dad.  I went to the laundry room with Dad and he and I hung out while Mom got to take care of herself a bit.  I had supper at 8:50 and then turned in for bed around 9:30. 

I woke up at 3:00 am after seven (7!) hours of uninterrupted sleep.  I had a bottle with Dad and then fell into a restless sleep until 6.  Dad had set his alarm incorrectly, so it’s a good thing I woke him up!  I ate at 6 and 7:40 then slept for a good hour and a half until 9:35, during which time Mom and Aunt Claire got a lot of work done.  But before I fell asleep I think I smiled — for real.  It was only once, but it definitely wasn’t gas!  Mom was really excited, but she’s still skeptical just because I’m not smiling 24×7.

Then Mom, Aunt Claire, and I walked across Central Park to the Apple Store.  It was pretty cold and windy outside, so we didn’t hang around outside too long.  After getting back, I ate at 11:25, 12:05, and 1:35.  Then Mom, Aunt Claire, and I took a nap until I ate again at 3:05.  I was in a really good, playful mood.  I kicked butt during tummy-time, lifting my head all over the place, watching the flashing star, and otherwise acing whatever challenges Mom through at me.  Aunt Claire headed back to Boston around 4:30 and then I ate with Mom. 

I napped for a bit, but was really alert and in a good mood as soon as Dad got home around 6:30.  Mom and Dad held me and played with me while they ate dinner and talked about their days.  I ate at 7:10 and 8:45 before turning in for the day.

 After 6 and a half hours of sleep, my Sunday started out at midnight — I was starving!  I hadn’t eaten since around 5:00 pm yesterday evening.  Dad woke up and gave me a bottle…and then another bottle…and then another bottle.  That’s right, I went through parts of three bottles in the course of drinking over 8 ounces of milk.  (Mom was shocked that this was even possible, saying “but her stomach is the size of a ping-pong ball!”  Um, Mom, I’m glad you didn’t go into biology.)  The whole process took almost an hour and half, my longest bottle feeding ever.

I woke up again at 3:40 and then had an extended double-feeding at 5:40 and 6:30.  I slept much more soundly last night than the previous few, so I think Mom slept better, too.  Mom asked Dad to get rock me to sleep around 7:00 and at around 8:00, I was ready to get up and I started getting pretty loud in my bassinet.  Dad sprung out of bed like a man on a mission.  We went into the living room where Aunt Claire was already awake.  Dad decided that we were going to sneak out of the apartment without Mom knowing in the hopes that she would get some extra sleep.  Claire thought this plan sounded fun, so the three of us went to, where else, Starbucks.  It was cold, windy, and misty outside but I was bundled up in a couple blankets, so I was fine.  Dad worked on his laptop, Claire read, and I slept for about an hour.

Finally I made it clear that I was getting hungry, so we all headed back to the apartment (stopping by Europan to get Mom a bagel).  But Dad’s plan wasn’t over just yet.  He pulled the same trick he did last weekend: he gave me a bath to distract me from my hunger.  And sure enough, it did.  I cooperated pretty well and the whole thing went off without a hitch.  Finally, at 10:15, it was time to eat and Mom was ready for me.  I ate again at 12:30 and 2:45, pretty uneventfully.

Then we headed out on our big adventure for the day motivated by the fact that Mom had two coupons that expired today.  We ended up walking over 40 blocks to go to Ben & Jerry’s (Thanks for the coupon, Grandma Sherry!), Blockbuster, Best Buy, and Duane Reade.  I kind of missed it all, though, since Mom refused to let Dad open the cover of my stroller.  When we were outdoors, she said, “I like to keep her stroller covered when I’m around tall buildings.”  And when we were indoors, she said, “the air seems stagnant and germy.”  I enjoyed the walk but missed ths sights.

We got back and I ate, of course.  Then Mom and Claire did some work while Dad took me into the kitchen so we could make dinner together.  I helped him make spaghetti pie and he taught me how to add fractions when we were putting the spices in.  I ate again at 7:30 and then turned in for the night.

I got up and hung out with Mom and Dad while they got ready for work.  I threw a huge fit when Mom left for work and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day.  Dad gave me my bottle kind of late (7:00 am).  I was super-crabby with Dad and even crabbier when he left and handed me off to Aunt Claire.  I whined and cried about everything, even about nothing at all.

I was in a somewhat better mood after breakfast.  A/C was hopeful that my nap would get me all the way back to normal, but no.  When it was time for lunch, I kept pretending to gag on my barley & mushrooms.  When I didn’t gag, I just spit it out or blew the food at A/C’s face.  I have to admit that I loved the avocado & cream cheese, though.

The afternoon was a bit better, but it still dragged on.  I made A/C read me “Busy Kitties” eight times!  I think she almost went crazy.  In fact, Mom felt so bad for Aunt Claire, she came home with a skinny vanilla latte for Aunt Claire to try to make her day a little better!