Friday, December 30, 2005
6 months old today!
We are celebrating the wee one's 1/2 year old birthday today! I used to wonder what it would be like to be at this point. There are so many amazing changes since 6 months ago. She woke up this morning at the (butt) crack of dawn (5:45) going "Bbbbbbppfh, Wah!, Bbbbbppfh, Wah!, Bbbbbppfh..." If anyone can translate that for me it would be appreciated. I am so happy she is at this milestone.
On another subject, since I have been able to spend some more daytimes with her lately, I have been noticing her nap schedule. I put her down and she can nap in the morning for 1/2 - 45 minutes and in afternoon for up to an hour and a half or two. She cries some before (less than 5-10 minutes) and then goes to sleep. With her nanny, she sleeps less, about 1/2 hour at a time at best. The baby, I think, knows the nanny is less strict/mean than mommy and will not let her cry more than 30 seconds and will pick her up. I told her to try and that it was ok to let her cry, but I think it will take some more time. I may be reading too much Dr. Weissbluth (Healthy Sleep...), or projecting my own sleep desires onto her, but I think it helps her sleep better at night.
Happy New Year to all!!
On another subject, since I have been able to spend some more daytimes with her lately, I have been noticing her nap schedule. I put her down and she can nap in the morning for 1/2 - 45 minutes and in afternoon for up to an hour and a half or two. She cries some before (less than 5-10 minutes) and then goes to sleep. With her nanny, she sleeps less, about 1/2 hour at a time at best. The baby, I think, knows the nanny is less strict/mean than mommy and will not let her cry more than 30 seconds and will pick her up. I told her to try and that it was ok to let her cry, but I think it will take some more time. I may be reading too much Dr. Weissbluth (Healthy Sleep...), or projecting my own sleep desires onto her, but I think it helps her sleep better at night.
Happy New Year to all!!
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Christmas Mom
Well, baby had her 1st Christmas and got lots of wonderful things. I got the gift last night of sleep as her sleep schedule finally evened out again. I am definately a mom now. I fantasize about more than 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep and afternoons willing away at a shopping mall out of town. (I used to do that a lot and I am sure the time will come again...with a teen daughter someday!).
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Fever!
The wee one had been fussing a lot and teething yesterday morning. I went to work for 3 hours and came home to find the nanny rocking her and saying the baby felt hot and the baby whining "oh, oh." She had not eaten well that afternoon and been fussy. I took her temperature, 101! I panicked (I knew I would the 1st time she was sick) for a bit and gave her tylenol and called the pedi. The answering machine replied that they were closed and to go to the the emergency room.
The baby went to sleep in my arms and I pulled myself together. I thought back to my pediatric rotations and all the advice I used to give worried moms on the phone. I remembered, as long as the fever responded, the physical exam normal, and the baby was eating and drinking there was no reason to rush to the ER (in order to wait 6 hours to be seen by a doc who may or may not like/ be experienced in babies.) I rocked here and she woke a bit later and her temperature was down. She took 4 ounces of formula and didn't whine as much. I started to feel calmer.
My doctor brain clicked on for a bit and I decided that she either had a virus or this was from teething. I know the experts say teething can't do this, but many moms I know can attest that this is possible. She was fussy the rest of the night and woke twice, but the temperature stayed normal. This morning she almost seemed like her old self and by lunch she was good as new. Later I noticed a rash on her chest and back and I attibuted that to the viral infection. She is still teething though, so maybe just a double whammy for my poor baby.
I spent some time beating myself up for having a cold this past week, seeing lots of patients in my new clinic with colds, flus, and coughs, and taking her out to eat with my family this weekend, AND then I stopped myself. Babies get sick. It is possible that it had nothing to do with me. Babies get better the vast majority of the time quite rapidly.
The baby went to sleep in my arms and I pulled myself together. I thought back to my pediatric rotations and all the advice I used to give worried moms on the phone. I remembered, as long as the fever responded, the physical exam normal, and the baby was eating and drinking there was no reason to rush to the ER (in order to wait 6 hours to be seen by a doc who may or may not like/ be experienced in babies.) I rocked here and she woke a bit later and her temperature was down. She took 4 ounces of formula and didn't whine as much. I started to feel calmer.
My doctor brain clicked on for a bit and I decided that she either had a virus or this was from teething. I know the experts say teething can't do this, but many moms I know can attest that this is possible. She was fussy the rest of the night and woke twice, but the temperature stayed normal. This morning she almost seemed like her old self and by lunch she was good as new. Later I noticed a rash on her chest and back and I attibuted that to the viral infection. She is still teething though, so maybe just a double whammy for my poor baby.
I spent some time beating myself up for having a cold this past week, seeing lots of patients in my new clinic with colds, flus, and coughs, and taking her out to eat with my family this weekend, AND then I stopped myself. Babies get sick. It is possible that it had nothing to do with me. Babies get better the vast majority of the time quite rapidly.
Friday, December 16, 2005
5 things about me
(Thanks for tagging me Day, I am in the "IN" crowd now...ha,ha,ha)
1. When I was 12 years old, there was a man at my church who wrote Christian children's music. He got a recording contract and hired me and some kids from church to sing on his album. I was paid $5 a hour (this was great...esp in 1982 dollars) to sing and hang out at a recording studio. Our album featured our picture on the back, albeit with GIGANTIC headphones on singing in the studio. It was called "All God's People Love to Sing." I can still sing all the songs.
2. Every year for the past 4 years, I have attended a debutante ball (no kidding!). Every one is in formal dress and the debs are presented in big white dresses and do a formal court bow. After the ceremony we all eat hot dogs (no kidding!) in our formal wear.
3. I have always been obessed with ice cream and sherbet. When I was 8 years old, my favorite past time was thinking about what flavor I would pick on the next trip to the ice cream store. It drove my parents nuts because it was all my sister and I would talk about. For a school contest I even wrote a logic problem involving ice cream / sherbet flavors. I won 1st prize....my parents weren't so annoyed by my dessert obsession after that.
4. I was virgin until I was 24 years old (that movie 40 year old virgin made me feel so much better). I also married the 1st guy I was with partly due to my strict upbringing of "DON'T HAVE SEX UNTIL YOU GET MARRIED" (in retrospect not a good idea at all, as that marriage didn't work out and ended unpleasantly). I am still a Christian but currently have more relaxed views about sex and marriage.
5. I think of myself actually as quite ordinary and my college roommates used to comment that I was one of the most normal people in our crowd of nerds, misfits, minorities, and oddballs usually found in institutions of higher education. It is interesting to note that my own mother often reminds me (and my sister) that we are "not like other people" because how ambitious I am about my life, and when I went to medical school, one of my classmate buddies also said the same thing. I am lucky that I love life and want to make the most of it.
1. When I was 12 years old, there was a man at my church who wrote Christian children's music. He got a recording contract and hired me and some kids from church to sing on his album. I was paid $5 a hour (this was great...esp in 1982 dollars) to sing and hang out at a recording studio. Our album featured our picture on the back, albeit with GIGANTIC headphones on singing in the studio. It was called "All God's People Love to Sing." I can still sing all the songs.
2. Every year for the past 4 years, I have attended a debutante ball (no kidding!). Every one is in formal dress and the debs are presented in big white dresses and do a formal court bow. After the ceremony we all eat hot dogs (no kidding!) in our formal wear.
3. I have always been obessed with ice cream and sherbet. When I was 8 years old, my favorite past time was thinking about what flavor I would pick on the next trip to the ice cream store. It drove my parents nuts because it was all my sister and I would talk about. For a school contest I even wrote a logic problem involving ice cream / sherbet flavors. I won 1st prize....my parents weren't so annoyed by my dessert obsession after that.
4. I was virgin until I was 24 years old (that movie 40 year old virgin made me feel so much better). I also married the 1st guy I was with partly due to my strict upbringing of "DON'T HAVE SEX UNTIL YOU GET MARRIED" (in retrospect not a good idea at all, as that marriage didn't work out and ended unpleasantly). I am still a Christian but currently have more relaxed views about sex and marriage.
5. I think of myself actually as quite ordinary and my college roommates used to comment that I was one of the most normal people in our crowd of nerds, misfits, minorities, and oddballs usually found in institutions of higher education. It is interesting to note that my own mother often reminds me (and my sister) that we are "not like other people" because how ambitious I am about my life, and when I went to medical school, one of my classmate buddies also said the same thing. I am lucky that I love life and want to make the most of it.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Poo, Eat, Pee, Fuss, Poo, Bath, Eat, Pee, Fuss, Nap, Fuss, Eat
I finally get to write one of these "I'm a Mommy" posts after 34 years of life (about to be 35 next Sunday).
The title of this post refers to what today has been like. And that's just in the last 2 hours! How much poo can a baby produce?
Oh, I forgot we are on the 3rd change of clothes since 9AM.
I am still in my pj's and am already tired and ready for bed. It is only 3:45 PM right now.
The title of this post refers to what today has been like. And that's just in the last 2 hours! How much poo can a baby produce?
Oh, I forgot we are on the 3rd change of clothes since 9AM.
I am still in my pj's and am already tired and ready for bed. It is only 3:45 PM right now.
