Big Girl Bath

Today was Abby's first time taking a bath in the big girl tub!

First, we had a practice run two days earlier...I put her infant tub in the big tub in hopes that the familiar would be comforting and make the transition to the big tub an easy one the next time:

I'm not sure that she realized that much was up. Bath time went as usual.

Drying off is always fun!

And oh-so-cute!

And then, the real test came! Abby had no issues with the new tub, in fact I think she enjoys the echo and extra room. She loves her tub toys (don't gross out, I take them out before the soap comes out so that chewing on them isn't all soapy).

I debated on a bath seat, but she is sitting on her own so well that I just opted for the squishy tub mat so that her little bum would stay put.

Ahhh, the soapy-mohawk...every baby needs a picture or two like this!

And a little love for mommy!

Half

Today marks Abby's half birthday! I can't believe that she is half a year old already! Where, oh where did the time go??? The past six months have been full of miraculous changes both for Abby and our family...I can only imagine what the next six months will bring!

Serious Face

I love my Gramps

Abby and Daddy

Abby and Mommy

Sporting my U of M gear...

Just like Daddy

Family Time

The count down to full time mommyhood has begun! I only have 4 more days of work to go! The bad new is that I have to go into the office every day in order to get it all done. But the good news is that Abby gets to spend some time with family this week. Daddy was with Abby today, Aunt Wendy is watching her tomorrow and Gramps is spending the day with Abby on Thursday. I'm sure Abby is going to have so much fun with them that she won't even notice that I'm gone all week. All I can say is it is going to be a long week for mommy and that I can't wait to be able to spend more time with her!

It's Back!

Abby has remastered the skill of rolling from front to back and Mommy is so very happy for that! I was starting to wonder if she would ever remember how to roll. I have been trying to trick her into rolling from back to front by holding toys just out of reach but she doesn't seem interested just yet. In due time my friend, in due time. I guess I should enjoy her lack of mobility while it lasts....

One Arm Out

Though I knew the day would come when Abby would not want to be burritoed anymore I was hoping it was a few more weeks (months actually) down the road. I give most of the credit for Abby's ability to fall asleep fast to The Miracle Blanket (read an earlier post of mine here) and like to think that her consistent 2 hour naps are in part due to TMB. But, for the last week and a half she has been protesting the burrito. She has been wiggling and squirming more that usual when I burrito her AND as I snuggle her for 3 or so minutes.

So, the process of getting Abby used to burritoless sleep has begun--much to our dismay. The last two night I have been leaving her left arm out of the inside flap and only tucking it in on the last wraparound of the outer long flap. This has resulted in a little less squirming. For her first nap today I went for it and left her left arm completely out...I didn't expect her to sleep long because she usually twitches and/or hits herself with a flailing arm and wakes herself up. But much to my delight Abby slept for 1 hour and 3 minutes w/o waking! I did the usual paci plug at that point and she slept for another 20 or so minutes.

Not too bad considering she has been taking about an hour morning nap for the last 2 weeks (then getting up for an hour and then taking another 1-2 hour nap). At this point I'm going to consider this a good start to the burrito-free sleep!

Struggles

Going back to work after having Abby is the second hardest thing I have ever had to do.

The last three months have been nothing short of a vicious rollercoaster ride of emotions as I tried to adjust to my new normal. I have been heartbroken to leave Abby, scared to miss any part of Abby's life, excited to have tasks to focus on at work, disappointed because I have not had a chance to make a few things for special occasions, angry with the condition of my house, frustrated with my lack of patients, disgusted with my lack of working out, happy to work with my volunteers again, stressed over my to do list, exhausted from the lack of sleep because I'm staying up till midnight or so trying to get it all done. The transition from wife and employee to wife and mother, and then to wife, mother AND employee has truly been a struggle.

The problem is that I am a bit of a perfectionist and control freak, neither of which get you very far when trying to balance being a mother , wife, housekeeper, employee and all around sane person with a sense of self. My way of thinking is that if I'm going t do something, by God, I'm going to do i t well (if not excellent). But, this is not working for me. Everyone keeps telling me that something will have to give and that it is ok if the house is a mess, laundry isn't done, etc. I have tried to change my way of thinking and letting go of "the little stuff" but I haven't had much success. The high expectations I have for myself--as a wife, mother, employee and the high hopes of keeping SOME personal identity--have left me nothing but disappointed. This is no way to live, nor is it a good example for me to be setting for my impressionable daughter.

After much thinking and deliberation, I have decided that the best thing for me and my family is for me to leave my job and focus on us. With that, I am happy to report that this past Tuesday I gave my three week notice and starting February 23, 2010 I will be a full-time stay at home mom!! I have big plans for my time at home and I can't wait to fill you in on them as the time comes!

Fussy

Today was a short day at work because Abby has been...uummmmm...lets say fussy. I'm tempted to say that she has been a ball-of-wreck, but I fear what is to come so I'm saving that description just in case it gets worse.

Last night she went down at 7, woke at 10:30 and ate a decent size meal, woke at 3:30 and ate like I hadn't fed her in a week, woke at 6:30 to have a small snack and went back to sleep for an hour. Now I know that this does not seem too bad, but it really sucks since she used to sleep from 6 p.m. to 5 or 6 a.m. until her X-mas cold hit.

Anyway, I went to work this morning and Abby stayed home with daddy. MJ and I talked at around 10:30 and she hadn't ate yet. No big deal, this is how she get sometimes when we leave her with other people. MJ said that she as a bit hard to please but still happy for the most part.

Then I get a text at 1:30--Still not eating. MJ had tried a bottle 3 different times and each time she refused. I decided to come home to see if I could get her to eat since her last good size meal was at 3:30 a.m.(about 10 hours earlier). At this point Abby would go from ok to mad and crying or screaming in 5-10 minute intervals--I assume because she was hungry and tired.

When I walked in I was greeted with a huge smile and flailing arms. When we sat down to feed Abby would lift her head and open her mouth super wide in anticipation of the boob. Little stinker, she was holding out for mommy and the fresh stuff! After her good meal, she took a good 2 hour nap and woke with a smile.

That did not last too long though. About an hour later (6:30), fussy Abby was back. Nothing seemed to make her happy or comfortable. So off to bed she went--p.j.s on, diaper clean, Tylenol and more boobjuice consumed.

It is now 10:08 and the beast is up and not so happy....I assume this is teething...

UPDATE:

It's 10:57 p.m. and I just got done feeding Abby and getting her back to sleep. Here is how it went down: MJ tried to sooth her first and, well, that DIDN'T work. So, I walk in sit down and hold Abby. Screaming stops. "Are you kidding me?!!!" She falls asleep for 5 then wakes up screaming again. I sushhhhh her to sleep again and 5 minutes later the screaming banshee is back so I feed her. When she is done feeding, guess what...screaming banshee again. So I un-burrito and burp her. The little banshee subsides for 5 or so then returns. Time to bust out the teething toys and let the gnawing begin. This goes on for 10 minutes then it is time to burrito and sleep. I one-arm burrito her due to the fighting and we rock for 10 minutes or so. By this time Mommy is falling asleep but Abby is just staring at me. Enough. I put her in her crib and left the room. She slept/was quite for a few minutes and MJ has hard to plug the paci back in 2x now. I hope this is no indication as to how the rest of the night will go.

Double Down

I'm happy to report that in less than 5 1/2 months Abigail has officially DOUBLED her birth weight and now weighs 14 lbs (and 2 ounces). This is a fun milestone that I didn't realize I would take time to celebrate, but hey, why not?!!