first valentines day

The bib was a present from one of David's theatre co-workers. The bunny valentine card was E's first and only valentine, from her Grandma Mickey and Grandpa Bud. The (clean) size 1 diaper that's open there has Happy Valentine's Day written inside it in red Sharpie. That was from David -- I had a nice surprise about 5 am when I sleepily reached for a clean diaper and opened it up.

(It was hard to get a picture where you could read everything, because Emmaleora's little feet kept kicking.)

innovator!

I'm going to show some baby pictures at a meeting I'm going to in Colorado Springs. People at the last meeting in late October joked that I was missing the meeting due to my own special "creative project". Pregnancy was a fascinating time in my life. I loved it. It wasn't all easy, but I loved it because...
* it made prioritizing easier because any task that contributed to a healthy baby and healthy me was automatically top of the importance list
* I didn't feel guilty or uncomfortable with the idea of RESTING
* I felt special, got lots of positive attention
* I suddenly had a bond with people I didn't know; coworkers who never spoke to me before were suddenly like chatty old friends! I didn't resent that, I loved it.
* the physical changes were fascinating to me - the whole gestation system
* I had something fun to plan for
* there was always something to talk about

Did I learn anything about "innovation" from pregnancy, any principles that could be applied to R&D work? Hmmm...
* nurturing pays off
* interdependence is part of it
* it's essential to have contingency plans
* it’s essential to have support systems
* the serenity prayer applies
* you’re better off knowing your values and priorities going in
* it can be a wild ride
* realize that stress affects attention, memory, and decision-making
* you’ll forget a lot of the details after it’s over
* learning still comes to you much later

mom and baby happy

Thought I'd add a picture of me with the baby. This is us in our nest, when she was 1 week old. I don't know why my hands look so gigantic - must be something to do with the camera angle.

I don't think I left that couch for the first month.

happy baby pose

Emma has discovered her feet. Well, her left foot, anyway. Not sure if she knows about the right one yet. I took her socks off and let her hold her dinky bare toes and that made her smile. She has her dad's toenails. It's a wonder she didn't cut herself! :) I trimmed those talons after rocking her to sleep.

cereal and boredom

Tonight E had her first taste of rice cereal. It took a few tastes before it hit her: "I like this!!" Then she was reaching with both arms for David's hand each time he refilled the spoon. Soon, just as suddenly, she was making "yuck" faces and had had enough.


Earlier today I was reporting to Emma's grandma and grandpa that I think this weekend she learned the concept of boredom. Usually she has entertained herself fairly well, but this weekend she was more on edge and harder to please. I think it's from the shots on Thursday. I could tell her problem wasn't a physical complaint because she would stop screaming as soon as you shook a toy in her face, stood up and walked around with her, or stood her up on your lap. She gets the cutest delighted smile when she feels herself putting weight on her legs. She's also started wanting to do that in the bath but I don't oblige.

She went to bed 40 minutes ago, and it's my turn soon. First I have to finish some work that is due tomorrow. Did you see our daughter's typing earlier? She really enjoyed it. She was trying to pick up the keys in handfuls.

E's first typing

v c/..x sdzzdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd'ccccd
]
ccccle44444rr4o;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;esssssoxc;;;v ;;;;;;;;;bbbbbbbbbbbbbllllllll l

in Daddy's lap, 3 months old

1 or 2 days old, with Daddy

chili pepper newborn

4 generations

I think this "4 generations" picture was taken in November, so Emma was less than 1 month old.

My dad and I inherited Granddaddy's nose - pointed, with large nostrils. Time will tell if the poor baby got that gene. It's a distinctive nose, and it makes people think my dad is the spit & image of his father, and that, in turn, I am of him. They don't see the rest of our face. We both actually have Grandma's face shape and cheekbones.

Diabetes is something else that runs in the family, from Grandma's side. I had gestational diabetes, which meant that Emma's pancreas worked better than my own, so in utero she processed all my sugars for me! Which made her noticeably chubby and the doctors worried about her being too large for me to deliver. She came two weeks before the due date (i.e., 38 weeks) and weighed 9 lbs. I was afraid they'd induce labor, but sweetie obliged and started the process on her own. The other thing the diabetes did to her was cause her blood sugar to drop dangerously after the umbilical was cut (she was used to the high level of sugar in my blood), but the hospital was prepared for that and gave her a bottle of formula immediately. If I hadn't had to have a c-section I could have nursed her instead, but all this happened while I was in lala land in the recovery room. I would have preferred her not have formula for her first meal, but you can't prepare for or fight all the battles with "the system". She's had some formula since and lots of babies I know drink it. It's not that bad. It's just less than perfect. Breast milk is perfect.

I suffered on the diabetes diet for the last 3 months of my pregnancy (basically a low-carb diet), but it was a good thing in the end. It made me lose all my extra fat so that I was "all baby" in my last month, and after the birth I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight within a few weeks. That was a nice surprise. I had my blood sugar tested at my 6 week checkup and the diabetes was gone. Now I'm gaining weight back! But I know how to lose it when I start caring enough to do so.

4 month check-up

For anyone interested in such details...

E had her check-up today, and 3 shots, poor baby. She had the second round of Prevnar, Hib, and DPT. Weight: 13 lbs, 13 oz. Length: 25 and 3/5ths inches. Head circumference is 50 or 60th percentile. Weight is 50th or 60th percentile - can't recall which was which. Length is 90th percentile. Her growth has slowed since I started back to work, but she ain't starving. Her little feet are so fat they look like they will pop!

She had her second haircut -- just trimmed the bangs -- a week ago. Shorter bangs make her look different, opens up her eyes more.

I'm planning to start giving her some cereal this weekend.

The two of us are going to fly to Colorado on March 28th, for a work conference I'm part of. I'm looking forward to the adventure, but not the packing.

spaghetti for dinner

7:12 pm: E is chewing on my right hand... I'm typing with my left. D is cooking spaghetti.
9:26 pm: E is asleep, nice and clean and warm. I've washed the bottles for tomorrow and got some laundry going. If I don't go to bed now, I won't get enough sleep, but I really wanted to get this blog started. I haven't been writing in my journal much these days, because there's too much to do. But I will regret that one day! I'm hoping that if I keep this blog up, that it will do double-duty as a journal and communication tool - since I never get around to all the emails, phone calls, and letters that I would like to do.

So this can be interactive, y'all! Post a comment on anything you see here.

I'm going to eat another "tofutti cutie" and try to go to sleep. More of substance to come.