First solid....

Well, with Fay's first solid foods comes her first solid.....poo. I was just a little shocked to go to change her little diaper today and be greeted with her first little log. It was a stinker too. She's had several red faced moments in the past couple days so I was worried that she was a little constipated, so its a good think the poo showed up when it did.

On that note, we are well into feeding Fay solids. It was slow going at first. It didn't seem as if Fay really liked anything but bananas. But now we've tried peas (yummy), pears (yuck!), applesauce (tolerable), carrots (mmmmm!) and apple/blueberry mix (more please!). Oh and she hates rice cereal which is totally understandable. I think its yucky too.

I've been giving her two solid feedings per day over the past 3 days and it seems like she's getting used to it and even anticipating it a bit. She is still really partial to the boob. So I'll be curious to see how she acts tomorrow when Mandy returns. I advised Mandy a week ago to give her 1/2 a milk feeding and then to try solids, and then to finish the milk. That way she wouldn't be ravenous and mad when attempting solids. But it did not work for her. She said Fay wasn't interested in the solids and just wanted even more milk than before. Its pretty clear now that she was hungry but didn't know that the solids would satisfy her hunger as well. So I'll be curious to see how this coming week goes.

We went to brunch with friends and kids on Saturday, and then went to Tompkins sqaure park for some swinging fun. Joe got some great photos of all the kids. This one of Fay is from him. The blueberry stain on her tights is from daddy's blueberry pancakes at brunch.

Nana comes to town

Nana came to nyc last week to visit and to help babysit. Our nanny, Mandy needed to take a week off fairly early in her time with us so we didn't have time to plan a vacation to coincide with Mandy's. Instead we called in the troops (My mom) to help cover some hours. Nana came in on Saturday so we had some time to hang out before her babysitting duties. Then she took care of Fay on Monday and Tuesday while Ryan and I were at work.

It worked out great. I'm sure my mom loved to have some alone time with Fay. Its only with a full day that you can truly get to know her. She had one perfect day (perfect naps, happy all day) and one grumpy day (fussy, wouldn't take her last nap of the day). So I guess Nana got the full spectrum.

Nana brought a couple gifts for Fay, one of which was this hat with a GIANT flower on it. At first I hated it -- I thought it was a bit too obnoxious for Fay. But once it was on Fay's head, I grew to like it and then LOVE it. I think it is absolutely adorable and most of NYC tends to agree. Fay got quite a few comments on our Saturday outing with Nana, Fay, myself and the Hat.

Check out my mom's photos on Flickr for some more great photos from the weekend: Fay, NYC 042008

Will she still love the boob?

 

Fay had her first solids this weekend. I've been kinda waiting for her 6 month birthday to start her on solids. But that is only 10 days away, and today just seemed like a good day to try. Fay's been watching me eat my cereal in the morning and today she even grabbed my spoon.

So we mashed up some banana, added a little breast milk and sat Fay in her new high chair.

It was like SHE'D BEEN WAITING for this moment. Like "hey mom and dad, could I have some of the good stuff already? I mean I like milk and all, but how about some good banana sweetness?".

She sucked and sucked on the spoon and did a great job getting the banana swallowed, and before we knew it she was holding the spoon and practically feeding herself.

The best part was the banana high after the meal. She had been sorta tired and sluggish all day and all of a sudden she was this happy, happy baby full of giggles and smiles. I wish I had caught that part on camera. What we DID capture was the eating. So fun!

Here she is...

The pain of babyhood

Poor Fay. She was so happy in that last post. Laughing and giggling like the baby she is. But alas, the happiness is gone, the suffering has begun. The first tooth is here!

We have visual confirmation. Her first tooth has broken through the gums on her left middle bottom tooth. So cute! Its not yet tall enough to do much damage. And I have not felt any difference with the breast feeding. But it is here, and poor Fay was miserable today and yesterday.

I chatted a bunch with Mandy today while I was at work and she was trying to comfort Fay. During one phone call Mandy said "She looks at me like she's saying "can't you do something to help me?" Thats why I love Mandy. She really loves Fay. She wants her to have nothing but good days.



Also, with the bad (pain) comes some good (development!). Fay is getting much better at sitting up on her own. She sat up long enough for us to snap a few photos last weekend. The best one, where she is sitting on her own, is blurry because I was a nervous mommy. I was so anxious she would fall over and hurt herself while I was taking snapshots that I don't think I could take a good one. Well, at least it captures the emotion involved in the moment. :)

Fay is ticklish!

I'm going to keep this posting short and sweet. Its 10pm on Sunday night which means its my bedtime. I'm truly surprised at how exhausted I am now that I'm back at work. I was tired before with the whole wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night thing. But somehow, its more tiring having more responsibilities even with consistent sleep. Though, I'm still not sleeping through the night myself. I am a much lighter sleeper than I used to be, waking up a couple times a night...listening for Fay, who is fast asleep.

This weekend I took a video of her laughing. She's a tough one -- hard to get to laugh and especially hard to catch on camera.

This weekend I felt a sense of family that I haven't really felt before. I'm not sure why it came over me this weekend. But its a sense that its not just Ryan and me plus our new baby; rather, it feels like the three of us now. And that feels good, more complete.

duh, she's teething

Rosy "teething" cheeks

Almost minutes after my last post I realized that Fay is waking in the middle of the night because of teething. I already suspected she was teething because she was rubbing her fist back and forth on her gums ferociously for several days. And she has been extra fussy for Mandy this past week. But yesterday was the first day it was obvious she was in pain.

She was gnawing on a toy and must have hit a sensitive spot because she started to cry and was hard to comfort. I think the baby oragel helps. It takes a while, but after applying it she calms down.

Last night was really rough. Fay woke up at 1:30 and kept putting herself back to sleep and then waking again and again and again. Mommy didn't get much sleep.

Also, she woke up with extremely rosy cheeks. I was afraid she was sick on top of the teething. I looked it up online and apparently rosy cheeks are a symptom of teething as well. I tried to capture the cheeks in a photo, but I don't know if you can really get *how* rosy they are.

Also, today, Fay turns 5 months. As far as milestones go....
1) She can roll over but does not do it very often.
2) I think she is on the verge of sitting by herself. Now, if you put her in the sitting position she can lean on her arms for support. But not for very long, and she is still kinda slumped over.
3) Her grabbing dexterity still has a long way to go. Sometimes she grabs for things and just can get the right angle. Also the objects have to be small or thin enough to wrap her little fingers around.
4) She had become a happier baby. Its seemed before that she was quite a serious baby..only giving out smiles occasionally and after much entertainment. Now she smiles all the time, especially for mommy and daddy when they enter the room or surprise her with their presence. And I would say we get laughs 2-3 times a week. I LOVE the laughs.

back to sleep

So after a month or so of sleeping through the night, Fay is waking up in the middle of the night again. She was consistently sleeping from 7pm to 6 or 6:30. But now she has woken up at 4:20 (like clockwork) for the past three nights. The second night she was all sweaty, so I thought it might be linked to the temp in her room. Its hard to regulate the heat in our apt because of course its radiator heat. So we can have it OFF, ON, or ON with various degrees of window breeze.

Last night the temp was perfect (OFF and 2 inch window opening). But she woke up again. Funny thing is, she doesn't seem that hungry. I mean, she'll eat. As she will whenever a boob is place in front of her. But she was not "going to town" on the boob, nor was she awake for very long.

I'm beginning to think it might have to do with me returning to work. She's been very skittish about the whole ordeal. She's been fussier than usual when Mandy plays with her. And the few days that I've worked from home, she'll hang with Mandy and just stare at me. Or she'll play for a second and then look over her shoulder to make sure I'm still there.

Now this touches my heart. I love to get those little loving glances from Fay. But I feel like she's just so confused. She just came to realize who I am it seems and now there is this other Mommy around with the artificial boob (bottle). I wonder if she is waking in the night and not putting herself back to sleep because she wants to see if I'm there. I don't know. Maybe its too early for that kind of logic on her part. But thats what the mommy back to work guilt gives me.

On the up side, work does seem easier as time goes by. I've made some peace with the pump. And I am excited about the project I will start on Monday. It should be interesting and stimulating, so I will be adequately distracted so as not to think about missing Fay too much. And I don't think I will be able to work from home, at least not initially. Which is probably a good thing, so Fay is not confused as to why I'm home, but ignoring her. And it will give Mandy a chance to set her own week rhythm.