Roll Baby Roll

Since becoming a first time mom over 6 months ago I've let a whole bunch of stuff make me crazy. Sleep, or lack thereof, sniffles, rashes, temperature, crying fits. The one thing that I never was really crazy over was milestones. I always just figured that she'd do it when she was ready and if that was early great, if not no biggie. I mean eventually she'd sit up. How many 10 year olds do you know that need a pillow to sit?

For the most part she's hit her milestones on time. Smiling at around 5/6 weeks. Rolling belly to back at 3.5 months. Sitting up unsupported at 5.5 months...etc. However the one milestone she hasn't hit yet is rolling back to belly. No biggie right? I was never uber concerned with her hitting it anyway, until about 2 weeks ago.

Isabella has been sleeping on her tummy for about 6 weeks. However, in the past two weeks she has decided that it's tons of fun to roll over from her belly to her back in her sleep and then cries because she can't get back onto her belly. So Andy or I have to go in and flip her over. Then she goes back to sleep.

The kid needs to learn to roll from her back to her belly so she can get comfortable again and get back to sleep. Is there some sort of rolling over class that we can enroll her in?

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Christmas Pics

Check me out sitting up like a big girl.

I'm so excited for Christmas to come.

Mom always puts me in fancy berets!

It's a paparazzi Christmas

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Power Catch Up

Ok, so I've been a slacker blogger this month, but between Thanksgiving and Christmas I go into outright survivor mode. Shopping, Christmas Cards, wrapping, baking (or attempting to bake), calling family and friends, and cooking is enough to keep me busy but add in a full time job and a 6 month old to take care of I'm surprised I survived the season. However, it is my favorite time of year and every aforementioned holiday chore was pretty fun, except the baking because no matter how often I try to bake from scratch it doesn't come close to Pillsbury!

Isabella turned 6 months old and is sitting up for long periods of time without toppling. I think her max has been 25 minutes. She still won't roll from back to belly. She gets about halfway and then gets lazy and gives up. This wouldn't be a problem if she didn't roll over from belly to back in the middle of the night and then cry because she can't get back to her tummy. Silly kid. She's tried and liked almost all of the stage 1 fruits and veggies except bananas. Well actually she liked the bananas but they made her so constipated. We had to use the thermometer to help her along...so not fun.

Christmas Eve and Christmas were great. She was so well behaved and in such a good mood. She was way more into the wrapping paper then her actual presents which was cute. She made out like a bandit. Tons of clothes and toys. My house is upside down, but I'm off until Jan 4th so I'll have some time to get it in order.

I'll update pics when I get a chance, because right now the boss lady is not happy I've been on the laptop and am not letting her play!

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Other People's Kids

I've written before on how I feel there's a lot of competition between mothers for milestones, sleeping, etc and for the most part I haven't bought into it (for the most part). However, I was at a cafe in Park Slope the other day with a friend enjoying a latte and I took a glance around and do you know what I saw...

Babies. Everywhere. Babies playing happily on their moms lap. Babies sitting quietly in strollers. Babies in wraps. Babies letting their moms chat, drink coffee, and type on their laptops. Do you know what I didn't see? Squalling, fussing, screaming, whining, children whose mothers were frantically trying to avoid the baleful glare of strangers and I thought to myself "Did these mothers drug their kids with some kind of baby Ambien?"

I was a bit jealous. These babies were so good. I wondered why not Isabella? Then it dawned on me, I haven't really tried. Sure we've gone places, out to dinner, out to breakfast, for pictures, to parties, but they didn't always go over so well so I always shied away and outings were reserved for things we needed to do, with the exceptions of walks which are daily.

So I manned up and tackled the outings of outings...the mall...at Christmas time. And do you wanna know something?

She was good as gold. Stayed in her stroller. Laughed at the people. Charmed the "HO HO HO" out of Santa. But when I did see a baby screaming in a stroller, there was no baleful glare, only a sympathetic smile.

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Lonely Only?

A friend of mine recently asked me when Andy and I planned on having another baby. Once I quit choking on my hummus I really started to think about it. Do I even want another baby? I had always assumed that I would want to have a decent sized family, two or three kids. However, after experiencing motherhood first hand and remembering how difficult those first few months were, I'm not sure I want to go through that again.

It's difficult to imagine having Isabella out of diapers, sleeping in a bed, able to walk and talk and then starting all over again. It also feels like our little family is so complete. Plus, Isabella is such a demanding little thing, my little dictator, do I really need another boss? Additionally, I didn't love being pregnant. Some women do. I didn't.

On the other hand I don't want Isabella to be lonely. I grew up so close to my sister. We're still best friends. Although, my brother and I barely speak. But I don't want to have another child solely as a playmate for Isabella. I hate when people use this argument. Having a baby should not be because you want to give a present to your child.

I mentioned my thinking to Andy and he laughed. He told me that infancy was still to fresh in my mind to make a rational decision and that we didn't have to decide right now. Even if I do decide to have another, it won't be for years. I need to forget the sleepless nights and projectile vomiting and I need to save a bit more money as these little buggers are quite expensive.

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Kindergarten Crybaby

Last week at work I was sorting through the Teacher Mailbox I keep in the classroom where the kids leave their worksheets, notes, and drawings for me to collect, when I came across a poem from a student in my class. He came to America from Uzbekistan when he was 6 and didn't speak a word of English. I remember his kindergarten teacher saying that he cried everyday for 3 months. This is the poem he wrote me.

Kindergarten Crybaby

I was 6 and scared

I was a Kindergarten Crybaby

People spoke in funny words

I couldn't understand

I was afraid

I couldn't tell them

I had to go to the bathroom

I couldn't tell them

I wanted to know when my mom would come back

I couldn't tell them

I was a Kindergarten Crybaby

Everyday I cried

Because I couldn't talk

But my teacher was kind

She never used a mad voice

Now I can speak

Now I can read

Now I am in the Eagle class

I'm not a Crybaby anymore

Seriously? How sweet is that. I copied it and gave it to his Kindergarten teacher. It's nice to know that you're doing something that matters, something important.

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A Giveaway

Bloggy Blog Designz is having a super Holiday Giveaway!!! They are giving away blog designs and all kinds of goodies. Plus ALL entrants will receive 25% off their purchase through the end of the year! Be sure to check out their website for more information, or to enter yourself. Take a look at their portfolio and packages to see what you want for Christmas ;) With 14 giveaways in all and a 25% discount, everyone is a winner! www.bloggyblogdesignz.com

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