Zoë has a new game she likes to play. First you need a grown up to hold you. Then, said grown person needs to stand next to the refridgerator. Now, pull things off the fridge and throw them on the floor. Finally, have the grown up holding you pick them up and put them back. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 8:38 PM

For some reason I decided to watch the "Stephen King's Rose Red" mini-series. First, I thougt it was a one parter. You know, a two-hour made for TV movie. Then I thought it was 2 parts, four hours. No, it's 3 parts, six hours. The problem? This thing sucks. I mean, wow, it is bad. And I'm a HUGE King fan. Now, if you've read all of his books it is kind of fun to check off all the references to himself that King makes but...... whew. I'm now watching because I want to know what happens. Not that it makes ANY sense mind you. I'm just hoping that if I watch it straight through I might understand what it's all about. Sigh, one of the many times I need to be saved from myself.

posted by Amanda Snyder at 9:52 AM

It's not very often that I'm in the car all alone. I either have Zoë in the back or Zoë and Scott in the back or Zoë and at least one other person with me. When I am in my new car all by myself I find that I tend to play the stereo really really loud. I'm very mindful of the baby when she's with me. I make sure that the volume isn't too high and the music isn't too harsh. But. When I'm all on my lonesome I tend to put on "I'm Just a Girl" by No Doubt and crank the volume. Or "Smooth" by Santana. Or "Werewolves of London". Anything I can blast so loud that I can't hear myself when I sing along.
I also drive a little faster, take turns a little wider and generally risk my life in ways I wouldn't when my daughter is with me.

In other news: We had to buy Zoë a new car seat. She outgrew the baby carrier seat that came with her stroller. Her feet are touching the back of the car seat, not good. We took the advice of friends and got the Alpha Omega. This is the only convertible seat that goes from rear facing to forward facing to booster. Also, the forward facing rating is up to 80 pounds, the highest I've seen. Got to install that today.

Scott taking off on ANOTHER business trip today for ten days. I'm off to stay with my folks again. Sigh.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 7:12 AM

Zoë's been very clingy the last couple of weeks. She's taken to wanting to be carried around during the evening hours of six to eight or so. My arms got tired so I decided to try and make the Maya Wrap Sling I bought work. And all I can say is "Whew!" I'm sooooo glad we got this thing. I can sling the baby onto my hip and wander about the house or go for a walk and she can see everything that's going on. This seems to make her very happy and I can unload the dishwasher or pick up. Also, she's been wanting to sleep all cuddled up. Some part of her body must be touching someone else's body, preferably me and my breasts. I keep scooting her into the middle of the bed and she keeps scootching over until she's in contact with me. Scott came home from his latest trip yesterday and is leaving again tomorrow for TEN DAYS! Boo hoo!
posted by Amanda Snyder at 10:39 PM

Zoë and I are spending nights with my parents until Thursday. Scott is traveling a bunch this month and beginning of next so I've invaded my parents' place with tot in tow. I mostly come to stay when Scott is gone so I have assistance with the baby in the evening. Around seven or so is when I start to go "Ooookay, someone else can have a turn now."

Zoë has a new distress signal now. She put her arms up in the air and goes all stiff, like she's doing the "Y" of the YMCA dance. This is a clear "I am unhappy" signal and my cue to go and pick her up. She's also started wanting to sleep snuggled up against someone. In the same bed doesn't count. She needs to be touching someone's body at all times.

Zoë also seems to have forgotten how to roll over. When you put her on her belly she sort of thrashes around like she's trying to crawl and ends up crying into the carpeting. Oh well.

Scott and Zoë had a conversation the other day where Scott told the baby "If you want to do well in life just remember to not fall down. You see, quite a lot of your successes will come from not falling down." I wonder if I could sell a book called "Not Falling Down" then I could go on Oprah and our financial troubles would be over.

posted by Amanda Snyder at 8:42 PM

Well, enourmous doings around here for the last couple days. Zoë can roll from her tummy to her back. If you put her on her tummy, and she's in the proper mood, she can roll onto her side and then gravity takes over to pull her onto her back. When you first put her on her stomach she arches her back and lifts her feet off the floor as well as her head. This reminds me of John Belushi doing his Joe Cocker impression on SNL. She can reach for and grab objects. Aaaaaand she's started to open and close her mouth as she fusses making this "bub-bub-bub-bub-bub-bub" sound. She's gonna be saying "Da-da" any day now, I know it.

We've been going back and forth on getting Zoë to sleep in her own bed instead of ours. Since she's still breastfeeding at least twice a night I'm reluctant to move her as it means more work and less sleep for me. However, the last couple of times that I've been able to put her down after she falls asleep have been pretty great. I can read or write or surf or whatever I want to do as long as I'm listening for the baby. When she was six weeks old or so she would have no part of being put down while she was sleeping. She'd be asleep and you'd stand up really really slowly. Then you'd walk over to the bassinet really really slowly. You put the baby down with your whole body and stand up really really slowly. Then her eyes would pop open and she'd look up at you like "What do you think you're doing?" and I'd find myself saying goofy things like "Oh no! Who put you down? I was just coming to get you!" This Christmas Day I got her to sleep on my grandfather's bed and then left the room. About fifteen minutes later she cried and I went in to get her. She had this look on her face that clearly said "Don't ever do that again!" I'm not sure how she's going to take sleeping on her own.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 12:31 AM

Wow, but this house is a mess.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 10:59 PM

First of all congratulations are in order to our friends Talis Kimberly, her husband Simon Fairbourne and Talis' son Corwin on the birth of Phillipa Freya Zoë Fairbourne! Hooray! Zoë has a cousin Zoë!

We had a big day around here on Friday. Zoë ate rice cereal for the first time, sat in a saucer activity center for the first time and I gave her a bath in the big bathtub all by myself for the first time. Zoë had been nursing fine but had dropped off on how frequently she fed and wasn't acting satisfied. Then on Thursday we were out to lunch with my mom who was letting the baby gnaw on a cracker. Mom pulled the cracker away from the baby's mouth and a bite was taken out of it. She ran her finger around in Zoë's mouth to make sure she didn't choke on the bit of saltine and then gave me this really sheepish look and said "I think she's ready for food now." So, Zoë's first official bite of food was a cracker at the BC cafe! Whoo hoo! I've been giving her really soupy rice cereal made with formula (I don't have any breast milk left in the freezer) and she seems to like it. I'm to try a thicker mix this week.

My girlfriend Kathye gave me the activity center (and about a million other things) as her kids are done with it. Zoë like to grab onto the little toys attatched to the tray and try to put them in her mouth. She can turn around in the swivel seat all by herself too. What a clever baby.

I'm really paranoid about dropping the baby while she's wet from a bath so I usually make Scott help me. This means that Zoë bathes maybe once a week. Well, Friday she'd spit up, put her hand in her mouth and then rubbed said hand through her hair. Ewwww... She needed a bath. I've discovered that if I get in the tub with her she seems to enjoy the water more.

Zoë still isn't rolling over or trying to sit up. I keep giving her time on the floor but her preference is to be held. My parents don't miss an opportunity to tell their friends "We have a beautiful crib here for the baby that she's slept in for fifteen minutes." But, she's really alert and curious. Always interested in people who walk by or come to talk to her. We had dinner at a restaurant up in the Village called the Danson on Thursday night and we had four different people walk up to talk to us about the babe. She makes friends everywhere she goes.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 2:35 PM

I've been kind of down for the last few days. I've been dealing with trying to adjust to my new role as a mama and saying goodbye to a portion of myself that I'm probably not going to see again for a long time. Sometimes I feel like ME is lost and floating around somewhere among all of the dirty diapers and nursing bras and baby spew stained shirts and piles of laundry and tuna noodle casserole. It seems that many of the things that defined ME have taken a big step back and new things are now coming forward to define me.
Some of the things I've been dealing with are: The fact that Scott and I are probably not going to make a phone call to friends 300 miles away on Friday at four in the afternoon, say "Are you busy this weekend? Cool. We'll come see you." and get in the car. I'm worried that I look ridiculous in my platform shoes and attitude shirts with my stroller. We won't look at each other at midnight and say "I wonder if the crew is at the bar up the street? Want to go see?" I won't be able to take a four hour nap and then go catch the movie that only I want to see without pre-planning well in advance. No more 7 hour Everquest marathon sessions.

But, I'm still listening to the Beatles and No Doubt and the Bare Naked Ladies. I still read. I still argue with my mother about the evils of Helen Gurley Brown and the diet industry. I'm still dyeing my hair

So, I've been holding my head in my hands and my baby in my arms wondering who I am now.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 10:18 PM

We had a lovely day yesterday. We went and spent the day with our friends John and Stephanie. We went down to Disney Downtown and sat outside (in January no less! ha ha!) eating bread pudding and drinking coffee. Zoë was a good little baby and got fussed over by tourists who walked by. The weather was wonderful. I looked at my friends and my husband and daughter at one point in the afternoon and said "Life is good!" Then we went back to John and Steph's house to order Chinese for dinner.

Zoë was fussy this evening. I ended up putting her in the swing when Scott got home and fleeing upstairs for email and hipmama time. Sigh.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 9:47 PM

I suck.

The last bath I took was with the baby four days ago and I didn't wash my hair.
I use disposable diapers. I create too much trash. I shop at Wal-Mart

I suck.

I hold the baby too much. I can't put her down to sleep without laying down with her. I've messed it up already.
I don't read to her enough. I watch television. We listen to the Beatles in the car and not educational CD's.

I suck.

The house is a mess. The trash needs to be taken out. The diaper genie is overflowing.
The laundry needs to be put away. We've lived here for a month and we're not unpacked.

I suck.

I've eaten fast food once a day for the last three days. I rarely eat fruit. I don't do yoga.
I eat red meat. I don't buy organic milk. I drink soda.

I suck.

Oddly, I feel better now.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 10:23 PM

Happy New Year! What an exciting new year's eve we had. We had dinner with my parents and watched Sex and the City until eleven when my folks went to bed. Then we went home. Whoo hoo. We went down to John and Stephanie's house New year's day to watch the Illinois/LSU game and Illinois was beat so soundly we were so ashamed. Sigh.

We've developed something of a schedule around here. Zoë wakes up between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning. She's up and VERY active for an hour to two hours and then down for a late morning/early afternoon nap. I must admit that I look forward to this time of day as I nap with her, zzzzzzzz. After we get up, I get dressed and we decide what we're going to do during the rest of the afternoon. Sometimes we go see my mom or my friend Kathye and sometimes we run errands. We usually stop at Starbucks in the village for coffee before getting on the road. We're home by six unless we have dinner with my parents. I have some dinner and we watch TV or movies until Scott gets home. On the days we stay in I usually set up activities to keep Zoë busy for bits of time so I can load the dishwasher or fold laundry or whatever. I've had to learn to limit what it is I'm trying to get done. If I can get the dishwasher unloaded and reloaded that's a great accomplishment for the day. Scott is usually home by 8:30 and after he has dinner he takes the baby and I get some time to myself. This is usually spent online catching up on message boards and doing my journal. I've also been know to take a shower to get some chore that's been bugging me done at this time. Zoë usually falls asleep with her daddy holding her and then we all go to bed whenever Scott and I decide we're tired, usually around eleven. This is during the week. Weekends are a complete free-for-all depending on our social calendar or whatever Scott and I feel like doing.

Zoë is making all kinds of noises, eats heartily and can roll from her back to her side. She kicks her legs all the time and gnaws her fists. She can hold onto toys but doesn't really play with them yet. We got her a whole bunch of board books and have started reading to her. She likes to look at the pages. She still likes to sit in her bouncy chair and we are planning on getting her one of those play saucer thingies. She's just beautiful.
posted by Amanda Snyder at 10:30 PM