Little Victories

Biting the Hand that Feeds You

2006-02-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

What drools, gnaws on everything, and growls when you take away its favorite toy? No, not a dog! Millie!

For the past few weeks, she has been teething. At first, I was frightened that she was once again going through a spell during which I might have to sell her to the gypsies. It was quite confusing at the start. She wasn’t sleeping well at night, was fussy during play time, and was chewing on everything she could get her hands on…including her hands. Those are textbook symptoms of teething…BUT, she also was tugging at her ear, constantly rubbing her eyes, and had horrible eczema. Was she tugging her ear because she had an ear infection, or just trying to scratch the eczema above it? Why was she rubbing her eyes? Did she have some weird allergy, or was there perhaps an eyelash in one of them? Arrrrggggghhhh!

After a few days of this, I decided that it was well worth the $25 copay to have our doctor tell me what the hell was wrong with Millie. I knew she wasn’t crazy. There had to be an explanation, but if I had to choose one, I couldn’t! We dressed Millie after her breakfast on Saturday morning, and headed in to see Dr. Stevenson (our angel). She took a few looks at Millie, poked around in her mouth, and said, “Mm-hmm. She’s teething all right!” No ear infection…though clearly Madame Toussaud needs to put Millie’s ears on the list as a great wax resource. No cold…no fever…eczema just needs to be moisturized...rubbing her eyes because she had not been sleeping well and was overtired. So…there ya have it. Teething.

So, now that we know what is wrong, we are still somewhat at a loss as to how to help her out. The doc said no on the Baby Orajel…yes to Tylenol, but giving it to her every day is forbidden. We’ve tried cold wash cloths, teething rings, and even bought her a new toy that was supposed to help with relieving the pressure. The only thing that really helps Millie when she is truly having a teething breakdown is biting the hand that feeds her. She loves to gnaw on my fingers (and Bobby’s for that matter)! One of the reasons I thought breastfeeding her was so neat was that she was using more facial muscles to drink than if she were drinking from a bottle. Now, I am reaping the benefits of the strongest jaw muscles this side of the Mississippi! Maybe I should go straight to the bottle for the next kid. (With that statement, imagine Bobby fainting, because he cannot possibly handle another one for at least 20 years.)

But, my hand will survive, as will Millie. Hopefully we will get to see her pearly whites shortly, and we will celebrate with big toothy grins!

A Little Bit o' Blog Hilarity

2006-01-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

I was just checking my blog to see how the archived stories are stored. I clicked on "The End of the Affair", my farewell to dairy and soy products. Guess what the advertisement was for that page? A SOY MILK MAKER! How hilarious is THAT??? Oh (sigh), life is so tragic. But not really. I am back to eating dairy since I weaned Millie, and life is actually pretty good. For the first few days, I was like, "Hmmm. What can I put cheese on next?" Since, I have relaxed a bit. Now I am evening out like butter on bread. =)

2006 Ways Millie is All Growns Up

2006-01-25T14:53:00.000-08:00

OK...I am not actually gonna list out 2006 ways Millie has changed in the new year. However, I will have you know that my daughter is kicking a** and taking names.

Not only did she roll over from her tummy to her back for me on my birthday (December 29th---where are my gifts, people?), but 2 days later she exhibited no separation anxiety as Bobby & I took off for Houston. Yep. We left the kiddo with Nanny Mac & GrandChuck for New Year's Eve. We had tickets to the TCU bowl game (we won...YEA!), and decided to get a hotel room and have a mini-vacay...much needed. Bottoms up, as Millie was on the bottle full-time for the first time ever. She got her morning work out session from her personal trainer, GrandChuck. She also read books with Nanny and had tons of snuggle time. Homegirl was taken care of & didn't even know I was gone!

After our vacay to H-town, we stayed one last night in Brenham (I swear, my folks must have thought we were never leaving!), we headed back to McKinney. Now, this road trip was interesting. Millie was actin' a fool! I'll give her the fact that the place we stopped to nurse her was totally WT, but what exactly is one to do when driving dangerously close to East Texas? My choosy baby would just hafta wait till later. So, she cried a little here and there, but we made it back okay...

Once we settled back into suburban life, Millie refused to nurse again two more times. Also, I called our pediatric gastroenterologist to find out if her poops were still supposed to be mucousy (TMI, I know), and he said NO, the diet was not working...WEAN HER IMMEDIATELY! After a few hours of tears, I decided that this WAS the best choice for everyone involved...as Sensei told me, I didn't want Mills to be the sniffle-nosed kindergartener known as "The Allergy Kid". She is WAY too cool of a baby for that business. So, formula it was. Alimentum, baby. $25 a can=$200 a month! But, she weaned like a pro and is now on the bottle, and I no longer look like I am smuggling cantaloupes.

Since all of that went down, we have had several other developments. At 15 weeks of age, my daughter rolled from her back to her tummy. Incredible. I can hardly do it, and I am 200,000 weeks old. (Just kidding on that #...I am bad at math, so who knows?!) She is a rolling machine---absolutely obsessed with rolling. She's also obsessed with her feet. I think she probably even dreams about making out with them. Her activity level and physical prowess scare me to death. My dad keeps telling me that I am going to have to tie her to Noopsy so that neither of them go anywhere, since she is gonna be crawlin' in no time!

Also, she is teething. This has been not so fun. She is cranky at times, and has been biting everything in sight, including my fingers, thumbs, shoulders, and hair. Millie used to be such a good sleeper, and now has been waking up a few times a night. Needless to say, I am a walking zombie. I am addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper, and am so sleep deprived that I often cannot remember if I have brushed my teeth or even if I have gone to the bathroom. Yikes. Let's hope this ends soon. (I heard that it lasts for months!)

Anyhoo, I will keep you all updated on everything. We go to the gastroenterologist tomorrow for a check up and to discuss starting solid foods...should be interesting...just when I have this all figured out...well, you know...I get pooped on.

...and a Happy New Year! (part two)

2006-01-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

Oh my. Love computers. Love mine…love it! It is the only way I can blog, yet it CONTINUE TO BLOCK MY CREATIVE ENERGY BY FREEZING UP THE SCREEN & MAKING ME HAVE TO RESTART THE COMPUTER THUS DELETING MY BLOG ENTRIES! Arrrrggggghhhh!

Thanks for letting me vent. I have been pretty lazy about keeping up with the blog for the past few weeks, but not because I haven’t tried at all…I actually have tried to post entries twice, and just as I am trying to upload, my computer has frozen. Talk about sucking the creative life from your very core. I was exasperated. I was annoyed. I was irritated. But I’m over it, and I am back, people!

So, I last blogged about Christmas Eve. Great poop story, huh? Now I need to finish about the rest of the holiday season so I can hurry up and get you all caught up on the haps of January.

Christmas morning. Gosh…to watch Millie wake up that day was beautiful. I was like a kid on Christmas morning, minus the part that I am actually an adult. We all crowded around her Pack n’ Play, hoping to be there the instant she opened her big blue eyes. Of course, we had the camera ready and waiting to blind her. Had to capture that moment, and we were quite successful.

After she did her morning stretches, we picked her up and took her into my parents’ living room to dole out the stockings. Then, I played Santa and passed out the gifts, one by one. Mills had no clue what was going on, but found our exclamations and the rustling of the brightly colored paper equally stimulating. She loved her new Pottery Barn chair from Nanny and GrandChuck, and her Baby Einstein Discover & Play Center from Bobby and me (though she is STILL waiting to get to play in it). Also, Uncle Joe gave her the most adorable outfit that makes her look like a little bear…he calls it the “Green Corn Suit”, perfect for her to poop in. =)

We all got dressed and prepared for the rest of the day. Twenty plus relatives with high pitched Southern accents were about to dock at our port, and we were in desperate need of life preservers. We found some in the bottom of red wine bottles, and we actually survived. Millie managed to make it through being fed by 4 people at once, football stadium decibel levels (blame the tile floors), and ultimately being “loved on” (harassed) by a 3 year old. Of course, since I was still on the no dairy diet, all I could eat was leftover steak (though tasty, I will say) and pea salad, so Millie didn't even get to sample the holiday smorgasbord. However, I’d say this was a victory of great proportions. We all needed a bit of alcohol once the guests shipped out, but Miss Mills just said, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night”, and passed out till sunrise. My girl.

...and a Happy New Year! (part one)

2006-01-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it. We made it through the holiday season alive...alive, and quite well, thank you!

We began by succeeding at our very first road trip with Millie. On December 23rd, we left McKinney for Brenham. I swear, I never in my life envisioned that a person so small would have so much crap to pack. I drive an Expedition, people, and it was FILLED TO THE BRIM! Pack n' Play, Stroller, Bouncy Seat, oh my! Bumbo, Gymini, clothes for a week and a half...whew. It makes me dizzy thinking about it. Basically, we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies, minus the wise-crackin' granny.

With all of that gear, what should be a 4 hour trip only took us close to 6, but, hey...we made it, nevertheless. We only stopped to breastfeed & change a "Heavy D" at a Sonic, pee at a Micky D's, and were back on our Merry Christmas way. We finally got to Brenham, and set up shop.

On Christmas Eve Day, we hung out, super-veg style...I don't think we took off our pj's till that afternoon. We got ready around 4pm to go to the candlelight Christmas Eve service at Brenham Presbyterian Church---my family's church, and the one Millie will be christened in on February 26th. Bobby helped me dress Mills in her new dark green velvet Christmas dress (courtesy of Nanny Mac and GrandChuck). She looked gorgeous! We weren't finished, though. She needed to wear tights so that she could also wear her cute little black patent Mary Janes. Oh, the joys of putting tights on a baby. For the first time. Ever. Which way do they go? How do you tell the front from the back? After three times of putting them on and taking them off to switch them around, we just said TO HELL WITH IT...this child is going to wear them the way they are currently, no matter saggy they are at the ankles. I guess it really didn't matter, seeing as she pooped on them during the soloist's annual rendition of O, Holy Night.

Millie did so wonderfully at the service. Though the miniature open-air fires (otherwise known as candles) freaked her mother out, Millie was unfazed. She was actually lulled to sleep by the famous Baby Whisperer, Nanny Mac, as the congregation sang such favorites as O Come All Ye Faithful, and Silent Night. I guess she's a sucker for hymns. The only sound we heard out of her the entire service was PPPPFFFFTTTT-Pop-Pop-Pop. (Poopxplosion) Yes...that is what it really sounded like. My mom was holding her, and immediately after that sound, we made eyes as if to say, "What now?!" Mom suggested that we stay in the pew until the service was over. I whispered, "C'mon, lady! You read the blog. You know what happened at playgroup. Move it, sister...we've got a Heavy D to change, stat!" We made our way back to the church's nursery to change Millie, when we were met with several drooling children...somebody wipe them, PLEASE! Anyhoo, we strategically changed her, so as not to mess up her gorgeous Sophie Dess ($$$) dress. Somehow through this poopxplosion, she managed to get poop on her tights, but nowhere else except inside the diaper. I guess I will just take it as a sign from God (we were in his house, after all) that baby's are NOT meant to wear tights.

We joined the congregation just in time for the lighting of the candles and the last song. Whew. Just in time to envision my baby getting third degree burns. But, seriously, just as everyone blew out their candles, I realized that this was a great big little victory and the beginning of a beautiful tradition...even if we had to practically put a trailer hitch on our house to travel to be a part of it all.

There's a First Time for Everything

2005-12-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

Well, there is. And Millie has had tons of "firsts" this past week.

She had her first evening away from Mom and Dad on 12/14. GranLyn (Bobby's stepmom) came over and let us go on our first date sans baby since September. We decided to go to PF Chang's since Asian food doesn't really involve dairy. It was so YUM! Mills did great...wasn't a pill for GranLyn, and she stayed on schedule beautifully. GranLyn even made us dairy-free chili and a winter beef stew while she babysat...it is easy to say that she is welcome any time!

Millie also got her first visit from Grandma Nan, Bobby's mom. She came bearing gifts, which is always a treat! They got in some good quality time, and plenty of hugs...we think we may have found another babysitter!

Our girl went to her first birthday party at Cousin Jack Mefford's house. He turned 2 on Saturday. We watched in hysterics as he played with his new "vacuum" and "weed whacker". Guess he's got a thing for housework. He's not like his parents at all. Do you detect the sarcasm in that statement? Let's just say that we don't call his parents, John & Gabrielle, "Spic" and "Span" for nuthin'. =) Millie did well at the party, but was quite disappointed that Mommy couldn't have any cake and ice cream to pass through the breast milk. Bummer.

Another first was that Millie followed her first trend. She succumbed to the Bumbo seat, originally shown to us by April Nordhaus, my old college roommate. We got Mills the lilac one, for TCU's sake. It supposedly helps babies develop neck and back muscles, plus it is so damn cute. It is all the rage with new moms! Go Millie! Build those muscles, girl! Ya got tickets to her gun show, ladies and gents? My girl's gettin' strrrrrong!

Our last first of the week is not a fun first. Millie got her first cold. *cough* *sneeze* Poor little thing has been Little Miss Snot Nose for the past 24 hours, and has not enjoyed living in Booger City. She is ready to move, as are we if the fussiness and mucous don't equally decrease. However, we are hangin' in there...we've got every kind of vapor product, baby decongestant drops, saline drops, and a nasal aspirator (or booger-sucker-outer, as I like to call it), and we are ready to kick that cold to the curb!

We are looking forward to Millie's first Christmas, and will keep you posted as we embark on this holiday season. Happy Christmakwanzikah to you all.

Poop Humor

2005-12-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

Millie and I have joined the Frisco Mom's Club Infant Group, which meets every Tuesday morning. It is a great chance to be around other young, hip, new moms and their babies, and to foster our kids' social & intellectual development. I have made some pretty good friends in this group (Kendall & Jeannine), which I originally attended when I was preggers. I hadn't seen either of them in a few weeks, and I decided I was finally brave enough to venture out and do this, so Millie and I made plans to attend for our first time ever.

All the babies were to wear Christmas outfits and have their picture taken (with mom) in front of Melanie's (the hostess), beautiful 9' tree. Sounds like fun, right? Right. So, Millie and I got ready for the big event. I fed her, and dressed her in the sweetest little Christmas jumper footie thing. It was ivory velour, with a Peter Pan collar and little holly leaves sprinkled across the garment. Adorable! I wore my favorite jeans and boots and my super cool vintage brown suede western blazer...also adorable. We put our lip gloss on our lips (Lanolin for her, Stila Wild Berry for me), and headed out the door.

We arrived at Melanie's, and immediately felt comfortable...we were among friends. Even though most of the babies are older than Millie by a few months, she fit right in. In fact, she was so at ease that she actually fell asleep on my lap for a good 45 minutes. Everyone was chatting away about how lucky I was to have such a laid back little baby...until...PFFFFTTTT-SPLAT! We all heard the noise, and I felt a rumble down under, and knew what had just happened. Millie had a poopxplosion. "Should I change it?", I wondered. Nah...she seemed perfectly fine stewing in it, and it didn't seem to be leaking out of her back, so we were cool as cucumbers, and she fell back asleep.

Time went by, and all of the other babies seemed to be pooping, too. While they were all getting changed, I decided to double check to make sure there wasn't any leakage, and sure enough, there it was---as bright as day. A big yellow stain now graced the back of Millie's darling outfit. Once I lifted her up, I noticed that I, too, had a problem. Most people, in their lives, say that at one time or another, they "have been sh*t on". This figurative phrase usually refers to being treated poorly by ex-girlfriends or ex-boyfriends, bosses, former friends. Well folks, today I can honestly say, without any reservation, that I, Kate Mefford, have been very literally sh*t on...by my daughter. Yes...it was all over the bottom of the coolest jacket IN THE WORLD. And there was Mills...just smilin' away.

I changed her diaper (more than disgusting, by the way), and then discovered that I had not remembered to bring an extra change of clothes. Oops. So, no Christmas pics for us. I strapped my naked baby into her carseat, and she was just as happy as a clam. We thanked the playgroup for the fun time, and laughed all the way home. If ya can't laugh about being sh*t on, then you are just making life too difficult. Poop humor is always popular at the Mefford house!

Shot Through the Heart

2005-12-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

Millie says, "WAIT...now WHAT'S gonna happen today???"

Well, today, Miss Millie went to her much delayed (by almost 2 weeks) 2 month doctor's appointment. She was weighed (13 lbs., 14 oz.---90th percentile) and measured (25 1/4 inches---literally off the charts) and was given her first round of shots ever---4 of them.

I have to say that I was a freakin' nervous wreck, as I handed her over to the nurses who were to then stick their tiny daggers (okay, needles) into my daughters thigh. I left the room, turned my back, and winced as I heard Millie scream. Then, 30 seconds later, the door opened, and Beverly, the older nurse, handed me my child. My beautiful, howling, red-faced child.

I must give Millie props. She handled it like a pro. I mean, she wailed for a good 10 minutes (felt like 10 days) as I held her, bounced her, tried to dress her (that didn't work at first), bounced her more, shushed her, and finally got her outfit back on. I didn't even TRY to put her in her infant carrier...just grabbed my gear and headed out to the car. OK...still crying...what was I to do at this point?

Voila. God gave me boobs for a reason. There is no better SUD (I hate this term, but SUD stands for Shut Up Device) than a boob. It WAS nearing Millie's lunchtime anyway, so as she was screaming her head off, I propped her up on my diaper bag in the back seat of my car and breast fed that child till she fell asleep. Of course, the fact that the car was not running and it was a good, oh, 85 degrees inside probably helped the drowsiness factor, but I give all of the credit to the boobs.

So, we are home now, and she is actually doing well. I think I am the one who is still a bit shell-shocked from it all. Watching my gorgeous baby girl go through all of that trauma and drama killed me. I wanted to wail with her. I wanted to hug her so tightly and take away all of her pain. But after a while, I realized that my girl is such a champ. As resilient as can be, she bounced back quickly, and left me in the dust. Millie may have gotten her immunizations today, but I am the one who was shot through the heart. Though I had to watch her go through such a horrible experience, it really showed me how connected I am to her, and how protective I am of her. Every day, through all of our experiences, I discover more and more about our ever-growing relationship. I love her to the nth degree...she is MY immunization for all negative things in life. I'll have 10 cc's of Millie twice a day, please!

Rise and Shine

2005-12-07T06:04:00.000-08:00

If I could pick one thing that epitomizes all of the glorious moments of parenting, it would be when Millie first wakes up in the morning.

As I creep into her nursery, I swear she can hear me, smell me, sense that I am near. I peer over her crib to view my beauty in limbo---not quite sound asleep, but definitely not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The moment I place my hand on her little tummy, she opens her big blue eyes and flashes me the most loving, adoring smile that just starts my day off right. She lets me know, in her own way, that she and I have a bond that exceeds all other bonds. Mother, daughter, connected by life. Separate, but together...ready to face the day.

Up in Arms

2005-12-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

As if banishing dairy from my diet and healing my back weren't challenging enough, I decided to throw another shrimp on the barbie. A jumbo shrimp at that...

Millie has been swaddled for sleeping purposes since she was born. Bobby and I swaddled so much that we each had the technique down to an art form...firmly wrapped around the shoulders, don't touch her cheeks, tight as hell around those arms, and be sure she can't stick her toes out of the bottom...

It was a great thing while it lasted...a little baby straight jacket if you will. See, when babies are born, they don't know that their arms are attached to their bodies. Plus, their arms seem to make unvoluntary jerky, spastic movements and they end up scratching their faces and freaking out. I mean, I would freak out, too. Think about it. You are lying there, and all of the sudden, something sharp grazes your face, leaving you with scratch marks. "Whoa! Where the hell did that come from?,"I would respond. You would too...you would probably want to pummel whatever it was that was after you.

So, we strapped those pesky arms down each naptime and bedtime, much to her chagrin. See, she thought she wanted to be free, but she didn't understand that once those arms were out of the swaddle, the game was on! And, ya can't reason with a newborn, so we just kept strappin' the arms down no matter how loudly she protested. For a few weeks this was successful. It helped her calm down, and kept her from being attacked by those wild alien-like tentacles. However, she started to bust out of her swaddle Houdini-style around the 6 week mark. What do we do now?, Bobby and I asked each other. She needs to be swaddled, but she is so crafty at breaking loose that we end up reswaddling her about 48,000 times a day. We had to come up with a solution or we would go nuts.

We decided that she needed to transition into sleeping without the darned thing. I mean, she has to learn at some point how to sleep with her limbs in the free and clear...she wouldn't exactly be the coolest kid in her college dorm if she had to be swaddled before bed...though her daddy would probably prefer it that way---fraternity boys are way too lazy to bother with unwrapping swaddles.

We began with a sleep sack, and kept her in it all day Saturday. However, her tentacles managed to get the better of her face, so we thought we'd go with the gown that has attached mittens on Sunday. It worked very well. We thought we'd keep going with that for a few more days, until Tuesday morning, Millie pooped on the last clean one. What was I to do? No more gowns with mittens?! Arrggghhhhhh!

I grabbed a footie play outfit thingie (baby clothes have the weirdest names and I can't keep them all straight, so I make up my own), and dressed her. We have been going all day with this garment, and she has actually taken 3 naps. Granted, one was taken in the midst of Whole Foods, but it was a nap, nonetheless.

Sometimes you can reach victory before you reach the actual goal. We are transitioning quite nicely, and that is a beautiful victory in my book!

BACK to the Basics

2005-12-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

As if the no dairy diet was not enough of a speedbump on this path of parenting, my back muscles started spasming on Wednesday night. I guess lugging around a 13 pound bag of sugar all day will do that to ya.

I woke up yesterday morning unable to do anything. Just breathing hurt me! I went to a clinic to get checked out, and they gave me muscle relaxers and an anti-inflammatory shot in the rear. Nice. The doc said it might make me drowsy. Well, excuse me Ociffer, but my heavy's very baby. My muscles in my spack are basming, and I needed a li'l help.

The meds made me a little more than drowsy. Howsabout PASSED OUT COLD? I regressed to a primitive state, the basics---only able to eat, sleep, and drool, much like my heavy baby. =)

Unfortunately for him, Bobby had to stay home from work to help me out with Millie. But really, it was pretty fortunate for him, actually, because the little victory in all of this was that he got to spend wonderful quality time with his little girl. He held her, talked to her, read her stories, and made silly faces. He snuggled, changed poopies, and even got a laugh or two from her, all in a day's time. Seems pretty victorious to me...especially now that I am off of the meds and can focus.

The End of the Affair

2005-11-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

Oh me oh my...what a day. After finding blood streaks in yet another of Millie's diapers (3rd time's a charm), we headed to the pediatrician. I knew what was coming...Either Millie was workin' her Green Corn Dance overtime, and busted a blood vessel, or she had developed a milk protein allergy due to my diet.

My diet...hmmm. More like lack there of. I eat whatever I choose, and I eat a lot of fun stuff. Have you ever thought about what we Americans consider fun stuff, as far as food goes? Let's review a few nominees for most fun foods in existence:

Cheeseburgers
Chocolate
Pizza
Ice Cream
Lasagna
Sandwiches

OK...now tell me how many of those are members of the dairy family in some form or fashion? How 'bout all? And, boy, just typing the names of those foods is making my mouth water! Well, too bad---so sad, because it turns out that Millie does have the allergy, and I am to immediately start a complete elimination diet. Guess what I am eliminating? All of those fun foods. No dairy. No soy. And if we supplement her with formula, we have to use this crap that smells like dog food. Poor us. We are both stuck eating cardboard flavored goodies for a while.

So, as a last hurrah, to commemorate the end of my love affair with dairy, I headed to our local Albertson's. As I sauntered up and down the dairy aisle, I waved goodbye to my loves. "See you in a few months, Pudding." "I'll meet up with you and Cereal down the road, Milk." "Adios, Blue Bell, Dreyer's, and my two sweethearts, Ben & Jerry." I blew kisses at Cool Whip, gave one last squeeze to Blue Cheese, and dragged my broken heart home, to feast on Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Where is the little victory in all of this, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya. There really isn't one. But because I am staying positive here, I will look forward to accepting this as a great challenge...one that I can overcome, and when I do, I know it will ultimately help my little Cream Puff, Millie.

Laundry List of LVs

2005-11-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

Wow...do we ever have reasons to be thankful.

This past Thanksgiving weekend was such a victory, that I've got to send a shout out to the Pilgrims, the Indians, and all the turkey in the world. Our girl rolled with the punches, and produced so many LVs that I have to put them in list format...so, here goes.

Millie's first Thanksgiving Day was a definite success. Not only did she let me overaccessorize her and present her to the crowd, but she socialized, and more or less stayed on her feeding schedule. She even got in some naps (though one was on Nanny Mac).

During Thanksgiving Dinner, Nanny Mac, being the teacher she is, educated us on a little Thanksgiving trivia. Did you know that the Native Americans' original name for Thanksgiving Day was "The Green Corn Dance"? Maybe it's not necessarily a true LV, but we finally found our name for Millie's poop production. It really is quite a choreographed perfomance, so we found "The Green Corn Dance" to be very appropo.

Another LV would be that our daughter has class. She fine dined with our family, the Whiteheads, and Aunt Lou at III Forks on Friday night. She was such an angel, she even allowed her mother to eat her 8 oz. filet in entirety. (And mashed potatoes, III Forks salad, creamed corn, and bread pudding for dessert...YUM!) We just passed her 'round the table, and everyone got their Millie time. No cries or even peeps. Who took this kid to charm school behind my back?!

And as of today, Tuesday November 30th, Miss Millie has slept through the night for 3 nights in a row! I think we are over a major hurdle. Of course, we did buy a video baby monitor, and now we are WATCHING her sleep through the night...not much extra sleep for me, as a result of my newest obsession: The Miss Millie Show. =) Stay tuned!

Better Than Benadryl

2005-11-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

Millie's relationship with her swing thus far has been tentative at best. We put her in it, she likes it for 2.5 seconds, then screams. She likes the high speed, then decides she hates it. She hates the music, then reconsiders. I cannot keep track of this! However, a nurse told me to keep trying out all of her toys and gear, because apparently babies change their minds a lot when they are this young. (Hey...it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind as she sees fit, no?)

So...I listened to the nurse, and now we have a little victory to celebrate. Who likes a sleepy baby? C'mon, raise your hand. You know you do...especially if you are a mom who has seen what the other side has to offer---you know it ain't pretty. I'll admit it. I LOVE a sleepy baby. Especially my own. And, there are plenty of ways to make a baby sleepy. Some are not legal, and some are not healthy, but we think we have found a shuteye-inducing pot of gold in Millie's Graco swing...its affect is far better than an antihistamine could produce...and safe to boot!

Since I continue to try out all of the toys on a regular basis, I discovered yesterday that the swing no longer made Millie howl. In fact, she was in awe of the little flying bears, and the monotonous mechanical sounds that the swing makes as it hurls her into the air. She briefly looked stoic/robotic, and then those gorgeous eyes started to reach Droopyville. And a one, and a two, and a three, and she's out. I slowly turned down the speed till we eventually reached a stop, veeerrrrry carefully removed her from its seat, and we left our new friend behind. In superspeed mode, I wrapped Millie up in her princess burrito swaddle, and put her in her crib before anything horrible (like her waking up) could happen. Whew. That was a close one. We tried it again this morning, and it had the same affect. Yes! Score!

So, she loves it, I love it...what more could you ask for? We'll try not to get too attached, as I hope she can learn to soothe herself without modern day bells and whistles, but for now, we'll be swingin'.

Sweep the Leg, Johnny!

2005-11-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

We are all students of life. However, there are students who learn the hard way, and students who figure out that guidance is the way to go...

Millie and I have had our trial and error experiences, definitely. Pretty much everything is its own little science experiment. But after being completely overwhelmed for the past 7 weeks, I determined that my way might not be the way to get us through these rough patches. Guidance is good.

So, I have appointed Melissa Goodson the Sensei of my Parenting Dojo. She is the Mr. Miyagi to my Daniel-san. No, we don't use chopsticks for anything, and she doesn't tell me to "wax on, wax off", but she does give me direction and hope that I might be somewhat normal in what I am going through. I call my sensei when things get hectic. Millie's fussy, Sensei tells me to sing "The Eyes of Texas" to her. Millie's gassy, Sensei says "try slowly pushing her knees into her abdomen and then straighten them back out to relieve the pressure for her".

Sensei really helped me achieve a little victory on Saturday afternoon. I was driving from McKinney to Dallas to go get my hair did (Missy Elliott reference), when all of a sudden, I burst into tears. I felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach, as a wave of guilt rushed over me. Here I was, leaving my baby girl for more than 1 hour for the first time in 7 weeks...to go get pampered. How could I be so selfish? "Is this normal?", I asked myself. Do other moms go through this? Will she feel abandoned?

I called Sensei, and she assured me that yes, all moms go through this. I should not feel guilty, but should take advantage of this time to take care of myself, and to let Bobby and Millie have their time together as well. Millie doesn't need me up in her grill 24-7, and I need a little break, too. Plus, this really lets Bobby interact with her, since he rarely gets to be alone with her. He needs to learn how to handle things without me always breathing down his neck/staring over his shoulder.

So, with that, I could breathe again. Sensei had taught me one of the hardest lessons in parenting...no, not the crane kick. She taught me that it is sometimes good to get away from your baby because, though you may love her times infinity, absence DOES make the heart grow fonder. She taught me that it is okay to take care of yourself, because you will then be more capable of taking care of your baby. And she taught me that guilt is something we compete against often...show it no mercy, and sweep the leg! GUILT DOES NOT EXIST IN THIS DOJO, DOES IT? NO, SENSEI!

Prepping the Baby for Thanksgiving Dinner

2005-11-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

Did you read that title and say to yourself, "Ummm, doesn't she mean 'turkey'? Surely they are not serving baby for the big meal." Correct-o-mundo. We are not serving Millie up on a platter, but we are prepping her for the feast. No, we are not removing her insides, stuffing her with herbed cornbread, and there will be no basting of our daughter. However, we thought we would put a revolving door at our homefront, to help her become accustomed to the traffic that will be taking place at our house on Thanksgiving Day.

For starters, we had Aunt Sarah & Uncle Scott (or Scooter, as we like to call him) Miller visit us Friday and Saturday. Millie got some good snuggles in with Aunt Sarah, and made some cute faces at Scoots...She even got a cute hat that she will wear (whether she likes it or not) on Turkey Day.

Then, we had Carter and Holly Morris stop by on Sunday morning with Breadwinners pastries in tow...YUM. Millie was so at ease with them that she fell asleep in her dad's lap and didn't make a peep when we put her down for a nap in her crib. We are guessing that she has no anxieties about social interaction. Before she fell asleep, Millie even told them to get busy and make her a friend, and Carter agreed that this was a good idea...but Holly's still draggin' her feet on that issue! =) So, a social butterfly our girl is becoming. We can't wait to watch her fly on Thanksgiving Day! She's prepped and ready to go!

It's Hard to Type When Your Fingers Are Crossed...

2005-11-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

...hence the lack of posts in the past few days. I started Millie on a schedule...all of the evening fussiness was really getting to me and borderline driving me to drink. BUT---she seemed to be eating at certain times, and waking up at certain times, so I says to myself, "Self, let's make this official."

So, if anyone knows me, they will not be surprised that I got on the computer and typed out a schedule---color coded for each activity: feeding, wake time, and sleeping. We started this on Friday, her 7 week old birthday, and I spent the entire day holding my breath and crossing my fingers, toes, eyes, etc. hoping it would help solve her evening fussiness problem.

Well, it is now Sunday, and I can say that I think we have a victory here, folks. Though Bobby and I BOTH have to set our alarms to wake up and feed her at the 11pm feeding (because we are so tired we can no longer keep our eyes open even for Letterman or the Daily Show), we are doing this like we're Buddhists. We will see how long this lasts! You might want to cross your fingers, too!

A Little Bit of Pee Goes a Long Way

2005-11-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

OK...Let me explain.

Explanations are good. Especially when you have been waiting for one for days to tell you why your baby is waking up half way into her nap. Here I am thinking that my girl has colic...it's over. We're done. My baby is a drama queen. Crying for no good reason and making my ears bleed. I scream to the gods above, "For once, just show me that she is crying due to something...anything!"

Shazam! The gods answered me at 8:30pm last night. Millie began crying half way into her nap, and so I went up to her nursery to see what was going on. I somehow got her to settle down, only for her to start up five minutes later. Bobby and I both went up this time, and he picked her up to burp her. Guess what? Her back was wet. We have a winner!

It's not that we WANT her to pee on herself when she sleeps, it just makes us feel like there is something wrong with her that we can actually fix...she is not crazy, nor are we! And a colicky baby she is not...just a bad aim. =)

So, that would be a pretty good LV for yesterday...However, I do have one more minor LV to share. While I was nursing Millie, I looked down at her head. Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit (my favorite Kinky Friedman-ism)---this kid's hair has grown! No longer is she business in the front, party in the back...she actually has hair on the sides, and it is growing all around her head! No more male pattern baldness or weird mullet action for us. Yea, Millie---grow that hair! Get 'em, girl!

Though today is not over, I have to brag on Mills for hangin' in there as I rearranged her schedule so we could meet friends for lunch...she is doing all right so far! Cross your fingers!

I'm Considering Calling the Gypsies

2005-11-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

One baby for sale! One baby for sale! One beautiful, bright-eyed baby for sale!

No, just kidding. I'd never sell my baby...especially not to people with dreadlocks and no teeth. But honestly, as if Monday wasn't bad enough, yesterday was tremendously trying. I've racked my brain high and low to find an LV, and nothing is popping up. That may be so because the sound of Millie's crying has been seared forever on my temporal lobe, and it is blocking all other actions and duties of the brain. Or maybe it is lack of sleep that is causing me to delete such LVs from my memory...fatigue has been known to make people do crazy things!

So, since we have no LVs to really report, let me just give you a rundown of how yesterday went...

9AM She woke up for breakfast, ate, and had a little playtime before we went on a stroll for 30 minutes.

10:30AM She went down for a nap...fussed a bit, but eventually fell asleep.

12PM Woke up for her lunch, ate, and then joined me for a grocery excursion to Wal-Mart.

1:45PM Tried to put her down for a nap, and she just wasn't havin' it.

In fact, she wasn't havin' that nap bizness ALL AFTERNOON AND NIGHT!

So, why has this happened?

My first instinct would be to say, "Wal-Mart". I mean, what other place could crack a baby out with it's bright lights, loud speaker, crazy "Rollback" smiley face signs, and weird people milling about? If I was a baby, and my mommy took me to Wal-Mart, I would indeed think I was on an acid trip, or at least was having a hallucinogenic reaction to breastmilk.

So, the Wal-Mart theory seems to be a good one to describe yesterday's fallout...so HOW DO YA EXPLAIN MONDAY?!

Two days in a row, the same thing happened...crying in the afternoon & evening and a nap strike. Hmmm...this sounds like the word I have been dreading since my pregnancy: COLIC. Is my sweet Millie a colicky baby? We've all seen these kids...crying their heads off, for hours on end...can't take them anywhere, mother is miserable...this can't be my little angel, Millie!

I mean, we all know what colic really means...let's just call a spade a spade. In adult terminology it means b*tchy, diva-esque, demanding, and high maintenance. Yeah, yeah, with your explanations of gas bubbles or underdeveloped intestinal tracts...that colicky baby is just being a little drama queen! OK, I am joking. I get that there might really be a physiological problem causing this behavior. But seriously, I think we all need to pray to the heavens above that Millie is going through some sort of phase, because with her good looks and that princess-like attitude she has been givin' for the past 48 hours, she is on track to be the next Lindsey Lohan, and I just don't know if I could handle that!

So, if I'd have to find an LV for the past 24 hours, it is that she made it out alive, as did I, and we will just keep going...L-I-V-I-N...that is what we're doin'! Livin' and lovin'.

We Might Be Reaching a Bit Here...

2005-11-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

Oh dear. Yesterday was interesting. After a fun filled weekend, one in which she actually stayed on her schedule/routine, Millie had a little breakdown. It seemed like she was going back to her wild ways during the growth spurt...eating non-stop and never sleeping and being so cranky that I have to take "Mommy Time-outs". Yes, she was throwin' me some attitude!

So, basically, let me just say that it was not a warm and fuzzy kind of day. However, I managed to find one little victory. Ya know how new parents buy tons of toys for their babies? Ya know how the little tots get spoiled with gifts at baby showers? Ya know how they have no clue what ANY of it is???!!! Well, Millie, it has seemed, couldn't care less about her toys. The swing freaks her out. She does well on the Gymini play mat for about 5-10, then gives us the "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" look and starts whimpering. The bouncy seat makes her fall asleep. She can't even hold Pupsqueak or Freddie the Firefly! And her mobile makes her cry...OR SO WE THOUGHT!

Desperation set it, and I had to put Millie somewhere while I took a breather. I put her in her crib, and turned the mobile on, just for giggles. Turns out, she has now decided that she LOVES it! She stares at it while it turns slowly to the music, and eventually gets a tiny grin on her face. Of course, this is somewhat fleeting, but hey---it helped me keep my sanity for a brief moment, so I am calling it a victory! Hip, hip hooray---let's move on to the next day!

Two Ginormous Victories

2005-11-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

Last night, Bobby, Nanny Mac, Millie & I headed over to Fort Worth to watch TCU beat the snot out of UNLV. HUGE victory---51-3. We were glad we had our little good luck charm with us so that we could finish our season at 10-1! Millie even got to see LaDainian Tomlinson have his TCU jersey (#5) retired.

She was such a trooper, and didn't cry the entire time we were there...of course she wailed a bit on the drive home, but once Nanny Mac---the Baby Whisperer---started working her magic, she crashed. In fact, she crashed so hard that she SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT (from 10:15pm to 5:15am) FOR THE FIRST TIME!

So, GINORMOUS victories all around. The TCU team won, and our team won. Millie is such a blessing...especially when she lets us sleep! =)

Today, we all are off to brunch with Aunt Tootie and Aunt Lou at Spoons Cafe in Downtown McKinney, and then we will send Nanny Mac off with tons of hugs. Will write more later...there SURELY will be more LVs!

We Give the Growth Spurt the Finger and Move On...

2005-11-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

Somebody give the Lord a handclap, 'cause we are over the hurdle. Yea! Millie is back to her sweet and cuddly self, and seems to be back on some semblance of a schedule. And we have a major little victory to celebrate.

Millie's mom is soooo stupid. When I looked at Nanny Mac's itinerary for her arrival at Love Field airport last night, I read that she got in at 6:15pm...WRONG! That is when she left Austin Bergstrom International. Whoopsy! So, here we are, Bobby, Millie, Noopsy, and I---all piled into the Expedition, cruisin' around Dallas, a good 45 minutes from our house in McKinney. Thank sweet Jesus that I am a neurotic overpacker, and brought every kind of bottle that Millie might like, breastmilk AND formula (both used in this situation), back up clothes (also used due to spill from faulty Avent bottle---grrr---love that crusty breastmilk residue I now have on my fave jeans), and wipes galore.

OK, Kate, focus. What are you going to do with this newborn and a dog for an extra hour? Don't cry. Don't cry. Breathe. We needed to buy a pillow for Nanny Mac's guest room stay, so with our extra hour, we headed over to Target. We love Target. Where else can you get cookies, dog treats, Pepperidge farm goldfish, a pillow (medium support), infant gas relief drops, and go to the bathroom (twice)?

We fed Millie in the parking lot, and she actually took the Avent bottle! LV ALERT! She polished off the breastmilk, and moved on to the formula...GULP! Finished around 6 ounces, since we spilled some. I changed her clothes and simultaneously shoved 4 gourmet cookies into my mouth to cope...damn. I am one talented multi-tasker.

Then, we got the call from Nanny Mac that she had arrived! We darted over to Love Field, grabbed the granny, and headed home!

Once we were home, I fed her, and put her down to sleep, and she didn't wake up until 3AM, so Mommy and Daddy and Nanny Mac and even Noopsy all got some much needed sleep...our girl knew just what we needed. =) She's really the puppet master, pulling all of the strings!

So, needless to say, Millie managed to make it through all of that chaos, and came out with flying colors and a good night's sleep. God, I love this kid!

November 11, 2005

2005-11-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

So, for starters, to record a little victory for the past few days, I must include my weight loss. One of the fantastic things about nursing is that you burn so many calories. This is true of a normal day breastfeeding. Now imagine that you are working overtime, such as in a growth spurt…oh, man, my tight jeans fit. My jelly belly is long gone, and I am lookin’ hot. Thanks, Millie!

Another LV is that I have discovered the cutest and possibly most hilarious thing that she does. When Millie is breakin’ wind, she scrunches her face up like a little old man and lifts one leg up and lets her rip! It is remarkable that a baby can be so vulgar and so like her father (even though she cannot yet eat and fart at the same time)!

LV 3 for the day---we got through her 6 week photo shoot with nary a cry in sight! Not a squirm, not a wince, not a pout. Wow…I am seeing the light at the end of this tunnel call Growth Spurt.

A final LV-Nanny Mac (Millie’s maternal grandmother extraordinaire) is coming to visit! Hallelujah, Praise Jesus, everybody! I might get a break. =)

Why "Little Victories"?

2005-11-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well, this morning, I have decided that I MUST begin journaling my thoughts and feelings, if not for my sanity’s salvation, to save the future of this family from the fallout of my demise.

So, why the lack of sanity around here? I’ve got two words for you…growth and spurt. I have a beautiful six week old baby girl. It is to her benefit that she is beautiful, because had she not been, I would have sold her to the gypsies three days ago. As if this motherhood stuff wasn’t hard enough to adjust to, she threw me yet another curve ball with a change-up of feeding times and patterns due to her 6 week growth spurt. After a day of listening to her scream bloody murder, and wondering why the hell she is off of her nice and neat schedule, it dawned on me. Dr. Stevenson did say something about a growth spurt happening around this time period. Hmmmm. Maybe she has been crying because she is hungry, not because she is crazy. Ya think?!

So, I did what the books told me to do…nurse her whenever she is hungry. She is growing, and she is simultaneously trying to increase my milk supply. And if this means every 1 ½ to 2 hours, go with it …great. As if my boobs weren’t big enough. So basically, for the majority of this week, I have consumed ½ of a turkey sandwich, some cereal here and there, and a boat load of M & Ms and several glasses of red wine just to cope with the madness. Thank God for Vidal Sassoon straightening irons & their staying power of styling, because I haven’t taken a shower or done my hair in three days. I smell like spit up, and my house looks like vandals hit it up…but this is all okay because Millie has been fed.

Yes. She has been fed to the point where I have imagined my boobs falling off and my nipples squirting cyanide. She has been fed so much that I have dreamed about feeding her in my sleep. Oh---wait. Did I just say sleep? I meant to say that foggy state of consciousness that I occasionally fall into while lying in my bed because THERE IS NO TIME FOR SLEEP DURING A GROWTH SPURT!

So, in my foggy state, I challenge myself to start a new trend…documenting the little victories we experience each day. Motherhood is chock full of so many glorious moments, if we can get past the deafening cries and the seedy poops. To record these moments will bring them to the forefront…let’s focus on the positive. If we don’t, we might put the gypsies on speed dial.