A post without pictures (mostly)
I have been horrible about taking baby photos recently. I've literally taken approximately 20 photos in the two weeks that I've been back in the North Country - depressing. Husband can't be blamed for this because he dropped his phone like a year and a half ago and shattered the lens, so he doesn't do photos. My only explanation is that we're just still trying to adjust to the "daycare lifestyle" that involves running around every morning to get lunches prepared and packed and jackets/hats/boots on (we are always late), and then rushing around after work to get the baby nursed, fed, bathed, and to bed. Then, because I have a "go get 'em" kind of husband, weekends are always chock-a-block full as well. I consciously do my best to keep everything as unrushed and laid back as possible, but there's still this feeling of always running. Anyway, photo taking has fallen by the wayside lately - we'll try to be better.
Day care is going much, much better :) The first few days back from California were a disaster, and Maya was back to screaming a lot and worrying her day care providers. However, my favorite teacher there (Mel) did say that one thing made her feel better about all the screaming: it was very clear that Maya was mad about being left there, not scared. Mel said it's much harder on everyone when the kids are really terrified, but that kids get pissed off and throw fits all the time - that's much easier for the teachers to handle. However, crying is now at a minimum, and I think that she has finally accepted this as her new normal and is adjusting. One thing that helped a lot was to have husband do the drop off - I say goodbye to her (with no tears) at our house, and then he does a (probably typical dad-style) quick, business-like drop off at the day care itself. I won't say that she plays a lot with the other kids yet, but she does interact some, mostly with the older ones. The teachers have also gotten better at getting milk into her and can reliably feed her 4-5oz a day (I know this sounds ridiculous to moms with good bottle drinkers - my colleague was sending her kid with 16-20oz per day at this age, and they were constantly on her case about pumping even more - but this is GREAT for us). I've thus dropped to a single pumping session per day while at work and I feed her any leftover milk that they send home in her sippy cup with dinner. While I have no sense for whether a single daytime pumping session will be enough to sustain my milk supply in the long term, it does match up well with her daytime nursing on the weekends (it's a good day if she nurses twice, one side only per nursing session, so approximately 6oz between 8:30am-5:00pm). And of course, there's lots of nursing when we wake up, when I get home from work, and during the night. We seem to have found a balance!
And yes, I think about milk a LOT.
We have our (belated) 9 month pediatrician appointment on Friday, so we'll find out then how big she is (i.e., whether the balance is working). Feel free to take wagers on her size! She is indeed transitioning to 18 month clothes, at least in Carter's. Speaking of size, another challenge for this week was that she's officially outgrown her infant carseat, and so I had to re-enter the land of "I have a stupidly impractical vehicle for a rear-facing car seat, what to do" that I experienced last summer while purchasing the infant seat in the first place. Although the logical solution is to simply buy a second (or replacement) vehicle with a bigger backseat, I'm just so against the excess of it all when it's only a problem during the rear-facing stage and this vehicle is so close to paid off (and awesome in every other way, I might add). We can legally - and safely, in my opinion - fit a seat and protect the baby, it's just an awkward (and less safe) fit for the front passenger until the baby can forward-face. Plus, the convertible car seats are ginormous compared to the infant seats, so our space problem has now been exacerbated. Anyway, after blowing countless hours reading primary literature about the physics of car crashes, the physics of different car seats with different installs during different kinds of crashes, and an exhaustive comparison of car seat dimensions, recline angles, and tricks to achieve a more "upright" install while still operating within the directions of each manual, I have accomplished the impossible and chosen a convertible seat which *I think* will 1) still fit in our vehicle, 2) remain rear-facing for at least another year, and 3) have a great, safe install. It will arrive from Amazon today and I'll attempt an install this afternoon. The whole experience has been agonizing (agonizing), but I'm glad I did it.
But all in all, things are great - we're having a glorious fall, I'm LOVING being back at work, and we just had a fantastic visit last weekend with the in-laws during which the baby behaved pretty perfectly. On Friday after her doctor's appointment, I'm going to try to get Maya out to the pumpkin patch (our porch is unacceptably bare!!!) and the cider mill for some fall fun. Saturday is our local annual rock and mineral show, and we very much hope to make it to that! Sunday we may go out in search of some sandhill cranes, which sometimes gather in the thousands here during the fall. So much to look forward to!
That's the best update that I can manage right now - while pumping - so it is what it is. Ok, I managed to rustle up one recent photo…entitled "Obsessed With Squirrels." It's a good thing we feed them!
Day care is going much, much better :) The first few days back from California were a disaster, and Maya was back to screaming a lot and worrying her day care providers. However, my favorite teacher there (Mel) did say that one thing made her feel better about all the screaming: it was very clear that Maya was mad about being left there, not scared. Mel said it's much harder on everyone when the kids are really terrified, but that kids get pissed off and throw fits all the time - that's much easier for the teachers to handle. However, crying is now at a minimum, and I think that she has finally accepted this as her new normal and is adjusting. One thing that helped a lot was to have husband do the drop off - I say goodbye to her (with no tears) at our house, and then he does a (probably typical dad-style) quick, business-like drop off at the day care itself. I won't say that she plays a lot with the other kids yet, but she does interact some, mostly with the older ones. The teachers have also gotten better at getting milk into her and can reliably feed her 4-5oz a day (I know this sounds ridiculous to moms with good bottle drinkers - my colleague was sending her kid with 16-20oz per day at this age, and they were constantly on her case about pumping even more - but this is GREAT for us). I've thus dropped to a single pumping session per day while at work and I feed her any leftover milk that they send home in her sippy cup with dinner. While I have no sense for whether a single daytime pumping session will be enough to sustain my milk supply in the long term, it does match up well with her daytime nursing on the weekends (it's a good day if she nurses twice, one side only per nursing session, so approximately 6oz between 8:30am-5:00pm). And of course, there's lots of nursing when we wake up, when I get home from work, and during the night. We seem to have found a balance!
And yes, I think about milk a LOT.
We have our (belated) 9 month pediatrician appointment on Friday, so we'll find out then how big she is (i.e., whether the balance is working). Feel free to take wagers on her size! She is indeed transitioning to 18 month clothes, at least in Carter's. Speaking of size, another challenge for this week was that she's officially outgrown her infant carseat, and so I had to re-enter the land of "I have a stupidly impractical vehicle for a rear-facing car seat, what to do" that I experienced last summer while purchasing the infant seat in the first place. Although the logical solution is to simply buy a second (or replacement) vehicle with a bigger backseat, I'm just so against the excess of it all when it's only a problem during the rear-facing stage and this vehicle is so close to paid off (and awesome in every other way, I might add). We can legally - and safely, in my opinion - fit a seat and protect the baby, it's just an awkward (and less safe) fit for the front passenger until the baby can forward-face. Plus, the convertible car seats are ginormous compared to the infant seats, so our space problem has now been exacerbated. Anyway, after blowing countless hours reading primary literature about the physics of car crashes, the physics of different car seats with different installs during different kinds of crashes, and an exhaustive comparison of car seat dimensions, recline angles, and tricks to achieve a more "upright" install while still operating within the directions of each manual, I have accomplished the impossible and chosen a convertible seat which *I think* will 1) still fit in our vehicle, 2) remain rear-facing for at least another year, and 3) have a great, safe install. It will arrive from Amazon today and I'll attempt an install this afternoon. The whole experience has been agonizing (agonizing), but I'm glad I did it.
But all in all, things are great - we're having a glorious fall, I'm LOVING being back at work, and we just had a fantastic visit last weekend with the in-laws during which the baby behaved pretty perfectly. On Friday after her doctor's appointment, I'm going to try to get Maya out to the pumpkin patch (our porch is unacceptably bare!!!) and the cider mill for some fall fun. Saturday is our local annual rock and mineral show, and we very much hope to make it to that! Sunday we may go out in search of some sandhill cranes, which sometimes gather in the thousands here during the fall. So much to look forward to!
That's the best update that I can manage right now - while pumping - so it is what it is. Ok, I managed to rustle up one recent photo…entitled "Obsessed With Squirrels." It's a good thing we feed them!
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