Give Peas a Chance

Week 2 of solid food--we were told to add one new food a week and this week is PEAS!!!!!!!
Her first bite was a little suspicious, and then she threw herself into it with abandon. She has developed this neat technique where she will take a bite of food and then vigorously suck her thumb to help her swallow the food.




Sometimes she gets the timing wrong and will shove her thumb in her mouth just as you are lifting the spoon for her to take another bite. The Bumbo is proving to be the perfect feeding chair, although it needs to be wiped down constantly because it gets so sticky.




The casualty in all the food adventures is that Noa now has poots and poops with a bad odor. No more buttermilk sweet diapers.................................................. Oh well.......

Noa's first food

Noa had her first "solid' food yesterday, some rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. The photos are a little blurry, but I think they capture what she thought of the whole experience.






She also had her second round of immunizations yesterday, and once again, she did well. She had a tiny fever today for a short while, but that was it.

*Asterisks Will Be Needed

It seems clear that I will need to add the following addendum to every post:

"*Noa reserves the right to change her mind, her behavior, her routines, and her mood at her will. Furthermore, Noa does not bear the responsibility of notifying parents of said changes.
Parents willingly assume the duty of keeping up with said changes and surrender the right to go back to the way things "used to be"."

With that said, Noa did not want to go down for her nap in the "usual" way, choosing to cry when we put her in the swing. Instead, she wanted more awake time, and then a long walk, during which she fell asleep in the baby bjorn on her daddy's chest when we were at the end of the 2-plus mile route. We worried for a second that Jeremy would be held captive if we were going to keep her asleep. but as it turned out, we transitioned her easily to the swing and she is sleeping peacefully.

Here is a shot of her asleep at the end of the walk:




I just cannot get enough of this sweet face. Aaaahhhh. Anyway, where was I?

Noa's sleep routines are changing fast. Like I said, it seems like she is more or less accustomed to a morning nap, and she will sleep for 2 hours or so most times* (see disclaimer above).

Anyhow, for the last week, the nighttime sleeping has been more tricky, and she is waking up more, wanting to eat and cuddle. She is actually able to sleep through most of her agitation, but I am not, and this sleep deprivation has taught me a few interesting things:

1. That the smell of days- old baby puke on the sheets actually smells a lot like fish-food flakes

2. That evolution seems to be on a coffee break where human mothers and babies are concerned, because if it were still looking for things to improve upon, I dare say the following might have been changed by now:

a) babies would no longer need to sleep so lightly because there is little risk of being picked off by a hungry hyena in the middle of the night, hence, very little need to be able to wake up at a moments notice to climb a tree for safety

b) dads would lactate too, 'nuff said

c) moms would be able to breastfeed while lying comfortably on their stomachs, instead of that side-lying nonsense which strains hips and necks, and encourages dads to take up more bed space

3. That when you are seriously sleep-deprived, at those times when you actually DO get some sleep, your brain prioritizes REM, or dreaming sleep, and so I am now having upwards of seven or eight really strange dreams every night. Sometimes I am only asleep for 20 minutes, and the only way I know for sure that I slept at all is that I was just bear hunting with friends from high school. The dreams can be fun, and it is great that I am getting sleep at all, but the downside is that when I do wake up, I don't feel that well-rested because my dreaming self is so darned busy. The worst is when I dream that I wake up and feed her and put her back to sleep, and then I wake up and realize it was just a dream and that I need to feed her again.

If I could just dream that I am sleeping....................................................

Daily Dose of Cuteness

Noa is starting to settle into a somewhat predictible daily routine, and a huge part of that is her morning walk, taken pre-morning nap. She really looks forward to it, and on the days she doesn't get it (like when it is rainy and I am not feeling like being cold and damp) her mood really reflects the change. Alas, today, I did not have to disappoint the sweet bean, and we had a great walk around our hilly neighborhood. When we came back, I put her in her swing and out she went. As I write this, she is entering the second hour of her nap.



Sweet dreams, bean. Please take it easy on mommy this afternoon ;)

Meet Noa's Nana Juana and Grandpa Bob

Noa doesn't get a chance to see her Nana and Bobba as much as she would like. We decided to help her out with this comparable alternative.

Tee hee- Meet the South Park Gluskins

First off, thanks to Rebecca for so aptly modeling such a great source of time suckage. I spent WAY too much time figuring this out, getting it cropped and posted to my blog. Noa is off in dreamland and perhaps I should be doing something productive, or maternal, or perhaps I should be sleeping myself, but this captured my focus and I couldn't stop until I got it.

Click here if you want to create your own south park likeness.

I can't stop laughing. I think the one of Jeremy is the best.


Sleep-deprived mommy and daddy.....................



and their drooly, adorable babe.



Noa and I had lunch with my friend, Elizabeth and her 2.4 year old son, Mason, and then we went to the Mother Ship (the super huge Longs Drug Store in Oakland) and got ourselves a two- foot xmas tree. When we were in the store, EVERYONE wanted to touch Noa and I wasn't sure how to handle it. Do people do this with every baby they see, or are people especially drawn to her? I swear, it is like moths bouncing off a lightbulb or something. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see that people will try to walk past her and then they pause, as though they get caught in her force field and turn and make a bee-line toward her. Of course, I think she is the most amazing thing, and I am glad other people appreciate her wonderful-ness, but I also want to make sure that I am protecting her space and teaching her that she has a right to have her boundaries. This task is definitely going to be a work in progress seeing as I am a recovering people-pleaser. I want her to grow up knowing that "No" is a complete sentence. I am realizing that there are so many things I want her to learn and feel confident about, and in order to guide her, I will have to learn them first.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What weighs 12 pounds and brought a smile to our faces today?




Well, yes, that made us happy, but I was talking about this:

Scenes from a Sunny Sunday

It is just a shame that this baby is sooooo unhappy........................


Incognito to avoid the papparazzi.......................................



Enjoying the sunshine at the farmer's market at Jack london Square. Amazing close-up. What a face!

Movin' on Up

Well, it was bound to happen! After months of diligence and ambition, Noa received a promotion at work! Here she is in her new office..... As you can see from the expression on her face, the new job description is a bit more challenging and requires some deep focus.


For those of you who don't remember, Here is a shot of Noa at her old workplace.


When she took the job, we all pretty much understood that it would be nothing more than a stepping stone to bigger and better things. It didn't take long for her to outgrow the duties of the job and yearn for something more.

We are so proud of her promotion. She has worked hard and took her old position as far as she could. We are expecting big things from her in the future.



She is settling in quite nicely.

A few random pics for your enjoyment

Noa giving her commentary on tv......




A sweet close up.............




Post-bath fashion

Back by popular demand

RAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Noa's first Halloween !

I know, I know! Several of you rabid Noa fans have (kindly) pointed out that I haven't updated the blog in a while, so I re-commit myself to making sure that everyone gets their regular dose of this amazing girl.

She is changing so much. She just crossed the three month mark and she is growing and stretching her little capacities. Right now, she is asleep BY HERSELF in the bedroom. Hallelujah. It used to be that she could only sleep if she had direct physical contact with Jeremy or me. Sweet, but not always convenient and definitely hard on the back (for Jeremy) and shoulder (for me). At night, Jeremy would wear her in the sling from 7pm until 10 or 11 and then we would swaddle her and I would nurse her to sleep in our bed. A few weeks ago, it was approaching the time that Jeremy was to don the sling and it occurred to me that I could try to swaddle her and put her to bed at 7 rather than waiting the 3-4 hours and much to our surprise, it worked! I stayed with her until she fell asleep and then I was able to take leave and have a normal evening. This is how it has been now for 2 weeks! It is great that she is feeling more confident to sleep on her own, but is is also great for me to feel like I get to be a separate human being at least for a few hours. Now by 10 or 11, I am eager to go to bed and snuggle up next to her, I missed her so much. How could anyone resist this face?????





Tonight, we took her to bed, turned on some lullabies, read a few stories, swaddled her, and off to sleep she went.

The lullabies are quite beautiful. The CD was a gift from Laura (thanks Laura!) and it is so enchanting and perfect. The first song is called Naima, and it is an african lullaby for the singer's daughter. Amazing. There have been other songs that I have listened to recently that move me to tears at their ability to capture and express the love a mother feels for her baby. (Much to my chagrin, 2 of the songs that bring me to tears every time are sung by Celine Dion. I am not proud of this and all I can do is blame it on hormones....) As I listen to the songs, I am moved to create something for Noa.

But I wasn't blessed with a beautiful singing voice, so I cannot offer her a song, but I have been blessed with the love of writing (and I dare say a knack for it) so I have been inspired to write a children's book for Noa. I informally started it in my head when I was still pregnant with her, and now it is time to bring the words out of my head and out onto paper. I am saying it here so that I will be accountable. I will keep you updated with my progress.

Anyhoo.... with that said, I will add that Noa doesn't seem to care that I can't carry a tune. She greets every off-pitch rendition of the Puff the Magic Dragon or the ABC's with the sweetest smile in the world. She is very encouraging. I like that in a baby.

Post-Immunization Update

As predicted, Noa handled the shots well. She was a tiny bit more fussy, but she didn't have any fever at all, and her sleep and appetite were great. On Tuesday, the day after, she was quite sleepy, so we spent the majority of the day in bed. She would fuss if I tried to move away so eventually, I just made piece with lying with her and made the best of it. I took some pictures of Noa's favorite things to stare at when she is in bed.



She loves staring at the slats on the bed frame. It was one of the first things we noticed that kept her attention......



This painting always brings a smile to her face. Sometimes when I am trying to get her to fall asleep. I have to turn her the other way so that she can't see it, otherwise, she will stay awake to stare at it. I painted it so I take it as a huge compliment.....



The ceiling fan is always a good time killer. We score extra points if we turn it on and then slow it down....



The flowers in the wall vase are a relatively new discovery....

She is teaching me how to really look at things. The colors, contrasts, textures. It just requires slowing down and not thinking that my time would be better spend vacuuming or something else. I remind myself that this phase of her life won't last long, so I am soaking up every minute. When she is older, I won't regret not running errands, but I would regret missing this lounging time with her.

I ran across this poem on another mom's blog. I think it says it all:

"Babies Don't Keep"

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

-- Author Unknown

You're No Bunny Until Some Bunny Loves You

Noa and Friends

I mentioned earlier that Noa is a real charmer, quite the social butterfly. I thought I would post some of her recent visits with her friends.

Oh! What a hard day!

Noa got her first set of immunizations today, three shots in all. It was so difficult to turn her precious little limbs over to the nurse with the needles, but as she does with most things, Noa handled it like a pro. She cried, but once it was over, she moved on and wanted to do the next thing, which was eat. When we left the doctor's office, the entire waiting room full of parents had been rooting for her and they smiled at her when she came back out. I tell ya, this kid wins hearts wherever she goes.

I am impressed by her ability to move on and transition to new things, and she is getting better at it every day. Early on, when something hard happened, it seemed like she would play it over and over in her mind, and just when you thought she was settling down, she would remember the incident again and get herself all worked up again, like baby PTSD. Now, we can distract her with a change of scenery or a silly face and she can go from tears to grins in seconds flat.



Now, we are home and she is asleep in her sling on her daddy, one of her favorite places. We are waiting to see what reaction, if any, she may have to the shots. We have been prepared for the possibilty that she will be especially fussy or feverish, but I've got my money on her having a good afternoon. She is a strong girl. Very practical.

She has gained three whole pounds since she was born and she is now just shy of ten pounds and she is 22 inches, an inch and a half longer than when she was born. She continues to adore her pediatrician, and we do too. She is great with Noa and we really like her.

It was hard to know which shots to get her, given that there are so many differing opinions of the topic. A lot of people strongly feel that the shots are riskier than they are helpful and end up foregoing them. A friend whose son is now in his twenties told us that she didn't immunize him at all, and he has been extremely healthy. However, most people we have talked with say that they ended up getting all of them, which is what we did. There is so much to learn and if you look hard enough, you can look on the internet and find compelling arguments for each side. I guess all we can do is do our own research and keep asking lots of questions. The worry can take on a life of its own if you let it. I was talking with a friend this morning and she said that she chose to get all of the shots and after they were done, she went home and vigilantly watched her child for any signs of spontaneous autism. The image of her staring at her son, dissecting every gesture and squeek made me laugh, thinking he was losing IQ points as she watched, but I know that that could easily be me if I don't arm myself with a little information and faith.

That seems to be the trick to this parenting thing, balancing knowledge and faith, but sometimes that can be a tricky balance to strike.

Greetings from the Bumbo seat

I first saw one of these Bumbo seats at my friend, Sara's house. She had taken her wobbly-necked son, John Haley and wedged him into the chair and he transformed into an upright-sitting type of guy. It was hysterical, he looked so proud of himself. It is a bit discombobulating to see such a wee one sitting with such admirable posture, but now, here is my own sweet-wee sitting up just like the big heads do! I know everyone thinks their kid is cute, but DAMN! she is so cute!!!!!! I especially like the last one, her arm casually slung over the arm of the chair like she is chillin' with her buddies. (I guess she is...)

If you don't know anything about the Bumbo, check this out--the chairs are orthopedically designed to help the wee-est of wees gain muscle strength and help their development, as well as providing hours of laughter to family and friends.