Lots of love,
Val
Sunday, May 9, 2010
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!
I hope you were spoiled and loved because that is what you deserve!!
Lots of love,
Val
Lots of love,
Val
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Fuzz.
We got the Goodmama "Thing One" I ordered the other day and I love it. It is blue and fuzzy and outlandishly ridiculous. I have heard mixed reviews on the Goodmama Ones (it is a fitted diaper that does not need a cover because it have a hidden layer of waterproof PUL). I decided to get this one because I think it is so cute and wanted to give it a chance to prove me wrong. I put it on Olivia and she sat in it, drank some milk, and took a nap. About three+ hours later, no leaks! Hooray!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Lullabies
For the third installment of Olivia's lullaby playlist I decided to instead list some of the bands that I believe Olivia likes because either a.) They made her dance in my belly or b.) they relax her or put her to sleep now:
Portishead, particularly because Todd and I would listen to them a lot in the early months of our relationship, sharing a twin bed in a tiny downtown apartment. Beth Gibbons sang us to sleep.
Beach House, my bath music. Lots of baths were had when I was pregnant.
Deathcab for Cutie, nothing relaxed the pea more as a newborn than Deathcab.
Radiohead, a highly influential band for me and a staple of the lullaby playlist.
João Gilberto, I grew up listening to this man's voice. I can clearly remember watching my dad with such love as a child, his handsome face and a glass of wine. Bossa Nova will always be so meaningful to me.
My hope is that the pea will enjoy music as much as I have. Nothing can keep you company like your favorite album, there is no therapy like a song that brings you to a place no one else can go. It is such an outlet and a release. In retrospect, I wish I would have had speakers in that awful operation room when Olivia was born. Perhaps Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
I will do the rest later. Good night :)
Portishead, particularly because Todd and I would listen to them a lot in the early months of our relationship, sharing a twin bed in a tiny downtown apartment. Beth Gibbons sang us to sleep.
Beach House, my bath music. Lots of baths were had when I was pregnant.
Deathcab for Cutie, nothing relaxed the pea more as a newborn than Deathcab.
Radiohead, a highly influential band for me and a staple of the lullaby playlist.
João Gilberto, I grew up listening to this man's voice. I can clearly remember watching my dad with such love as a child, his handsome face and a glass of wine. Bossa Nova will always be so meaningful to me.
My hope is that the pea will enjoy music as much as I have. Nothing can keep you company like your favorite album, there is no therapy like a song that brings you to a place no one else can go. It is such an outlet and a release. In retrospect, I wish I would have had speakers in that awful operation room when Olivia was born. Perhaps Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
I will do the rest later. Good night :)
"Who are you?"
My daughter has recently decided that 5am is an appropriate time for waking up in the morning. Not only does she wake, she wakes us with a bang! Kicking the copper bars of her crib, throwing her paci, or thumping her feet loudly on the mattress. In other words, she wants us to wake up. My brain still remembers the sleep deprived neurosis of a new mother and I always wake up quickly. I gather her up and bring her to bed or I feed her. Sometimes she wants nothing to do with either of these things and I finally find myself sitting on the couch and the sun is slowly starting to rise.
This morning I started having a moment as I was waiting for the sun to come up, a moment that reminded me of the scene from The Breakfast Club when Anthony Michael Hall's nerdy character is trying to write the group's detention paper. This leads to him question who he is, he searches for labels. So I sat asking myself the question, "Who am I?" Not in a lost way, or with any panic. I have known who I am for quite a while but now I am a mother also so where does that leave me? Olivia consumes every aspect of me right now and yet I have to make plans for the future and begin university applications. How am I going to publish a book by the time I am 30 if I cannot sit at the computer and type anything? My MS word documents stay blank, the cursor blinking and mocking me.
Then, the pea stirs and I remember she is sleeping in my lap. I stare at her delicate face: the perfect curve of her nose, the pout of her lips, and the way her long eyelashes grace her chubby cheeks. I am so overwhelmed with devotion. My heart fills with warmth and then it all comes back to me. She is my purpose, she will lead me in the path I need to go. The ultimate muse is a part of me and with her my inspiration grows. My Olivia was the answer all along.
This morning I started having a moment as I was waiting for the sun to come up, a moment that reminded me of the scene from The Breakfast Club when Anthony Michael Hall's nerdy character is trying to write the group's detention paper. This leads to him question who he is, he searches for labels. So I sat asking myself the question, "Who am I?" Not in a lost way, or with any panic. I have known who I am for quite a while but now I am a mother also so where does that leave me? Olivia consumes every aspect of me right now and yet I have to make plans for the future and begin university applications. How am I going to publish a book by the time I am 30 if I cannot sit at the computer and type anything? My MS word documents stay blank, the cursor blinking and mocking me.
Then, the pea stirs and I remember she is sleeping in my lap. I stare at her delicate face: the perfect curve of her nose, the pout of her lips, and the way her long eyelashes grace her chubby cheeks. I am so overwhelmed with devotion. My heart fills with warmth and then it all comes back to me. She is my purpose, she will lead me in the path I need to go. The ultimate muse is a part of me and with her my inspiration grows. My Olivia was the answer all along.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
New Days
What an unbelievable thing, discovering each new day with a tiny person so full of life. How truly wonderful that it can be Tuesday, or Sunday, or whatever and that day will have light and excitement because my little girl is getting to know the world.
6 month stats and Sophie the Giraffe.
A teething toy that closely resembles a dog's chewing toy for $20? Plus tax? Call me skeptical but I really couldn't understand how a silly rubber toy could become so trendy. I mean, yeah, she's French but so what? Curiosity came over me and I found her at Amazon.com for less than at the baby boutiques. Sophie the Giraffe came to live at our house.
Olivia absolutely adores Sophie. In the photo above you can see that the pea brought her friend over from one side of the bed to the other. This adventure resulted in Olivia getting comfortably wedged between the bed and the wall. Thankfully, I was only a couple of inches away and after taking this photo I rescued her.
Today was Olivia's 6 month check-up and I was excited to find out how much she weighs. She has always been petite, and people often comment on this. After a while I start to question her size. What if she is too small? The nurse weighed and measured her. Fifteen pounds and 26 inches even. I have been reading about other babies her age being up to 22 pounds so I became even more curious to speak to the Pediatrician about my pea-sized pea. Dr. N assured me that Olivia's height and weight are actually perfect and that she is in no way too small. She falls into the 60th percentile in height but 25th in weight. Her estimation is that she will be about as tall as I am, which is above average. Olivia's pediatrician also stated that obesity does begin in childhood and that the idea of a chunky baby being a healthy baby is false.
An interesting observation Dr. N made is that since Olivia is so active she actually burns more calories than a sedentary baby. This makes perfect sense and I am so surprised that some cycles can begin in infancy. Perhaps I am not being too harsh when I question a mom that gives her young child soda or processed foods.
Today was also the day that we started the very selective vaccine schedule put together by Olivia's doctor and me. It makes me so happy that we have such a good understanding of each other and seem to be on the same page. Perhaps the fact that she is Harvard-educated may make more families be open to her alternative practices that do not fall into the mainstream ideals. It breaks my heart to see my baby get a needle poked into her little thigh but it ended up being okay. If I were exclusively breastfeeding I would likely have avoided all vaccines in general. At least Olivia had her mommy, Auntie Paloma, and friend Sophie to make her quickly forget.
Olivia absolutely adores Sophie. In the photo above you can see that the pea brought her friend over from one side of the bed to the other. This adventure resulted in Olivia getting comfortably wedged between the bed and the wall. Thankfully, I was only a couple of inches away and after taking this photo I rescued her.
Today was Olivia's 6 month check-up and I was excited to find out how much she weighs. She has always been petite, and people often comment on this. After a while I start to question her size. What if she is too small? The nurse weighed and measured her. Fifteen pounds and 26 inches even. I have been reading about other babies her age being up to 22 pounds so I became even more curious to speak to the Pediatrician about my pea-sized pea. Dr. N assured me that Olivia's height and weight are actually perfect and that she is in no way too small. She falls into the 60th percentile in height but 25th in weight. Her estimation is that she will be about as tall as I am, which is above average. Olivia's pediatrician also stated that obesity does begin in childhood and that the idea of a chunky baby being a healthy baby is false.
An interesting observation Dr. N made is that since Olivia is so active she actually burns more calories than a sedentary baby. This makes perfect sense and I am so surprised that some cycles can begin in infancy. Perhaps I am not being too harsh when I question a mom that gives her young child soda or processed foods.
Today was also the day that we started the very selective vaccine schedule put together by Olivia's doctor and me. It makes me so happy that we have such a good understanding of each other and seem to be on the same page. Perhaps the fact that she is Harvard-educated may make more families be open to her alternative practices that do not fall into the mainstream ideals. It breaks my heart to see my baby get a needle poked into her little thigh but it ended up being okay. If I were exclusively breastfeeding I would likely have avoided all vaccines in general. At least Olivia had her mommy, Auntie Paloma, and friend Sophie to make her quickly forget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)