House of Drew’s blog

Monday was Em's first day of school!! Okay, so it was really day care and she is only 3.5 months old, but still...she feels all grown up! Seems like only yesterday she had daily trips to the doctor for weight checks only to find she was gaining or losing ounces and not getting back to birth weight. And here she is now, with her little (actally, very big) bag of diapers, wipes and clothes and heading off the day care to learn the ways of the world!

Mom cried for at least half the time dropping her off - seeing her sitting in that room all by herself (meaning without mom or dad) just made me think she was such a big girl now. Am I totally crazy to think that?? I can only image how parents feel when their kids graduate from high school! The other moms and the people at the day care were very understanding of how I was feeling. For me, it was a mixture of excitement that here is my little girl taking such a big step in her life and sadness in that she feels like she's growing up so quickly. It also made me understand how much trust you put in a place like that to take good care of your baby...

 

Our trip back to Australia was a great success! Em was awesome on the flight over, snuggling up to her parents, nursing and napping all the way. I think the trip was much harder on us than it was on her, although honestly with our schedule of only sleeping in 4 hour stretches the time adjustment wasn't terribly difficult. I guess being exhausted in Australia is about the same as being exhausted here!!

We had a great time visiting friends and family.

At the end of the trip we headed to Sydney to meet up with Karen and Rob. With a little one, it's hard to do the same sort of running-around-sight-seeing. We ended up spending a lot time in the hotel room which actually wasn't bad considering we had a great room at an even better price (free on points!). They even waived the $75 a night fee associated with being given access to the lounge because we didn't want to pay it (how often does that happen??). So that gave us free breakfast, afternoon snacks, wine, beer and beverages. Anyway, to prove that we did get out to see a few things, we took some pictures of Em with Sydney landmarks. Of course she happily snoozed away through it all...

We also had fantastic sushi and Japanese food at Shiki in The Rocks in Sydney. Sam had the tasting menu and I had a spicy tuna roll and tempura. Mmm! That is one thing I miss about living in a big city!! To celebrate the occasion, Em was dressed in the appropriate bib.

 

As I have been sitting on the couch for the past 4 hours nursing my little babe (yes, I said 4 hours!!), I wonder why we give babies all these stuffed animals when really I think what Em wants is a little (or BIG?) stuffied boobie to snuggle up to. Nothing is as fantastic to Em as something soft and round with a little pencil-eraser tip on it. If she could bury her little head against that, I swear she would sleep for hours.

And she does, which is great. But at this point it means that in order to keep her restful and calm, I have to sit or lay with her. She'll be so quiet, content and cute that it's hard to complain. She'll occasionally yawn or look up at me with these eyes that are so sweet. But, she's also in this position that requires me to hold her there with one arm so I'm effectively trapped. Which is why I've been on the couch for 4 hours.

The house phone rings, I can't answer it (I didn't plan to be trapped on this couch-island all afternoon so it's on the charger). The person calling thinks to call my cell phone - I can't answer that either because it's just beyond reach on the table...As is my water and the TV remote...

So, anyone out there want to make me a big stuffed boobie? Maybe a set??

 

Welcome spring! The other day Em and I went out for a walk and we decided to whip out her sunnies.

She liked them but her head isn't quite big enough (yet) so it's hard to get them to stay up.

I just have to post this picture I found. It's from the "big snow" we had in NC back in January. Okay so it looks like heavy frost, but I promise it's snow!!

 

 

So our cats really "let it all hang out"...

This is Woodstock in his favorite relaxed position. He cannot help himself - when he starts to relax his body rolls over like that and he flashes the world. I think he's part Al Bundy. Notice the choice position of the remote control...

 

His littermate, Hamilton is bigger (read: fatter) and likes to camp out in some interesting places. As you can see here, when we first brought home a baby swing, Hamilton thought it was for him! We eventually put a sheet over it so he wouldn't furr it up.

Here are some pictures of all the kitties...(rest in peace little Hobson!!)

 

Woodstock and Hamilton get along very well, as you can see below. They both love this bench because

 it gives them a great view of the backyard which always has lots of birds coming through.

 

 

Sam has another woman. I discovered this last night when I went up to bed. He had gone up before me and settled in since he was exhausted. This was the scene in the bedroom when I came up...

It was pretty cute, actually :) Unfortunately I'm entirely too worried about SIDS and all that other stuff to let her stay all snuggled up to us all night. I think we're both tired enough we could sleep through noises if they're not too loud. Here's another shot from a different angle. (The pictures are kind of dark because - of course - I didn't want the flash going off!!)

So we had Em's weight check today and she came in at a HEFTY 8 lbs 4 oz even after she peed all over the doctor's scale (amazing what cute babies can get away with)!!

The middle of last week she was at 7 lbs 5 oz and had dipped to 7lbs 3 oz by Friday. So this is a huge gain in a week - good thing too because she is making up for lost time. Her skin is looking better and her temperment is much better too (I guess it helps to be getting the right nourishment!). She's even started to tell us when she wants to eat which is helpful since we're so clueless. Here is a pictures of her at the doctor's office (we got bored waiting for the doc). This picture was taken right before she spit up all over the table...

 

 

So after 2 weeks of partial sponge baths, we decided to take the plunge and give EM her first real bath! She didn't mind it...at first.

 

 

After we undressed her, though, it was a different story!

 

 

 

But after we warmed her up, she was okay with it.

 

The wrap-up!!

 

EM has some unusual ways of getting comfortable...probably doesn't help that she hasn't grown into some of these clothes.