Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Lila Blue's One-Month Birthday


Mari and Lila Blue are staying with us for ten days...so we can spend some time with them...and also to give Mari a hand with what turns out to be a pretty bad case of the colic. Basically, this means that Lila Blue's digestive system has not fully developed and her feeding and sleeping routines are "tore up from the floor up". I find it incredible that a two-week overdue, 10 pound, 9 oz., full head of hair-havin' baby could have ANYTHING undeveloped...but that's what the doc said this morning.

Unfortunately, there's very little one can do except rock, walk, soothe and pat her most of the night. Mari and I are doing shift work and taking naps, and enjoying her happy moments as much as possible. Mari and Jeremy have also become internet experts on colic, but it is a puzzling condition. The symptoms and treatments are all over the board. Today Mari remarked that anecdotal cures range from "I ate 16 edamame pods every day" to "I only made left turns." The one item I read said that child care books do not apply to colicky babies and that "instinctual parenting" is the order of the day...whatever the heck that means!

As for happy moments, there are many. Doctor said today that Lila Blue is gaining weight, well-developed, and perfectly healthy (not to mention beautiful). He also reassured Mari that the baby would survive this and so would she. She loves showers, taking walks and already has a winning little smile.

We celebrated her one-month birthday yesterday, October 17, and can only hope that by her three-month birthday her tummy will have caught up with the rest of her.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Little Doll


I went up to visit the kids for a few days last week. They are all doing great and it was so nice to get into their "baby rhythm", which consists mainly of eating and sleeping whenever you can. I helped as best I could...doing laundry, going out for coffee (decaff soy lattes for Mari), and sorting through baby clothes. We packed up all the "newborn" things -- as she will never be able to wear them -- and moved the 0-3 month items into the top drawer.

There are some new pictures in the "Lila Blue at 10 Days" album at right. Dressing her up is so much fun. As Jeremy remarked "Mari has a real doll now."