Bottle Battles

Safia had a wonderful day yesterday, except for a swath of about 2 hours in the afternoon.  Ellen and I have been dedicated to establishing bottle feeding so that I can fulfill that aspect of Safia's needs.  Bottle feeding Safia has been a great way for me to bond with her and to let her know that both Ellen and I are full-service parents.  Yesterday, though, Safia decided that the bottle was her mortal enemy and would not even tolerate the bottle being in the same room as her.  I presented her the bottle, she screamed.  I presented her the bottle again; she screamed and squirmed away as if the bottle were poison.  I knew she was hungry too, which was the kicker...I was giving her the same stuff she gets from her mother, yet the delivery model was not acceptable.  I would calm her down and then we'd try again...screaming.  Ellen would calm her down and we'd try again...screaming.  This proceeded for quite some time (something like 2 hours).  Ellen got Safia to go to sleep and placed her in the bassinet, thinking that would be a good reset button.  When she awoke, I presented her with the bottle, and she began gulping it down with much vigor and zest.  Victory!   Three-and-a-half ounces of milk, a gigantic poop, and two colossal burps later, and our lovely little baby was smiling again, and I celebrated our mini-triumph over mini-adversity.  Whew!

I simply cannot comprehend how May is over and June is about to begin.  I have a feeling this summer is going to go by at light speed.  Good thing we'll have a living document of what happened so we can refresh our memories.  

A Holiday Weekend Baby-style

Safia at 8 weeks

This weekend Safia turned 8 weeks, and on Thursday she turns 2 months.  It’s a weird time vacuum we’re all in.  On one hand, it seems like she’s been with us for such a long time – each day so distinct and deliberate.  Yet, on the other hand, it seems entirely new and still unfathomable to have this little creature encompassing our lives.  We’ve also both noticed that our brains are just a little behind the times these days.  We’ve also described our moments of diminished cognition as, “Swiss cheese brain” and “Baby brain.”  I hope that, one day, I’ll be able to form coherent sentences again. 

Although we technically aren’t enjoying a long weekend (the next two months are one big weekend) because of Memorial Day, we are grasping upon the opportunity to enjoy tasty, grilled food.  We very recently refurbished our falling apart gas grill (new burner and grate), and now, it’s as good as new.  With the early and stifling heat that has descended upon us, and no signs relief in sight, we hope to utilize outdoor cooking as much as possible.  Also, early morning and evening walks have become the norm as to avoid the sultry weather. 

Safia continues to make incremental advancements, meaning she is awake and happy for longer periods, feeding more efficiently, and we’re all getting better at reading one another’s needs.  This morning Safia and I discussed the human digestive system; from the formation of a bolus, to the significance of the duodenum and jejunum, and the passage through the ascending, transverse, and descending colon, and then, you know what.  Safia is going to have a wonderful childhood.  

Hello Friday!

With all the devastating tornadoes in the news lately, the storm that came through here last night instilled some apprehension on our parts.  As the wind picked up and the rain began to fall, our power went out, thus ending our relaxing evening watching TV on the computer.  At the kitchen table, we read magazines and books by headlamp and bounced Safia as she slept soundly and peacefully and the intensity of the storm dissipated.  Regardless of the early hour, and with Safia not making any signs of waking, we went off to bed.  It was kind of nice, not constantly eyeing the clock, but listening to our bodies and going to sleep because we were tired.  

This morning we all went to a friend's farm in Watkinsville to get out and get our hands dirty.  I carried Safia in the Moby Wrap as Ellen harvested and bundled kale, then when Safia was good and asleep, we all helped to pull weeds.  When bending down with Safia became a source of fussiness (Safia, not me), I focused on keeping her calm.  When she became wracked with hunger, Ellen took over Safia duties as I zeroed in on the weeds.  Safia's outlook on things gradually deteriorated as we worked from row to row and eventually, we bid our farewell.  It was a nice, overcast day with the passing storm bringing down the heat.  Safia, of course, screamed the whole way home.  Even still, it felt awesome to be able to successfully negotiate our little almost-8-week-old and get some good, dirty work done.  In fact, it inspired me to come home and get some work done in our own garden.  Our friend made a comment this morning at the farm that has really stuck with me.  She said, "Safia is looking less like an infant, and more like a baby!"  mmmm...growing up.  

Quickly...

naked snoozing

Yesterday, I fully intended to write a short post, and it got away from me.  Here, now, is that short post.  I mainly wanted to unload some adorable pictures I took yesterday.  While Ellen was in Atlanta, I had Safia all to myself, and I’ll say that she was on her best behavior.  She slept for most of our time together, a nice 1-hour stint and a solid 2-hour spell after a painless bottle-feeding.  I highly suspect that Safia was just showing off about how good she can be to get a good report from me to Ellen.  Either that, or I’m so boring, she’d rather sleep than have to put up with my mundane and insipid babble.  Whichever it is, we had a pleasant day together.  She has had a couple of shaky nights with short bouts of sleep, frequent gas, and lots of feeding.

 

This morning, we spent our time with another darling little one.  Good company, cute babies, nursing, diaper changes, good conversation, coffee, sleeping infants, and a not-so-bad walk in the heat.  Lunch with another friend, spicy, Jamaican pork, assorted flavors of frozen yogurt, and more good conversation.   Time to take it down a notch.  

milk drunk

Takin' in Easy at Rancho Relaxo

Chillin in the Moby

Short one today.  Not much to report on. Pretty slow days here at Rancho Relaxo.  Safia, we suspect, is undergoing yet another (whew!) growth spurt.  She is eating voraciously and is grumpier than normal.  We’re feeling better equipped (with experience that is) to see it through, so I think we can overcome this phase unscathed and with less frustration.  Today Ellen goes to Atlanta for a meeting, so it’s Daddy and Daughter day (it’s really only for a few hours, so no worries). 

We are also  in the process of reclaiming our backyard.  When we bought our house three years ago, the back section of our yard was already overrun with weeds and invasive weed trees and other undesirable plant growth.  In the three years we’ve owned the house, we’ve done very little to rectify the situation, so it had gotten kinda out of hand.  We just recently hired a team of landscapers through a group called Unity, a project of the Economic Justice Coalition and the Georgia Works Program, where low-wage workers are paid a fair wage and are given valuable work skills training.  Our yard looks great and we have committed ourselves to transforming the newly reclaimed section of our yard into a pleasing, landscaped plant utopia.  So if you’re in the area, we might be having a yard beautification party if you want to lend a helping hand.  Ok, this was a longer post than I intended…sorry.  Hope everyone’s good. 

"No more singing!"

It's Getting Hot In Here!

It's hot in Georgia....already.  The past four days have seen 90 degree (Fahrenheit) and higher temperatures and today, tomorrow, and Thursday is forecast for more of the same.  Now, I know we made the choice to live in the deep south, and brutally hot and humid summers are part and parcel of life here, but this is a little too much too soon.  The start of summer is still about a month away, and I'm already to the point that I really don't want to go outside during the day (so sad).  I did a little research and found that temperatures for the week are nearly 10 degrees higher than this time last year.  Also, drought conditions, driven by la nina precipitation patterns (from as far back as May 2010), will continue through the rest of our spring season and into the early summer months. So what does this have to do with our sweet little Safia?  Looks like she's going to have lots of naked time!

tranquil

Yesterday was very peaceful.  We deemed it another “Do Nothing Day.”  It was in response to a flurry of activity that coincided with my mother’s visit: Farmer’s market, park walking, grocery shopping, downtown walking, multiple restaurant episodes, neighborhood walking, trip to Madison, GA…etc.  We found ourselves exhausted, cranky, and we felt Safia could maybe use a quiet and tranquil day at home.  It was just that, and Safia did great and we also benefited from the rest and relaxation.  Lately, I’ve been feeling ambitious about making food, baking bread, and just playing around in the kitchen, but the unseasonable heat has really made me hesitate to turn the stove or oven on.  Maybe when the heat subsides in the evening, we’ll fire up the grill and do some outdoor cooking.  That sounds quite nice.  

This is what happened when I told Safia she couldn't ride the dog.

Better? Definitely Maybe.

 As I was getting ready to type about how Safia has shown some real and tangible indications that things might be getting better, she has just begun to cry for some unknown reason.  Regardless of this little outburst, and at the risk of totally jinxing it all, I can say that things (fingers crossed, knock on wood, find a four-leaf clover) could be getting better.  Here is some evidence:

1.     She’s sleeping longer: for the past few nights she has slept for 5 hours in her bassinet before waking up hungry.  She’ll go back to sleep for another 3 hours or so after that, and so on and so forth until the morning.  She’s also sleeping a bit longer during the day which is enabling us to get more done around the house, which is nice. 

2.    There’s more happy awake time: there’s more smiling and happy noises! Used to be that whenever she wasn’t sleeping or eating, she was screaming.  Now, she’ll just hang out, show us her big, beautiful eyes, and be generally contented.  We spend increasing amounts of time on her play-mat where she kicks her legs with wild abandon, and I do everything in my power to get her to smile or laugh at my ridiculous antics. 

3.    Her feeding is more efficient: She is nursing for only about 15 minutes at a time (as opposed to 45 minutes not too long ago).  When I take on feeding responsibilities with the bottle, she resists very little and drains a bottle lickety-split, posthaste.

     4. She’s getting better at communicating her needs: Ok, ok…it’s probably us that’s getting better at deciphering her signs, facial expressions, and body language.  Safia’s probably like, “About time you guys figured it out!  I’ve been making it as clear as I can!”  Well, we’re figuring it out alright…little by little we’ll get there together. 

Anyway, it’s nice to not have much to complain about nowadays.  We’re all at home together where we can focus on our family unit.  We’re tending to our garden, cooking more and more, going on multiple long walks, and trying our best to be supportive of one another.  As we’re more relaxed as parents, I’m sure Safia picks up on it, and maybe that’s what is hastening the transition to more copacetic baby and parent life. 

School's Out for Summer!

Safia at 7 weeks

Another school year has come to a close.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love being a teacher, and I did really like the students in my class this year, but they run you ragged (I posted a video I did with my students in December of 2010 below in case you missed it).  The incredible number of decisions teachers make every second, the constant vigilance necessary to maintain order in a classroom of children, and the desire for every child to achieve enjoyment in learning...it's no walk in the park.  I'm actually quite a strong proponent for year-round schooling (where there is not a multi-month summer vacation) as I think instruction would be more effective and students would achieve much more.  But right now, sitting here with Safia snoozing away at the start of her 7th week of life, I am completely relishing the time I will have with her and Ellen this summer.  I feel very fortunate, indeed.

Well, the past few days have been pretty good (knock on wood).  I hesitate to say that we have turned a corner, but things do seem to be easing up a bit in the relentless crying realm.  Safia's been sleeping more soundly and for longer periods of time, and has had longer stints of happy awake time (as opposed to screaming awake time).  Also, she's been dishing out smiles and little giggles with greater frequency which melts our hearts every time.  As always, her many and varied facial expressions continue to keep us entertained and she has begun to make "vocalizations."  We've already had a good number of conversations regarding proper behavior, etiquette, and our expectations for her academic, musical, athletic, and social achievement.  They were all very well received, I think.  We're all on the same page.

In other news, Safia's grandmother (her 奶奶 [nai nai]) is here in town checking out our little love bug.  She got in town on Thursday afternoon, caught the High Strung String Band show that night in Atlanta, and helped me clean and organize my classroom all before meeting Safia for the first time.  When they met, though, it was pure love.  I requested that my mom speak to Safia mostly in Chinese so as to allow Safia to hear the language as it was intended (not my American accented, poor grammar, limited vocabulary version of Chinese).  My mom stays until this coming Wednesday so were trying to think up fun springy/summery things to do.  Other than that, things are looking rather peachy here in the peach state.  It's gonna be a hot weekend; a great way to introduce Safia to summers in the south.

The Many Faces of Safia Rose

They say that moms (and I’ll add attentive dads) learn to recognize their children’s different cries and can distinguish their meanings.  Supposedly, there’s a different cry for when they're hungry, when they want their diaper changed, when they’re tired, when they're sick, when they’re just fussy, etc.  I’m starting to  distinguish her different cries, but I still have no idea what they mean, and I’m not sure I ever will.  Rube does say that he could pick Safia’s cry out of a “cry line up,” again, I’m not sure I could, but maybe.  He can sleep through her cries, but I can't, so maybe I'm more in tuned with her than I think!

But what I am figuring out are her facial expressions – so at least I have some idea what to expect.

There’s her “Poop Face” . . .

Her “Nursey Face” otherwise known as her "Feed me Face" . . .

There’s her “Milk Drunk Face” . . .

I know this one might seem obvious (she's yawning, not crying), but when it follows a “Poop Face” it becomes her “I’m done Pooping Face,” (sometimes it’s also accompanied by two sneezes)

There's her "Sleepy Face" . . .

There's her "Gassy Face"

Her "I'm not happy with this face"  . . .

Finally, call them gas bubbles, call them face twitches, call them what you will, we call them smiles, and we relish everyone we get, because these days, they're few and far between and we take what we can get . . . 

A Full Weekend

Safia at 6 weeks!

A full weekend...full of crying that is.  Eventful too, I guess, but crying: lots of crying.
**Disclaimer**: this is Rube typing here, so the opinions and perspectives laid out in this post are not intended to represent Ellen.   Just wanted to get that straight first.  Anyway...on with it.

I don't consider myself overly sensitive to crying.  I know that's what babies do.  They cry when they're hungry, they cry when they need a diaper change,  they cry when they're really tired, they cry when they have gas (and don't we all), they cry when they're not being bounced right, or when you look at them wrong, or when you're eating and they're not, or they cry just because they feel like it.  I like to think that I'm pretty tolerant of it all, but yesterday, for some reason, it just really got under my skin.  I guess I like to think that a baby's crying originates from some logical and simple reason (e.g., hunger, dirty diaper, or sleepy); something that can be rectified easily and baby stops crying.  Voila!  But there are those momentsthat she seems so inconsolable  (and no, Safia is not colicky, but she's got quite the pipes!).  It leaves me feeling like a failure and rather inadequate.  I'll do everything in my arsenal, and I've gathered quite the list of tricks and tips for calming a baby, and when nothing works, I find myself thinking over and over, What do you want from me, kid?!  Ok, ok, ok...I realize this rant is so poignant right now because Safia had a fussier-than-usual day yesterday.  I'm sure the next post will be all sunshine and lollipops.  But a good rant every now and again are good right?  Good to get it off the chest.  {big sigh of relief} moving on.

So as previously mentioned, this weekend was, in fact, rather eventful.  On Friday afternoon, Ellen organized a really informal and low-key celebration at a local bar to observe my completing my Master's degree.  It was really nice and I felt very honored.  Safia wore a very pretty dress and was on her best behavior.  As I looked around the room at the congregation of friends, I noticed (and others brought it to my attention as well) that we know a lot of people with babies and a lot of pregnant women.  I guess it's the phase of life we're in now, and I guess we've kind of been purposely trying to meet more people with babies (for commiserating and forming community), but dang...not too long ago we were lamenting the fact that we had so few friends with babies that we wouldn't have any support.  I guess the times they are a-changing.  Well, we stayed out until the wee hours of 7:45pm, packed it up, and headed home.

Yeah Katie G.!

I won't go too much more into yesterday's happenings, as I've fulminated enough.  But there were some events of note: I wanted to give Ellen some time to do non-baby things, so she worked in the garden for most of the morning turning and prepping some garden beds for tomato transplants.  I stayed in with the mad-crier.  Afterwards, we took Safia to apply for her first and very own passport (we suspect she'll be using it plenty!).  A quick trip to the CVS to get some passport photos taken (we brought a white sheet and laid it on the ground; Safia on her back looking up; picture taken from above), and then to the library to fill out the paperwork.  Something we learned: in addition to application fee for the passport, there is a fee that is paid to the library for the transaction, and the library uses those funds to buy new books and to organize reading events for children.  That's a worthy cause! After the library, we ran some errands, and then went to a friend's baby shower.  It was a lovely affair, and after another Safia meltdown, she slept soundly in the Moby Wrap as we chatted with friends on a beautiful day.  Upon arriving home, Safia, exhausted from the festivities (and crying), was out for the night.  We had a nice 3 hours of sanity as Safia slept soundly in her bassinet, before we joined her in sweet slumber.