Shots

This week marked Alice's 2 month birthday and her first immunization. Now our pediatrician agreed that we should follow the delayed shot schedule so Alice is only poked in the leg once each month rather than several times every other visit. Alice was a real trouper and only cried during the injection and swiftly recovered enough to give the nurse a smile. However right after the shot Alice went from this baby:


To this baby:


Poor sweetheart. She has been very sleepy and grumpy for the past few days which we were told to might happen. Also Alice has learned how to modify her cries. Instead of a faint sob we get a full on scream followed swiftly by an angry wailing. Her main complaint seems to be when we don't hold her upright during an attack of gas pains. Thankfully we don't have any colic symptoms (inconsolable crying for hours) but I do miss my cheerful babbling baby. I hope she feels better soon.

Actually the Doctor said I could try giving up all dairy for a while and see if that changes Alice's behavior. I am so bummed about this advice. I LOVE cheese...but I love the kid more. Whatareyagoonado?

Alice found and lost her best friend

My longtime friend Dr. Joanna kindly bought our Alice a mobile for her crib. I want to thank Joanna again before I tell this story. Her gift was much appreciated.

I waited a bit to put up the mobile while Tony and I established that the crib was for sleeping. These days Alice is consistently sleeping in 4-6 hour stretches. On Wednesday I desperately needed to distract the kid while I used the bathroom so I decided to introduce the mobile.
As a mother my heart was not prepared for the abject joy that spread across my baby's face when the mobile animals started to turn above her head. She followed each stuffed critter and was shocked when it appeared again in each rotation. As soon as the music stopped she became terribly excited and seemed completely sure that Mommy was going to start the whole happy process again. This delight just increased each time I wound up the spring inside her toy. I took a video of the last few turns when Alice had time to chill out a bit, but you can still see how delighted she is by the whole affair.

Two days later after we came home from a long string of appointments and errands. Alice was in a fussy mood and I was starving. So I put Alice in her crib and turned the mobile's crank. Instant baby laughter and smiles! Just as I turned to walk into the kitchen to prepare my own lunch I hear "PING!" and the music stops. The F***ing spring broke. No more mobile.

I look into the crib and my angel is smiling beatifically up at me seeming to say, "Mommy, please make the happiness start again." My heart tore up into tiny pieces just looking at that sweet expectant face.

Happily Alice also likes it when I swear loudly at toy manufacturers, so she was entertained either way.

P.S. Babies also love ceiling fans, though it is a more reverent and cooing sort of love. Tony wonders if Alice thinks the ceiling fan is her baby vision of the divine.

This is just to say

This American Life recently did a story about the Poem: "This is just to say" by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

Many poets make parodies of this poem which is not really an apology at all when you read it. In fact it is a prime example of jack-assery if you think about it. The contributors at TAL all did their own funny versions of a pseudo-apology poem and they were great, you should give it a listen in the TAL archives under the show name "Mistakes were Made".

Tonight Tony and I read a post by our buddy Cathleen who is a fine English scholar and lovely mother to three brilliant kids. Her husband Daniel has taken on the massive task of teaching tact to little children. The results...so funny. Oddly reminiscent of a certain poem.

Alice hates Cracker Barrel

Oh my freaking goodness.

On Friday our little family rushed to the DFW area for Bob's funeral. Around 8pm I needed to nurse and change Alice. In the interest of expediency we pulled over in Waco at a Texas Roadhouse parking lot. Aside from curious Friday night teenagers looking into the car window at the baby it was a reasonably swift process and we were back on the road in 20 minuets.

On the way home to Austin on Sunday Tony and I were weary from a sad weekend and decided there was no need to rush home. We needed, nay deserved the treat of taking Alice to a restaurant for a relaxing lunch. We even chose a place with plenty of comfort (fried) food rather than a fast food joint. Thus we arrived at the Cracker Barrel with a sweetly sleeping baby nestled in her carseat.

After we were seated in a relativly secluded spot ,so that I could nurse discretely, our waiter (who had a crazy shiny grill) brought our much needed sweet tea.
* Side note: At the wake my Dad's brother gave his daughter a glass of sweet tea. She asked what was in the glass. My Uncle said "Diabetes in a cup, Enjoy!"
Lovely Alice started to stir in her carseat and I suggested that I take her to the ladies room for a change before we all ate. So off we go. Me, my organized Mommy diaper bag, and my sleepy baby who is nuzzling my neck. We enter the ladies room, and ladies...let me just say...ya'll need to see a doctor because that was a baleful stink. Alice's precious baby nose also detects the yuck and she starts to sqirm and fuss. Not only that it is loud and women are shouting "Candy! You in there?!"

At this point in my story the blame for an unpleasing ladies room ambiance shifts swiftly from the general public and lands squarely on my kid. First of all her diaper is very full. Second the onsie is seriously stained. Thirdly the changing station is an extension of the sink with a guardrail. I place Alice on the station with a plastic changing pad under her whole body. Alice finds this highly offensive and kicks herself OFF the pad and smacks her little head into the wall of the bathroom. Now she is screaming and has TOUCHED the surface of the poo station.

Alice is two months old these days so I have a bit of screamy diaper experience. Do I panic? No I do not. I swiftly put her back on the pad and hold her firmly in place. Change the diaper, clean her butt, pull off the onsie, toss it in the trash, pull her into my arms, place pacifier in mouth. Presto Chango, we have a mollified baby.

Now I think to myself that all she needs is a few moments of Mommy comforting and we can proceed to putting on her back-up onsie. As I think this a woman taps me on the back and as I turn she asks Alice, "What did Mommy do to you pumpkin? Did she hurt your feelings?" When I turned around Alice opened her mouth (presumably to reply) and her binkiy drops to the filthy floor of the Cracker frickin' Barrel bathroom. The wails tripled in volume and ferocity. I could have slapped the face clean off that woman.

I did what Miss Manners suggests when you want someone to die horribly, I turned pointedly away back to my business and ignored the lady. Much to Alice's horror I stuffed her into another onsie and put a reserve binky into her mouth. The floor binky was tossed in the trash and we packed up our gear. As I took Alice outside an older woman with a walker said to me "Is she ok? That was horrible." I wasn't mad at the woman. It was horrible.

Tony must have seen the look on my face when we came back to the table. He was super helpful and talked in very soft tones while I struggled to put ALice under my shirt for her meal. By the look on his face the people of Waco are going to think I beat him regularly for talking sass.

Anyway...the meal continues and beloved husband (who I have yet to beat) takes the slowly relaxing baby so I can eat. He even encourages her to "smile at Mommy, she deserves a smile!". I take Alice in turn so Tony can eat and set her on my leg so she can practice looking around the room. This, as it turns out, was a terrible mistake. Suddenly Tony grabs a ton of paper napkins off the table and dives for the growing poo-puddle spreading under my leg.

Underwater Alice

We had our first Mommy/Baby bath recently. My Great Grandmother raised an eyebrow when I told her that, like it might be slightly perverse from the perspective of her generation. But as I am a post-hippie generation GenX-er (I think) I had no problem swimming around the tub with Alice.

It was so much fun! She was more than a little apprehensive at the start, as she always is when her diaper is removed (kid doesn't like to make a mess on herself). It was so sweet to watch her relax slowly and get acclimated to the water. I was startled to see her little feet start an instinctive flipper kick and after a bit she was motorboatin' her way around our garden tub!

It was actually a lot easier to bathe the kid when I could get to all her bits. A welcome change from the anxious trembly sponge baths in her little tub.

This is her post-bath kimono/speedsuit. She went all Kung-Fu Panda on me for the picture.

Thanks Mike

Tony's family kindly offered to let us stay with them on short notice for Uncle Bob's memorial services. Alice's Uncle Mike even gave up his room so his niece could be comfortable. Mike also did us a solid fetching my sister from the airport. Alice is showing her gratitude by squatting on Uncle Mike and assaulting Aunt Jesse's hair.

Aunt Jesse, so silly

My sister flew into TX for Bob's service and did her Aunt-ish duty teaching Alice how to be silly.