This entry is brought to you by names beginning with the letter "S".
First - I started writing a comment in response to my previous entry but realized that it's an entry on its own. So Thank-you to S., Shannon, Shea and Stacey for making me feel better about Sadie's recent frustrating behaviour. Everyone says that the first 6 weeks are the hardest but that isn't necessarily true! You are certainly the most tired during that time but Sadie was so small and sweet. She'd sleep and cuddle all day long. I guess what I'm saying is that I wasn't prepared for her to start demanding independence so soon. So far I've been practicing "fly by the seat of your pants" parenting but I think it may be time to start reading up on development. I want to be sure I'm not boring her and that I'm providing the stimulation she needs to grow and learn. It's a lot pressure.
Sleep Schedule - We're not going to have a strict sleep schedule because that is a pain. I want Sadie to be flexible to nap anywhere at anytime just like her Momma! What I have noticed is that the more she naps in the day the more she sleeps at night. We've had some success over the weekend since I've started implementing "forced naps". She slept for 6.5 hours on Sunday night. That's the longest to date and it was LUXURIOUS. I've also started to experiment with putting her in her crib when she is still awake and she has fallen asleep 3x on her own. Another battle is working on nap time in her crib. I went to Ikea yesterday to pick up dark curtains so our bedroom isn't as bright in the day time. I'm honestly not sure what it is with the crib but Sadie sleeps in it at night but is so stubborn about it during the day. I'm really hoping she will eventually sleep in the crib more than she sleeps on me! Maybe the darker room will help?

Happy 3 Month Birthday Sadie!!

Our baby girl is now officially 3 months old and has:
* Laughed for the first time yesterday! So adorable!! Mommy was able to hear it over the phone.
* Started to grab at her toys. She is having a lot more fun playing with her gym.
* Discovered her hands and feet.
* Likes to be carried forward facing in her carrier.
Sadie forward facing in her Sleepy Wrap:

Sadie in her Bumbo (it has really helped with her desire to sit-up and is strengthening her neck muscles):Tomorrow we are going to "Stars and Strollers" to see the movie "The Last Song". There are two movies shown every Wednesday that are specifically for the parent/baby crowed. I'm hoping this works out because I'm an entertainment junkie and really miss seeing first run movies in the theatre!
We also have our first music class this week and next week we start Salsa Babies! After my lunch with "Super-mom" I looked into Salsa Babies and decided to drop stroller fit and do it instead. I figured Sadie would get a lot more out of dancing than being pushed around in a stroller.
It feels good to get out. I hope our activities work out!

NOTE: Not sure why some of this has underlined but I have no time to fix it!!

TGIF!!

I'm still in a funk. You'd think that after almost 3 months I'd be a pro at this but instead I'm getting more and more worn out. I'm so tired and I'm finding Sadie harder to deal with right now. She's constantly trying to sit up. She's always squirming and grunting and generally isn't satisfied until she's in an upright position. This means her bouncer is out, her swing is out, lounging in her boppy is out, laying in my arms is out - the ONLY thing she wants to do is sit in my lap and generally prefers facing the TV. Yes, our daughter is essentially turning into a couch potato. Because of this I've taken to leaving the TV off. Sorry kiddo but you're not going to be a 3 month old that is addicted to TV. I'm pretty bored but it's worth it.
I've also found that she is getting really cranky when she's tired. Before it seemed like she'd just fall asleep when she needed to. Now she stays up until she NEEDS a nap and we pretty much force her to. I'll take her in my arms with a Soothie and she'll be asleep in seconds. I think this means it's time to start scheduling naps?
Thankfully it's Friday. I'm looking forward to the weekend with D because I need a break! My goal for next week is to get her on a schedule. I also went out and bought her a bumbo and I hope that satisfies her need to be an independent sitting up baby!

Here are a few pictures!!
I made Sadie a Tutu. There is more Tutu than baby!!

As you can see, it isn't easy to take pictures of Sadie these days. She's always moving!

Sadie and her Momma!! (Me!)

Then and Now

The other day I looked at Sadie and realized she's grown so much and so quickly. I already miss her teeny tiny stage. It makes me so sad.
So big.
So fast.
To get enough of the little baby days I'd need to be a Duggar.

In need of FRIENDS

I'm in a funk.
In an attempt to make a mommy friend I went out for lunch with the mom from my prenatal class whose daughter was born 5 days before Sadie.
After hearing her weekly schedule (mommy group 1, salsa baby, mommy group 2, baby care class, and baby yoga) she told me I should look into finding a mommy group too. No suggestions offered.
We're likely going to meet again but I left feeling like we hadn't hit it off. Through this meeting I also found out that our prenatal class had a get together that we were not aware of.
I'm not sure what we've done. Even our pre-baby childless friends have disapeared (which was sort of expected).
I'm feeling so left out.

-- Post From My iPod Touch

Stuff

This is going to be LONG and there is more! I have saved drafts I haven't published and some date back to JANUARY! Oh my!!

MOTHER - My mom has gone home and I miss her. I kept forgetting she was gone and for the first 2 nights after she left would quietly take Sadie down for her night feedings expecting to hear her ask what time it was. She may not have allowed for any napping but she did sit with me late at night and got up with me early in the morning. Sadie and I are alone together most of the time so it was very nice to have some company. I hope she'll come down again soon.
Although the visit was nice we were not without some issues. She explained that she was upset with me (crazy phone call that happened in December) because she couldn't understand why I didn't want HER to take care of Sadie over a stranger (day care). We've come to an agreement and I've told her she can take care of Sadie for the 8 months (12-20 months) before Sadie goes to Montessori School. If she does move down to Toronto we may consider half-day Montessori although we do want some sort of structured early education.
She also cried when my dad called. Sobbing tears and cursed him out to D the entire time I was on the phone with him. She is really pissed off that my Dad gets more time with us and Sadie and I'm not allowed to remind her that he lives closer.
We really need to get my mom back down to Southern Ontario. Her fantasy of living on an island is OVER and it is becoming so obvious she feels trapped and is miserable.

Montessori School: I went on a tour of the Montessori school we want Sadie to attend and got her on the wait list for September 2011. We were told there would be a spot for her based on where she was on the wait list and because 12 spots were opening up due to children graduating to Casa. For this school the children enter during either the Fall or Winter semester and need to be 18 months. The curriculum includes french 3x per week, drama and yoga. I was able to see the lunch/snack menu and it was all very healthy food. Registration is next February.

Activities: Sadie starts music class at the end of the month. It is a 3 month program for parents and children under 1. She really responds to music so I'm looking forward to learning some new songs to sing with her. Other upcoming activities include Stroller Fit starting in May and swimming class once she is 6 months old. We'd like to try Gymboree as well but I think she is too young right now. Maybe in the fall?

Play date: I'm meeting up with a mom from my prenatal class on Thursday. Her daughter was born on Christmas day so she is only 5 days older than Sadie. She is also the only other girl born from our class. There is a strong potential for future play dates so I'm hoping we get along. Sadie could have her first little friend!

Shopping: I've been spending way too much money lately! I ordered a Sleepy Wrap from ebay this morning after reading about how much Jen (Adventures of Jen, Tiff and Mr. Munchkin) loves hers. We already have a Peanut Shell wrap that is the same concept but it is black with a rhinestone bedazzled cupcake. It's functional but tacky and I'm justifying my purchase by saying Sadie will be too hot in black this summer. CLEARLY pink is the better option.
I'll be known as "the girl with the baby in the pink Sleepy Wrap".

PMS: AF is on her evil way or I've turned into a monster bitch. I actually yelled at a car today (as a pedestrian). WTH was I thinking?

Sadie is stirring which brigs this post to a close - not that it was cutoff too short or anything!!

Sadie's Passport!

We're going to the passport office to apply for Sadie's passport tomorrow. We'd heard nightmare stories of how hard it is to get a good photo but Sadie was an excellent model! The photographer (Sears photo studio) said she was the easiest baby she's ever photographed for a passport.
To take the picture I was draped in a white blanket and I held Sadie on my knees. I had to hold her up straight with my arm (also behind a blanket) and my hand had to be hidden behind her neck. It was a bit uncomfortable but it only took 5 shots in about 2 minutes and we were done. Literally. If we'd needed more shots I think Sadie would have started to fuss too much.
I'm very thankful our photo session was not "hours" long!

Here's the shot. Isn't it HILARIOUSLY adorable?

We're not planning a specific trip at this point but we did not want to be held back if an opportunity came up. If anything we may be going down to NYC this summer for a couple of days. Young children do not need a passport for driving across the border but I would not be comfortable being far from home without the ability to fly back in an emergency.
Hopefully her application goes through!!

Quick Update

I haven't had any time on the computer this week because a) my mother is addicted to the internet and b) I've had even less time to myself than normal. It's been such a refreshing break I tell you ------ !!!!! HELP!

We went to see my cousin and her son yesterday. Sadie and little R (who is very big) were so cute together. R is 2 months older but it was Sadie who seemed to really notice him. Here's a picture:


Things have been going OK and not terrible as I had expected. My mom is sleeping right now (4:30 pm). She's so good with Sadie but not very useful. She's been out the entire afternoon shopping in Chinatown and when she came home I was nodding off on the couch. She asked if she was "keeping me up" and when I said "No, Sadie is..." she laughed and THEN WENT FOR A NAP!!!! Thanks Mom!!!

Sadie is fussing! Gotta go!

OK

Days 1-3 with my mom and she is driving me fucking insane.
She's being an excellent Grandmother so issue is my problem not hers.
She wakes up talking and is still yapping when she goes to bed. I have never heard anyone with so much to say. About everything.
Give me the strength to not lose my cool. There have been a few tense moments already....!!!

-- Post From My iPod Touch

HAIR!!

Yes, I'm slightly obsessed with her hair!!!

10 DAYS:

1 MONTH:

2 MONTHS:

It's growing back!!!!
When it first fell out I was a bit nervous it would take a long time to grow back because You could literally see all the empty little hair follicle bumps. She was BALD not just thinning!

BTW, this is what I looked like when I was born (sorry it is a picture of a picture, too lazy to pull out the scanner):

I was told I had no hair but apparently I had a lot!!

Stalker

Yep, that's what I've become!
This morning I realized that I hadn't registered Sadie with the sperm bank. I thought I'd check their website to see if they had online registration (they don't) and while I was there I noticed that our donor now has an audio recording.
The recording itself was a bit dull but the information provided was worth the $35 as we now know the identity of our donor.
We know his full name, his parents names, his siblings names, where he lives and went to school. We also have a current adult picture. He's really good looking - Sadie has his hairline! For the record, "white pages" has a scary amount of information. They list everyone in a household and he still lives at a home!
.I know this makes me a hypocrite since I didn't want to see half sibs yet when he dropped the identifying piece of info I knew I couldn't resist a date with Google. I honestly can't believe how easy it was.
Now the issue is figuring out what to do with this info. This is a huge invasion of his privacy. I've saved the picture and we'll show it to Sadie when she's older but I'm not sure we should tell her we know his name. She may want to contact him before she's 18. Does Sadie have the right to know his name more than he has the right to be anonymous?
I guess time will tell where this goes. We'll offer information as she asks but will limit it to what we feel is age appropriate.

2 Months!

Sadie is 2 months old. I can't believe it! She's growing and changing so quickly. She's started to smile huge gummy smiles and she coos and gurgles the sweetest sounds. She's so alert She loves playing on her play gym and expects the mobile to be turned on as soon as she's set in her swing.
She's outgrowing her 0-3 month clothing but mostly just the pants. Although we have had to retire my favourite footie PJ's but that's OK because they were 3 for $5. at Walmart!
Today was her 2 month check-up and shots. She's 12 pounds and 25 inches long. She cried briefly during the shots but nothing like I'd imagined. There was a baby in a nearby room that sounded like an alley cat. I was getting worried that Sadie would freak out too but she was so good. Since the appointment she's been a bit more cranky but otherwise is doing well.
In other news I found out that my mom is actually coming on the 4th. She'll be here for 10 days. The first bit of drama is unfolding but it's thanks to my Aunt. My mom is flying down on an Air Canada buddy pass (pays tax only) and is required to travel with my Aunt who is a former AC employee. My Aunt was coming down anyway so my mom is technically just hitching a ride with her. Unfortunately my Aunt feels entitled to payback for this trip in the form of my chauffeur service. She wants me to pick her up at the airport and drive her 1.5 hours to her destination. I told my
Mom that driving that distance is not easy with an infant who feeds every 3 hours. My Aunt wouldn't accept no as an answer. After suggesting a few options she wouldn't budge. It has come down to my paying for a cab ride for her to make this go away!!! That's my Aunt for you!


-- Post From My iPod Touch