The Week From Hades

It's been a rough week.   Really rough.   Thank goodness for weekends because I don't think Nick or I would have survived one more day of work.  I was on the verge of slapping some obnoxious little pre-teens.

Now don't get me wrong- that's not a cry for sympathy or a request for advice.  It's also not a surprise.  Nick and I knew very well that this whole "taking care of a helpless human being" thing was going to be hard.  And it is.  And it will continue to be hard.  But when both adults have some aggressive, mutated, African-zombie stomach virus AND the little princess is colicky AND it's Mommy's first week back at work... it's the week from Hades.

I'm not going to go into detail with the stomach flu.  Really, I can't imagine that anyone wants me to.  If you have no idea what it feels like- drink a bottle of Ex-Lax, run around in the snow for an hour wearing only a swimsuit and have a horse kick you in the guts.  That's what it feels like.

The twist is that when you're sick you need MORE sleep, not less, and buddy- four hours per night is NOT going to cut it.  Claire has been getting steadily more colicky each week.  The trend has me worried.  If you talk to my parents about crying babies, my mother will tell you all about how I cried constantly for 9 months.  Nine.  Months.  That's as long as pregnancy.  It's a miracle either of my siblings were born.  It's a miracle I survived.  My parents deserve a freaking medal.

When Claire gets fussy, her favorite place to be is in Mommy and Daddy's arms.  She won't necessarily stop crying, but she'll back off on the intensity.  So Nick and I have a sleeping schedule.  I go to bed at 8 p.m. and sleep until midnight while Nick tries to sleep with Claire in the recliner downstairs.  Then, at midnight, we switch.  Nick goes to bed and I take Claire until it's time for me to get ready for work at 5.  Then Nick takes Claire from 5-6 and I take her from 6-7 so we can both get ready for the day.  The plus side of this schedule is that it guarantees each of us 4-5 hours of sleep, with the possibility of a few more while holding Claire, IF she decides to sleep.  The downside is that this schedule will drive you mad.

Thank goodness for our babysitter!  I thought that going back to work would kill me, and it has been very hard, but having a seasoned pro like Michelle watching Claire has helped us SO much.  She spends time with Claire so she gets to know her little idiosyncrasies and suggests ways to deal with them.  Michelle has given us ideas on bottles to buy, blankets for swaddling, and - best of all - a swing.  Nick's parents gave us a swing, but it died last week and Claire was never really into it for very long.  I figured that she would like it better when she could sit up, but then the poor old thing died.  Sad.  But!  Michelle has this swing that Claire LOVES, so she let us borrow it for the weekend.

It took one night with that sucker to convince Nick to spend money on a new swing.  We have tried every swaddling technique, bassinet, bouncer, wrap, and sleeper option and NOTHING has worked like that beautiful swing.  She'll even sit in it when she's awake!  That may not seem like a big deal to most people, but when you have to cook, eat, brush your teeth, and tie your shoes while holding a baby because apparently setting her down means that the world has come to an end,  it is a big deal.  A VERY BIG DEAL.

Last night I slept for 6 hours.  SIX!  In a row!  It was fantastic!

Since I've been so sick I don't have any updated pictures to post, but here's a link to a great spoken-word poetry piece about teachers.  I've watched this thing like 300 times and it still gets me revved up to be an awesome teacher every time.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuBmSbiVXo0

One Month Portraits

The last six weeks have been heaven!  I'm not ready to go back to work on Thursday!  I keep telling myself that this is the best decision for our family, financially, and that we're leaving Claire with a wonderful babysitter, but it's still torture to think of spending most of my day away from her sweet little self.

Look at this face!  There's so much intelligence behind her eyes!  I can't wait to see more of her personality and watch her experience the world.


Now for the professional pictures!  (Let's be honest, mine aren't going to be winning any awards!)

My friend Jessie offered to take some newborn portraits of Claire, but with Christmas and New Years, it wasn't until Claire's one-month birthday (?) that we could settle on a date.  Jessie was so great with Claire!  She had everything set up and the pictures came out beautifully.  I keep thinking how much fun it will be to look at these when Claire is a few years older and remember her cute baby faces.

First of all- this is Claire's "frowny face"  which she usually makes as soon as you stop holding her.  Little princess loves her snuggles!

Tiny baby feet!  Maybe she'll be a dancer like Mommy someday.

Claire Rule #4- Hands must ALWAYS be near the face.  Swaddling?  What's swaddling?

Another example of Rule #4, but this time it looks like she's a little flamenco dancer!  Ole!

My talented friend BreeAnna made this cute diaper cover and flower headband.  

We love the ruffle-bottom!

My sleepy little angel.

Jessie is so talented!  I don't normally love naked-baby pictures, I mean, Claire is adorable, but this set-up looks like it belongs in a calendar or something.  

If you want to see more of Jessie's work, her website is http://www.jessieonealphotography.com/

Picture overload

Claire is a month old! She's almost fits into her newborn clothes now, and she's started sleeping for longer periods of time. That also means that she's awake more often which is fun for mommy and daddy!