We continue to have a blast with our little Ivy girl. I'm surviving being back at work, though I miss her terribly during the day. She does great there, drinking all her bottles and watching the other kids play. But picking her up is the highlight of every day.
When we first took her to day care, I told Pantea not to tell me if Ivy achieves a milestone while I'm gone, if I haven't told her that she's done something already. Well, last week I had a feeling she wasn't telling me something and I was guessing it was rolling over. So this weekend we took to the floor and...
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
My thoughts on the whole daycare thing
Yo. So now that Kim has chimed in with her latest rant (nice one, honey), I'm going to put in my two cents. Though I am also sad that we must drop Ivy off at someone else's house every day instead of leaving her at home with one of us (and as soon as Kim becomes the 8 Figure Social Worker, I am totally gonna be a stay at home dad), this change in childcare actually has given me more time with Ivy, because I am the one responsible for driving her to daycare every day. I am using my time to introduce her to classic rock and jam bands, so that she can be the hippest kid at daycare and eventually, in the universe. Plus I have no interest in listening to that Rafi crap on my way to work - I mean come on! So far the artist she has responded to best has been Creedence Clearwater Revival, especially the song "Down on the Corner." I realize that this is probably because this song (and many other CCR hits) sounds like it could be a Rafi song, but that is neither here nor there. The kid likes CCR; I can work with that.
Dropping her off is a little sad. Usually she's either passed out and looking cute, or smiling and looking cute, and those are two faces you don't want to leave sight of. Pantea (the daycare lady) is super awesome though, and the other kids (only 4, and no other babies) all really like her. The hope is that as she gets a little older, they can all be buddies and play together. Although realistically, do kids still keep in contact with their playgroup friends after kindergarten? I don't talk to anyone from the classic 2 Davids 2 Michaels 2 Richards playgroup, although 1 David and 1 Richard are my Facebook friends (which in the grand scheme of things, means nothing). And the only person I know from Kim's playgroup is Graff, and we've all seen how that worked out.
In the meantime, we've been giving Ivy extra hugs and kisses and snuggles, and watching as she figures out how to grasp things, how to take her pacifier out of her mouth with her hands (as opposed to spitting it out), and almost how to roll over (she can get a little beyond 90 degrees before she freaks and rolls back). I also tried to teach her the football referee hand signals before the Pats opener (which we watched with Ivy's friend Noa and her dad Dave), and for the record the cutest ones were Offsides, Holding, and Personal Foul: Facemask. And yes, I have realized that Ivy's first ever football game coincided with Touchdown Tommy's season-ending injury, and no I don't think it's appropriate to claim that Ivy is a jinx. If Cassel goes down vs. the Jets, that may be a different story...
Check Facebook for more pics. If you don't have Facebook yet, remember that 90-year-old GGH is on there, so you would be by no means the youngest or least fashionable person on Facebook if you were to join up. Hollah! - Mike
Dropping her off is a little sad. Usually she's either passed out and looking cute, or smiling and looking cute, and those are two faces you don't want to leave sight of. Pantea (the daycare lady) is super awesome though, and the other kids (only 4, and no other babies) all really like her. The hope is that as she gets a little older, they can all be buddies and play together. Although realistically, do kids still keep in contact with their playgroup friends after kindergarten? I don't talk to anyone from the classic 2 Davids 2 Michaels 2 Richards playgroup, although 1 David and 1 Richard are my Facebook friends (which in the grand scheme of things, means nothing). And the only person I know from Kim's playgroup is Graff, and we've all seen how that worked out.
In the meantime, we've been giving Ivy extra hugs and kisses and snuggles, and watching as she figures out how to grasp things, how to take her pacifier out of her mouth with her hands (as opposed to spitting it out), and almost how to roll over (she can get a little beyond 90 degrees before she freaks and rolls back). I also tried to teach her the football referee hand signals before the Pats opener (which we watched with Ivy's friend Noa and her dad Dave), and for the record the cutest ones were Offsides, Holding, and Personal Foul: Facemask. And yes, I have realized that Ivy's first ever football game coincided with Touchdown Tommy's season-ending injury, and no I don't think it's appropriate to claim that Ivy is a jinx. If Cassel goes down vs. the Jets, that may be a different story...
Check Facebook for more pics. If you don't have Facebook yet, remember that 90-year-old GGH is on there, so you would be by no means the youngest or least fashionable person on Facebook if you were to join up. Hollah! - Mike
Sunday, September 7, 2008
It's the end of our summer as we know it...
...and I don't exactly feel fine. I go back to work tomorrow, and I'm really going to miss my smiley little girl! As challenging as it was sometimes, being home alone with her all day, I think it will be harder to be apart. We did a trial week of day care this past week. Ivy did great; I only cried the first day and that was just leaving her for a couple hours! We'll survive though. Weekends are going to become all about snuggling in bed, like in this picture:
Update from last entry - I found my pants (they were in the laundry basket, probably covered in spit up and drool) and the binkies...but those didn't matter because we threw them all out today (they're only supposed to be used up to 3 months).
The biggest item on our to-do list was to make Ivy's room feel more like a baby's room, even though it also houses all our crap, and even though she's not sleeping there yet. Her furniture arrived and we cleaned up a bunch of stuff. I think it's pretty darn cute:
Items not accomplished on the summer to-do list - primarily anything to do with photo albums and scrapbooks and such. Oh well. By her first birthday, I promise to be caught up!
And since this blog entry wouldn't be complete without a much-anticipated rant, here's the latest:
Why is everyone so eager to see you fail as a parent? Okay, maybe fail is too harsh, but it seems there is no shortage of glee when you share your challenges of raising an infant. Like if I were to say, "Ivy woke up twice last night" it would not be uncommon to hear a response (from another parent, so clearly an expert in the matter) "HA HA, your kid sucks! She doesn't sleep! Now you know the pain that I went through when MY kid didn't sleep! Enjoy the suffering."
Now, let me be clear. I sympathize with any new parent who has a tough time, especially because Ivy is so darned awesome and I wish everyone's babies were like her - easy - as opposed to other parents wishing all babies were as difficult as theirs. But I have never rubbed it in anyone's face, primarily because I'm not entirely convinced Mike and I can take credit for all of her awesomeness. I said not long ago "Ivy is basically sleeping through the night" and the response I heard from more than one person? "Yeah, well don't get used to it because MY baby did that once and then she never slept at night again...in fact, she's now in 2nd grade and still doesn't sleep through the night. So there." Well, I'm sorry that my kid knows how to keep her trap shut and belly full for 7-9 hours and yours doesn't, but why wish your hell upon me? I am well aware of the 4 month wakeful period and the phenomenon known as teething. So excuse me for enjoying a night's sleep every once and a while (except on the occasion that I have to interrupt the bliss of such a stretch to pump because I am a walking dairy case that's overstocked).
Then we have the friends whose first kid got the whole sleeping thing down, but the second never quite figured it out (in general, she's pretty out to lunch, but that's another story). They shared their experience of not trying to be too self-congratulatory the first time around, lest subsequent offspring are not quite so obedient at bedtime. Now that's advice I can take...we're pretty darn proud of ourselves so far, but are very well aware of this fragile state of affairs.
And so my brief stint as a stay-at-home mom has come to end. Ivy girl, I love you so much and I'm really going to miss you all day. But I'll more than make up for it by showering you with love and kisses and snuggles.
Happy 3-month birthday, Ivy! And happy grandparents day to all four of the proud grandparents!
Update from last entry - I found my pants (they were in the laundry basket, probably covered in spit up and drool) and the binkies...but those didn't matter because we threw them all out today (they're only supposed to be used up to 3 months).
The biggest item on our to-do list was to make Ivy's room feel more like a baby's room, even though it also houses all our crap, and even though she's not sleeping there yet. Her furniture arrived and we cleaned up a bunch of stuff. I think it's pretty darn cute:
Items not accomplished on the summer to-do list - primarily anything to do with photo albums and scrapbooks and such. Oh well. By her first birthday, I promise to be caught up!
And since this blog entry wouldn't be complete without a much-anticipated rant, here's the latest:
Why is everyone so eager to see you fail as a parent? Okay, maybe fail is too harsh, but it seems there is no shortage of glee when you share your challenges of raising an infant. Like if I were to say, "Ivy woke up twice last night" it would not be uncommon to hear a response (from another parent, so clearly an expert in the matter) "HA HA, your kid sucks! She doesn't sleep! Now you know the pain that I went through when MY kid didn't sleep! Enjoy the suffering."
Now, let me be clear. I sympathize with any new parent who has a tough time, especially because Ivy is so darned awesome and I wish everyone's babies were like her - easy - as opposed to other parents wishing all babies were as difficult as theirs. But I have never rubbed it in anyone's face, primarily because I'm not entirely convinced Mike and I can take credit for all of her awesomeness. I said not long ago "Ivy is basically sleeping through the night" and the response I heard from more than one person? "Yeah, well don't get used to it because MY baby did that once and then she never slept at night again...in fact, she's now in 2nd grade and still doesn't sleep through the night. So there." Well, I'm sorry that my kid knows how to keep her trap shut and belly full for 7-9 hours and yours doesn't, but why wish your hell upon me? I am well aware of the 4 month wakeful period and the phenomenon known as teething. So excuse me for enjoying a night's sleep every once and a while (except on the occasion that I have to interrupt the bliss of such a stretch to pump because I am a walking dairy case that's overstocked).
Then we have the friends whose first kid got the whole sleeping thing down, but the second never quite figured it out (in general, she's pretty out to lunch, but that's another story). They shared their experience of not trying to be too self-congratulatory the first time around, lest subsequent offspring are not quite so obedient at bedtime. Now that's advice I can take...we're pretty darn proud of ourselves so far, but are very well aware of this fragile state of affairs.
And so my brief stint as a stay-at-home mom has come to end. Ivy girl, I love you so much and I'm really going to miss you all day. But I'll more than make up for it by showering you with love and kisses and snuggles.
Happy 3-month birthday, Ivy! And happy grandparents day to all four of the proud grandparents!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Countdown - 6 days
...Until I have to return to work. Siiiiiiigh.
Tomorrow starts "transition week" wherein I will start taking Ivy to day care to get us both used to saying goodbye everyday. My heart aches, but at least we are really happy with the babysitting arrangement. She's going to a lovely woman's home, where she'll be the only baby among 4 kids total. We could not have dreamed up a more ideal situation, so we are hoping that all goes well. I have a feeling she'll do better than I will.
In the meantime, enjoy this little movie from our long weekend in San Diego (excuse the zoom in on Mike's nipple):
Tomorrow starts "transition week" wherein I will start taking Ivy to day care to get us both used to saying goodbye everyday. My heart aches, but at least we are really happy with the babysitting arrangement. She's going to a lovely woman's home, where she'll be the only baby among 4 kids total. We could not have dreamed up a more ideal situation, so we are hoping that all goes well. I have a feeling she'll do better than I will.
In the meantime, enjoy this little movie from our long weekend in San Diego (excuse the zoom in on Mike's nipple):
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Where has summer gone?!
Hello friends. Long time no blog. I've been busy, herding Ivy from one baby gathering to another, and trying to unearth myself from the ever-growing collection of digital pictures on my computer that I can't seem to organize. Ugh. And we got a little video camera, so now I'm getting into making little movies, though clearly I did not need to add yet another memory-making project to the already full plate. For crying out loud, we still have a few thank you notes to go, and a small stack of birth announcements to still be sent. But I am making a little progress, and I've gotten crafty to boot. I even made wall letters for Ivy!
Well let's see...we've hit some great milestones in the last few weeks. Ivy is smiling up a storm, and laughing and cooing. She's has pretty much mastered all the vowels, which is awesome. Only 21 consonants to go.
Her motor skills are developing right on track. Her neck is getting super strong and is great at lifting her head. She has also recently discovered her hands, and that they have a purpose beyond idly and randomly batting objects within reach. The other evening, I had a blanket on her in the stroller and she pulled it up to her face and tried to chew on the edge! She does that more and more, grabbing and pulling them to her mouth. Yum.
Ivy has also figured out how to sleep through the night, more or less! What a godsend. About 3 weeks ago she had her longest stretch - 9 hours!!! - and since then had slipped back to about 6. But this last week she's improved back to 8-9 hours, so we are all feeling more rested around here. It's also nice to have some time in the evenings after she goes to bed to get stuff done around the apartment and chill out with a bad Netflix movie.
It seems that since Ivy was born, things have been periodically and randomly disappearing into the ether. I have no explanation for these disappearances, but it's quite troubling. Items lost to date into the Silverstein Vapor:
Here are the latest photos, for those STILL not on Facebook. Even 90 year old GGH has jumped on!
Well let's see...we've hit some great milestones in the last few weeks. Ivy is smiling up a storm, and laughing and cooing. She's has pretty much mastered all the vowels, which is awesome. Only 21 consonants to go.
Her motor skills are developing right on track. Her neck is getting super strong and is great at lifting her head. She has also recently discovered her hands, and that they have a purpose beyond idly and randomly batting objects within reach. The other evening, I had a blanket on her in the stroller and she pulled it up to her face and tried to chew on the edge! She does that more and more, grabbing and pulling them to her mouth. Yum.
Ivy has also figured out how to sleep through the night, more or less! What a godsend. About 3 weeks ago she had her longest stretch - 9 hours!!! - and since then had slipped back to about 6. But this last week she's improved back to 8-9 hours, so we are all feeling more rested around here. It's also nice to have some time in the evenings after she goes to bed to get stuff done around the apartment and chill out with a bad Netflix movie.
It seems that since Ivy was born, things have been periodically and randomly disappearing into the ether. I have no explanation for these disappearances, but it's quite troubling. Items lost to date into the Silverstein Vapor:
- A check for $20...sorry Jon.
- Multiple binkies...despite daily attempts at Binky Roundups
- Mike's bluetooth. Shoot, there's that CA hands-free cell while driving law.
- A pair...no make that two pairs...of my comfy pants (awesome for hanging out with Ivy without having to worry about the last 5 lbs of pudge)
- Is that it? Feels like more...Mike, feel free to chime in here.
Here are the latest photos, for those STILL not on Facebook. Even 90 year old GGH has jumped on!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
My daughter is a player
Literally, as she is certainly getting around to various play dates. I don't know when the last time you went to a park was, but I had totally forgotten how sweet parks are! I mean there are trees and grass...the simpler things in life. Well, life with Ivy has caused me to rediscover parks. We've now had a bunch of play dates, also bringing about a realization that at this age the play dates are really for the parents! Who knew! What a concept. It's been great for my social life, as it's easy to feel like a prisoner in your own home if you don't make an effort to get out.
Ivy and Abby Gabby whoop it up on the floor...Ivy takes no notice, and Abby on a number of occasions accidentally whaps Ivy in the face.
Ivy and Jonah - born 2 days before her - are also blissfully unaware of one another as they chill on a blanket in the park.
Ivy meets her newest friend (she's now no longer the youngest IKARite) and Brentwood neighbor, Noa...or NoJo as the kids call her. Noa here is 5 days old. That Lisa and Dave sure made a cutie!
Let's see, what else... Thanks to Grandpa Harvey, Ivy is the proud new owner of 3 pairs of Adidas sneakers, her first soccer uniform (it was only a matter of time), and not one but 4 Red Sox hats. Classic. She rocked out with her grandparents this weekend, while Mike and I had our first night out alone! Fortunately for all involved, Ivy was asleep the whole time as Grandma pushed her in the stroller around Brentwood and went to dinner. We had a lovely dinner together, and bought Ivy a new carseat toy. Who says we'd never get out??!!
In other news, Ivy continues to grow like a weed. She's already outgrown some of her clothes - a onesie was busting off her the other day - and we've moved up to size 2 Pampers. Size 1-2 goes up to 14lbs, but she was pooping through them too regularly and they were a bit tight. So we've moved on. This is my life.
Ivy and Abby Gabby whoop it up on the floor...Ivy takes no notice, and Abby on a number of occasions accidentally whaps Ivy in the face.
Ivy and Jonah - born 2 days before her - are also blissfully unaware of one another as they chill on a blanket in the park.
Ivy meets her newest friend (she's now no longer the youngest IKARite) and Brentwood neighbor, Noa...or NoJo as the kids call her. Noa here is 5 days old. That Lisa and Dave sure made a cutie!Let's see, what else... Thanks to Grandpa Harvey, Ivy is the proud new owner of 3 pairs of Adidas sneakers, her first soccer uniform (it was only a matter of time), and not one but 4 Red Sox hats. Classic. She rocked out with her grandparents this weekend, while Mike and I had our first night out alone! Fortunately for all involved, Ivy was asleep the whole time as Grandma pushed her in the stroller around Brentwood and went to dinner. We had a lovely dinner together, and bought Ivy a new carseat toy. Who says we'd never get out??!!
In other news, Ivy continues to grow like a weed. She's already outgrown some of her clothes - a onesie was busting off her the other day - and we've moved up to size 2 Pampers. Size 1-2 goes up to 14lbs, but she was pooping through them too regularly and they were a bit tight. So we've moved on. This is my life.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Wash your damn hands
My latest rant involves hand-washing. Now some people raise their babies in a super-protective plastic bubble and refuse to let any potential germs or bacteria in, but that's just not us. I mean, pretty soon Ivy's gonna be having tea parties on the bathroom floor of the WJCC with Abby Gab and NoJo anyway, so a completely sterile environment is just not happening. That being said, we do ask people to wash their hands (or Purell, though soap and water is more effective) before holding the baby. I don't see why this should be a problem - people should want to eliminate germs from their lives anyway. Plus with all the funky soaps and lotions now available (my favorite flavor is "tester"), hand-washing time has become more fun than ever.
Younger people, I've noticed, have no problem with this. They wash, dry, hold Ivy. No biggie. It's the older (50+) generation that seems to have beef. "Can I hold the baby?" "Do you mind washing your hands first?" "Huh!" (like we've called their mothers prostitutes). No we don't think you're especially grubby; we ask EVERYONE to wash their hands before holding the baby. This is then usually tested by the person: "Wash my hands? Did you ask so-and-so to wash her hands before holding the baby?" YES lady, we tell EVERYONE to wash their hands. Sheesh.
Then when other people go to hold the baby, the first person makes a big deal out of it. "Did that person wash their hands? Cause I had to wash my hands, you know. You made me wash my hands." YES lady, they washed their hands too. You don't have to be so snide about it. It's just hand washing! It's not like we asked you to donate a kidney before holding the baby (though organ donation is a very commendable act).
The funniest example of this was at Gelles's wedding (mazal tov!). This crazy yenta lady came up to me and said "That is the cutest baby. Oh my Gd what a gorgeous baby. Let me hold the baby. I HAVE TO HOLD THE BABY!!!" I said, "Do you mind washing your hands first?" and she has a conniption fit. Finally after five minutes of arguing I say to her "Look, if you have such a problem with washing your hands, would you mind putting on some Purell?" She agrees to that. I hand her Ivy, who has been asleep or quietly happy the entire day (it is now about 11 pm), and within ONE SECOND of being held by this woman, Ivy starts screaming and the woman hands her back to me. So after all that agita, she held the baby for less than a minute. Maybe Ivy knew this woman was whack; she's very intuitive.
So wash your damn hands! Who knows where those hands have been? Grody. - Mike
Younger people, I've noticed, have no problem with this. They wash, dry, hold Ivy. No biggie. It's the older (50+) generation that seems to have beef. "Can I hold the baby?" "Do you mind washing your hands first?" "Huh!" (like we've called their mothers prostitutes). No we don't think you're especially grubby; we ask EVERYONE to wash their hands before holding the baby. This is then usually tested by the person: "Wash my hands? Did you ask so-and-so to wash her hands before holding the baby?" YES lady, we tell EVERYONE to wash their hands. Sheesh.
Then when other people go to hold the baby, the first person makes a big deal out of it. "Did that person wash their hands? Cause I had to wash my hands, you know. You made me wash my hands." YES lady, they washed their hands too. You don't have to be so snide about it. It's just hand washing! It's not like we asked you to donate a kidney before holding the baby (though organ donation is a very commendable act).
The funniest example of this was at Gelles's wedding (mazal tov!). This crazy yenta lady came up to me and said "That is the cutest baby. Oh my Gd what a gorgeous baby. Let me hold the baby. I HAVE TO HOLD THE BABY!!!" I said, "Do you mind washing your hands first?" and she has a conniption fit. Finally after five minutes of arguing I say to her "Look, if you have such a problem with washing your hands, would you mind putting on some Purell?" She agrees to that. I hand her Ivy, who has been asleep or quietly happy the entire day (it is now about 11 pm), and within ONE SECOND of being held by this woman, Ivy starts screaming and the woman hands her back to me. So after all that agita, she held the baby for less than a minute. Maybe Ivy knew this woman was whack; she's very intuitive.
So wash your damn hands! Who knows where those hands have been? Grody. - Mike
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