Are you surprised? It was inevitable that I was going to have a post dealing with poop (and not just the pinger post). Eva is a baby, and while she does considerably more than eat, sleep and poop, poop is still an important part of her day. As unsavory as this topic may be to some of you, you are just going to have to bear with me. As the title implies, Eva has not pooped for THREE DAYS! For a three poop a day baby, I am perplexed. I never thought I would ever desperately want to change a poopy diaper, but here I am. So, like every good mother, I called the advice nurse. She said I needn’t worry, unless Eva hasn’t pooped for 7 days (and a few other things I won’t discuss), hence Poop Watch 2008. I’ll keep you posted.
Update: Over almost as soon as it started. Last night (4/30) Eva pooped!
Eva’s dad recently pointed me in the direction of the following article: Infants in the Pool - A Dive Into Controversy. I don’t really see what the controversy is all about. However, it reminds me that I do need to look into finding a pool to start swimming lessons soon. La Petite Baleen looks great, but is a little far, and a 1,000 person waiting list is a little long. We probably should have signed her up at the first thought of conceiving. Some concerns I have when finding a pool include: temperature and chemicals used. At least she will look adorable in her little bathing suit doing the butterfly.
Below: Eva, in mid bounce, looking more like a doll than a baby, at 2 months.
Okay, this isn’t really her first shower. When Eva was colicky, we tried everything to get her to stop crying, including sticking her under the shower (it didn’t work). In the interest of saving time, we decided to give Eva a shower yesterday. She seemed to like it, but our bathroom floor was soaked (Dad held, Mom washed). Now that Eva is older (almost 5 months!) she is so much more open to trying new things! Also, we didn’t make the party we were rushing to attend because we got a flat tire. On the 880 right before the Bay Bridge! Fortunately Eva’s Dad is an expert driver. Eva’s first flat tire!
We have officially stopped swaddling Eva when she sleeps! We stopped the weekend of the heatwave because it was too hot. I didn’t want to post about it because I didn’t want to jinx it. We had a painful couple of days. She was waking up every 45 minutes to 2 hours. See previous post. Plus, we would get her to sleep and then, as soon as we put her down into the crib she would wake up and start wailing. We almost gave up, but we held strong and now, she has given us almost 4 hours. Not as great as the 5 to 6 hours we were getting before (or 8 hours that one day I still remember fondly) but I’m sure we will get there eventually.
The photos I’ve used for this post are old, and I thought briefly about wrapping her for the blog post, but I didn’t feel like risking it. It is REALLY not worth it.
Update: Only 50 minutes at a time last night! Eva’s Dad and I are really tired! Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa are coming over!
Eva is very tactile. She grabs everything. It is really funny when she holds onto the sides of the carseat because it looks like she is holding on for dear life. I am not that bad of a driver. One not so great thing is when Eva gets sleepy, or while sleeping, she grabs her hair and pulls on it. Hard. She also scratches everything. She is like a cat sharpening her claws. (I try and cut her nails all the time, I swear.) Eva also likes to grab onto her dad’s hair and sometimes bite it (gently). It reminds me of…
Eva loves to look at herself. Sometimes if she is crying we’ll put her in front of a mirror and she’ll laugh at herself. Eva’s Dad read somewhere that babies don’t recognize themselves until they are 1 year old. That is so bizarre because she smiles a lot when looking at herself, but not so much at other babies.
She also loves to look at mom.
Update: I added these two videos. They are essentially the same, but I couldn’t choose between the two of them so here are both.
Eva loves trees. I often put her under a tree in the park so she can look up at the branches and leaves and feel the wind in her hair. She has such a good time. She loves to look up at trees when in her stroller or in the car. Driving through the forest near her northern California grandparents’ house is a favorite activity for her. She also likes to sit in the glider with us and watch the tops of trees blowing in the wind. It calms both her and I when either of us is feeling out of sorts.
It was ridiculously hot this weekend! Apparently it has something to do with winds coming from the east, over lands, rather than from the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to raise a baby in a hot climate and I got a taste of it this weekend. It is hard! We debated about whether to take her outside, stay inside, what to dress her in, sunblock, blankets covering her, etc. On Saturday night we had to all sleep downstairs. At 11:00pm it was 75 degrees outside and 85 degrees in our bedroom! Eva slept in a diaper. And she liked it! I think we have been dressing her too warmly for bed.
Yesterday, Eva’s Dad took the day off from work. We all went on a walk in San Francisco using our Memorable Walks in San Francisco book. Since getting real jobs and having real obligations, Eva’s dad and I have not been able to travel like we used to, so we do little walks in San Francisco and learn new things about the city. For example, the elevator in the St. Francis is like an amusement park ride (not for the faint of heart), there is a mural in the mission of a jalapeno sticking up a taco (okay it’s not a mural but it’s cute, see below), and there is a giant rabbit statue in front of a house on Nob Hill (frightening). Yesterday we walked from Fisherman’s Wharf to Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge. We spent about 7 hours walking. We picnicked at Fort Mason with food from Greens (my absolute all time favorite restaurant). It really was a perfect day. Eva had a fantastic time. She really enjoyed watching everything and having the wind blow through her hair. It doesn’t hurt that it was super warm! For a second I thought I was in Panama City.
Photo: Eva watching a pigeon.
Eva exhibited her first interest in animals. She has been introduced to horses, dogs, cats and a hairless one-eyed cat (he falls into the cat category, but deserves special mention). She has shown zero interest. Yesterday, she was very interested in a pigeon. I know, how very exotic. She followed him (with her eyes) and watched him pester us (I hate pigeons). She was later mesmerized by ducks and swans.
Eva’s Dad coined a new term. Pinger. This is a finger with poo on it. I can’t believe I just wrote that. We changed a lot of diapers yesterday. And today. And everyday.
We love spending the day with Dad!
Eva plays with books. Not just the squishy one above, which she loves, but hard books too. She turns pages, scratches them, and sometimes chews on them. It is so much fun to read her a story and have her interested in the actual book (if not the plot, yet). She is a budding bookworm.
