ALL ABOUT EVA

At just a little over five months Eva is sitting up! For the past week or so, she has been sitting for short periods of time. Today she stepped it up and sat on her own, without her Mom holding her up, for what seems like an hour, maybe more! I am so very proud of her. This new development introduces a new way of playing for Eva, and a little more freedom for Mom so I can put on my jacket without struggling and fumbling and embarrassing myself when out and about.

Some other milestones Eva’s been meeting recently: rolling over both ways in both directions (although she is not one of those roly poly kids, yet); standing with minimal assistance from her parents; straight armed push-ups with her head twisting every which way; and, I promise I am telling you the truth, Eva’s Dad was there too, and we are not exaggerating, Eva made a “th” sound.

Social milestones: we were invited to our first birthday party; Eva had her hair pulled by another older little one (she did not like that at all! Looks like her long hair might be a liability in some situations); Eva also had her toys taken from her by older ones, but she was willing to share. Who knew Eva had all the cool toys? (Here’s a tip: When going places where there will be lots of other moving babies, bring easily washable toys. You will be very popular with other moms if you and your child are willing to share.)

Oh! I almost forgot! The adults in this household are still sleep-deprived almost to the point of insanity, but Eva has put herself to sleep three times this week! We weren’t even trying to get her to do it! Go Eva!

Going on a trip with Eva is so much more complicated than before Eva. Packing all of her stuff is incredibly time consuming and stressful. You don’t want to forget any key things because if you do, I don’t know what happens, but I know it’s bad. Plus, all of her stuff takes up pretty much the entire car. This past weekend we took a trip to Calistoga. I was consumed with worry at the last minute. We would forget something. She wouldn’t sleep in a new place. She would cry the whole time. She would get bitten by something. Turns out we did forget two key things: birthing ball and thermometer. We didn’t need to use either! Eva fell asleep easily, and stayed asleep for the most part. She didn’t get sick either. She had a great time! Turns out she is a traveler. Next trip: Papua New Guinea.

We also had dinner at this fantastic new restaurant in Napa: Ubuntu. It has received rave reviews and is rated as one of the best new restaurants in the country. We had a six course meal filled with things I had never heard of or imagined combining together! It was an amazing experience and I wholeheartedly recommend eating there at least once in your life.

Today Eva’s Mama turns 30. My Mom sometimes says that on my birthday I should be celebrating her. I know she is being facetious (right?), but she is also remembering that wild journey between the first small pains to the first hours of your child’s life on the outside, which can be pretty hard on a mama. Birth is no picnic for the little one either. She has to struggle to get out while being squashed and smooshed by contractions and then be greeted by lights, sounds, people, and numerous other things she didn’t experience on the warm, cozy, safe inside.

Growing up isn’t easy either. These past 5 months (and 30 years) have been fraught with challenges, tears, and pain only to be countered by joy, love, and wonderment. Sometimes you have to deal with the hard stuff before you get to the good stuff. For example, Eva hasn’t been sleeping well. After thinking it could be a million things (teething, 4-5 month sleep regression, crib position, bedtime, etc.) we now believe she has made great developmental strides and is working these out in her sleep. She is working so hard on sitting and rolling over, she is doing them in her sleep, thus waking herself up. Last night we found her on her belly at the corner of her crib (not where we put her). This hard work will all culminate in a bright independent child who is able to move around and get what she wants by herself. And then on to the next milestone.

Turning 30 is strange. I guess I never thought I would be this age. But this is definitely not as big a deal as having a child. And having a child will make my 30’s the best years of my life thus far. 30 is the new 11!

Some things Eva and I had in common at our births: Kaiser Oakland, having to maneuver around that pesky tailbone we eventually broke, challenging ourselves by travelling out facing up rather than down, having supportive, loving and involved Dads at the birth, having supportive and knowledgeable doulas.
So Mom, on this great day, I salute you. And I also salute me.

Eva’s Mama in her birthday suit…

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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!

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.

So today I was complaining that the only way I can get Eva to sleep is to nurse her, while it seems like it takes others (my father) 2 minutes to put her to sleep. I put her to sleep twice today without nursing. Once while rocking her and the other by bouncing her on the birthing ball. I’m feeling very good about myself.

She is sleeping like a little angel in this photo, but it took a lot of effort. (In the interest of disclosure this picture was taken 1.5 months ago, but it is very cute.) Sleep is a continuing struggle for our little family. And now that she is so excited by the world and pays so much attention, getting her to sleep in public is close to impossible! Well, I can’t say that. We went to dinner with friends at Bagan (sister to Burma Superstar) a great Burmese place in Alameda. Try the wok-tossed broccoli. It is ridiculously amazing. You would have no trouble feeding a toddler this broccoli. It was very loud and crowded and she just passed out! But today I went to the Moms’ group, and she would not fall asleep. I think I missed a cue, because she was really upset. We had to leave early. I can’t bring the birthing ball everywhere!

I think what was really going on was that Eva was anticipating her four month appointment. Everything went really well. She is doing great. And of course, the stats: Height (or length, hmm) = 24 inches, Weight = 13.5 pounds, Head Circumference = 16 inches. She’s right around the 50th percentile (up from less than 10% at birth!) with height a little bit higher.