Scrub-a-dub-dub

Nona and Molly enjoying a moment

one little Molly in a tub!

Nona was getting appalled at the state of the CHEESE! growing in Molly's neck. The sponge baths just weren't cutting it. Fortunately, our neighbors let us borrow their snazzy bathtub with great features like an infant sling that holds the little one and contours that let it sit in our kitchen sink. She seemed to enjoy the scrub-a-dub-dubing. And we enjoyed her silly faces. And the lack of cheese. We'll have to get one of these fancy contraptions!

In other news, we all enjoyed a rainy mother's day here. Grandma Susie (aka Nana) came up to join Grandma Mary (aka Nona) and the boyz showered us with mother-love. Molly thought it was cool, too.

And now some gratuitous shots: Molly in her cool green striped sweater & Molly in her significantly less cool (but equally cute) frilly girlie pink dress.

(post edited to include linked photos below)

with Piddy, too

How to Dress a Baby

Yes. This dear new mother was confounded by the baby clothes, having no idea what to use and when (I really couldn't get over the concept of having one item of clothing for the baby to wear. Go figure). Fortunately, Nona is in town and is straightening things out for us. ;)

1. Get over the fact that the main baby clothing item is called a "onesie". It has nothing to do with being the one piece of clothing your baby will need to wear. Even though you were given several lovely onesies as gifts, you really need twosies or threesies to have a properly dressed baby. Basically it comes down to needing legs, arms, and feet for the precious little one to be comfortable.

2. The real onesie is the footed sleeper thingie. The secret is that it doesn't just have to be used for sleeping! It's got everything you need for a day out: arms, legs, feet, and of course a torso. No socks falling off here. Next best is the "union suit", which typcially has long arms and legs and usually is easier to change diapers in (because you don't have to negotiate the feet) but will then require the use of socks. The problem with these two options is that one leak soils the whole affair.

3. When using a onesie, you can complete the outfit with pants, cardigans, dresses, or whatever is appropriate for the weather, parents, and baby. Again, socks would probably be a good idea. It becomes clear that a onesie is a great undershirt to base any number of outfits on. It's particularly good for the crazy bay area weather that could be hot one minute and cold and windy the next. (t-shirts are good alternatives to onesies, but tend to ride up as they wiggle wiggle wiggle).

& here's a gratuitous happy baby shot to enjoy!

Grandma's in town

Nona and Molly enjoy a moment together before we hit the town! What fun!

Self Portrait 1

Molly was a little miffed when she heard that I posted yesterday without any pictures of her. So she took this photo and insisted that I post it for her.

Our Little Tulip

Eight weeks! Yikes!

Friday marked the little one’s eight week birthday. Wednesday marks her 2 month birthday (which we’re celebrating at the doctor’s office with her well-baby checkup & probably some vaccinations). This begs the question: at what point do you start measuring her life in months and not weeks? I remember somewhere toward the end of her second week (12-13 days) that we stopped counting the days and started in on the weeks. I suspect that whether we use weeks or months now will depend on who we’re talking to. For medical professionals and recently minted moms there is a difference between 8 weeks, 10 weeks, and 14 weeks. But for most other folks it would seem that saying 2 months, 2 ½ months, and 3 months would give more information. I also suspect (based on a not-at-all detailed study that I’ve conducted in my mom’s group) that somewhere around 3 months I’ll give up on the weeks except with the medical professionals.

I’m basing the importance of measuring in weeks vs. months on my own experience. Before Molly was born I just thought a baby was a baby. It was a few months old. A year old. Or perhaps a year and a half. Honestly, I didn’t know the difference between a 6 month old and a 12 month old. One was less than a year and one was a year. What gives? And I was confused when someone said their kid was 15 months old. Who knew that there was such a difference between a 4 week old and a 6 week old? Or a 12 & 15 month old? I noticed this phenomenon first during pregnancy. Pre-pregnancy in my mind a woman was either pregnant or not. Now I’m tuned in to alll the subtleties. Is she trying? Thinking of trying? 15 weeks along? 30 weeks? etc. And now I’m noticing it with the babies. Oh, how little I knew.

In other news, all continues well with the little pooper. Yes, she’s quite a pooper. She’s gotten a lovely habit of pooping in clean diapers. It’s rather cute, except for the fact that it makes for lots of diaper changes. My favorite trick is when she makes all sorts of pooping sounds (you know what those are, don’t pretend not to) and so I troop off to free her bottom of the poop. We even hang out at the changing table for a while with her tuchus to the air to see if she has more to contribute. Then, just as I’m fastening the new diaper around her tush, phlbbbt! – there’s another one. Ahh, the joys of motherhood. And long afternoons at home.

Speaking of motherhood, I’m embarrassed to have realized recently that I’m shamelessly hoping that my friends will start procreating soon. Oh my! Here I am, having barely held a baby before Molly was born, selfishly wanting my friends to join me in parent-land. And I was one of those people who absolutely hated it when anyone even hinted at putting pressure on me to have a child. Oh boy.

(sorry, no pictures today. But she's still really really beautiful. Not that I'm biased at all)