November 2006

November 01

My wonderful husband

For those of you who don’t know, I went to see my doctor yesterday.  I have been having some trouble postpartum and this was a follow-up.  Unfortunately, Bronwyn didn’t sleep for more than an hour straight and both Bruce and I had a rough night.  It wouldn’t have been so bad if we hadn’t been to Sudbury (read more bad sleeping), just a few days before.  So really, I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since thursday.  It is no wonder that I burst into tears as soon as I entered the office (poor Dr. Kassirer- I don’t think he was expecting that), but like any good doctor, he invited me to tell him what was REALLY wrong.  We discussed numerous sleep strategies that only served to prove to me that I was doing everything in my power already.  When I got home, I put B in her crib and started crying again at the computer waiting for her to fall asleep.  Enter SuperBruce!  He immediately assessed the situation, put me to bed with echoes of “would you like a glass of water” and “let me tuck you in”.  I can only relate what Bruce told me happened after that because I was out like a light.  He apparently played with Bronwyn for a bit then put her to bed before heading back to work.  I woke up before the baby did at 4:30 when Bruce returned home from work.  That night Bruce put Bronwyn to bed at around 6pm and tended to her the couple of times she woke up fussing (in her defence it was Halloween and the doorbell rang about 50 times!).  When I heard her crying in the middle of the night, I was afraid to look at the clock.  Four am!!  My little Rip Van Winkle slept for 10 hours straight!!  When the alarm went off at 7, Bruce rolled over and said “she slept through the night”.  I replied with, “YOU slept through the night”!  Bronwyn was still asleep a half hour later when Bruce got up for the day.  God does care when His children are desperate. 
 
Joan offered to let me sleep on her couch while she watched Bronwyn today if I still hadn’t gotten any sleep (where did I find such wonderful people to surround myself with?!).  Luckily, I woke up feeling like million bucks, but we decided to get together anyway, and went for a 3 hour walk!  I figure since I worked so hard this afternoon, I can forego the gym and watch the Raptor’s Season Opener with my wonderful hubby tonight!
November 11

Favourites

I have noticed, now that Bronwyn has started becoming more interactive, that she has favourites.  Now don’t sound so incredulous.  I realize she is not even 4 months and she certainly can’t talk.  But she is more than capable of fussing, which she utilizes every time she is in a situation she doesn’t approve of.  And there are a lot of them.  The trick I suppose it to rotate her “play” until she stops fussing.  The following are the things she invariable stops her fussing for, therefore I dub them “favourites”
 
Favourite book: by far it is Dr. Seuss’s Wet Pet Dry Pet Your Pet My Pet.  She will listen to it as many times as I will read it.  An exerpt if you will: “Who is this pet?/ Say he is wet/ You never yet met a pet I bet/ As wet as they let this wet pet get.”  For your information, I typed that almost from memory!
 
Favourite game: It is a tie between Ride away to Market and This is the way the BEGGARMAN rides (only Bruce can do this last one because my voice isn’t sufficiently deep or growly enough to say BEGGARMAN to produce the scary effect that Bronwyn loves).  I think she likes these types of games because the end always has us tipping her upside down to her immense delight.
 
Favourite toy: This is no tie.  Her favourite toy is hands down this funny-looking ducky washcloth that Marlys gave her.  I slip it over a shampoo bottle and put it next to her head while she is on her tummy and she just stares and stares at it.  One time she tried to reach for it and accidently rolled herself over.  It scared her so much she hasn’t tried to roll since!
 
Favourite stuffed animal: This one is the only favourite I bought for her.  It is also a duck (what happened to the sheep theme?!?).  It is a soft yellow blanket with a ducky head on it that she likes to put in her mouth!  See the pictures under “More pics as promised” for a shot of Bronwyn staring intently at this toy. 
 
Favourite place to sit:  On the couch in the corner where she can watch everything that is going on!  You would think it would be her bouncy chair, or swing, or exersaucer, but no, it she prefers “grown-up” seats. 
 
Favourite song:  It used to be Baby Beluga but as soon as I introduced 6 Little Ducks she has not looked back. 
 
Favourite playmate: Nathanial.  She will put up with anything for him- even stealing her soother!
 
Favourite outfit:  Ok ok this one is really MY favourite, but it is so cute!!  It is her new jeans and her squirrel sweater with the buttons.  You can see it in “More pics as promised”.
 
Favourite past time:  Putting her fingers in her mouth while “talking” to them.  Fun for her and fun for us to watch!!  
 
 
Ok that is it.  I apologize for the lack of blogging lately, but to be honest, nothing much has happened!!
November 12

Love

Elaine and I were talking the other day about babies and how you have to get up inthe middle of the night for them.  She was a little worried and said that she needs her sleep.  I assured her that you don’t really mind getting up for your child, once, twice, really as many times as it takes.  Sure you are tired the next day, but that isn’t what you are thinking of at the time.  All you can think about is that your baby needs you. 
 
So, is that what love is?  When I fell in love with Bruce there were a lot of mushy, heart-achey feelings that accompanied my fall from pragmatic realist.  I fell head on into romantic, sappy love-land which I have luckily escaped from now.  Not that I don’t still love Bruce, rather I love him with a deeper kind of love.  The Bible references these different types of love: eros, philios and agape. 
 
Before Bronwyn was born I read all sorts of books that promised “falling in love with your baby”.  I expected to look into her eyes and feel that same sort of eros/puppy love that I had experienced before.  It never came but I didn’t care.  I was too busy looking after and tending to all of Bronwyn’s many demands. 
 
Only after the conversation with Elaine did I realize that not only did I love Bronwyn, I agaped her.  The funny part is that I didn’t have to travel through the other kinds of love to arrive where we are now.  I started out with the agape love.  I didn’t realize it at the time because I didn’t recognize it.  But when Elaine and I were talking about caring for babies I realized that Bronwyn could ask me to do anything and I would gladly do that and more for her without thinking twice.
 
This leads me to ponder my other agape relationships.  Do I put Bruce’s needs above my own?  Would I be willing to put aside my most basic needs such as eating, sleeping and even using the bathroom to make sure that he can eat and sleep as much and when he wants to?  Can I put aside my need for love (because what baby actually shows love?) to make sure that Bruce feels loved?  Can I say the same for God?  Do I put off eating and sleeping to study His word and meditate on His teachings?  Do any of us?
 
How can we really bear the title of Christian when we are still selfishly leading our own lives?
November 14

Miracles

Today in Bible Study we talked about miracles.  Do we have less miracles today then in Jesus’ heydey, or do we not need them now that Jesus has authenticated His existence as Son of God?  Are there miracles happening today but we are too cynical to recognize them?  No one doubts the miracles from third world countries.  Do they deserve them more, or do they just more readily believe?  I, as well as most of you I imagine, suffer from the sin of self-sufficiency- attempting to do everything and more without the help of God.  With our busy lives it is a wonder we even have time to pray for miracles let alone notice when they happen.  Lori challenged us to believe something today.  To believe that God will work a miracle in a circumstance that perhaps seems hopeless.  I don’t want to reveal my new belief here in the chance it may embarrass somebody, but if you ask me I may tell you.  I am saying all of this (rather long-windedly) to ask that all of you who read this, and that pray regularly, take my little miracle-in-the-making and dedicate it to the Lord.  I don’t know how long it will take but I am trying to muster up whatever little used faith I may possess to believe that God will make my prayer happen.  It will definitely be a miracle, but that is what I am *looking for.
 
 
*  Please take the phrase “looking for” with a grain of salt.  I am aware that we are not to ask for miracles for the sake of forcing God to prove Himself to us, but rather this is an exercise in faith. 
November 16

Christmas

As you can see, in honour of the impending Christmas season (which I love), and the funtastic season of winter (it is favourite, though not quite as favourite as autumn, and yes that is FUNtastic not FANtastic), I have updated the look of myspace.
 
I have noticed that when people ask me what I want for Christmas, I invariable say “I don’t know”.  Well, that is not true, I DO know, and I am going to share it with you all here, so that there is written documentation.  Please feel free to buy me any and all of the following items!
 
Julie’s Christmas List
Grey’s Anatomy season 2
Telepathy the Board Game
BOOKS!!  Anything WWII fiction, Outlander series books 2,3 or 5, Ken Follet and Robert Ludlum are good choices, anything you might think I will like (parenting books are most welcome as well)
CDs- Kathleen Edwards IN STATE
Clothes- sweaters and tops are welcome, I am now a medium
Hand blender
Scrapbooking supplies (stickers, paper, books with slip in sheets)
Candles (LOVE the smelly kind!!)
Flat Iron- preferably one of the ceramic-plated ones that dries and straightens at the same time
 
Bronwyn’s List
Clothes- always appreciated (Pants size 12 mo and up, all others size 6 mo and up please, onesies size 9 mo and up)
Books- she loves the Dr Suess Nursery collection, or his regular stuff is good too (she currently has WET PET DRY PET and GREEN EGGS AND HAM)
         – soft rag-style or bath-style
Toys- a play mat with hanging toys
       – stuff to chew on
       – rattles
       – bath toys
 
Since so many people have already approached me concerning Bruce, and I have given out suggestions, I won’t post them here so he doesn’t get the same things twice. 
November 19

Dream

This is Bruce’s dream from friday night- I laughed my head off!
 
I got a call from Scott (our neighbour) saying he had a deer for me to shoot.  I hopped in the car and drove to where he was.  When I arrived, Scott was standing at the side of the road with the ugliest deer I had ever seen.  Other people kept stopping and asking if they could shoot the deer, but he said, “no, this one is for Bruce to shoot”.  He wasn’t holding on to the deer, they were just hanging out on the side of the road.  It took me over 20 minutes to get my gun loaded and I had to put on all my orange before I could shoot the deer.  I was finally ready and raised the gun, but the deer jumped into the car and took off into the field.  So, of course, I ran after it yelling, “hey deer, get out of my car!!”.  It did; and I shot it.
 
The End
November 20

Update

Today we had our 4 month well-baby checkup.  Bronwyn passed with flying colours!  She weighs in at 12 lbs 14 oz which is just under the 50th percentile.  She is 24″ long, up 5″ from birth and exactly on the 50th percentile.  Her head is about the 25th percentile, but what would you expect between Bruce and I?!?  She is healthy and happy, and meeting all of her milestones on time.  Dr K even told me she has the “least-flat” head he’s ever seen!!  Hopefully that will put Bruce’s fears to rest.  I realize this isn’t the most intersting blog, but I thought all you concerned grandparents out there would like to know that B is progressing just fine! 
November 22

New Book

I am reading a new book (who am I kidding, I am currently reading 4 books!).  It is called Healthy sleep habits, happy child.  I bought it yesterday and devoured it before bed.  I came to realize through Dr. Weissbluth’s description that Bronwyn is chronically over-tired.  SO, I have made a radical change to her sleep habits, and so far, it is working!  His theory is that all sleep is beneficial and well rested individuals are healthier and happier, smarter and less prone to obesity and ADHD.  He teaches that the more sleep you get, the more you will be able to sleep.  So, putting Bronwyn down at 6:30 will not cause her to wake up at 5 am!  She had 3 naps today and wasn’t awake for longer than 1.5 hours today.  I can already see an improvement in her mood.  She woke up cranky after only 2 hours this afternoon so I fed her and put her right down again and she slept for another hour and a half!  She was pleasant and played contentedly with her toys until Bruce came home.  I am going out tonight.  Movie night with the girls- I am going to sidestep here to say how happy and lucky I am to have met Joan.  She has introduced me to so many people that I otherwise would never have met, and she forces me to do things like go to the gym and to Bible Study.  I, conversely, make her spend money on herself and drink all her water.  I say it is a fair trade!  Anyway, movie night at Joan’s with Natasha and myself to watch all those girly movies Bruce and Derek refuse to see with us.  Anyway, I hope Bruce can be strong willed enough to soothe Bronwyn but not awaken her when she fusses tonight.  He gallantly offered to skip his first night of Bible Study to stay home and watch her so I could go out.  I think it may have more to do with the Raps playing Cleveland than any sense of paternal responsibility, but I will take any time off I can wrangle!  So, thanks Sarah K for recommending this book and I hope we see some dramatic results soon so when we come for a visit in a few months our kids will be happy and well rested!!
November 28

Too cute!

Lately Bronwyn has been doing the cutest things.  When we were at Bruce’s mom’s house, she taught her to take her socks off in an effort to reach her toes.  She can’t quite get at them yet, but she tries by exploring her body with her fingers and grasping with a fierce determination at any piece of flesh that she comes in contact with (even if it is my nose!). 
She also can stand by herself!!  Supported so she doesn’t fall over, but she leaned up against the doll house for easily 20 seconds or more.  She looks like a baby acting all grown-up.  Speaking of acting grown-up, she has also started, when she is finished nursing, to roll onto her back on my lap and pop her soother in her mouth with a little contented sigh or smile.  You can almost picture her unbuttoning her pants and saying “thanks for lunch, mom; I think I’ll just rest here for a bit”.
 
For those of you who have been asking, the sleep is going much better.  Last night she went down at 6:15 and was up again at 3:30 for a feed then Bruce woke her up at 7:30 so he could play with her before he had to go to work!  I am happy with our progress and I hope that all our hard work doesn’t come undone when we go to Sudbury this weekend.
November 30

Ramblings

Well, I have comleted my Christmas shopping.  Or should I say, I have bought most and know what I am getting everyone else.  Still, as it is only November 30, I am truly impressed with myself.   I think the necessity of dragging a baby with me has definitely soured me on the whole shopping experience.  I should clarify, the whole CHRISTMAS shopping experience.  I always hated being squished and pressed in on all sides by the sheer volume of people that flock to the stores this time of year.  Not to mention the nightmare that is driving and parking.  But now that there is a stroller involved too- the dirty looks you get when you try and take up “too much room” is pretty disgusting.  Anyway, luckily Joan also hates shopping, so she is my new favourite shopping buddy because I know that when I am ready to leave, she was ready 20 minutes earlier!! 
 
So, Bronwyn slept for 11 hours on tuesday night.  Yep, from 6:30 to 5:30.  Granted she rose to the top of her sleep cycle a few times, but putting her soother back in forced her back down to the depths where she belongs.  And, this was only when I was actually awake, which makes me wonder if we ARE being too loud? 
 
This morning, when I went into her room at about 6:30 because I could hear she was awake, I was treated to a site that made me both scared and proud.  Bronwyn had wiggled her way up the crib so that her poor head was jammed into the corner!  I recently removed the bumper pads, so I felt doubly bad that she was in this predicament.  However, she moved!!  So excitng!
 
She continues to put her sucky in her mouth when she has finished eating, although this morning she was so cranky that when Bruce placed it in her hand she immediately put it in her mouth to her immense and immediate shock and frusteration!  She nearly got her feet today too- she swiped at them and missed and then when they dipped below her line of vision again, she forgot all about them!!!
 
I can’t believe how much happier and playful she is now that she is better rested.  It has been exactly one week since we implemented the sleep training, and the change is remarkable.  Lots of work to do, but we are well on our way. 

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