This Mommy Runs on Caffeine

This Mommy Runs on Caffeine

October 25, 2009

Life is Sweeter


Wow- what a difference a few weeks make! (Or maybe it’s the happy pills or finding new mom friends- LOL!) Life as a new mom is becoming more enjoyable and rewarding these days. I don’t feel like a complete alien anymore- not that being a new parent makes you feel inhuman, but the first few weeks are just so unfamiliar, challenging and demanding that you have no idea who you are, or which way is up or down. I’m feeling more ‘normal’ now and am really beginning to enjoy my daughter! We both have done some growing in the past few weeks….. Kiera is nine weeks old and she is already becoming such a little lady. Her beautiful blue eyes are filled with wonder and delight and so much promise; and when she smiles- yes- she is smiling constantly- they sparkle. She bats those baby blues at me and it just melts my heart, along with that toothless ear-to-ear grin that makes her eyes crinkle at the corners…. Makes me laugh every time!


She started to blossom and develop a little personality about two weeks ago- I think that she is going to be a big flirt and the class clown and she is not camera shy (which is a good thing considering that I am constantly waving a camera in her face!). Her waking periods are much longer (sometimes as much as five hours!) and she is starting to discover the world around her. She is fascinated by faces and especially her own reflection in the mirror- she will lay on her play mat so content for hours (at least until she gets hungry) and tell herself how cute she is! The other day she discovered her hand and stared at it for about 10 minutes and the decided to taste test it and suckled on it- yummy! And what a chatterbox she is- she is a talker- this, she gets from me! More about little Kiera according to Mommy’s observations so far:

Sleeping: When she falls asleep she does so grunting, squeaking and humming. I’ve nicknamed her my “little mouse” because of this. She also does this when she is just beginning to wake up and that is usually accompanied by at least one leg kicking and/or her arms flailing about. This also means that Mommy is lucky enough to wake up to this instead of crying- lucky me! Speaking of sleep, she is a great sleeper and is almost making it through the night perhaps only waking up once for a feeding between 3 and 4 a.m. Studies show that bottle-fed babies feel full longer therefore sleep a bit more. Her sleep schedule is fairly regular through the early afternoon.  She is pretty easy to put to bed although she does have a few episodes where she fights it (must think she is going to miss out on something fun) and we resort to rocking her or on a rare occassion, the vaccum!



Eating: Kiera likes the bottle. Not a candidate for a 12-step program anytime soon, but she loves her feedings- me too, it’s the one time in my life that I’m a real hero to her! Fortunately she hasn’t developed a digestive preference for a certain brand of formula and we can feed her my favorite and it’s called “any-one-that’s-on-sale-and-gives-us-valuable-coupons!” And believe me, as much as I like Similac (hint, hint nice formula company) I’m not picky right now either, especially since she is powering through a can in record time. Oh, she also doesn’t mind her bottles at room temp (warming them actually makes her gag and spit up more) so, lucky us! I do have to say that she takes after Daddy in the, um, burping, department. It’s amazing how such a powerful little sound comes out of that itty body! Solid.  We let her set her own schedule for feedings and have learned that she smacks her lips and sticks out her tongue as an early sign of hunger..... catching this before she cries has made for very pleasant meal times and a very happy baby!


Playing: She loves, loves, loves her Soothe & Glow Seahorse (this is one of the very first toys that we got for her- it was new in the box at a yard sale!) I think that the wave sounds and the glowing belly fascinates her, but whatever it is, continue on! Personally, it always makes me have to pee. The play mats also score high marks- one has a musical toy on it that she likes to talk to. It plays three types of sounds that aren’t terribly annoying (I’m learning fast that noisy stuff might go to the grandparent’s houses!)

I can’t wait to start to introduce more toys to her, it’s not like we are lacking in that department! Although her pediatrician recommended a new toy - Sophie the Giraffe- so now I am on a mad hunt for that! We also just found her a cool Baby Einstein talking caterpillar that lights up and will teach her very important stuff- for now though I think that Mommy is much more amused by it than baby.
One of her (ah hem, Mommy's) favorite activities is to play "Baby Fashion Model."  When she is sporting a particularly fashionable outfit, we have a little photo shoot.  She's a total ham... and trust me, she is a budding fashionista- a clothes-hound and that’s definitely a genetic transference from Mommy. Jason laughs and calls her my little dress-up doll but she is the one who really picks out the outfit. I hold some choices in front of her one at a time and she chooses by smiling- and she definitely has a preference one way or another! I am addicted to adding to her wardrobe but I have no problem hunting for baby clothes bargains at yard sales! My only problem is trying to claim “this old thing” for her outfits (I have a feeling that it might be hard for me to let most of these clothes find new homes once she outgrows them since “Kiera” has so many favorites!)



As you can see, we’ve begun to settle into a comfy and happy life! We are learning and growing more each day. And loving…. That, of course is without saying- every day I fall more in love with this child. Life is so much better sharing it with her.


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