How time flies...

I can hardly believe I have an 8 month old daughter. It just doesn't seem real sometimes. I don't even know how to describe this journey of motherhood either. Sometimes it is so excrutiating and I find myself feeling nothing but frazzled. Then, at the end of the day, as she is sleeping next to me, I can't help but marvel at how amazing she is and how much I love her. At that moment in time, she is the sweetest little dream I could ever imagine. It certainly isn't always that way but the good certainly outweighes the bad most days.

She is doing so well... she poops a little more frequently (and therefore, in less quantity, which I am grateful for). We haven't been in for a weigh in in awhile, mainly because she is done going into the RSV clinic now. Looks like we made it through the season without any major sickness. Her last appointment was the 29th of February. That day really felt like we had come full circle. I was no longer headed into the clinic as a scared new mom with my tiny preemie baby. I realized that I feel so much more confident. Charlie has grown so much and seems to be learning something new everyday. I guess slowly but surely I am starting to feel like a NORMAL mom, not just a preemie mom. It is nice.

We did the usual waiting room thing and waited forever to get weighed and see the neonatologist before the big S-h-o-t (yes I spell it out, even though I know she doesn't really know what I am talking about). She weighed in at just about 13 pounds even. I guess we are OFICIALLY into 3-6 month old clothes :) Then the Dr. came in to see us. I was surprised to see that it was the same neonatologist that came in just before Charlie was born to tell me about what we could expect with a 28 weeker. I remember him being very calm that day and giving me lots of good information. He also made me feel so much more confident about little Pip's odds of survival at that time. When I saw him walk back through the door I felt like I was seeing an old friend (even though I am sure he didn't recognize me from Adam). When I told him how I remembered him he said that I was probably one of his last patients over at St. Joe's because he now only works at the clinc. He said he really enjoys that job because he has been doing this for over 20 years. He says that babies Charlie's size didn't used to do this well. He said he is just amazed at how well they do now days and that seeing them in the clinic is really encouraging to him. He then went on to say that Charlie looks GREAT. He said he was so pleased with her progress and that her lungs and airways sound amazing. He said that there is no reason to be terribly concerned anymore. It was so good to hear his take because it confirmed my blooming belief that I was a little more like a regular MOM now.. not JUST a preemie mom.

In terms of her development, I am amazed. She is in such a fun stage right now. She loves to chat with us (especially when she is on her changing table) and she LOVES her exersaucer (thanks to Angela and Carson for letting her borrow it!) She gets REALLY excited when she is in there. I think she feels like such a big girl. Rice cereal is also going well. She took to it pretty much the second day of trying. I swear she can't get enough. I have started to give it to her twice a day now. We will probably try real veggies in a few weeks. Last week, her development teacher did her 6 month assessment for the center. She will go in for a formal, three hour session in April (when she is actually 6 months adjusted age) but she did well on this first run through. She is pretty much able to sit alone (although still pretty tippy) and she can play peek-a-boo and find toys that have been partially hidden. She rolls from her tummy to her back (but not really the other way yet) and she puts a lot of weight on her feet when you try to stand her up. She is a lot of fun.

As always, I am way behind on pictures... we have to figure out a better system cause I never get my hands on the pictures that have been taken (and trust me, there is no shortage of them!) For now, I thought I would try to get caught up on stuff that I really wanted to post about a long time ago... like our awesome showers :)

The first shower we had was thrown by our friends, the Kings. They went with us on our "babymoon" to Hawaii (we had such a blast!! We want to go back... like now!) and then they threw us a Hawaiian themed couple's shower. It was so awesome and Jude made some sweet signs and candle holders that looked like outriggers. It was a great night, with great food and even a little hula dancing (thanks to our Wahine friend, Erin, who grew up hulaing) Here are some fun pics of the day. What a great time! The only thing that would have made it better is if our sweet girl had been with us.














And then my sister-in-law, Lisa, and our friends Marsha and Amy threw me a gorgeous shower... it was a little more traditional and girly but it was neat because my grandfather and Will were also there. The other thing that was super great about this shower is that Charlie was actually HOME for this one! It was the first time many of our friends got to see her in person. It is crazy how little she was then! It was a beautiful shower and an all-around great day!

Paying my dues

From the very beginning, I have always felt as though this mom thing was like a big sorority... you are either in or out of the club. You either get it or you don't and, until you are actually a mom yourself you don't "get it." I often felt like those moms that were already a part of the sorority made it out to be a bigger deal than it actually was, that it couldn't possibly be THAT difficult. I figure you pay your initial dues (the nausea, the vomitting, the enormous ankles and then delivery) and then you are a member for life. Boy was I wrong. Very, very wrong.

It turns out that there are several dues to be paid. Every day there is some new twist or turn to this mom thing and it gets more fun (and yet all the more complicated) each time. I have a feeling that I have a lifetime of dues yet to pay and each day I am just making a small, seemingly insignificant, contribution to the overall payment.

Today was one of those days where I cashed in some pretty HUGE dues. It was one of THOSE days. I will begin by saying that the last few weeks have been a little rough for us. Will was sick with a cold, then I got what I self-diagnosed as the stomach flu and all the while I worried that Charlie (who has remained relatively unscathed in this season of sickness) would get everything we got. She did finally seem to get a touch of my illness (the week after Valentine's day) and had several poopy diapers in one day (which is a stark contrast to her usual bowel movement every 3 or 4 days). By the next day, she seemed back to normal. Fast forward then to yesterday where we were going on day 11 of still NO poop. (from one extreme to another!)
I called the pediatrician and they recommended prune juice. I was leary just because she had never had juice before and had been only on breast milk (and 2 days worth of rice cereal!) up until this point. I checked out the La Leche websites and they said that it was completely normal for a breastfed baby to poop once every 7-10 days even. I figured I would give it one more day and see what happened.
This morning, IT happened. She had the largest, most awful poop, just as we were getting ready to head out the door. It was so bad that she was COVERED in it from head to toe (well, at least ears to ankles!) It was so bad that my warped little mind actually thought... man, I wish Will were here to take pictures of this... it has to be some sort of record for the most poop to come out of such a small being.) I too did not escape. I swear I had it up to my elbows. Then, as I was using half the case of baby wipes to clean her up and removing her brand new (and now unsalvageable) outfit, she tipped to the side and hit her head on the wall... of course, that was met with extreme displeasure on her part but, obviously, I had no way of cuddling and consoling her as she was still caked with poop. Half an hour (and a box of baby wipes, plus a hose down and a bath) later, she was fresh and a daisy and we were ready to be on our way. However, the experience still haunts me. Some days, motherhood really is a baptism by fire (or by crap, as the case may be)...

It was horrific. I called Will when I FINALLY got out the door and told him, "I cannot even begin to tell you exactly how sad I am that you did not stick around this morning for 10 minutes more." That much poop is definitely a 2 person job!

I also told him that I wouldn't be terribly surprised if we ended up finding remnants of the debacle in the coming days... maybe in her crevices, her folds, her ears... God only knows!! One thing I do know is that I sincerely doubt I will be able to participate in the "Club Mud" experience at Glen Ivy any time soon... too much similarity in the entire process. It could give me flashbacks!

She spent the rest of the day (as she does each Tuesday) with Aunt Lisa as I went into the office. Reports are that she was happy and talkative the rest of the day (wouldn't you be?) So, this ends "Charlie's poop watch 2008." I hope it is the last... although if it isn't we are seriously going to have to do something about her diet. I can't do that every week and a half!

Speaking of the diet, she has (as I mentioned above) started rice cereal (which makes the above story all that more disgusting as we all know (well, at least those in the "sorority" certainly know) that adding anything to baby's diet other than breastmilk makes their poop all the more stinky!) The first day she didn't seem to know what to make of it, the second day, however, she went at it like a champ. She ate all of it that we made up. I can hardly believe that we are into this stage already. I feels like just when you master one stage, it is time to move on. I am not sure I am really feeling ready to move ahead, but sometimes you have no choice! I do know that I want to make her baby food so I need to invest in a good steamer and some freezing containers (they have some cool ones that are intended specifically for baby food making!) Several moms I know have done it so I am grateful to have their encouragement. I just think I would feel better about knowing exactly what she is getting and I know it would be a ton cheaper than buying baby food. Plus, I think it is probably better for the environment because there is less waste if I use reusable containers. :) It is a win-win- win!

So, there you have it... my most recent "mommy-dues" payment. I know that I have a TON more to come but I have to say that it is still the best sorority in the world to be a part of and all those dues I have been paying are completely worth it. How could they NOT be? Look at that face!!!!