May 10

My First Mother's Day and More

I had a couple of firsts this past week.  Yesterday was my first Mother's Day.  I admit that it was a little strange to be the source of celebration.  It was like I'd crossed over a significant mile marker or been traded to a different team.  With a team like Bill + Amelia though, I've got no reason for complaint. 

Bill and Amelia gave me a wonderful first Mother's Day.  Bill took Amelia in the morning and let me get some much needed catch-up sleep.  When I got up, I was greeted in the nursery by Bill & Ameila bearing gifts.  They gave me a really pretty running shirt (that I enjoyed wearing on my short run before work this morning).  I also got a nifty steamer/blender appliance that we can use to make Amelia's baby food (when she's ready for it).  Bill jumped at the opportunity to change all of Amelia's poopy diapers.  In the afternoon, we enjoyed a long family walk together.  I spoke to my Mom on the phone and we Skyped with Bill's parents in Kansas City.  Then we went out for a nice dinner with our friends, John & Elizabeth.  All-in-all, we made some very happy first Mother's Day memories.

Today was another first.  It was my first day back at work full time.  I've been working full days on Monday & Friday for about a month now, but somehow it is a lot easier to endure being apart from Amelia when I knew that I would be home with her the very next day.  I'll admit, on some level I enjoy being back in the swing of things and using my brain for something other than ABCs, 123s and planning the next feeding.   I will also admit, however, that my brain was FREQUENTLY distracted by thoughts of my Amelia -- wondering what she and Bill were up to.  I couldn't help myself and called them once, just to hear about the morning's activities.  Bill humored me by giving an update.  They were getting along just fine.

I think the hardest part about being back at work was the hard realization of just how little time I will get to spend with Amelia in the coming months.  She is usually still asleep when I leave the house for work in the morning.  If I keep my morning run to no longer than 40 minutes, I can take care of the morning duties (pumping, showering, etc) and make it to my desk by 7:30 am.  Today I grabbed a sandwich and worked at my desk through lunch and managed to get home by around 6:30.  In some ways I felt a little guilty about leaving that early (it's not typical "Good Hunton Associate" hours to leave the office before 6:30), but Amelia goes to sleep around 8pm.  I got home, fed her and had about one hour to hold her, play with her and read to her before she wanted to eat again and pass out for the night (sort of -- more on that later).  If this schedule holds, and I think it will (she's pretty consistent), then I will have approximately 1.5 hours to spend with Amelia during the day.   It seems like a very short time, but I'm comforted that she is at least staying home with Bill (for now) and they will be able to occasionally come to see me at lunchtime.  I plan to make the most of my weekends.  If I can manage it, I hope to make working on weekends a thing of the past.  Saturday and Sunday need to be Amelia days.  I'm thinking that I may even trade some weekend running for weekend Amelia walks just to get to spend the extra time with her.  My pediatrician said that she can't go for runs in the jogging stroller until she's six months old.  That's only two months away.  We can always pick up the weekend running, and do it together, when that time comes.

Okay, now for the fun Amelia update.  We went to the pediatrician's last Thursday.  Amelia weighed 10 pounds and 3 ounces.  This was still small (3rd percentile), but the doctor was pleased with her growth.  She said that she is growing a at a good pace, but is just behind because she started out small.  She recommended that I keep feeding her at night and start trying some rice cereal and, in a couple of weeks, some veggies.  Given the short amount of time that I see Amelia during the day, I honestly don't mind getting up with her at night.  She usually wakes up twice to eat -- around 1:30 am and then again around 4am.  I kind of hope she keeps it up for a while.  The extra cuddle time is definitely worth feeling a little sleepy during the day.

The doc also said that Amelia is doing pretty well with her developmental milestones.  She needs to work on pushing up from her tummy, but she has totally mastered grabbing her toys and putting them in her mouth.  Her head skills are also getting a LOT better.  She still wobbles a little, but she can hold her head up and look around where she wants. Amelia got a special chair last week that the doctor said would help her develop her head skills.  She really seems to like sitting in it (although we keep the chair sessions short for now so she won't get overly tired). 

Now, here is what you've been waiting for.  A short video of Amelia sitting in her new chair.  The video also shows a little of her toy-grabbing skills (but she's way better at it than what is shown in the video).  Click on the link below to view.  Be patient.  It may take a few minutes to load.

My New Chair

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