Mom Would Be Proud

Going back to the gym wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. The last time I was at Lifetime was to transfer my Mom's membership into my name. I ended up in tears and had to have Mark finish up for me. Poor member services guy didn't know what to say or how to act around me. Afraid of an emotional breakdown, as well as pure laziness, I've avoided the gym like the plague since signing up last December. Today I finally went with my cousin, Van, and I made it through just fine. I looked into the studio where my Mom collapsed during a fitness class and thought I'd break down. Instead, I remember joining her for a Yoga and Step Aerobics class a few years ago. I also remember that she kicked my butt in those classes - Linh's too! We couldn't keep up with her. Anyway, those memories made me smile.

On another note - I am soooo out of shape! I was huffing and puffing on the treadmill, could barely do an ab crunch, and have absolutely no flexibility left. Pregnancy sure did a number on my body and overall fitness. I'm going to make my Mom proud and try to get to the gym more often now. We'll see how that goes.

Last night Keira was so good during bath time and actually went to bed without too much fuss. She was asleep in her crib by 8:30pm. Too bad she woke up shortly after midnight, again around 4:00am, and again around 8:00am. I guess I can't complain since she's sleeping in longer stretches now. Anyway, we actually had some fun during bath time - that's a first! I can't wait to show her future friends these naked bath pictures. After all, every baby has to have the naked bath picture and what are moms for, right?

Rest, Ceiling Fans & Bon Voyage

Quick update on the shots...Keira did really well - no fever and no fussiness, at least she wasn't any fussier than she normally is. Hopefully future shots will go just as smoothly (knock on wood). Anyway...This past Friday Linh and Steve, my sister and brother-in-law, took care of Keira overnight at their place. Mark and I were able to go out for dinner, run errands, and take care of some household chores that have been grossly neglected. It was great! We were even able to watch some TV without any interruptions. Linh and Steve had a good time with her even though she had a diaper blow out and fussed a bit before she went to sleep. The impressive thing is they got her to sleep 7 hours straight! That's the new record. I wonder why she's such a good sleeper for everyone else but us! However, she is sleeping more for us too, so things are on the up and up in that department. Poor Auntie Linh didn't get a lot of sleep despite Keira sleeping so well. Linh kept herself and Steve up all night because she'd startle awake and want to check on Keira to make sure she was still breathing. I remember doing that when we first brought Keira home too. Sometimes they are just too peaceful when they sleep. It's good practice for Linh and Steve! Ha ha!

We've learned that Keira is in LOVE with ceiling fans. She stares at them forever. We aren't sure what she's fascinated by - the motion, the contrast against the ceiling...but we know she loves them. So...Mark installed one in her room this past weekend. Now her room stays cool and she has something to entertain herself with. I guess we could've gotten a mobile for her crib, but who knows if she'll like that? At least we know she likes the fan!

My other sister, Mai, took off for a year to teach in Thailand today. My Dad, Keira and I dropped her off at the airport this afternoon. I'm sad she's gone. It's been so nice having her home after her last trip there. She kept me company during many of those difficult days with Keira and is a great Auntie too. At least she'll be home for Christmas this year. Maybe we can convince her to stay, though that probably won't happen since it'll be the dead of winter when she visits. I'm sure she'll be looking forward to going back to the tropical climate she came from.

The weather is hot and humid so Keira and I have been cooped up inside all day. I've set up some play dates with friends for later this week. Although we'll be inside, at least we won't be in our house. A change of scenery will be really nice.

What a Strong Baby Girl

Keira is officially 2 months old today! Unfortunately we spent it at her 2-month check up during which she received her first round of immunizations consisting of 4 shots - 2 in each thigh. It was too much for me so I stepped out of the room while Mark stayed and helped restrain her. It was awful listening to her cry. In fact, I was certain people on the other side of the world could hear her, but it was over pretty quickly and as my friend said, it'll be good for her in the long run. I was worried she'd be really cranky and fussy the rest of the day, but surprisingly she was in a good mood given what she went through. In fact, she took a fairly long nap and went down for bed time without a fight. Maybe she's tired from the trauma of the day. Anyway, her check-up went really well. She's growing and weighs 9 lbs, 2 oz. She's finally grown enough to make it into the 10th percentile for both weight and height. Yeah Keira! She was such a trooper...In fact, these pictures are of her in the car seat hanging out and catching some zzzz's after her appointment. Hopefully she won't be too sore tomorrow...

New Discoveries

July is really going by quickly. I can't believe Keira is already 8 weeks old and will have her 2-month pediatric appointment on Wednesday. I'm curious to see how much she's grown. She'll also be receiving her immunizations then. I'm dreading how she'll react. Stay tuned for an update on that...

Mark and I went to his company's annual family picnic/event at Valleyfair this past Saturday. For the first time since I started attending this event as a little girl, the weather was absolutely perfect! My sister, Linh, and her husband, Steve, were kind enough to watch Keira for us while we were there. The food wasn't very good, but we were able to ride a couple of the rollercoasters, including a new one called The Renegade. It was a very fast coaster, but also jerky. I threw out my neck on one of the turns and couldn't turn my head to the left for a few hours afterwards. I'm okay now and am glad we had a chance to try it out even if I had to sacrifice my neck.

As for Keira, she's growing and changing every day. She's very playful and talkative when she's in a good mood. My Dad and her get along especially well. He's even managed to get a laugh out of her! She's always smiling and cooing with him. It's as if they're completely in tune with one another. It's very obvious that they adore each other. It's so cute watching them.

As for Mark and me, things are getting better each day with respect to Keira's colic and reflux. She even naps better now, but unfortunately her naps average about an hour - not very long and they aren't very frequent either. The biggest issue we're having is putting her to bed. It's generally a two-hour process involving a lot of crying and fussing. We aren't sure what the right approach is, so, if anyone has any suggestions, please let us know!

We've managed to find an infant/toddler bath tub that Keira likes. Tonight we successfully gave her a bath without one tear being shed! It was a major success. We've got to celebrate the small victories, right?! She's also crying less during diaper changes. We're finding that she cries mostly for other reasons - hunger, cold, etc. and not because of the diaper change itself. That's also a big improvement.

I was recently sick for some mystery reason. I was up vomiting through most of the night and into the morning earlier last week. Fortunately my Dad was able to help care for Keira during the first part of the day so Mark could get some work done while at home. Then Mark watched Keira the rest of the day so I could rest. I don't know what I would've done if they hadn't been able to do that. I recovered pretty quickly and am perfectly healthy again now (knock on wood).

Baby acne has attacked Keira's cheeks, chin, and a little bit of her chest. It doesn't look too bad when she's cool and calm, but when she gets warm or upset, it flares up and makes her look like she has a horrible rash. I'm being good and am resisting the urge to put some sort of acne medication on her skin. I'm told it'll pass so I'm just using warm water and a washcloth to keep her face clean. Hopefully the clear, baby skin she had in past weeks will return soon.

As many of you know I am a complete neat freak. Getting used to baby supplies and equipment being scattered throughout the house has taken some getting used to, but I think I'm getting better. I'm not stressing about it, anyway. I'm surrendering to the fact that I can't keep the house "perfect" with a baby, but that won't keep me from trying!

The Fun Continues

Keira is now 7 weeks and 2 days old. We can't believe how much she's changed in that time. As you can see, her cheeks are filling out and so is the rest of her body. She's finally fitting into the newborn clothing she received. She's also smiling now. It's fun to try and get her to smile. Who knew the lengths we'd go to and the goofy things we'd do to get a smile out of someone so small?!

Her latest "ailment" is an eye infection - viral conjunctivitis. Her right eye gets watery and goopy. It must itch because she tries to rub her eye with her hands, so we've had to swaddle her more often. She's clever though. When we have her over our shoulder she tries to rub her eye on it. I guess she's a determined little girl. Putting drops in her eye is challenging. She seems to know it's coming because she shuts her eye when the bottle is positioned over it. Only trickery allows us to get the drops in. Between the Zantac for reflux and drops for her eye, we're learning all kinds of tricks to administer meds.

We also got some great tips from Mark's sister, Rachel. She and her daughter, Katelyn, visited us last weekend from St. Louis, MO. We had a great time with them! Katelyn is 3 1/2 and has terrific acting skills. We had fun acting out Cinderella, running through the sprinkler, and playing at the park though I only took part in the acting. Mark did most of the physical running around. Rachel was a great help with Keira and showed us different ways to get her to sleep and soothe her during her fits of crying. She's such a great mom! And, isn't Katelyn a beautiful princess in her dress?!

My cousin, Van, has been helping us out by coming over to watch Keira for a few hours here and there so I can get stuff done around the house or run errands. It's been nice to get that break and the help is greatly appreciated. My Dad babysat for Keira yesterday evening so we could attend Steve's (my brother-in-law) birthday party at the Happy Gnome in St. Paul. It was wonderful to get out of the house and socialize with adults, if only for a short time. We are really fortunate to have family and friends who are willing to help us out and enjoy being with Keira too. I don't know what we'd do without them.

Aside from needing more sleep (I think Mark and I will be sleep deprived until Keira sleeps through the night) I'm doing quite well. My blood pressure is back to normal and I am in good health. I've got my sights on working out again, but am trying to muster up the motivation. It's been nice slacking off on that part of my life.

Mark is doing well too. He still works quite a bit at his job, but he still manages to be a wonderful husband and dad when he gets home. He helps keep me sane through the rough days. I don't know what I'd do without him. Keira is definitely a Daddy's Girl already. She and Mark have many conversations when they're together. I'm not sure they completely understand each other, but they're happy being in each other's company.

Not much else going on in our household. It's been kind of dull, but that's just fine. I don't think we could handle too much excitement just yet.