Giddyup, Mama!

If there's one thing Maddie can't seem to get a enough of lately it's being strapped to me in the Snugli carrier and in motion. For some reason the swing and stroller don't hold the same appeal to her as the Snugli. Plus she hates sitting in her car seat for extended periods of time (e.g. walking around the grocery store or going to the mall). So knowing this we decided to try the Snugli out for our weekly shopping trip this past Saturday, and sure enough, Maddie loved it. She didn't fuss once. She did however, get a little impatient when I stopped to look at something and would kick her feet as if to say, "Giddyup, Mama!" It was actually pretty funny. By the time we had gone to the grocery store and then to the mall, I was completely worn out, but Maddie was still kicking. I have a feeling I'm going to be getting a lot of exercise when the weather warms up and we can walk outside.

Maddie is an interesting kid. She defies the conventional advice given in most baby books. She can be demanding and at times fussy (or "zesty" as Grandma prefers). Those of you who know me know that I wouldn't be me if I didn't do tons of research to figure out just what's up with Maddie and how to make her happy. I ended up buying a book called "The Fussy Baby Book." I hate to put a label on my baby, but she definitely fits the profile of a "spirited child" or "high needs child." This is actually a good thing --- although it definitely makes my life a little harder.

Maddie is full of character. She knows what she wants. For example, she wants to be walked about the house in the evening and she has assigned that task to her daddy (not me). When she's happy, her babbles can be joyfully loud. We've just learned to go with what works -- to meet her needs so that everyone's happy. Maddie isn't the type of kid who will give in when we've tried to impose our rules on her. She is very persistent and will outlast us with her loud protests.

The one thing that I've noticed recently is that she seems to be very sensitive to strangers. All the baby books will tell you that this doesn't happen until much later, but I'm pretty sure Maddie has caught on to this already. Examples:

• Matt's parents came for a visit a few weeks ago, and when we handed Maddie over to her MaMa, she got this "I don't know who this person is" look on her face. She did gradually warm up to Matt's parents and I think being in her own environment when they visited helped.
• We visited my family a couple weekends ago and Maddie cried the entire time. She didn't want anyone but me or Matt to hold her (and even then she was fussing). We couldn't quite figure out what was going on. As soon as we walked through the front door of my grandma's house she started fussing. We assumed it was because she had a dirty diaper and was hungry. Once those things were addressed, she still kept fussing. Looking back, I wonder if it's because she knew she was somewhere different. I also wonder if she would have reacted differently to her grandparents had we been at home where she's more familiar with the surroundings.
• At the mall this weekend, we bumped into one of Matt's co-workers. She was talking to Maddie and reached out to touch her hand. Maddie immediately pulled her hand back and cried.
  

So I guess this is something we're going to have to work on. We're going to Kansas City this weekend for Matt's mom's birthday so we'll see how that goes. I always love a challenge and I definitely have a very sweet, but challenging baby. :)

Happy Heart Day

Hi everyone. Just wanted to wish you all a happy Valentine's Day. Sorry for the lack of posts recently. We've been adjusting to a new schedule and have been super busy --- or as Matt would say, "We're busy. We've got things to do."

Maddie and I have been having a fun time this week. She had her first painting lesson, and you can see from the expression on her face in the photo below what she thinks of painting. I will say that she did an excellent job helping me paint some red hearts for Valentine's Day.

I made a first attempt at making homemade finger paints. While the consistency was OK, the color was not so good. My red fingerpaint looked more like a gross orange on white paper. Adding tons of red food coloring (both the cheap liquid and the expensive gel) didn't do much to help. So Maddie and I broke out the paint brushes. Maddie is learning how to grip things with her newly discovered fingers, so we thought this would be a good way to practice. :)

Maddie has also added Blues Clues to round out her tastes in TV. Yes, that's right, my kid likes politics (CNN especially) and Blues Clues. I know you're thinking I'm a bad mom for letting my three-month old watch TV, but it does buy me enough time to scarf down a turkey sandwich and some carrot sticks for lunch.

Maddie's love of political television reached new levels the other evening when Matt was trying to feed her. She insisted on looking at the TV (election results were coming in from the Tuesday primaries) and made a huge fuss when he gently moved her head back to the side so that she could eat. She responded by moving her head to face forward and insisted that the bottle follow. Uncle Mike would be proud. Unfortunately I don't think she's a Republican.

Here are a few photos from our recent Valentine's Day photo shoot. Thought you'd like to see the outtakes.





Some of you lucky "Mad about Maddie" readers will be receiving a valentine in the mail soon with one of these lovely photos. We surprised Matt with one yesterday evening, and he surprised us with flowers. Roses for me and beautiful pink tulips for Maddie. Every girl needs flowers on Valentine's Day! It just reminded us how lucky we are to have a sweet husband and daddy.

So have a wonderful heart day everyone!

Goodbye, Hello

Yesterday at 5 p.m. CST I said 'Hello' to a new chapter in my life and 'Goodbye' to another. In some respects it was both the hardest and easiest thing I've ever done. While we thought we had chosen the best daycare provider possible for our situation, we quickly found out we were wrong. I really shouldn't be so hard on the daycare center though because I think this is just the way all centers handle babies. We soon found out that Maddie spent most of her time in a swing or bouncy seat (generally in a corner or off to the side of the room). I fully expected she would spend time in a swing or bouncy seat, don't get me wrong. When you have a room with six kids under the age of one and only four arms (two staff members), you can't hold each one all the time. I had expected them though to at least rotate through holding each child for a bit. I don't think that was true here. Everything in me just kept saying, "This is not a place for babies. Babies should be with someone who loves them." I just kept thinking, "This isn't right. What are you doing? You've lost one baby. Why would you want to lose precious time with another?" So we knew we had to make a change, and with the help of my boss, I think we came up with a good one. I'll be working ten hours a week and spending the rest of the time with Maddie. I'm pretty excited. :)

Now for the 'Goodbye'... Matt and I have a little saying that we found to be true after we were married: "You can't go back." You see, we were one of the first couples in our group of friends to get married. We moved to a new city and I was commuting two days a week to finish up my degree. We did end up moving back about eight months later, but things just weren't the same with our friends. In fact, they had really started to change right after we got married. It was like we were at different stages of our lives and although Matt and I really wanted to have the same relationship we had always had with our friends, it was if something had changed. We found out that you can't really ever go back and expect things to be the same as they were when you left -- to just pick up where you left off. People move on... life moves on.

So when I came back from maternity leave, things seemed a little different in the office. Everyone was busy with their projects. I was out of the loop. I had been the project manager and the center of a lot of things because of that and suddenly I felt like I was on the outside looking in. No one intended for it to be this way, but I sort of felt like I wasn't needed any more. I missed being in the thick of the projects. I also missed the all-office Starbucks runs each morning, eating our lunches in the conference room or going out to eat a bite, and general joking around in the hallway. There really wasn't much of that because everyone was busy. I completely understand that.

Yesterday passed much the same as any other day would have which was strange. I think that probably made me the saddest. I always pictured my "last day" would be a little different. My new work schedule means I really won't be in the office much at all. I've packed up all my stuff, forwarded my phone and turned in my key. So even though I'm still technically working for my office, it really did feel like a "last day." I'm thrilled to be home with Maddie, but it's strange to wake up and not be going to the place I've gone for the last ten years of my life. The sub-rational part of me fears I won't be missed much. I also suspect in some ways there are probably instances where people are a little relieved that I'm not there.

I've never been very good with transitions in life -- even happy ones. I always mourn the past just a little. I'll miss my time at Web Communications. They were like a second family to me, but I don't have any illusions that I'll be a regular part of the office staff. Not at 10 hours a week. Not with the way we have things set up. We'll still be friends and visit, but it just won't be the same.

So I guess this is 'Goodbye' and 'Hello.'

Happy Three-Month Birthday, Baby Girl!

I can't believe Maddie turned three months old today. She's growing into quite her own person, and her dad and I are loving every minute of it. We feel like we get to witness this cool little girl growing up and experiencing the world and what a priviledge it is.

Maddie is now wearing her 3-6 month outfits. Although the outfits with feet are nearly too small even now so we're opting for the footless variety. She must have inherited her daddy's long, narrow feet.

She's able to hold her head up fairly well now and is becoming quite the talker. In the past few days she's learned that she can make her voice louder when babbling. She can also hold herself up on her feet when we stand her up. She discovered her hands about a month ago which she's found will substitute for a pacifier if needed. Last night she tried to stick both fists into her mouth while watching the election results come in.

Maddie still loves her baths but hates getting out of the tub. She has graduated to the "big girl" baby tub (mean she doesn't have to use the newborn sling thingy) and likes to kick and splash in the water. As soon as we take her out, she has a total meltdown so baths generally only happen a couple times a week at our house right now. At first I thought she was cold so I put the space heater in the bathroom and put her towels in the dryer to warm them up ahead of time --- all of this in an attempt to stave off a meltdown. Unfortunately none of this worked so I think she simply likes the tub and doesn't want bath time to end. I have a new strategy though. I'm going to let her play in the tub until she gives me some indication that she's ready to get out. Not sure how long that will take and if it's too long, I'll have to go back to the drawing board.

Other favorites include the smiling sun on her baby gym and sleeping with mommy in the new "big bed" (OK, so I got over the "no co-sleeping" thing. We have to have a nap and if this is how it has to be done then so be it. I can't really complain. I like snuggling up with her.) She likes to be carried around in the Snugli carrier so we're looking forward to warmer weather when we can take more walks outside. We've been able to sneak a few on the few 60-75 degree days we've had but definitely need more of those.

Maddie also likes having her daddy carry her around the house at night. We thought this was just a "Maddie-Night" thing, but apparently she has different expectations of her father than she does of me. I can sit and rock her in the evenings. As soon as Matt takes over, she begins to fuss and insists that he get up and walk her around the house. We've tested this and it most definitely is a "Maddie-Daddy-Night" thing. Poor Daddy.

Maddie absolutely hates putting her arms into the sleeves of her clothing. She fusses and has had several meltdowns over this. She doesn't know why anyone would invent sleeves and thinks this is quite possibly some new baby torture mechanism (sort of like waterboarding). She also hates tummy time and the cats brushing up against her. I guess she not a fan of tickly fur.

So Happy Birthday, Maddie Beth (or Maddie Sunshine as your daddy calls you)! We can't wait to see how you grow and change in the next month.

Our Little Pundit

Maddie thoroughly enjoyed the political coverage last night of the Super Tuesday races. This completely took us (and her grandparents who are visiting this week) by surprise. At 9 a.m. all attempts to rock her to sleep had to be abandoned so that she could be placed on the ottoman facing the TV. No, it wasn't ABC's Diane Sawyer or Charles Gibson's stunning political commentary or CNN's "Best Political Team" that had her undivided attention. It was the ticker going at the bottom of the screen and the flashing graphics with the voting results. She kicked and babbled (very loudly, I might add) and squealed while this was going on, but as soon as they breaked for commercial she started to fuss. Long live the annoying ticker at the bottom of the screen. Who knew it could be so entertaining!