Nadia Version 0.4

(Sideways on the hippo mat. I didn't put her like that. You think maybe she's too big for it? Maybe when a child can kick down the toy bar, it's time to move on. Maybe.)

I know, I know, she doesn't turn 4 months old until Saturday. But Saturday we will be in Trapani so I'm going against my OCD-ness and posting her update early. Must....stop....twitching.

So she weighs 13 lbs, 11 ounces (50th percentile) and is 25 inches long. (75th percentile- this explains why she is starting to fit 6 month clothes length-wise but not so much width-wise.) Once again she peed on the scale and barfed on the exam room floor. That's my girl. Her shots were painful like before and last night she was very fussy and ran a fever of 101.8. We gave her half a dose of tylenol, some water, and after an hour of nursing and patting, she went to sleep in our air-conditioned room and slept until 5:30 AM. She hasn't slept that long in days so Mama isn't quite as insane today. Because I'm cheap we have spent the previous two summers suffering without the AC on most days but if it means more sleep then we may just have to pony up the cash and use it at night.

The other day I saw a mother on the elliptical with a stroller set beside it. Not being able to see the baby from my angle, I assumed he must be sleeping. Turns out, he wasn't. He was just sitting there....awake....sitting there....silent. Granted he's a few months older than Nadia, but will she be doing that this fall? Hmmm, somehow I have my doubts.

When the visiting nurse came by a week ago we were mentioning to her that Roo wasn't doing well on the whole tummy-ability milestone. Well she showed us. Within hours she was doing what she is supposed to be able to do by this weekend. So again, we were liars. She has also been struggling with the whole see-something-and-grab-it thing. It's kind of hit and miss with her. Literally. And she has to be interested in the object. She's really into keeping her hands together so sometimes she gets so caught up in trying to touch one of her bouncy chair toys that she forgets to untangle her hands and ends up batting at it with a double club fist. Hilarious. But I don't really worry about these things. In fact, I try not to find out what she's supposed to be doing. I'd rather everything be a surprise.

One thing she has been doing stupendously is talking. Like, since she was born practically. Lately she has stopped which she is apt to do and when I mentioned it to the doctor he gave me a funny look and said, "you said she is smiling and laughing... at this point that is all we expect them to do. We don't worry about them making other sounds until about 6 months." Um okay.

Overall, we are very very lucky. She hardly ever cries, her main whining sound is more like a cough. But as her mother, this teensy cough has got to be the most annoying sound I have ever heard. When I'm driving along, zoning out to my tunes and I hear that sound, my heartrate immediately skyrockets and sends my right foot heavily on to the floor of the car. And then sometimes this cough turns into screams (rarely though) and I try to explain to her that I'm driving on a one-lane highway, sandwiched between about 50, 000 Puntos all racing to be the first to arrive at the coffee bar, and I can't take her out of her car seat right now, no matter how much the sun in her eyes is pissing her off. But this apparently is not a good enough excuse.

And her hair continues to stand up no matter what I do. It's not growing. I slick it down with water, I comb it, I put hats on. Nothing works. I guess I just have to wait it out. To me there's something wrong with putting product in an infant's hair. But that's just me.

P.S. I ran 4 miles today so I have exceeded my goal for the end of June. Roo starts her few-hours-a-week at daycare on Monday so I can do a long run once a week and a tues/thurs spin class, she no longer naps reliably enough for me to bring her with. In between I plan to do a baseline run of 3 miles though I may start taking one day off a week as my feet and knees are starting to get a bit tired. Oh yeah, and I've also exceeded my weight loss goal for this month though it was on the low side of expectation anyway. I'll let you all know when I reach my pre-preg weight- I'm not that far off- and then I plan to lose 5-8 pounds after that. We'll see.

Double Day

Gratuitous baby shot - Roo is getting stronger on her tummy every day!

Happy birthday to Johnny, who, btw, has returned to posting. Also happy 2nd wedding anniversary to J and I. We will be celebrating this weekend in Trapani, a beach town on the west coast of Sicily.

Tomorrow Roo gets her four month shots and check-up even though she isn't officially four months old until Saturday. I will post soon about her weight and bench-pressing abilities.......and speaking of fitness abilities, I ran 3.5 miles the other day with only the usual abdominal tightness near the end. I plan to run 4 miles sometime later this week or early next week. It all depends on Roo and/or J's availability.

Happy Birthday to Me

A card my latin lover picked up for me and the blingety-bling watch he and lil'Roo gifted me. It's a good day.

29 years old, in my daily uniform cause the only place I go these days is the gym. Miss N, in yet another thrift store number. I personally hate the color pink, but when it's virtually free....

We're going to grill up some steaks and have a nice bottle of wine tonight to celebrate the beginning of the end.... of my twenties that is.

P.S. My green card (which is no longer green btw) and social security card came this week. Hooray!

Chomp

I had a much needed dentist appointment this morning so had to leave Nadia with someone. This new someone is a wonderful Italian woman named Bina. She knows only 2 words of English or thereabouts. I dropped her off and fought tears all the way to the appointment imagining Nadia screaming in fear for four hours. Turns out, not so afraid. She actually dozed twice and sucked back a four ounce bottle in a "tranquillo" manner. Mama's so proud.

I despise going to the dentist. I have sensitive teeth and absolutely dread the captain-hook-like instrument they use to pinpoint problems and start each cleaning. Shudder. Not fun.

What is fun is this video of Roo chomping on Mr. Blue Bee. Also fun is the fact that J was able to get a commercial ticket and is coming home tomorrow.

Ugh

So I'm stuck here whilst J is stuck in a worse place (if you can imagine it), covered in what I now believe to be, no-see-um bites. I don't think you understand, blood-sucking bugs love me. No really, they love me. If there was only one left on the planet and it lived in Singapore, it would fly all the way to Europe and cluster-bite me until it blew up. Seriously. And I'm allergic to them, so my bites swell up to one-inch-in-diameter welts. I discovered recently that they come in through the screens so for the past few days I have been living in 90 degree heat wearing hoodies and blankets around my legs with all of the windows shut, dripping with sweat.

And what originally was supposed to be a 7 day detachment for J has now turned into a 16 day ordeal and counting. Why? Because old planes suck... and they don't work. End of story. Build some new ones, get smarter crews. I don't care..... do something.

So happy father's day to all of the dads out there and a special happy first father's day to J, who won't be here to celebrate it.

Fitness update: (at least I get to the gym every day) running 3 miles every second day and plan to up that this weekend as long as Roo complies. Went to spin today and because the time was changed at the last minute, got our neighbor's son to watch Roo. (He is only 12 but the oldest of 7 kids, one of which is Nadia's age and he came with me to the gym.) She was surprisingly sedate with him so now that he's out of school, I may just have to call on him more often.

J didn't get the orders he applied for so it's back to the drawing board upon his return. Hopefully there will be shore available. The sea billet he applied for was kinda scary anyway. A good quote from the show, "Carrier," "we are defending democracy on a floating dictatorship." Or something like that.

Triflin'

I may be away for a long time folks. We have no phone at home and thus, no ADSL internet. Why? Because apparently someone or people cut the lines in order to steal the copper. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? WHO DOES THIS? The Italians blame the Albanians, the Americans blame the Italians. Who knows, maybe it was a Canadian. My question is, who raised these people? Animals? Or am I in the middle of Lord of the Freaking Flies and all of the parents left the island long ago?

J is away, Nadia doesn't nap and I have no lifeline. Life is grand.

P.S. A few hours after this post, our phone service returned. So going postal is on hold.... for now.

In order to combat Roo's daytime sleep deprivation and to get a workout, I run her around the track for 1.5 miles to sleep and then manage to squeeze in another mile on the treadmill (way easier than pushing a stroller!) bringing my capabilities up to 2.5 miles, 3 months post-c-section. I'm happy with this and hope to be at at least 3 miles by the end of June. Just in case anyone was wondering.