November Notes

Momma Post: The past few days have been quiet (minus the hammering on the remodel across the street) and rainy. Willa has become more animated with occasional smiles and following sounds with her eyes. In the mornings, I've been treated to the periodic coo. The evenings tend to contain her fussy time of the day. Although, I must say her fussiness is totally manageable. Swaddling, rocking and the pacifier all seem to do the trick. One notable difference with Willa is that she can projectile vomit with an Olympic qualifying score, usually once or twice a day (I'd be worried if more often). At Book Club this Monday, my friend Meg had her gray sweater drenched by my cutie pie - a cringe worthy moment. Willa has begun a phase where she needs to be held constantly or I hormonally cannot handle her crying. In some ways it's a good thing because that's kind of what these first few weeks should entail. At the same time I was getting used to having 90 minutes in both the morning and afternoon to do chores/organizing. Now I'm all about wearing the sling and hoping that my movement will lull her to sleep.

Ruby's also begun a new phase. She's doing a lot more talking and is very specific on her demands, which we're attempting to soften into requests by the use of please and NOT waving a bowl or cup in our face type behavior. Ruby is using three word sentences, like "Momma shoes on", "baby chair sleep" (meaning put down the baby), and "no, no, no, Ruby's...fill in the blank". Obviously, we're working on possessives and prepositions, along with expanded vocabulary. Ruby is beginning to identify colors, pointing out greens, pinks and reds. Ruby's doing okay with the addition of Willa. This past week reality has set in and she's become more jealous if Matt's holding Willa or if I'm breastfeeding and cannot respond to one of Ruby's needs immediately. We've had a few tantrums...usually in the dinner/bath time portion of the day. Nighttime, Ruby has woken up "hungry" partially because she's been refusing her dinner and because I also think she receives undivided attention at 3:00am in the morning. Matt and I are doing our best to approach this new tactic as a team. A bittersweet note is that Ruby is very kissy and full of hugs. When I'm preoccupied she'll get my attention by saying "hi, hi, hi" in a soft voice...it kind of tugs at the old heart-strings. It's hard giving your eldest as much time and attention as both of us our used to...not an easy transition. Because of my time with Willa, I've been missing Ruby and am anxious to have some one-on-one time with her this weekend. On Monday, I tried pig tales with her hair for the first time. She aged into a little girl before my eyes.