A Letter to Zoe

Dear Zoe,

Yesterday you turned 12 weeks old. I can't believe it's only been 12 weeks that you've been in my life. I honestly have such a hard time imagining my life without you in it. Just a little over 12 weeks ago I was going crazy with anticipation...so ready to meet you after what felt like the longest 9 months of my life. Now that you're here and we've gotten to know each other, I have to say that you are so much more delightful than I could have ever dreamed. How often does that happen, that reality surpasses one's dreams?!?

You are smiling and laughing so much now. Even when you wake me up every two hours in the night to nurse (what's with that? you had been sleeping at least one 5 hour stretch a night for the last 6 weeks and now you're back to two hour stretches? you must be growing!) you wake me up with a sly little grin and even in my deliriously-tired state I can't help but smile myself. I'd gladly get up every two hours a night for the rest of my life if I could wake up to that smile every time.

You are really growing up. You no longer need to be walked around all the time, you can just hang out. In fact, we just sat on the bed together and watched the movie Once the other day. You liked the music, but you said you'd read somewhere that the stars of the film are dating in real life and the man is 18 years older than the woman, which sort of turned you off. I tried to explain to you that love is love among adults, no matter the age, but you wouldn't have it. I guess you're entitled to your opinion.

You used to scream in the car and man, that was taking years off my life (I swear my blood pressure skyrocketed during those grueling trips - I'll send you my medical bills when you have a steady income) but now you've come around - you spend most car rides peacefully trying to eat your hands. Now we can also do things to make you laugh - like talk like Donald Duck or stick our tongues in and out really fast. We are fools, we know, but we don't care because that laugh could put an end to the African AIDS crisis if only we could find a way to bottle it. You have the power to turn only semi-foolish people like your father and me into COMPLETE AND TOTAL fools. This could come in handy.

We're still working out the kinks with your sleep. You still love the swing, but you'll spend some time in our bed or in your co-sleeper. That usually doesn't last all that long, however, because you start in with the flailing and while it seems to only sort of bother you, it's painful for me to watch. You just can't get comfortable and that feeling sucks. I don't want that for you, so I try everything to comfort you. This will probably come back to bite me in the future, but whatever. You're just a baby. You're my baby and I love you and want you to be happy.

We are also still working out the kinks with your poop and my diet. I have been dairy-free for almost three weeks and you still have diapers full of mucous. So, we'll cut out soy, too. That's also a common baby allergy. We'll see. I'll keep trying until we get it right, sweet girl. Even if I have to live on twigs and berries.

I love you,
Momma

It's SO funny...

Laugh In from chelsea on Vimeo.

You found us!

Hooray. You didn't blow it. You found us at our new address.

More Grandparent love

Here's Zoe getting loved up by Grandpa Russell and Grandma Jackie. This kid has some smitten Grandparents. Next week Grandma Patty hits the scene for even more Zoe love!

Status of the Grandparents

Zoe was Grandparent-less for a while this winter as her Kansas Grandparents were off galavanting in warmer climes, and her Michigan Grandma is, well, a Michigan Grandma. Boo.

Finally, the Kansas Grandparents have all returned. Here's Grandpa David with Zoe today - he can't believe the size of her! Can you gauge by this picture how much he loves her?!?!

Illin'

It seems our house has been targeted by the germs...Josie was sick a few weeks ago and Jack has been sick the entire week with some kind of horrible flu. So, you know what that means for me and Zoe...it means I am a lunatic OCD mother trying to keep the baby from getting sick and it means Zoe is guarded like the Hope Diamond. (geez - when was the last time someone mentioned the Hope Diamond? That used to seem like a big deal and it's sort of faded into obscurity now. Hmmm. Shame.)

Funny how a simple flu bug can make someone go insane. Also funny how a really cute baby can make just about any grown-up act like a total jackass, as evidenced by all of the videos we have of Zoe. Have you listened to the things I say and the noises I make in those? I'm not sure I have any functioning brain cells left. But I digress.

Send us some good "no-sick-baby" vibes please!

A Video Letter from the Editor

Here's what Zoe has to say to her fans.

Zoe's Video Letter from chelsea on Vimeo.

Best Friends

Zoe's aunt Jess came to visit this weekend and it was a non-stop love fest!

Smilin'

Zoe is just getting more smiley everyday. Here she is on the changing table, which she loves now, but used to hate before when she was "right out the mama" as Jack says. That's me and Jess cooing in the background because we are just so damn proud.

Smilin' from chelsea on Vimeo.

Bath-tastic

Here's Zoe in the tub with her Aunt Jess.

Zoe takes a bath from chelsea on Vimeo.

Happy Valentine's Day!

POOP

I am so tempted to post pictures of Zoe's poop on this website because it's such a huge part of our everyday life. As you know, "it takes a village" and frankly, I won't really be satisfied that most of you are pulling your weight until you get in on this poop thing with me. But, I guess I do have a least a thread of common decency in me and will refrain from the visuals. I'll still hammer you with the descriptive words, though, so you're not getting off scott-free.

As it turns out, we are pretty sure Zoe is sensitive to cow's milk. After about 2 and 1/2 weeks of no dairy, her poop was pretty much back to normal, so I reintroduced milk into my diet. (Ah, cheese - how I'd missed you. Our love affair can now continue.) Foolishly, I did this RIGHT after she got her vaccinations - one being the rotavirus vaccine that is actually a live virus and could make her gut a little "off" - hey, I never claimed to be all that sharp.) And, after three days her diapers were all full of mucous again. Yucky, yucky, green mucous. Poor thing.

Anyway, having the doctor's office number on my speed dial, I promptly called them to see if this could be rotavirus-vaccine-related and they said they really didn't think so, that it is most likely the milk. So I am back to living in a cheese-less, latte-less world. It's a cold and lonely place, but I shall adjust so long as my sweet baby's poop returns to something less resembling snot and silly string.

squishable

Lunatic Mother on the Loose

So, today Zoe had her 2-month checkup at the doctor's office. The good news is that she's healthy as can be - weighing in at 12 lbs, 2 oz and measuring 24.5 inches (90th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height). The doctor said that her poop looked good (I warned you this is the kind of thing I'm going to talk about on this website and if you don't like it there are plenty of websites out there that might appeal to you...like this and this) and that I could reintroduce milk (I went directly to Starbucks for a latte). The bad news is that she had to get some shots and I was A TOTAL BASKETCASE.

Honestly, I was nearly in tears in the car on the way there. I have never in my life felt more like an animal in nature - having a baby brings out such strong instincts. I feel like a bear. The instinct to protect my child is so strong that I am acting like a total lunatic. The ride to the doctor's office consisted of me calling everyone in my inner circle to try and get talked down off the ledge because I honestly felt like I was throwing my kid under the bus. I was going to willingly hand her over to someone that would hurt her and that just goes against what every cell in my body is telling me to do - protect my baby. Yes, in getting Zoe vaccinated I am protecting her, but that's higher-level thinking of which I am only sometimes capable.


Like most things in my life that I get all worked up over, it turned out to be less than a big deal. I left the room for the shots, I heard her yelp once and that was it. When I went back in she was just as content as ever and my husband was (and this is something to which I am quite accustomed) looking at me like, "See? NO BIG DEAL."

But I am a bear and there is no reasoning with a bear.

A Smile!

Finally a smile to show you! She always cracks up when we stick our tongues in and out really fast and she tries to do it herself. Kills me.

a smile! from chelsea on Vimeo.

Zoe's senior picture

I swear I didn't position her this way....I just put her on her boppy for some "tummy time" (ugh - these mom phrases make me want to puke) and this is how she ended up. And yes, this is how her hair is. There is no slicking that back part down, it just stands up like that no matter what.

Forget the milk mustache...

...the milk tongue is where it's at.