Double your pleasure, double your fun, with double the, double the Weiss!: February 2007

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

10:46

Vivian had just finished a morning snack and a healthy nap. Seemed like a good time to go drop off the paperwork at the Montessori for Zach. Just a quick diaper change and we are off...

First thing she does when I lay her down? Puke. Wipe up before it drains into her shirt and we are cool to continue. I strip off her pants and diaper to give her a good wipe down. The cool air on her bum surprises her and she pees all over the changing pad and her pants. No biggie - I just pull the waterproof mats out from under her and there is still a clean dry cover beneath her. As I reach for a diaper, she lets a monster poop out on the cover. Awesome. Wipe that, scoot her to the side and strap another diaper on her. She poops in that one too. Now we are on poop no. 3 in the last 10 minutes. Nothing a seasoned mother hasn't seen before though, right? Back to the diaper changing...

I can now go for a fresh pair of pants. Closer inspection reveals that the back of her shirt has also been soaked with urine. Ok -- a new shirt too. I pick up her now squalling self and carry her over to the dresser. She barfs all over my clean black tee shirt. And the floor. I clean up that mess. She is now in hysterics, and I still haven't even got her clothes on yet, an event sure to cause additional infant outrage. So I pick her up to comfort her and... she barfs on me again. Lay her down, wipe myself down, dress her up, change shirts and... where are we? Oh yes, still squalling infant at hand.

Bounce her around a bit on my shoulder. This time, I cover myself with an entire blanket. She barfs on that, too. Right through it, actually. The swing and bouncer REALLY piss her off. It's quickly becoming apparent that only more nursing will comfort her. (This is a No Pacifier girl. Hates 'em.) Seems like a bad idea, doesn't it? Cause more milk only means more to barf. But, allowing her to cry more and louder seems less tolerable so I let her nurse again. Seeing as she wasn't hungry, she nurses just long enough to settle, then spits the mouthful of milk right down into my bra. Lay her on my lap to clean my bra and she dribbles a bit more on my jeans. Still screaming. Try the swing... still screaming. Certainly not going to jostle her any more... try swaddling her. Marginal results. Swaddle with a sideways lap jostling and high decibal "SHH"ing finally does the trick. (As an aside, though the "Happiest Baby on the Block" stuff seems to work, I am pretty sure that the suggested volume for "SHH"ing, i.e. really loud, is intended to provide an outlet for mother's frustration and anxiety. It works.) Finally silence envelopes us. Oh my gosh, silence at this point is better than a masage at 10,000 Waves. I stop moving. She cries. I am at the end of my rope. Put the baby, still swaddled, in her swing. FINALLY, I can put her down and dry out.

It's now 11:37.

So if anyone ever wonders why it takes so long to get anywhere with an infant, please remind them that it will require 3 diaper changes, 2 infant outfit changes, 2 mommy shirt changes, one mommy pants change, one bra change, 2 changing pad covers, two floor moppings and several sanity checks. And that's before we even get around to doing the laundry.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Even more!

How much would you pay for this many family pictures? Nothing? Less? Don't answer yet!

Uncle Spencer holds wee Viv for the first time -- just like he did with Zach. (Flashback photo to be posted soon.)

Grandpa, still incredulous that there is a girl in the Weiss clan after all these many years.

Grandad teaches the boy to hack.

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Nana encourages Zach to embrace nearsightedness.

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WeeV's first at-home bath. Some tears, some squeals. Lots of clean.

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First post-at-home-bath cuddle.

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First pirate impression. Aaarrrrggghhh!

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WeeZ studies intently for his washing machine finals.

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There are a lot of things the boy is doing lately that we don't know whether to ascribe to the new baby or being two. Por ejemplo:

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That's right. Her pacifier and a pillow under his shirt. I'm sure there's a psychological explanation -- conflating mother/sister -- and I'm just as sure that it's very disturbing.

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Still, he's shown nothing but affection to the girl, when face to face.

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And some more.

Me with girl.

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2 weeks young. [Insert cute phrase.]

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Some Catch-Up Pics

Let's have another look at our chicken-winged girl, back when she was little. These are shots from the last 3 weeks.

Here is WeeV with her Janapops at two days old.

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And here with her parents.

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And here with her Bubbie.

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

two steps forward, one step back...

So, Zach is totally on board with the baby thing now. Sort of. I think he realized the perks of having a baby when I brought her into his school one afternoon, and all the hottie toddlers surrounded her like bees to honey. Anyway, now he asks for 'baby' regularly -- especially when he is trying to find an excuse to stay up a little later. "Baby?" he says, if she is not in sight, "Kiss baby?" How can I resist THAT? So he kisses her through the rungs of his crib... first the cheek, then the head. Very sweet. Even more sweet is when it's totally free of alterior motive -- he smooched her with no prompts as she lay on a chair this afternoon. (I'll post a photo when it's no longer 20 degrees in Jesse's unheated office and I am not to weenie to go in there. And yes, I am well aware that this is the second time this week that I have promised photos that I have yet to deliver.)

As for the steps back, he has sobbed every morning that we have dropped him off at school this week. Really big painful sobs. Yesterday, Ms. Iris called me an hour after he was dropped off, thinking perhaps he was sick, since it is SO out of character for him to cry at all there, let alone for a full hour. But, the appearance of trusty Martinskers made things better in the end. It's a tough thing, adjusting to this little sister.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Bustin' the glass ceiling

Well, there has been a lot of growth these last couple weeks. Vivian has survived what many believe the most difficult transition in a baby's life: the first 2 weeks of life. And in those two weeks, she has excelled at her challenges. She eats like a football player, sleeps like a famous fairy tale princess in a drug induced state, and has been growing like Jack's beanstalk on Miracle Grow. Really. She has gained over a half pound and grown a half inch in the last two weeks, bringing it home at nearly nine pounds and 21.5 inches. That's the 95th percentile across the board! Watch out Aden, this girl could very well give your hoop game a run for your money!

Zach has done some growing of his own. The first week, Zach's approach toward the new room mate situation was to ignore her. He seemed to think that if he didn't look at her, or the person holding her, she might eventually disappear. She didn't. Week 2, Zach tried a new tact: cry and wail throughout the day and perhaps he could draw our attention back to him entirely. That didn't work either. On Friday night, at 11 pm he woke up from a nightmare in which it was revealed to him that Vivian will never leave and his parents are commited to loving TWO children. He woke up and sobbed for over an hour, completely inconsolable by anyone. Then, everyone cried. But come Saturday morn, it was clear we rounded a corner. He has been his jolly self ever since -- mostly.

Needless to say, we are very proud of how both kiddos are dealing with the last 2 weeks. Photos to follow, once I can get off my pokey laptop and back on Jesse's audobon of a desktop.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

1/2 Child From Being an Average American Family

The new baby's here! The new baby's here! These are the kind of spontaneous events that make people!

Announcing the birth of Vivian Sophia Diana Weiss.

There are other pictures that will be included later, once located -- my father took a bunch of shots, including one with Uncle Spencer holding the girl as he previously held the boy, but I managed to misplace the CD.

Here's Mer the night before the big day, in WeeV's new room, formerly my office:

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Speaking for myself, it was a much easier birth than the previous one. It certainly took less time. I asked to help with the delivery, like my friend Louis had, but the OB laughed me off. I was left with cord cutting duties. Luckily, I cut flesh with a certain panache. Here, I'm handing WeeV to her mom after she's been weighed and wrapped up:

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The newborn checks out the outside of her mom:

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Her first bath - not a happy scene:

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First yawn, post-bath:

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First video footage:

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I had our wedding cake folks make Mer a baby-havin' cake. Here the boy eyeballs it greedily (he gets that from me):