City Baby

Last weekend (which is really last last weekend by the time I'm posting this) we decided to leave the house, a true rarity in this season of our lives, and head into the city to meet some friends. It is so good to have Tim with me when leaving the house for these adventures because the struggle is real. Trying to figure out timing is the disaster because you could get her ready and fed and happy but then once you get yourself ready she needs to eat again. And a half hour later you figure you might as well wait for lunch and then go downtown. And after eating lunch your baby spits up enough to warrant an outfit change so you pull her out of her car seat and then she needs to be consoled before putting her back. And at this point one debates aloud if we should wait and feed her one more time before leaving so we don't have to do it in the city... Two hours after we planned on leaving (plus the hour and a half we alotted to get ready) and baby girl was sleeping in the car on the way downtown.

We bundled Gemma and spent the afternoon in the North End and she woke up on the walk back to the car in time to eat in the parking garage... I'd say it was a successful outing so we treated ourselves to beer and a game watch when we got home. Pics or it didn't happen:

Gemma- 1 Month

My baby girl celebrated her first month of life yesterday with a bath and a ridiculous photo shoot. I love this headband/month counting set but does it make me a cruel mom?

 This picture on the right is so Gemma; legs scrunched, toes curled, arms flailing.

 In my mind she is shaking her fist and saying, 'Why I oughta..."

 Now the headband is great but to give you perspective on the status of her monkey hair, its receding and its fluffy resembling her grandpa Magee. Sorry kid, I was told all my life that I look like my dad and now you're looking like your grandpa. As a girl you never know how to respond to these things.

 At one month Gemma loves eating and sleeping, find me a baby who doesn't and I'll be worried. If you bundle her hands into the blanket she will wake up angry within minutes because she NEEDS space. She loves her car seat (knock on wood that this remains true because car rides are our last resort right now) and falling asleep propped up on dads shoulder. She grunts and squeaks during all of her waking hours and some of her sleeping ones too. The nicknames mom gives her have been called 7 Dwarfs inspired because; grunty, grumpy, sleepy, hungry, bubbles, squeaky, and there is no doc. 

 My cross-eyed goofy princess.

 And just to demonstrate the ridiculousness of this high quality, moms bed, photoshoot which she clearly loved:

Gemma Brigid: watch me grow though she will never grow into this headband, it will always be oversized and crazy.

Two Scoops of Ice Cream

Really this post isn't really about ice cream... it's about cake but it's also about happiness so thanks Charlie Brown. When I was going to bed the other night I rolled over and told Tim I loved him and it hit me that it was the first time I had used his name all day. Gemma has consumed our days our time our entertainment and it's so wonderful but the only interaction I had with my husband was texting him pictures of our daughter, wondering aloud if daddy would change the next diaper, and in baby talk. Almost as if we have started communicating through Gem in the most ridiculous falsetto. It's been so easy to get caught up in her, I mean she's adorable. But I am trying to be intentional about having adult conversations with my husband that have nothing to do with how many times gemma's pooped today or how cute her face is after she's done eating. And as much happiness I get playing with and talking about our daughter with my husband, I'm constantly reminded that true joy in this vocation comes from my time with Tim and the love we share that makes our love for our daughter possible.

And a tbt of pictures to go with this post, as you can tell I'm still pregnant. We cut into our top tier of our wedding cake when home just before our anniversary.

Last year he didn't smother me with wedding cake so I can't be too upset.

One year and one child later and a lot has changed but my love for the man who agreed to this adventure has only grown.

Parenting Badge

If being a mom were a similar program to being a girl scout then I'd have my first badge waiting to be sewn on my vest (it'd probably never actually make it onto the vest given my to-do list that never gets accomplished and my track record with commitment to the girl scouts). It would be a beautiful badge with a red bulls-eye. That's right I have completed the challenge and I am officially a basic mom. I am gaining confidence in this whole parenting act and I took her into public, by myself. 

We dropped off dad at school on one rainy morning.

Success unexpected in common hours when I fed and changed her in the back seat of the car in the parking lot. I felt so accomplished in this moment. Forget the college diploma, this proved that I had truly made great strides in achieving my vocation.

We made it to Target before 9 with all the moms and old ladies and started the trip with a fall Starbucks drink, as you should. She was awake the whole trip taking in the joys and beauty that is Target home section and happily being piled high with purchases.

And she fell fast asleep as soon as the car started moving. She doesn't like being strapped into her car seat but once that thing is in motion, she is a happy girl and that makes me a happy mom.

So, I did it! I got out of the house and crossed something off a to-do list and tuckered Gemma out for a nap. Now I ponder how my mom did it with twins... and five older siblings... superhuman?

Mom Blog

Now that this is officially a mom blog I am completely unprepared for how to keep up. In my mind everything seems important enough to post. For my readership they would likely be annoyed by how many of the pictures on my phone are actually just repeats, but at the same time requesting more and more pictures. Less Mommy, more baby. I get it, I really do! So I ask you to bear with me as I discern what qualifies a worthy post and what looses readers in mass. At the same time, this is for me and I kind of view it as my version of a scrapbook. One day when Gem grows up and has a baby of her own I know she will ask the same questions I've been asking; how long were you in labor mom? And was I born with hair? What was one way you were able to calm me down? Was I a fussy baby? How well did I sleep through the night? Etc. And I look forward to the archives of this blog providing all the answers, praise God for technology.

Mom rewarded herself with a beer the first night home from the hospital and got halfway through before realizing that nine months is a long time to be sober.

Gemma does not like posing for pictures. You put her in a ridiculous head band and she responds with grumpy faces and hands in front of her face.

Baby girl will only fall asleep in someone's arms. Our spoiled, little, (hopefully temporary) only child needs to be held and as soon as you think you might be able to set her down to run and do something two handed, boom! Eyes pop open.

Momma thinks one of the cutest things she does is suck on her lower lip in her sleep.

She hates to be swaddled because her arms are constantly in motion and you mustn't restrict them or you will hear about it.

And we have so many family and friends to thank for our ability to enjoy these first three weeks and make these observations. From delicious meals to adorable outfits and necessary breaks from the house to holding her so I can shower, our thank you list is lengthy and we are so appreciative of the way we've been able to slowly get back on our feet. So I guess my advice to Gemma when she has kids of her own is simply make sure you have an amazing support system and you'll be fine with whatever else comes your way.

One Handed

Gemma loves to be held. It's no wonder as after a stream full of visitors she was spoiled and never put down and now she won't nap anywhere but in my arms. Don't get me wrong I love snuggling my daughter but it has called for a bit of a lifestyle change. I must now accomplish even the smallest tasks with her in my arms which is more challenging than you'd think. And definitely more time consuming.

Making a sandwich.

Paying bills.

Vacuuming the house.

Brewing a pot of coffee.

Eating dinner.

Typing a blog post.

Dusting the bedroom.

Doing my hair.

Etc.

All one handed. And I think that by the end of the baby years for our little family I might even be ambidextrous... I don't work or shower or cook anymore so these are the things I'm impressed with.

Stay at Home Mom

I wish that the title of this post were my reality... But I also love the work I do. We are still at the point in our lives where our family needs the financial stability of my employment and as long as that is the case I will be making the most of every moment with my high school students because I really am blessed to love going to work every day. But for the next 7 weeks I will enjoy my limbo. For the next two months I will be soaking up every newborn cuddle that maternity leave will allow. Today I survived my first day solo as a temporary stay at home mom.

We have been so lucky to have our moms and my sister and a constant stream of visitors providing help in the form of everything from dinner to ice packs to diaper changes to laundry. But today I drove the last of them to the airport and settled into what I can only assume is my new norm... Eating and cuddling and taking wayyyyyyyyy too many pictures.

Mostly Gemma slept in moms arms but today was also marked by moms very first solo bath... A very well documented bath.

Gem woke up a happy lady totally unaware of the cruelty that awaited.

Torture in the form of hygiene... And hatred upon the one who pours water on her.

Love and affection for the person who removes her from the torture chamber, also known as a bath, so the screaming from before all evens out.

And then spend the rest of the day alternating between play time and...

Conked out time.

And then grad dad came home and relieved me of my baby holding duties so I had to document that too. First time parent, am I doing it right?

Gemma Brigid

After what seemed like an eternity of being pregnant, we welcomed our baby girl into the world on Saturday, September 26th at 10:26AM. She weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 inches of perfect. Gemma Brigid will be a week old tomorrow and it has been the happiest week of our life. I'll post more pictures soon and more raw emotion I swear, but for this post, a simple introduction of our daughter to the blogging world. Our Lady of the Blogosphere, Pray for us.

 And we tried to document her first day of life with pretty pictures which she obviously loved...