Does it really happen overnight?

My little newborn is no longer a newborn. I thought I had a few more weeks. I thought I'd see subtle changes, gradually, over time. I woke up this morning and Sophia seemed a little heavier.
Her head no longer had that loose skin wrinkled look. Her cry was throaty and louder--almost demanding, no longer soft and pleading. I changed her diaper and realized her chubby thighs have more rolls and the diaper bites into her fleshy hips. I still have tons of stage 1 diapers, and now I need stage 2?!

I went to put on her onesie that just fit last week and I had a hard time fitting it over her head. I tossed it into her growing pile of clothes that no longer fit. How can it be that overnight, my little baby sprouted into a little girl?

Poop happens

I have this little painted tile that reads "Poop Happens" hanging over Sophia's changing table. It was a gift from Erin, and I thought it was really cute. Never thought I'd get the full meaning of the statement, but now I totally get it.

It seems that Sophia likes to do her business at the most opportune times, usually when we are out and about. I am slightly germaphobic, so I hate using those changing tables in the public restrooms, but I'm getting over it.

The other day we were at Bed Bath and Beyond and the usual signs occurred--red face, grunting, lots of tooting...and thar she blows! A huge blowout. OK, so I gave my stuff to a clerk to hold and rolled her to the bathroom. I start to lift her out of her carseat and notice the poo dripping down her leg and off her toes. I also realize that I'm touching something wet on her back and assumed it was a little sweat (we were in the middle of a heat wave). Well, it turns out the poo went up her back too. And because I'm a new mom and not fully prepared, I pulled a rookie move and forgot to pack an extra outfit for her. I also only had about 15 wipes to use, when I really needed 50. Heck, I really needed to just dump her in the bath but that neither here nor there at this point. So I stripped her and started cleaning. it took so long that the sensor lights turned off. I sat there in partial darkness until, thank god, a woman walked in. I finished cleaning Sophia and created some sort of wrap outfit from her swaddle blanket, strapped her back into her poopy car seat and got out of there.

So we get home and I give her a nice bath, get her dressed and fed and put her in her swing to take a nap. I walk away to put her bath up and put all the poo'd on stuff in the wash. Sophia starts to cry. Wouldn't you know she just did a repeat of the earlier business in her swing? Round 2 of strip, clean, bath, dress and laundry. Where does this child store all the poo? I ended up taking a shower myself after that.

Yes, poop does happen.

Never underestimate the power of pretty bows...and pink

This is especially for my sister in-law, who I would tease relentlessly about putting these enormous bows on my niece, Amanda's head. I hate bows. But here I am in a little bit of a pickle. I have a daughter, and I have bows. I also don't particularly like pastel pink. So now I have a daughter and tons of soft pink, and well, bows. So Dione, these pictures are for you because I know you'd get a kick out of them. I'm sorry I made fun of you and Amanda. Karma is really something, isn't it?

Catching up

I have tons of stuff to tell you about, unfortunately I just don't have the time. Yeah, I know you've heard this excuse before. I'm even sick of giving it. So here's a brief recap of the last 2 months I've been neglecting you. I promise to try harder. Honest, I do.

1st week

7 pounds, 9 ounces and 19 inches long at her first check-up.

• Sophia ate non-stop. At least every hour I was nursing her. I was in so much pain from the nursing, I didn't even think twice about the c-section incision. Nursing was important though, we needed to get her weight back up.
• I only left the house to take Sophia to her appointments. It seemed as though the world was moving way too fast, and Sophia and I were in slow motion.
• We had lots of visitors, it was a blur. Thanks to all the generous guests, Sophia expanded her wardrobe tenfold.
• I didn't sleep much. Sophia slept a lot...on me.
  

1st month

9 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long at her 1 month check-up.

• We started to venture out of the house! We actually went to a few parties.
• Sophia started to open her eyes. I don't think she opened her eyes until she was 1 month old--well, at least that's how it seemed.
• Baths became a little easier to master. In fact, Sophia loves her bath time.
• Sleep deprivation was really kicking in. Getting up 3 or 4 times a night to nurse was taking its toll, but she was worth it!
• Sophia started to smile. It melts my heart.
• We took two trips this month, one to grandma's house and our first trip to the coast with daddy.

2nd month

11 pounds, 5 ounces and 23 inches long at her 2 month check-up.

• We are really starting to venture out now. We went to pick cherries in Brentwood and we went to the A's game. But we take little trips every day, mostly to Target or the grocery store.
• Sophia is getting into a routine. She nurses every 3 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night, which means I only need to get up one time during the night to nurse!
• She's really becoming alert. She's playing with her toys and has private conversations with them. She's pulling on my hair now.
• She had her first round of shots. I don't know who shed more tears. I do know she screamed louder...I had to bite my tongue to keep from doing that.

Dazed and confused

Wow it's been almost 2 months since Sophia was born and it feels like I'm finally waking up from this bleary-eyed wakeful sleep. Things are getting easier and our little girl is really growing up! Still not at the point where I have more than 5 minutes to do anything else but "mother" so I thought I'd drop in to say hi and post a picture of Sophia smiling!