The Good, The Bad, and The Moo

So far I'm not too great at this blogging thing. It seems like I just posted, but now I realize that it's actually been awhile. Woopsie daisy. Guess I've been in the baby time warp. Anyway, lots of stuff has happened lately in Stinchville---some of it good, some of it not so good, but almost all of it involving The Moo in some way. Of course.

First for the not so good. I truly can't use the word "bad" because nothing has really been bad. There's been some meh, and there's been some eh, but nothing truly BAD. Life is actually really, really good right now for the most part. One thing that has been kind of meh is that I returned to work on April 1st. The cool part about that is that we now are officially a two income family again. Woo hoo for extra money!!! The meh part is that, well, it's work. And work, by virtue of the fact that it's not laying around without pants, is just kind of meh. Plus....I really miss my Moo time. Somedays I just sit in my office and stare at her picture. Make no mistake, I love my work, and I am definitely happy to have a routine again, but there's definitiely a part of me that could get into the stay at home mom gig. Now that I'm back at work, I look back on my maternity leave with what are probably rose colored glasses. I wallow in memories of baby Moo sleeping on my chest and of first smiles. Of walks at Overton Park when it got warm and that one sweet time when Moo and I had a special Mommy and Moo lunch date on a patio. I ate a wrap, and she took a really loud poop. Pure bliss. Conveniently, I seem to have forgotten the endless gray of the longest, coldest winter ever, the sleepless newborn nights, and, of course, that one time when Moo's projectile poop destroyed a wall and several pieces of furniture (got pics to prove it). I guess that's just how it is though. In any case, I am back at work. I've made my schedule somewhat more mommy friendly, but I won't lie. I truly can't wait for the day when I can just go into private practice and have complete autonomy. If it wasn't for that whole student loan forgiveness thing, I'd be there like yesterday. Many thanks to all of the people who told me that student loans really don't count. Um, yeah. Yeah. They do. And they suck.

Now for the good. There's so much good. So, so, so much good. Moo is 4 months (and change) old now. Last Friday, my mom (she visited us to help out while G'ma and G'pa galavanted across Europe) and I took Moo for her 4 month appointment. No surprises. It was a pretty straightforward visit. We still like Dr. Magdovitz. She's a straight shooter and always seems very level headed and friendly. She proclaimed that Moo is indeed healthy and happy and, true to Tall People form, measuring in at the 93rd percentile in length. Strangely, when I took her in at 3 months (teething issues), she measured above the 97th percentile. Off the charts. Maybe she's just going to be regular tall instead of freakishly tall? Hmmm. Anyway, she's in the 61st for weight and the 61st for head circumference. In other words, she's normal. Shots were given, of course, which are no fun at all, but a necessary evil. My poor mom wasn't expecting the shrill screaming that takes place when Moo gets poked, so of course she cried almost as much as The Moo. I was prepared this time, having experienced the awesomeness that is baby puncturing before, so I was able to steel myself and escape with nary a tear. It did bruise my soul a bit though to see my perpetually happy baby squawk as if she was being murdered. In any case, Moo was calm again within minutes and happily chattering to herself. Love my happy, vocal baby girl. In other good news, Moo is growing and changing and very quickly developing into this amazing little person. Everyday, I see new and exciting changes in my sweet girl. She smiles constantly now and watches mommy and daddy very closely. She enjoys reading and cuddling and walks outside. The swing is still a favorite, but we're now playing in our Baby Neptune Exer-saucer thingie. Moo has a peculiar affinity for mirrors also and will stare and coo endlessly at the mirror on her swing. She's very talkative these days and seems to find new noises just about every day. We still laugh at what we call her lawn mower noises, and she makes this one very sweet gurgly, cooing sound that melts my heart every single time. The happiest place on Earth for Moo is not Disney World (who needs fake mice anyway?) but her changing table. Put the kid on a changing table, you get instant smiles. Get her naked, cue euphoric cooing, giggling, and borderline maniacal smiling. Whatever works, right? In the last few days, Moo has also discovered that she likes to put her feet in her mouth. mmm. Tasty. It's adorable to watch as she throws that leg up and catches a succulent toe in her mouth. Last night in the bath, she got quite frustrated trying to put both feet in her mouth at once. Sorry, kid. Life can be truly disappointing. Socially, she's interacting with her cousin Cora now too, trying to grab her and smiling at her. Cora, who's 17 days younger, is really just having none of it yet. In perhaps the biggest news, we appear to have successfully transitioned to the big girl crib. It began as an experiment, her daddy and I asking each other, "do ya think just maybe...?" So we tried it. And it worked. And it was awesome. And I stayed up half the night the first night watching the monitor. I watched as Moo kicked around in her sleep before finally settling herself at the other end of the crib. I have learned that this is just a Moo thing. The kicking that is. She's one of the heaviest sleepers I've ever met, but she will kick her legs in her sleep for hours. Whatever works, kid. Either way, she's now slept in her crib for 4 whole nights. These days, she usually sleeps around 10, sometimes 11 hours per night. The best part? The Moo always, always wakes up a happy Moo. I have never seen anyone wake up in such an awesome mood. We're talking smiling, giggling, cooing, the works. How did Thom and I, two of the most incurable night owls the world has ever know, produce this spectacular little morning person? No clue. That said, the fact that we have been blessed with a champion sleeper is not lost on me. Not at all. This kid is amazing, and I love her more and more every single day.

Mrs. Moo, Infant Extraordinaire

On December 10, 2013, a wondrous event occurred. After much excruciating pain (yes, even with an epidural that labor thing hurts) on mom's part, Madeline Lorraine Stinchfield burst into the world sporting a stank eye and an impressive set of lungs. She was in quite the hurry to arrive, it seems, making her mark on the world at a gestational age of 37 weeks and 1 day. That morning, I rolled over and thought that I had peed myself. Again. You know, because being pregnant makes you pee yourself on occasion. True story. So that was my first thought: "Must have peed myself again". Putting one foot on the floor, I began what I thought would be a journey to the bathroom to clean myself up. Instead, with one foot down, I began a different journey, one that I had confidently assumed wouldn't begin for another few weeks. A journey that I'm only beginning but loving thoroughly. This blog entry is rather late. My intention in starting a blog was to document my dear child's life from the very beginning. Yes, I actually had a picture of myself sitting in the hospital bed after giving birth blogging about it. Oh my. Oh, oh, oh, my. Oh, former self. Did you really have any clue about this whole having a baby thing? Apparently not, since all you really achieved that first night was a painful pee or two and a mouthful of hospital mystery meat. The idea of blogging after having a 7 pound child ripped from my nether regions just seems so laughable now. So. Here I am. Maddie is 2 months old and change, and, as she naps (probably for another 10 minutes), I am churning out my first blog entry. Go me! So let's start with the basics: Madeline is rarely referred to as Madeline or even Maddie. Instead, she has acquired several charming nicknames. The most common moniker is Moo. Or Mrs. Moo. Or The Moo. Or perhaps The Mooster. I have no idea how this got started, but the entire family now refers to our child as the noise a cow makes. Poor kid. Flash forward to a conversation with Madeline's very concerned pre-K teacher, who cannot understand why my kid is having an identity crisis.... Other things about Mrs. Moo: Moo Fact #1: Mrs. Moo has some reflux issues. We're trying to resolve these problems, but in the meantime, let me just say this. Reflux sucks. A lot. Watching her writhe around in pain after eating breaks my heart and makes me cry. Hopefully by tonight, we shall have a prescription for Prevacid. We tried Zantac, which sucked even more that reflux. Fail. Prevacid, our hopes are pinned on you. Don't let me down. Moo Fact #2: Mrs. Moo likes to eat. A lot. And often. Be aware, when denied immediate relief from the urge to nosh, Mrs. Moo becomes quite hangry. And Hangry Moo is terrifying Moo. The stuff of nightmares. Avoid letting The Moo get hangry. All of this hanger, however, has lead to very good things. At her two month doctor's appointment, Mrs. Moo was in the 85th percentile for height and the 66th for weight. Mrs. Moo has chubby cheeks and fat rolls on her thighs. The doctor was pleased with her chub and gave her a passing grade. Score. At almost ten weeks, Mrs. Moo eats between 4-6 ounces per feeding. I am told that this is the amount of food that the average 4 month old consumes. My girl is awesome.... Moo Fact #3: Mrs. Moo sleeps through the night most nights. This started somewhere around 6 or 7 weeks. Mrs. Moo has skills. She usually starts to cluster feed late in the evening, building a surplus of food to get her through the night. It's both impressive and unsettling to witness this tiny person taking in such massive amounts of grub, but it seems to work. That's all that matters, right? During her cluster feeding extravaganzas, The Moo eats with such a desperate urgency that one might think that her very survival depends upon it. Amusing and a little scary all at once. Moo Fact #4: Moo is a bobble head. She has been picking up her head since the day she was born. When I burp her on my shoulder, I must remain ever vigilant that Moo may, at any moment, head butt me and cause me grave injury. Pretty sure I've got a future head banger on my hands. So these are the basics. I plan to continue this blog, I promise. Moo, I want you to look back on this blog someday, sitting around a table at some holiday family gathering far in the future, and I want you to laugh about the fact that you were a chubby little bobble head. I also want you to always remember that you are and always will be oh so loved.