The best part of being a parent is not so much about the big things…it’s about the little things.

It’s watching your baby feel the wind on her face for the first time, or hear a new noise, or discover her voice can make all kinds of different sounds and tones, or just do something she has never done before. (Read on …)

The best part of being a parent is not so much about the big things…it's about the little things.

It's watching your baby feel the wind on her face for the first time, or hear a new noise, or discover her voice can make all kinds of different sounds and tones, or just do something she has never done before.

My daughter puckers up her lips in a little kiss type way all the time. It's just one of the things she does. I can't tell you if this is a baby thing or unique to her, but it's adorable, especially when she does it and her eyes get huge because she is discovering something new. When she felt the breeze on her skin, her eyes opened wide and her little mouth puckered up and she just experienced the feeling. I know I certainly take that feeling for granted, but as I watched her, I tried to imagine what it must feel like to feel that for the very first time, and being so little, to not know where it comes from or what it is, but to decide it's kind of a nice feeling.

New noises are really interesting, especially when she turns her head to look for them, trying to figure out her environment.

The other night she started crying after we put her down. Not a “feed me” cry or a “change me” cry or even really a “hold me” cry. I think she was just discovering that her voice could do all sorts of things. So I would describe it as a sing-songy cry. All over the place - different notes, different tones, different lengths. It was adorable and funny, but finally my husband picked her up and held her to quiet her down because it was, after all, the middle of the night and we all needed to sleep.

Today she reached out and grabbed a toy in her hand. I'm not sure that she did it exactly on purpose, but it's the first time she's actually grabbed something out of my hand and into hers. I am sure it won't be the last.

And to me, to us, it's all wonderful. Not wonderful as in “wow, that's cool”, but wonderful as in full of wonder. Parents of babies have a wonderful opportunity. They get to discover the world all over again through another's eyes. I hope as we do this through our little one's eyes, we learn not to take those simple things for granted anymore.

Certainly the first word and the first step will be awesome moments, but really…it's the little things that make being a parent so amazing.

Through little eyes we shall see the world anew.

I have absolutely nothing to say. I just wanted to show off my beautiful daughter!

I have absolutely nothing to say. I just wanted to show off my beautiful daughter!

Karin to Mike the other day: I don’t think she likes swaddling because she likes her hands free to go above her head. Swaddling doesn’t work for her.

—-

A few moments ago:

1. Baby cries.
2. Mommy changes diaper (VERY dirty diaper) - thinks…problem solved!
3. Mommy puts baby back to bed.
4. Baby cries.
5. Mommy turns on music.
6. Baby starts to quiet down, then changes her mind and screams.
7. Mommy picks up baby and holds her close.
8. Baby stops crying.
9. Mommy gets a brilliant idea.
10. Baby gets swaddled.
11. Mommy puts baby back to bed again.
12. Baby does not cry.
13. Baby falls asleep.

—–

Okay, so she DOES like to be swaddled.

DOH!

Karin to Mike the other day: I don't think she likes swaddling because she likes her hands free to go above her head. Swaddling doesn't work for her.

—-

A few moments ago:

1. Baby cries.
2. Mommy changes diaper (VERY dirty diaper) - thinks…problem solved!
3. Mommy puts baby back to bed.
4. Baby cries.
5. Mommy turns on music.
6. Baby starts to quiet down, then changes her mind and screams.
7. Mommy picks up baby and holds her close.
8. Baby stops crying.
9. Mommy gets a brilliant idea.
10. Baby gets swaddled.
11. Mommy puts baby back to bed again.
12. Baby does not cry.
13. Baby falls asleep.

—–

Okay, so she DOES like to be swaddled.

DOH!

Disclaimer: I am typing this onehanded as the other hand is busy holding the squirmy little girl occupying my lap. Therefore, forgive any typos - I will try to fix them later.

My daughter loves music and her Daddy. Put the two together and you get:

I just love her little face in this pic!

Practically my whole pregnancy, I swore I would never do it again. No matter what, I wouldn’t change my mind. And if afterwards, I lost my mind and said I wanted to have another baby, I told everyone to remind me that I said I never wanted to do it again and how miserable I was for seven months.

Well, apparently there is some sort of switch in a woman’s brain, and mere days after giving birth, this switch is flipped and the woman looks at her beautiful baby and says, well, you know, it wasn’t that bad. I could probably do it again. I think they should find that hormone and name it because darned if I didn’t say that not too long after my baby was born.

Seriously, though, if I was told that if I got pregnant again, there was a good chance that the same thing would happen, I’d make permanently sure I never got pregnant again. Not just for my sake, but for the sake of the baby I already have.

However, at my last postpartum appointment, I asked my doctor what the risks were (beyond the risks that are there because of my “advanced maternal age”) after the pregnancy that I just had. His reply was that he is pretty sure it was just an isolated incident. The perinatologist I saw sees all the weird pregnancy cases and he had never seen anything like it before, so it’s obviously not a common occurrence. And my doctor also said he didn’t think I could do the same thing again if I tried. (The lab results from the placenta basically showed that there was a partial abruption the whole pregnancy - thus the bleeding throughout. She really is a miracle, I tell you!)

That really wasn’t quite what I expected to hear. I thought he’d tell me it wouldn’t be a good idea. But now, I sort of have the go ahead to do it again and I may very well have a normal, non-complicated pregnancy if I do get pregnant.

The only other issue is that I guess the cervix sort of has a memory. So, basically if you deliver a premature baby, you have a much higher risk of having another premature baby because of that cervical memory thing. However, because I never went into labor, and my cervix really didn’t do anything, that is not an issue either.

Sooooo….it is possible that there may be another baby someday in the not so far future. Being an only child, and being an “older” parent, I never really wanted to have an only child. I want her to have someone to lean on when we are no longer there for her. I won’t be trying this time, though. If it happens, it’s meant to be. If it doesn’t, well, she will have cousins that we will make sure she has close ties to.

It’s funny…thinking about it…I always thought one of each (a girl and a boy) would be perfect, and that would be just fine, but two little girls is quite appealing too. Oh the estrogen. Poor Mike when they are teenagers! I’m sure there are those who would say he deserves it though! ;)

Practically my whole pregnancy, I swore I would never do it again. No matter what, I wouldn't change my mind. And if afterwards, I lost my mind and said I wanted to have another baby, I told everyone to remind me that I said I never wanted to do it again and how miserable I was for seven months.

Well, apparently there is some sort of switch in a woman's brain, and mere days after giving birth, this switch is flipped and the woman looks at her beautiful baby and says, well, you know, it wasn't that bad. I could probably do it again. I think they should find that hormone and name it because darned if I didn't say that not too long after my baby was born.

Seriously, though, if I was told that if I got pregnant again, there was a good chance that the same thing would happen, I'd make permanently sure I never got pregnant again. Not just for my sake, but for the sake of the baby I already have.

However, at my last postpartum appointment, I asked my doctor what the risks were (beyond the risks that are there because of my “advanced maternal age”) after the pregnancy that I just had. His reply was that he is pretty sure it was just an isolated incident. The perinatologist I saw sees all the weird pregnancy cases and he had never seen anything like it before, so it's obviously not a common occurrence. And my doctor also said he didn't think I could do the same thing again if I tried. (The lab results from the placenta basically showed that there was a partial abruption the whole pregnancy - thus the bleeding throughout. She really is a miracle, I tell you!)

That really wasn't quite what I expected to hear. I thought he'd tell me it wouldn't be a good idea. But now, I sort of have the go ahead to do it again and I may very well have a normal, non-complicated pregnancy if I do get pregnant.

The only other issue is that I guess the cervix sort of has a memory. So, basically if you deliver a premature baby, you have a much higher risk of having another premature baby because of that cervical memory thing. However, because I never went into labor, and my cervix really didn't do anything, that is not an issue either.

Sooooo….it is possible that there may be another baby someday in the not so far future. Being an only child, and being an “older” parent, I never really wanted to have an only child. I want her to have someone to lean on when we are no longer there for her. I won't be trying this time, though. If it happens, it's meant to be. If it doesn't, well, she will have cousins that we will make sure she has close ties to.

It's funny…thinking about it…I always thought one of each (a girl and a boy) would be perfect, and that would be just fine, but two little girls is quite appealing too. Oh the estrogen. Poor Mike when they are teenagers! I'm sure there are those who would say he deserves it though! ;)

Disclaimer: I am typing this onehanded as the other hand is busy holding the squirmy little girl occupying my lap. Therefore, forgive any typos - I will try to fix them later.

My daughter loves music and her Daddy. Put the two together and you get:

I just love her little face in this pic!

So my little one has many fans…even her Grandpa has come to see her TWICE! Admittedly, it was while the wicked witch (or his wife if you want to be nice) was out of town, but hey…at least he came right? He even brought her a Christmas present.

He told me that he missed his wife while she was gone…the house was lonely. I said…get a dog.

The next time he was there he said he doesn’t know the word for what is wrong with her. I said…mental illness?

Okay, I know those were not the nicest comments, but the woman didn’t tell my father I had a baby. So, I just don’t really believe she deserves anything less. :P

So, I don’t know that he will manage to continue visiting now that she is back, but I guess we will just have to wait and see.

You know what the commercial says: “having a baby changes everything”

So true.

So my little one has many fans…even her Grandpa has come to see her TWICE! Admittedly, it was while the wicked witch (or his wife if you want to be nice) was out of town, but hey…at least he came right? He even brought her a Christmas present.

He told me that he missed his wife while she was gone…the house was lonely. I said…get a dog.

The next time he was there he said he doesn't know the word for what is wrong with her. I said…mental illness?

Okay, I know those were not the nicest comments, but the woman didn't tell my father I had a baby. So, I just don't really believe she deserves anything less. :P

So, I don't know that he will manage to continue visiting now that she is back, but I guess we will just have to wait and see.

You know what the commercial says: “having a baby changes everything”

So true.

Is anyone as addicted to the new M&Ms commercial as I am? I think it must be my favorite commercial in years. For one thing, I love Megan Mullally (and not just because her character's name is Karen!) and she is just so awesome to watch in the commercial.

The only problem is…I can't get the darned jingle out of my head - even when I am asleep. ARGH!!!!!!!!!

I guess that means the advertising is working huh?

Darn it…somebody get me some M&Ms!!!!!!!!!!

I realize updates have been few and far between, but it's not for lack of things to say…it's just lack of time to say them.

Anyway, the latest thing that has happened around here is that our friends (who were due BEFORE we were due) had their baby one day after their due date. (Our little princess is actually due this coming Tuesday.) So they have a brand new baby and we have a 7 week old. Go figure.

When said friend called to announce the arrival of the munchkin, one of the things he said is that he was feeling a “bit overwhelmed.”

Well, let me just tell you all that the feeling of being overwhelmed doesn't really go away very quickly. And I tend to think it never does. Every time I look at that perfect little human being, I become overwhelmed with the wonder of her existence. I just keep wondering how in the world she got here! (Yes, I know the biology of it, but the miracle of it is still pretty unbelievable.)

Sometimes the feeling of being overwhelmed can be a negative one as well. There are days. There are moments. There are just times when the baby is crying and you're tired and you just don't want to get up and deal with her because you want to sleep (Can you please sleep just a little longer for Mommy?) that you wonder for a moment why on earth you wanted to do this. Why was it we wanted a baby again? I can't remember. You know what makes you remember? When you get up to take care of her and through the eyes you can barely get opened you see that gummy little smile that says I know who you are and I love you and thank you for taking care of me because I need you. Then you remember. Those little smiles just melt me. And I bet they always will.

As I was driving home from the grocery store today, thinking about my sweet little baby girl, I had a flashback to the first appointment I had with my ob/gyn - before I got pregnant. I wrote a journal entry that day:

http://karinrg.livejournal.com/2004/02/23/

So, on February 23, my doctor (whom I adore by the way) says in two or three months I'll be pregnant.

Approximate conception date: April 29

Positive pregnancy test: May 20

Was the rainbow a sign from God? I would say…..

Yes.

Yes!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!